Mall Santa Murder: A Cozy Christmas Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

waiting on the kitchen counter.
    The day before Thanksgiving, with Holly’s encouragement, she had managed to get the Christmas tree out of the attic and put it together. All the old decorations were neatly organized in several boxes sitting nearby. Every time Gemma picked one up, the loss of her parents hit her full force, almost bringing her to her knees. And just when she thought she had cried all of the tears she could, more came. Eventually, she gave up and slipped the boxes of ornaments under the tree, vowing to do the decorations later. How was she ever going to decorate the tree if she couldn’t even pick up one of the ornaments?
    She was contemplating trying again when Nick arrived.
    “You look tired,” Nick said, kissing her forehead and giving her a quick hug.
    “I am,” Gemma confessed. “But from the by-lines I’ve been seeing in the paper all weekend, you should be exhausted.”
    Nick smiled and poured a glass of wine for each of them. “It’s been a busy news weekend.”
    “Are we celebrating sales?” he asked, touching his glass to hers.
    She nodded. “Oh, yes.” And when she told him their total take for the weekend, he was as excited as she was.
    In the living room, she sat on the sofa and he sat in the floor at her feet, poking at the fire absentmindedly.
    “I didn’t see anything on your story about the rash of shoplifting incidents,” she said, running her fingers through his dark hair.
    He massaged her feet through her fuzzy socks. “No, they didn’t think it was a good idea to print that story this weekend. And, besides, it’s not really finished yet.”
    “I have something to add to it,” she said.
    He looked up at her quickly.
    “Someone took some of our things,” she said. “Not a ton of stuff but enough for us to notice.”
    “Any ideas?” he asked.
    “Nick, there were so many people around this weekend, it’s impossible for me to remember any one in particular,” she said.
    He nodded. “Sounds like a familiar story.”
    “The other artisans reported thefts, too, as well as GNC, the lingerie shop and Bath and Body Works,” she told him.
    “Reported to who?”
    “The head of security. A guy named Grady Jackson. None of us could tell him much, but he seemed to take it seriously. He asked for a list of our missing items and their value. Says he’s going to try to beef up security for the next few days.”
    Nick nodded as if he agreed with that strategy.
    Their glasses were empty and Gemma was grateful when Nick took hers and filled it up with wine from the bottle they’d brought into the living room with them. Between the wine and the warm, crackling fire she was starting to relax. Her whole body felt like lead.
    “Is he going to contact the police?” Nick asked as he handed her glass back.
    Gemma stared at the blood-red liquid. “He says not right away.”
    Nick looked thoughtful. “Maybe he has a suspect in mind and wants to catch him red handed so he can turn him over to the authorities.”
    “Maybe,” Gemma said with a shrug. “Bill Chambers thinks it’s Santa.”
    Nick barked a laugh. “I did a little checking on your Santa.”
    “He’s not my Santa,” Gemma protested.
    “He sure was spending a lot of time hanging around your kiosk,” he said with a teasing smile.
    “Jealous?”
    Nick laughed again, softer this time, and caressed Gemma’s ankle and leaned his head against her knee. “Mr. Sam McLear owes back child support to at least one ex-wife and who knows how many more who aren’t even trying to collect. He's been married a few times.”
    “Wow,” Gemma said but then added, “You know, I feel kind of bad for him. He’s great with the children, but all of the adults hate him. There’s one elf in particular, I think they call him Ralph, who is just furious with Santa all the time.”
    “All the adults?”
    “Well, except maybe Grady Jackson. I saw them talking when I left,” Gemma said, remembering the scene. “But come to think of