Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 1) Read Online Free

significantly cushy deal. But poaching alone wouldn’t cause North Pole citizens to disappear altogether. Something else was going on. Obviously.
    Unless they were being poached to join some super-secret shadow agency of supernaturals. Or maybe I’d been watching too many superhero movies.
    The place was fully furnished with everything necessary, from what I could see. A leather sofa with a matching side chair, a flat-screen TV, dining table and four chairs, all the good stuff. I checked the kitchen cabinets. More than enough pots, pans, bowls and plates for a girl to cook up a storm, if she wanted. My cooking mostly consisted of warming up frozen pizzas and microwaving Hungry Man TV dinners. Yes, Hungry Man. Because there was no Hungry Elf brand. Which would probably just be an assortment of pies and cobblers. Also, I could heat up soup like nobody’s business.
    But what I needed to do right now was get unpacked and check in with my dad. Time to see if the snow globe had survived the trip and if it was really going to work. I rolled my big bag into the bedroom, hoisted it onto the bed and unzipped it.
    The snow globe was in a box, swathed in bubble wrap and totally in one piece. I unwrapped it and sat cross-legged on the bed, then gave it a shake.
    The snow swirled in a mesmerizing way. I stared into it, losing myself in thoughts of home. Did anyone miss me outside of my family? Probably not. My dad had come up with the cover story that I was taking a break from monitoring the N & N list to help my mother inventory our personal Christmas decorations.
    It was a good cover. Our Christmas paraphernalia was housed in two separate outbuildings on some back acreage of my parents’ property (technically the Winter Palace). It would take weeks to inventory that much stuff. When the Winter Palace was done up for the season, there was no mistaking that Christmas was on its way.
    My dad’s face appeared in the snow. “You made it. How was your trip?”
    I could see from his surroundings that he was in the palace living room. “Good. Long.”
    “I’m sure you’re tired.”
    “Not too bad. I slept part of the way. But I also memorized the dossier you gave me.”
    My mom peeked over his shoulder. “Hi, honey. How’s Nocturne Falls?”
    “So far so good. I found a place that has great pie. Not as good as yours, but it’ll do until I get home.”
    She waved. “Love you. Miss you. Take care of yourself.”
    I waved back. “Thanks, Mom.”
    She disappeared, and my dad took over again. “I know it’s early days yet, but have you learned anything?”
    “Nothing much. I met Toly. He’s exactly like what I thought he’d be; a true tinker. I start work tomorrow.”
    My father nodded. “Good.”
    “Hey, is it really company policy that all visitors have to be registered?”
    He frowned. “I’m not sure. I can find out.”
    “Please. I’d like to know. Also, are all the employee apartments this nice?”
    “It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, but they should be.”
    I looked around at the room. “I can’t imagine another company could beat this deal.”
    “Neither can we.” He leaned in a little. “If you need anything, let me know.”
    “I will. I’m sure I’ll be fine. My only need right now is to find the closest grocery store and get some food for the week. Other than that, I think I’m set.”
    “All right. Take care, Jay. Love you.”
    “Thanks, Dad. Love you too.”
    His image disappeared. I started to put the globe on my nightstand then thought better of it. I carried it out through the bedroom and into the living room, where I set it on a side table. That way I’d pass it every morning. And it wasn’t anywhere too personal, just in case.
    I opened the fridge and freezer to see if there was any sort of welcome food package, but there wasn’t. No big deal. I used my phone to look up the closest grocery store. The Shop-n-Save was about a twenty-minute walk.
    That would give me a chance to see