Skeleton Letters Read Online Free

Gallant’s working the case. I know for a fact that Babcock has total trust in Gallant.”
    â€œNo,” said Gabby, sounding insistent now. “We need Babcock. He’s the smartest detective on the force and the only one who can get to the bottom of this.”
    â€œExactly my feeling,” said Ava. “Bobby Gallant seemed to be doing a pretty fair job. I mean, he was efficient and all, but I didn’t get the feeling he was personally concerned .”
    â€œNot like Carmela’s sweetie would be,” said Gabby. She gazed at Carmela. “Maybe you should call him again?”
    â€œI know he’ll be in touch,” said Carmela. “I hate to bug him too much.”
    â€œWell . . . ,” said Gabby, who still looked stricken as she continued to digest and process the awful news. “You realize we’re going to have to call Baby and Tandy.” Baby Fontaine and Tandy Bliss were two of their scrapbooking regulars. They often gathered with Byrle at the big wooden table in the back of the shop—“Craft Central,” they’d dubbed it—to scrap the entire day away.
    â€œA bad phone call to make,” Carmela murmured. She knew the two women would be absolutely heartbroken. And though she considered Byrle a friend, she knew that Baby and Byrle had been exceptionally close.
    Gabby put some grit in her voice. “I don’t want Baby and Tandy hearing about this on the TV news. Or, heaven forbid, in some gossipy Twitter chatter.”
    â€œWho’s going to make those calls, then?” asked Ava. Clearly, she didn’t want to.
    â€œI will,” Gabby told her. “I’ll go back to the office and call Baby right now.”
    â€œBut you don’t know any details,” said Carmela. To be honest, she didn’t really have any details beyond a few barebones facts.
    Gabby thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s better that way. Just let Baby absorb the awful news. Then, later, when you’re able to, or maybe if the killer is apprehended quickly, you can lay out the full story to her.”
    â€œOkay,” said Carmela, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. “And you’ll call Tandy, too?”
    Gabby nodded. “I can do that.”
    â€œSounds good,” said Ava.
    â€œIt’s not good,” said Gabby. “But it’s the best we can manage for right now.”
    â€œThank you,” Carmela added, as Gabby walked stiffly away. She ran nervous fingers through her hair, noticed that several women seemed to be glancing at her with expectant looks, and murmured, “Jeez, we’re busy.”
    At which point a customer stepped up to Carmela and asked, “Do you have any leather-bound albums?”
    â€œI can help with that,” said Ava, giving a quick smile. “What size were you thinking about?”
    â€œSomething small,” bubbled the woman. “To showcase photos of my grandkids.”
    Another woman, a sort of regular named Molly, wanted to decorate a black velvet evening bag. “To make it one of a kind,” she told Carmela.
    â€œDo you have a color palette in mind?” Carmela asked.
    Molly thought for a moment. “Maybe a dark red and bronzy feel?”
    â€œOver here,” said Carmela, making a quick sidestep, “we just happen to have some packages of really adorable silk flowers.” She grabbed a couple of plastic packs. “Let’s see, we’ve got purple, gold . . . ah, here’s a nice deep red.”
    â€œNeat,” said Molly, “they even look like camellias.”
    â€œAs for a bronze tie-in,” said Carmela, “how about stitching on a couple of these mesh aspen leaves? They have a brushed bronze finish that’s low key and rather elegant.”
    â€œPerfect,” declared Molly. “What else?”
    â€œI think if you applied the flowers and leaves toward the bottom of your velvet bag, you could probably add