Linda Crowder - Jake and Emma 01 - Too Cute to Kill Read Online Free Page A

body.
    Whoever it was they had to be loaded or crazy to go out in that storm, Jake thought.  He’d gotten up in the night to fill the stove and the snow was so bad he couldn’t see the light over his neighbor’s barn door half a mile away. 
    A Wyoming native with a four-wheel drive, Jake was an expert driver in bad conditions.  He could drive in almost any weather if he had to but to take on an unplowed county road driving under the influence?  That was suicide.  What kind of junkie would drive five miles up an unplowed county road in a blizzard when he could have dumped the body anywhere along the way?
    Jake hoped the Sheriff was right but he had an uneasy feeling there was more to it.  He shook his head and forced his attention back to the case file on his desk.  There weren’t going to be any answers until they identified Jane Doe and knew for certain how she died.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    5
     
     
    “Tell me again why we’re doing this.”  Jake winced as the shopper in line behind him started singing along cheerfully off-key with the store’s Christmas background music. 
    “Because it’s fun,” answered Emma.  Jake raised an eyebrow.  “I like Black Friday shopping.”
    “You like getting up in the middle of the night, parking a mile away, pushing your way through unbelievable crowds of people all to save a little money on things our friends probably don’t even need?”
    Emma giggled.  “Absolutely!  It’s the spirit of the chase.  You hunt, you ought to understand that.” 
    Jake snorted, “I don’t think that waffle iron counts as big game.”  He nodded at the appliance Emma was clutching proudly and that had been her main quarry in this particular store.
    “It flips over when you cook!  How can you not love that?”  Jake rolled his eyes.  “And I almost didn’t get it.  Somebody took his sweet time getting through that last store.”
    “That was different.  That was an HX-860 fish finder.  My brother’s going to eat his heart out when he sees it.”
    Emma laughed.  “You’re not supposed to buy anything for yourself after Thanksgiving.  You know the rule.”
    “It was technically still Thanksgiving when I got in line with it.”  They both laughed at that.  Black Friday wasn’t even on Friday anymore, with stores jump-starting the sale on Thanksgiving evening.  Initially, they both agreed to not set foot into a store before midnight.  Then Jake saw the fish finder advertised at a door buster price and they’d joined the line at 8pm.
    They finished their shopping and left the mall to have breakfast in their favorite diner.  It was all part of their Black Friday tradition.  They compared notes about their purchases at the smaller stores where their plan had been to split up to cover more territory. 
    Emma checked names off their shopping list.  “We did well this year, I think we’re almost done.  Well, except for each other.”
    Jake nodded.  “I already got your gift.  It’s tucked away where you won’t find it so don’t even think about looking.”
    Emma blushed.  “Guilty as charged.  Know any good defense attorneys?”
    “You’re too old, I only represent juveniles.  You’ll have to throw yourself on the mercy of the court.”  Jake smiled.  He knew Emma would look for the gift but he’d left it at the jeweler’s to be picked up on Christmas Eve.  “What did you get me?”
    “Not saying,” smiled Emma.  She was going to have to return the HX-860 fish finder hidden under the blankets in the guest room closet and think of something else.
    They finished their breakfast and left a holiday-sized tip for their favorite waitress.  At home, Emma wrapped gifts while Jake carried in the bins of Christmas decorations from their storage shed near the barn. 
    Peachy watched their work from the top of the kitty tower.  Sparky was everywhere at once, under their feet, climbing the tree, batting at the