COZY MYSTERY: Murder At The Festival: A Cozy Mystery in the Mountains (Book 4) Read Free

today. Still, she had to play nice.
    “What can I do for you?” She asked with a smile.
    “Do you have any tourists in the house right now?” Calum asked in a whisper.
    “The last batch just left,” Victoria said. “What happened?”
    Calum showed her his phone. There was a photo of a girl on it. She was a pretty teenager, with long, smooth brown hair, a smattering of freckles, and large bunny teeth. She looked vaguely familiar.
    “This is Margie Thompson,” Calum said. “Have you seen her?”
    Victoria squinted at the photo, considered, and said, “No. Definitely not. Why?”
    Calum puffed out his cheek, then took a deep breath. “Is your son here?”
    A little alarmed now, Victoria said, “Byron’s not home right now. He’s with his friends. What’s the matter, Calum? Tell me everything.”
    “No cause for alarm,” Calum said. “Nothing’s happened.”
    There was an unspoken “yet” that had all Victoria’s alarm bells ringing.
    “Well, I’ll tell you what, I’m going to go ask a few more people on Main street, and if you see her, call me immediately, will you?”
    “Whoa. You can’t just barge in here, ask me about Byron, and then run off without an explanation.” Victoria blocked him as he tried to walk out. “What is happening, Calum?”
    “Well…” Calum sighed. “We think a girl might be missing.”
    “You think?” Victoria said.
    “Margie’s parents are a little hyper,” Calum said. “They wanted to go to the police, but I told them to calm down. I said I’d do my part.”
    “What was all that about Byron?”
    “She’s in Byron’s class,” Calum said. “I just thought he might have seen her, and he’d remember more clearly since he knows her.”
    Still suspicious, Victoria asked, “So why do they think she’s missing?”
    “Margie was supposed to take part in a play today,” Calum said. “You know the school’s doing plays all day today at the park? She was the lead in one of them.”
    “Anne’s in one of them too,” Victoria said. “She should be on at about 4. I promised her I’d be there.”
    “Well, Margie’s parents went to see her perform, only she didn’t show. When they asked the teacher, they were told she never turned up. Turns out, her parents haven’t seen her all morning. They just assumed she’d gotten up early and left for school so that she could rehearse. So here we are, and I don’t want to panic any tourists, so I’m canvassing the houses trying to find her. She’s probably just dodging her responsibilities and playing hooky with a boy.”
    But Victoria could tell from Calum’s voice that he really didn’t believe what he was saying.

Chapter 4
    Corporal Randolf Jager sipped a hot cup of coffee and hoped that his eyes would stay open. He’d been working hard on digitizing old case files, pulling all-nighters regularly at the office. Even after the fest last night, he’d decided to work a few hours at his office instead of going home. He straightened up as Victoria walked in, and gave her a broad smile. All the sleep in his body seemed to be replaced by alertness instantly.
    “Hey, Victoria.” He put down his cup. “No thanks needed, it was a pleasure to drop you home.”
    “That’s not what I’ve come to see you about,” Victoria said.
    “Oh.” Randolf put out his lower lip. “I thought maybe you bought a pie as thank you?” He gave her a boyish grin, and despite herself, Victoria laughed. “You’ll get your pie and eat it too, Corporal. But I’m here about something a little more serious.”
    “What is it?” The levity went out of his voice.
    “Calum came to see me,” Victoria said.
    “Calum?” Randolf frowned. “He causing you any trouble? I know the new Mayor is a bit uptight about..”
    “It’s about Margie Thompson,” Victoria said.
    Randolf rubbed his eyes and stretched. “So. Calum’s been to see you about her. Well, Margie’s 18, as I’ve already told her parents. There’s not much to do