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

escorted her to the door, telling her he’d meet her later for dinner.

Chapter 5
    Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Word had spread through town about Margie running away, and quite a few neighbors had gone over to Michelle’s house to console her.  Mayor Calum Larch was one of them.
    He was a large man, topping 6”5, with broad shoulders, a lined forehead, and a mane of curly black hair that he tamed with copious amounts of gel. He was among the first to arrive at the Thompson house and the last to leave.
    Eight people in all, sat with Michelle in the dining room, consoling her as she sobbed, her phone always in her hand.
    “I saw her at 9 pm yesterday. So it’s been 24 hours since I last saw her.” Michelle said through tears. “I don’t like to think of it. I don’t. But people said… online I read… that chances of finding a missing person drop to half after 24 hours.”
    “There now.” Calum patted her on the back. “We’re doing everything we can to find her. I’ve ordered Corporal Randolf...”
    “Corporal Randolf is home asleep.” Someone sneered. “I’m a fan of his, normally, but he’s handling this a little too casually for my comfort.”
    Michelle burst into fresh tears at this, and the swarm around her cooed and petted.
    Victoria stood at the open door with a freshly baked casserole, feeling very uncomfortable. Karen, a pie in hand, looked equally mortified.
    “Should we leave?” Karen whispered to her sister.
    “We’re staying at least an hour,” Victoria said.
    “We’re so sorry, Michelle,” Karen said as they offered her the food. “I knew Margie, of course. She’s a good kid. I hope she comes home soon.” Margie had worked at the grocery store Karen owned, though Karen hoped her mother would not remember all the details.
    “Thank you,” Michelle said with a sniff. “Margie’s never … I don’t know what to do. She’ll be back. She has to be back soon. I just keep thinking… it’s a big bad world out there. Margie’s so little.”
    Calum nodded. “We at Larch Springs are horrified, of course. The entire town supports you, Michelle.” He was trying to sound supportive, Victoria knew, but he ended up sounding fake. Almost like a newscaster that expressed sympathy for a tragedy one second, and then switched instantly into a cheerful tone as they talked about some video of a kitten. It didn’t help that of all the people dressed in T-shirts and jeans, Calum was the only one in a fresh pressed blue silk suit.
    “I don’t know what to do, other than pray,” Michelle said with a sob.
    “How about being quiet?” From the other room, Jonas shuffled over his hair in disarray. He was dressed in gray sweatpants and a tattered old navy T-shirt. In his hand, he held a bottle of beer, from which he took a swig.
    “Jonas!”
    “I’m telling you, you’re making too much fuss about this,” Jonas said. “It’s downright silly. We both know that.”
    From the room he’d just come from, Victoria could hear the TV give out shouts and cheers as some unknown team scored a goal.
    “There,” Jonas said. “I step away from the TV one second, and the Tigers score. I’m not a superstitious man, but this is the third time it’s happened.” 
    “Maybe you should care about hockey a little less and your wife a bit more,” Calum said coldly.
    Jonas swayed a little. “So you’re going to come into my house, and tell me how I should treat my wife, is it?” He slurred. “I’ll tell you what, Mayor Fancypants, come back and talk to me once you have a woman. I’m betting you’ll need a lot more advice than I do.” He gave out a bark of laughter.
    “Jonas stop it.” Michelle hissed. “These are guests! They’re our friends.”
    “They’re giving you sympathy, and you’re lapping it up,” Jonas said coldly. “What do you care about Margie anyway? We both know she’s a deadbeat.”
    “I’ve told you before, don’t talk about her that way!”
    “Oh come on,