Slay Bells and Satchels (Haley Randolph Mystery Series) Read Free

I didn’t have time to clean it up. I’d come back and do it later—not that I was all that concerned about maintaining a neat, orderly stockroom, but I never passed up a chance to escape the sales floor.
    I grabbed the bag. Yikes! It wouldn’t budge.
    I pulled it again using two hands. It moved maybe a couple of inches.
    Jeez, this thing weighed a ton.
    No way could I carry it to the front of the store, and dragging it would take forever. Even loading it onto one of the long, thin U-boat carts we used to transport merchandise wouldn’t be easy.
    There was nothing to do but take out some of the toys.
    I pulled open the draw string closure at the top of the bag and—
    Oh my God.
Oh my God.
    There was an elf inside.
    Dead.
     
     

Chapter 2
     
     
     
    “There’s a dead elf in the stockroom,” I said.
    Jeanette didn’t look frightened, alarmed, or worried, just annoyed—at me. Like it was my fault, or something.
    “I already called 9-1-1,” I said.
    She huffed, pulled out her cell phone and started punching buttons calling, I was sure, the corporate office.
    We’d been through this before—long story—so we both knew the drill.
    The elves—all nine of them—were gathered near the fireplace. A few of them were waving to the customers waiting outside, some were talking to each other, most were checking themselves out in the mirrors by the Sportswear Department.
    “Excuse me,” I called, using my there’s-nothing-to-be-alarmed-about voice. The elves quieted down and turned to me, and I immediately launched into my you-can-trust-me voice. “Would you all come with me, please?”
    I turned and walked away. With men, I found this always worked. Men followed, no matter what. Not so with women.
    I glanced back and saw the elves still clustered by the fireplace, whispering and giving each other questioning looks.
    “Just a change of plans,” I said, using my it’s-no-big-deal voice.
    It was an outright lie, of course, but what else could I do? I had to get the elves sequestered in the training room so the homicide detectives could question them.
    I motioned for them to follow and they did. I led them to the training room in the back of the store.
    “The store manager will be here in a few minutes,” I told them.
    I intended to make my escape and let Jeanette break the news—I’m sure that was covered in her Holt’s management training course, well, pretty sure—so I headed for the door.
    “Somebody’s missing,” an elf called.
    I turned back and saw one of the girls doing a head count.
    “There’re only nine of us,” she said. “Someone’s not here.”
    Miss Helpful. Great. Thank you so much.
    “It’s McKenna,” someone else said. “McKenna’s not here.”
    “She’s probably setting up interviews for her personal assistant,” someone else said, in a snarky voice.
    A few of the girls laughed.
    Someone else said, “Or maybe she’s shopping for her beach condo.”
    “Bitch,” another girl murmured.
    Jeanette appeared. No way did I want to be around when she broke the news to the girls. I closed the door and headed for the break room.
    The chocolate in the vending machines called to me—yes, actually called. It’s never too early in the day to have a Snickers bar, and since I’d just discovered a dead body at my crappier-than-crappy part-time job, I saw no reason not to heed its sirens song.
    Still, maybe it could wait a couple of minutes.
    I’d called 9-1-1 from the stockroom as soon as I’d found the dead elf in the toy bag—we’re not supposed to keep our cell phones on us during duty hours, but we’re not supposed to keep a dead elf in the stockroom either. I knew the cops, detectives, and crime scene investigators would show up soon. I decided to take another look around before they got there.
    I don’t have professional training, of course, but I do have mad Scooby Doo skills. Besides, I’d already been in there once, so I figured I couldn’t screw up the crime scene if I