Braden tapped a drumbeat out on his belly. “It’s the inherent danger of performing your own repairs. That’s why you’ll never find me up a ladder.”
“I thought Felix heard the police say it was murder?” Esme turned and clicked her fingers to get the man’s attention, but he didn’t budge.
“He must’ve got the wrong end of the stick and he’s not the only one. Claude would’ve been beside himself when he heard Martin Thorpe had been found dead,” Marjorie said, resisting the urge to yawn. Too much turkey. “Then he found out the box he’d stashed the weapon in had disappeared from the front hallway. I don’t know if Lillian genuinely confused the different piles or if she was sick of her husband’s behaviour and wanted to cause mischief. Either way, she handed a weapon covered in Claude’s fingerprints and Martin’s blood to the community centre.”
“In response to which, he organised a burglary to steal all the presents so he could get the evidence back.” Esme finished the story, shaking her head. “That’s cold-blooded for you.”
“How about we turn our minds to happier matters?” Braden said, jerking his chin towards the chair where Santa was busy dispensing Christmas gifts. “Don’t they look happy?”
The children appeared ecstatic. The ones who’d already received their presents were tearing open the exquisitely wrapped gifts to expose their new toys, while others had gone further and wrangled plastic and twist-ties to work them free. A racing car whizzed towards Marjorie’s chair and she lifted her feet so it passed underneath, undeterred.
“What’s going on over there?” Esme asked with open suspicion, pointing a finger towards Woody and Jared who were playing with two very familiar black kittens. “I thought giving animals as Christmas gifts was discouraged.”
“Not when they’re grown men,” Marjorie said, folding her arms and smiling. She tilted her head to one side as Jared collapsed in a fit of giggles. “Well, grown-ish. They’ve been pestering me for the coolest cats in all Hanmer Springs. Apparently, kittens who can shoot bad guys, even by accident, are a sought-after commodity.”
Esme laughed then clapped her hands as a round of volunteers brought out a mountain of desserts. “Did you make all of these?”
“Fresh out of the oven this morning,” Marjorie said, holding a hand over her plate so no one could fill it with any more treats. She’d sampled each of her tempting desserts to make sure they tasted the right amount of scrumptious and couldn’t imagine eating another bite.
Well, okay. She relented for one of the single-serve baked cookies and cream cheesecakes but apart from that…
Maybe a chocolate chip cookie to keep her energy levels up.
“Isn’t it time for you to sit on Santa’s knee?” Felix called out to Allie as the last child received their present and ran off to open it.
“What are you talking about?” she asked with the ghost of a smile. “I’m far too old for such things.”
“Nobody is ever too old for Santa’s lap,” Marjorie said, winking at Braden as she stood up and walked around the table to stand next to Felix. Dotty hurried out of the adjoining kitchen to join them, undoing her apron and throwing it onto an empty chair.
“I don’t—”
Their volunteer Santa—in actuality Ralph from the Hunting & Fishing store in town—slapped his hands on his knees and uttered a boisterous, “Ho, ho, ho! Have you been good this year?”
Allie blushed, holding her hands up to her face to hide her reddening cheeks. “What have you organised?” she said in a scolding tone. “This day is for the families.”
“And for the volunteers,” Dotty insisted. She nudged Felix in the ribs. “I’ve already had my gift this morning but you’re overdue for your turn.”
With some foster parents and children joining in the urging, Allie let herself be cajoled onto Santa’s lap. He pulled a small present from the diminished pile and Marjorie reached over to give Jon a high-five. After all, he’d been the one to select the gift based on his stint working at the community centre.
“You didn’t have to,” Allie said, beaming with pleasure while she fiddled with the ribbons.
Braden slid his arms around Marjorie, and she leaned back against his chest, enjoying the warmth. His soft breath tickled the side of her neck and gently whooshed against her ear.
This was feeling like the best Christmas ever.
“A watch,” Allie said, holding the gift up for the room to see. “How did you know?”
“Because you mention it every couple of minutes,” Jon said in a mock grumble. “And if we didn’t get you a good one of your own, you’d keep borrowing mine.”
The room laughed at the good-natured teasing, then cheered as Allie fastened the leather strap around her wrist.
“Oh!” she cried out, stopping midway. “It’s engraved! To the heart of our community.”
Tears poured down her cheeks, and the room cheered again while Esme fetched her some tissues. “We don’t thank you often enough for how much you do for this town,” she said as she passed them across. “But we’re all very grateful.”
As one of the volunteers stumbled under an armful of dirty plates, Marjorie moved away from the celebration and took half her load. Braden caught on a second later, clearing away another few settings and following her through to the kitchen.
“How’s Shadow settling back in at your place?” he asked as they scraped food waste into the bins and rinsed off the plates. “He might’ve torn up my home a bit, but I miss the company.”
Marjorie rolled her eyes. “Monkey Business has declared a full-scale war on the poor wee fellow. Right now, as we speak, he’s probably rallying his troops to attack.” As Braden laughed, she gave a sigh. “It is funny in theory, but I might need to take Jon up on his offer soon before they have a true falling out. Monkey must be three times his size.”
“Poor thing. Being bullied is never nice.”
A throat cleared behind them and Marjorie was surprised to see Barney Baxter. The builder stood, obviously nervous, rubbing at the back of his neck with his throat struggling to form words.
“Is there something the matter?” she asked in alarm as tears formed in the man’s eyes.
Barney shook his head. “Nah. I just miss my wife and son today. We finished up on the job site yesterday, but not in time for the last bus back to Christchurch, and no one had the room free to give me a lift.”
“Oh, that’s awful.” Marjorie waved a hand towards the hall. “Did you get a plate to eat?”
“Yeah, it’s been lovely. A young man’s sorted me out with a lift home shortly.” Barney pointed to Jon who was juggling at least four balls, much to the delight of the entranced group of children surrounding his feet. “But I wanted to see you before I headed off.”
“What about?”
The builder tugged at the loose flap of skin under his throat and tipped his head back and forth. “It’s the kitten,” he finally burst out. “The ugly one. He kind of grew on me and I wondered if I’d be able to offer him a home.”
“Ugly?” Braden said, his nostrils pinching together. “You’d better not be talking about my former cat.”
“No offence,” Barney said, backing up a step and holding his hand out. “It’s just a nickname. Look.” He pulled a phone out of his back pocket. “This is my son. With the harelip and cleft palate, he gets called ugly a bunch of times. It doesn’t stop him from being a beautiful kid.”
The pride that shone out of his voice made a lump form in Marjorie’s throat. “You want him to have a funny looking kitten?”
“Yeah. He’d love that little sucker no matter how much of his hair falls out.” Barney kissed the screen before tucking his phone away. “Now tell me. Is he available or not?”
“He’s available.” It was Marjorie’s turn to take her phone out. “What’s your number and I’ll send you a form to complete. The SPCA needs to do a house check to make sure you’ll provide a suitable home, then he’s yours.”
Barney’s face fell.
“That sounds like a long process.”
“It’ll be a few days longer because of the holidays,” Marjorie said truthfully. “But only a week or two, tops.” She smiled and sent a few images along after the form. “There’s a few pictures and videos to tide you over until then.”
“Problem sorted,” Braden said as the builder moved away. “Shadow can have a short visit with Jon, then move on to his new home.”
With the plates stacked, they moved back to the doorway and Marjorie stood on tiptoe to see Santa dancing with Allie. Happy tears formed in her eyes as she watched the older woman’s face glow with joy.
“Is this a coincidence?” Esme asked, walking over to them. “Or is this good planning on your part?”
“What do you mean?” Marjorie frowned in confusion.
Esme pointed a finger up to the centre of the doorway where a sprig of fake mistletoe hung from the frame.
“Well, I’d hate to break with tradition,” Braden said, curling an arm around Marjorie’s waist and pulling her close. “So, if the lady doesn’t mind…?”
As he pressed his lips against hers, Marjorie decided no. No, she didn’t mind at all.
Thank you for taking the time to read Lykoi Larceny.
If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author's best friend and much appreciated.
Thank you, again. Katherine Hayton.
Also by Katherine Hayton
Chartreux Shock (Marjorie’s Cozy Kitten Café)
Calico Confusion (Marjorie’s Cozy Kitten Café)
Charity Shop Haunted Mysteries – Books 1-3
Miss Hawthorne Sits for a Spell (Charity Shop Haunted Mystery)
Mr Wilmott Gets Old School (Charity Shop Haunted Mystery)
Mrs Pettigrew Sees a Ghost (Charity Shop Haunted Mystery)
A Bed for Suite Dreams (A Hotel Inspector Cozy Mystery)
A Stay With Reservations (A Hotel Inspector Cozy Mystery)
A Job of Inn Dependence (A Hotel Inspector Cozy Mystery)
The Double Dip (Honeybee Cozy Mystery)
The Honey Trap (Honeybee Cozy Mystery)
The Buzz Kill (Honeybee Cozy Mystery)
Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries – Books 1-6
Hibiscus Homicide (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Keeping Mums (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Orange Juiced (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Deathbed of Roses (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Berry Murderous (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Pushing Up Daisies (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Food Bowl Mysteries – Books 1-3
You’re Kitten Me (Food Bowl Mysteries)
Cat Red-Handed (Food Bowl Mysteries)
An Impawsible Situation (Food Bowl Mysteries)
The Sweet Baked Mysteries - Books 1-6
Cinnamon and Sinfulness (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Raspberries and Retaliation (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Pumpkin Spice & Poisoning (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Blueberries and Bereavement (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Strawberries and Suffering (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Cupcakes and Conspiracies (Sweet Baked Mystery)
The Only Secret Left to Keep (Detective Ngaire Blakes)
The Second Stage of Grief (Detective Ngaire Blakes)
The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton (Detective Ngaire Blakes)
Christchurch Crime Thriller Boxset
Breathe and Release (A Christchurch Crime Thriller)
Skeletal (A Christchurch Crime Thriller)
Found, Near Water (A Christchurch Crime Thriller)
About the Author
Katherine Hayton is a middle-aged woman who works in insurance, doesn't have children or pets, can't drive, has lived in Christchurch her entire life, and currently resides a two-minute walk from where she was born.
For some reason, she's developed a rich fantasy life.
www.katherinehayton.com
Lykoi Larceny Page 10