Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case

by Kristen Painter

  Insomnia was so cool it made the North Pole look steamy. I did my best not to gawk, but the place was gorgeous. Dark and moody, industrial and sleek, but lush at the same time. Leather seating, brushed metal accents, lots of blue neon, water features, floaty white drapery, and the occasion blast of a smoke machine.

  “This place is like a dream.”

  Greyson stood at my side, nodding. “That’s the idea, I suppose. Insomnia and all.”

  “Oh, right.” Proximity to vampires apparently cost me some IQ points. How many more, I had no idea, but I was willing to risk it.

  “Buy you a drink?” he asked.

  “I should probably be buying you a drink.”

  “Perhaps. But I’m guessing you don’t get the Nocturne Falls employee discount.”

  “You work for the town?” That was interesting.

  “Sometimes.” He tipped his head toward the bar as he started walking toward it. “Come.”

  And I did, following him to a cozy half-round booth on a side wall that offered a perfect spot for viewing most of the club. A reserved sign sat on the table, which he ignored.

  I sat but gestured at the placard. “Is that for you then?”

  He shrugged. “Sure.”

  I laughed. “I like your attitude.”

  “And I like you. There aren’t many fae in town.”

  “I’m elven, not fae, but we get confused a lot.”

  “My apologies. An elf then. And I suppose you should know that I’m—”

  “A vampire. I figured that out. The fangs were sort of a giveaway.”

  His mouth pursed into the most positively kissable shape. “I was going to say Roma. We were called gypsies in the old days. But that’s not so popular a word anymore.” He winked. “And also, yes, a vampire.”

  A server came to take our order. I got another mojito, while Greyson ordered whiskey.

  I waited until the girl left then asked, “Why tell me you’re Roma before telling me you’re a vampire? And actually, I would have guessed Irish.”

  “I assumed you knew I was a vampire, but I told you I was Roma in case our magic isn’t compatible. And I am Irish.” He winked. “You can be both, you know.”

  I grinned. “So you have magic? Outside of being a vampire?”

  “Oh yes.” He leaned back, and his fingers went to a black leather cord entangled with the silver chains around his neck. “Quite a lot.”

  As someone who had quite a lot of magic myself, I was curious what his magic might be. I’d never thought of vampires as being more than that. “Show me.”

  He smiled and presented his hand as if asking for mine. “I can read your palm and tell your fortune.”

  I laid my hand in his, and his fingers curled around my wrist, touching the bracelet that was hiding my identity.

  His eyes widened, and his grip tightened on my wrist. “You aren’t who you say you are.”

  I did my best not to react. “Why would you say that?” I’d have never guessed Roma magic would supersede elf. I felt a little trapped.

  His eyes narrowed. “I see another woman in your place.”

  I laughed it off and eased my arm away to show off my bracelet. “I think you touched my bracelet. You probably saw a woman with dark blue hair and gray eyes, right?”

  He nodded, still looking unconvinced.

  I smiled. “That was my friend Jayne.” Close enough. “She gave me this bracelet and put a good luck charm in it.” I figured he’d appreciate the good luck bit.

  He stared at the bracelet, and then his face broke into a smile. “That’s a good friend.”

  “We’re very close.” I guess he believed me, but he didn’t seem eager to try telling my fortune again. Too bad. It had been a good excuse to hold hands. “What do you do for the town?”

  “I fill in as the VOD a few times a week.”

  The server returned with our drinks, put them on the table then left again.

  “What’s the VOD?” I sipped my mojito. It was really good. So good I was a little worried about how fast it might go down. Good thing I’d eaten.

  “Vampire On Duty.” He lifted his glass to mine. “Here’s to new friends.”

  “New friends.” I clinked my glass against his. “Then you’re one of the characters who walks around and takes pictures with tourists?”

  He nodded.

  “But you’re a real vampire.”

  “That’s the beauty of living in this town. You can be yourself, and the tourists think it’s part of the act.”

  “I’d heard that, but I guess I didn’t really get what that meant.” I poked at a piece of mint with my straw. “That explains why I got so many compliments on my ears.”

  His smile went sly. “They are exceptionally nice ears.”

  “Thanks.” I blushed. Like, actual heat rose up in my cheeks. I pushed the drink away. I needed to focus. “I have another question for you.” Anything to change the subject.

  “Sure.”

  “Do you know the toy store in town, Santa’s Workshop?”

  “Yes. You work there, right?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “They only hire elves.”

  “Oh. Right. So do you know the elevator that’s part of that building? The one for town employees only?”

  “I do.”

  “Where does that go?”

  He smirked. “You ask a lot of questions.”

  “I’m a curious sort.” I did my best lash fluttering in hopes of a real answer. “So where does it go?”

  He laughed, a nice deep chuckle. “I can’t tell you.”

  Which meant he did know. “Or you’d have to kill me?” My smile froze, then melted off my face. That probably wasn’t a good thing to say to a vampire.

  He shook his head slowly. “Or I’d have to explain to the Ellinghams why I violated the non-disclosure agreement I signed prior to my employment.” He squinted. “You don’t honestly think vampires kill people, do you?”

  I shrugged sort of noncommittally. “No. But you could, right?”

  “Yes,” he hissed. “And so could you.”

  I’d struck a nerve. I put my hands up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. You’re the first vampire I’ve ever met. I don’t know much about any other kind of supernatural besides elves. Except for college and some trips here and there, I’ve pretty much lived my whole life at the North Pole.”

  His brows shot up, accompanying his look of disbelief. “As in the North Pole at the top of the world?”

  “Yes. No. Sort of. It’s the magical North Pole. You can’t really get there unless you’re a winter elf and have…clearance.” Like flying reindeer. Or you knew where one of the portals was.

  His good mood returned. “You’re forgiven. I suppose you have more questions about vampires then?”

  I did, actually, but I liked Greyson. I didn’t want to wear out my welcome with him. “It’s okay. We can talk about something else.”

  He nodded. “You’re a winter elf then. See? I’m learning too. What does it mean to be a winter elf?”

  I lifted my hand, aimed my fingers at him, and sent a small flurry of snowflakes in his direction.

  He laughed again, louder this time, and sat up straight. “That’s very impressive. What else can you do?”

  I could fill the whole place with snow, freeze him solid, shoot icicles like bullets, and all sorts of other things. But I was Lilibeth Holiday, average winter elf, not Jayne Frost, exceptionally talented winter elf and heir to the winter throne. I had to cool it. Pun intended. “That’s about it. Unless you’d like your drink chilled a little more.”

  He wiggled the glass back and forth, rolling the spherical ice cube against the sides. “I’m good for now, thanks.”

  “What other kinds of supernaturals live here?”

  “All kinds. Name one, I’m sure they’re represented.”

  “That’s crazy. In a good way.” I scanned the club, studying the faces. “And everyone in here is a s
upernatural, right?”

  “Right. Unless someone’s brought a human guest, but that’s rare.”

  I sipped my mojito. No point in letting good rum go to waste. “What was the doorman then?”

  “Chet’s a black bear.”

  “Get out.” I leaned in. “Are there werewolves too?”

  Greyson laughed. “Oh, yes. And witches and fae and gargoyles.”

  “Wow.” I couldn’t believe it. Obviously, I’d known what kind of town Nocturne Falls was, but man, had I underestimated it. No wonder my father was afraid I wouldn’t want to come back. This place was turning out to be far more interesting than the North Pole. “Who’s a werewolf in here?”

  “Didn’t you say you went to Howler’s before coming here?”

  “I did.”

  “The woman who owns the place is a werewolf. She’s usually behind the bar when she’s not in her office so you may have seen her.”

  “Bridget?”

  “That’s her.”

  “She waited on me! I sat at the bar. I knew she was something, I just didn’t know what. How cool.” I stared out at the people on the dance floor.

  “You want to join them?”

  I looked at him. “You mean dance?”

  He nodded. “Much better view from there too.”

  A little spark of joy lit inside me. “I’m in.”

  We spent the next hour (or two?) dancing while Greyson simultaneously pointed out various supernaturals in the crowd around us and explained who they were and what jobs, if any, they did in town. It was quite the education.

  Finally, we took a break, went back to the table, and ordered another round. Dancing had made me thirsty, so the first half of that mojito went down fast.

  In fact, I was almost done with it when Greyson’s gaze latched on to someone in the crowd. He looked over at me. “If you’ll excuse me, I see someone I need to talk to.”

  “Sure. I should go anyway.” As soon as I sucked down the last of the drink. “Tomorrow is my first official day on the job and all that.” All that being figuring out why Santa’s Workshop’s workers were disappearing while, at the same, being a good employee. That would require some sleep. And no more mojitos. Plus, Spider was waiting on me.

  Greyson stood. “I didn’t mean for you to go. I won’t be long.”

  “Thanks, but I really do need to go. It’s getting late. This has been awesome. I really appreciate the company and the cover charge. And the education.” I pulled some of the cash out of my jacket and laid it on the table.

  He shook his head. “Don’t even try that. Your money is no good to me.”

  “Very kind of you.” I put the money away and slid out of the booth to stand next to him.

  Then he leaned against the table, and his eyes took on the silver sheen I’d seen upstairs. “What if I want to see you again?”

  That gave me a slightly-embarrassing, girlish thrill. I really needed to get out more. “Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  We were eye to eye, so long as he stayed leaning. I smiled and decided to play it chill. “You know where I work.”

  “Until next time then, Lilibeth.” He kissed my cheek, giving me another delicious whiff of his cinnamon scent.

  The kiss was both chaste and devilish. It lingered too long to be classified as nice, but his mouth never moved lower than my cheek, so it wasn’t exactly naughty either. For someone well versed in naughty versus nice, I was confounded.

  And a little hot.

  “Night,” I muttered and took off for the elevator. Thankfully, the doors slid open as soon as I hit the button.

  Chet the bear was still guarding the entrance. Now that I knew what he was, I could see it. Sort of.

  “Have fun?” he asked.

  “I did. I’ll be back.” No clue when, but why not? Insomnia was a happening place. Maybe I’d come back to celebrate achieving my mission. Then I could be Jayne and really let my hair down.

  But for tonight, Lilibeth was going to bed.

  I woke up unable to move my head and had a small panic attack until I realized Spider was sleeping on my hair. I slid him to a free spot on the pillow then gave him a scratch. “Morning, Spidey-cat.”

  He rolled upside down and stretched his paws adorably toward my face. He was seriously the cutest thing ever. Then he yawned and sent a stinky wave of cat breath in my direction.

  “Oh, Spider, your breath is heinous.” Mine probably wasn’t much better. I hoisted myself to a sitting position and rubbed my eyes. I’d only had three drinks last night, but apparently the stuff they served at the Pole was watered down compared to real drinks or something, because I was feeling it.

  Or maybe what I was feeling was a night spent dreaming about Mr. Garrett and his nice, naughty kiss. How had he turned such a sweet thing into a moment that had filled my dreams with so many wicked images? Roma magic? Vampire magic? Who knew?

  I barely remembered getting ready for bed. I pulled my hair off my face, and something brushed my hand. I still had an earring in my left ear. The other one was probably in the covers somewhere.

  Oh boy, I was not fully functioning.

  An ice-cold, fully caffeinated Dr Pepper would help. I hoped.

  I stumbled through the living room and into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Spider traipsed in after me, looking as bright and happy as could be, the tuna-breathed bugger. I squinted at the light as I grabbed a bottle of the good stuff. It wasn’t quite as cold as I liked it. I turned the fridge temp down then wrapped my hand around the bottle. A quick blast of my magic and ice crystals formed in the liquid. Perfect. I leaned against the counter, twisted off the top and took a long pull.

  Spider sat by his bowl, staring up at me, and meowed.

  “I’m sure that means breakfast, right? I’m on it.” I changed his water, then filled his other dish with dry food. The bag was almost empty. I’d have to get him some more, but I wasn’t going to have time to hit the Shop-n-Save until my shift was over today. And I had no idea when that would be.

  But I started at nine, which meant I had less than an hour to make myself presentable and get downstairs.

  I showered, did the hair and makeup thing, dressed, ate a large bowl of frosted chocolate sugar crunchies, and drank as much Dr Pepper as I could manage. I was about to head down when I remembered Toly saying the housekeeping service came today. Since Spider had been Bertie’s cat, the service must know not to let him out. He’d probably run and hide anyway as soon as he heard the vacuum. I assumed he’d be okay.

  But I wasn’t taking any chances with the snow globe. I tucked it away in one of my suitcases that was stowed in the walk-in closet.

  Satisfied, I grabbed my purse and gave Spider a goodbye pat on the head. I walked through the shop’s employee entrance at eight fifty-nine.

  Toly was sitting on a stool behind the cash register reading the Tombstone, which I took to be the local paper. He lifted his head and smiled at me. “Morning, Lilibeth. Ready to get going?”

  “Absolutely.” Not. But I sounded enthusiastic, and that’s what mattered.

  “You can put your pocketbook behind the counter here.”

  “All right.” I leaned in and stuck my purse in one of the cubbies.

  He hopped off the stool, put the paper away and presented me with a folded green square of fabric that had been sitting on the counter. “Put this apron on, and you’re officially an employee.”

  “Thanks.” I shook it out, slid it over my head and tied the strings behind my back. As uniforms went, it was pretty benign. And it had pockets, which was a plus.

  I did a little pose. “How do I look?”

  He chuckled. “Very nice, very nice.”

  I straightened and clasped my hands in front of me. “So what’s first?”

  “We’ll start with a quick tour through the shop, then the warehouse. Juniper is on shift today from ten until five, so I’ll have her show you the register, but for the first few hours this morning, I’d like you to do so
me stocking. It’ll help you get to know our system and where things are on the shelves.”

  “Great. Lead the way.”

  And he did. In forty-five minutes, he’d shown me every toy in the store and explained where each was shelved and why, for what age group it was designed, and the kinds of children who’d most likely enjoy it.

  If my head was aching before, it was throbbing now, but this time it was because of an overload of information, not tasty, tasty rum. This pretending to be an employee was going to be a lot harder than I’d anticipated. I nodded and smiled and did my best to look like it was clicking. It wasn’t. Not all of it anyway.

  I made a few attempts at asking about the missing employees, but Toly was having none of it. He was fully focused on teaching me about the warehouse and the store. Or maybe he was using that as an excuse not to answer. Either way, I got nowhere on that subject.

  Then another worker showed up, and I got a reprieve from Santa’s Workshop 101.

  Toly introduced us. “Juniper, this is Lilibeth. She’s our new hire.”

  Juniper was five feet of winter elf firecracker. Her short violet curls sprang off her head like they were trying to escape. She stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Lilibeth. We sure can use the help.”

  “Well, here I am.” I shook her hand. She had a grip like a stevedore. If she was happy for the help, did that mean she was unhappy about the workers who’d left? Maybe she knew something. I needed to talk to her more, but not with Toly watching.

  He patted his stomach. “Juniper, you can teach Lilibeth the cash register after lunch. This morning I’m going to have her restocking.”

  “You got it, Toly.” Juniper put on her apron, and as soon as Toly turned around, she stuck her tongue out and made crazy eyes.

  I bit my lip to keep from snorting. Oh, I liked this woman. And I was starting to wonder if Toly was maybe a little bit of a slave driver. Sure, he was a legend, but that was all about his inventions and toy innovations. Being a legend indicated nothing about his people skills.

  I wasn’t sure about the slave driver part yet, but he was very thorough. The tour continued through the warehouse and included a detailed description of what every shelf held, where new inventory was brought in, and how the Santa Bag worked.