Ten minutes into my fruitless efforts, Spider skittered across the coffee table and sent everything flying in a snowstorm of paperwork.
“Dude!” At least the cap was on my soda. Papers floated down around me as I bent to pick up the mess. “Crazy animal.”
Everything was out of order. I scooped the whole lot into a pile and sat on the couch to sort it. The first three sheets were resignation letters from the employees. I started to put them into the files where they belonged, then stopped.
I flipped through them, looking closer. Was this the small detail I’d missed? I found the other three and compared them. These were just copies, and not great ones, but I knew Toly still had all the originals.
Copying the letters had caused a watermark on the paper to show up due to the higher contrast. I hadn’t noticed it on the ones I’d seen in Toly’s office, but now I could pick out a faint triple A mark on the lower corner.
Of every letter.
How was it possible that they’d all been written on the same brand of paper? Was it company issued? Was it the brand used in the store? That could be. Or was it the brand of paper the Ellinghams used?
I held one of the letters up to the light. Two watermarks became visible. One that had shown up because of being copied and the real one that was in the paper itself. One overlapped the other due to the copied letter being not quite straight when it had been on the machine. In Toly’s office. He’d made these copies.
What were the chances that each employee had just happened to write their resignation letter on the same brand of paper Toly used in his copier?
I was guessing pretty slim. Time for more snooping.
I changed out of my pajamas and into my ninja burglar outfit, grabbed my phone, and went back downstairs. There was no hesitation in me as I slipped beneath Toly’s office door. I stood, eyes closed for a moment to let the dizziness subside, then I brought my phone to life and navigated to the filing cabinet.
I repeated my ice pick trick and pulled the second drawer open. There, in the back half, were the past employee files. I pulled all six out and studied the letters one by one. The ink colors were different, the handwriting was different, but even by the dim light of my phone, I could tell the paper was the same. Same feel, same watermark, same color.
How had none of us noticed this before? Well, Dad and I had seen only copies, so it wouldn’t have raised a red flag that the letters were all on the same paper since they’d all been run through the same copier. And whoever handled the resignation letters after they were found probably wouldn’t have noticed because the six letters had been spaced out over the course of two and a half years.
But it would help to have some confirmation. I looked around Toly’s office for his copier. Once I found it, I picked my way through the piles of stuff to open the supply tray and take out a sheet of paper.
Yep, same stuff.
So this was company issued. Had to be. Toly was a company man. Seemed logical that he’d use what was sent to him. There was no reason to go out and buy anything else.
But that didn’t explain why employees who had just up and decided never to work at the store another day in their lives had used this paper to write their departure letters on.
If I decided to do the same thing, where would I get paper? I’d use what I had, which was that spiral-bound notebook I’d bought at the Shop-n-Save. Had none of the other employees had a notebook or anything?
Let’s say that was the case. A huge long shot, but I was going with it. How had they ended up with the same paper? No way would they have broken into Toly’s office just to write an I’m-out-of-here note. But we all had keys to the store.
I straightened up in Toly’s office, folded the sheet of paper from the copier and stuck it in my hoodie pocket, then slipped back into the warehouse.
Once I was steady on my feet, I let myself into the store with my key. After working here, I pretty much knew where most of the supplies were kept. But I didn’t spend a lot of time behind the counter on the register. That had to be where the paper was.
The counter was a maze of cubbies and drawers. Using my phone for light again, I kneeled behind the counter and started searching. Besides the stacks of merchandise bags in three sizes, I found register tape, pricing guns and rolls of stickers, a box of rubber bands, an out-of-date phone book, gift card envelopes, a spiral-bound notebook with most of the pages ripped out, and the secret stash of candy.
There was also a small cardboard box marked Lost and Found. It contained a cell phone, several pairs of sunglasses, three pacifiers (ew), and a set of earbuds.
The drawers held scissors, tape, pens, markers, paperclips, a tin of breath mints, and a bunch of takeout menus. The normal flotsam and jetsam of retail life.
But none of the paper that was in Toly’s office.
I sat back on my heels. I hadn’t searched every inch of my apartment to see if there was some sort of stationery welcome pack, but I hadn’t run across anything in my day-to-day life. And if there had been, wouldn’t it be more of a simple notepad like you got in a hotel room? Chances were good I already knew the one and only place to get that paper.
Had the employees come to Toly first? Tried to work things out, maybe? A last-ditch effort to solve whatever was driving them to leave. That could explain how all of their letters were written on that paper. He’d have asked them to put something in writing, something to go in their file.
That was plausible.
But it didn’t erase the feeling that Toly was somehow responsible for this. I tipped my head back and sighed. Without proof, what did I have? Guesses and hunches and speculation. None of which got me any closer to my goal.
I went back upstairs and got into my pajamas again, but I was too wound up to sleep, so I fired up my laptop and did some digging. Spider was happy to settle in beside me on the couch. Maybe he needed to sleep off the nip.
There was nothing of note about Toly, just an old mention in the Tombstone, the local paper, about welcoming the new Santa’s Workshop manager. It didn’t surprise me. Most elves, but especially those in the North Pole, had zero online presence. Besides electronics only working sporadically in the NP, we just didn’t do social media.
I Googled the missing employees next. Same result. Nothing except for two more mentions in the Tombstone. The first was a photo from a charity function, and the other was about one of them, Franny Isler, participating in a fun run. No surprise there, considering I’d seen her, or a woman I thought was her, in the park out for a jog.
I stared at the screen, bathed in the blue glow, and thought about all the unanswered questions in my head. Didn’t take long for me to type in a new search request.
Google took me to the home page for Star Brite Cleaners. The business had been established in 2009 and listed an address in a town I didn’t recognize. A map search showed me that town was right outside of Nocturne Falls. Close enough to be local. I browsed through the site but found nothing that might explain why Toly had stopped using them.
Even their online reviews were good.
I typed in Thrifty Maids next. No website, but there was a Facebook page with only a handful of likes and a smattering of posts that were all a couple years old. I poked around without finding much. The owner of the company was listed as Elena Frye. A search on that name turned up nothing.
Why had Toly switched to this company? I held on to my belief that they had to be cheaper, but were they any good? They had no online reviews.
“Spider, this is a lost cause.” I glanced down at him. He was passed out cold and snoring softly. “I’m glad it’s not keeping you awake, though.”
I shut my laptop, picked him up and carried him to bed. As I lay there, whipsawed by trying to figure out what was going on, I finally gave up and shifted my thoughts to Greyson.
And Cooper.
And how very different life was when I wasn’t Jayne Frost.
Dr Pepper was really the only thing keeping me upright behind th
e counter the next morning. I hated that I was such a slug because Juniper had to pick up my slack, but these late-night investigations were putting a serious freeze on my beauty sleep. Something I needed desperately.
It didn’t help that Toly had been in and out all day, back and forth between his office and the store. After the massive sales of Snowy Saturday, he was all fired up about getting inventory done and making a list so we could restock.
That would be fun. Ugh. I knew it needed doing, but I’d have rather just spent the day behind the counter with Juniper, chatting up the customers and helping the ones who needed it. Restocking was actual work. I yawned for like the fiftieth time. Loudly.
Juniper looked over from changing the register paper and shook her head. “How late were you out with Count Chocula?”
“Almost eleven.” But it had been after one in the morning by the time I’d actually gotten into bed.
“So?” she prodded. “How was your date?”
I smiled. How could I not? “Good. Really good. We went to this great little French restaurant and ate the best food and talked about nothing and everything, and it was perfect.” Oh boy. I definitely sounded infatuated.
Her eyes went all twinkly. “Really? Perfect? Does that mean he kissed you?”
“Yes, and you know what else?” I waggled my head side to side. “I kissed him right back.”
She let out a high-pitched noise and clapped her hand over her mouth. Thankfully, the only customers in the store were in the back and probably hadn’t heard her over the Christmas music. “What was it like?”
“Oh, you know…” As good as kissing Cooper had been once upon a time, before he’d decided he couldn’t handle us. Maybe better. My grin might have become permanently affixed. “Amazing.”
Her eyes went from twinkly to shocked. “Could you feel his fangs? Did he try to bite you? You didn’t let him, did you?”
“No, no and no. I get the sense that a vampire doesn’t bite someone casually.” Or at least Greyson didn’t.
“Good.” She seemed relieved.
I laughed. “Why? You think he’s going to try to sway me to the dark side?”
She swatted my arm. “Don’t even say things like that. Besides, I don’t think we can be turned, seeing as how we’re already supernaturals.”
“I have no idea.” And I doubted I’d ever find out. At some point, I’d be back in the NP and Greyson would be taking some other lucky woman to Café Claude. I sighed. What a depressing thought.
I was about to go check on the customers in an attempt to keep myself awake, when a woman I didn’t recognize stuck her head through the warehouse door. “Excuse me, have you seen Toly?”
Juniper leaned to look past me. “He’s in the remote-controlled vehicles sections doing inventory.”
“Thanks, Juniper.” The woman walked into the store and made a beeline for the area Juniper had mentioned. She had the tall, slender physique of most elves and the traditional, elegant good looks, including the bright white hair of someone with significant power.
As she disappeared into the back, I nudged Juniper. “Who is that?”
“That’s Cookie. Toly’s granddaughter.”
Interesting. “She has a key to the warehouse?”
Juniper’s mouth bunched to one side. “Huh. I never really thought about it, but she must.”
“How else would she have come through the back door?”
“Right. Well, she is Toly’s granddaughter.”
“I guess that puts her on the permanently approved list.” Made sense, her being family and all. “She’s the one that owns the bed and breakfast?”
Juniper nodded. “Yep. When she was going through the divorce and the place was in trouble, she was here a lot more. But I guess things have picked back up.”
“What makes you say that?”
She shrugged. “She only stops by once a week now. If that.”
“I’m sure she needed someone to talk to during the divorce.”
Juniper’s expression was filled with compassion. “Oh, yeah. It was pretty awful. She thought she was going to lose the B&B in the settlement. She even had to take a second job for a while.”
“The threat of losing her home and business must have been super stressful. But I guess she could have come to work here if it had actually happened.”
“Probably. But…it wouldn’t be the same.”
“Not at all.” Made me think that leaving Cooper and Greyson behind might not be such a bad thing. It was scary to me how relationships could go so wrong. My parents were a great example of the opposite of that, as were my uncle Kris and aunt Martha. But there was no guarantee I’d end up that well-matched.
Cooper had already proven that once. I wasn’t keen on giving him a chance to do it again. Greyson, however…I might be willing to let him break my heart a little.
Half an hour later, Toly presented me with the restocking list, and my time for mulling things over was gone. By the time five o’clock rolled around and Buttercup and Owen rolled in to relieve us, I was done.
Like, in need of a nap done. But I couldn’t nap, because as I walked into my apartment, my thoughts returned in full force.
I had work to do. I got a hold of my dad on the snow globe. He was at the dinner table. I gave him props for keeping that snow globe with him all the time. It felt like a warm hug to know he was that concerned about staying in contact with me. “Hi, Dad. Sorry to interrupt your dinner.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” He wiped his mouth and set his napkin aside. “What’s going on?”
“First of all, what did Mom make?”
“Chicken pot pie.”
I groaned with jealousy. I could practically smell it and taste the flaky pastry she used. “I love her chicken pot pie.”
He smiled. “I probably shouldn’t tell you she made French silk pie for dessert.”
I clutched my heart. “You’re killing me.”
My mom stuck her head next to my dad’s. “Hi, honey. I’ll make you this dinner when you get home.”
“Now I really want to get this thing solved.”
My mom waved and disappeared as my dad’s brows pulled together. “Are you closer?”
Maybe, but I wasn’t ready to share my speculations just yet. “I’m working on it.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Any chance you could get me the file on Toly’s granddaughter?”
He pushed back in his chair. “I’ll go to the records room right now.”
“No, no. Sit down and eat. It’s not that important. This isn’t even a hunch. I just want to know more about her in hopes of learning more about Toly.”
He sat. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. Mom’s chicken pot pie versus the endless, dusty pit of the records room? No contest. Plus, I could use a nap.”
“All right. I’ll go as soon as I’m done. Give me an hour. Two, tops.”
“Good enough. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I pressed the button and ended the conversation. A two-hour nap sounded blissful.
I was halfway to the bedroom when someone knocked on my door. I opened it, and Juniper smiled at me.
“Hey, you want to hang out and get some pizza? I’d ask if you want to go to Howler’s, but based on how many times you yawned today, I thought you’d rather stay in.”
I’d rather be in bed, but I could sleep anytime. My days here were limited. “That would be great.”
“Good, because I already ordered two pies from Salvatore’s. A king and an extra cheese. Cool?”
“Nicely done. You would be the perfect wife.”
She laughed. “They’re about half an hour out, so come over when you’re ready.”
“I’m going to change into something more lounge-y, feed Spider, then I’m there.”
“Okay. See you then.”
I shut the door and called my dad right back. “Hey, I’m going across
the hall to eat pizza with a friend. Take your time on that file.”
He smiled like he was pleased to hear I’d made a friend. For a moment, I felt about eight years old. “You got it. Have fun.”
I shut the globe down and went to change. Once I was in my yoga pants and a big sweatshirt, I fed Spider, grabbed a couple of Dr Peppers, stuck some cash in my bra, and locked up.
Juniper answered her door right away. “Hey, come on in.”
“Wow, your place is so much…homier than mine.” Colorful art decorated the walls, while more color adorned her couch in pillows and throws. She’d added area rugs and little knick-knacks and a bright tablecloth on the kitchen table.
My apartment looked like a hotel room. Hers looked like a home.
She shrugged. “I’ve been here longer. You tend to accumulate stuff.”
“This is more than accumulating stuff. It’s really nice.”
“Thanks. I got most of this stuff at garage sales.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded, smiling. “You’d be amazed at what you can find. I’d be happy to take you.” Her smile vanished. “Except that since we’re down a worker, the chances of both of us getting a Saturday off together are pretty slim. We can still go, but you’d have to get up early. Like six a.m.”
“Ouch.”
She laughed. “You’re not an early riser, are you?”
Not when I spent my evenings trying to find out where the employees were disappearing to. “I can be. If properly motivated.”
“Good to know. Hey, you want to watch a movie? That new Tom Hardy movie just hit On Demand. You know the one where he’s a genie who ends up falling for the woman who finds his bottle on the beach?”
“You mean that gender-swapped I Dream of Jeannie remake? Oh, I’m down for that. I Dream of Jimmy it is.” I made myself at home on the couch and twisted the top off one of my Dr Peppers. “Thanks for inviting me over, by the way.”
“No problem. I’m happy to have the company.” She grabbed a Coke for herself out of the fridge, then joined me on the couch and turned on the TV to find the movie.
The opening credits were rolling when someone knocked on her door. She hit pause and jumped up. “Pizza’s here!”
Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case Page 16