Have yourself a deadly l.., p.25
Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas,
p.25
“Have I ever thanked you for being a good father?” I asked my own dad.
“Not that I can recall. But, as perhaps you’ll find out yourself one day, honeybunch, thanks are never needed, not between a parent and child.”
The door to Rudolph Gift Nook opened and Margie Thatcher stepped out. She headed toward us. I braced myself. No doubt a complaint was coming about me not watching my store closely enough, or blaming me for George Mann getting a punch in the face.
“Margie,” Dad said, as cheerfully as ever. “Good afternoon.”
“Noel. Merry. I … I … I brought you something. She thrust a gaily wrapped package in my hands. “If I don’t get a chance to chat to you again, I wanted to say Merry Christmas.” And she smiled. She actually smiled.
“Merry Christmas to you, Margie,” Dad said.
“Thank you,” I said. “This is … very … thoughtful.”
“No need to get me anything in return. I wanted you to have a small gift, that’s all. I enjoyed Mrs. Wilkinson’s play last night, Noel. I wasn’t familiar with that story, although everyone else seems to know it, and I found it very … thought provoking. Please tell her that for me.” She turned to go back to her own store.
“Margie,” Dad said. “If you’ve no plans for Christmas dinner, why don’t you come to our house this year? We always have a good-sized group. We enjoy a big meal, maybe play a few games, sing a few carols. Come to think of it, it’s all very Dickensian.”
I stared at my dad.
Margie blinked. “You … No, I mean, no, I have no plans. Thank you. I’d like that, Noel. Thank you. Merry Christmas.” She slipped away.
When she was gone I looked at Dad. He gave me a wink.
“A true Christmas miracle,” I said.
I know my dad isn’t Santa Claus. But sometimes I wonder.
“Bless us, every one,” he said.
Acknowledgments
First of all I’d like to thank all the cozy readers who begged and petitioned for this series to return. Little warms an author’s heart more than knowing that readers truly enjoy the world you’ve created. A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all, no matter the time of year.
Thanks to Kim Lionetti, agent extraordinaire, and Matt Martz and the rest of the team at Crooked Lane for listening to readers (and to me!). And, as always, a big thanks to Sandy Harding who takes what I’ve written and makes it as good as it can be.
Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery
The Game is a Footnote
A Curious Incident
There’s a Murder Afoot
A Scandal in Scarlet
The Cat of the Baskervilles
Body on Baker Street
Elementary, She Read
Lighthouse Library Mysteries (writing as Eva Gates)
Death Knells and Wedding Bells
Death by Beach Read
Deadly Ever After
A Death Long Overdue
Read and Buried
Something Read, Something Dead
The Spook in the Stacks
Reading Up a Storm
Booked for Trouble
By Book or by Crook
Ashley Grant Mysteries
Coral Reef Views
Blue Water Hues
White Sand Blues
Year-Round Christmas Mysteries
Dying in a Winter Wonderland
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Hark the Herald Angels Slay
We Wish You a Murderous Christmas
Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen
Constable Molly Smith Mysteries
Unreasonable Doubt
Under Cold Stone
A Cold White Sun
Among the Departed
Negative Image
Winter of Secrets
Valley of the Lost
In the Shadow of the Glacier
Tea By the Sea Mysteries
Steeped in Malice
Murder Spills the Tea
Murder in a Teacup
Tea & Treachery
Catskill Summer Resory Mystery
Deadly Director’s Cut
Deadly Summer Nights
Also Available By Vicki Delany
More than Sorrow
Burden of Memory
Scare the Light Away
Author Biography
Vicki Delany is a bestselling author of more than thirty novels/novellas in several mystery subgenres. Born in Manitoba and raised in Ontario, she is the former president of the Crime Writers of Canada, a member of Capital Crime Writers, and a member of Sisters in Crime.
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Vicki Delany
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-63910-463-5
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-63910-464-2
Cover illustration by Elsa Kerls
Printed in the United States.
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Crooked Lane Books
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New York, NY 10001
First Edition: September 2023
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Vicki Delany, Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas
