Ornaments of Death (39 page)
Read Ornaments of Death Online
Authors: Jane K. Cleland
“Maybe we can do it together.”
“I'd like that,” she said shyly.
“Starting our own traditions,” I said.
After dinner, Becca offered to help, but I could tell that she wanted to leave, so I declined the offer. Ty got started washing up, and I walked her to the door. I opened the center drawer in the hall table and extracted a yellow padded envelope.
“Here,” I said, handing it to her. “Your Dreyse.”
She accepted it, nodding, and peeked inside the envelope. “I'm glad to have it back. Thank you for taking care of it for me.”
“You should ask Max about getting it licensed.”
She smiled. “I will.”
As she zipped her coat, she invited Ty and me for brunch on New Year's Day, and I eagerly accepted. She hugged me like she meant it and headed off to Boston. I stood at the window for a minute after she was gone. Her sadness was palpable, but so was her grit.
“I'm stuffed,” I said, as I walked back to the kitchen and picked up a linen dish towel.
“Me, too,” Ty said, handing me a glass to dry. “You're one heck of a cook.”
“I just follow my mother's recipes.”
“How about your cranberry-orange relish?”
“Don't you mean my
famous
cranberry-orange relish?”
“I stand corrected. That's exactly what I meant.”
“You're right. I invented that one.”
“Your mother would be proud.”
I leaned my head against Ty's shoulder for a moment, a love-touch. “I think you're right. She would be.”
When we were nearly done, Ty asked, “You know what time it is, right?”
“Present time!”
We made our way back to the living room. Our big red Christmas stockings dangled from brass holders I'd positioned on a side table. Presents were piled on the floor nearby. We like to give one another several little things and one big thing. My big present to Ty was a weekend gift certificate at his favorite ski resort, a place known for its cross-country trails. He gave me a diamond eternity circle pendant. Eternity. A perfect gift. Becca had snuck a gift bag into the pile. Wrapped in sheets of Christmas-tree-shaped tissue paper was a charming sterling silver filigreed glass jam pot with matching silver spoon. I hoped she'd like the 1937 Sheaffer Lifetime Balance mottled tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl fountain pen I'd tucked into her purse.
Great minds,
I thought. Neither of us wanted to call attention to her gift.
Later, as Ty and I settled in for the evening, I said, “You know, I've been thinking ⦠this whole series of horrible events was Shakespeareanâlike Hamlet avenging his father's murder.”
“Shakespeare didn't make it up. He wrote about emotions that really exist, that really drive actions.”
“Cheryl felt no remorse, not one iota.”
“She was out for revenge.”
“I remember something I learned in a Chinese philosophy course. Confucius said, âBefore you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.'”
“You're very smart, Josie.”
“I love you, Ty.”
“I love you, too.”
We sat like that, close to one another, thinking our separate thoughts.
After several minutes, I said, “Best Christmas ever.”
“How come?”
“I have all the things I've loved about Christmas since you and I first got together, plus Becca. Family.”
He kissed the top of my head and I tucked my hand in his, and we sat awhile longer.
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Thanks to G. D. Peters and Steve Shulman for their assistance with this novel.
Special thanks go to my literary agent, Cristina Concepcion of Don Congdon Associates, Inc. Thanks also go to Michael Congdon, Katie Kotchman, and Katie Grimm. I'd also like to thank Annie Nichol and Cara Bellucci.
The Minotaur Books team also gets special thanks, especially those I work with most closely, including executive editor Hope Dellon; associate editor Silissa Kenney; publicist Sarah Melnyk; director of library marketing and national accounts manager (Macmillan) Talia Ross; copy editor India Cooper; and cover designer David Baldeosingh Rotstein.
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Jane K. Cleland
once owned a New Hampshireâbased antiques and rare-books business. She is the author of nine previous Josie Prescott Antiques mysteries and has been a finalist for the Macavity, Anthony, and Agatha Awards and has twice won the David Award for Best Novel. Jane is the former president of the New York chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and chairs the Wolfe Pack's Black Orchid Novella Award. She is a member of the full-time English faculty at Lehman College and lives in New York City. You can sign up for email updates
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Â
O
THER
J
OSIE
P
RESCOTT
A
NTIQUES
M
YSTERIES BY
J
ANE
K. C
LELAND
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CONTENTS
Other Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries by Jane K. Cleland
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
ORNAMENTS OF DEATH.
Copyright © 2015 by Jane K. Cleland. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover illustration by Mary Ann Lasher
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-07453-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-8624-7 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466886247
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
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First Edition: December 2015
