Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard Read online

  “I do, but be warned, if it looks a little strange, it’s because she’s not alive in the picture.”

  His brows lifted. “You took a picture of a dead woman?”

  “What else was I supposed to do?”

  “Did she have a driver’s license? You could have snapped that.”

  “Huh. I never thought of that.” That would have been much less icky. “Do you want to see her or not?”

  “I do.”

  I showed him the photo.

  “Nothing familiar about that face either.” He sighed. “As for the bulk of what’s in that armoire, it would be nice if you could go through it and see what else is in there, if that’s at all possible.”

  “I don’t know if it is.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “This isn’t something I would normally tell you to do, but if you can’t legally gain access to the house again, feel free to use other means.”

  “Dad!”

  “Winter magic is very strong, Jay. If she has other powerful artifacts from the NP and the wrong people get ahold of them, it could be disastrous. Which is why you must get that snow globe. For it just to be out there where anyone could lay their hands on it…that can’t happen.”

  “I agree, but I think we should try the legal route first. Because if anything goes missing, the sheriff is absolutely going to come knocking on my door.”

  “True. And we don’t need that.”

  “He said if you can supply him with a royal court order, that should be enough for him to protect those items for us.”

  My dad nodded. “I’ll have legal draw one up today. I’ll send it through the Santa’s Bag as soon as it’s ready. It’s early there, right?”

  “Right.” I checked my phone. “Not quite nine yet.”

  “Okay, I’ll have it to you by lunch.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “You’re welcome. And send me anything else you can on this Myra Grimshank, will you?”

  “Grimshaw. And yes, I will.”

  “Love you, Jay.”

  “Love you, too, Dad.”

  We hung up. Out in the warehouse, the apartment elevator doors pinged.

  I got up to see if it was Juniper coming down to work. It was. I smiled at her. “Morning.”

  “Hey, good morning. How’s it going?”

  I smiled weakly and leaned against the door of my office. “I’m not sure where to start. Actually, I am. And it requires doughnuts. Hold down the fort until I get back?”

  “For doughnuts?” She grinned. “I would build you a new fort.”

  I walked into Zombie Donuts just after nine a.m. The smell of sugar and fried dough zipped through me like the best side-effects-free high in the world. I inhaled, smiling. If ever there was such a thing as my happy place, this was it. For a couple of seconds, I didn’t even care that some little old dead lady had possibly been stalking my dad.

  The shop was still plenty busy, but I knew the real morning insanity had already passed. That happened much earlier, when people with more get-up-and-go than I had came in to fuel themselves for the day with coffee and their pastry of choice. Which, in this shop, generally meant a doughnut or something doughnut-adjacent, like a bear claw, an éclair, or a fruity turnover. The possibilities were nearly endless and, in this shop, ever changing.

  But I wasn’t here for the pastries. I was here for the owner, the equally delicious and infinitely appealing Sinclair Crowe. Okay, I was sort of here for pastries, because how could I be here and not indulge? But Sin was my main reason. I wanted to see my guy. And bounce today’s craziness off him.

  He was coming out of the back with a tray of maple-glazed, bacon-studded doughnuts when he saw me. “Hey, beautiful. How did I get so lucky that you’re in my shop and not your own?”

  I grinned and lifted one shoulder. “Clean living, I guess.”

  “Yeah,” he said, amusement lighting his eyes. “That must be it.” He lifted the tray. “Sweets for my sweet?”

  “Sure. But…” I glanced past the tray to point at the display case. “I’d rather have one of those lemon creams.”

  He slid the tray into its spot and blinked in surprise. “That is not your usual by a long shot.” He grabbed a square of waxed paper, picked up the doughnut I’d requested and handed it to me.

  “It’s been a strange morning.” I took a bite, and the tart, lemony burst of flavor was exactly what I needed. The tang seemed to cut through some of the noise in my head.

  “You want to talk?”

  “I’d love to.”

  He tipped his head toward the small office he kept in the back. “C’mon.”

  As I started around the counter, he pointed at one of his employees. “Johnny, call me if you need me, I’m taking five.”

  “You got it, boss.” Johnny gave me a wave. “Hey, Jayne.”

  “Hi, Johnny.” I returned the wave on my way by.

  In Sin’s office, he shut the door and pulled out his desk chair for me, choosing to sit on the edge of his desk himself. “What’s going on, babe?”

  I took the seat, trying to figure out where to start.

  “You look phenomenal this morning, by the way. Not that you don’t always look great, but I love you in that jacket.”

  “You have great taste.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “Clearly. Look who I’m dating.”

  I laughed. The man was so, so good for me. I licked a smudge of lemon icing off one finger. “I knew coming here was the right move.”

  “Yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Because you make me feel better. And I was in a weird place earlier. Still am, kind of.”

  “And again, why is that?”

  “Saw a dead body this morning.”

  His eyes widened a bit. “Do tell.”

  So I did, spilling the whole story about Myra and the armoire and the snow globe. I trusted Sin, and he’d met my mom and aunt and earned their approval, so I was cool with him knowing how that particular magic item worked. Also, he’d saved my life. So there was that.

  He let out a long, low whistle. “That is quite a story.”

  “Right? Anyway, my dad is supposed to send me a court order by lunch today, and the sheriff said that would be good enough for him to seize the items under supernatural law. But I’m still dying to know why she had all those pictures of us. And how she got the snow globe in the first place.”

  “I bet. I’d be dying to know too.”

  Not quite the answer I’d hoped for. “I was wondering…do you think maybe you could use your skills to find out?”

  He ran a hand through his hair and shifted back on the desk. “I don’t want to tell you no, but I actually try to use those skills as little as possible. I really only do it in matters of life and death. No pun intended.”

  “I see.” I was disappointed and I’m sure it showed.

  “Hey.” He gave my arm a quick squeeze. “If you really want me to, I will. It’s just…”

  He kind of grimaced and didn’t say anything else.

  “It’s just what?”

  “Using my power costs me.”

  “What do you mean? How?”

  He sighed and stared at the floor. “For every minute that I return a soul to life, I pay.”

  “In what way?” All kinds of awful things popped up in my head.

  “That time…is deducted off mine.”

  That was worse than what I’d imagined. “Snowballs. Nope, never mind. Forget I even brought it up.”

  “Listen, I will if you really want me to. It’s just something we need to be prepared for so that it can be done as quickly as possible.”

  “Good to know. But I can’t imagine I’ll be asking again after that bit of news.”

  He smiled a little. “I just thought you should know.”

  “I appreciate you telling me. Anything else I should know about your gifts?”

  “Lemme think.” He squinted. “Bringing someone back is a one-time, one-shot deal.”

 
; “What do you mean?”

  “I can only bring someone back once, and it only lasts for as long as I’m touching them. I let go and they’re permanently back to being dead.” He squinted. “Unless you have another necromancer around. Then, in theory, they could bring that person back again. Not sure about that. It’s never come up.”

  “Interesting. And while I still really want to know what was going on with Myra and my family, I think I’ll let Birdie do her digging and see what she turns up. One more question, though. For curiosity’s sake. It’s a little…icky.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Okay then. Can you still work your magic if a person has been embalmed?”

  “You mean at the funeral? Yes. And the other nice bit is the person has to tell the truth. Dead people, really dead people now, I’m not talking about vampires, are incapable of lying.”

  “Get out. Is that where that saying dead men tell no tales comes from?”

  He nodded. “Sometimes those weird sayings are true.”

  “How about that.” I ate the last bit of my doughnut, wadded up the waxed paper and tossed it in the bin under his desk. “You’re pretty awesome, you know that? Doughnuts and death magic. That is quite a combo.”

  “That was almost the name of my band in high school.”

  I snorted as I pushed to my feet. “You’re crazy.”

  “About you.” He grabbed the edges of my jacket and pulled me close. “You still think I’m awesome even after I turned down your request for help?”

  “Yes. I totally get you being reluctant to use your gifts when they come with so high a price. Don’t give it another thought.” I really did not want to be the reason his life-span shortened. If anything, I wanted him around more, not less.

  “I don’t want you to be upset with me.”

  “I’m not, I promise.” I wasn’t, and I had no reason to be. Sin was too good a guy for me to get upset over something like that.

  “Good.” He kissed me, and I leaned in, wrapping my arms around his neck and enjoying every second of his mouth on mine.

  When we finally came up for air, I was in a nice little blissed-out state. “I guess I should let you get back to work.”

  “Likewise. Thanks for stopping by. Always a nice surprise to see you.”

  Neither of us had let go of the other yet. “Thanks for the doughnut.”

  “Hey, you want to take your order with you? I don’t think your delivery went out yet.”

  “That reminds me. That’s why I came in.” I gave him my most serious look. “But you have to let me pay for it.”

  “Sure. The cost is dinner.”

  I poked my finger into his chest. His hard, muscle-y chest. “I’m serious. I’m giving you actual money, and I don’t want you turning it down. But I’m glad you brought up dinner, because I want to go on a double date with Birdie and her new man. To Guillermo’s, that nice Italian place.”

  “Set it up, I’m there.”

  I kissed him again. Because girlfriend privileges. Then I finally let him go. “All right, let me buy a box of doughnuts off you, and then I’m going back to the store.”

  It took a few empty threats, but I managed to get him to take my money for the doughnuts. That made me happy. But not as happy as Kip and Juniper were when I returned with that box in my hands. I put it in the employee break room and let them dig in.

  Kip took a chocolate peanut butter cream and ate it standing in the doorway between the shop and the warehouse so he could keep an eye on things. “I’m really glad you started dating this guy.”

  “Me too,” Juniper added. She’d selected a blackberry basil jam.

  “Well, that’s really all I wanted.” I was eating a Dr Prepper, the Dr Pepper doughnut that seemed custom-made for me. “Store-wide approval of my love life.”

  They laughed.

  I swallowed the bite I’d just taken. “Any news while I was out? Calls? Santa Bag shipments?”

  Juni shook her head. “I haven’t checked the Santa’s Bag. Kip?”

  “Haven’t looked either, but I can run back there.”

  “No,” I said. “I’ll go do it. You guys enjoy the fruits of my relationship.” I headed back to the Santa’s Bag to see if my dad’s court order had come through yet, but the bag was empty. It was early yet, so I wasn’t worried.

  I hung out in the shop for a bit, letting Kip and Juniper enjoy another doughnut without worrying about having to help a customer. Only one person came in, a man looking for a gift for his daughter’s birthday.

  I helped him, enjoying the leisurely pace of non-Christmas shopping. He settled on a chemistry set and I rang him up.

  As he left, Kip came back to the register. He hooked his thumb toward the warehouse. “I checked the Santa’s Bag before I came up here. There was an envelope in it. I put it on your desk.”

  I made sure the court order was in the envelope, then I threw my jacket on, grabbed my purse and hightailed it down to the sheriff’s department.

  Birdie was so focused on her computer she didn’t look up when I came in. I smiled. I loved her dedication. “Find anything good yet?”

  “Hmm? Oh, hi, Princess. No, nothing yet, but I’ve only begun. We had a few things I had to take care of this morning before I could really get going.”

  “Well, I have faith in you.” I had to. Asking Sin to work his magic was off the table now that I knew the cost. Birdie would have to come through, but I didn’t want to put that pressure on her. Not yet anyway. I lifted the envelope. “My dad sent the court order.”

  “Excellent, let me buzz Hank.” She picked up the phone, punched a button and spoke. “Hank, honey, Princess Jayne is here with that CO.”

  She hung up and he came out of his office a minute later. He glanced at the envelope. “The North Pole legal department moves fast.”

  “My dad can be very motivating.” I handed the envelope over.

  “I’m sure.” He pulled out the paperwork and scanned it, then nodded. “All right, this will do it.”

  “So I can go to the house and take all that stuff?”

  “Not exactly. All this entails is the snow globe. And it doesn’t mean you can have it, just that I have to write up a writ of possession order and serve it to her great-nephew when he arrives notifying him that the globe has been seized. Which I can’t do until he’s been served. If you can prove Ms. Grimshaw was a winter elf, then it’s a different story. But as she’s listed as fae, the globe’s fate will have to be decided by a supernatural magistrate.”

  “Oh.” I frowned at the anti-climactic-ness of it all. Why did the court order only cover the globe? I could only guess that getting a court order for one thing was faster than having an order drawn up for everything that might be in that armoire. I trusted my dad and the elves from legal to know what was best in this situation. I just wished I was taking possession of the thing immediately.

  “Also, you may be entitled to the snow globe, but it’s in the house that now belongs to Myra’s family. Her kin have to be made aware of what’s going on.”

  “I see.” I didn’t, but supernatural law wasn’t something I’d ever studied beyond the basics required for most royals. Not to sound all fancy, but that’s why my family had a legal department. (Not to mention the people who try to sue Santa Claus. As if that’s not going to get you on the naughty list.)

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get Jansen to go over and cordon the house off with police tape. Hopefully, that will be enough for Myra’s great-nephew to come here first.”

  Hopefully? I wasn’t crazy about the sound of that. “What if he doesn’t? What if he ignores the tape and goes into the house and helps himself to whatever he wants?” That sounded a little panicked even to my ears. I cleared my throat and made myself calm down. “I mean, I’m sure that’s not what’s going to happen. Just throwing it out there, though.”

  “Even if he does,” the sheriff started, “yourfather’s royal court order takes precedence. Nate can always file for a count
ermand, but I don’t see that happening over a snow globe. I doubt that item is even on his radar. Most relatives are on the lookout for obvious valuables. Jewelry, collectibles, coins, cash, that sort of thing.”

  Which made perfect sense. I laughed at how silly I’d been. “Of course. Why would he think that snow globe was worth anything? He’ll probably take one look at that armoire’s contents and think his great-auntie was harboring some silly crush.”

  “Exactly. And Nate was always a decent fellow when he lived here. Can’t imagine he’s changed much.”

  I nodded. I was feeling better about the whole thing. “I’m sure you’re right.”

  Hank gave the papers a little shake. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to get Jansen over there.”

  “Of course, thanks.”

  He went back into his office as he pulled the radio off his shoulder and called the deputy. He closed the door and I leaned on the reception desk. I think I was still a little freaked out about what Sin had told me earlier. But there was no reason to be. Things were being handled. Birdie was typing away at her computer. The sheriff was taking care of the house situation.

  And I had a shop to run.

  “Call me if you find anything, Birdie.”

  She nodded, eyes still on the screen. “Will do, Princess.”

  I headed for the door. I was about to push it open when Birdie let out a huge gasp.

  “How about that!”

  I turned around. “What?”

  She looked at me, eyes wide and shaking her head. “I think Myra Grimshaw might have been adopted.”

  “What do you mean ‘might have been’?”

  “Well, I can’t find any records on her earlier than when she was twelve.”

  I did some quick math. “That would have been 1913, right? What kind of records do you think they kept on kids back then?”

  “Good point. But there should be something. Humans aren’t the only ones who do genealogies, you know.”

  “Still, I don’t think that necessarily means she was adopted.” And even if she was, it wasn’t quite the earth-shattering news I’d expected based on Birdie’s gasp. Unless…she was actually related to the royal family? Was that even possible? I couldn’t imagine it was. “But I guess that could mean she might be a winter elf. Adoptions outside the NP are pretty rare. Any idea who her birth parents were?”