Читать книгу A Catered Christmas - Isis Crawford - Страница 2

Even with the door to the room open and the venting fan on, Bernie could still smell the faint odor of gas lingering in the air.

“It’s off,” Eric Royal said to her. “I already checked.”

Bernie nodded absentmindedly. She’d figured as much. Otherwise they wouldn’t be in here now. They’d be outside in the fresh air waiting for the emergency crews to come. She was suddenly aware that Libby was standing right next to her and that her complexion was a definite shade of lime green.

Her sister pointed to Hortense’s body splayed out on the floor. Bernie studied Hortense for a moment. She was wearing a Santa Claus suit just like she said she would. Silk, Bernie judged, and tailored to within an inch of its life.

“That could have been me,” Libby said.

Bernie turned and looked at her. Libby was wringing her hands.

“How do you figure that?”

“I almost opened the oven,” Libby explained. “I wanted to.”

It wasn’t the explosion that had killed Hortense, Bernie reflected. Or at least not directly. No. The coup de grâce had been the piece of glass that was currently sticking out of Hortense’s throat …