Death Takes a Holiday by Elisabeth Crabtree Page A

to look under the table. Thankfully, there was nothing there. She turned her head to the side.
    No rabbit. Just a pair of patent leather shoes.
    She rose to find Henry staring at her with a worried expression on his face. “Is there something wrong, Grace?”
    Grace chuckled. “No. For a second there, I thought I saw a white rabbit race under the table.”
    “A white rabbit?” He gave her the same look he had given her earlier when she told him about the message on the mirror.
    “The proverbial Alice in Wonderland,” Wellington intoned in a scholarly voice. “In many traditions, the white rabbit symbolizes femininity and everyone of course knows about them as a good-luck symbol.”
    Grace nodded politely . She opened her mouth to ask if there was anything else he needed but quickly snapped it shut when he continued in the same scholarly voice. “White rabbits can also symbolize scattered thought and foolishness, but intelligence, as well.”
    “ Right,” she said with a smile. “Well, my mistake—”
    “ Of course, you’re familiar with the saying Mad as a March Hare,” Wellington said with a wave of his hand. “If you saw a rabbit then you saw a rabbit. Now the question is . . . does it exist? Or is it in your mind? But even if it is in your mind then we have to assume that it does exist.”
    “Huh. Yeah, I guess it does ,” she said politely. “Well, I’ll have your soup out to you soon.” She turned to follow Henry behind the bar. “Hey, Henry, just out of curiosity, mind you . . . Are people allowed to bring pets on board?”
    “Service pets, yes. Family pets, no. Too much of a hassle.”
    “What would happen if someone brought a pet ?”
    “Oh, we would just assess a pet fee.”
    Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, she thought in relief.
    “Half the cost of a ticket.”
    “Half the cost?” she sputtered.
    “It covers potential damages and act s as a deterrent.” Henry looked at her curiously. “Has someone sneaked—”
    “No!” she said quickly and then a little more calmly, added, “No, not at all. I was just curious.” She looked past Henry’s shoulder. Kyle was just entering the dining car and walking back to his table. “Would you excuse me a moment?”
    She slid past Henry and grabbed Kyle by the bicep before he could sit down. She quickly led him to the back of the car. “Where’s Abry?” she whispered into his ear.
    “At Beth’s.”
    “You didn’t bring him?”
    “No, of course not. Why?”
    “Because I think I just saw him.”
    Kyle frowned. “Don’t be silly. He wouldn’t have any fun on a train. Besides he gets cold.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Positive. I’ve been thinking of buying him a sweater.”
    “I meant, are you sure he’s with Beth?”
    “Yes, she promised me she would pick him up after work and take him home with her. He’s probably happily playing with her kids right now.”
    Grace breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. For a few seconds there . . . .”
    Kyle ran his hand down her back. “Would you stop worrying? Everything is fine.”
     
    *
     
    “Did you see that?” Steve hissed into Kyle’s ear as Kyle sat down next to him.
    Kyle looked around. Except for Sara’s retreating form , he didn’t see anything that would warrant Steve’s attention. “What?”
    “Grace and the lipstick,” he said, drawing out the last word.
    “ It was rather strange, wasn’t it?” Kyle asked amused and curious as to how Steve would misinterpret Grace’s actions.
    “Yeah, she knows I’m interested in Sara, so now she’s trying to figure out what kind of lipstick Sara’s wearing. Can you believe it?”
    “Amazing!”
    “She thinks she can just copy Sara’s makeup and then I’ll fall in love with her. Like I’m so shallow that I wouldn’t notice the difference between them. Like I’m only concerned with looks. If it weren’t so sad, I’d be insulted.”
    “Steve, have you forgotten about the threat on the mirror ? It was written in