Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier

you?”
    â€œYou know it. If this gets out, I’ll lose my job.” Culpepper shook his head. “It’s not much of job, but it’s all I’ve got.”
    â€œIt can’t be that bad,” Lucy reassured him. “What did you do?”
    â€œI don’t know what I was thinking of,” Culpepper admitted. “You know that magazine? Modern Mercenary ? Well, I’ve had a subscription for years. Real man stuff, y’know. Lots of action. I love it. In the back they have a classified section. Dirty deeds done dirt cheap, y’know what I mean?”
    â€œI think I saw something on TV about it.”
    â€œYeah, I think Sixty Minutes did a story on it. Well, I put an ad in. Partly it was just for kicks, just make-believe. But partly I thought something might come from it. The pay for this job is lousy, and we could use some extra money. So I put an ad in.”
    His eyes glowed with pride as he remembered the words. “ ‘Resourceful, enterprising man of action available for assignments in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.’ I didn’t want to be away from home overnight, you know.” He cocked an eyebrow and nodded at Lucy.
    â€œBarney, why don’t you drive while we talk? When the boys’ parents come to pick them up, they’ll wonder if I’m not there.”
    â€œOkay.” He started the car and headed down the road.
    â€œI only got one response to the ad, but it was a doozy. Someone wanted me to kill Sam Miller. Offered me ten thousand dollars. I said I wouldn’t do it, wasn’t really my line, and they hung right up.”
    â€œWho do you think it was? Was it a man or a woman?”
    â€œIt was a man, but I don’t have any idea who. I didn’t recognize the voice and there wasn’t time to trace the call. Then I didn’t know what to do. If I warned Sam, I’d have to explain about the ad, and I was embarrassed, I might even have lost my job—moonlighting’s against the regulations. So I just tried to keep an eye on him. Checked in on him every so often. That night I happened to see him on the road, heading toward the warehouse. Then I got a call to go to the Anchor Bar and give Bill Maloney a ride home. When I got back to the parking lot, Sam was already dead. I didn’t have any reason to be in the parking lot, so I left.”
    â€œYou’d really get in trouble if this got out?”
    Culpepper nodded. “Probably get suspended without pay for a month, something like that. I can’t afford that.” He shook his head and then smiled. “Don’t look so worried, Lucy. I’ll think of something.” He indicated the anxious row of mothers peering into the cruiser and laughed. “I guess I’m not the only one with some explainin’ to do.”
    â€œI didn’t feel well,” said Lucy to the small group of curious women. “Officer Culpepper gave me a ride down from Indian Rock.”
    â€œThese children have been unsupervised for at least fifteen minutes,” said Mrs. Phipps, the wattles under her chin shaking with indignation.
    â€œI’m sorry. It couldn’t be avoided.” Lucy shrugged. Seeing their skeptical expressions, she didn’t think she’d convinced them.
    â€œDon’t forget,” she added brightly, “there’s no meeting next week because of school vacation. C’mon, Toby, let’s go home.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

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    â€œI’m seriously thinking of committing suicide.”
    â€œDon’t you think you’re overreacting just a tiny bit?” Sue’s crisp, rational voice came