Death Takes a Holiday Read Online Free PDF

Resort,” she read aloud. She glanced at the train tickets in her hand and bounced happily on the balls of her feet. So engrossed in reading the brochure, she didn’t realize Kyle had walked up behind her.
    “I can’t find it. I thought for sure I left it in my car.”
    Grace whirled around. Too excited to be embarrassed that she was caught snooping, she pulled him into a hug. “This is wonderful! How did you know I’ve always wanted to take a train ride through the mountains? I’ve thought about it for years and have never done it.” Grace heard herself babbling uncontrollably. She restrained herself, with great effort, when she realized that she sort of ruined his surprise. “I’m so sorry, Kyle. I was just cleaning up your desk when I saw your surprise.”
    He looked down at the tickets in her hand. “Oh . . . Good, you found them,” he said taking the tickets from her.
    “This is absolutely wonderful!” Grace pulled him into another hug. “How did you know?”
    He pulled back slightly. Grinning, he said, “Well, I’m a detective.”
    Grace made a face at him before glancing back at the brochure. “Five -night stay,” she repeated. “Kyle, we haven’t really talked about . . .” She realized she was blushing and hesitated. “I mean, we’ve never even been on a date before.”
    “Oh, no. We’ll have separate rooms,” he said quickly. “I mean , I didn’t presume . . .” He looked at her thoughtfully, still wrapped in his arms. “That is if you want a separate room.”
    “We don’t really know each other.”
    “We’ve known each other for over a year,” he countered.
    “But that’s different. We were working together. I was your supervisor.” Grace thought back to the year they worked at the Straker Toy Company, with him as her assistant. Fraternization was frowned upon and despite the fact that the boss and his daughter tended to treat the office staff as their personal dating pool, Grace was still a stickler for the rules.
    “Well, you’re not my supervisor now,” he said softly.
    “No, not now,” she agreed.
    Grace watched as his head bent down toward hers, only to jerk back at the sound of the phone ringing.
    Kyle picked the receiver up while still keeping one hand on her waist. She watched as his expression fell. “Right now? . . . Okay. I’ll meet you there,” he said before hanging up the phone. He reluctantly dropped his arm. “Duty calls. Steve wants to meet me to go over our new case. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.”
    “Tomorrow morning? ” She drew in a breath when it suddenly hit her. Grace glanced down at the itinerary she still had clutched in her hand. “I can’t leave tomorrow. I’m not ready. I’ll have to let my boss know. I have to pack. Why didn’t you let me know sooner?”
    “Because I didn’t . . . think of it until today.” Shrugging on his coat , he walked toward the door. “Don’t worry, Grace, I promise it’ll be a New Year’s Eve you’ll never forget.”
     
    *
    He hung up the phone and grimaced. She didn’t believe him, which he had to admit wasn’t all that surprising. The doctors didn’t, either.
    He glanced down at the ticket in his hand, closed his eyes and imagined the next few days. He’s got his list. He’s checked it twice. Everyone’s accounted for. There are a few extras he wasn’t anticipating, but they won’t matter. They won’t get in the way. No one will. If someone tries, they’ll regret it.
    He felt euphoric. Finally. They’ll finally see. He’ll show them. He rubbed a tired hand over his face. Looking back down at the train ticket, his thumb lovingly traced the drawing of the Crystal Palace Excursion Train embossed on the front of the ticket. He’ll show them all.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER TWO
     
    December 30 th
     
    It was beautiful . All sleek lines and cold steel gleaming in the morning sun. The Crystal Palace Excursion was everything the brochure promised and more. An elegant and luxurious passenger