Rose and Helena Save Christmas: a novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

so that he can get a quick close.” A fact she knew all too well, as she’d gotten a friend off a trumped-up embezzlement charge that Savoy had pegged her for. Taylor had never had the pleasure of meeting the detective in person, but she had no doubt he was still hacked that she got her friend off and another detective ended up catching the real bad guy.
    “Why on earth would he want to do that?” Rose asked. “I’d expect that in Henryetta, but not in the city. Doesn’t he care about catching the real killer?”
    Taylor shook her head. “I think he only cares about being promoted.”
    Rose shot a nervous glance at Neely Kate. “So what are we gonna do? You threatened the woman.”
    “Only because she wouldn’t give me my money back,” Neely Kate argued. “I’m unemployed now and pregnant. I can’t go throwin’ my money away.”
    “It doesn’t sound like Detective Savoy gives a tinker’s damn,” Rose said. “In fact, he sounds an awful lot like Detective Taylor in Henryetta, and we both know what he’s like.”
    Neely Kate looked at Taylor. “So if Detective Savoy isn’t gonna do his job, then you do it for him. You’re a PI. You know all about this stuff. And Rose and I have solved a couple of mysteries ourselves. We can help.”
    Taylor had decided to pursue her own investigation when she’d left the police station, but she wasn’t about to take on partners, especially amateurs. She already had her hands full with Helena. And speak of the devil, the ghost finally appeared in the alleyway and hurried toward them.
    “Do you have to walk so fast?” Helena bitched as she huffed up.
    Neely Kate pointed. “ You . You yelled ‘Next’ last night at Madame Serafine’s shop. I remember your voice.”
    Taylor and Helena froze, staring at Neely Kate. Rose scrunched her brow. “Who exactly are you talkin’ to?”
    Neely Kate shook her finger. “The woman right in front of you. Dressed like Christmas Sherlock Holmes. Right there, Rose.”
    Rose stared past Neely Kate’s finger, then looked back at her friend, a worried expression on her face. “There’s no one there,” she said.
    Neely Kate threw her hands up in the air and looked at Taylor. “She was talkin’ directly to you. Are you gonna tell me you don’t see her, either? I may be pregnant, but I still have my wits about me.”
    A rush of thoughts raced through Taylor’s mind. None of them good. What possible explanation could she give that made sense other than the truth, which technically made no sense at all?
    “Yes,” Taylor said. “I see her, but most people don’t. She’s a ghost.”

Chapter Four

    Taylor stared at Neely Kate, waiting for her to call her crazy.  
    Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open, then she yelled, grinning ear to ear. “Woo hoo! Rose, I told you I had paranormal gift. I see dead people!”
    Rose stared at her, clearly convinced the entire lot of them had lost their mind. Taylor bit her lower lip, trying to decide what to do about the monkey wrench she’d never seen coming. She’d had no intention of including the two women in her investigation, but if Neely Kate could see Helena, then Taylor had to make sure she remained safe. Then Neely Kate’s words registered with Taylor.
    “You’ve been looking for a paranormal gift?” Taylor asked.
    “Yes,” Neely Kate said, her excitement clear. “It runs in my family. My grandmother can read tea leaves. I just knew I had an ability, and I’ve been lookin’ for it for years.”
    Rose didn’t look convinced. “Your grandmother has about a twenty percent accuracy, which is why we were seein’ the psychic in the first place. And there’s dead people all over the place back home,” Rose said, “but you’ve never seen a one of ’em before.”
    “How do you know?” Neely Kate said, putting her hand on her hip and giving her a haughty gaze. “Maybe I talk to dead people all the time and I just don’t know it ’cause they look real. Like that Sixth Sense