The Murder in Skoghall (Illustrated) (The Skoghall Mystery Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

gave a little wave. She dropped her hand as he rolled off the concrete parking pad in front of the garage and came very close to hitting her birch trees. Jess scowled as he bounced down her long driveway past the barn.
    The sun shone above the barn, throwing long shadows across the yard. Where sunlight did fall, it was summer bright and promised heat later in the day. Something in the tire track under the birch trees caught the sun and glinted. Jess left the porch and Shakti followed, tripping her way down the steps into the yard. There was something there. Jess rubbed at the spot with the toe of her sneaker. Probably an old screw or washer, but she bent anyway and unearthed the object. It was much better than an old screw.
    A lead cowboy, about an inch and a half tall, stood with his feet spread, six-shooters drawn, hat squarely on his head. Jess turned the little man over on her palm. He had been painted once. Flecks of blue and brown still clung to his jeans and hat, though most of the metal was worn naked by decades in the ground. “Poor little guy.”
    She set the cowboy on the mantle over the fireplace and went through the dining room into the kitchen. “Time to get real, woman,” she told herself. Jess retrieved her coffee cup. “Okay, when did I start talking to myself so much?” Another reason to miss being married: there was always someone around to talk to, even if the last couple of years had been spent mostly yelling. “And I have got to set up a workable office. Upstairs.” In Minneapolis, she had friends close at hand. She could have counted on five people to pop over and help her set up her bookcases or move her couch. “This is what you wanted,” she told herself, carrying her coffee upstairs. “Chandra offered to help you move, but no.” Jess affected a nasally whine and chastised herself, “I want to do this myself. I need to start over. I’ll invite you down once I’m settled. You’ll be the first to see my new life!”
    Shakti pulled herself up the steps one at a time. Jess stopped at the landing between floors to wait for her. “Come on, Bear.” A window seat looked out over the west yard and into the trees beyond it. Jess imagined a cushion and some sheers turning the space into a cozy reading nook. A rat-a-tat-tat startled her out of her reverie. By the time she located the large red-crested woodpecker having at one of her trees, Shakti had made it onto the landing. Jess carried her up the second half-flight.
    Jess wandered through the rooms, imagining how they would look when she was finally settled. Originally four-bedrooms, the last owner had done some remodeling before the bank foreclosed, reducing the number of rooms, but creating a master bedroom that spanned the east side of the house with a walk-in closet and dressing area. The small, back bedroom was a mess of boxes and things Jess didn’t have a space for, things she suddenly wished she had left behind in Minneapolis. The front bedroom—future office—currently housed her television and random pieces of furniture. She inspected the new phone jack and modem the phone guy had set up. All the lights blinked go. Jess figured she might as well head downstairs and get online for the first time in weeks.
    She would send her best friend, Chandra, an email now, including a slice of humble pie with a request to help her finish settling in. Jess didn’t feel like she could write until she was settled, and the time had come to get writing.
    She’d calculated how many months she could live off her divorce settlement before she would need a new job. She had been optimistic about the low cost of living in Skoghall, not fully realizing how far she’d have to travel to pick up anything. And she had planned to spend some money on home maintenance and repairs, but things were adding up quicker than she’d expected. Jess had been naive and optimistic when she sunk her entire divorce settlement into this house, leaving her without any real