Page 53 of Christmas Mittens Murder

“I’ve heard that you shouldn’t make any decisions, or big decisions about your life, for a year after something like this happens. You need to give yourself time to heal. Then you can make a decision that you won’t regret later.” Mia glanced at Abigail, who shook her head again. Then Mia took a business card out of her purse. “I guess we’re out of here then. If you hear anything about the mitten, would you call me?”

“Of course. I really hope you find it in time. Your friend, she’s human, correct?” Kate stood as the other two women did.

“She is. I almost married her brother. We’re really close.” Mia smiled at a memory of Christina in high school when Mia had helped her pick out school clothes. Mother Adams hadn’t liked any of the outfits and had taken Christina to New York the next weekend to shop again. “Thank you again for talking to us. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I think I’m staying here for a while,” Kate said, sitting back down. “Can you show yourselves out?”

“Of course. Please take care of yourself.” Abigail brushed her hand against Kate’s shoulder.

As they walked away, Mia could hear Kate’s gentle sobs behind them. When they got into the car, she turned to look at Abigail. “Well, that wasn’t what I expected. She’s truly grieving.”

Abigail nodded. “I guess that doesn’t prevent her having something to do with her husband’s death, but I don’t see it. She loved him.”

“Or she’s the best actress I know.” Mia leaned against the seat. “The problem is, we aren’t any closer to finding the mitten and curing Christina.”

“Then let’s go back to the scene of the crime. Maybe we can find something there that Baldwin’s men overlooked. It’s at least doing something. I can’t just sit there while Christina’s in that goop in the next room.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Mia needed time to think about what she’d learned. There was something that she’d heard that didn’t ring true. Was it Kate’s pronounced love for her husband? Or something else?

All she knew was she had a whopper of a headache.

When they got to the Lodge, Abigail parked out at the edge of the parking lot. A pile of snow was stacked next to where she parked. She pointed to the snow that a snowplow had dumped after scraping the parking lot. “If it’s in there we won’t find it until spring when everything melts.”

“That’s too late.” Mia climbed out of the SUV and glared at the pile of snow.

Abigail pulled on her gloves. “Let’s walk around it, just in case. If you see something red or silver, let me know. I’m going to do a locator spell, just to try. I’m not sure it will work, but what do we have to lose?”

Mia watched as Abigail waved her hands in a specific pattern and then repeated the sequence. Then she spoke words that Mia would have sworn were made up. Then that process was repeated. Mia couldn’t see any change, but her knowledge of spell casting was limited. “I can’t tell. Any results?”

Abigail sighed and shook her head. “The good news is that the mitten isn’t in the snowbank. If it was, I would have had some kind of reaction. I got nothing.”

“Okay, so that’s good news?” Mia was confused.

Abigail nodded and put her hands in her pockets. “It is.”

Mia nodded. “So we don’t have to be digging in the snow or wait until spring.”

“Exactly. Now we have to scan the parking lot, but don’t think that magic is going to give you the exact location. We’ll need to do our own footwork. It makes the journey more rewarding when you put some elbow grease in the mix.”

“Okay, so now I feel so much better. As long as I work hard, we’ll find the killer?” Mia pulled on her own gloves. This was going to be cold work. They’d be frozen stiff by the time they were done.

“The Goddess rewards hard work,” Abigail said cheerfully.

Mia tried to keep an open mind, but sometimes Trent’s mom got a little on her nerves. Especially since she’d been running Mia’s company for the last few months. “That’s what I hear.”

Abigail paused, staring at her. “You don’t believe that hard work is the answer?”

“Maybe.” Mia started scanning a section of the parking lot. “I just think we make our own destiny.”

“I’m not saying anything different. You’re just hearing a difference.” Abigail pointed to a small section of parking behind a power grid. “I’ll head over there to check out that area.”

“I’ll take the left side and walk up and down the length of the lot.” She held up her phone. “Call me if you need me.”

“Will do.” Abigail went over to the middle line and started slowly walking. Mia could feel that she had her magic pushed up to be sensitive to the mittens.

Mia headed over to the left side and plotted out her walking grid. She’d start in the farthest row. She might have to go wading into the snow later, but for now they’d start with the paved and scraped lot. This way, her feet wouldn’t be too frozen before they called it quits.

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