After they finished shopping at Tons of Toys and loaded the oversized boxes into the car, Sue insisted on a quick trip to her favorite shop, The Carriage Trade. Lucy went along just to look while Sue tried on dresses, and she noticed a basket of scarves marked fifty percent off.

“Do you think my mother and Bill’s mother would like those?” she asked Sue as she pulled two, one blue, one red, from the pile.

“Why not? Those are silk. A scarf like that can really make an outfit.”

“Okay, you’ve sold me. Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Not so quick, Lucy. Bill asked me to be Santa’s little helper. He wants you to pick out an outfit for him to give you for Christmas. How about this Oriental poppy dress?”

“Look at the price! I can’t get that!”

“Just try it on,” coaxed Sue.

In the dressing room, Lucy grumbled to herself as she struggled out of the too tight black skirt she’d cleverly disguised with an oversize gray sweater. The silky red dress slipped on as if it had been made for her. Lucy shook out her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. Even to her critical eyes the dress was perfect. It slimmed her hips, emphasized her bust, and made her skin glow.

“How are you doing?” asked Sue, shoving the curtain aside. “Oh, Lucy. I can’t let you out of this store without that dress.”

“I give up,” agreed Lucy as she handed the dress over.

As they drove back along the highway to Tinker’s Cove, the last rays of weak winter sun disappeared and the sky turned dark. Remembering that they’d skipped lunch, Lucy and Sue made a quick detour through a Burger King drive-in and ordered burgers, fries, and soda.

“I shouldn’t be doing this,” Lucy said with a moan. “I’ll get a zit.”

“You’ve got to live dangerously once in a while,” observed Sue, wiping a trace of ketchup off her perfect little chin. “You know, Lucy, I’ve been thinking. If Sam Miller got killed at Country Cousins, it’s probably because somebody there is a murderer. I hope you’re careful.”

“I don’t think I’ve got anything to worry about,” said Lucy. “Why would anybody want to kill me? But I do think Sam got killed because he saw somebody doing something they didn’t want him to see. That makes the most sense to me.”

“Well, I don’t want to scare you. But you are the one who found his body. The murderer might be afraid you know more than you do. If I were you, I wouldn’t go poking around in any dark corners.”

“Don’t worry about me. I don’t have any opportunities to go snooping around, even if I wanted to.”