The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking Read online

  “No, thanks. Anyway, I was checking out some of the other pictures when I found a close-up of another set of scenic panels Sue had painted for a different carousel. It was all historical scenes, and the clothing was like something out of Jane Austen.”

  “The Georgian era?”

  “Right. One showed a woman in a flowing dress dancing with a man dressed in an impeccable evening suit. The woman’s face didn’t show, but the man’s face was both clear and familiar. It was Charles.”

  “What?”

  “Supposedly Sue had never met Charles, and Charles didn’t recognize her name, either. So how had she known what he looked like? That got me wondering, but I kind of got distracted later on that day.”

  “Just a little.”

  “When I had a chance, I did some more digging and found Sue and Annabelle’s college yearbook so I could look at their pictures. That’s when I realized how much they looked alike. Around the same height, same build, same hair color. They were both in the art club—in fact, I found a picture of Sue painting the picture used for the cover of the yearbook. That’s when I realized she was left-handed.”

  “So?”

  “The carousel art site has pictures of our Sue Mitchell painting a carousel horse with her right hand.”

  “Couldn’t one of the pictures have been flipped?”

  “Nope, I checked for that. So if the live woman wasn’t Sue, I figured she might just be Annabelle, and I hoped for a little Christmas miracle.”

  “Santa would definitely approve.” Then I noticed he was still awfully loosely connected. “Sid, is something wrong?”

  “I hope not. I just need to give you a Christmas present.”

  “You already gave me one.” There had been a festive skull scarf for me under the tree that morning.

  “This is different.” He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a flat package in bright red paper with a green bow to hand to me. “Here.”

  I pulled the paper off. It was a framed photo of Sid.

  And Brownie.

  Together.

  I said, “This isn’t Photoshop, is it?”

  He shook his skull. “I told him.”

  “You told him?”

  “I knew you were stuck, Georgia, and it was because of me. You didn’t want to tell him about me unless he was a part of the family, and you couldn’t add him to the family without knowing how he’d react to me. But the night we rescued him, I heard him telling you that he loves you, and I know you love him, too.”

  “You told him.”

  “Given the way his family kept Rose’s secret all these years, I felt sure I could trust him to keep my secret, too, no matter how things turn out between you two.”

  “So you told him.” I felt like a broken record.

  “I called him one day while you were at work, got him up here, and we had a long talk. Then we took the picture.”

  “Which you did after you told him.”

  “I didn’t tell his parents, if you’re wondering. I thought that might be too much.”

  “You just told him.”

  “Georgia, you’re stuck in a loop.”

  “I know. I’m just…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “Sid!” I hopped up and hugged him as firmly as I could without cracking his ribs. “You risked everything to make me happy.” I was crying, and though Sid is technically unable to cry, I was sure there was more wetness than I could rationally account for.

  At some point, I noticed that one of his hands was busy typing something on his phone.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he lied. “Keep hugging.”

  A second later, there was a tap on the door from the hall.

  “Come in,” Sid called out.

  Given what had already happened, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Brownie, who apparently hadn’t left with his parents after all, climbed up the stairs.

  “I take it that you told her,” he said.

  “I did.” Without letting go of me, Sid held out one arm. “Now get in here!”

  And darned if he didn’t join us. If Brownie had any compunction about a three-way hug with a skeleton, he didn’t show it.

  When we finally broke apart, Sid said, “You two run along. I know you’ll want some alone time.”

  I looked at Brownie, who gave me a smile and a wink. “Maybe later. I think I’d rather spend the rest of Christmas with both of my best guys.”

  Sid grinned as only he can.

  Sid might have thought that I didn’t believe in Christmas miracles, but I did—I just didn’t think I needed another one. I’d had Sid in my life since I was a child. He was all the miracle I’d ever need.

  Acknowledgments

  With thanks to:

  My BFFs/beta readers Charlaine Harris and Dana Cameron, for unswerving support.

  My daughters Maggie and Valerie for doing their best to keep me up-to-date on nerd culture.

  The real Lauri Biegler, for her generosity in bidding for character naming rights.

  The Facebook hive mind for continuing to answer so many random questions with accuracy and speed.

  The teams at JABberwocky Literary Agency for keeping me on track.

  The team at Diversion Books for publishing enthusiasm.

  Leigh Perry takes the old adage “Write what you know” to its illogical extreme. Having been born with a skeleton, and with most of her bones still intact, she was inspired to create Sid and write the Family Skeleton Mysteries. The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking is the sixth in the series. As Toni L.P. Kelner, she’s published eleven novels and a number of short stories, and has coedited seven anthologies with New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. She’s won an Agatha Award and an RT Booklovers Career Achievement Award and has been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer awards. Leigh lives north of Boston with her husband, fellow author Stephen P. Kelner. They have two daughters, a guinea pig, and an ever-increasing number of books. You can visit Leigh online at LeighPerryAuthor.com.