Ornamental Danger: a holiday short story (Working Stiff Mysteries) by Kerri Nelson Page B

upper hand.
    I tuned out the ongoing price negotiations and returned to my conversation with Penny Dempsey.
    "Aren't you going to go down to the station and see what Ty has turned up on Ms. Strength?" she asked as she leaned against the counter.
    "Uh, that would be a world of no. " I was standing behind the counter trying to untangle an unforgiving bundle of Christmas lights and waiting for the delivery of fake snow to arrive. Only a couple more hours, and my shift at the farm would be over.
    "I'm sure Ty would give you a little update, and maybe you could ask him over to dinner while you're at it." Penny's voice was hopeful yet firm. I knew that tone, and I wasn't falling for it. We'd been friends all our lives, and after a big senior year fall out, we'd finally come back together in a truce-based friendship that was growing more solid every day.
    "Penny, he's your brother. Why don't you just ask him about the investigation?" I ignored her not-so-subtle comment about asking him out to dinner. She'd been pushing for us to resume our old high school flames for the past few weeks. I'd figured that the holiday season had gotten to her and made her all nostalgic, but knowing her—she had an ulterior motive.
    "No can do. We promised each other that we'd keep our professional lives separate. Now that he's running the police department, he says I have to dig out my own headlines with no help from him. It's his new policy on running a clean department."
    I looked up from the clump of lights that I seemed to be making worse with every twist and turn and gave my friend a knowing smile. "That's a good policy, Pen. The department took a huge hit after all that Mills family scandal business.  Ty probably shouldn't rock the boat after his new promotion. Even if you are his favorite newpaper-owning sister."
    She gave me a dead-pan glare. "I'm his only sister."
    I giggled. "Are you gonna stand there and chat all day, or are you gonna get that display set up before the snow gets here?" The voice of my latest boss rudely interrupted our chat.
    The Coach stared down his sizeable nose at the two of us, and I couldn't help but feel as if we were back in Geometry class once again.
    "How are sales this year, Coach?" Penny broke the awkward moment with a smart question. If there was one thing Coach Mulder was interested in talking about, it was money.
    He shoved his hands deep into his jeans pockets and turned his head to spit out some brown juice that I knew to be either from chewed tobacco or dipped snuff. I couldn't really tell the difference, but I knew the stinky smell nonetheless.
    "Not bad. Considerin' the heat this season, we've had a steady flow of business. Be sure you give us a little write-up in the Mile, wontcha?" He offered Penny a brown-toothed grin.
    Ick.
    Penny returned the smile. But I knew there was absolutely no chance she would give him free advertising in The Mainstreet Mile. Selling ads was how any newspaper made money. Besides that, neither of us held any fondness for the former high school football coach who had spent our entire sophomore year trying to flunk us out of Geometry because we'd failed to make it as varsity athletes of any kind.
    "Mandy, I've got to make a run out to Marbury. Do you think you can manage that delivery while I'm gone?"
    I nodded. Anything to get him out of here so I could finish my shift in peace.
    "Alright. Well, I want that display finished by the time I get back, ya hear?"
    I nodded again, and he squinted his eyes at me as if he wasn't sure he could trust me. Then he headed toward his rusty, blue Ford, letting out another spit or two along the way.
    We watched in silence.
    Penny let out a sigh. "He's still the same old fart he was back then, but I think he might be shrinking a little bit."
    We both laughed. It was good to hang out with my old friend. There had been a time when I thought we'd never recover from our past. But that was slowly fading away. Being with Penny made me feel almost