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    Rubies for Christmas: Short Stories
    Rubies for Christmas: Short Stories
    Rubies for Christmas: Short Stories
    Ebook32 pages26 minutes

    Rubies for Christmas: Short Stories

    By Jacqueline Vick

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    About this ebook

    Roxanne Wilder is spending Christmas in Wilton, Illinois, with her family.  She agrees to help the Women's Guild Decorating Committee prepare for the senior holiday luncheon at the Old Hall, but when the women are snowed in, they have more to worry about than claustrophobia.  Annie Verona's gigantic ruby ring is missing, and the dreadful diva is pointing an accusatory finger at each member of the committee. Was the ring really stolen? Or did Annie simply lose her bauble among the mistletoe decorations during the few times she condescended to help out? Roxanne has until the snow plow shows up to figure out who did the crime, or reputations with suffer.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJacqueline Vick
    Release dateNov 8, 2013
    ISBN9781945403040
    Rubies for Christmas: Short Stories
    Author

    Jacqueline Vick

    Jacqueline Vick writes mysteries that include farcical situations and satirical humor. She writes about characters who are reluctant to accept their greatest (and often embarrassing) gifts. She is the author of THE FRANKIE CHANDLER PET PSYCHIC MYSTERIES about a woman who, after faking her psychic abilities for years, discovers animals can communicate with her. The series evolved out of her desperate attempts to train a rescued mutt with fear-based aggression. Two visits with animal communicators inspired the article Calling All Canine Clairvoyants for Fido Friendly Magazine, and, later, Frankie Chandler. Her second series, THE HARLOW BROTHER MYSTERIES, features brothers Edward and Nicholas Harlow. Edward, a former college linebacker, now ghost writes the Aunt Civility etiquette books. Nicholas is his secretary and general dogsbody. Her first mystery, Family Matters, was a semifinalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition. Her short stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Future Mystery Anthology Magazine and The Best of Everyday Fiction Two Anthology. Her Harlow Brothers novella, Lovely As, was a finalist for the Black Orchid Novella Contest.

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      Book preview

      Rubies for Christmas - Jacqueline Vick

      Chapter 1

      I hate Midwestern winters, Roxanne Wilder said as she jammed her shoulder against the solid metal door and shoved.

      Deanna Wilder, plump and festive in a forest-green velour sweat suit, the jacket smothered in a spray of rhinestones, struggled to unwrap a peppermint nougat.

      "Just yesterday you were telling your father how you missed the seasons; how the Los Angeles weather blends into one, long, boring year. You even said you might return to Wilton for next year's holidays."

      I lied. Roxanne rammed her shoulder into the door again. "You could stop eating the table decorations and give me a hand, Mother."

      Successful at last in freeing her nougat, Deanna Wilder popped the candy into her mouth. It would be a wasted effort. You will not get it open. In between chews, she cheerfully added, There must be three feet of snow on the other side of that door.

      The Wilton Elementary School's Old Hall was an underground structure added on in the late thirties as a gathering place for school assemblies, community functions, and scout meetings. In the fifties, its underground feature provided the illusion of shelter for those students and staff who hoped to survive an atomic blast through the handy practice of Duck and Cover. Its cavernous belly could have held the entire school and half the neighborhood. Today, people ignored the hall in favor of a modern gym, but community organizations still made use of the large space and conveniently attached kitchen. Last weekend, the Barmy Beaders and Crazy Crocheters held their annual Holiday Craft Extravaganza, and tomorrow the Wilton Women's Guild planned to host a Christmas party for the retirees of Slumbering Hills.

      The building's exit doors were located up a small set of stairs at ground level and led out to the school parking lot. Roxanne pressed her face against the windowpane hoping to spy a school employee making a last-minute departure for the weekend, but nothing outside moved except the assault of snow illuminated by parking lot security lights. It pained Roxanne that she could see her car parked a mere twenty yards away, and it seemed cruel that her

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