Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) Read online

  MISS FROST

  ICES THE IMP

  A Nocturne Falls Mystery

  Jayne Frost, book two

  Kristen Painter

  Welcome to Nocturne Falls—the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.

  Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost’s daughter, Santa Claus’s niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now…private investigator. Sort of.

  When she buys a sealed box at an estate sale and cat-related circumstances cause that box to be opened, life in Nocturne Falls starts to go haywire. Jayne has no choice but to figure out what she unleashed and how to recapture it.

  But Jayne suspects the woman behind the box is hiding something. Something that could cause a town resident serious trouble. Or worse, to lose their life.

  With the help of her two favorite guys, a sexy vampire and a hot summer elf, and a few new friends, Jayne tackles what feels like an impossible mission. And winds up almost iced herself.

  MISS FROST ICES THE IMP:

  A Nocturne Falls Mystery

  Jayne Frost, Book Two

  Copyright © 2016 Kristen Painter

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  ISBN: 978-1-941695-20-3

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  Table of Contents

  Welcome to Nocturne Falls

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  About the Author

  Many Thanks

  I sucked in a giddy breath as my gaze landed on the tackiest, most wonderful thing I’d ever seen. Maybe it was the unholy hour of seven A.M. making me delirious, but I grabbed the little framed velvet Elvis painting and held on to it for dear life, instantly sure everyone else at the estate sale was coveting my incredible find.

  And why wouldn’t they be? It wasn’t just any Elvis painting. It was Elvis as a cat in the white Vegas jumpsuit complete with real hot-glued rhinestones, plastic gems and big Puss In Boots eyes. It was glorious.

  “You can’t be serious. Are you buying that?” Juniper joined me, a couple treasures of her own in her arms. “It’s a bedazzled nightmare.”

  “Agreed, which is what makes it impossible to look away from. I love it.” Just because my father is Jack Frost and I’m the Winter Princess doesn’t mean I only like designer stuff and fine art. Hardly. I held it up so the sun caught the adornments and sent them into fits of sparkle. “I’m going to hang it over Spider’s feeding station. I think he’ll find it very aspirational.”

  Juniper’s brows lifted. “You think it’s going to make your cat want to be an Elvis impersonator?”

  “There are worse paths he could take.” I shrugged. “And he already thinks he’s the king of the apartment.”

  She grinned. “True. Find anything else you can’t live without?”

  I lifted my basket to show her the rest of my treasures. “I found a cool decorative box. The lid is locked, and possibly also glued into place. I can’t get it open, but I can work on that when I get it home. Either way, it’s pretty. And if I get it open, I can stash candy in it.”

  She picked the box up. “Cool. It’s very pretty. Do you think there’s anything in it?”

  “I doubt it. Doesn’t have much weight to it and there’s nothing rattling around inside that I could hear.”

  She gave it a shake and a listen. “Yeah, probably empty. Still sort of exciting. Might be an old love letter or something in there that doesn’t make noise.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell you if I discover anything.”

  She put the box back and took out the hula dancer salt and pepper shakers I’d found, giving them a skeptical glance. “I must admit, you have very different tastes than I expected. They’re cute in their own way, but just not what I thought you’d go for.”

  “I thought they were fun. Plus, I think tropical might be my theme.”

  Juniper returned them to the basket. “You’re a winter elf and you want to decorate your apartment to look like the islands?”

  “You’re a winter elf, too. Don’t you think it would be a nice change from Christmas all the time?” Although, unlike Juniper, I’d spent most of my life in the North Pole. And Santa was my uncle on my mother’s side. Was it any wonder I was starting to have tropical fantasies?

  “I see your point.” She glanced around at the tables of items on display. “Quite a collection of stuff, huh? The people who owned this house had some pretty eclectic tastes, but then, the rich are weird.” She bit her lip. “Present company excluded.”

  “I’m only rich adjacent.” My parents had the money. And sure, someday those funds would be mine when I took the throne, but for right now my best assets were my family name and the connections that gave me. Okay, my legs weren’t bad either.

  Juniper gave me a look as she returned the salt and pepper shakers to the basket. “I thought you wanted things to decorate your apartment with, though. Bigger stuff.”

  “I do.” That was the whole reason we’d come out so early to this estate sale. We had the addresses of two more yard sales to hit after this. But this was the biggie. One of the better houses in town, according to Juni. Who also insisted that arriving first thing was the only way to get the good stuff. So…that meant this was all be the good stuff, right? “I found a rug and a big painting, but they’re still inside the house since they’re obviously too large to fit in my basket. You want to go in and take a look at them?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Cool. First, show me what you found.”

  She held up a small evening bag covered in jet beads with a matching fringe along the bottom. “I don’t have much use for a purse like this, but I collect these little antique bags, and I think they’re so pretty. Plus, I don’t have a black one. Kind of silly to collect something so impractical, but we all have our weaknesses.”

  “It’s gorgeous. And you could definitely use it. Get Pete to take you to Café Claude.” Pete and Juniper had been seeing each other pretty regularly since we’d all gone to the spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the fire station.

  She nodded as she slipped the purse’s chain over her arm. “That’s a good idea. We keep meaning to go there. I’m getting this, too.” She lifted a small ceramic thing out of her shopping basket. It had a carved design on one side and a squatty handle on the other.

  “What is that? A stamp?”

  “It’s
a cookie press. Isn’t it pretty?”

  “It is. Does that mean you’re going to be baking soon?”

  She put it back in her basket. “I have been getting the itch.”

  “I’m happy to be your taste tester.”

  “I have no doubt.” She took the purse off her arm and lay it in the basket too. “All right, show me this rug and painting.”

  We went into the house, a big old Victorian with just the slightest creepiness about it. A few other people were milling about, but the only things for sale inside were big. With prices to match.

  I stopped at the entrance to the room off the foyer. Maybe a sitting room or something? I wasn’t sure, and most of the furniture had been wrapped in blankets for moving, making it hard to tell. “This is the rug.”

  “It’s gorgeous.” Juniper nodded. “I love that Oriental style. Very classy. And the tan and green will look great on the hardwood in your apartment. Is it expensive?” Then she laughed. “Never mind. I know you can afford it.”

  “Only because my parents are helping me a little,” I confessed. They’d dropped a tidy sum into my bank account as a housewarming gift. Had I mentioned that being the Winter Princess didn’t mean I was filthy rich? My parents, on the other hand, were loaded. I could have asked for extra, but making my own way was more rewarding, and I had a salary now that I was manager of the Santa’s Workshop Toy Store in Nocturne Falls.

  “Very nice of them.” Juniper looked around. “Is the painting you mentioned in here too?”

  “No, it’s in the next room.” We walked a little farther into the study, and I showed her. “What do you think?”

  “I think I can understand the hula dancers now.” She crossed her arms and appeared to give the art some genuine consideration.

  It was just a landscape, but staring at it made me feel like I could actually hear the waves, feel the sun on my face and taste the salt in the air. Juniper hadn’t said anything more, so I felt the need to defend my choice. “I love it. I think it’s like a vacation on a canvas.”

  A gentle grin curved Juniper’s mouth, and her eyes stayed on the painting. “I think it’s incredible. Wherever it is, I want to go there.”

  The woman running the sale approached us with a smile. “It’s Hanalei Bay. Also known as Bali Hai. In Hawaii. Isn’t it lovely? The owners picked it up on one of their many trips there. They collected things from all of their travels. I’m Bryn, by the way. I’m the agent handling the estate’s liquidation. Are you interested in the painting?”

  “Yes. And the tan rug in the front room.” I lifted my basket. “And this stuff.”

  Juniper stepped forward. “What’s your best price, since she’s buying so much?”

  Bryn smiled. “I’ll sharpen my pencil and get right back to you.” She started to walk away, then stopped and turned toward us again. “Just so you know, all sales are final, and you must be able to take these things with you today. Do you have a vehicle?”

  “Um…” I glanced at Juniper. Winter elves weren’t exactly weaklings, but we’d ridden the company-provided bikes here. I couldn’t exactly balance the rug, the painting and my other purchases while pedaling. “I need to make a phone call. But it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “All right. I’ll go work some magic on the total and be back in a few minutes.”

  As Bryn left us, I nudged Juni and gave her a thumbs-up. “Way to go on asking for a discount. I never would have thought of that.”

  “It’s what these sales are all about. But don’t change the subject.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Oh, really? And who are you going to call?”

  “You know who.” I sighed. “I don’t have any choice if I want to get this stuff home. He’s the only one I know with a truck.”

  “You could call an iRyde.”

  “After all the money I just spent, you want me to spend more?”

  Juniper raised her brows. “You’re going to owe him.”

  “Don’t remind me.” I pulled out my phone and dialed one of Nocturne Falls’ hottest citizens, Cooper Sullivan. And I wasn’t just making a pun because he was a fireman. And an incredibly good-looking one. He was a summer elf, the opposite of my kind. Heat and fire were the calling cards of summer elves, just like cold and ice belonged to us.

  Cooper was also my ex-boyfriend from college. We’d broken up due to a shady third party (my former best friend Lark, who really ought to be known as She Who Shall Not Be Named) and her lies, but Coop and I had recently made up. Meaning we were friends again, but not really dating. Well, sort of dating. But not in a serious way.

  It was hard to say exactly what Cooper and I were doing now. Casually dating maybe? We’d been totally into each other in college, but the years between then and now had been filled with a lot of bad feelings and unhappy memories. Moving past all that was further complicated by the fact that I’d come to Nocturne Falls in a magical disguise that hid who I really was. It was all part of my attempt to uncover why employees at the toy shop were going missing.

  During that attempt and in that disguise, I dated Cooper. Just a few times. But, hey, I was on a fact-finding mission and Cooper was dialed into the town, being a fireman and all. It was just part of doing my job.

  In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that some of the dates had included kissing. Really good kissing.

  I’d since come clean about who I was, having solved the missing-elves business, so Cooper knew the truth. We were doing our best to be friends now, though we hadn’t seen much of each other the last few weeks. Mostly because I’d been avoiding him. I know. Not the nicest of me. But I was so torn about how to feel when it came to Cooper. I liked him. But we had some strange history. And we were different people now than we’d been in college. Who wasn’t?

  Juniper thought I should be friends with him but move on romantically. She liked Cooper as a friend, too, but after I told her what had happened between us in college, she was convinced that if he had really loved me then, he would have fought harder.

  Not that she was so fond of the other man in my life. Greyson Garrett. Dark, mysterious, handsome and a little dangerous, Greyson was everything my mother had ever warned me about in a man. And then some. He was also a vampire with the most delicious Irish accent. I could listen to him talk all day. But more on that tasty hunk of fanged goodness later.

  Cooper answered on the fourth ring. “Jayne?”

  “Yep, it’s me.”

  “Hey, what have you been up to?”

  “Work mostly. Getting the store back on track and bringing new employees in, getting them trained, all that stuff. It’s been crazy busy.” That wasn’t a lie, but I’d had some time to hang out with Juniper and Buttercup, the other store employee I’d become friends with, so it wasn’t as if I’d been working non-stop.

  “I’m sure you’ve been swamped. How do you like being manager?”

  “I love it, actually.” It was the first job I’d had that felt right.

  “Good.” He paused, and I could sense him leaving the small talk behind. “Any room in your schedule for lunch?”

  And there it was. “Oh, I always make time to eat. You know me.” I made a face at Juniper, who made an I-told-you-so face right back at me.

  He laughed. “I meant lunch with me.”

  I knew that. But I was all about avoidance. Sadly, that wasn’t going to get the rug and the painting and all this other paraphernalia back to my apartment. And if Cooper was willing to help, I’d make it worth his while. Because that was the right thing to do for a friend. “I’ll tell you what, if you can do me a favor today, I’ll fix you dinner tonight. At my place. I have some work to do when I get back, schedules to write up and inventories to run, that kind of stuff, but maybe around seven, you could come—”

  “Done.”

  Okay, he was more eager to see me than I’d anticipated. “You don’t know what the favor is. Or what I’m making for dinner.” Spaghetti and meat sauce, because that was
easy, yummy and the perfect excuse to have tiramisu for dessert.

  “Whatever you make will be fine. What’s the favor?” There was a smile in his voice. “Should I be worried?”

  I hoped not. “I need help getting a rug and a painting from an estate sale back to my apartment.”

  “I see. You’re just interested in me for my muscles.”

  He had no idea. Or maybe he did. I played it off. “If muscles is what you call your pickup truck, then you’ve figured me out.”

  He laughed. “Let me throw on some clothes, and I can be there in ten. So long as you aren’t miles away. Where is this place?”

  Throw on some clothes? What was he wearing now? Or not wearing? I reined my thoughts in. “Not far. We’re over on Phantom Lane.”

  He whistled. “The ritzy part of town.”

  “Yeah, we’re at a big Victorian that’s having an estate sale. Nasty divorce is the scuttlebutt. Anyway, there’s lots of cool stuff.”

  “I’ll find it. Call you when I get there if I don’t see you first.” He hung up.

  I tucked my phone into my purse. “He’s on his way.”

  “And you’re making him dinner? Sounds like a fun evening.” Juniper’s knowing wink wasn’t helpful.

  “I like him.” I really did.

  “I know. But you also like Greyson. Or are you throwing him aside? Which would be fine with me.”

  “I’m not throwing Greyson aside.” I liked him, too.