Free Weaving The Web: A Cold Hollow Mystery (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 2) by Emilie J. Howard

a tremendous job with the nursery and the landscaping around her new house. The tour was like something out of a fairy tale. She had several archways made out of hickory branches, and there were bright, multicolored blooms everywhere. There were garden statues of fairies, gnomes, and other oddities strewn among the trails that wound from the greenhouses to the area where she kept berry bushes and some ornamental trees. Inside the greenhouses, you could have your pick of vegetable plants and annual or perennial flowers.
    Liam commented on the drive home, “I’m naming my gnome Harvey. What are you going to name yours?”
    Myrna smiled. “Norman.”
    Liam shook his head. “I don’t think it would work. It’s the name of our deer head on the fireplace mantel.”
    Myrna concentrated hard and shrugged. “I’ll consult with Papa Tom and see what he thinks. He has to name his too, right?”
    “Yup. We’re going to have a happy gnome family outside of our house, just like the one inside the home. They’ll be happy because we bought them all of their favorite flowers.”
    “How do you know they are the gnomes’ favorite flowers?”
    “Becky told me so.”
    Myrna laughed. “So you like Becky? Do you think she’s nice?”
    “Yup. I like her sister Sarah too. She makes good cookies.”
    “She sure does, and it’s thanks to her I can spend more time with my two favorite men now.”
    “Mama, have you thought about when I can have a baby sister? I know Papa Tom has.”
    Myrna’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. She had not seen this question coming. She pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and kept her foot on the brake. She leaned toward Liam and said, “I would love nothing more than to give you a baby sister, but what if it comes out a boy?”
    His face crinkled. “Well…I guess a baby brother would be okay. When are you going to marry Papa Tom, anyway?”
    She kissed his cheek and replied, “We’ll talk to Papa Tom about it, okay?”
    He whispered, “We better have our family talk early, because Grandma and Grandpa Dumont are coming over later.”
    She pulled out onto the road again and continued home while thinking her boyfriend, Dr. Tom Gillette, was going to have many questions to answer when he came home from work. She stopped at their mailbox, as she did each day, and reached for the mail inside. There was a small box labeled “For Liam,” but it wasn’t stamped. Someone had obviously taken the time to drive to her home and stick it inside. She sorted through the mail, placed everything inside her pocketbook, and headed up their driveway.
    Tom had already asked her to marry him, but she wanted to live with him a while before making a decision. They had been living together for quite some time now, and so far, Myrna was the happiest she had been in her entire life. There were no secrets between them. She had also postponed it for Liam’s sake. She wanted to give him time to adjust to a new living situation, and he had, according to the child psychiatrist. When Liam began asking for new additions to the family and calling them Mama and Papa, the doctor had told Myrna he was ready to move on with life.
    They pulled into their parking spot and Liam shouted. Myrna smiled to see Tom standing in the driveway, locking his jeep. He had gotten out of work early. When she parked her car and turned off the engine, she helped Liam unbuckle himself, and he opened the door on his own. He then proceeded to plow into Tom and embrace his legs. Myrna got out of the vehicle and popped the back hatch. While she was there, she pulled the box out of her pocketbook. Taking a deep breath, she opened it to find a dead baby chick inside it lying atop tissue paper. Her hands trembled and her eyes narrowed as she stepped back and surveyed their property. She wanted to scream, but held it in. She knew at that moment, her family had been targeted. She hid the box and would bury it later.
    She heard Liam tell Tom,