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Mr. Milton cleared his throat several times but remained every bit as angry as he had before resorting to this maneuver.“What about Fred Hapley? He got in the way. That’s all. Bill missed the last meeting, so he didn’t know the guy would be there. Luckily, he had a gun on him in case the icicle failed to do its job with the woman. The icicle worked, but he still found a use for the gun, anyway.”

“Luckily?” Nan and I cried once again in perfect sync.

Nan reared back and slapped him across the other cheek.“I can’t believe I ever considered you a friend,” she said with disgust.

“If that’s all, I’ll just be going on my way,” Mr. Milton said with one last look toward Nan as a giant frown took over his face. “It’s really too bad. I liked you, Dorothy. I thought we had started something special. I can see now your affections are fickle.”

“I don’t date criminals,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

“Believe what you want. I don’t have to answer you anyway.”

“No, but you do have to answer to him,” Charles countered, drawing all our attention to the officer approaching from behind. It was the same cop we had run across earlier, the one who had questioned Mags and insisted on remaining in full control at the station.

Several paces back, Dad followed.

“Where’s Mags?” I asked when he stopped at my side.

“Your mother took her home and sent me to find out what was going on here.”

We watched side-by-side as the out-of-town officer slapped a pair of cuffs on Harvey Milton. Whether or not he planned any of it, he’d still been an accomplice by keeping his neighbor’s secret.

As happy as I was to see Milton carted away, something still wasn’t right. “What about the other guy?”

“Yes, what about Bill Randone?” Nan demanded.

“Bouchard’s got him,” came the answer. “That’s right, you’ll see your buddy soon enough at the station.”

Milton drew on his right to remain silent, leaving the rest of us gaping until the officer escorted him from our view.

“Well, that’s one way to celebrate Christmas Eve,” Nan remarked with a shrug as we all burst into relieved laughter.

“I think I prefer the more traditional methods of celebration.” Charles wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead protectively.

Octo-Cat got squished in between us but didn’t utter a single meow in protest.“I knew it the whole time,” he said instead.

“You did, did you?” I asked with another chuckle.

“The cat always knows,” he explained, winking up at me.

Seeing as it was Christmas, I decided to let that one go.“You did good,” I told him, backing out of Charles’s embrace so he could breathe easily once more.

“You, too, Paisley. Good dog.” I bent down and picked her up, and after having accepted a few pets and kisses from me, she vaulted into Nan’s arms, completely unconcerned for her own safety.

“Whoa there,” Nan cried, praising the wriggling little ball of fur.

“I’m sorry about your new boyfriend,” my dad offered with a frown.

“Me, too,” she said. “Luckily we weren’t quite to that point yet, though.”

“Think you’ll ever forgive him?” Charles asked.

“Heck no,” my grandmother shouted, then hacked a giant loogie onto the snow, drawing shocked laughter from all of us.

“Even though he swears he wasn’t involved in the murders, he still warned his friend rather than turning him in. As far as I’m concerned, that’s just as bad. I’d never be able to trust him again. Not after that stunt.”

“You know what? Forget about Mr. Milton,” I said. “He’s not important.”

“Actually, I do owe him one thing.” Nan glanced from the street toward the sky, then met my eyes head-on. “I hadn’t quite realized how lonely I let myself become since your grandfather passed. Of course, I have you and Paisley and…”

“And enough friends to fill a football stadium,” Dad pointed out with a smile.

“That, too,” she admitted her smile matching his, “but it’s not quite the same as having a partner.”

Charles pulled me into his side as we beamed at Nan and the touching news she’d just shared with us.

“So you think you’re ready to date again?” I asked, my heart swelling with excitement for her.

“I think I’m getting there,” she said with a sly grin. “One step at a time.”

Chapter Twenty

We spent Christmas holed up at home. Mom, Dad, and Charles all joined us at different points in the day, but mostly it was just me, Nan, and Mags sitting around our enormous Christmas tree and sharing our favorite memories from the years we’d missed out on celebrating together.

Nan, of course, dressed Octo-Cat and Paisley in their homemade holiday sweaters but held her tongue when Mags decided to wear a floor-length khaki skirt with a mint green cardigan set.

I opted to remain in pajamas, because nothing beats the comfort of flannel after a long, hard day—and the one we’d had yesterday was certainly a doozy.

That was Christmas.