New Year's Eve Murder. Leslie Meier

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      NEW YEAR’S EVE MURDER

      “How’s everybody coping?” Lucy asked.

      “You mean about Nadine?” Nancy was checking her manicure.

      “Everyone must be reeling in shock, no?”

      “It could be worse. Nadine was a master at delegating responsibility. Phyllis knows exactly what needs to be done and how to do it.”

      “That’s fortunate.”

      “Yeah. The magazine will be fine. The one I feel bad for is her husband.”

      “Arnold?”

      “He’s a lovely man. So sensitive. I’m sure he’s devastated. I’m going to do everything I can to help him through this difficult time,” Nancy said, tightening the belt on her coat.

      “Well, thanks for coming by,” Lucy said. “I really appreciate it.”

      “That’s me. A regular Miss Goody Two-Shoes,” said Nancy, clicking out the door on her stilettos.

      Lucy wasn’t sure that was exactly the term she’d use to describe Nancy, but you never knew. Just because a woman was glamorous and fashionable and successful didn’t mean she wasn’t nice underneath. You couldn’t tell a book, or a magazine, by its cover. She retrieved Jolie from the wastebasket, flipped through a few pages, and shoved it aside. What she needed was something distracting, something silly.

      But when she switched on the TV there was a serious young female newscaster in a navy blue suit reporting that the medical examiner was now investigating the death of magazine editor Nadine Nelson as suspicious…

      Books by Leslie Meier

      Mistletoe Murder

      Tippy Toe Murder

      Trick or Treat Murder

      Back to School Murder

      Valentine Murder

      Christmas Cookie Murder

      Turkey Day Murder

      Wedding Day Murder

      Birthday Party Murder

      Father’s Day Murder

      Star Spangled Murder

      New Year’s Eve Murder

      Bake Sale Murder

      Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

      A Lucy Stone Mystery

      NEW YEAR’S EVE MURDER

      Leslie Meier

      KENSINGTON BOOKS

      KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

      http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

      Contents

      Chapter One: WIN A WINTER MAKEOVER FOR YOU AND YOUR MOM!

      Chapter Two: THE ONE BEAUTY AID YOU CAN’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT!

      Chapter Three: THE YEAR’S BEST AND WORST LOOKS

      Chapter Four: PLUCK OR WAX? OUR BROW EXPERTS HAVE THE ANSWERS

      Chapter Five: FOODS THAT ACTUALLY TAKE OFF POUNDS!

      Chapter Six: LUXE LOOKS FOR LESS!

      Chapter Seven: FAB FASHIONS TO DIE FOR!

      Chapter Eight: BANISH BLEMISHES: TIPS FROM TOP DERMATOLOGISTS

      Chapter Nine: EASY SELF-DEFENSE STRATEGIES ANYONE CAN LEARN

      Chapter Ten: SEXY, SEXY: LINGERIE HE’LL LOVE!

      Chapter Eleven: BEST BOUTIQUES: WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR OWN LOOK

      Chapter Twelve: BLACK IS BACK—BUT IT’S ANYTHING BUT BASIC

      Chapter Thirteen: CONFUSED BY COLOR? FIND YOUR PERFECT PALETTE

      Chapter Fourteen: ACCESSORIES FORECAST: BRING ON THE BLING!

      Chapter Fifteen: TAKE OUR TEST AND FIND YOUR PERSONALITY QUOTIENT

      Chapter Sixteen: WHAT FRENCH GIRLS HAVE THAT YOU DON’T

      Chapter Seventeen: FABULOUS FUN FURS FOR EVERY BUDGET!

      Chapter Eighteen: THE NEW ETIQUETTE: WHEN IT’S OK TO E-MAIL

      Chapter Nineteen: LOOKS THAT GO FROM DAY TO NIGHT!

      Chapter Twenty: ACTIVEWEAR THAT FLATTERS WHILE YOU GET FIT!

      Chapter Twenty-one: THIS NEW YEAR, RESOLVE TO BE YOUR BEST SELF!

      Chapter One

      WIN A WINTER MAKEOVER FOR YOU AND YOUR MOM!

      A solid month of baking and chasing bargains and wrapping and decorating and secret keeping and it all came down to this: a pile of torn wrapping paper under the Christmas tree, holiday plates scattered with crumbs and half-eaten cookies, punch cups filmed with egg nog, and sitting on one end table, a candy dish holding a pristine and untouched pyramid of ribbon candy. And then there was that awful letter. Why did it have to come on Christmas Eve, just in time to cast a pall over the holiday?

      Lucy Stone shook out a plastic trash bag and bent down to scoop up the torn paper, only to discover the family’s pet puppy, Libby, had made herself a nest of Christmas wrap and was curled up, sound asleep. No wonder. With all the excitement of opening presents, tantalizing cooking smells, and people coming and going, it had been an exhausting day for her.

      Lucy stroked the little Lab’s silky head and decided to leave the mess a bit longer. Best to let sleeping dogs lie, especially if the sleeping dog in question happened to be seven months old and increasingly given to bouts of manic activity, which included chewing shoes and furniture. She turned instead to the coffee table and started stacking plates and cups, then sat down on the sofa as a wave of exhaustion overtook her. It had been a long day. Zoe, her youngest at only eight years old, had awoken early and roused the rest of the house. Sara, fourteen, hadn’t minded, but their older sister, Elizabeth, protested the early hour. She was home for Christmas break from Chamberlain College in Boston, where she was a sophomore, and had stayed out late on Christmas Eve catching up with her old high school friends.

      She had finally given in and gotten out of bed after a half-hour of coaxing, and the Christmas morning orgy of exchanging presents had begun. What had they been thinking, wondered Lucy, dreading the credit card bills that would arrive as certainly as snow in January. She and Bill had really gone overboard this year, buying skis for Elizabeth and high-tech ice skates for Sara and Zoe. When their oldest child, Toby, arrived later in the day with his fiancée, Molly, they had presented him with a snowboard and her with a luxurious cashmere sweater. And those were only the big presents. There had been all the budget-busting books, CDs, video games, sweaters, and pajamas, right on down to the chocolate oranges and lip balm tucked in the toe of each bulging Christmas stocking.

      It all must have cost a fortune, guessed Lucy, who had lost track of the actual total sometime around December 18. Oh, sure, it had been great fun for the hour or two it took to open all the presents, but those credit card balances would linger for months. And what was she going to do about the letter? It was from the financial aid office at Chamberlain College advising her that they had reviewed the family’s finances and had cut Elizabeth’s aid package by ten thousand dollars. That meant they had to come up with the money or Elizabeth would have to leave school.

      She guiltily fingered the diamond studs Bill had surprised her with, saying they were a reward for all the Christmases he was only able to give her a handmade coupon book of promises after they finished buying presents