ROCCO's guest CLOVER from BETTER OFF THREAD by Amanda Lee

Hoppin’ Around the Christmas Tree

By CLOVER from BETTER OFF THREAD by Amanda Lee

Hi, ROCCO! Do you like Christmas trees? I do. They’re so pretty and sparkly. I love looking at all the ornaments. And the lights! The lights are wonderful. Veronica—she’s my person—only put lights three-fourths of the way down the tree because she was afraid I’d chew on the wire. She’s got a point. I do have a tendency to chew anything I can get in my mouth. Are you a chewer, ROCCO? It’s a necessity for rabbits, you know. It keeps our teeth from getting too long. Veronica keeps willow sticks around for me to chew on, and that makes things like tree lights less appetizing.

We’ve had company over the holidays. I typically don’t mind company, but there’s a toddler here, and Veronica is afraid he’ll be too rough with me or that I’ll accidentally scratch him. So I’ve been confined to Veronica’s bedroom much of the time that he’s here. He—his name is Jackson—and I have had a few supervised visits in front of the tree. But I’m having to spend far too much time in solitary confinement.

I get regular visits from Veronica, of course. And Marcy comes to see me. Marcy is Veronica’s son’s girlfriend. And, in fact, it was Marcy who introduced me to Veronica. Marcy is busy right now with her shop, the Seven-Year Stitch, and with being an elf at a hospital. She and her friend Captain Moe are there entertaining children. I think that’s nice. My friend Angus—he’s a dog—got to with Marcy, but nobody invited me. They probably thought I wouldn’t like it. Veronica seems to think I’m awfully delicate, but I’m tougher than she realizes. I have to admit, I like it when she pampers me though.

Uh-oh. I hear Ted in the living room telling Veronica that Marcy’s friend Captain Moe is suspected of killer the administrator at the hospital! Ted is a detective. I hope he can help prove Captain Moe’s innocence…if he IS innocent. But he HAS to be, right? Marcy wouldn’t be friends with a killer. Wow, ROCCO, this sounds bad. Could you maybe get your friends Nick and Nora on the case if we need some help?

 Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent & Gayle Leeson) Lee writes the Embroidery Mystery Series which features the owner of an embroidery shop in Oregon. As Trent, she writes the Daphne Martin Cozy Mystery Series which features a cake decorator. Trent also writes the Myrtle Crumb Mystery Series. Myrtle is a senior sleuth who lives in Virginia. As Gayle Leeson, she writes the Down South Café.