Santa finds himself in a stitch of trouble in the tenth in the series from the national bestselling author of  The Stitching Hour ...   Marcy is busy helping her customers make hand-crafted ornaments at her embroidery shop, the Seven-Year Stitch. But despite the yuletide bustle, when her friend Captain Moe asks for her help, she can’t refuse—especially when the favor is to play the elf to his Santa for sick children at a local hospital. Despite the ridiculous outfit, Marcy finds herself enjoying spreading cheer—until the hospital’s administrator is found murdered.   Although the deceased had plenty of people willing to fill her stocking with coal, evidence pins the crime on Moe. Now it’s up to Marcy, with the help of her police officer boyfriend Ted and her Irish Wolfhound Angus, to stitch together the clues to clear Moe’s name—before someone else winds up crossed off Santa’s list for good... Praise for the Embroidery Mysteries   “Readers will enjoy spending time with the friendly folks of Tallulah Falls.”— Publishers Weekly   “Lee is clearly a story wizard.”—Blogcritics   “A great series with enough suspense and smart sleuthing to hook readers every time.”— RT Book Reviews   “A fast-paced, intriguing who-done-it.”—Fresh Fiction   “Lee has mastered the art of crafting very likable characters who are eccentric, lovable, and definitely people readers will enjoy.”—Kings River Life Magazine Amanda Lee is the national bestselling author of the Embroidery Mysteries, including The Stitching Hour , Wicked Stitch , and Thread End . Chapter One I locked the door to the Seven-Year Stitch, my embroidery specialty shop, walked over to the sit-and-stitch square, and slumped onto the sofa facing away from the window. My gray Irish wolfhound, Angus, flopped onto the floor beside me and heaved a sigh. "What a day, huh, Angus?" I looked over at our mannequin, Jill-who normally resembles Marilyn Monroe-and noticed that her wig was now sideways and covering her entire face. I laughed. "I think Jill has had an even rougher day than we have." Black Friday. Although the other merchants in Tallulah Falls and I couldn't offer the deep discounts provided by the large chain stores, we'd all done something to try to sway customers to shop with us today. My friends Blake and Sadie MacKenzie of MacKenzies' Mochas had offered customers free coffee with the purchase of a pastry. Todd Calloway of the Brew Crew had forgone giving out free beer and had instead provided shoppers with bottles of water and a place to leave their bags so they wouldn't have too much to carry as they wandered from shop to shop. I'd brought in a toaster oven this morning and had provided patrons with freshly baked cookies and a twenty-five percent discount off their total purchases. I'd expected an upsurge in traffic, but I hadn't been prepared for the amount of business I'd received today. I'd been open last year on Black Friday, but the Seven-Year Stitch had been in business but a few weeks then, and although business had been good, I don't think people were as aware of the shop as they were now. Plus, I was getting better at the promotional side of things. I'd been closed for the past few days, but for two weeks prior to that, I'd been putting flyers in everyone's bags advertising the Thanksgiving celebration. I pushed myself off the sofa and went over to adjust Jill's wig. I smoothed it down and then straightened her apron. I typically dressed Jill to coincide with the season. With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, I'd dressed her in a 1950s-style A-line dress-complete with crinoline-and a ruffled apron. She looked darling . . . or, well, she did after I fixed her wig. I looked around the rest of the shop. Beyond Jill and the checkout counter to the left were bins of floss and yarn. Maple racks containing pattern books, needles, hoops, crochet hooks, and other needlecraft supplies filled the rest of the left side of the shop. To the right of the counter was the sit-and-stitch square. Two navy sofas faced each other and were separated by an oval maple coffee table atop a red-and-blue braided rug. Red club chairs and matching ottomans rounded out the seating area, where patrons were invited to-you guessed it-sit and stitch. On the walls and atop the maple racks were embroidery projects I'd completed, as well as dolls whose outfits I'd made or embellished with embroidery. Candlewicked pillows usually adorned the sofas in the sit-and-stitch square, but I'd placed them in the office today. I'd been afraid that children with chocolaty fingers and faces would latch onto the white pillows. That was something I hadn't originally considered when I'd decided to offer cookies to the Stitch patrons. Deciding that putting the pillows back in place was the next-easiest thing to do-after making Jill presentable again-I retrieved the pillows, fluffed them, and placed them on the sofa. With my hands on my hips, I surveyed the rest of the shop. I need