Read Online Banana Muffins & Mayhem by Janel Gradowski - Free Book Online

a lot." To prove the point, she fished the vibrating phone out of her pants pocket. "Excuse me."
    When she retreated to a quiet corner of the classroom to take the call, Amy headed to the busiest area in the room—the snack table. She grabbed a bottle of water and examined the platters of treats. The sugar-coated gingersnaps looked good, but the chocolate chip energy balls called out to her, so she grabbed a couple. Despite a short nap in the afternoon, her energy reserves were definitely running low. Stupid insomnia. The no-bake snacks were popular in the food blogging world. Bite-sized, homemade versions of energy bars. She took a bite—chewy, sweet, and chocolatey.
    "I love these. Did you make them?" Amy asked Aubergine when the teacher joined her students.
    "I did. Found the recipe in one of the illustrated cookbooks we carry. Every recipe I've tried from it has been really good, and the book is so colorful and gorgeous."
    "Sounds interesting…very unique. Could you show it to me after class?"
    "I would be happy to."
    Aubergine excused herself to talk to a group of teenage girls who wanted to speak with her about lettering comics. So Amy turned her attention to eating the second energy ball. Maybe they could boost her decision-making powers too. She had close to one hundred pictures that she had taken at Phoebe's very last public appearance. There could be clues in them pertaining to Foster's case.
    Amy sighed. Why did her mind have to come up with so many possibilities? Offering the photographs to the detective seemed like the best thing to do. But what if the police officer interpreted the gesture as an attempt to divert attention away from a suspect? Amy coughed as a crumb caught in her throat. Following that line of reasoning meant that both she and Alex could be murder suspects. Ugh.
    The detective finished her call and joined the rest of the class at the snack table. What to do? Amy tapped the toe of her suede bootie on the wooden floor. Another energy ball helped her make a decision. The benefits outweighed the possibly negative interpretation.
    Many of the other people were wandering back to their desks, eager to begin the lesson again. Amy tossed her napkin into the trash can and returned to her desk too. When the detective sat down in her chair, Amy leaned sideways. "Excuse me. I don't mean to intrude, but I just wanted to offer you some pictures I took at the Cabin Fever Cure event. I was going to write a blog post about Phoebe, so I took the pics for that. Now that she's dead, I won't be doing the post, but I thought maybe you would like to look at them to see if you spot anything suspicious."
    Detective Foster silently stared at Amy for a few seconds. A good technique for making suspects squirm in an interrogation room. Not so pleasant in the middle of what was supposed to be a fun art class. Finally, she replied. "I would like to see those. Thank you."
    Phew! Amy was beginning to sweat as though she was standing in front of the open door of a woodburning pizza oven. She placed one of her business cards on the other woman's desk. "Just email me when you get the chance. I'll give you access to the online account where I've stored copies of them."
    When Amy left the bookstore an hour later, she was glad the night air was chilly because she was sweltering. She couldn't figure out if Foster was in calm and cool detective mode or if she normally had a frosty personality. Whatever the reason for the cold shoulder, the terse responses and less-than-friendly attitude had left Amy unnerved. The overhead, recessed lights in the classroom felt as though they were heat lamps in a restaurant pass-through window. And she was the sprig of parsley garnish on a plate that had been forgotten by a waitress. Even though she knew in her gut that sharing the photographs was the right thing to do, her overheated mind was questioning the decision. If the gesture was taken the wrong way, what would be the consequences?

 
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