Read Online A Zest for Murder (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 5) by Mary Maxwell - Free Book Online
Authors: Mary Maxwell
Ads: Link
again. “See! I told you; every sixty seconds, another call from
my mother-in-law.”
She reached into the purse and came
out with her wallet. “I should pay for the cupcakes and get out of your hair.”
I walked over to the wire rack
where special orders were stored. I lifted the boxes marked DARBY FRANKLIN from the middle shelf, carried them to where she waited and placed them
carefully on the counter.
“Ted’s going to be so surprised!”
she said, handing me three twenty dollar bills.
“Let me go out front and get your
change,” I said.
She shook her head. “That’s fine.
Maybe you could put it in the jar by the register for the St. Mary’s food
pantry.”
“How thoughtful!” I slipped the
money into my back pocket. “Thank you, Darby. Can I help you carry those to the
car?”
“I can manage, Katie.”
I picked up the boxes anyway and
moved toward the door. “I can use a little fresh air,” I said. “And I can also
run interference if Meredith ambushes you outside.”
She giggled as we stepped through
the door. “Well, it sounds like that’s all finished now. I’ll give her a call
as soon as I get home. Maybe invite her over for coffee next week.”
“That’d be a nice gesture. You
could put the feud to rest once and for all.”
She narrowed her gaze. “It wasn’t a
feud, Katie. It was a…well, it was a misunderstanding.”
As we walked down the row of cars,
I asked Darby if she’d heard the news about Tipper Hedge.
“No, I’ve had my hands full at
home. What happened?”
I gave her a quick recap, leaving
out some of the details about the woman I’d found on the kitchen floor. When I
finished, her eyes were locked on mine and her face had gone pale.
“That’s the most awful thing I’ve
ever heard,” she said. “And I just saw Tipper last Friday. She came by to see
the baby and have lunch.”
“I saw her night before last,” I
said. “In fact, she and her new boyfriend were supposed to come over to
Blanche’s for dinner. But they didn’t make it.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say.
I’m just…you know? I mean, we see things like that on TV all the time, but they
happen to other people.”
I nodded, feeling the knot of dread
in my stomach again. “I know. Other people in other places. But sometimes…” A
tear slipped down Darby’s cheek. “Oh, sweetheart! Come here.”
I shifted the boxes and wrapped her
in a sideways embrace as she began to cry. We stood in the chilly air for a few
seconds before she pushed out of the hug.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “It’s
hormones. And the lack of sleep.”
“Understandable. I should let you
go so you can get out of this cold and back home with that new little one.”
Her car was a few spaces away, so
we walked to the trunk. I waited while Darby opened it, and then put the
cupcakes inside.
“Thanks again, Katie!”
“You’re so welcome,” I said. “Enjoy
the goodies. And say hello to everyone at your house, okay?”
She opened her car door and then
stopped. “Didn’t something bad happen there a few years before Tipper bought
the house?”
The question was out of left field,
so I smiled and asked Darby to refresh my memory.
“It was, like, eight or nine years
ago,” she said. “You were in Chicago. Your mom and dad were running Sky High.
And the house was owned by…oh, shoot! What was their last name?”
“Oh, that’s right! The Flanagans
lived there for the longest time.”
Darby nodded. “Yes! The father
worked for First Regional Bank until he quit to open some kind of tourism
business. And the mother…I think her name was Hannah. Does that sound right?”
Hearing the name triggered a deep
memory from the past. My mother and Hannah Flanagan were good friends when I
was younger; playing bridge once a month, talking on the phone most evenings to
trade local gossip and taking art classes at the community center on Saturday
afternoons.
“Yes, it was Hannah Flanagan,” I
said. “And
my mother-in-law.”
She reached into the purse and came
out with her wallet. “I should pay for the cupcakes and get out of your hair.”
I walked over to the wire rack
where special orders were stored. I lifted the boxes marked DARBY FRANKLIN from the middle shelf, carried them to where she waited and placed them
carefully on the counter.
“Ted’s going to be so surprised!”
she said, handing me three twenty dollar bills.
“Let me go out front and get your
change,” I said.
She shook her head. “That’s fine.
Maybe you could put it in the jar by the register for the St. Mary’s food
pantry.”
“How thoughtful!” I slipped the
money into my back pocket. “Thank you, Darby. Can I help you carry those to the
car?”
“I can manage, Katie.”
I picked up the boxes anyway and
moved toward the door. “I can use a little fresh air,” I said. “And I can also
run interference if Meredith ambushes you outside.”
She giggled as we stepped through
the door. “Well, it sounds like that’s all finished now. I’ll give her a call
as soon as I get home. Maybe invite her over for coffee next week.”
“That’d be a nice gesture. You
could put the feud to rest once and for all.”
She narrowed her gaze. “It wasn’t a
feud, Katie. It was a…well, it was a misunderstanding.”
As we walked down the row of cars,
I asked Darby if she’d heard the news about Tipper Hedge.
“No, I’ve had my hands full at
home. What happened?”
I gave her a quick recap, leaving
out some of the details about the woman I’d found on the kitchen floor. When I
finished, her eyes were locked on mine and her face had gone pale.
“That’s the most awful thing I’ve
ever heard,” she said. “And I just saw Tipper last Friday. She came by to see
the baby and have lunch.”
“I saw her night before last,” I
said. “In fact, she and her new boyfriend were supposed to come over to
Blanche’s for dinner. But they didn’t make it.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say.
I’m just…you know? I mean, we see things like that on TV all the time, but they
happen to other people.”
I nodded, feeling the knot of dread
in my stomach again. “I know. Other people in other places. But sometimes…” A
tear slipped down Darby’s cheek. “Oh, sweetheart! Come here.”
I shifted the boxes and wrapped her
in a sideways embrace as she began to cry. We stood in the chilly air for a few
seconds before she pushed out of the hug.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “It’s
hormones. And the lack of sleep.”
“Understandable. I should let you
go so you can get out of this cold and back home with that new little one.”
Her car was a few spaces away, so
we walked to the trunk. I waited while Darby opened it, and then put the
cupcakes inside.
“Thanks again, Katie!”
“You’re so welcome,” I said. “Enjoy
the goodies. And say hello to everyone at your house, okay?”
She opened her car door and then
stopped. “Didn’t something bad happen there a few years before Tipper bought
the house?”
The question was out of left field,
so I smiled and asked Darby to refresh my memory.
“It was, like, eight or nine years
ago,” she said. “You were in Chicago. Your mom and dad were running Sky High.
And the house was owned by…oh, shoot! What was their last name?”
“Oh, that’s right! The Flanagans
lived there for the longest time.”
Darby nodded. “Yes! The father
worked for First Regional Bank until he quit to open some kind of tourism
business. And the mother…I think her name was Hannah. Does that sound right?”
Hearing the name triggered a deep
memory from the past. My mother and Hannah Flanagan were good friends when I
was younger; playing bridge once a month, talking on the phone most evenings to
trade local gossip and taking art classes at the community center on Saturday
afternoons.
“Yes, it was Hannah Flanagan,” I
said. “And
Similar Books
