Read Online Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke - Free Book Online Page B

Herb’s crazy about Lisa and I don’t believe he’d get involved with another woman, but go on.”
    â€œLisa made chocolate caramels last night and gave some to Herb in his lunch bag.”
    â€œThat’s nice, but what does that have to do with Phyllis Bates?”
    â€œI’ll tell you, but please be careful with this. If it gets out, it could cause a lot of trouble between Lisa and Herb.”
    â€œOkay. That’s enough salad. Let’s get to the main course. Spit it out, Hannah.”
    â€œThe object I found was Herb’s lunch bag. It was one of the reusable, personalized ones that Lisa gave him as a present. The lunch was gone, but the caramels were still there. I’m hoping that Herb was saving them for later, Phyllis grabbed Herb’s lunch bag after he left the office, and Herb had nothing to do with the fact that she had it with her when she was killed.”
    â€œSo you want me to sit on that piece of information until I find out if Herb has an alibi?”
    Hannah nodded gratefully. “Yes, that’s it exactly. Please, Mike . . . I just can’t believe that Herb could kill anyone.”
    â€œOf course you can’t, but both of us know that the most unlikely people can kill if they believe the circumstances warrant it.”
    â€œI know you’re right, but I still can’t believe it.”
    Mike reached out to slip an arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “Okay. Just think about this for a minute. Say Herb is having a fling with Phyllis and Phyllis is threatening to tell Lisa about it unless he does something for her. And whatever that something is, Herb can’t do it. He doesn’t want to lose Lisa. He loves her. But Herb knows that Phyllis is the type of woman to make good on her threat and wreck his marriage. Herb’s caught in a vise, and it’s getting tighter with each passing day. He’s desperate and he can see only one way out of it. He has to neutralize the threat.”
    Hannah shivered and Mike pulled her a bit closer. “By killing Phyllis before she can talk to Lisa?”
    â€œYes. You said that Lisa was with you when you found the body. Do you know where she was before she met you at the Corner Tavern?”
    â€œYes. You know that Herb’s playing Santa and Mayor Bascomb appointed Phyllis as Mrs. Claus, don’t you?” Mike nodded, and Hannah continued. “Lisa and I went to the rehearsal to pick up the Christmas gift bags we’re filling with candy for the children. We sat down in the back of the auditorium and watched the last few minutes of the play. And then it was time for Herb and Phyllis to come onstage.”
    â€œLisa wanted to watch Herb with Phyllis?”
    Hannah nodded. “And that turned out to be a really bad idea. Tory Bascomb directed Phyllis to give Herb a stage kiss right before the final curtain, but Phyllis really kissed him. I mean, really kissed him. It was obvious to everyone who saw it that there was nothing staged about that kiss!”
    â€œGo on.”
    â€œLisa and I were sitting in the back, and we saw what everyone else saw. Naturally, Lisa was upset and she ran out of the auditorium. I caught her on the way to the parking lot, and since I didn’t want her to go straight home when she was that upset, we went back to The Cookie Jar and we worked for a while. Then I suggested hamburgers at the Corner Tavern, and Lisa agreed. She said she had to go home to feed the dogs and let them out in the yard for a while before she could go out to eat, but she promised to meet me at the Corner Tavern just as soon as she could.”
    â€œDo you know what time you and Lisa left The Cookie Jar?”
    â€œYes. I looked at the clock before we went out the door. It was only a couple of minutes after nine.”
    â€œAnd what time did Lisa get to the Corner Tavern?”
    â€œI don’t remember. I went out there right away and sat at the bar for a while, waiting