Read Online Cupcakes and Killing: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Shoppe Mysteries - Book 2) by Cora Wilkins - Free Book Online
Authors: Cora Wilkins
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the gun and crumpled to the sofa.
“I was just trying to help,” she sobbed, her faced buried in her hands. Ted picked the gun up to make sure she couldn’t touch it again, and he looked over at us.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through this, ladies,” he said. “I only just realized.”
“How did you realize?” Kaye asked. “And why didn’t you tell anyone you were seeing Zara?”
He shrugged. “It’s a long story. At first we kept it a secret because she thought her own reputation might harm mine, and she was tired of all the gossip. I kept telling her I didn’t care, but the more I did, the more I somehow pushed her away. She refused to commit. So the other night after dinner I told her I needed more, and if she wasn’t willing to give me that, then it was over. She said no and walked away.”
“Did the rest of the police know?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “I admitted our relationship straight after she was murdered, just so they wouldn’t think I was trying to hide anything. But…I never thought my own mother would do this.”
“What made you figure it out?” Tori asked.
“Only half an hour ago, I was chatting to the maintenance guy at the station. He happened to ask how my garden was going and mentioned to me that last week my mother had asked to borrow some fertilizer from his supply, claiming she wanted to help out with my garden. But as you can see, I don’t even have a garden. From there I realized it must have been her, and she’d gotten the fertilizer from him so no one would see her buying any…to cover her tracks. I realized she must have overheard my argument with Zara the other night, and she must have slipped the poison into the drink when Evie, Bobby and I were engrossed in a conversation at the reception. I was right there….God, I feel like a complete idiot. I wanted to believe I was wrong, but when I walked in here just then and saw her pointing a gun at you three…well, I knew I was right.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Kaye said. “Who’d suspect their elderly mother as a murderer?”
“The worst part is…Zara probably thought it was me,” he said, his voice choking up. “As she lay there dying, she must have been thinking that I’d poisoned her out of revenge.”
None of us told him that he was probably right, considering Zara’s final words to us. He was really much better off not knowing.
Amelia continued to sob, and Ted glanced at her.
“Sorry, Mom. I’m going to have to take you in.”
***
It had been two weeks since Zara’s funeral, and the town was finally beginning to settle down after all the drama. Amelia was locked up and awaiting her trial, and Ted let us know that a psychiatrist had diagnosed her with an early form of dementia; one which was known to occasionally bring about severe personality changes and erratic behavior, which could have led to her psychotic actions.
Seeing as his own mother had been the murderer, he had offered to resign as Deputy, but the town had rallied around him with support, saying there was no one better for the job and that it wasn’t his fault.
Mrs. Barnaby had been upset that the whole event had spoiled her day, but she was more upset that poor Zara had been killed. Right now, she was off on her honeymoon with Mr. Armstrong, and I was happy to hear that it was going well with no one else dropping dead around them.
Right now, Kaye, Tori, Daniel, Chris and I were at the park. We’d decided to have a quiet picnic in memoriam of Zara, surrounded by gardens that she’d helped to grow with her renowned green thumb. We hadn’t been friends with her for very long, but in the time that we’d gotten to know her, we’d come to realize she was a perfectly nice lady. She hadn’t lived her life in a way that most would expect of a woman her age, but that didn’t mean she’d deserved what happened to her.
Chris held up a plastic cup filled with soda. “To Zara,” he said. “She was a lovely
“I was just trying to help,” she sobbed, her faced buried in her hands. Ted picked the gun up to make sure she couldn’t touch it again, and he looked over at us.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through this, ladies,” he said. “I only just realized.”
“How did you realize?” Kaye asked. “And why didn’t you tell anyone you were seeing Zara?”
He shrugged. “It’s a long story. At first we kept it a secret because she thought her own reputation might harm mine, and she was tired of all the gossip. I kept telling her I didn’t care, but the more I did, the more I somehow pushed her away. She refused to commit. So the other night after dinner I told her I needed more, and if she wasn’t willing to give me that, then it was over. She said no and walked away.”
“Did the rest of the police know?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “I admitted our relationship straight after she was murdered, just so they wouldn’t think I was trying to hide anything. But…I never thought my own mother would do this.”
“What made you figure it out?” Tori asked.
“Only half an hour ago, I was chatting to the maintenance guy at the station. He happened to ask how my garden was going and mentioned to me that last week my mother had asked to borrow some fertilizer from his supply, claiming she wanted to help out with my garden. But as you can see, I don’t even have a garden. From there I realized it must have been her, and she’d gotten the fertilizer from him so no one would see her buying any…to cover her tracks. I realized she must have overheard my argument with Zara the other night, and she must have slipped the poison into the drink when Evie, Bobby and I were engrossed in a conversation at the reception. I was right there….God, I feel like a complete idiot. I wanted to believe I was wrong, but when I walked in here just then and saw her pointing a gun at you three…well, I knew I was right.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Kaye said. “Who’d suspect their elderly mother as a murderer?”
“The worst part is…Zara probably thought it was me,” he said, his voice choking up. “As she lay there dying, she must have been thinking that I’d poisoned her out of revenge.”
None of us told him that he was probably right, considering Zara’s final words to us. He was really much better off not knowing.
Amelia continued to sob, and Ted glanced at her.
“Sorry, Mom. I’m going to have to take you in.”
***
It had been two weeks since Zara’s funeral, and the town was finally beginning to settle down after all the drama. Amelia was locked up and awaiting her trial, and Ted let us know that a psychiatrist had diagnosed her with an early form of dementia; one which was known to occasionally bring about severe personality changes and erratic behavior, which could have led to her psychotic actions.
Seeing as his own mother had been the murderer, he had offered to resign as Deputy, but the town had rallied around him with support, saying there was no one better for the job and that it wasn’t his fault.
Mrs. Barnaby had been upset that the whole event had spoiled her day, but she was more upset that poor Zara had been killed. Right now, she was off on her honeymoon with Mr. Armstrong, and I was happy to hear that it was going well with no one else dropping dead around them.
Right now, Kaye, Tori, Daniel, Chris and I were at the park. We’d decided to have a quiet picnic in memoriam of Zara, surrounded by gardens that she’d helped to grow with her renowned green thumb. We hadn’t been friends with her for very long, but in the time that we’d gotten to know her, we’d come to realize she was a perfectly nice lady. She hadn’t lived her life in a way that most would expect of a woman her age, but that didn’t mean she’d deserved what happened to her.
Chris held up a plastic cup filled with soda. “To Zara,” he said. “She was a lovely
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