Read Online Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 04 - Death by Dumplings by Hope Callaghan - Free Book Online

purpose!
    “Did you hear the wife’s talking about suing?” Ruth asked.
    Gloria shook her head.  “I hope not for Dot and Ray’s sake…”  She grabbed Mally’s leash and headed for the door.  That was the worst possible news she’d heard all day.  She pulled the door open and turned back around. “I wouldn’t mention it to Dot or Ray.  They have enough to worry about right now.”
    Ruth pinched her fingers together and made a zipping motion across her mouth.  “My lips are sealed!”
    Bea nodded.  “Mine too!”
    Gloria closed the door.  She hoped they would keep silent.  The two of them didn’t have that great of a track record for keeping secrets…
    Gloria headed out of town and drove right past her own farm. 
    Dot’s employee, Jennifer, and her husband Tony, lived in what country folk called the boondocks.  Tony’s parents ran a small sawmill on their property.  They owned several acres of land and had sectioned off a nice chunk years back when Tony married Jennifer. 
    The two of them lived in a double wide trailer.  It was brand new when they bought it and quite nice.  There was a large, open living room and it even had a massive, stone fireplace, which Gloria loved. 
    Jennifer and Tony had three children. Gloria hadn’t seen the kids in years.  They must be teens by now , she thought.
    The double wide was set close to the road.  Gloria noticed Jennifer’s beat up old four door sedan parked in the driveway.  Tony’s pick-up truck was parked beside it. Gloria pulled in behind Jennifer’s car and climbed out. 
    Jennifer must’ve seen her coming.  She swung the screen door open as Gloria and Mally shuffled through the grass towards the front deck. 
    “Hi Gloria!” Jennifer said.  “What brings you way out here?”
    “Hey Jennifer,” Gloria replied.  She really liked Jennifer.  She wasn’t born and raised in Belhaven like her husband, Tony.  She was what they jokingly referred to as a “City Slicker.”  Tony met her long ago on a trip to Chicago.  After she finished high school, she moved to Belhaven and she and Tony married. 
    For years, Jennifer raised the boys while Tony worked in Green Springs at the tool and die shop.  Gloria heard they cut Tony’s hours back when the economy tanked.  That’s another reason Jennifer was working at the restaurant.  She was trying to help make ends meet until Tony could get more hours down at the shop.  Thank goodness they had their home on family property. 
    “C’mon in,” Jennifer said.  She patted Mally’s head.  “You, too!”
    Gloria hugged Jennifer and stepped inside the house.  The kids must be home.  She could hear loud, thumping music coming from somewhere in the back. 
    She glanced towards the kitchen.  “Is Tony here?”
    Jennifer shook her head.  “No.  He ran over to the sawmill to help his dad run some boards through for a customer.” 
    Jennifer’s father-in-law, Fred, had a heart attack a few years back. He no longer worked from sun-up to sun-down.  Tony helped out at the sawmill whenever he wasn’t working at the shop. 
    Jennifer waved her hand towards the kitchen table.  “You want to have a seat?”
    Gloria nodded as she made her way over to the chair.  “I told Dot I’d come by and check on you today.” She dropped her purse on the floor.  Mally curled up next to her feet. 
    Jennifer pulled out a chair and plopped down.  “It’s just horrible, Gloria.” She dropped her chin in her fist.  “Dot must be devastated.”
    Gloria nodded.  “She’s taking this whole thing hard.  That’s why I’m here.  To see if you can recall anything at all about that morning that might help track down the killer.”
    Jennifer glanced out the back slider. “I got to the restaurant around eleven that day,” she said.  “Right around the time the breakfast crowd cleared out and before the lunch crowd started wandering in.”
    She went on.  “I came in through the back.  I remember