Free Caught Bread Handed by Ellie Alexander Page B

caught my eye and frowned. Then she started slicing whole-grain bread. “You two go talk up front. I’ll bring you some lunch.”
    The Professor stepped aside. “Juliet, after you.”
    I walked to the dining room. The lunch rush would be in full swing within the hour, but for the moment there was a lull. I pointed to a two-person table near the pastry case. “Is this okay?”
    â€œYes, please sit.” The Professor removed his scarf and placed his tweed jacket on the back of the chair.
    I sat and waited for him to open a well-used moleskin notebook. He flipped to a blank page and looked up at me. “I’m sorry to disturb your work. I have a few questions that I need to ask you and then I’ll be out of your way.”
    â€œIt’s not a problem,” I said. “Mindy was murdered?”
    He sighed and glanced outside at ShakesBurgers. “Yes. I’m afraid that she was.”
    â€œHow do you know? I mean, I don’t need the details, but how can you tell?”
    â€œThat’s the coroner’s job. We suspected that whoever killed Mindy tried to make it look like a suicide. There were bruising patterns, among other things, that led us to believe someone else had a hand in her death.” His voice sounded weary as he spoke. The Professor, despite being serious about Shakespeare, usually had a lightness about him. That was missing today. I wondered if the investigation was disturbing him.
    I tried to keep my face neutral. Thomas had hinted about the same thing. Now it had been confirmed by the medical examiner.
    â€œEstablishing time of death is going to be critical in this investigation, which is why I’m here.” The Professor flipped back a page in his notebook. “You said you thought you arrived at ShakesBurgers at six-twenty this morning, is that correct?”
    â€œI think so but I’m not entirely sure. I wasn’t really paying attention to the clock.”
    â€œCan you take a minute and walk me through what you did, leading up to finding Mindy?”
    I told the Professor how I’d stopped at the Green Goblin, delivered the rest of the orders, and walked across the street to the plaza.
    â€œAnd you think you crossed the street at six-twenty?” he asked as he removed his reading glasses from his pocket and placed them on the tip of his nose.
    â€œI wish I had paid better attention. That’s just a guess. I left Torte at six and I was probably at the Green Goblin for ten minutes. You could check with Craig, maybe he was paying attention to the clock.”
    â€œThomas is there right now.”
    â€œCan I ask you something?”
    The Professor placed his pencil on top of his notebook. “Of course.”
    At that moment Mom arrived with a bowl of tomato orange soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. She set it in front of the Professor and patted him on the shoulder. “Eat.”
    I stared at his bowl. The soup was a beautiful coral color. “Did you add cream to that, Mom?”
    Mom pursed her lips together and shook her head. “Oh ye of little faith.” She pointed to the bowl. “What do you think?”
    The soup was thick and a creamy color of blood orange. “It looks perfect. You blended it too?”
    â€œI saw your notes back there.” Mom winked.
    â€œThanks for finishing it.”
    The Professor ladled soup onto his spoon. Steam rose from the bowl. He blew on the spoon and had a taste. “It’s excellent. Thank you.”
    â€œEat the sandwich too. It’s Havarti with just a hint of dill.”
    â€œYou’re too good to me, Helen.”
    Mom grinned and motioned for him to eat. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
    Her solution to every problem is food. Whenever a customer is feeling down or in need of a friendly ear, Mom will bring them a plate of pastries or a warm bowl of soup. It works like a charm. People open up to her. Fortunately, it doesn’t show