Free The Crêpes of Wrath: A Pancake House Mystery by Sarah Fox

year. During the winter I help out with my dad’s business. He’s a contractor. Home renovations, mostly. What about you?”
    I tried my tea again and found it cool enough to take a long sip. “I majored in English at UW, but I wasn’t sure what to do with myself after I graduated. In the end I became a legal assistant.”
    “Do you like it?”
    I shrugged. “It’s all right when people aren’t yelling at me.”
    “Does that happen a lot?”
    “More than you might think. The firm I work at specializes in family law. A lot of the clients are stressed and angry. Unfortunately, they often take it out on me.” I took another sip of tea. “Some of them are really sweet, though.”
    “Sounds stressful.”
    “I guess it can be.” I glanced his way and opened my mouth to say something more, but then I closed it and shifted my gaze to the remains of my pancakes.
    “What?”
    I hesitated, unsure if I should say what was on my mind. In the end, I decided to go ahead. “We haven’t seen each other in almost two decades, but somehow this seems…” I chickened out then, wishing I’d kept quiet. I lowered my eyes to focus on my plate again.
    “Natural?” Brett said.
    My eyes shot up to meet his. “Yes.” He’d surprised me by knowing what I meant.
    “I agree.”
    Butterflies flitted about in my chest, partly because he felt the same, but mostly because of the way his gorgeous blue eyes held mine. Realizing that I’d stopped breathing, I broke eye contact and drew in a breath. Unable to sit still any longer, I finished off my last bite of pancake and checked Brett’s coffee mug. It was empty.
    “Want a refill?”
    “I’m good, thanks. And the pancakes were delicious.” He pushed back his chair. “I should probably get to work.”
    I got to my feet and stacked our empty plates.
    “Let me help you with that.” Brett grabbed the stacked plates and carried them into the kitchen for me.
    From there, I walked with him to the front of the restaurant.
    “I’ll see you tonight,” he said as he put a hand on the door.
    “What time?”
    “Around six?”
    “Sounds good.”
    He gave me another glimpse of his smile as he headed out the door. “See you later.”
    With a smile of my own, I watched him walk off down the promenade.

Chapter 7
    When I turned away from seeing Brett off, I found several pairs of eyes on me. Although The Flip Side had opened only half an hour earlier, a third of the tables had already been claimed by customers. Perhaps I should have expected that the pancake house would be busier than usual, filled with diners genuinely sad to hear of Jimmy’s death as well as a few curious souls seeking juicy tidbits of gossip.
    I hesitated, unsure of how to handle the situation.
    Leigh rushed over and put a hand on my arm. “I can take care of things out here if you’d rather stay in the back,” she said in a low voice.
    I drew in a deep breath and gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Leigh, but I’ll be all right.”
    “Are you sure?” She didn’t seem convinced.
    “I’m sure. Besides, if this is how busy things are before the usual rush, you’re going to need me.”
    I returned to the office, staying just long enough to retrieve my apron. Then I joined Leigh out front, as ready as I’d ever be to face all the questions and condolences that were bound to come my way.
    Two of the first customers I served were Gary Thornbrook and his buddy Ed. Although I didn’t allow my hesitation to show, I felt uneasy as I approached their table, knowing as I did that the paintings stolen from Gary’s house had somehow ended up in Jimmy’s workshop.
    “It’s a real shame about Jimmy,” Gary said as I filled his cup with coffee.
    “It is,” I agreed.
    “We’ll sure miss him,” Ed chimed in. “Everyone will. This town won’t be the same without him.”
    “Sure won’t.” Gary added a generous dose of sugar to his coffee.
    I set the coffeepot on the table and jotted down their orders for