Free Murder for Millions (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 7) by Mary Maxwell

so
obvious?”
    “A dodo bird,” Trent sniped.
“Clearly, whoever killed the guy didn’t really think through the details and
finer points of homicide. I’d guess it was an impulsive act and not premeditated.”
    “This thing just keeps getting more
and more peculiar,” I said.
    I waited while Trent ate another
mouthful of chips.
    “Sorry about that, Katie,” he
mumbled finally. “I haven’t had anything since breakfast, so I’m pretty well
famished.”
    “No problem,” I said. “Why don’t we
say goodnight? You can find something to eat, and I’ll try to get some sleep.”
    “Happy snoring!” he said with a
laugh. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
    I suddenly realized that I hadn’t
told Trent about Boris Hertel’s cryptic remarks at the Poke-A-Dot Lounge, but
before I could utter a sound the line was silent.
    “Oh, well,” I said, sending him a
quick text summarizing the comments. “That—and everything else—will have to wait
until tomorrow.”

CHAPTER
14
     
     
    The Sky High kitchen smelled like
peppermint and cinnamon when I opened the door the next morning a few minutes
after five. Julia was already at work, standing beside the industrial mixer
with a small ceramic bowl cradled in the crook of one arm.
    “Morning, Katie!” Her voice was
bright and cheery. “How’d you sleep?”
    I walked over and leaned against
the counter. “Like a baby,” I said. “How about you?”
    She smiled, nodded and went back to
the mixer. “The same. I fell asleep on the sofa watching the news. My hubby
covered me with a quilt and I was there all night.”
    “Thank goodness for small miracles.
Your sleep patterns have been way off lately.”
    “I know. Probably too much caffeine
in the afternoon.”
    “Speaking of which,” I said. “Can I
pour you a cup?”
    “I’m good.” She pointed at a mug I
hadn’t seen behind an enormous bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. “I’ve got
coffee and chocolate within reach, so I can handle just about anything this
morning.”
    I peeked at the recipe card on the
counter and then glanced at the whiteboard.
    “Beginning with two dozen Peppermint
Puffs for Mrs. Baldasari?”
    She gave me a thumbs up. “Yep. Two
dozen of these and then another two dozen chocolate chips for a workshop that
Herman Bright’s doing at his insurance agency this afternoon.”
    “Busy, busy!” I cheered. “We’re
glad to hear that, right?”
    “Definitely!” Julia said. “After
all, you know what they say about idle hands.”
    I nodded. “Yes, I do. Nana Reed
used to remind us kids of that every day after school. My brother once snuck a
pair of red horns into the kitchen, thinking he’d surprise her when she rolled
out the old adage.”
    “Did he?”
    I laughed at the memory. “He did.
But it was something that only happened once. My grandmother was so surprised
by the horns that she dropped a tea cup that had belonged to her
great-great-grandmother.”
    Julia winced. “Ouch! Did he get
punished?”
    “Grounded for a week,” I said.
“Plus, he had to sweep and mop the Sky High dining room for a full month.”
    While she continued with the
special order she’d already started, I poured a cup of coffee, added a splash
of cream and shuffled back to her side.
    “Did you hear about the fire?” I
asked.
    She nodded. “Jared went out to buy cereal
for the kids late last night. He ran into Amanda Crane at the MiniMart on Lookout
Road. I guess she was just finishing her patrol shift when the call came in.”
    “Did she actually go to the body
shop?”
    Julia shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you.
But she gave Jared the scoop; the fire department suspected arson from the
get-go because they found gasoline cans inside the building.”
    “That’s not all they found,” I
said, sipping my coffee.
    She frowned slightly. “What else?”
    “A body.”
    “Oh, my goodness! Ira Pemberton?”
    “No, although it seems that he got
whacked on the head pretty good by whoever set the fire. Trent