Free Macaron Murder (with Recipes) (A Patisserie Mystery) by Harper Lin Page B

if the inspector had found anything yet.  

    Sam read after him. He read faster, almost rapping, talking about the finer points of living in Manchester and the homeless people he often encountered.  

    They were both talented. The girls congratulated and complimented them when the set was over. The boys seemed to grow taller with each admiring glance and kind word from the beautiful French girls. Upstairs near the bar, they all ended up drinking around a table.  

    “Vive la Paris!” Ben stood up on his chair with his wine glass up, saluting everyone at the bar. Some patrons cheered back. The mood in the bar was jolly and it reminded Clémence of the great night she had in Mexico with her friends a year ago. She loved the nights when everyone got together and had fun. It made her feel less lonely, less like the black cat.  

    She was glad to see Celine flirting with Sam. Maybe she’d finally get over the taciturn Sebastien, who had little interest for anything. Celine was fun and outgoing. She needed someone who was more like her and Sam certainly had a lot of energy.

    She also had a feeling that Berenice was charmed by Ben. Of course she was. He was just her type.  

    The later it got, the drunker they became and Clémence realized that they had missed the last Métro.  

    Ben was too drunk at that point and Clémence was afraid that he’d fall over on the side of the street if she had to lug him home in a taxi and help him go home.

    Luckily Sam lived a block away and put him up for the night. Rose lived so close that she walked home. The rest of the girls split a cab.

    “I’m going to a tapas bar with Sam next Friday night,” Celine said.  

    “That’ll sure to make Seb jealous,” Clémence said, but she slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized that Berenice wasn’t supposed to know about Celine’s infatuation. “Sorry! The alcohol made me say it.”  

    “Seb?” Berenice turned to Celine. “My brother Seb?”  

    Celine shook her head. “All right, fine. I had a crush on Seb for a while, but he doesn’t seem interested.”  

    Berenice chuckled a little.  

    “Don’t take it personally. He doesn’t show interest in everything. I don’t even know what he’s up to half the time.”  

    “Please don’t tell him,” Celine groaned. “It’s so embarrassing.”

    “I won’t, I promise. Girl code.”  

    “Forget him,” Clémence said.

    “It’s been so fun tonight,” Celine said when Berenice was dropped off first. “We should hang out more often!”  

    Clémence was next to be dropped off. She was glad to have rounded up a group of friends together. She had always been friends with Berenice and Celine, but separately. Now perhaps they could hang out together outside of work more often.  

    When she got home, it was close to 2:30am. No way was she going to wake up on time to go into work the next morning to help the bakers in the kitchen. Celine had a lunch shift and it was Berenice’s day off. And Ben, she didn’t know what he did with his days did except write in his little room.  

    When she went inside the iron doors of her building, she noticed that the door to la gardienne’s apartment was slightly open. A small light was on inside and it was moving—a flashlight! At the sound of the iron door clicking to a close, the flashlight went off.  

    Clémence thought about calling the police. There was a chance that it could be the silly inspector in there, but why would he do it in secrecy? It had to be the killer, looking for something.  

    Clémence waited. Sure enough, after a few minutes, the flashlight came back on. Whoever it was kept searching. Then the door opened. A tall figure dressed all in black came out. Clémence hid around the entrance to her building.   When she heard the front door close, she went outside to take a peek at who it could be.  

    As soon as she opened the door and took a step outside, she felt a blow to her head and then she was