Free Pecan Pies and Homicides by Ellery Adams Page B

at us like we’d lost our marbles, but they bought what she was sellin’.”
    Ella Mae smiled. “Actually, her idea sounds lovely. Maybe we’ll put it into action right now. She yanked a leaf from the apple tree. “Do you have something I could write with?”
    Surprised, Reba dug around in her pocket and then handed Ella Mae a silver glitter pen. Ella Mae wrote on the smooth leaf and then gestured at the silver apples. “What happens to them when they’re removed from the orchard?”
    â€œThey transform into Galas or Golden Delicious or Granny Smiths dependin’ on the season. Most times they end up pretty withered. Everybody tries to take one at least once, but even the folks who’ve managed to get an apple out in good shape say they taste real bitter. Why?”
    â€œI need an extra dose of magic. I don’t have much time to make the pie shop boom and it needs to become the town’s biggest hot spot real fast. If I could make a few dozen enchanted hand pies, I could have people all over the county lining up to eat with us.” She cupped her palms around the closest apple. “Normally, I’d feel like a slime using magic to net new customers and fill our cash register, but every dime will go toward helping the Tennesseans.”
    Reba pulled a short knife from her boot and was about to slice the apple from the branch. “Might as well give it a try,” she said when Ella Mae stayed her hand.
    â€œI’ll enchant my own apples. Let’s leave these where they belong.”
    Nodding, Reba put her knife away. “I don’t know how you’re gonna figure out who needs help now that your friend is gone.”
    â€œI guess I’ll have to talk to Robert Morgan.”
    â€œNot necessarily,” Reba said. “Her friends will be at her funeral. You’ve got to track down that girl from the coffee shop in Eira’s town. The one who knows everything about everybody.”
    â€œYes,” Ella Mae agreed. “I need to find Jenny.” She wrote the word “courage” on the leaf and put it in her pocket to release once they left the grove. “I started off the weekend by crashing a party. Despite the fact I was completely uncomfortable with that, I’m going have to take my rudeness a step further. Now I need to crash a funeral.”
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    After leaving Havenwood Mountain Park and tossing her leaf into a breath of cold wind, Ella Mae had Reba drop her off at Canine to Five. She was a little early for her date with Hugh; she needed to see him. Even though she couldn’t reveal that she was of a race of magical beings, she could tell him that the beautiful young woman she’d met at the Gaynors’ party had been found dead. She wanted Hugh to gather her in his arms, to rub her back while she put her face on his shoulder and took in his scent of wet grass and summer rain.
    Waving good-bye to Reba, she opened the front door and walked past the unmanned reception desk and down the corridor toward the small pool where the dogs were allowed to take their daily swim. She entered the spacious room and let out a gasp. Candles burned everywhere. Hundreds of candles of every shape and color. They were grouped on tables and lined the entire perimeter of the pool. Dozens more, shaped like lily blossoms, floated in the water. Soft light reflected off the walls and the surface of the water, making the room almost as magical as the grove.
    Hugh had arranged a picnic near the shallow end. Ella Mae approached the table, smiling as she noted a glass wine decanter, china dishes, a moss-green vase filled with pink carnations, and a plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries.
    As she reached out to warm her hands over the candles on the table, Hugh came out of the kitchen carrying a bottle of red wine. “You’re early!” he said and pointed at her purse. “I hope you remembered your suit. We’re