Free A Catered Christmas Killer (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery) by Carol Lee

dismissing the idea of him and Stacey having an affair.
     
    “I don’t know,” Sydney lied to her.
     
    “When you see him, tell him to find me here.” Stacey lay her head back and relaxed her body. Shouldn’t she have been more concerned about having her husband close? The drink in her hand nearly tipped over on the cushions, but Sydney took it just in time. She quickly glanced around for Howard but didn’t see him in the crowd. She decided to try her hand with Stacey instead. Maybe her tongue would be looser now that she was liquored up.
     
    “I’ll tell him,” she promised Stacey, taking a seat next to her. “Have you worked with him long?” she asked, her tone becoming friendlier.
     
    “Just a few months. But Ryan and I have known the Durans for years. Since before they were even married. It’s such a tragedy that Julia is gone.” Little compassion was evident in her voice, but that could be from the alcohol.
     
    “It is, isn’t it. And you work with Howard then, too?”
     
    “Yes. He and Marcus are partners. But there’s tension between them. They don’t have the same business outlook so things have been boiling up for a couple years.”
     
    “How did they get into business together?”
     
    “Howard bought his way in. It used to be all in Marcus’ name, but over the years, Howard’s been buying shares. They made a deal a few years ago that instead of having Howard buy out Marcus, they’d be partners.”
     
    “So Howard really wants to run the company?”
     
    “Yes.” Stacey was being more than helpful, and Sydney was pretty sure she wouldn’t remember this conversation as soon as it was over.
     
    “Do they get along?”
     
    “They fake it. Marcus has been trying to get rid of Howard, but he can’t legally. So he’s been stacking the board with his nominees.”
     
    “Does Howard also live in Newhall?” Sydney wanted to find out how close he lived to the Durans and if he’d have had access to their house.
     
    “No. He lives about an hour away. He only comes to Newhall for board and staff meetings.”
     
    “Would he have been here last night?” Sydney knew she was pushing her luck.
     
    “No. It was his daughter’s thirteenth birthday.”
     
    “Did you go to the party?”
     
    “No. I met the Durans for lunch instead. They hadn’t been invited and I don’t enjoy Howard’s family much.”
     
    She’d met the Durans for lunch? That must have been when Ryan came over. Wouldn’t he have known that his wife was with them? Unless Stacey had thought it was only going to be Marcus. Maybe Julia had suspected an affair and tagged along.
     
    Sydney spotted Marcus coming their way. “Here comes Marcus now. I’ll make sure he takes care of you.”
     
    Without a response from Stacey, she got up and filled Marcus in on Stacey’s inebriated state. She was surprised to see that his eyes were red, maybe from trying to keep his emotions under control. Maybe he really did miss his wife. Sydney withheld any information about her conversation with Stacey.
     
    Sydney’s head was reeling. Howard had an alibi, at least for the day. Julia had been killed at night, but if he wasn’t close with the Durans, he wouldn’t have had access to their house. And there hadn’t been any sign of forced entry.
     
    It seemed unlikely that Stacey was guilty of murder, Sydney felt that she was a good person overall. That left Maria, Eduardo and Marcus to check out.
     
    Should she follow Eduardo back upstairs?
     
    Before she had a chance, her phone vibrated in her apron and she rushed back to the kitchen to answer it.
     
    ***
     
    “Austin,” she said, surprised that he’d call her during an event he knew was huge for her career.
     
    “Sydney. Are you still at the Durans?”
     
    “Yeah. I’m here until Monday. What’s going on?”
     
    “I just heard on the scanner that the police are on their way. Are you staying out of all this?”
     
    “Austin, I was a suspect from the