Free Shelley Freydont - Celebration Bay 03 - Independence Slay by Shelley Freydont Page A

was filled with red, white, and blue cupcakes, cookies, blueberry muffins, raspberry turnovers, even striped Rice Krispies snacks.
    Liv ordered a raisin scone. Dolly bagged the scone but, instead of handing it to Liv across the counter, she motioned to her part-time helper to take over. She accompanied Liv to the sidewalk.
    “Is it true?” she asked, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “That poor Leo Morgan found the body of Jacob Rundle last night?”
    Liv nodded; there was no point in denying it. Everyone would know soon enough, and she didn’t want to jeopardize anyone’s trust in her by lying and acting innocent.
    “How did you and Ted figure out that something was wrong?”
    “Well… Ted noticed something off about the signal and went to see if something was wrong. I just followed him.”
    “Well, let us know if there’s anything Fred or I can do, though I’m sure you and Chaz will get to the bottom of it.”
    “Chaz isn’t here, Dolly.”
    “Oh, are you sure? Fred said he thought he’d seen his SUV in the Quickie Mart parking lot.”
    “I don’t know,” Liv said. “I’d better get going.”
    Dolly hurried back to the bakery, and Liv went next door to the Buttercup Coffee Exchange. The sign for today’s special advertised the YankeeSnickerDoodle blend.
    “How do you come up with these names?” Liv asked BeBe.
    “It’s a knack,” BeBe told her. “And too sweet for you. You won’t like it. But, the One if by Land is a double shot of espresso with a dollop of whipped cream and cinnamon. It’s pretty good.”
    “I’ll have—”
    “I know, a double-shot latte, plain.” BeBe made her latte, then placed a tall cardboard cup on the counter. “Ted came in earlier for his tea.” BeBe sighed. “He wouldn’t try the Boston Tea Party brew, either.”
    Liv took her coffee. “Hey, I tried the Jingle Bell Jamaican last December.”
    “Once. That’s okay. You have other good qualities.”
    “Thanks,” Liv said. “Well, I’d better get going. A line is forming behind me.”
    She nodded to several women she sort of recognized and continued to the door, where she stopped with her hand on the knob.
    “They say Bill Gunnison has taken that Morgan boy into custody. Always thought there was something wrong with him. Now we know,” one of the women said as Liv passed.
    “I wonder how they caught him so fast?”
    “They must have gotten a tip.”
    The gossip was starting already. And this bunch had it all wrong.
    “Well, I don’t believe it. He’s a little slow, but he’s always seemed so nice. Oh, good morning, BeBe, did you hear… ?”
    Liv let herself out and hurried down the sidewalk. They’d had a tip all right. An SOS. But if Rundle had bled out immediately like A.K. said, who gave the signal of alarm?

Chapter Six
    Liv was a little unnerved from that whole encounter. She sure hoped people didn’t assume Leo was guilty just because he was a little different. Though people tended to do just that. What did that one woman say?
He always seemed so nice.
    Of course, that’s what they always said about psychopaths that went on killing sprees.
Not funny, Liv.
Leo was just a kid in the wrong place when something bad had happened. She was sure Bill had let him go by now.
    But what really worried her was that she hadn’t thought to ask Ted who he thought had signaled the SOS.
    She stepped up the pace, hoping to catch Ted before he left the office for parade duty.
    Some kids saw Whiskey and came over to pat him. Then others joined them. Whiskey preened and licked hands and made himself adorable. Liv finally managed to pull him away, but this was just the beginning.
    While they were standing there, Quincy Hinks came out of the Bookworm. “Just heard about Rundle. Heart attack?”
    Liv shrugged and held up her hands, pulled Whiskey away from the kids, and kept walking, right past Bay-Berry Candles. Now if she could just—
    But everyone she passed wanted to stop and chat. Ask