A Kiwi Before Dying: A Humorous Cozy Mystery by Wendy Delaney

Author:Wendy Delaney [Delaney, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy, Crime, Fiction, Humour, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths
Amazon: B097235G3M
Goodreads: 58315815
Publisher: Sugarbaker Press
Published: 2021-06-09T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

I had just returned home from attending church with my grandmother when my phone rang.

“What do you wanna bet that’s Steve?” I asked the furball greeting me at the door.

Since Steve could have looked out his front window to see me drop Gram off, I hoped he was calling with an invitation to Sunday brunch.

Then I promptly lost my appetite when Donna’s name lit up as the caller ID.

I pointed the phone at my dog. “Want to take this?”

Fozzie gave it a sniff of disinterest, then padded over to claim the sunshine warming the hardwood next to the sliding glass door.

“At least one of us knows when to stay out of Donna’s business.”

Dropping into my loveseat, I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hey, I was going to call you later.” Much later.

“I couldn’t wait,” Donna said over a rumble of road noise.

“Where are you?”

“At Hot Shots.”

That espresso stand was located a block from the waterfront—clear across town from her apartment—which made me think that she didn’t pick Hot Shots for their coffee.

“Want to join me?” she added. “Or do you have plans?”

“No plans.” Plus, I was going to have to talk to her sometime.

Wanting to get it over with, the second I disconnected, I grabbed a jacket to ward off the wind from Merritt Bay, and drove down to the waterfront.

After parking near the Feathered Nest gift shop, it didn’t take me long to spot Donna waving at me from one of the two picnic tables behind the espresso stand. At least I thought it was her, because with the pulled-up hoodie hiding her blond hair and her oversized sunglasses, Donna looked more like an escapee from a witness-protection safe house.

“What is this?” I asked, giving her a hug. “Are you going incognito this morning?”

“No.” She glanced back at a passing car before reclaiming her spot on the bench seat. “I just don’t want it getting back to Ian that I met with you.”

I took the seat across from her so that I wouldn’t have to look into the sun. “We’re friends. We see one another all the time, so I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about.”

“Easy for you to say. Unless there’s something that you learned yesterday that helps explain what’s been going on with him.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. I tried.”

Donna swore under her breath. “Now what do I do?”

I knew what I had wanted her to do, but now that I was sitting in front of her, suggesting that she seek a psychic’s advice felt incredibly self-serving.

“Let me get myself a latte and let’s talk about that.” Because I needed a couple minutes of think time before I offered her any advice.

She picked up the tall to-go cup by her side and placed it in front of me. “Here. I got you a mocha latte.”

So much for that think time. “Thanks.”

“No problem. It’s the least I can do for dragging you down here. Because really, Char, if I didn’t have you to talk to—” Her voice broke as she reached into a pocket for a tissue.

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