A Toast to Treachery: A cozy small-town woman sleuth mystery (The Tea Leaf Mysteries Book 4) by J. New

Author:J. New [New, J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: dp books
Published: 2026-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Bonnie waved, then went straight to the counter and ordered a large black coffee with a Danish pastry, bringing them over to their table and slumping into the seat next to Lilly.

"I really hope you two have got some additional insight into this murder, which is alluding me. Because so far it's a nightmare."

Lilly could see how much this case was weighing on her friend's shoulders. Bonnie was an excellent detective and worked harder at her job than anyone she knew. But she was Plumpton Mallet's first female principal detective. Consequently, she was in the spotlight and with a lot of eyes on her, most wanting her to succeed but a very small minority were waiting for her to fail.

"Are you all right, Bonnie?" Archie asked, concern etched on his face.

"Hanging on by a thread, Archie. I need to find some answers, and quickly, otherwise I could find myself demoted. So, what are you two amateur sleuths discussing? Have you found out anything useful?"

"We're just rehashing what we know to see if I can get a decent initial article together," Archie replied. "There's not much to go on apart from the obvious, and that doesn't paint you lot in a good light, I'm afraid. Do you have anything new to add since we last spoke?"

"Nothing. We haven't been able to narrow it down much further than the night it happened."

"You really don't have anything at all you could tell us?" Lilly asked.

"I really don't. We're chasing our tales on this blasted case and it's beyond frustrating. So far, in interviews, we've covered every motive you can think of; love, hate, jealousy, money, and we even considered killing Edmund was a mistake. That he wasn't the intended victim at all, but his wife was."

Lilly nodded. "Yes, I came up with that as a possibility, but Archie said it was unlikely. Having thought about it, I agree with him."

"We came to that conclusion as well," Bonnie said. "To be honest we're stumped … and I'd appreciate you not quoting me on that, Archie, when the time comes to print."

"I wouldn't do that Bonnie."

"How did the interviews with the family members go?" Lilly asked.

Bonnie scoffed. "Exactly as you would expect. Every one of them has an alibi."

"They do?" Lilly and Archie asked at the same time.

"Oh, yes. It's like this; Family member A swore they were standing next to family member B the entire time. Before, during, and after the lights went off and on. Family member B says the same thing. With me so far?" Lilly and Archie nodded. "Good. But neither family member A or family member B mentioned family member C. So I interview family member C and they state they were with family members A and B all the time. So being the diligent detective I am, I re-interview family members A and B and would you believe it, they both suddenly say, 'oh, yes, how silly of me, I remember now, family member C was standing next to me.

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