Bridesmaid Blues (Poppy Lewis Mystery Book 6) by Lucinda Harrison

Author:Lucinda Harrison [Harrison, Lucinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lucinda Harrison
Published: 2024-04-10T00:00:00+00:00

Eleven

It was already early evening when I returned to the Pearl, fresh from Madam Mystica’s ominous prognosticating. Greta stood atop her stool, washing a pile of dirty dishes. Voices and laughter of the women carried from the common area where they gathered for Saffron’s bachelorette party.

“Took long enough,” Greta said.

I slipped my apron on and quickly washed my hands. “Sorry, we ran into an unexpected delay. What can I help with?”

“Nothing now. I set out the cheese plate and tea like we discussed and left them to their own devices. They’ve been clucking like chickens for the past hour, Saffron’s cried three times, and Zippy has a flask hidden in her back pocket.”

“It’s Ziggy, and how do you know that?”

Greta stared up at me with a glimmer in her eye. “I wasn’t born yesterday, and I know my flasks.”

I didn’t like the idea of Ziggy drinking, but at least she was in a safe place, unsolved murder aside, and surrounded by friends. Plus, Maya was there, and I was sure she’d have an eye on Ziggy.

“Some fella came by earlier looking for you.”

“Really?” My voice held more excitement than I wanted to give away.

Greta scowled at me. “It wasn’t Ryan.”

“Who was it then?” I asked innocently.

She continued to glare. “Said his name was Benjamin. Complimented the house. Said he loved old houses.”

“Oh? That’s the new bookstore owner.” I struggled to keep the delighted flutter out of my voice.

Suddenly, my phone exploded with vibrating and dinging notifications. “What the...” I pulled it from my pocket. My body slumped. “It’s the Smarty Pants app. It says the front door lock has malfunctioned. And this other notification says the kitchen door has malfunctioned, too.”

“Huh.” Greta continued washing dishes.

I tried the kitchen door, but the existing lock had been integrated into the Smarty Pants mechanism and wouldn’t budge. I knelt down and inspected the lock. Deep scarring marred the device, and the part had clearly been tampered with. My eyes narrowed. “Do you happen to know anything about this?”

“Hmm?” She continued scrubbing.

A few long strides took me from the kitchen into the foyer and I inspected the front door, where I found similar damage.

Saffron must have spotted me from the common room. She called out, “Is everything okay?”

“Just a minor malfunction,” I said.

“What kind of malfunction?” Kismet asked.

I groaned inside. The scuffs had Greta’s fingerprints all over them. “The doors are having a little trouble opening, nothing to worry about.” I raised my voice for the next part to make sure the old woman heard me. “Greta is already working to fix them.”

Jennifer rose from her chair. “Are you saying we’re locked in here?”

Trying to ease any raising fears, I held up my hands. “We’re working on the problem right now and it shouldn’t take too long to get it straightened out.”

“But we can’t get out?” Jennifer’s face had gone a few shades beiger.

Saffron, who sat on the floor nearby, tugged at Jennifer’s pants. “What’s the big deal? Were you planning on leaving?”

“No, of course not.

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