Crimes of the Tart by Judith Jackson

Author:Judith Jackson [Jackson, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sunday Lake Publishing
Published: 2020-03-30T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Friends are the fruitcake of life: some nutty, some soaked in alcohol, some sweet. @askauntaggie

HARRIET SWUNG INTO the kitchen and hovered beside the stove, where Claire had three skillets of scones on the go. “Guess what?”

“I’m way behind.” Claire glanced quickly at Harriet, assessing the importance of her news. “What?”

“Patricia stopped by The Stone Pony yesterday. She was in the kitchen. By herself.”

That was enough for Claire to put her spatula down. “You’re kidding me?”

“I’m not. The crew was at lunch and Tony was busy. He told her to have a poke around on her own.”

“Wow.”

“Stop your yapping!”

The two women watched as Wally emerged from the office with Ringo on his shoulder. “Where are you taking him?” asked Harriet warily.

“The dining room. Why not? Your dog’s in there.”

“A parrot is completely different than a dog. We’ll get shut down by the health department.”

“He’s depressed with no TV, and I’m not scared of some pencil pusher from the health department. Anyway, they can’t get into town.” Wally reached up and stroked Ringo’s beak. “Are you a sad boy?”

“Shut up.”

“Depressed Ringo is a lot like regular Ringo,” said Claire.

Harriet hurried through the swinging doors after Wally. Ringo immediately flew up onto his favorite shelf and peered around the crowded café. “Wankers!” he squawked, before settling in for a spell of self-grooming.

Wally tittered with pride as the room erupted in smiles and chuckles. “He’ll be fine,” he said, heading back to the kitchen. “He classes up the place.”

Denise sidled up beside Harriet, a disapproving frown on her face. “Really? It’s not crazy enough in here?”

“I’m not up to arguing with Wally.”

A little girl pulled on Harriet’s hand and pointed at Ringo. “Can he talk?”

“Yes, he can.”

“Hey, Parrot. Can you say Hannah?” she called, waving to Ringo.

He stared down at her, contemplating, as the girl tingled in anticipation. “Shut up fatso!”

“Mom!” Hannah was delighted. “The bird told me to shut up fatso.” She beamed at Harriet. “This is the best holiday we ever had.”

Taffy was behind the counter refilling her coffee and overheard the exchange. “That’s exactly what we want,” she said, once the little girl and her mother had moved on. “We want all these tourists to go back and tell their friends that even with no power, Sevenoaks is a fantastic place to visit.”

Harriet gave a satisfied glance around her bustling café. Everyone looked happy, apart from Detective Meachum who’d returned and was standing in a corner, scowling intently as he scribbled into a notebook. Taffy followed Harriet’s eyes.

“I know you’ve been doing a little investigating on your own,” she said, “but there’s no need. I had nothing to do with Fisher’s murder and I’m confident the truth will prevail.” There was a slight waver in her voice that belied the self-assured words.

“You’ve got motive, means and opportunity,” said Denise. “If I was a dimwitted cop, I’d be all over you too.”

Taffy gave her a dry smile. “If you can’t count on your friends to tell it like it is ... I do appreciate it, Harriet, but you and Claire have enough to do without worrying about me.

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