Cupcakes and Beaches: A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery by Kathleen Suzette

Author:Kathleen Suzette [Suzette, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery
Publisher: Kathleen Suzette
Published: 2023-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

We found Jackson Hughes at the local hardware store. He was straightening up a stack of lumber in aisle sixteen. Having never met Jackson before, I decided to approach him candidly.

“Good morning,” I greeted as we approached him.

He stopped what he was doing, returning the greeting with a smile and a nod. “Good morning. Can I help you ladies find something?”

“Well, I’m not certain I’m searching for anything other than you, assuming you’re Jackson Hughes,” I replied.

His brow crinkled slightly in confusion as he nodded. “Yes, I’m Jackson. Who are you?”

We introduced ourselves, and I continued, “Jackson, I understand that you don’t know us, but we’ve heard about your girlfriend’s death. We’re acquaintances of her grandmother.” That was stretching the truth a bit, but we had visited her grandmother to express our condolences about her granddaughter, and that had to count for something. “She mentioned that you worked here, and we wanted to come by and offer our sympathies.”

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” Lucy said.

He nodded, frowning. “Thanks. I can’t believe Cassie is dead. It feels surreal at this point, but I guess most deaths do.”

“Losing someone you love is one of the hardest things to go through. My first husband was killed by a drunk driver. Jackson, do you have any idea what might have happened to her? Who would want to kill her?”

He paused, resting his hand on the stack of lumber. “What might’ve happened to her? That’s a good question. I spoke to a detective, and I know he’s working to find out who killed her, but I don’t know who would want to do that to her.”

I nodded, deciding not to tell him that the detective he was referring to was my husband. “Was she having trouble with anyone here in town?”

Laughing lightly, he shook his head. “Who didn’t she have trouble with? Cassie had a bad habit of sticking her nose into people’s business, and people don’t like that. Personally, I think she had to have made someone angry by doing that.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked innocently.

He turned to her. “I met Cassie in South Dakota. I was going to college and working at a lab that conducted tests for local oil companies. She was an environmental activist. Can you imagine how well that went down?”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t. Or maybe I can, but why don’t you fill us in?”

He sighed. “She kept picketing the lab, and my boss got angry about it. She was arrested twice. Then I ran into her at a bar, and believe it or not, we hit it off. It didn’t even occur to me that I shouldn’t be dating someone who caused my boss so much grief. I guess I thought she would settle down and stay away. And she did. For a while. But then she started picketing again and got me fired. That’s how we ended up here. I believe in standing up for what you believe in, but I also believe you can do that without being confrontational or threatening.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.