Fatal Friendsgiving and The Bow Wow Bakery: A Doggy Bakery Cozy Mystery (A Doggy Bakery Cozy Mystery Series) by Belinda Page

Author:Belinda Page [Page, Belinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

The next day, I made a point to stop by the retirement center with Max again. I brought along a couple of pies I made to distribute to the residents. I was excited to pass them out since I'd made them in various flavors. One was apple, one was pumpkin, one was sweet potato, and the last was a walnut-cranberry pie.

"Ooh, what did you bring us?" Ms. Hattie said as Max and I made our way to the mahjong table where the same circle of women was again playing and chatting.

"Pies!" I sang, slipping each pie out of the carrying case I'd brought them in. "I thought you ladies could use a slice of pie this afternoon. You won't believe how good the bakery smelled when I was making them."

I looked around the table, expecting to see the usual excitement my baking stirred up. Instead, I was met with blank stares.

"Is everything all right?" I asked.

Ms. Hattie looked away, not meeting my eye. Gertrude, the centenarian, cleared her throat politely while Marta pretended not to notice the pies.

Shirley broke the ice first. "We're worried you're trying to poison us," she stated hesitantly. Oooh, I thought. Fall pies weren't the best idea after Rosemary's unfortunate end.

"I would never!" I said, shocked by the accusation.

"Isn't that just what a murderer would say?" Shirley asked. The other women, except Ms. Hattie, nodded.

"Come on, folks," she said. "This nice young woman is certainly not trying to poison us. I, for one, am looking forward to trying these pies." She bravely picked up one of the plastic forks I'd brought and scooped some pumpkin pie onto it.

She nibbled the most diminutive piece possible and said, "Mmm, this pumpkin pie is delicious."

Once the others saw that Ms. Hattie was still breathing, they put aside their worries and dug in. Shirley picked Max up and put him on her lap while she ate. He seemed perfectly content to lie against her ultra-soft cardigan.

"Did we miss anything?" I asked the women as we passed the pies around.

"You mean that big, knock-down, drag-out fight between Rosemary's two children?" Marta said.

"These women are dramatic," Ms. Hattie rolled her eyes. "No one was knocked down. Nor were they dragged out of the place."

"But what happened?" I asked, listening intently. If one of the siblings displayed violence to the other, that was a huge red flag for their ability to commit equally (or more) violent crimes.

"Let me tell her all about it," Shirley cut in. "You've surely met Brooke, the blonde broad with the Botox to high heaven? She's Rosemary's daughter. And Lyle, the good-looking man with the freckles, he's the son."

"I met Brooke the other day."

"Then you know she's a real treat to be around. You won't believe what I heard through this place's paper-thin walls," Shirley continued, obviously preparing to divulge a juicy secret.

"Paper thin?" Ms. Hattie scoffed. "You only manage to overhear everything when you've got the glass pressed against the wall trying to pick up the local gossip in the halls.

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