Hard Dough Homicide--A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery by Olivia Matthews

Author:Olivia Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

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“Excuse me, Meera.” I rested a gentle hand on the school nurse’s shoulder, drawing her attention from the older gentleman beside her. Her brown cotton blouse was soft beneath my palm. “I wanted to express my sympathy to both of you on Emily’s passing. She must have been very important to you.”

“Thank you.” Meera sounded distracted. She continued rubbing her right hand in comforting circles against the older man’s back. Her warm brown eyes were dark with pain.

My attention shifted to her companion. Was this Meera’s father—and Emily’s ex?

Drawing the scraps of my self-confidence around me like a cloak, I stepped in front of him. His grief hit me like a blast of hot air. “I’m Lyndsay Murray, sir.”

He cleared his throat and dried his cheeks with his wilted handkerchief before meeting my eyes. “Raza Singh.”

Ah. My suspicions were confirmed. Here was Meera’s father. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Mr. Singh. I can tell you’re in a lot of pain. Did you know Principal Smith well?”

Meera ran interference. Her voice was hard. “My father’s not up to speaking just now.”

“I understand.” I’d anticipated her objection. I’d have been the same way if my parent was in so much grief and a stranger tried to question them. “Sometimes when you’re grieving, it helps to talk with someone you may not know well. Someone who can just listen rather than trying to fix a situation for you.”

Raza cleared his throat again. “We’d been dating for a while. I cared for her. I’d hoped to marry her.” The admission brought another round of sobs.

Meera resumed rubbing his back. I caught snatches of the words she murmured to him. “I’m so sorry, Dad. I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

Emily’s thoughtless words whispered in my ear, He’ll get over it. She must have thought it would be a lot easier for Raza to “get over” their breakup. After meeting Emily, so did I. She must’ve been very different around Meera’s father.

My heart was breaking for him. I didn’t know if I had it in me to cause this man more pain by questioning him, at least not this evening. But time wasn’t on my side. Even as I stood there dithering, the detectives were circling the wake like sharks, looking for suspects in Emily’s murder. My mother was near the top of their list. I needed to clear her name, the sooner the better for her, our family, and our business.

Noticing again Raza’s well-used handkerchief, I fished a packet of tissues from my purse and offered it to him.

“No, thank you, Lyndsay.” Raza struggled to his feet. “I’m going to get some water from the fountain in the hallway.”

Meera stood, too. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, stay and talk with your friend.” He gestured toward me. “I won’t be long.”

Meera looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she watched him leave, her face creased with concern.

I returned the tissues to my purse. “Your father was the reason you and Emily were arguing at

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