Killer Fruitcake: A Sea Glass Beach Mystery (Sea Glass Beach Mysteries Book 2) by Amelia Pine

Author:Amelia Pine [Pine, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The warming scent of pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg poured out of my toasty oven. I dusted my flour-covered hands on my apron and, for the first time in hours, took a seat at my kitchen table with a mug of flowery chamomile tea.

The inky blackness of the night sky seemed to cover everything outside in a thick blanket of dark comfort. Except for the moon. That was perched high above the Pacific Ocean, shining and watching over everything like a lighthouse lamp. Its brightness cast shadows onto the water below and I stood on my tiptoes, I could see past the sea cliff outside my backyard, past the scraggly bushes that hugged the coastline to the calm, rolling water below. Reminding me that nothing is certain, except Mother Nature and her pull of the ever-flowing tide.

Ethan was here, as was Lola, of course. After the Holiday Night Mart and Krystal’s tragic fall, we decamped back to the safety and comfort of Sea Rose, my cottage. Back to the roses outside my front door, back to my kitchen and back to Lola’s soft doggie bed that sported a permanent indentation of her curled-up body.

“That pumpkin bread smells so good,” Ethan said, leaning back in his chair. In front of us was the Crime Board, looking more like an internet meme of the work of a crazed, obsessed detective following obscure clues than an actual puzzle with a clear solution.

After the EMTs had taken Krystal to the hospital, both of us were shaken, to say the least. But also re-energized. Something very wrong had happened on stage to a woman suspected of murdering her husband. Now, all we needed to know was the question on the lips of everyone in Sea Glass Beach: was it an accident? Or perhaps something more sinister was at play.

When Ethan told me Krystal wasn’t dead from her fall on the swing, I was so relieved I could’ve cried right there. Everything up to that point had made me believe she would be the third victim in this unlucky family and the second fatality.

“I can’t believe Krystal survived that fall,” I said. “She must’ve been…”

“Fifteen feet,” he said, shaking his head. “She’s lucky. When I first saw her, I thought she was a goner. Then, she started to mumble something about her ‘stupid assistant screwing everything up.’ I realized she was back to her old Krystal ways and would be fine.”

“It’s a miracle she only broke her foot,” I said, wrapping my hand around the soothing warmth of the mug of tea. Lola was over there on her dog bed, snoring up a storm.

Ethan smiled weakly.

“Speaking of her strange singing, I recorded the show. Let’s watch it,” I said.

I pulled out my phone and pressed play. Krystal, wearing her skimpy white feather-covered outfit and angel wings, descended on the swing, belting out Angels We Have Heard on High. Her voice broke. She yelled at her assistant. Her swing broke. She fell to the ground.

Ethan shuddered. “Everything about it is so horrible.

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