Mince Pies and Madness (Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 30) by Agatha Frost

Author:Agatha Frost [Frost, Agatha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pink Tree Publishing LTD
Published: 2023-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

15

Jessie wanted nothing more than to stay in bed the next morning, wrapped up in her duvet, but her fourth alarm annoyed her out. After a quick shower to blast away the sleepiness from flicking through a dead man’s diaries until the small hours, she ran out of her flat with only minutes to spare before the café opened.

The silent village green greeted her. Stalls remained, but no merchants had turned up for the few confused shoppers wandering around. Given how much of a rush the council had been in to shut down the market, she’d have expected the offending stalls to have been dragged away as fast as Martha.

At Richie’s, James enjoyed his morning coffee at the window, looking out at the deserted market. She had to resist the urge to bang on the glass to ask why he’d done it, not that it would make a difference. There were only two reasons in her mind: he was getting ready to start work on paving over the green with a roundabout for when he finally found his road access, or it was petty revenge. Why should the people of Peridale have a Christmas market when they weren’t stepping aside and allowing him to have what he wanted? She scooped up a ball of the melting snow and tossed it at the window. James jumped in his seat, spilling coffee down his white shirt.

Better than a conversation.

Jessie spun to run to the café, but silver hair further up the road caught her eye. She spotted Veronica outside the police station, coat collar turned up, arms clasping a tatty old box to her chest. In the café, Julia was already hard at work in the kitchen, whipping up something for the oven. Knowing the super baker could spare her a few minutes, Jessie hurried up the street to intercept Veronica.

“Sebastian update?”

Veronica shook her head, features grim. “I wish. No, I was inspired by Barker getting those diaries. Requested a copy of all the original case files from when Sebastian first vanished. My statements, witness statements… DI Moyes was surprisingly happy to provide them, as long as I didn’t print them in the paper.”

“Oh.” Jessie nodded, peering into the full box. “Did you tell them about the diary?”

“I did. They didn’t seem as keen about that, but can you blame them? Proving someone living committed a murder forty years ago is hard enough without the accused already being six feet under.” She hoisted the box up and said, “Breakfast at The Plough? My treat? I owe you.”

“How about the café? My treat, and you don’t owe me anything. But I’m about thirty seconds from being late for work for the second time this week.”

“Then I won’t keep you. I’m not in the mood for the Old Age Pensioner Inquisition today, so I’ll keep this brief.” She lowered her voice and said, “They released Martha this morning after her antics at the market yesterday. Gave her a slap on the wrist, once she

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