Murder Makes a Toast (Rooftop Garden Cozy Mysteries Book 11) by Thea Cambert

Murder Makes a Toast (Rooftop Garden Cozy Mysteries Book 11) by Thea Cambert

Author:Thea Cambert [Cambert, Thea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Summer Prescott Books
Published: 2021-02-01T23:00:00+00:00


Chapter 9

“These fun honeymoon activities seem to be getting stranger and stranger,” said Luke, opening the brochure he held, which gave a detailed account of the history and splendor of the World’s Largest Walnut.

“What do you mean?” said Owen, looking up at the gargantuan nut, which stood eleven feet high. “This thing is epic!”

“Yeah, it’s nuts,” added Alice, rolling her eyes.

“Good one, Alice,” said Ben with a snicker.

Alice and Luke had already posed for photos which featured them pointing at the walnut with amazed expressions on their faces.

“So let’s go over what we know so far about the case,” said Luke. “It’s not that I don’t have confidence in Detective Mullins and his crew. But I just want to keep a finger on the pulse of this thing.”

“So far, we have four suspects in mind,” said Ben.

“That’s right,” said Franny. “Helena, because Rupert took advantage of her and broke her heart.”

“And her brother, Max, because he loves his sister and was none too happy that Rupert tried to steal the family’s secret formula,” said Own.

“And finally, it could have been one of the Youngs,” said Luke. “They came to the vineyard to learn about winemaking.”

“And Suzie said they need something spectacular to make it in the business,” added Alice. She paused thoughtfully. “And what about the Waxing Moon Winery?” she wondered. “They’re probably tired of always coming in third around here. A special wine like the essencia could put them ahead if they knew how to make it.”

“And after all, the dead man worked for Waxing Moon,” said Luke, nodding. “Makes sense that it could’ve been them who sent him out as a spy.”

“I’m calling Phillipa,” said Alice, taking out her phone.

“The Waxing Moon manager lady? Wait—what good would that do?” asked Owen. “If she knew about a plan to steal the formula, she certainly wouldn’t tell you.”

“Don’t worry,” said Alice, dialing. “I have an idea about how to approach this. I’ll put her on speaker phone. We have plenty of privacy—since, shockingly, we’re the only people who ventured out to see the World’s Largest Walnut today.”

Phillipa picked up right away. “Hi Alice! Good to hear from you.”

“Hi, Phillipa! You’ll never believe where Luke and I are today.”

Phillipa laughed. “Give me a hint,” she said.

“Okay, let’s see . . . It’s rich in antioxidants and omega-3s . . .”

“Oy. You’re at the World’s Largest Walnut?”

“Yep. It’s Fabulous Bride’s latest activity. And we zip lined this morning.”

“Old Johnny’s?”

“Yep.”

“Bless you.”

“Thank you. After this we have a stroll through the vineyard and then we’re off to Oma’s Candy Kitchen.”

“Excellent fudge,” said Phillipa. “Are you going to the Family Fest this evening at Clear Creek Cellars?”

“We’ll be there,” said Alice.

“Good. That event’s actually a lot of fun.”

“Glad to hear it.” Alice paused for a beat. “Phillipa, I have a question.”

“Sure. Shoot.”

“Luke and I truly fell in love with that essencia at the wine tasting the other day.”

“Don’t blame you. It’s amazing.”

“But so expensive. We were wondering if Waxing Moon makes something similar—you know, like your own version of it.



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.