Murder Calls at Shadow Falls: Two Friends Cozy Mystery (Olivia Twist Mystery Series Book 1) by Jorgensen Irene

Author:Jorgensen, Irene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Apatite Publishing
Published: 2022-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Annie kicked at the sand. “I didn’t do anything to Marie, but for some reason, she hated me.”

“Why? There’s nothing to hate about you.”

“Now that's a true story.”

I laughed. “Maybe it’s because you’re a better baker.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why do you think Marie was angry at you?”

Annie shrugged. “I’ve got no idea.”

“Anger’s a funny thing.” My mind flipped through all the years we’d known Marie. “High school.”

“What about it?”

I hopped to my feet. A few nearby seagulls took flight as I paced. “Sometimes, when people get angry at something, they think it’s stupid to get angry about. Or they shouldn’t get angry. Or they’re afraid to express it. So, they bury the anger. And it often comes out directed at something else.”

“Okay, I get that. What does it have to do with high school?”

“Marie spent the last two years of high school going after boyfriends of girls who made her mad. She succeeded every time.”

I plunked down on the log close to Annie and bumped her shoulder with mine. “Except with Greg, who remained faithful to you.”

“Until five months later, when he dumped me for…let’s see if I can remember…oh, right. No one.”

Yikes. Still a sore spot. Better get her mind back to something less painful, like her murder charge.

“Whatever Marie got mad at you about in high school, she never got her revenge.”

“That was fourteen years ago, although Sarah can’t seem to let it go.”

Huh? “Sarah can’t let go of how Marie tried to steal Greg from you?”

Annie flicked an annoyed glance at me. “No. She can’t let go of how Marie stole her boyfriend back then.”

What? My brain stalled for a beat. “Sarah went to high school with us?”

“Yeah, don’t you remember her?”

“No.”

“Think of her with mousy brown hair. She dyes it that beautiful cocoa color now.”

I stared into the cascading water of the falls and tried to conjure an image of a younger Sarah with mousy brown hair. “No memory of her. What’s her last name?”

“Miller.”

I picked up a stick and wrote her name in the sand. “Sarah Miller. Was she the one always buried in a book?”

“Yes.”

"Great." I nudged Annie with my elbow. “The I’ve-got-a-motive-to-kill-Marie list just got longer.”

“I don't think so. Sarah's engaged to the man of her dreams.”

“Didn’t you just say she can’t let the high school thing go?”

"Yeah." Annie frowned. “I wonder why because she’s super happy now.”

“When anger gets buried, it doesn’t get buried dead. And sometimes deeply buried anger can explode out of someone in a way they never thought possible.”

I paused for dramatic effect. “Like with murder.”

A seagull cawed.

“It did break her heart when her boyfriend dumped her. She canceled my tutoring sessions for a month. She’s never forgotten it. Any chance she gets, she’ll gossip about Marie.”

Annie shivered and rubbed her arms. “And come to think of it, Marie acted okay toward me until a few weeks ago. Why wait fourteen years to go bitter on me?”

“After you bought the diner and offered the most delicious baked goods for sale, you became her competitor.

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