Mystery Comes in Waves by Agatha Ball

Author:Agatha Ball
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: book store cozy, bake off, bakeoff cozy, bake off mystery, culinary cozy, cozy mystery, clean cozy mystery, sweet romance, sweet romance mystery, summer mystery, summer romance, island mystery, island town, small town mystery, clean murder mystery, sweet murder mystery, bookstore, coffee shop, chocolate cake, cat, woman detective, funny mystery
Publisher: Katherine Danley
Published: 2019-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Richard strolled over as I was cleaning up my booth. The garden was empty, the party most definitely done.

He gave me a sympathetic grimace. "Oh, Paige. Such a tragedy to have a bake as good as yours go into the trash. They really looked like something special." He held up his punch card. "You were first on my list."

I shrugged, trying not to show how much it was actually bothering me, and folded up the tablecloth. "It's fine. Come down to Bitter Beans and I'll bake you up a batch with no punch card required."

He shoved his hands into his trousers. I could see he had really taken pride in getting dressed up this morning. His shoes had a shine, everything was pressed neatly, he even matched his bow tie to the suspenders I could see peeking out underneath his blazer.

"I've never seen anything like this," he stated, shaking his head as he watched all of the dispirited contestants packing it in. "Not in all my years." His face turned dark. "Only thing different this time than all the other times is that new judge. They never should have disqualified your grandmother and impugned my reputation."

"I have a feeling that what's going on here has more to do with wanting our island to fail than your organization," I tried to reassure him.

"Who would want this charming island to fail?" he asked with horror, motioning to the rose bushes and blue skies. "It is a paradise!"

I smiled. He had such a way of looking on the bright side of things.

But then his face fell. "All I know is that our organization is done for. All this scandal and sabotage? What contestant would sign up to be a part of something like this again?"

It dawned on me that meant he was out of a job. "Oh my," I said, reaching out to him. "What will you do? Will you be okay?"

He waved away my concerns. "Oh, I'm old and retired. This was just a little side hobby for some pocket change. I had a long and illustrious career as a chemist back when I was young. Perhaps that's why I was drawn to baking. It really is all chemistry, isn't it? Precision and knowing how things will react to each other is key."

"Totally!" I replied.

He looked past the gate toward the town. "Perhaps this is just a sign it is time for me to downsize." He smiled at me warmly. "Perhaps just the excuse I need to pack up all my things and move into a cottage on the hill next to you."

It dawned on me I had never mentioned where I was living to him. "Oh! You know the cottages where I'm staying?" I remarked.

He looked like he had been caught talking out of school. He stammered, "Your grandmother mentioned it. I asked if you lived with her and she told me about the cottages. And then Bryce mentioned it, too. He was complaining about how rustic it all was

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