Pie Comes Before a Fall: A light-hearted culinary cozy murder mystery (Baker's Rise Mysteries Book Two) by R. A. Hutchins

Author:R. A. Hutchins [Hutchins, R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

17. Add the apple, lemon zest and half the juice, sugar and 2 tbsp water to a saucepan

Flora wasn’t sure whether she should call Adam or not. In the end, concern for poor Pepper won out and, after waving goodbye to a worried Tanya, she dialled his number on her mobile phone. It rang five times and then went to voicemail, so Flora decided to close the tearoom for a bit and take a walk up to the manor house, hoping the fresh air would help to clear her head of the tension headache that had been brewing all morning. When the builders had finished the ceiling in the study the previous week, Flora had taken advantage of their big rubbish skip and asked the men to help her throw the ancient and rusting kitchen appliances and utensils away. The skip itself was towed away the next day, leaving Flora with an empty kitchen – something which filled her with joy. She had booked a professional cleaning company to do a deep clean and was desperate to see the fruits of their labour. It would be the first room in The Rise that she could really start to see as hers, and Flora hoped it would lift her spirits this day.

It was as she had envisioned – although the counter tops were old, they sparkled and shone, as did the huge windows which looked out over the rose garden and lawns beyond. Once it was painted a cheery yellow, with new blinds and furnishings, it would be perfect. It was as she stood staring out, deep in thought once again, that Flora caught sight of Billy Northcote waving at her from the bench in the rose garden. Flora smiled, happy to spot her friend, and went out to speak with him.

“Billy! This is a lovely surprise!”

“Aye, I hope you don’t mind me coming up here lass, when I’m not working, like.”

“Of course not, come whenever you want!”

“Thank you greatly. It’s just that I might not have that long left to smell the roses before I’m pushing up the daisies, if you know what I mean.”

Flora did know what he meant, and it was a sobering thought indeed. She attempted to change the subject to something less morose, “Sorry, Billy, I’ll have to remember to bring a kettle up here, then next time we can have a cuppa with our natter!”

“No worries lass,” Billy reached down to the ground beside the bench and produced a thermos flask of hot tea, before pouring it into two plastic cups which hid under the lid, “there you go!”

“Oh, thank you! You’re well prepared,” Flora smiled.

“You have to be at my age, especially when the chill of Autumn starts creeping in!”

“I can imagine,” Flora shuddered, thinking of how her own bones creaked and groaned in the mornings now.

“I was wanting to speak to you, anyway,” Billy began, the smile leaving his weathered face, “about that Stanton lad.”

“Joe Stanton? The one who used to be village postman?” A chill ran down Flora’s spine.

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