Pumpkin Spice Peril (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) by Jenn McKinlay

Author:Jenn McKinlay [McKinlay, Jenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-04-28T05:00:00+00:00

Ten

“Ah!” Mel and Angie gasped together.

Susan looked at Tony in exasperation.

“They’re very sheltered,” he said.

“No, we’re not,” Angie said. “We’ve been around way more murders than you.”

“You sure about that?” he asked.

Angie stared at him as if she didn’t know him.

“Exactly,” he said.

Angie looked at Mel as if she wasn’t sure which way was up or down. Mel was right there with her. What was going on here?

“The spouse is always suspect number one,” Susan said. She shook her head at Mel and Angie. “Surely, you know that.”

“Of course we do,” Mel said. “But we like Peter. We’ve known him for years just like we know . . . knew Rene. You have to understand, we saw the love, the caring, the friendship. The man brought her cupcakes every Friday for years. They were relationship goals to us.”

“It’s true,” Marty chimed in. “They seemed very happy together. I can’t imagine that he killed her.”

“Unless, he’s been portraying the doting husband all these years just to make himself not seem like the suspect when he murdered her,” Susan said.

“But why would he?” Oz asked. “Why not just pack up his stuff and go?”

“Because his fame was attached to her fame,” Tony said. “He’s a failed painter and he was riding her coattails. Without her success he’s nothing.”

“Kind of harsh, dude,” Oz said. His knee jogged up and down. “I mean, a guy can be less successful than his girlfriend, erm, wife and still be a contributing member of society.”

“How old are you, kid?” Tony asked.

“Twenty.” Oz stuck his chin out. “And I’m not a kid.”

“Sure, check back with me in ten years and we’ll see if you feel the same.”

Mel glanced at Angie, who was looking at Oz with the same speculation Mel felt. Was this it then? Was Oz’s need to prove himself because his girlfriend, Lupe, was pre-med at college and he felt like he wasn’t doing anything as big as that?

“Back to the subject,” Marty said. “Why would Peter kill Rene? Insurance money? Was he cheating? Was she going to divorce him?”

“Who knows? Which is why reporters and detectives investigate,” Susan said. “There’s been nothing discovered so far, but you can bet your last cupcake the police are looking at all of that.”

“I don’t understand,” Mel said. “I was told she died from a heart attack, and while I understand that it’s suspicious and they’re investigating the cause, I can’t help wondering, if she was murdered, how could the murderer have caused a heart attack?”

“They’re waiting for the medical examiner to weigh in,” Susan said. “Poison is the number one suspicion, but added to that it could have been stress, abuse, exhaustion, a combination of all of those things. If it is murder, the killer could have been working towards this goal for months, again, making the spouse the number one suspect because he would have had the most access to her. We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, it might interest you to hear that Peter is going ahead with the grand opening of her art installation over the canal tonight.

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