Puzzles Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 15) by Cindy Bell

Author:Cindy Bell [Bell, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

“This is it.” Jo slid her phone into her back pocket and reached for the handle on the door of the puzzle shop.

“What a tiny place.” Walt stood outside the door of Pieces of Time.

“It’s like half a shop. I bet he has a darkroom or office in the back.” Jo eyed Walt for a moment. “Do you want to wait out here? I can go talk to him.”

“No, I’m coming in.” Walt stepped through the door.

Jo stepped in after him. The interior was dusty and piled up with old cameras, and other junk that she couldn’t identify. She could see the tension in Walt’s body as he pulled a tissue out and placed it over his nose and mouth.

“Yeah?” A man stepped through a door behind the counter. He was thin and looked to be in his late twenties, with curly, black hair. “Can I help you?” He looked at Walt with the tissue pressed against his nose. “Are you sick?”

“No, just protecting my lungs,” Walt mumbled.

“Matthew?” Jo walked up to the counter and smiled. “I’ve heard you have a very special talent for turning photographs into puzzles.”

“I do.” Matthew nodded. “I don’t know if I would call it a talent, though. It’s just a software program.”

“I have a photo I’d like you to look at. Maybe you can tell me if it’s possible to turn it into a puzzle?” Jo pulled her phone out and flipped through the photos on it.

“Sure, let’s have a look.” Matthew took a step forward. “It’ll be about a week before I can do it, though. I’m running behind.”

“That’s all right. I’m not in any rush.” Jo selected the picture that she wanted, then she set the phone down on the counter between them. “Do you think you could do it?”

Matthew’s eyes widened at the sight of the picture of Jimmy on her phone. He swallowed hard, then looked up at her.

“Did you know Jimmy?”

“Yes. He was a frequent customer of yours, wasn’t he?” Jo watched as he clenched his jaw. “He was always doing one of your puzzles. Oh, I’m Jo. I live in Sage Gardens, where Jimmy did.”

“Yes, he was a customer of mine.” Matthew’s voice wavered. “It’s shocking what happened to him.”

“It is.” Jo took a slow breath. “Anyway, I was interested in having this photo made into a puzzle, as a way to honor him. You know?”

“That’s a nice idea.” Matthew looked past her, at Walt. “Did you know Jimmy, too?”

“I know that he doesn’t deserve to have a puzzle made of him, or for anyone to do anything nice for him.” Walt lowered the tissue long enough to speak, then covered his nose and mouth again.

“That sounds more like the Jimmy I knew.” Matthew looked down at the photograph again. “He was a very difficult man.”

“You feel that way, even after he gave you so much business?” Jo raised her eyebrows. “He had to have bought dozens of puzzles from you.”

“Hundreds, actually.” Matthew crossed his arms. “And yes, at first, he was a great customer, even if he wasn’t a very nice person.

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