Sweet Suspicion: A Tiny Dog Amateur Sleuth Mystery (The Pupcake Mystery Series Book 1) by Mary B. Barbee

Author:Mary B. Barbee [Barbee, Mary B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mystic Valley Press
Published: 2024-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Can you talk?

The text message followed several unread messages from the last few days.

Eliza took a deep breath and answered, Hi Susan! I can’t talk right now because Laura and Dalton are on their way here for the weekend. I’m sorry I’ve been so out of touch, though. I hope you’re doing okay, and I promise I’ll call you this weekend after the kids leave.

She read, and re-read the message a second time, before hitting the blue arrow to send it to her friend. She was relieved when just a second later, Susan replied with a heart emoji.

“Everything okay?” Dean asked, settling down next to Eliza on the other zero gravity lounge chair.

“Oh, yeah,” Eliza said. “That was just Susan wanting to chat. I told her that the kids were on their way, which is true, but I’m also just not really wanting to talk to her about everything that happened right now.”

Dean looked over, his blue eyes clouded with concern. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m so much better than I was even twenty-four hours ago, but I’m a little nervous about the kids coming and having to talk about everything with them. I just feel kind of fragile, I guess,” Eliza said, honestly.

“I’m sure,” Dean said. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. It’s good to have you back out of bed again.” He smiled at his wife, and she smiled back.

“I never even asked how you’re doing,” Eliza said, realizing that Dean went through the same thing she did, if not more, since he was actually holding Sharon in his arms when she passed away, and then he immediately had to transition to caretaker for Eliza.

“I’m doing okay,” Dean said. “It will be good to have the kids here this weekend. Having the family together is just food for the soul, you know?”

Eliza nodded. “Oh, totally.”

They sat together in silence for a few minutes, watching Pupcake explore the yard. “He’s checking the perimeter again,” Eliza laughed.

Dean chuckled, “Yep, he’s a hard worker, keeping us safe and all. I think he’s finally starting to get used to wearing that collar.”

“Yeah, he’s fine with it as long as it’s very loose. And he looks good in red,” Eliza said, with a giggle.

“I was thinking,” Eliza continued after a few moments of silence. “Whatever happened to that middle-aged man that was in the shop when Sharon started choking?”

“A middle-aged man was in the shop? I don’t remember that. There was the young couple there, the older lady, and Steve and that other guy, and you, me and Susan. I don’t remember anyone else.”

“Yeah, there was. He was wearing casual business clothes, like slacks and a collared shirt without a tie. The last I saw him, he was sitting at the table by the door, looking at his phone.”

Dean shook his head. “I just don’t remember another guy there,” he insisted.

“Hm, I’ll have to ask Susan what she remembers about him, but he must’ve left right as the chaos ensued,” Eliza thought aloud. “And I need to text George, you know, my delivery guy.

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