The Case of the Perilous Puffin: A Sammi Cupertino Canadian Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Eerie Falls Mysteries Book 1) by Alyn Troy

Author:Alyn Troy [Troy, Alyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mystic Brews Mysteries
Published: 2023-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

“Freddy! Whatever did you do?” Claire walked across the street, a bag from the hardware store in her hand.

“Slipped. Sorry,” he mumbled again, climbing to his feet.

“You’ve had more than a slip, young man!” DeAnn’s stern, motherly voice blossomed. She tugged at his arm. “Come on. We’ll get you an ice pack.”

His sister stared at him, slowly shaking her head.

“He looks like he’s been accosted,” DeAnn said. “Is there an urgent care in town? He should really get that eye looked at.”

“I’m fine.” Freddy took a step away from the author and swayed.

“Let’s get him inside,” Claire suggested but looked around. “Is there anywhere to get ice? Something better than the dirty snow from the street?”

“I’ll ask at the donut shop.” I spun and peered in through the glass of the front door. Gord was still wiping down the tables, so I rapped to get his attention.

A few moments later, I stepped carefully down the alley, walking far to the side of where Carlos’s body had lain the day before. The rental car was still parked there. We got little traffic in alleys, so a lot of businesses used them for short-term delivery parking. I assumed it was Claire and Freddy who had parked their rental there.

Inside the Perfect Pisto, I found Freddy collapsed on one of the wooden chairs in the front of the place. He clutched a wet rag to his swollen eye. I passed the bag of ice from the donut shop over to him.

“Merci,” was all he said, wrapping the bag with the cloth before pressing it back to his head.

Claire leaned forward against the hostess station just inside the front door, her eyes closed. She raised her hands, with her nails still in the dark blue I had noticed at the puffin society awards dinner. A heavy sigh escaped as she pressed her hands against her cheeks.

“Freddy… how am I going to make this place run? This was Carlos’s dream, not mine. Our chef is showing up in two days. We’ve got to get the kitchen flipped, so our new equipment will have a place to go when it arrives tomorrow. How can I sell the place if you…” She let that thought trail off incomplete, and dropped one hand to the desk, the other holding up her head, palm under her chin. Her fingers on the desk rapping out the rolling beat of nails clicking as she drummed her fingers. Three staccato raps and a thump from her forefinger.

“So you’re planning on selling?” I asked, watching Claire for any sign of devious plotting.

“I have little choice.” She straightened and waved her hands around the kitchen. “Carlos took my name off his life-insurance policies when we filed for divorce. His estate still controls half of this place, though my attorney is searching for the paper trail that shows who controls that estate.”

“His wife Brigitte?” DeAnn interjected.

“Wife. Hah! I’ll need to see the certificate of marriage. She’s a gold-digger, plain and simple. If her name is on those life insurance policies, that explains the murder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.