A Juicy Steak Tragedy (An Ivy Creek Cozy Mystery Book 10) by Ruth Baker

Author:Ruth Baker [Baker, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CleanTales Publishing
Published: 2023-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

15

Lucy’s mind was reeling as she watched Mrs. White navigate through the bakery door with her boxes. She wasn’t aware of Hannah standing beside her until her friend commented.

“Wow! Do you think it could be true?” Hannah sounded as shocked as Lucy felt. “There was definitely some bad blood between them at the restaurant, but gee whiz… how old was Chef Fugasi, anyway?”

Lucy shook her head, still processing. “I don’t know. Late forties? Early fifties?” And Mandy appeared to be in her mid-twenties, she thought.

“It wouldn’t be the first May-December romance to ever happen,” remarked Aunt Tricia dryly. “Not to say it wouldn’t be a scandal if it got out. Chef Fugasi was married, you know.”

Betsy blinked, obviously stunned as well. “Maybe it’s not true. Mrs. White does tend to spread rumors,” she reminded them, nibbling her bottom lip.

“But if it is true,” Lucy said slowly, “and Mandy served him his food the night he was poisoned…”

The words hung in the air, and Aunt Tricia nudged her. “You need to call Taylor back.”

Lucy nodded. Although she’d like to believe it was just a misunderstanding, it was possible that Mrs. White had just handed them a major break in the case. She picked up the phone and walked a few steps away as she dialed Taylor’s office.

Taylor answered on the second ring, his voice harried. “Yes? Hello?”

Lucy spoke, hesitation in her voice. “Hi, Taylor, it’s me. I just found out something interesting from Mrs. White.”

She could hear loud voices in the background, and Taylor called out to someone in an irritated tone. “Yes, it is! I filed it myself!”

He spoke into the receiver, sounding rushed. “Sorry, Lucy. I don’t have time right now. I’ll have to catch up with you later.”

Without another word, he hung up the phone, and Lucy was left staring at the receiver in her hand, a frown on her face. She knew Taylor was busy, but that was kind of rude.

She walked back over to the bakery counter and hung up the phone. All three women looked at her expectantly.

“Well? What did he say?” asked Betsy.

Lucy shook her head. “They’ve got something going on over at the station, and he couldn’t talk. I’ll tell him later.”

She left the three women standing there and went back into the kitchen, unable to get her mind off Mrs. White’s story. Did Mandy have a reason to harm Chef Fugasi?

Lucy idly flipped through her recipe book, unseeing, instead picturing the unfriendly interaction she’d witnessed between Mandy and the chef at Sizzle.

“Hey, I have an idea.”

Lucy looked up, surprised to see Hannah standing there. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn’t noticed her. “What’s that?”

Hannah looked speculative. “Mandy lives in the condo building across the street from mine. Why don’t we pay her a visit ourselves?”

Lucy tilted her head. “And say what? Ask her if she’d had an affair with Chef Fugasi?”

Hannah nodded. “Exactly. It couldn’t hurt. The worst that could happen is she’d tell us to mind our own business.

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