Berried Grievances by Peg Cochran

Author:Peg Cochran
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mysteries & Thrillers
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Published: 2023-07-11T00:00:00+00:00

• • •

Monica had just arrived back at the farm kitchen and was tying on her apron when Lauren opened the door. She brought with her the scent of warm summer air and sunshine.

“Hello,” she called out in a cheerful voice. She had her usual battered tote bag hitched on her shoulder, which she put down on the table. She beckoned for Monica.

“I can’t wait to show you these.” Her face was glowing. She tucked her blond hair behind her ears. “I’ve taken some new pictures of the farm to put up on Instagram.” She pulled out her phone. She tapped an icon and opened up a page of photographs. “What do you think?” she said breathlessly, holding the phone out to Monica.

Monica scrolled through the snaps. In one, Lauren had captured the sun breaking through the clouds and slanting across one of the bogs and in another, the sun was setting over one of the bogs making it look as if it was on fire. The newest photograph was a close-up of Mick’s new invention—cranberry oatmeal sandwich cookies.

Lauren looked over Monica’s shoulder and tapped the picture. “You’re going to be swamped with orders for these.”

“I hope we can keep up! But that’s a good problem to have.” Monica glanced at the phone again. “These are all wonderful,” Monica said. “You’re so talented.”

Lauren’s face turned a becoming pink. “Thank you. I got a cute selfie of me and Jeff that you have to see.”

She searched through the pages of pictures then tapped one of them, enlarging it so it filled the screen. She gave the phone back to Monica.

“It’s darling,” Monica said. Jeff and Lauren were both smiling broadly, their faces relaxed, their eyes sparkling and on each other.

“We thought we’d use that for our save the date cards,” Lauren said, tapping the screen with her index finger.

“It’s perfect.” Monica took a second look at the photograph. “Is this the bar at the Cranberry Cove Inn?”

“Yes. Jeff and I went for drinks a couple of nights ago. We spent time over cocktails nailing down some of the details for our wedding.”

Monica looked at the photograph again. She put two fingers on the screen and spread them apart, enlarging the photo. There was someone in the background—a tall, blond-haired man in a polo shirt with a popped collar. It looked like Aston. It was definitely Aston, Monica decided when she looked again. He was sitting at the bar, his hand wrapped around a sweating glass of beer.

“Do you remember seeing this fellow?” Monica pointed to Aston.

Lauren rolled her eyes. “I certainly do. He created quite a scene. He was there with a friend. At least, I assume they were friends—they were sitting on bar stools next to each other and there were plenty of others that were empty.” Lauren tucked her phone back in her tote bag. “They were talking when all of a sudden, the other fellow began yelling about something. I couldn’t understand what he was saying at first. Something about his drink.

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