Cape Bay Cafe Mystery 10 - Punch, Pastries, and Poison by Harper Lin

Author:Harper Lin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harper Lin Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Ephy showed up about halfway through the lunch rush, an hour or two after I would have liked her to be there. I was too busy to stop and check the schedule even though I wanted to, so I just set her to work beside me, having her layer ingredients onto sandwiches and wrap them up to go. As much as I hated to admit it, she was doing a great job—she was fast and efficient, and her sandwiches were beautiful. She even arranged the ingredients so they peeked out tantalizingly from between the slices of bread. I knew my irritation with her wasn’t completely justified—my suspicions about the punch were affecting my judgement. I still wanted to check on whether she’d come in on time, though.

Ephy and I emerged from the kitchen when the lunch rush finally slowed down. We’d managed to get a decent stock of sandwiches and salads ready for the afternoon and could finally go help Sammy out front. Rhonda had come in while we were in the back, so Sammy hadn’t been completely alone, but the café still bore the evidence of the busy, hectic lunch service.

“I’m sorry, Fran. It was just so busy. It was all I could do to keep the drinks coming out and—” Sammy started gushing the second she saw me.

“Stop it,” Rhonda snapped, somehow still managing to sound affectionate. It was a skill I knew she’d honed over the years of dealing with her two teenaged sons. She waved her hand around the room. “All this means that we were busy. Fran understands if things get a little out of hand while we’re busy. Don’t you, Fran?” She gave me a look that dared me to say no.

I did understand, but with the piercing glare on Rhonda’s face, it would have taken a brave woman to say she didn’t. “Of course I do.” I took a quick look around the café and realized just why Sammy had jumped to groveling. It looked like a tornado had swept through. A very tame tornado, of course, one that just hovered over the tabletops and scattered plates and cups and napkins and crumbs all around, but a tornado all the same. I was surprised, but given how many salads and sandwiches Ephy and I had churned out, I could guess at the size of the crowd that had rolled through. I smiled at Sammy. “You did great.”

Sammy smiled back weakly. She was somehow simultaneously pale and flushed. The edges of her blond hair were matted down with sweat, and her ponytail had slipped down to the nape of her neck. It wasn’t just the rush that had her so exhausted—she wasn’t fully recovered yet from the ill effects of the poison. “Why don’t you head home?” I suggested.

She shook her head, looking anxious, like she thought I was trying to punish her for not having the superhuman power it would have taken to serve everyone and keep the place immaculate too. “No, it’s okay.

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