Deep Dark Secrets by Joy Ann Ribar

Author:Joy Ann Ribar [Ribar, Joy Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781645380344
Publisher: Orange Hat Publishing
Published: 2019-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

The light snowfall from Friday night coated the sidewalks, roads, and trees with just an inch of pure whiteness, somehow dressing up February shiny and new again. The light snow did not deter the bakery customers Saturday morning, who swept through the doors for pastries, coffee cake, and the tasty apricot and raspberry tarts Tess concocted Friday night after the wine bar closed. People were not rushing today, lingering in the lounge area with coffee and an extra goodie or two before heading off to another activity, which could be snowshoeing on the fresh white coating, or a visit to nearby Gibson, hosting its Ice Sculpting Festival this weekend. Ice sculpting attracted experts from all over the Midwest, who transformed giant blocks of ice into wizards, dragons, princesses, or popular cartoon characters or, for something more fun and unusual, a Harley- Davidson, jumbo cheese wedge, or tropical palm trees. Frankie used to bring Sophie and Violet there annually as a much-needed break from Winter’s monotony. They enjoyed watching the images emerge from the large cubes and being able to vote on the best each year.

Today, Frankie was enjoying a little down time of her own - she had the whole day practically to herself with Carmen at the helm on the night shift working with Tess and Adam. She spent the morning holed up in the shop’s kitchen, preparing more quiches for the weekend wine drinkers, allowing herself to test out Tess’s tarts, or so she announced to no one in particular. Brambles the cat had settled into the shop most comfortably, loving the sunbeam that radiated extra warmth in one corner of the kitchen. Carmen scolded Frankie for breaking her own strict rule that no animals would be allowed in the kitchen area, but Frankie was wishy-washy. When the kitchen was bustling with people and activity, the cat of the month was relocated to another room. When not much was happening in the kitchen, well then, the rules were bent, to say the least. Currently, Brambles was snuggled under the raised chef ’s ovens while the quiches were baking away - a self-made kitty spa, what a smart kitty indeed.

Frankie noticed that even after yesterday’s funeral, which usually placed matters to rest, customers continued to chatter about the death of Pastor Rawlins. She supposed this was a phenomenon in Deep Lakes, a death surrounded by speculation about a man who was virtually unknown. Despite being part of the community for two years, few people seemed to profess a friendship with the pastor and, while Deep Lakes wasn’t always the most welcoming town, after two years’ time much more should have been known about Rawlins. The snippets of conversations Frankie picked up on mostly involved rumors about the shoddy financial condition of the church and Rawlins’ unconventional ways.

Frankie spent time in the afternoon at her computer, fitting together the facts as she knew them for her article, typing out a second column loaded with questions and speculations. Beginning tomorrow, she was determined to embark on a fact-finding mission to fill in as many blanks as possible.

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