Donors, Deception & Death (Dogwood Springs Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Sally Bayless

Author:Sally Bayless [Bayless, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781946034274
Publisher: Kimberlin Belle Publishing
Published: 2023-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

After Leah left, I sat at my desk, trying to work. After fifteen minutes, I knew it was useless. Every time I tried to focus on something for the museum, all I could think about was the call I’d had with a potential donor earlier. Our budget required public support, but no one was ever going to contribute to the museum until the murderer was caught.

In the past, when I’d done some amateur sleuthing, I’d made sure to pursue any investigation on my own time. But solving this crime would be helping the museum. With only the slightest feeling of guilt, I scooped up my purse, told Imani I’d be gone for an hour or so, and drove back to the bed-and-breakfast, blasting my favorite music, ’70s’ rock and roll. Early, angry Billy Joel was perfect to psych myself up.

As soon as I parked, I hurried across the parking lot to the covered porch, then forced myself to calm down before I entered the building.

Inside, the lobby looked as restful as ever, but it was completely empty. How was I going to engineer an opportunity to talk to Heather? It was bad enough I’d come here on my own. Knocking on the woman’s door and accusing her of murder didn’t seem like a good plan.

I spotted Faye behind the counter in the gift shop and darted inside. Shelves displayed items from area artists, including silk floral arrangements that I knew were created by the hotel maid, as well as locally made jam, soap, and wine.

Faye stood at the counter, putting price tags on bars of handmade soap. Her hazel eyes lit when she noticed me. “Libby, what brings you back so soon?”

“Hi, Faye. I wanted to talk to Heather Ford. Have you noticed if she’s left the B & B?” I caught a hint of the scent from one of the bars of soap, picked it up, and sniffed deeply. It smelled fantastic.

“I don’t really keep track of my guests’ comings and goings, but I haven’t seen her.” Faye used a fingernail to pry a particularly stubborn label off the sheet. “That bar of soap’s fragrance is white tea and ginger, and it’s made with goat’s milk, so it’s wonderful for your skin.”

Possibly exactly what my poor hands needed after the slightly paranoid extra handwashing I’d been doing since the poisoning at the museum. I dug my wallet out of my big purse and asked Faye to ring up a bar. I’d make my purchase and casually sit in the lobby, answer email, and cross my fingers that Heather would appear.

A minute later, with my new soap tucked in my purse, I stepped out into the lobby.

My pulse quickened. Coming back to the B & B had worked!

Heather was coming down the stairs from the second floor, and her long blond curls glinted in the light. She was talking on her phone, telling her mom that she’d be waiting for her to pick her up and that she’d text Emmett and tell him to hurry up and get down to the lobby.

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