Mischief, Murder & Monkey Mayhem: A Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery by Peyton Stone

Author:Peyton Stone [Peyton Stone]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Authors Writes, LLC
Published: 2023-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

All evening Avery kept thinking back to that conversation she had overheard in the bar. Diane Fallon had accused Lorraine of stealing jewelry. Hadn’t Annabeth expressed the same thing when Avery and Chris talked to her at the manor?

Then another memory struck her, one that made her stumble and spill half the brownie batter she had been mixing. That first time she had been at the Baker’s manor, that loud argument she and Mel had overheard. The argument had been about stolen jewelry. All of a sudden, she knew with complete certainty that the woman she had heard yelling in the foyer, the one who had been kicked out by Ian and Georgia, was none other than Diane Fallon.

If Mr. Baker was telling the truth about how much expensive jewelry Lorraine already owned, why would she need to steal Diane's? It wasn’t as though her husband couldn’t buy her whatever she wanted. And what would that have to do with a strange death that seemed to have been purely accidental?

Maybe Diane had threatened to expose her if she didn’t run away? Or, what if Diane had been angry enough to take it out on Lorraine? Even if she hadn’t been stealing from Diane, she might not have believed Lorraine’s claim.

You don’t even know if she was murdered, Avery told herself for the fiftieth time later that night as she stared up at the ceiling of her darkened bedroom.

Was she really so certain it was foul play, even after everything she’d discovered thus far? The fake IDs and the stolen jewelry and the mysterious deaths of Lorraine’s previous husbands made it seem impossible that her death had been an accident.

One thing was for sure, she needed to find a way to talk to Diane Fallon.

***

“I’m just saying it certainly doesn’t look like a grande,” Diane sniffed. Her jet black hair, almost certainly dyed based on the fact that there was not a single gray strand to be seen, was feathered, giving it an almost 70’s style that complimented her soft, oval face, a face that was somehow completely devoid of wrinkles. She looked like she was in her forties, even though there was no way that was possible. Wasn’t she older than Lorraine?

It was pure luck that Avery stumbled upon Diane Fallon two days later. She had driven into Boone to run errands and was on her way back into town when her stomach began to protest the extended drive back. As she drove past her favorite cafe, Adelaide’s Roasts and Bakery, she realized she was also in desperate need of caffeine. She had pushed open the door to the shop and strolled inside. The delicious aroma of fresh coffee and baked goods filled the brightly-lit, bustling room. Besides the forthcoming caffeine and calorie rush, the universe had truly been showing her favor that day.

There was Diane Fallon, standing over by the barista’s station, a steaming ceramic mug in her hand, arguing with the barista. She seemed to be attempting

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