Murder Among Friends: A Miss Markham Mystery by Juliet Sidonie

Author:Juliet Sidonie [Sidonie, Juliet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Miss Markham Mysteries, LLC
Published: 2024-01-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Friends and Suspicions

That Friday night was the start of the summer season at Poppy’s Paradise Park. Paul and Deloris were both scheduled to work at the soda fountain until closing time every weekend until the end of July. Mr. O’Brien explained that, June and July were the busiest months with the biggest crowds at the park. After schools started up in August, things would slow back down a bit and only one person would be scheduled to work until the park closed for the winter after Labor Day weekend.

True to her first experience with Paul, as soon as Deloris started working on Friday evening, Paul left, leaving her to deal with the crowds and to clean up the mess after the soda fountain closed. Even though Deloris didn’t really like the way Paul expected her to cover for him, she did like working at the park. There were live bands on the weekends, and she loved listening to the music and talking with all of her customers.

Right after Paul left, Trudie and Stella stopped by, smelling like popcorn and cotton candy. “We can’t stay long, we’re on break,” Stella explained, “but we decided we needed ice cream tonight. It’s just too hot out there.”

“What’ll you have?” asked Deloris.

Trudie looked at the menu board on the wall above Deloris. “How about a Canary Island Special?”

“And a Double Chocolate Malt for me,” Stella chimed in.

As Deloris made their orders, the girls chatted about the weather and the events at the park, including the end-of-summer bash being planned for Labor Day weekend.

“Do you have anything lined up for September?” Stella asked. “I’m going back to be a housemaid for this ritzy couple that lives on Ward Parkway. They went to Europe for the summer and I had the whole house to myself which is why I took the job here. I could work at my family’s restaurant but I don’t want to do that yet.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do after Labor Day,” Deloris said. “I was happy to find this job, and I just got another part-time job at the police switchboard on Saturdays and Sundays. But I’ll need to find another job to replace this one at the end of summer. Do you think that I could work at your family’s restaurant?”

“Maybe so. I’ll ask.”

“I hope you can work there or find something else,” Trudie said. “Maybe you can go to work at another soda fountain.”

“What are you going to do?” Deloris asked Trudie.

“My aunt works at a dressmaker’s factory. I’ve been practicing sewing with her all summer and she says I’m almost good enough to apply there.”

When Stella and Trudie left, a group of schoolkids came in. They all wanted ice cream cones, and as soon as they had them, they immediately ran back outside. Deloris had several customers and hardly had time to clean up after each one. Close to closing time, as Deloris was wiping up the spatters of ice cream left on the counter, a young woman with long blonde hair and green eyes came in.

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