Raspberry Chocolate Murder by Leena Clover

Author:Leena Clover [Clover, Leena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The Firecrackers huddled together in the China Garden restaurant. Anna had called Julie and Mary the moment Charlie Robinson left.

“I’m calling an urgent meeting,” she told Julie. “Get Mary and come to the Chinese restaurant. Now!”

She had locked the bookstore in the middle of the day and rushed over to the restaurant, overwhelmed by the morning’s events.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered, Anna?” Julie demanded as soon as she sat down.

Mary slid in next to her, giving Anna a concerned look.

“Do we need to go to the doctor?” she asked Anna.

“For the hundredth time, I’m fine!” Anna sighed in frustration. “You girls have got to stop thinking there’s something wrong with me.”

“But you went through a major surgery just weeks ago,” Julie argued. “You’re still recovering, Anna.”

“We worry about you,” Mary added.

“I appreciate that,” Anna stressed. “I really do. But I can’t be back to normal until the people around me, you girls and Cassie, stop treating me like an invalid.”

“That’s crap!” Julie snapped. “If we want to treat you with kid gloves, we will.”

Anna’s eyes narrowed and she looked like she was about to explode.

“Let’s change the subject,” Mary pleaded, trying to maintain the peace as usual. “Why don’t we order lunch first?”

Julie wanted Sichuan Chicken, Mary went for the Beef and Broccoli and Anna grudgingly ordered the Cashew Chicken. They each ordered an egg roll as an appetizer with their meal.

Anna had simmered down by the time she took a few bites of her egg roll.

“I didn’t mean to shout at you,” she said.

“We worry about you because we love you,” Mary said softly, tearing up.

Anna’s eyes welled up too and they dabbed at their eyes with a tissue while Julie rolled her eyes. She wiped her own eyes with the collar of her plaid shirt.

“It’s been a wild day,” Anna told them. “First I got a visit from Briana’s mom.”

“What did she want?” Julie inquired.

“She warned me against aiding the guilty party. She’s convinced Cody is guilty.”

“Isn’t everyone?” Julie shrugged. “That kid has the odds stacked against him.”

“She calmed down after a while and we talked about Briana.”

“Did you learn anything new?” Mary asked.

“We know a bit about Briana’s life now,” Anna said. “She was an English major. Her mother Pamela told me they were proud of what she had achieved. Briana was working her way through college and supporting her parents as much as she could.”

“What about her relationship with Cody?” Julie asked. “Did they know about him?”

“They must have,” Anna said. “Pamela told me Cody loved Briana a lot but he was clingy. He wanted to know where she was at all times.”

“What’s the matter with kids these days?” Mary wondered. “They are talking with each other on that video thing all the time. And they are still insecure.”

“Pamela said Cody sent text messages to Briana every few minutes. Her phone would ring if she answered a few seconds late. One time she was so tired she switched her phone off. Cody was banging on their door fifteen minutes later, worried there was something wrong with her.

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