Secret Charms (A Farmer's Market Witch Mystery Series Book 5) by Constance Barker

Author:Constance Barker [Barker, Constance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Constance Barker
Published: 2021-03-24T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

THE COMMONS was a new restaurant in a shopping strip on the outskirts of Abbot Rise. Jason suggested it, and he picked me up at my house. The ride was unremarkable, as was the restaurant, which was designed to look like a commons. There was a fake tree on a fake lawn in the middle, with seating all around. On one side was a dais, with a microphone that was open for anyone who wished to use it. Our waiter said all speakers were limited to five minutes, and the volume could be adjusted at each individual booth or table. If we didn’t want to listen to the speaker, we didn’t have to.

“I’m not sure about this,” I said, as our drink orders arrived. “I’m guessing more than one person might use this to air their grievances.”

“Which is why we won’t listen,” Jason said. “I don’t need someone lecturing me on the gold standard.”

“Gold standard?” I asked. “That might be interesting. Onto a different subject. Paul told you about the proposal, right?”

“He’s over the moon about it. When I mentioned that he hadn’t known Millie very long, he said it didn’t matter. They were soul mates, destined to be together. Sounds like something from the Hallmark Channel, doesn’t it?”

“We've come a long way from centuries past, where men and women were matched to each other. Families married off their children for profit and advantage. The funny part is that most of those marriages were pretty successful. They produced children and stable families, although there was a fair amount of cheating.”

Jason played with his beer. “I was told once that women married, hoping they could change their husbands. Men married, hoping their wives would never change. Both were wrong.”

I laughed. “Now, that sounds cynical, the musings of some old man whose wife had left him. Or perhaps a woman, whose husband strayed.”

“I don’t know what is more foolish. Marrying for love, or marrying for advantage. In our world, love has conquered advantage. People think they’re entitled to bliss.”

I didn’t know why Jason was pontificating, but I did know I didn’t want to spend the night trading philosophy about romance and marriage.

“Hey,” I said, “what’s the latest on the murder? Is Brian still a suspect?”

“No, he has a perfect alibi. He was in jail at the time of the murder, sleeping off a binge. He got into a fight and was hauled in. Some guys shouldn’t drink. He’s one of them.”

“Well, if Brian has dropped off the suspect list, move Debbie to the top. She certainly hated Tina, and she’s now threatening people.”

“How do you know?”

I hemmed and hawed before I told Jason that I had broken into Debbie’s condo and found the notebook with Tina’s name crossed out. I added the pictures with the eyes poked out and the diary that I didn’t get a chance to read. Before Jason could lecture me about breaking and entering, I added the scene between Debbie and me in my charm shop. His eyes widened when I told him about being threatened.

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