Snap a Murder: An Artful Cozy Mystery by Lily Ashton

Author:Lily Ashton [Ashton, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cosy Crime, amateur dramatics, theatre, Murder, Crime, Mystery
Publisher: Magenta Lily Publishing
Published: 2020-12-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

There were three and a half suspects. Leo who bought the sandwich that Anna had eaten, Howard who sprayed the plates with mayonnaise and Josie who swapped her sandwich with Anna. Evie was the half. She was still the most likely candidate, but with the least compelling reason. Why would she kill the person who meant so much to her?

Two of them had credible motives. Howard thought his ex-wife was controlling and perhaps he didn’t want her criticising his performance. Josie had been angling for a leading role and wanted Anna’s part as Kate. But Leo? What would he gain by Anna’s death?

Rather than answering that difficult question, Alice decided that establishing whether Leo had actually killed her would be easier. It would only involve a trip to the sandwich shop where he had bought that fateful lunch. With Archie beside her, Alice made for Connie’s.

By the time Alice arrived, the lunch time rush was over and the outlet was empty. It was tiny, just wide enough for a small chilled cabinet, a wooden lift-up entrance for staff, plus two customers. Alice tied Archie’s lead around a post outside the door and scanned the offerings beneath the glass topped chiller. For a small shop there was a lot of choice. The regular fillings were there, alongside some more unusual choices: fried pork with katsu sauce; sausage and mash; plantain and black bean. There was a discerning sandwich clientele in Great Wheaton.

Behind the counter was a young woman who looked as if she should be in school, with a patterned scarf tied around a tall, messy knot of hair. Her badge named her as Polly. She clasped her hands together over her chest as she waited for Alice to place an order.

“I’m looking for chicken,” said Alice.

“It’s here in the corner.” Polly pointed at slices of chicken that looked as if they had just been carved from the bone.

“Is it okay for somebody with a dairy allergy? It hasn’t been marinated in buttermilk, for example?”

“No. It’s just chicken roasted with rosemary and nothing else. Would you like some?”

“What do you put in a regular chicken salad sandwich? Do you add mayonnaise, for example?”

“We always ask customers what they want. We don’t put in anything that you haven’t specifically requested.”

In that case, Leo must have agreed to the addition of mayonnaise, even though he had been warned to double check all the ingredients for the possibility of triggering an allergic reaction.

“As you’re so close to the theatre, I suppose you must get some of the actors in here?”

“Oh, we do.” Polly’s hands flew open. “We’re the nearest food place so they’re often here. We’ve got some photos on the wall.” There were six black-and-white signed photos, four men and two women. None were familiar. “There’s more, but the owner keeps them in a folder out the back.”

Alice checked on Archie, but he was still sitting in the same spot, quietly watching the scene. “You must have met some of the cast from the latest show?”

“I haven’t yet.

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