Strawberry Frosted & Murder by Susan Gillard

Author:Susan Gillard [Gillard, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Guardian Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2018-07-06T05:00:00+00:00

The Daring Dish Convention

Heather and Amy entered the hotel, wondering if the convention was a coincidence or a break in the case. Heather couldn’t help but think that it had to be connected to the murdered chef somehow.

She voiced this to Amy who answered with, “Your gut is normally right. And even if it is wrong this time, we might get some interesting snacks out of this.”

They walked up to the desk outside of the convention hall entrance where a young woman was painting her nails.

“You’re a little late today,” she remarked. “Do you have your badges already?”

“Badges?” asked Amy.

“You’re here for the Daring Dish Convention, aren’t you?” the woman asked, closing the cap on her polish. Though both hands had the same color nails, it appeared that only one hand was wet. This was the hand with her large wedding band on it. She kept blowing on the nails while she spoke to them. Amy found it distracting.

“Yes and no,” said Heather. “We are here for the convention, but not for the food.”

“Though we will take some samples if they are offered,” Amy added.

“We’d like to see if some people we know frequent food conventions are at this one,” Heather said. “It’s part of an investigation.”

“An investigation?” asked the young woman in between sending puffs of air towards her nails. “For what?”

“A murder that happened on the beach,” Heather explained. “We’re assisting the police with the matter. It might be a long shot that any of them are here, but we are following it.”

She introduced herself and her partner and showed the woman some I.D. cards that the Key West Police Force had made for them when they consulted on cases.

“I’ll help you in any way I can,” she assured them. “I can’t believe there was a murder nearby.”

“What’s your name?” asked Heather.

“Julia H. Quinn. Or Jules.”

“Speaking of jewels, that is a nice wedding band,” Amy said. “It’s as impressive as the engagement ring.”

“Thanks,” Jules said. “Who is it that you’re looking for here? And how do they relate to this crime?”

“They might have known the victim previously,” Heather said, not wanting to reveal too many details.

“And when did this happen?” asked Jules.

“Yesterday morning.”

“Well, I was helping to set up this convention all morning. The event started at dinner time, but I think many guests did arrive that morning to check into the hotel. I travel around with the convention. My husband is one of the chefs. In fact, I have some samples from him on the end of the table.”

“What are they?” Amy asked.

“These are a Caramel and Cayenne Candy,” Jules explained, offering them a sample from the plate.

“Thanks. I think I’ll pick my own,” Amy said, subtly referencing how she didn’t want the fingers with wet nail polish that Jules had been blowing on to touch her food.

Jules nodded. The two private investigators accepted the samples, and each picked up a piece of candy. Heather nibbled on her piece and chewed on her thoughts. Amy ate hers in one bite, expecting to love it.

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