The Tainted Taffy by Fiona Grace

Author:Fiona Grace [Grace, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fiona Grace
Published: 2024-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Her new theory buzzing in her mind, Autumn hurried out of the coffee shop, with Max trotting alongside. A jealous, resentful sibling could have been the killer.

How she wished she could find out more about Harold Sweetly’s brother now. But she couldn’t. Jasmine had been kindly working overtime, and Autumn had to get back to the guesthouse.

She knew somebody who could find out, though.

As she headed up the hill again, she got on her phone.

“Odds and Ends,” her sister’s dulcet tones replied. “Oh, I just saw the caller ID. It’s you, Autumn.”

“Are you alone?” Autumn said, thinking that her life had suddenly gotten a whole lot more mysterious to be speaking those words at the start of a call.

“No,” her sister said shortly.

"Okay. In that case, don't talk, just listen," Autumn said, channeling what a spy might say in similar circumstances. "We have a new suspect. Harold Sweetly's brother. We need to find out who he is and where he is. I have to do chores. Can you handle this?"

“Consider it done,” Willow said confidently, before hanging up.

A brother. An angry, resentful brother. As she hurried to the bed and breakfast’s entrance, Autumn felt sad that anyone had to have such a conflicted relationship with their family.

But then, she was finding out a whole lot of undiscovered facts about Mr. Sweetly.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t see the person waiting inside the lobby until she almost bumped into him.

She gave a startled gasp. Max gave an excited woof.

Stepping forward, his face stern, was Officer Warring.

“Good morning, officer,” Autumn said. She hadn’t felt guilty about her activities until that moment. It took only an instant for her face to go crimson. She’d been investigating without telling him. Even though she’d just been asking questions, some of her activities might be interpreted as suspicious if he knew about them.

“Autumn, I need to have an urgent word,” he replied.

The way he spoke, she was sure that he did know about what she’d been doing.

Jasmine was behind the reception desk, looking anxious at this unexpected arrival. Giving her a reassuring nod, Autumn said, “Shall we sit down?”

There was nobody in the small living room. With breakfast finished, all the guests were out for the day.

She led the way to the living room, and they sat down. She took a wingback armchair, and the officer chose a two seater couch. He placed his briefcase on the floor, and took his notebook out. Paging through, Autumn noticed he was a lot nearer the back of the notebook than he had been yesterday. He’d been making a lot of notes.

“I’ve had a complaint about you,” he said, and her heart plummeted. She knew exactly who had made that complaint.

“I’m sorry to hear that. What’s the problem?” she asked.

“I’ve heard from one of our local residents that you’ve been acting in a suspicious way. She said you were lurking around her neighborhood, and she thought there was something strange about it.”

Autumn could have rolled her eyes at this.

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