Fudgy Fatality: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 10 by Kathleen Suzette (good books for high schoolers .txt) 📗

I smiled and nodded. “I will remember that. I’m sure I’ll be back at some point and get a couple of them. They smell too good to resist.”

I headed back to my car, hoping one of her employees remembered who came in and bought the arrangement.

Chapter Twelve

It was two days later when I remembered that Lisa’s mother, Gayle, had been at the parade taking pictures. Might she have taken a picture of the killer? Had she only taken pictures of the parade, or was she on the street where the parade assembled, taking shots there, too? There was a chance she may have gotten some pictures in front of Storage Inc, and I wanted to know if there was anything in those pictures. Like the killer.

“Hi, Mia, how are you?” she asked when she opened the door.

“Hi, Gayle, I’m doing great. I brought you some fudge.” I held up the bag.

She grinned. “Oh, don’t tell me, Lisa has told you I keep eating what she brings home, right?”

I chuckled. “She didn’t, but I thought I’d bring you some and see if I could take a look at the pictures you took at the parade the other day. Consider it a bribe.”

“Well, that’s a wonderful bribe, but I would have let you see them without it.” She stepped back to let me in and I handed her the bag. “Come on in and I’ll get them for you.”

“Thanks.” I sat down on the sofa while she went to get the pictures. The Anderson’s living room was bright and airy, and Gayle had already begun to decorate for Halloween. There was a big sparkly pumpkin near the fireplace and some small wooden pumpkins on the mantle.

“Here we are,” she said returning, her arms full of pictures she had printed out. “I got several of you and your sister and mother that I was intending to bring by. I think they turned out really well.” She picked up four pictures and laid them on the coffee table in front of me.

“Those are nice,” I agreed, looking them over. Gayle was a natural. The pictures were bright and focused. “I love this one.” The picture was the one where Christy and I had our arms around one another.

“You can have them all, if you want. That one would look nice in a frame.”

“It would be wonderful in a frame. Do you mind if I look through the others?”

“Go ahead, but I think those are the only ones with you and your mother and sister.”

“I’d still like to look at the others. You did such a wonderful job, capturing the parade.” I flipped through the pictures, trying to focus in on people’s faces. “Did you get any of the parade lineup before it started?”

“I did get a few, but not many.”

I stopped on one of John. He was looking at something to his left. The picture was a closeup, and I couldn’t tell where on the parade route he was standing.

“Does that one interest you? Isn’t that Christy’s husband?” she asked, looking at the picture.

I glanced at her. “He’s her ex-husband. I don’t want it, though, thanks.” I continued looking through the pictures and found one of Aaron and another of Bryce. I paused on them, looking closely.

“Is there something you’re looking for, Mia?” she asked after several minutes. “If you tell me what it is, I may remember seeing it when I developed the pictures.”

I looked up at her. “Did you hear about Olivia Summers?”

She nodded, frowning. “It’s a terrible shame. I hated to hear it.”

“Did you happen to get any pictures of the front of Storage Inc?”

Her brow furrowed, and she began searching through the pile of pictures. “I did.” She searched some more and then pulled out two pictures. “Here. The kids were so cute in their costumes.”

She laid them in front of me. There was a school group standing in front of the office and the camera was focused on them. I squinted at the pictures, trying to see into the glass front window, but it was no use. They were out of focus. “Do you remember seeing Olivia there at the parade?”

She thought about it. “I think I did, and I think I got a picture.” She sorted through the pictures again and stopped on one, then laid it in front of me.

I picked it up. Olivia was looking over her shoulder at something. “Do you remember anything about this picture when you took it? Was there anyone that didn’t seem to belong in the area? It seems like she’s looking at something.”

She shook her head. “No. Nothing stands out. I forgot about that picture. Makes me sad. I had to have taken it right before she died.”

I nodded. “Do you mind if I take these pictures?”

“All of them?” she asked.

I thought about it. “No, just these of my family.” I suddenly had the thought that if I took them all, she might mention it to the wrong person, and I might find myself in trouble. I would tell Ethan about the pictures and he could ask to see them if he needed to.

She smiled. “Of course.”

“Thanks, Gayle. I appreciate it. I know my mother and sister will be thrilled.”

“You’re welcome, Mia.”

We made small talk for a few minutes before I excused myself. The picture of Olivia made me feel sick. If only something could have alerted her to the danger she was about to face.

We also now had proof that John, Aaron, and Bryce were in the area when the murder occurred.

***

“Did you know Olivia received an anonymous flower delivery the day before she died?” Ethan and I were sitting one my front step, enjoying the evening. It was late and I needed to get to bed, but I’d