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

other than her complaining about her job. She left to go to work, and before I left the café, Christy came in and I invited her to sit with me.”

“Christy came in and sat with you?”

He grinned at me. “Why not? She was just grabbing a quick bite to eat before the parade began, so she sat down with me and we talked for a few minutes.”

I inhaled deeply. “How long did you two sit together?”

He chuckled and looked away. “Like I said, I wasn’t checking my cell phone to see what time it was. She ordered a bagel and cream cheese and a coffee. She was in a hurry, so she left before I did. I think I left about five or ten minutes later.”

“Great. I appreciate the information, John. I’m sure Ethan would be interested in the fact that you saw Olivia shortly before she died.”

“Yeah well, be sure and point out to him that Christy saw that I didn’t leave with her and at no time did I murder her.”

He was right. He had an alibi, and that alibi was my sister. But I couldn’t understand why she had at first kept this information from Ethan and me.

“Did Christy know that you had breakfast with Olivia right before she sat down?”

He shrugged. “I can’t remember if I told her or not. Maybe I did. We didn’t talk about her, we talked about other things.”

I looked at him. “What kind of things?”

He chuckled. “There goes that nosy disposition of yours. What difference does it make?”

He was just trying to toy with me, and I didn’t have time for that. “I’ve got to get going. I’ve got things to do. Thanks for your time.”

“Any time,” he said.

Chapter Seventeen

I wasn’t sure what to think about what John had told me. Could he be lying? I didn’t think so. Something told me he was telling the truth. Did Christy know he had been with Olivia that morning? If she did, why had she lied to me?

I still hadn’t heard from Frankie about the flower arrangement that had been delivered to Olivia the day before she died, so I headed over to the flower shop. Someone had to remember something about the delivery that was made.

I stepped into the flower shop and inhaled deeply. The smell always made me happy. Sarah Martin was putting a flower arrangement into the refrigerated display case and she turned around and smiled at me. “Hi Mia, how are you today?”

I walked over to her. “I’m doing great. How are you doing, Sarah?”

“Oh you know, it’s fall and the Halloween season, so I couldn’t be doing anything other than great.”

“Has business really picked up for you all like it has for us?”

She nodded. “We’re selling tons of fall flower arrangements and candles, of course. Frankie made up a bunch of small arrangements and they’re selling like crazy. There’s a little keepsake ceramic pumpkin in the middle of the arrangements that says Halloween season with the year painted on the back of them. She found them online and had them personalized.”

“That’s a great idea. Anything that’s a keepsake is going to fly off the shelves.”

“Boy, you’re telling me. So, business has been great at the candy store?”

“Very busy,” I said glancing at the refrigerated display case. “I talked to Frankie last week, and she said you were working the Friday before the start of the Halloween season.”

She nodded. “Yes, I was working that day. We were all working on the shop, making sure it was ready to go for the start of the Halloween season.”

“Do you remember someone stopping in and placing an order for a fall arrangement to be delivered to Olivia Summers at her office?”

Her brow furrowed in thought. “I really can’t remember. Was it a custom arrangement?”

“It looks similar to those there in the display case.” I pointed at one that looked like what I had seen on Olivia’s desk.

She nodded. “You know, we’ve sold so many of those that I’m not really sure. Betty was running deliveries that day. She’s in the back, let me ask her.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She headed to the back room, and I looked into the display case. Fresh flowers were so expensive, but they sure were pretty. I thought I might stop back in and pick up a small arrangement for my kitchen table when I got paid.

Betty came out from the back. “Hi Mia, Sarah said you were asking about a delivery for Olivia Summers. I did deliver those flowers, but I can’t remember who ordered them. It was busy that afternoon and there were some call-in orders as well as some walk-in orders. Since those are already made up in advance, it wouldn’t have taken much to just add them to the others that I needed to deliver. Sorry, I can’t really remember.”

I sighed. “That’s okay. It was worth a try.”

“Why are you asking about them?” she asked me.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it was just sad that she died, and I had seen them on her desk and wondered about them.”

She nodded. “She sure was surprised to get them when I brought them to her.”

“She was? So she wasn’t expecting them?”

She shook her head. “No, she didn’t seem to be. She teared up a little when she saw them and said what a wonderful surprise they were. I teased her that they were from a secret admirer since there wasn’t a card with them.”

“Huh. It does sound like she didn’t expect them then.”

“I don’t think she did,” she said. “I wish I could remember more about it. But I do remember there was no card on them, just the envelope that had her name and where to deliver them to.”

I nodded. “Okay then, well