Pet Psychic Mysteries Boxset Books 5-8 (Magic Market Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Johnson (reading diary .TXT) 📗

Peter stepped in. “It’s just allergies.”

Chaz and Cybil exchanged looks.

I raised my brows. “So Chaz here was just telling us that you were the one who encouraged him to pursue Letty?” I pressed my lips together.

Cybil stood with her spine straight, her straight blond bob swaying over her shoulders in the strong wind.

Peter nodded. “Why’d you encourage Chaz to date her?”

She scoffed and leaned into one hip. “Uh, because he’s thirty-four—people expect a candidate of his age to be settled down. It shows maturity and commitment.”

I arched a brow. Thirty-four wasn’t old to be unmarried… was it? I frowned as I thought over my situation, and my stomach sank a little as I thought of Peter. He was the first man in a long time that I’d even wanted to pursue something with. And now we barely had a professional relationship. Sigh.

Peter nodded. “Okay, but why not encourage him to look for someone from his own social circle?”

She kept her gaze direct and focused, but her confident smile faltered a little. She licked her lips. “Uh, well… everyone loves a Cinderella story, right? Plus, she seemed like a sweet girl. I thought they’d be a good match.”

I narrowed my eyes—unconvinced. “I’d love to hear more of Letty’s side of the romance.” I glanced around at the hundreds and hundreds of guests spread out across the estate’s lawn. “Can you point us to some of Letty’s friends or family we could talk to?”

Chaz and Cybil exchanged looks again.

I frowned. “What?”

Chaz cleared his throat. “You know… Letty was a shy, private person, and she grew up in an orphanage, so she didn’t have any family.”

My frown deepened. “Okay... maybe even a coworker she might have confided in?”

Chaz grimaced and looked to Cybil. She threw a small palm out. “I’m sure you can imagine how awkward that would be, to invite waitstaff from the country club to the wedding as guests?”

Chaz bit his lip. “Eek. So weird.”

Cybil’s words spilled out like she’d had five cups of coffee. “That’d be crossing the line, and Letty understood. Plus, Chaz’s family and connections are so extensive, it really didn’t leave any room on the guest list for her people.”

I blinked. “You’re telling us the bride had literally not one of her own guests among the thousand here?” I set my jaw, determined to be the advocate for Letty that she had clearly not had when living.

“Oh!” Cybil perked up. “Except for the caterer, of course.” She nodded at Chaz.

“Right, the caterer!” He plastered on that smarmy smile I recognized from the campaign posters.

Ah, there it was. So good to know something small like his wife’s death on their wedding day couldn’t dampen Chaz’s spirits for long.

Chaz, still clutching the blanket around his shoulders with one hand, spread his other palm wide. “Letty was so amiable and easygoing—she let Mother do most of the planning. The caterer, Joe something, was the only thing she put her foot down on.”

Peter and I exchanged looks, and he voiced the question in my head.

“Why was the caterer significant for her?”

Chaz shrugged. “She said they were childhood friends, as I mentioned, and he and his family were down on their luck. Plus, I guess he’d recently been released from prison. She said she wanted to help out their family business by giving them the catering contract.”

Peter nodded. “Was it a big one?”

Cybil choked. “The contract? I’d say so. We had the top caterers and chefs in the kingdoms competing for it until Letty gave it to her friend. Imagine it—the prestige. All of Bijou Mer’s elite are here.” She shook her head. “But Letty insisted, so we relented.”

Chaz sniffed. “It was her only request, so of course we did. But snakes, the way he looked at her sometimes…”

Peter frowned. “The caterer?”

Chaz nodded, eyes watery. “Dark looks—lusty ones!” He raised his brows, and I had to suck on my lips to keep from smirking. He’d hinted earlier that we might look into him—did I detect some jealousy or was this just more dramatics?

“Er!” He clutched his hair. “If he hurt her, I’ll…” He dissolved into tears and buried his face in his arms on the table.

Cybil looked imploringly at us and lightly patted his back. “This is clearly a bad time for Chaz. Is there anything else we can help you with right now?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “No? Then please give him some time and space to grieve.”

I shot Peter a flat look but rose.

He nodded at her. “Thanks for your time. We’ll be in touch.”

As we moved off across the lawn, Peter gestured toward the castle. “I think it’s time we talked with the caterer.”

I sniffed. “Chaz certainly wanted us to.”

Peter pressed his eyes shut for a moment. “Yeah, that was a little over the top.”

I scoffed. “You think?” I scrunched up my face. “And what was the deal with his campaign manager? She was clearly hiding the real reason she encouraged him to go after Letty.”

Peter nodded, then glanced down at Daisy, who trotted along beside him. “Bad timing for allergies, huh, Daisy?”

She scrunched up her snout and sneezed in reply.

7

Joe Santos

Peter asked around with a couple of maids who directed us around the back of the castle to the servants’ entrance near the kitchen. As Peter, Daisy, and I came around a curved stone wall, sharp voices came into range. Peter and I exchanged looks.

“I told you it was too good to be true!” A squat woman with a long black braid trailing down her back magically directed a floating line of silver pots into the back of a rickshaw cart.

“Hmph!” A squat older man with thinning black hair stomped past her, back toward the castle. “Dead bride or not, we’re getting paid!”

The woman threw her head back and barked out a laugh. “Fat chance!” She turned to usher a black iron cauldron, full to the brim with some sort of stew, into the cart and froze when she caught sight of us. Her dark