Cookie Dough or Die (36 page)

“Poor Clarisse. At least now her granddaughter is back with her family and Clarisse can be at peace. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.” Olivia sighed as the weight on her chest and the knot in her stomach began to dissipate for the first time since her friend was killed. “I know you didn’t have to. Oh, but wait, what about Sam? And my car?”

“Edward was checking in at Chatterley Heights pharmacy, which is owned by Chamberlain Enterprises, when Sam dropped off the mail. He heard Sam boast about knowing what was in the letter Clarisse received from the private investigator she’d hired to search for Jasmine. Edward claims he only wanted to put Sam out of commission for a while, not kill him. Edward had dropped off a check for the bequest his mother had left the food shelf, and he had seen the decorated cookies Olivia delivered earlier. He moved fast once the whole idea occurred to him. He managed to swipe some cookies from the food shelf without being seen, then laced them with a high-powered insulin enhancer he’d taken from the pharmacy. He just wanted Sam to back off.” Del leaned toward Olivia. “On the other hand, I think he was trying to do some serious damage to you when he punctured your brake line. He recognized your car while you were gathering those cookie cutters from the Chamberlain house. He really viewed you as an outsider meddling in ‘family affairs.’ He was also still resentful of your close relationship with his mother.”

Del stretched out his legs and yawned. “So have I answered all your questions?”

“Actually,” she said, “I do have one more.”

“Fire away.” Del leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Olivia drained her glass in one large gulp. The loss of her friend and her own near-death experience combined with all of the chaos she had endured suddenly made Olivia realize that she wanted something more in her life, maybe someone . . .

“So,” she began and then paused to clear her throat. “Maybe, when our respective injuries have healed, we should go on a real date sometime.”

Del’s face reddened a bit as he sat up and said, “Livie Greyson, it’s about time you asked me a question I can gladly say yes to.”

Julie Hyzy
WHITE HOUSE CHEF MYSTERIES

 

B. B. Haywood
CANDY HOLLIDAY MURDER MYSTERIES

 

Jenn McKinlay
CUPCAKE BAKERY MYSTERIES

 

Laura Childs
TEA SHOP MYSTERIES

 

Claudia Bishop
HEMLOCK FALLS MYSTERIES

 

Nancy Fairbanks
CULINARY MYSTERIES

 

Cleo Coyle
COFFEEHOUSE MYSTERIES