Punch, Pastries, and Poison by Harper Lin (ebook reader for pc and android .txt) 📕

at me. She looked as polished and refined as ever, with her blond hair perfectly coiffed and a cobalt-blue jumpsuit topped with jewelry I was sure came from one of the local artists whose work she stocked in her shop. I only hoped I looked as good as her when I was her age.

“Mary Ellen! Thank you for coming.” I held out my arm and gave her a big hug. “Have you had anything to eat yet?”

“I’ve been nibbling my way through. Those canapés with the Italian sausage are divine.”

I thanked her and glanced over at the tables holding all the food to make sure they were still well stocked.

Mary Ellen touched my arm and leaned in. “As a woman who has thrown her share of parties, let me give you a little tip. Stop worrying so much and enjoy the party. The more fun you have, the more fun your guests will have.” She smiled warmly at me. Then her smile broadened as she looked over my shoulder at someone across the room. I looked over and spotted a dapper-looking older gentleman making eyes at her.

“Who’s that?” I knew I’d seen him in the café before, but I hadn’t met him yet.

“He’s new in town. Just retired here after a long career in law up in Boston. Handsome, don’t you think?”

He was rather handsome in that old-enough-to-be-my-father kind of way. I’d never really known my father—he and my mother had broken up when I was too small to still have any memory of him—but the man across the café was about the age he would be now. I guessed. I didn’t even know that much about him.

But I didn’t want to think about it right now, so I put it out of my head and focused back on Mary Ellen. She, however, was still looking across at the man with a coy smile on her face. She batted her eyes, glanced away, and then looked back. She could have taught a master class in flirting with the way she was acting. She tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. It was impressive, really. If I were looking for tips, she’d be the person I’d talk to. It wasn’t just for show, either—Mary Ellen was perpetually popular with the retirement-aged men in Cape Bay.

Mary Ellen’s new beau was making his way toward us now, a cup of punch in each hand. Mary Ellen touched my arm again. “If you’ll excuse me.” She started toward him then stopped and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Don’t forget to relax.” Then she flashed the man a brilliant smile and walked over to him.

She was right. The party was supposed to be fun, not stressful. I needed to relax and enjoy myself. I headed for the table with the punch, stopping along the way to greet friends and neighbors and thank them all for coming.

I caught Sammy’s eye and mouthed “thank you” as she refilled the punch bowls.

“Hey, Fran!”

I looked up to see the brilliant blue eyes of Todd Caruthers smiling down at me. “Todd! Hi!”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against the hard muscles of his chest. Todd and I had gone to high school together. Back then, he’d been the too-attractive-for-his-own-good, all-American star athlete. To be honest, not much had changed since then. He’d gotten older, yes, but he was still distractingly handsome and just as in shape as ever—maybe even more. It made sense, given that he owned the cleverly named Todd’s Gym out on the edge of town near the marina.

“How are you doing, Todd?”

“Good! Good.” He ran his fingers through his surfer-blond hair. “You know, business slowed down after the thing with Joe, but it’s starting to pick up again. I’m hoping to get some more traffic by offering day passes to the tourists. Get the ladies who don’t want to miss their yoga class, you know?”

I nodded. “The thing with Joe” he’d referred to was actually a murder that had happened in the gym’s parking lot. I hadn’t realized business had slowed down for him after that, but it made sense. Even though the murder had been solved, I could see someone being put off from the place. It wasn’t fair, but people didn’t usually consider fairness when they were thinking about their safety.

We chatted for a few more minutes before I resumed my mission to get to the refreshments table. I was feeling more than a little parched. A cup of rum-spiked punch was just the thing I needed to quench my thirst and help me relax a little. I grabbed one of the Italian sausage canapés and popped it into my mouth on my way to the punch bowl. Ephy was standing near it, leaning against the wall, holding a cup of water. “Don’t like the punch?” I asked.

As usual, she shrugged. “I don’t like, like, sweet stuff.”

I wondered if that explained her personality. “Have you gotten anything to eat? There’s a lot that isn’t sweet.”

She shrugged again. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to try to make pleasant conversation with her when I was supposed to be kicking back and having fun. Instead, I just ladled myself some punch.

“Does that have alcohol?” someone beside me asked.

I turned and saw Melissa, one of Sammy’s friends. I’d gotten to know her while investigating the murder at Todd’s Gym the year before. Her ex had been killed, and even though they were broken up, she had been devastated. She had somehow managed to keep it together for their little girl. As it always did, the sight of her dark curls, blue eyes, and cheerful face made me smile. And then my smile broadened as I glanced down and realized she’d grown a little since the last time I saw her. I caught my breath and blurted out “What’s this?” before realizing how terrible it would be if she wasn’t actually six or so months pregnant like I thought.

Fortunately, she grinned