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

grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I squeezed back. If Matt wasn’t there, at least my friends were.

A blur of a man sprinted past the front windows and burst through the door. Mike looked at the body on the floor and the paramedics around it for a long few seconds then over at us. His eyes closed as he exhaled. He pressed his lips together then, after another moment, opened them again and became all business.

Mike strode over to one of the paramedics who was standing to the side, talking on his radio. They spoke briefly in low tones that I couldn’t hear. Mike nodded a few times and then came over to us. I thought he would be as hard, brusque, and businesslike as ever, but something else was in his eyes as he walked over. He looked at each of our faces before he said anything, and then it was the last thing I would have expected.

“I’m glad you’re all safe.” He looked from one of our faces to the next again, nodded, and pulled his notebook out of his pocket. He opened it with a flick of his wrist and clicked the end of his pen. “What do we know, Leary?”

“Arrived on scene to find a female, early twenties, lying on the floor unconscious and unresponsive with no pulse. Fran and Rhonda were attempting the Heimlich maneuver. I—”

“Wait,” Mike interrupted. “The Heimlich? Why?” He looked at me with an expression that wasn’t quite as judgmental as I expected but also not as sympathetic as I would have liked.

“We thought she was choking,” I said, as if that weren’t obvious.

It must have not been obvious to him because he looked exasperated as he repeated, “Why?”

“She ate one of those chocolates over there right before she collapsed.” I moved to go get the box and paper to show him, but he put his arm out and stopped me.

“No, don’t touch it.” He walked over there. “It’s this box? What’s this paper?” He used the end of his pen to turn the paper so he could read my name written in block letters across it.

“That’s the paper it came wrapped in.”

“Leary, get this all bagged up. We need it fingerprinted and tested for... everything.”

Ryan nodded and headed for the door. Mike turned back to us. “So where did these chocolates come from?”

I shook my head and shrugged. “Someone left them while we were busy.”

“Someone? Who? Approximately what time?”

I turned my hands palms up and looked at Rhonda and Sammy. They didn’t know any more than we did. “I don’t know. Sometime between nine and two is the best I can tell you on time.”

He sighed with barely concealed frustration. I knew better than to take it personally.

Another ambulance pulled up outside. The two paramedics who jumped out of the cab went around to the back and brought out a gurney. We watched them load Ephy onto it and roll her out to the ambulance, still trying to bring her back to life. As quickly as they’d arrived, they were gone.

Mike went over to talk to the guy who appeared to be in charge while the couple of guys who were left picked up their gear. They exchanged a lot of nods and “uh-huhs,” and then the paramedics left.

Ryan came in with a pair of gloves and a handful of evidence bags. He and Mike spoke quietly, then Ryan snapped on the gloves and started carefully putting the box of chocolates and its wrapping paper into the bags. Mike walked back over to us, looking subdued. “She have any allergies?” He jerked his head in the direction they’d taken Ephy.

I could only shrug. “She never mentioned anything. Does that mean you think she had an allergic reaction?” I felt hope rise in my chest. If it was an allergic reaction, they could give her drugs and she’d be back on her feet in no time.

Mike closed his notebook and put it back in his pocket, ignoring my question. “Look, I don’t have any reason why you can’t get back to work, but don’t go eating any food if you don’t know where it came from, okay? I’ll be in touch.” He headed for the door and waited while Ryan gave Sammy a quick hug goodbye.

They left, and I turned to look at Sammy and Rhonda.

Sammy had sat down at one of the tables and was holding her head in her hands. She looked paler than ever.

Rhonda had her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Her face was pinched and looked anxious.

There was no way we could open back up.

I dropped down into a chair. “You guys can go home. I can’t sit here and smile and serve people coffee this afternoon not knowing how Ephy is.”

Rhonda gave me a look. “Fran, I think Ephy—I don’t think—” She stopped and blinked rapidly, looking like she was in pain.

“Don’t.” I put my hand up in a signal to stop. “They were still working on her when they left. We don’t know anything.”

Rhonda nodded.

“I don’t want to go home,” Sammy said. “I don’t want to sit there alone and think about—” She waved her hand toward the area where Ephy had fallen. Her blue eyes filled up with tears.

I was at a loss. I didn’t really want to be alone, either, but I knew I couldn’t function well enough to work. Matt would still be at the office, but at least I’d have Latte.

Rhonda clapped her hands together. “Let’s go out and get something to eat.”

“Are you serious?”

“What did your mother always do when you had a bad day at school?”

The sudden change of subject threw me for a loop, and I didn’t know how to answer.

“She sat you down and fed you,” Rhonda said in her best mom-like tone of voice. “So let’s go get something to eat. It’ll take our mind off what happened, and we can talk. Now go get your purses, both of you.”

I didn’t think either Sammy or I