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

us and then started backing towards the kitchen. “I’m supposed to be making dinner, so I’ll just leave you guys alone to chat, then.”

I didn’t appreciate the assumption that Mike was here to talk to me or that it was private or that it was okay to have let him inside in the first place. I didn’t doubt that he was correct, but I didn’t like it either.

“You can stay, Matt,” Mike said. “Franny’d probably appreciate it.”

Matt shrugged and sat down at the far end of the couch, pulling my feet onto his lap. I noticed that he didn’t protest too vigorously about getting back to his meal prep.

“How’re you doing, Franny?” Mike asked after a few seconds.

“How do I look?” I asked, not bothering to sound or act any more cheerful than I felt.

“About like I expected.”

I scratched Latte some more, and he rewarded me with more kisses.

“We need to get in touch with Ephy’s next of kin. You have an emergency contact for her?”

“It’s at the café.”

He nodded and took a deep breath. “I want to search the café again, so if it’s okay with you, I’ll just get it while I’m there.”

“That’s fine,” I mumbled into Latte’s fur.

“Wait, why do you want to search the café again?” Matt asked. “You think something has changed since yesterday?”

“Due diligence. Whoever left the chocolates may have dropped something.”

“Like their driver’s license?”

“I can only hope,” Mike said. “So that’s fine with you, Franny?”

I nodded.

“Don’t you need a warrant to search it?” Matt asked.

“If the owner doesn’t give me permission to search, which is her right.” Mike looked at me. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you or anything. There’s nothing wrong with saying no.” He hesitated. “It means I’ll have go to the judge and plead my case, but that’s a part of the job. No hard feelings if you decline.”

Matt looked at me expectantly. I could tell he wanted me to tell Mike to get the warrant, but I didn’t care. I just wanted it to be over. “Search it. Please. Ephy died on my watch, eating chocolates that were addressed to me. I want whoever did it to be caught. If you have to search the café every day for the next year to catch them, then do it.”

“Thank you, Fran.” Mike and Matt exchanged a look that I didn’t care to decode. They’d been friends a long time. Whatever it was, they’d be fine. “While I’m here, there’s something else I want to talk to you about.” He fidgeted in his chair. “The first attack was at your birthday party, and over a hundred people were poisoned. The second attack was at your café and killed a person. The chocolates used in the second attack were addressed to you. Fran, I don’t think we can avoid the fact that you are the target.”

I couldn’t say that the thought hadn’t been vaguely in the back of my mind, but to hear him state it so clearly sent a chill down my spine. And Matt’s, apparently, based on the way he gripped my foot.

“I’d like you to lay low for a while. Stay home. Keep the café closed.”

“What?” I sat up for the first time. Latte wasn’t pleased and jumped off the couch then wandered into the kitchen to look for any errant food scraps. “I can’t stay at home. I can’t close the café. People depend on us. They count on us for their morning coffee. My employees depend on their paychecks. I have—”

“Exactly, Fran.” Mike leaned forward and looked me dead in the eye. I suddenly realized how intimidating he must be to the people he was investigating. “People depend on you. They love you, and they love your coffee. And your employees depend on their jobs. That’s why you can’t go running around endangering your life. You’re not being selfish by closing the café. You’re being selfish if you open it. Ephy’s dead, Fran. I don’t want to be investigating your death next.”

I sat back on the couch as Matt leaned forward. “Come on, Mike, don’t be so hard on her.”

Mike fixed that dark glare on Matt. “You may not like my tone, but tell me you wouldn’t feel better knowing she was safe at home instead of out interacting with the public when we know for a fact that someone is trying to kill her.”

Matt sat in stunned silence. Mike looked from one of us to the other. “I’m sorry if I’m coming off a little harsh, but this is serious, Fran. Whatever was in those chocolates killed Ephy, and the box had your name on it.”

I nodded silently. He was right. Someone had tried to kill me, and an innocent bystander had died in my place. It wasn’t safe to go back to the café. “Okay. I’ll call the girls and let them know we’ll be closed for a few days.”

“It may be longer than a few days,” Mike said.

I nodded. Whatever he said. Whatever it took to keep everyone safe.

Mike opened his mouth to speak, but his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the display. “I have to take this,” he said, and he stepped into the kitchen.

Matt reached over and pulled me against him. I leaned into his chest, breathing in his smell and the comfort of his arms. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the situation I found myself in. Someone was trying to kill me—and not just a spur-of-the-moment thing, like when I’d been pushed down a flight of stairs. Someone was actively, premeditatedly trying to kill me. Why would anyone want me dead? What had I done to anyone to make them hate me that much?

The low sound of Mike’s phone call ended, and he reappeared in the living room. “State lab. They have the preliminary results on the chocolates. No fingerprints, but the chocolates appear to have been injected through the bottom with large quantities of pure nicotine,