Lock, Stock, and Feral by Addison Moore (free e novels .txt) 📕

took our time until we found something we could get passionate about—and something that was needed in the area. It turns out, the mushroom business is booming. And not only that, but restaurants love to boast of farm-to-table vegetables, so we thought we’d start here. We applied for an agricultural loan and got a little seed money. We scampered for the rest.” No thanks to Patterson for holding out on me. “And regardless of our obstacles, we now have a thriving business.”

“You’re a real go-getter,” I say, still marveling at the elongated elegant necks of this curious looking mushroom. “You know if I ran into this in the woods, I don’t even think I’d realize it was a mushroom.”

“Chanterelles are highly coveted by chefs. They have an airy, fruity flavor, and once you have them, you’ll never want to go back. I take a little home with me just about every night. Now, if you did come upon this in the wild, I wouldn’t pick it. The chanterelles have a twin called the jack-o’-lantern mushroom and he’s poisonous. Not the same mushroom that killed Patterson, but it could do the job. In fact, the rule of thumb is, if you didn’t buy it from a farmer or the grocery store, don’t eat it.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” I take a moment to examine her, and she looks so open and honest. She doesn’t have a single nerve twitching, despite the fact she’s having her business presently searched by the authorities.

Jasper ducks to look into one of the racks where the pods are sitting. “So if someone were to grow poisonous mushrooms at home, how easy would that be?”

“Are you kidding? If you have a front lawn, you already know the answer. It doesn’t take much. No one loves a lawn full of mushrooms, but everyone loves it here. A few months back, we had the Grim Readers here on a day trip, and afterwards I served everyone a big lunch—lots of homegrown veggies and mushrooms—and then we had our club meeting.”

Jasper and I exchange a glance.

That could have been the birth of an idea, he says, and I nod his way because I completely agree.

“Devan”—I lean in—“where would someone get their hands on a death cap?”

She pulls her cheek to the side as she considers this. “Whoever did this must have done at least your rudimentary Google search. They’re prevalent across Europe and we have some in North America as well. They’re all over California, and here in Maine you can find them attached to pine trees, but our weather is so harsh in the winter it’s hard for them to thrive. Now, there are people who sell stuff like this. So if someone is determined, they could have purchased them.”

I sigh at the thought. “I guess the world is your oyster if you’re set to commit something nefarious.”

She nods as she looks to Jasper. “Did you talk to James Foreman?”

“Yes”—Jasper winces—“but I can’t give any information on how that went.”

“You don’t have to.” A laugh rises in her throat. “I know exactly what he’s up to. I heard he’s making a bid for Higgins House. And I just can’t see that happening. And it won’t. Besides, his heart’s not in it. Before Patterson passed away, I spoke to James and he said he was thinking of moving to New York and getting into finance with his brother. He said he couldn’t live off of what he was making and something needed to change. I guess things didn’t work out with the brother.” Her phone chirps and she glances at it. “I’m needed in the next building over. Please feel free to poke around here.” She pulls a bag off the counter and a knife. “Go ahead and fill it to the brim. It’s on me. And don’t forget, next book club this Friday night at the library—seven-thirty. Come for the coffee if nothing else.” She takes off with a wave and the door closes quietly behind her.

“What do you think?” Jasper asks, waving the knife in his hand her way. “Or more to the point—what did she think?”

I shake my head. “She didn’t have a single errant thought. And she’s sticking to her guns. She thinks James did this. And he did have wine in his hand that night—wine he says he didn’t imbibe.”

“Okay, we’ll keep trucking. In the meantime, let’s fill up this bag and check the rest of the place out. I believe we have a bakery to get to.”

We do just that. We fill that bag until it’s brimming and walk around the different buildings on the grounds. Jasper and I wouldn’t know a death cap if we were holding it in a bag, so we take off, pick up a cake before we hit the cottage, and have a party for two.

Jasper lets me know I’m the only woman he has eyes for, one kiss at a time.

And a delicious time is had by all.

Chapter 14

The next afternoon there’s enough sunshine to power a nuclear reactor, and I’m not complaining. I’ve always felt as if I come alive under the warmth of its healing rays, and trust me when I say, there is nothing better than being out on the cove under an umbrella while reading a good book—or even a really, really bad one.

“Ugh.” I groan as I slap closed the cover of The Duke and the Lady. “The woman is relentless,” I tell Emmie who’s sunbathing on the next lounger over. We’ve both donned our teeniest bikinis and we’re relaxing just a few feet from shore under the girth of a thatched umbrella, each with a cold, fruity drink by our side. “Not a scene goes by without her getting down to business with my husband.”

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” she asks without so much as taking her eyes off her copy—which was technically Georgie’s copy, but once Georgie finished it, she lent it to Macy, who lent it