Read Spells and Scones for Free Online Page B

Still, I knew what she was getting at. “We don’t know what happened yet,” I said noncommittally, and stepped back.
    Her eyes shot to Angie, and her eyebrows rose. “What are you doing here?” Lucy’s unusual bluntness spoke to her state of mind.
    Angie looked uncomfortable. At Lucy’s question, all eyes in the room had gone to the woman Croft had asked to leave the premises.
    Croft himself looked livid, his face dangerously red. “Well?” he demanded. “I’d like to know that, too.”
    Angie Kissel held up her palms. “I only wanted to talk to Dr. Dana.”
    Silence greeted Angie’s statement, stretching intoseveral seconds before being cut by the sound of approaching sirens.
    Lucy whispered in my ear. “I’ll be right back.”
    My surprise turned to understanding as she headed toward the restroom. Then it turned back to surprise as I saw her veer toward the back room, where Ben was keeping an eye on the body.
    But Croft was already hurrying to open the front door for a bevy of uniforms, and no one else was paying attention.
    What is my dear aunt up to?
I wondered.
    *   *   *
    â€œI came back to talk to her,” Angie was saying again, this time to Detective Peter Quinn. “She needed to understand the kind of damage she could cause when she gave terrible advice to people who respected and trusted her. Heaven knows how many relationships she sabotaged. But I never would have . . .” She trailed off.
    Quinn quirked an eyebrow but didn’t look up from the old-school notebook he was writing in. I’d met him for the first time shortly after moving to Savannah. He’d tried to pin the murder of a horrible old lady on Uncle Ben, and no way could I sit still for that. Over the last year and a half the detective’s hair had become significantly more salt than pepper. If anything, it made him even more debonair. He always dressed well, and tonight he wore a suit that matched his gray eyes, and a crisp white shirt. His shoes gleamed with fresh polish.
    Soon after he’d arrived, Lucy had strolled casually from the back of the store, Ben close behind her. Quinn had talked to Ben and Margie so far, which hadn’t taken long but had certainly turned his attention on Angie. Now he was interviewing her, while I sat unobtrusively on a stool behind the Fox and Hound checkout counter.
    Perhaps I moved and drew the detective’s attention, or perhaps he’d known all along that I was sitting there, but he looked up and snagged my gaze. When he’d first walked into the bookstore and gave me the evil eye, I’d been a little worried. After all, this wasn’t the first—or even the second—time he’d answered a homicide call to find me nearby. We’d butted heads a few times, yet I’d also helped him clear some cases. The result was a tenuous friendship built on conflict, mutual respect, and the occasional bribe of a Honeybee pastry.
    Now a ghost of a smile passed across his face, and he shook his head ruefully. That was much better than a scowl and an eye roll.
    â€œKatie, why don’t you wait over there?” He tipped his head toward the cluster of chairs.
    I balked for a second but knew it was useless. As I slid off the stool and started toward where Lucy and Ben sat huddled with Margie, I heard Quinn ask Angie about her previous interactions with Dr. Dana.
    Declan had gone out front to talk with some of his co-workers, who were wrapping things up from the perspective of the fire department. Ben’s 911 call had brought out a ladder truck and an ambulance, just in case. However, the body would be transported to the morgue in a county van, and a pot of beef stew was waiting for the firefighters back at the station. In the meantime, Nate Dobbs had requested to see his wife, and two officers had led him to the back room. Phoebe went with him but returned after only a few