Fudge Brownies & Murder (15 page)

So that was why Amy was crunching over an ice pellet-covered sidewalk staring at the window of her husband's office instead of hanging out at home in her winter hibernation-appropriate fleece pajamas. While the weather was abominable, the company was far from that. Geri wanted to shop for her grandbaby, plan the shower that would be a surprise since her daughter had still not agreed to one, and she also wanted to assess the murder suspects she had heard Shepler talking about. A very busy and full day.

They scrambled into opposite sides of the dark-blue Mini with a black racing stripe. Amy started the car and turned up the defroster to help loosen the ice that had formed on the windshield while they shopped for tiny Christmas outfits. The excited grandma put two outfits on layaway—a dress with a red velvet top and flouncy tulle skirt and a onesie made to look like a man's business suit with a button-up shirt and dress pants. Geri would return to retrieve whichever outfit was appropriate after the baby was born. Then they visited Yoga For You to pick up a class schedule for Geri.

"I don't think Rori is the murderer," Geri said as she unbuttoned the top buttons of her coat. The outerwear fastened all the way to the top strategy had worked well as they walked along Main Street to keep the cold wind at bay. Inside the car, the heavy wool probably felt more like a straitjacket. "I've been dabbling in aura reading. It's a community education class offered at the colony. So I am definitely an amateur, but to me, she looked very peaceful with a bit of agitation though, most likely from my son-in-law's investigation."

"Oh, that's interesting." It was very interesting. Especially since the person doing the aura reading was Carla's mom. Geri had made a radical life change when she moved to the other side of the world. Still, the thought of type A personality Carla being the daughter of a chilled out, new age momma made Amy want to giggle every time she thought of the connection. "But I really doubt Shepler will say auras are admissible as evidence in court."

"I'm sure they aren't. I just wanted you to know since she's your teacher. Thinking you are in the room with a killer can really mess up the meditative qualities of yoga."

Geri slipped her wide, black lace headband down onto her forehead then pushed it back up into place to keep her windblown hair off her face. While Amy was wearing her hair down, she knew very well the effects blustery Michigan weather could have on hair accessories. Barrettes shifted, headbands slipped into uncomfortable positions, and rubber bands lost their hold on ponytails while being buffeted by wind and precipitation.

"Thank you." Amy turned on the windshield wipers. There was an unnerving scraping sound as the arms pushed the brittle layer of ice off of the glass. "Good to know because I don't think she's a killer either. I have been wrong about judging people before, though."

Geri placed her hand on Amy's forearm as she gripped the steering wheel. "People can hide a lot of things, but they can't hide their aura. I may be an amateur reader, but I truly don't think there is any evil hanging out in Rori."

Hanging out…like an armed robber loitering outside a liquor store. Unfortunately, murderous tendencies were much more difficult to spot. "I appreciate that. I really love taking Rori's classes, but I've been worried about her being part of Shepler's suspect line up. You know, maybe I'm wrong about her and he's right, even though I think he's looking into her more because she had opportunity being Esther Mae's roommate at the hotel."

"I think you're right about his reasoning." She smiled as she stretched the seat belt across her torso then buckled it. "My new son-in-law is very detail oriented. It makes him good at his job, and Carla shares that personality trait with him. I just wish they would loosen up a bit. Analyzing every little thing in life can be such a buzzkill. Luckily, I know from my own experiences that as parents they're going to have to start rolling with the punches. Life is about ready to hand my control freak children an adorable, crying, pooping, puking curveball that will turn their neatly organized world upside down. All of the reference books in the world can't prepare you for the actual experience of raising a little human being who is born with his or her own unique personality."

The conversation with Alex the night before thunked back into Amy's mind. Carla was coping with the unplanned pregnancy, barely planned marriage, and completely unexpected sentence of forced immobility to prevent premature labor. The woman whose life compass had pointed at single with no kids for the rest of her life only a year earlier would soon have a family of three to manage. A tornado of change. Amy had been married, ninety-nine percent happily, for over seven years. Plenty of time to settle into marriage and get ready to have a baby. Yet just talking about the subject left her wanting to run to a remote cabin in the Upper Peninsula and hide for the rest of her life. What was wrong with her?

Amy tried to push aside the distracting thoughts so she could concentrate on driving across town on roads that could become a skating rink in less time than it took to make microwave popcorn. Since Geri wanted to check out some of the other murder suspects, a motherly attempt to get her son-in-law's newest case solved before his child arrived, the next stop was halfway across town at Clement Street Market. During the drive, they chatted about Geri's pottery business. She made the beautiful mug that Carla had been sipping the hot horchata from the day before. In fact, she had made an entire dining set with plates, bowls, and matching mugs for the couple as a wedding present. The Earthship colony had a shop in a nearby town where members could sell any art they produced, but Geri also had a website with an online shop.

"One of my coffee mugs went to Japan." She grinned. "Such an honor since the Japanese have a long tradition of producing fine pottery."

What would've been a white-knuckle ride if Amy had done it solo, passed by quickly and pleasantly with no incidents as they also discussed preliminary plans for the surprise baby shower. Since Carla wouldn't agree to the tradition of having her mother and best friend throw a shower, they were going with another tradition—a
surprise
shower. Because sometimes pregnancy hormones brought on bad judgment. Refusing to have a shower definitely ranked in the non-optimal thoughts category. So Amy and Geri decided to risk a whopper temper tantrum from Carla and do the right thing…even though she said it was wrong.

Right…wrong…left…right…chocolate…vanilla. Everybody was free to make her own decisions. She and Geri figured the shower was exactly what the bored mom-to-be and underequipped baby needed.

Amy pulled into the market's parking lot and scored a prime space close to the building. Since she was playing customer for the day, parking in the employee area at the far end of the arctic tundra of asphalt wasn't necessary. Inside the busy market, they stepped aside to shake the ice particles off of their coats. "Why don't we head to the far end," Amy suggested. "The booth for the bakery where I work is there. You can check out some of the baked goods and help decide on what to order for the shower. We can get lattes to warm us up while we walk around the rest of the market."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea. I've forgotten how cold it gets here in the winter."

"And it isn't even officially winter yet! We have another few weeks to go before that happens."

The unmistakable aroma of bacon drifted from the Southern Gals' steam tables as they approached. Geri's eyes narrowed as she studied the menu hung on the wall behind a very sad looking LeighAnne. Even though banana pudding was the only vegetarian option on the menu for the day, Geri stayed beside Amy.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked LeighAnne.

She shook her head. "Just a bit sad. It's the tenth anniversary of my husband's death. I swear, I miss him more after all of these years than Buck misses Esther Mae right now."

"Um…I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure the pain never goes away." Amy watched the booth's newest employee, the woman LeighAnne hired a few days earlier, as she lifted the lid off the electric soup kettle and used a ladle to stir the stuffed green pepper soup of the day. "Men are different, though. They don't grieve in the same way."

"Especially for people they don't care much about."

That
was a new revelation Amy hadn't caught wind of before. Amy wished she could see auras, too, to better judge what was going on. "I don't understand."

LeighAnne leaned forward. "I didn't see any sense in hanging out Esther Mae's dirty secret laundry; that's not something you do when someone dies. But I've heard from a gal with a booth near Buck's that he's flirting with every woman who enters his booth…the horny old vulture. He and Esther Mae weren't as happy as the show they put on. She was vindictive, mean as a rattlesnake, and he has a jealous streak. The booths here aren't near each other on purpose—they wanted it that way because they couldn't stand to be so close."

After recovering from the ground shaking revelation of the unhappy marriage, Amy chatted with LeighAnne for a few more minutes. She was so full of negative emotions. What did her aura look like—a black halo fringed with flames? Amy had no idea if an aura could look like that, but she imagined LeighAnne's black mood would be portrayed in that manner.

"Woo…weee!" Geri said once they had walked around the corner and drifted out of hearing range. "There was nothing but sadness and anger taking over her today. I feel so bad for that poor woman."

"Me too. I feel heavier after being around her for only a few minutes." Riverbend Bake Shop was a few feet ahead. Amy pointed it out. "Maybe some lattes and sweet treats will help lighten us up a bit."

Sophie was behind the bakery case, visiting her newest business expansion venture. Amy introduced her friend and boss to Geri. After getting a gingerbread latte made with coconut milk, Carla's mother whispered to Amy, "Point me in the direction of the husband's booth. I want to see what he's like on my own. He will probably act differently if he sees you with me." She took a sip of the fragrant, hot beverage. "And could you get me one of those raw key lime bars to go?"

Amy told Geri how to get to the wood carving business then slipped around the cash register table to chat face-to-face without a bakery case barrier. "Raw key lime bars?" she tilted her head to the left as she raised an eyebrow at Sophie. "Since when did you start making raw food?"

"Since I found a recipe that sounded interesting." Sophie laughed. Her espresso-brown ponytail swayed as she shook her head. "Don't worry. It's just an experiment. I'm still all about butter, sugar, and big, hot ovens. I just wanted to see how well the bars sold. Maybe they'll pick up a few new customers."

"New customers are always a good thing," Amy agreed. She slipped on a plastic glove and retrieved two of the uncooked, unprocessed ingredient bars from the case. Free coffee and baked goods were employee benefits that she greatly enjoyed. She slipped one square into a paper bag and took a bite of the other. "Wow. So much better than I expected. They're kind of like those no-bake energy bars you made this summer. I love the lime and coconut in these even more than the peanut butter and chocolate."

"I do, too."

Amy chatted, snacked, and almost finished drinking her dulce de leche latte. Buck's booth wasn't very far away, so what was taking so long? Finally, Geri reappeared on the other side of the bakery case. Her smile looked forced. "I think I'm going to get Carla's mom back to the house before this weather gets worse." Amy waved at Sophie and JoJo as she left the booth. "You guys be careful driving home. It's getting slippery out there."

"Will do. You too," Sophie said. "I think I saw the flashing lights on a salt truck go by outside the dining area. Hopefully the roads won't get too bad."

Geri linked her arm through Amy's crooked elbow as they walked up the aisle. She tilted her head closer to Amy and quietly said, "Icy roads are the least of our worries. I found that Veggie Crew booth when I took a wrong turn on my way to visiting the merry widower. You and Bruce need to be very careful dealing with the people at this market. I didn't have to read any auras to see they are messed up—a bunch of volcanoes getting ready to blow. That Candi from the vegetarian food booth is crazy. She doesn't do a good job of hiding it either, but I suspect she couldn't even if she tried."

The angry sputters of a misfiring engine drew Amy's attention as they walked through the parking lot toward her car. A dented and abused black pickup rumbled up the next aisle. The tires were so big on the four-wheel drive vehicle, the cab towered above all of the normal-sized automobiles in the parking lot. She sucked a breath in when she saw the bright dreadlocks of the passenger. Shantelle and her boyfriend were trolling around the parking lot. Why?

As Amy opened her Mini's door, she saw the hulking pickup stop in front of another truck parked at the back of the lot. She retrieved the ice scraper stored under the backseat and set about removing the newest layer of ice on the car's windows. Tiny, cold shards bounced off her face as she frantically tried to complete the task. The truck was pulling away.

When most of the ice was gone, she hopped into the driver's seat, started the engine, and backed out of the parking space while trying to simultaneously latch her seat belt. "What's the hurry?" Geri asked as she twisted in her seat to find the buckle of her unlatched belt.

"That pickup truck—the people who I think are the most plausible suspects for the murder are in it. I heard that they've been banned from entering the market because they've caused so much trouble by threatening vendors and intimidating customers…"

"So what are they doing here?" Geri finished Amy's sentence.

"Exactly."

Amy pushed the accelerator pedal. The Mini fishtailed slightly but gained traction and sped up the deserted parking lot aisle. The truck the troublemaking couple had been interested in was parked at the back, in the employee and vendor area. A magnetic sign for Buck's Wooden Wares was on the brown pickup's door.

"Horn dog's truck," Geri said as she frowned. "What would these two want with him?"