A Lime To Kill: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

his eyes were wide with pain and shock.
     
    “Call an
ambulance,” Drew yelled back into the store, while Tiara held the sick man’s
hand, frightened tears streaming down her face.
     
    Marilyn saw
the ambulance from two blocks away. She sped through a red light, left the car
running and ran to the shop just in time to see Fergus being placed quickly
inside. She watched the emergency vehicle depart, sirens flashing, then turned
to her daughter.
     
    “Tiara,” she
pulled her daughter into a tight hug. I saw the ambulance…is Fergus ok?” she
asked, concerned for her friend, but far less panicked now that she knew her
daughter wasn’t bleeding out in the shop.
     
    “I don’t
know,” Tiara said in a small voice, shaking her head.
     
    “He had a
heart attack, but I’m sure he’ll be ok now that he’s with professionals,” Drew
spoke up with what seemed like misplaced confidence.
     
    “Ok,” Marilyn took
a breath. “I’d better go park the car…I just left it running out there.”
     
    She came in
moments later, still shaken but trying to relax.
     
    “Do you want
to go home?” she asked Tiara, who appeared to be pretty shaken by the experience.
     
    “I can give
her a ride, if you’d like,” Drew volunteered.
     
    “Yes, that
would be nice,” Marilyn replied, hoping that he wouldn’t try to bowl over her
traumatized daughter with a “knight in shining armor” routine. She watched
thoughtfully, as he led the way to his car, with Tiara trailing slowly behind
him, still in a state of mild shock. She waited until they were out of sight,
then went into the shop.
     
    Susan had
finished the crusts on eight more pies and had begun mixing the ingredients for
the filling.
     
    “Susan, are
you ok?”
     
    Marilyn
noticed that Susan’s hands were shaking, “Oh, Susan…” she said, pulling the
baker into a comforting hug.
     
    “Ok, you
should be all set,” Larry lumbered toward them, tools in hand. Joe was close
behind, doing something on his smartphone. These two certainly didn’t seem
terribly worried about the medical emergency that had just rocked everyone
else’s world.
     
    “Great…uh,
good…how much do I owe you today?” she pulled a check out of register, finding
it difficult to switch gears back into business mode so quickly.
     
    “If you have a
few pies to spare, I’d work on a trade today,” the large man grinned, raising
his eyebrows.
     
    “You’re the
best, Larry, thanks so much. We’ll box something special up for you.”
     

Chapter 7
     
    Marilyn had
meant to call and check on Fergus in the hospital, but business picked up again
for the evening rush and she’d been swamped with an unusually high number of
tourists. Susan went home for the day once traffic slowed to a dull roar, leaving
her to tidy up and close on her own. When everything was finally tucked away in
its appropriate place, she flopped into one of the chairs, wondering just how she’d
be able to walk home after her long and eventful day.
     
    Deciding that
she deserved a little R&R, she slipped off her shoes, grabbed a slice of
pie she’d left out for herself, along with a mini bottle of cabernet that she
had stashed in the office, and let out a deep sigh, debating whether or not she
wanted to take her car home. She disliked driving on principle and tried to
avoid it whenever possible…but her feet might not make it all the way home
after the day she’d had. 
     
    Just as she
put the first luscious forkful of pie to her lips, the shop phone rang. Feeling
delightfully empowered, she chose to ignore it…for at least three rings.
But…having been long cursed with the compulsion to be responsible, whether it
involved answering phones, or responding to texts and emails, she gave in and
picked up.
     
    “SubLime
Sweets, this is Marilyn,” she leaned on the front counter, exhausted, not even
bothering to sound perky.
     
    “Is this Ms.
Marilyn Hayes?”  A deep male voice