Breach of Crust: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

to lean on today. Even the strongest of us aren’t prepared to lose our mothers. Especially like this.”
    Hardy had eaten half of his pie by the time the front desk clerk poked her head into the room. She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again, sniffing the air instead.
    “Come in, Officer Thaler,” Hardy beckoned. “Ms. LeFaye brought breakfast.”
    “That’s mighty kind of you.” Officer Thaler flashed Ella Mae a brief smile and turned back to Hardy. “I’d better wait, sir. Mrs. Fisher is here. I put her in your office. She came alone. Said her husband had to stay with their kids.”
    Hardy sighed. “That’s not good. Do you mind sitting in for the interview?”
    “Of course not,” she replied. “I already asked Hughes to cover the desk. I’ll find out if Mrs. Fisher would like some coffee.”
    “Thank you.” Hardy got to his feet. “And thanks to you as well, Ms. LeFaye.”
    Ella Mae nodded. “I’m glad you were able to get in a few bites of comfort food. If you need more, you know where to find me.”
    *   *   *
    As she walked back to her pink truck, which had once been used to deliver mail, Ella Mae heard the haunting strains of “Taps” drifting through the air and knew that the Memorial Day ceremony honoring Havenwood’s veterans was under way.
    Ella Mae changed course. As though hypnotized by the bugle call, she headed toward the sound of the music. It was very faint at first, but the lone bugler was soon joined by other instruments, and by the time Ella Mae reached the war memorial statue—a marble column with a bronze eagle at its summit—three stooped and grizzled veterans had just finished conducting the laying of the wreath ceremony.
    The music ended and the crowd began to disperse. Ella Mae noticed the bright, orange-red hue of the artificial poppy flowers affixed to the men’s shirt collars and to the ladies’ blouses or purse straps and remembered that Hugh and some of the other firemen had volunteered to help a group of veterans distribute poppies at the community center.
    She found Hugh standing beside an elderly man in a wheelchair. The man, a Korean War veteran, held a straw basket filled with the artificial flowers in his lap and was laughing heartily over something Hugh had said. As for Hugh, he appeared to be in charge of the donation can.
    “All proceeds provide assistance to the veterans of foreign wars, ma’am,” he explained to a woman who’d paused by his companion’s wheelchair. “And partially to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Home for Children as well. Because every child deserves a happy family. That’s the organization’s motto.”
    The woman glanced over her shoulder to where three children were sitting at a picnic bench, enjoying ice cream cones with a middle-aged man who was undoubtedly their father. After thanking the man in the wheelchair for his service, the woman removed several bills from her wallet and pushed them into Hugh’s can.
    “I told you that mentioning kids will fill up the can faster than talking about crusty old men like me,” the vet grumbled.
    Seeing Ella Mae, Hugh gave her a conspiratorial wink.“I bet this lady is different. I bet she has a thing for guys in uniform.”
    Though Ella Mae wasn’t in a lighthearted mood, she couldn’t disappoint the aged veteran. After all, he’d risked his life to defend her freedom. The least she could do was smile at him and show her gratitude.
    “Would you like a poppy, miss?” he asked.
    “I would, sir,” she said, stepping up to his wheelchair. “However, this shirt doesn’t have any buttonholes. Would you mind putting one in my hair?”
    The old man was delighted to oblige. “Such pretty hair too. Smells like vanilla and oranges.”
    Ella Mae caught his hand and held it. Looking into his eyes, she thanked him for his service.
    Grinning, Hugh rattled his can. “You can assist veterans like my friend here to receive rehabilitation services and other necessary