Brutal Brûlée (Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Book 11) Read Online Free PDF Page B

person to be seen with Leonard and she brought him the drink, which I assume must have had the poison in it. He’s just starting with her because it’s the logical place to start.”
    Nans’ eyes narrowed. “I did notice that the girl doesn’t seem to have very good waitressing skills. You said she was temporary help, didn’t you, Violet?”
    “Yes, that’s right. She’s filling in for my regular girl Darlene. Darlene had to go out of town for her grandfather’s funeral and she recommended Karen. In retrospect, I should have just gone to the agency and gotten someone temporarily, but Darlene assured me Karen could do the job.”
    Lexy remembered how she’d caught Karen making that phone call in the kitchen. Karen had seemed upset that she’d been caught. Lexy wondered if she was upset because Violet didn’t like people taking calls during working hours, or perhaps there was a more sinister reason.
    Behind them, a chair scraped on the cement as Mrs. Pendrake scooted her chair closer to their table. “I couldn’t help but overhear. Did you say that Darlene was out of town for her grandfather’s funeral?”
    “Yes, that’s right,” Violet said. “She went to California and will be back on Monday. Do you know her?”
    Mrs. Pendrake nodded. “Oh, yes. Darlene Cross, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Hmmm.” Mrs. Pendrake’s gray eyebrows tugged together and her lips pursed into a thin line. “Well, that’s very strange because I took a trip into town for a new blouse this morning and I saw Darlene at Ellerton’s Fashions ... and she was buying a mighty expensive outfit.”

Chapter Seven
    L exy could practically see fireworks going off in Nans’ eyes when Mrs. Pendrake mentioned that Darlene was still in town. She knew her grandmother smelled something fishy and would want to investigate. But Lexy had to get in the kitchen and start cooking, so Nans got Darlene’s address from Violet and she Ruth, Ida and Helen borrowed Violet’s car to see if they could talk to Darlene. Luckily, she lived right in town, so they weren’t disobeying Garrity’s orders.
    Jack went to talk to Garrity to see if he could wrangle any inside information out of him. Lexy headed to the kitchen where she gathered the ingredients to make magic bars for dessert. She’d already planned on double chocolate cake and red velvet cake with vanilla frosting but, by the way the way things were going already, she had a feeling they might need lots of desserts by the time the day was over.
    Three hours later, Lexy had finished in the kitchen and Nans and the ladies were back and bursting with excitement. Violet ushered them into the conservatory and shut the French doors so they could talk without being overheard.
    Nans, Ida and Helen sat on one of the white wicker sofas. Ruth walked over to the window, inspecting the plants. Lexy stood next to the fireplace.
    “What did you find out?” Violet asked anxiously. “Was she really in town?”
    “Yes, I’m afraid so,” Nans said.
    “But why would she lie to me?”
    “The age-old reason. Money.”
    “Money usually does it,” Ruth said as she fingered the leaves of a ficus.
    Violet started pacing. “I don’t understand why Darlene would lie. Did Karen need the money from the job that badly?”
    “No, it’s not that. Karen paid her to get this position here.”
    “Why?”
    “That’s a good question,” Ida said. “Darlene didn’t know the answer, but Karen paid her an awful lot of money, so it must have been pretty important for her to insinuate herself in this house.”
    Violet sucked in a breath. “Then she must be the killer!”
    Nans lips twisted. “It would seem that way. But then, the question is … what was her motive?”
    “I think she was up to something. Yesterday, in the kitchen, I saw her being very secretive about a phone call. I thought maybe she just didn’t want to get caught making a personal call on work time, but maybe it was something else,” Lexy said.
    Violet