Evil Eclairs Read Online Free PDF

pint carton from the fridge and handed it to him. He opened it and took a healthy swallow. Then, after a moment’s consideration, George said, “It’s not that bad.”
    “But not good, either, right?”
    “I’m not sure.” George took another bite, and chased it with milk, as well. “Like I say, it’s not bad at all.” He finished the sample, then asked, “Do you have any more?”
    “I didn’t think you were a fan,” I said.
    “Hey, a guy’s got the right to change his mind, doesn’t he?”
    I couldn’t help myself; I laughed. “You are too funny.”
    George wiped his hands on a napkin, drained the rest of the milk, and then said, “Enough taste-testing, Suzanne. Tell me about what happened.”
    “Officer Grant came by this morning to take me to the—”
    George cut me off. “From the beginning. Start last night. How did you know about the radio commentary?”
    “Did you hear it, too?”
    “I usually keep it on in the background, but when Lester mentioned this place, I perked right up.”
    “That’s how I heard about it myself.”
    “I bet you went ballistic,” George said with a slight smile.
    “Actually, I thought I was pretty calm the way I handled it,” I said.
    He laughed at that. “Okay, if you say so.”
    I knew he didn’t believe me, and I couldn’t blame him. “Fine, I blew up, but who in April Springs would be surprised by that? Not only did he attack my shop, he came after me and my livelihood.”
    In a gentle tone, he said, “You had plenty of reason to go after him, but it’s amazing the chief hasn’t locked you up yet.”
    “He might have ulterior motives for being nice to me,” I said, remembering his chat with my mother in the parking lot.
    “What do you mean by that?”
    Did I really want to get into that with George? “Forget I said anything. I admit that I was mad at Lester last night, but I didn’t kill him. That particular thought never even crossed my mind.”
    “What kind of punishment did?” George asked, a slow smile spreading across his face.
    “I considered how much fun it would be to cover him with honey and stake him out on an anthill,” I admitted. “Then again, even that much sweetness probably wouldn’t make him palatable.” What was I doing, speaking ill of the dead like that? I knew better, and I suddenly felt ashamed of my behavior. “Let’s just take it for granted that I’m innocent and go from there.”
    George looked down at the counter, and used his index finger to trace patterns on the top for a few moments before speaking. “Suzanne, I’m guessing we’re going to dig into this, right?”
    I hadn’t had a chance to even catch my breath yet, but I realized I didn’t have any choice but to pursue it. Even if the presence of one of my éclairs at the crime scene was purely a coincidence, folks would be looking long and hard at me for the rest of my life if Lester’s killer wasn’t brought to justice.
    “I don’t think we have much choice, do you?”
    George shrugged. “The chief isn’t going to like it.”
    “Has he ever? I’ll do my best not to make him mad, but I’m not making any promises, okay?”
    “Okay by me.” George stood, pulled a few dollars from his wallet, and put them on the counter.
    I shoved the money back toward him. “Your breakfast is on the house.”
    “Why should it be?”
    I grinned at him. “You’re on the payroll again, and all I can afford is coffee, milk, and donuts. Does that work for you?”
    He scooped the bills up and tucked them back into his wallet. “Honestly, it sounds pretty darn good.”
    “Where are you going?” I asked him.
    “It’s time to start digging.”
    “Come back at noon and we can come up with a game plan.”
    “It’s a date.”
    After he was gone, I thought about who might want Lester dead. Besides me, that is. I didn’t even know where to start. That wasn’t entirely true. His producer, Cara, might be a good source of information. If anyone knew Lester’s