Murder Gone A-Rye (A Baker's Treat Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

the wine.”
    “The pasta is gluten-free,” I warned.
    “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He winked.
    “I’ll have Bill stop and pick up one of those nice bagged salads on our way over. Tim, are you going to eat?”
    “No, Grandma,” Tim said. “I have to get back to work. Toni will save me leftovers. Won’t you?”
    “Sure.” I nodded.
    Tim walked Grandma out the door. Bill had pulled his white Lincoln up along the curb. Tim opened the door and helped Grandma inside. “Call me first next time, okay, Grandma? I don’t like hearing about you on the gossip wire.”
    “Okay, Timmy.” Grandma reached up and patted my brother’s cheek. “You always were a good boy.”
    “What are you going to do without your scooter?” I asked as she buckled the seat belt over her bulky frame.
    “Don’t worry, dear, I have that all taken care of.” She patted my hand. “See you at the house.”
    She shut her car door and Bill peeled out from in front of the station. I glanced at the door to ensure no one noticed. The last thing I needed was to cover yet another old person’s ticket.
    “Don’t worry,” Brad said. “I won’t let anything happen to her.” He ran a hand along my arm in an attempt to comfort me.
    “Then maybe you should have driven her home.” I tilted my head toward the blur of white that had just squealed out of the parking lot and down the street.
    Brad laughed deep and rich. “I think everyone in town has their number.”
    “You mean they text each other to stay off the roads when they see Bill’s car.”
    “Or your grandmother’s scooter.”
    I sobered. “I used to joke all the time that the cops should confiscate her scooter, but this isn’t funny.”
    “No,” Tim agreed, his mouth suddenly grim. “It’s not. Ridgeway, I expect you’ll take care of her.”
    “I’ll take care of her as if she were my own.” Brad gave a quick nod of acknowledgment.
    “Good.” Tim opened the door of his pickup and hopped inside. “I’ll be home late.”
    I turned to Brad. “Please help me with her. You know she’s incorrigible.”
    “Don’t worry. We’ll talk more after dinner and come up with some sort of game plan.” He waved his hand toward my van. “Billable hours—if you’re worried I might think this is a date.”
    I cringed. I know I was the one keeping him at arm’s length, but he didn’t have to remind me.
    “Minus the cost of dinner, of course,” he teased.
    “Right, like my lasagna is worth as much as your consultation.” I did my best to keep things light.
    “Oh, I think it is,” he said, his expression sincere. I opened the van’s door and climbed into the driver’s seat. He waited until I started it up and pulled out before he unlocked his own door. Silly man. I was parked in front of the police station—what could possibly happen?

CHAPTER 4

    “D on’t scream.”
    “What!” I swerved into oncoming traffic, then righted the van with a wild careen.
    “Gee, don’t try to kill me either,” muttered Phyllis Travers as she climbed from the back of the van into the passenger seat.
    “You scared the devil out of me.” I was hoarse because adrenaline had pumped like electricity through my body and my mouth was dry. “I swear, I’ve had twenty years taken off my life today.”
    “Which means you’ll live to be one hundred, honey.” Phyllis patted my knee. “Everyone knows your family lives forever . . . except for your mother, God rest her soul.” She crossed herself. “Turn right here.”
    I did as I was told because my brain was fogged with remnants of terror. “What are you doing in my van?”
    Phyllis was a slender, petite woman with big, deep blue eyes and a sharp-angled bob of bright yellow hair. She, too, had been a redhead once, but woke up one day to find all the red had turned yellow. She was also one of Grandma Ruth’s adopted daughters. It wasn’t enough for Grandma to have eight children of her own. She tended to take in anyone who