Strawberry Tartlets and a Dead Starlet Read Online Free PDF Page A

do," he goes on. "If anyone can help me, it's you."
    Bree quietly gathers a few pots and pans while biting the side of her lip.
    "Fine," I mutter. "Bree and I will chat with the staff, but I'm not doing anything crazy. There's still a chance I'm off the hook, and you're peddling conspiracy theories."
    "Thank you," he breathes. "I don't want to sit around and hope I'm wrong. I have no clue where to even start."
    "You can start by telling us everything Lacy Leigh did yesterday," Bree says, weaving herself back into the conversation.
    "That's going to be a tricky one," he confesses. "There were a lot of things she hid from me. You know, since I wasn't one of her regulars."
    "Have you ever deveined shrimp before?" Bree asks.
    "What are we making?" I observe the collection of ingredients on the counter.
    "Since Gilly doesn't seem to have anything prepared, I thought we could go with something simple and Southern." She takes a deep breath. "Po'boys and Cajun fries."
    Presley raises his eyebrows.
    "Are you sure that's gourmet enough for Cherie?" My eyes dart to the amount of potatoes Bree is placing next to the stove. "Remember when she called your old-fashioned sugar cookies a catawampus plate of disaster because the sprinkles weren't evenly distributed?"
    "We're not feeding Cherie. We're feeding cops."
    "Good point," I agree. "In that case, start the fryer."
     

 
CHAPTER FIVE
     
    A tray crashes to the floor as Frankie enters the kitchen. She smooths her hair when she sees Presley washing dishes. The three of us had managed to pull off lunch for fifteen people in record time, and there was still no sign of Gilly. Frankie loosens the bun on her head, letting dark curls frame the sides of her face.
    "Oh, I didn't know you were in here," Frankie says as she observes Presley's dishwashing skills.
    "Just trying to be useful," he responds.
    "Wait." I study the two of them. "You two know each other?"
    "We met yesterday morning when I brought Lacy her breakfast," Frankie replies.
    "Of course." I pick up the tray she knocked over and wipe it clean. "Lunch is ready to be served. Bring Mr. Wheeler his lunch first before he has a meltdown on the internet."
    "Oh, that's the least of his problems right now." Frankie smiles. My eyes fixate on the scratches on her wrists. Scrapes she attempted to hide when I had asked about them. "Haven't you heard the latest?"
    "We've been in the kitchen all morning," Bree points out, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. Running a fryer on a hot summer day is like being baked in a giant oven.
    "Mr. Wheeler went on a rampage along the beach not too long ago," Frankie informs us. "Something about having everyone arrested for trespassing or something like that? Anyway, he's been going on about that nest of sea turtles he found, saying that swarms of people are going to delay the babies from hatching. He's threatening to have all the photographers arrested."
    "He can do that?" I ask, knowing that, if he could pull it off, Mr. Wheeler would be saving Cherie the trouble.
    "I guess he can if any of them breach the turtle nest," Frankie answers. "He's not in his room."
    "Okay, then start with the Masons," Bree continues.
    "Sure." Frankie giggles. "Those two haven't left their room all day. I doubt they even know what's been going on. Newlyweds."
    "Good." Bree arranges her lunchtime special on a large serving tray. "Then they won't mind a casual lunch since Gilly isn't here to make his specialty blackened grouper."
    "I'm on it." Frankie snags the first tray and promptly leaves the kitchen as Bree arranges serving platters to be placed in the dining room for practically half of the police department.
    "You know, I was surprised when Frankie and Lacy Leigh seemed to hit it off yesterday," Presley comments. "The two of them talked like old friends."
    "Lacy Leigh grew up here," I remark. "It's possible that they already knew each other from their school days."
    "Which points to the fact that there's a town full of