Trouble and Treats (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

going on? You seem upset.”
    “I am a little upset. No, I’m a lot upset.” She sighed and went back to the kettle. As she set it on the stove she continued to speak. “I’ve been thinking about Emma, and how she had so many plans ahead of her. She was just about to move, to start a new life. After what you said, Ally, I just don’t believe it was an accident.”
    “That’s what we were just talking about, Mee-Maw. I don’t really believe it was an accident, either. In my gut, I just think that something else happened. Maybe I just don’t want to believe it. My gut tells me that there was someone else there with her.”
    “But, there’s no evidence of that. No sign of forced entry, no sign of a struggle, nothing.” Luke held out his hands palm up. “I’ve got nothing to base an investigation on.” He paused and looked between them. “Well, not nothing. Your instincts mean a lot to me. But that’s not enough to start an investigation.”
    “I can’t blame you for that. I guess hunches aren’t going to get you anywhere.” Charlotte sighed and leaned against the counter. “So, what we need to do is get some proof. I’m sure that we can put our heads together and figure this out. There must have been something we overlooked in her life. Who would be angry enough to push her down the stairs?”
    “We don’t even know that she was pushed or that she fell down the stairs.” Ally tapped her fingertips along the counter beside her grandmother. “Couldn’t someone have just made it look like she fell down the stairs? Maybe she was killed somewhere else in the house.”
    “I hadn’t really thought about that. But you’re right, Ally.” Charlotte clucked her tongue just as the kettle began to wail. She turned to take it off the burner.
    Luke’s cell phone began to ring. “Excuse me, ladies, I need to take this.” As he stepped out onto the back porch, Ally set tea cups on the counter for her grandmother.
    “I hope we’re not putting too much pressure on him to agree with us.” Ally frowned. “He has to keep his objectivity.”
    “Luke is his own man, he can trust our instincts if he wants to.”
    “Do you really think that’s what it is, or do you think he’s trying to be nice?”
    “Maybe a little of both.” Charlotte tipped the kettle and poured the scalding water into the cups. The aroma of lemon and honey filled the kitchen.
    “That’s what worries me. I’d never want to come between Luke and his job, and I don’t want what he feels about me to taint his decisions when it comes to his work.”
    “I don’t think you have to worry about that, sweetheart. Luke knows how to figure out how to keep work and romance separate.” She carried her cup of tea to the kitchen table. “Besides, even if he does lean a little more towards your view of things, your view is usually pretty spot on.”
    “Maybe.” Ally stirred her tea. A moment later Luke stepped back into the kitchen. He didn’t look at either of them as he sat down at the table.
    “Everything okay?” Ally peered at him. Charlotte nudged his cup of tea towards him.
    “Sure.” He nodded. “What were we talking about?”
    “Hunches,” Charlotte said.
    “Honestly, I’m just a little amazed by your hunches. I just spoke with the medical examiner.”
    “And? Did he rule it an accident?” Ally scooted her chair forward.
    “No, he obviously hasn’t made a ruling yet because he still has a lot more examining to do, but he said at the moment it looks like it’s accidental. He noted that the severity of the injuries although unusual for a fall down the stairs were still possible to be caused by it. But he can’t tell conclusively, yet?”
    “So, at least he hasn’t made a ruling yet,” Ally said.
    “He can only go by the evidence that is in front of him. So far he didn’t find any hairs or other trace evidence on her body that could indicate that someone harmed her. Without some kind of proof that someone else was in the