Pies & Peril - Culinary Competition Mystery #1

Chapter 12

(Amy)

The electronic squawk of Alex's clock sounded like the mating call of a cyborg seagull. Not really the best way to start off the morning considering how little sleep both of them got. Mercifully her husband shut off the alarm and then wrapped his muscled arms around her again. Waking up with him au naturel, instead of in his usual pajama pants and T-shirt, helped counteract the pain of waking up way too early. Amy shivered as he kissed the extra-sensitive spot on her neck behind her ear.

"I'm not very busy at work right now. Why don't we head up to Traverse City for a few days? We can hit some wineries, lie out on the beach, wander around the shops downtown...just rest and relax for a few days."

Amy extracted her legs from the tangle of sheets entrapping them and rolled over to face him. "I still can't leave because I'm still part of a murder investigation."

Deep wrinkles formed on his forehead when he frowned. "I thought only suspects couldn't leave when they're under investigation. The police have established that you couldn't have done it, especially since you're now being threatened. Did you check with Shepler? Did he say you couldn't leave town now?"

"Well, no, not exactly. I've never asked him, I just assumed I couldn't."

He kissed her forehead. Then the tip of her nose. The kiss that landed on her lips took her breath away. She sighed so hard it felt like a vacuum cleaner had sucked all the air out of her lungs.

"Please ask him about it," he said as his hand slid down her back onto her bum. "I doubt whoever is sending the threats will follow us north, so I think it's the safest thing to do right now. My main priority is keeping you out of the grasp of the lunatic."

Alex's hands and lips were making it difficult to think. All of the heat he was creating fogged up her brain. Somewhere in the mist bobbed the thought that running away was the cowardly thing to do, even though a romantic getaway with her hubby would be an ambrosial delight at any other time.

"The person sending the notes to me isn't very smart. The grammar is atrocious. I doubt the same person was intelligent enough to pull off killing Mandy Jo and not get caught within ten minutes. I think someone else is capitalizing on the murder and trying to scare me away from competing in the pie contest next month. They're just hollow threats, but you know very well I don't intimidate easily." Okay, so she freaked out a bit when Kevin and Lucy caught onto her at Louie's, but either one of them could be the real killer instead of the illiterate terrorist trying to win themselves a trophy by playing dirty. "Besides, don't you want Mandy Jo's killer to be found? She wasn't the sweetest apple in the bushel, but we both knew her."

Alex sighed into the hair on the top of her head, leaving a warm, humid patch behind. "Mandy Jo deserves justice, and her killer should be behind bars. You just told me you think a different person is behind the notes to you, so what does you staying in town have to do with solving the murder?"

"There is a male detective in charge of the case who probably can't even properly cook a frozen pizza."

"What do Shepler's culinary skills have to do with his crime-solving abilities?"

Her turn to sigh again. Men. Sometimes they just didn't get it. "Mandy Jo was murdered at a cooking contest, something I am highly familiar with. I can spot suspicious things that could seem normal to him. He's been very interested in my theories."

"Or he's pretending to be interested because he's polite. Let the trained, gun-carrying professionals flush out the murderers and wackos. It isn't your job."