Chicken Soup & Homicide - Culinary Competition Mystery #2

Chapter 9

(Amy)

Amy set the wicker basket on a small table and unbuttoned her coat. It was toasty warm inside Riverbend Coffee, and if she didn't lose a few layers of wool, she would be feeling like soggy, over-buttered toast within minutes. Only a few customers were scattered around the coffee shop, just as she had hoped. The quiet time between lunch and the rush of commuters refilling their caffeine reserves for the commutes home. Sophie sat in the corner near the fireplace, staring at the undulating flames.

"You look nice and comfy," Amy said as she plopped onto the easy chair across from Sophie. "Taking a well-deserved break or trying to figure something out?"

Sophie turned to look at Amy as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue covered in black splotches of mascara. "Detective Pitts was just here. He's gone from hinting that I could be a suspect to saying I'm a primary suspect in Chet's murder because I was competing against him. What is he going to do if he finds out I also used to be in a relationship with him?"

So, Pitts was still looking into other suspects. Unfortunately, he was going after another innocent person who could never commit murder. Even more infuriating, Pitts was targeting another one of her friends. It was only a matter of time before he ratcheted up his intimidation on her too. Yay! Just what she needed. Not. Amy leaned forward and put her hand on Sophie's forearm. "I'm sorry you're going through this. I think Pitts has no idea who really committed the murder, so he's shaking every tree in the orchard hoping the real killer will fall out, gift-wrapped and complete with a bow."

"Well, I don't like his tactics. He made me so nervous, saying that I don't really have an alibi because I could've paid off my employees to say I was in the Riverbend booth at the expo during the time of the murder." She leaned back and rested her head against the back of the chair. "Can you believe that? I was so shook up I'm sure I was acting like a guilty person."

"He actually accused you of bribing your employees to cover for you?" That was slimy. And terrifying. How far would he go to put the solved-homicide notch on his shiny new badge? "Do you know if he's talked to them?"

Sophie stared at the ceiling. "Unless they're lying to me, and I highly doubt it, he hasn't said a word to the baristas that were with me at the expo. I don't get it. What is the detective trying to do?"

Amy glanced at the front door when it opened. She blinked, looked again at the person making a beeline directly at her, and sighed. "I'm not sure, but I think we'll find out."

"Ladies," Pitts said as he slid into the space between their chairs. Since they were sitting, he towered over them. "Having a little meeting to calibrate your alibis? I'm onto you two."

"What are you talking about?" Amy looked him in the eye. He was intimidating, like a rabid coyote, but she was determined not to let him know that. "You've figured out we're working together to expand Riverbend's menu?"

"Nice try." He actually patted Amy on the top of her head like she was an obedient puppy. He sighed dramatically, then locked his predatory gaze on Sophie. "You two worked together to eliminate your competition by hiring your nurse buddy to do some amateur heart surgery on the chef."

Amy balled her hand into a fist. She was sitting. Pitts was standing. What would be the consequences of sucker-punching a cop in the crotch? She couldn't poke around and find the real murderer if she was in jail, so she'd have to be satisfied with challenging his theory. "I found Britton's body. If I masterminded his murder, why would I make a point of discovering him?"

Pitts raised a bushy eyebrow and tapped his forehead with his index finger. "Let's see? How about to make yourself appear to be traumatized from finding the body...to call attention away from the fact that you caused his death?"