A Taste of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Alaine Allister

thinking on her toes and coming up with a convincing lie.  So she took a chance and put Liz on the spot, eager to see how the young woman would react to being accused.
    Immediately, Liz’s eyes widened. 
    “You don’t mean...you don’t think I had anything to do with Jed’s murder, do you?” she gasped.  She looked like she was about to either throw up or fall over.  Either she was the most amazing actress on the planet or she was truly stunned by the allegation.
    “Here’s what I know,” Clarissa said matter-of-factly.  “I know you’re young, very pretty, and you just called your late boss by his first name.  I know he was wealthy, successful and had a wandering eye.  I think the two of you had an affair.”
    Liz’s jaw dropped and her face went as white as a sheet.
    Clarissa took that as a good sign so she plunged ahead, growing bolder.
    “What happened that night, Liz?  I don’t think you planned on killing anyone.  No, I think the whole thing took you by surprise.  Maybe there was a lovers’ spat and you killed Jed in a fit of blind rage.  Or maybe it was an accident…maybe his gun went off unexpectedly and the whole thing was a freak accident.  Is that what happened?”
    Liz’s eyes filled with tears.
    That only spurred Clarissa on. 
    “Tell me the truth, Liz.  You killed Jed, didn’t you?  Now you’re overcome with guilt over what happened.  It all makes sense.  You’re not a bad person.  You regret what happened.  That would explain why you’re crying so much, wouldn’t it?”
    “No!” Liz protested feebly.  “I didn’t do anything like that!  It’s just...it’s just...”
    She broke down again.
    “Spit it out,” Clarissa ordered sternly.  “Either you convince me that you didn’t kill Jed Black or else I’m going straight to the police.  So unless you want to spend time behind bars, you had better start convincing me you’re not guilty of the crime.” 
    She was completely, shamelessly bluffing, of course.  The Sugarcomb Lake police were basically useless and wouldn’t recognize compelling evidence even if it smacked them over the heads.  But Liz didn’t need to know that.
    “We – we did go on a few dates,” Liz admitted.  “I knew it was wrong but he bought me nice jewelry and promised he would promote me to office manager.  And now he’s dead,” she said, beginning to weep again.  “Now I’ll never get that promotion!”
    “Wait,” Clarissa said in disbelief after picking her jaw up off the ground.  “Do you mean to tell me you’ve been crying and carrying on because you’re not getting a promotion?  Your boss was murdered and you’re upset because you won’t get promoted ?”
    “The promotion came with three weeks of paid vacation.  I wanted to go to Mexico!” Liz wailed.
    “You…wanted to go to Mexico?”
    “Yes!  My stupid sister went to Mexico and she always gets to do everything!” Liz complained, sounding like a spoiled child in full-on tantrum mode.  “When do I get to sit on the beach drinking sombreros?” she pouted.
    “Um, sombreros are hats.  Or is that some kind of cocktail?” Clarissa asked.
    Liz stared at Clarissa blankly, clearly not following.  “Sombrero is Mexican,” she replied.  Then her lower lip began to tremble.  “And now that I don’t get to be office manager I’ll never get to learn Mexican or drink sombreros on the beach!” 
    The secretary’s pretty face once again contorted into something comically grotesque.
    As Clarissa stood there and watched Liz ugly-cry, she had to fight back the urge to giggle.  Of all the things she had prepared herself to hear, she had never imagined that would be the secretary’s explanation for being so emotional. 
    It was way too absurd to be a lie. 
    No one would be stupid enough to lie about something like that!
    With a shake of her head, Clarissa turned and left the ladies’ room.  She was wasting her time on Liz.  But maybe her visit to the