the burnt Dumpster enclosure looked like in the daylight. Part of Quantum's parking lot was cordoned off with yellow caution tape. Close to a dozen cars were parked in the open spaces, people taking advantage of the reserved employee spots, which were fair game for the general public on weekends. She steered her dark-blue Mini into one of the empty spaces and got out. As she approached the off-limits area, the bright sunshine, which had illuminated her breakfast nook table so nicely for the soup photography session, now shined like a spotlight on the streaks of soot tracing over the side of the glass-faced building. The metal Dumpster and wooden fence enclosure which had once surrounded it had merged into a charred lump that resembled a meteor. If one of the glass panels on the side of Quantum had shattered and let the fire spread inside the building, what would've happened to everybody inside? The lives of Alex and his employees had been in peril.
She balled her hands into fists as she forced herself to walk away from the crime scene. A recurring question galloped through her mind again. Was the murder and fire related or a scary coincidence? Wouldn't she love to know. Because she didn't like having a stressed-out hubby. He had enough going on. Murder and mayhem didn't need to be added to his plate.
The journey around the block lightened her spirit a little bit. There was just something about walking in the warm spring sunshine. A natural anti-depressant. By the time she walked through the front door of Unique Decor, there was a genuine smile on her face.
Charlotte's bright-red hair was visible over the top of the counter at the back of the store. She turned when the door sensor beeped to herald Amy's arrival. The interior designer stood and rushed around the end of the counter. As she trotted toward Amy, she said, "Geri told me what happened last night. Are you and your husband okay?"
"Yes. There were about half of a dozen people, including Alex, working late last night. But nobody was injured." She fiddled with the leather tassel zipper fob on her purse. "Lots of frazzled nerves, which is why I'm here doing some shopping therapy, but no one was physically hurt."
Charlotte frowned and shook her head. "What a terrifying ordeal for all of you to go through. I walked around the block this morning before I opened the store. It looks like the fire came close to spreading to the building."
"I think the Dumpster was about ten feet away from the back corner of the building, definitely too close for comfort—especially when it looked like the blazing portal to hell before the fire trucks arrived. So, yes, it was very scary." Amy took a deep breath. The fire had dominated her thoughts all day. It was time to give her brain something new to play with. She pointed at a wooden table covered with the white-, blue-, green-, and yellow-patterned pottery. "I decided to do a bit of shopping to try to soothe my nerves. My motto is—I can never have too many dishes. I just love those."
"If you have the space to store everything, that's a great philosophy. Personally, I think the patterns and colors in the Polish pottery add a lot of pizazz to a table setting." Charlotte plucked the lid off a soup tureen covered in rows of blue pansies and green vines. "The pieces just seem so happy and cheerful to me."
"Now there's an emotion I could stand to cultivate a bit more right now," Amy said as she picked up a large teacup adorned with cobalt-blue spirals.
"I can't imagine what you're going through." Charlotte replaced the lid then chose a daisy-covered coffee mug from the arrangement and offered it to Amy. "It sounds like someone is trying to kill your husband now."
CHAPTER NINE
(Carla)
Carla broke the rectangle of lemon shortbread into chunks. The pink dessert plate glittered with the excess sugar that had fallen off the top of the cookie as she dismantled it. Sitting in Amy's breakfast nook, eating cookies, and drinking coffee
She balled her hands into fists as she forced herself to walk away from the crime scene. A recurring question galloped through her mind again. Was the murder and fire related or a scary coincidence? Wouldn't she love to know. Because she didn't like having a stressed-out hubby. He had enough going on. Murder and mayhem didn't need to be added to his plate.
The journey around the block lightened her spirit a little bit. There was just something about walking in the warm spring sunshine. A natural anti-depressant. By the time she walked through the front door of Unique Decor, there was a genuine smile on her face.
Charlotte's bright-red hair was visible over the top of the counter at the back of the store. She turned when the door sensor beeped to herald Amy's arrival. The interior designer stood and rushed around the end of the counter. As she trotted toward Amy, she said, "Geri told me what happened last night. Are you and your husband okay?"
"Yes. There were about half of a dozen people, including Alex, working late last night. But nobody was injured." She fiddled with the leather tassel zipper fob on her purse. "Lots of frazzled nerves, which is why I'm here doing some shopping therapy, but no one was physically hurt."
Charlotte frowned and shook her head. "What a terrifying ordeal for all of you to go through. I walked around the block this morning before I opened the store. It looks like the fire came close to spreading to the building."
"I think the Dumpster was about ten feet away from the back corner of the building, definitely too close for comfort—especially when it looked like the blazing portal to hell before the fire trucks arrived. So, yes, it was very scary." Amy took a deep breath. The fire had dominated her thoughts all day. It was time to give her brain something new to play with. She pointed at a wooden table covered with the white-, blue-, green-, and yellow-patterned pottery. "I decided to do a bit of shopping to try to soothe my nerves. My motto is—I can never have too many dishes. I just love those."
"If you have the space to store everything, that's a great philosophy. Personally, I think the patterns and colors in the Polish pottery add a lot of pizazz to a table setting." Charlotte plucked the lid off a soup tureen covered in rows of blue pansies and green vines. "The pieces just seem so happy and cheerful to me."
"Now there's an emotion I could stand to cultivate a bit more right now," Amy said as she picked up a large teacup adorned with cobalt-blue spirals.
"I can't imagine what you're going through." Charlotte replaced the lid then chose a daisy-covered coffee mug from the arrangement and offered it to Amy. "It sounds like someone is trying to kill your husband now."
CHAPTER NINE
(Carla)
Carla broke the rectangle of lemon shortbread into chunks. The pink dessert plate glittered with the excess sugar that had fallen off the top of the cookie as she dismantled it. Sitting in Amy's breakfast nook, eating cookies, and drinking coffee
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