Ginny Gold - Early Bird Café 05 - Smashed Potatoes and Gravy by Ginny Gold Page B

faces lit up with excitement.
    When she handed Vera her slice of apple pie, she quietly asked Kori, “Did you hear that someone else was brought in last night for Lou’s murder? I didn’t recognize him, but we passed in the hall as I was leaving.”
    Kori was too shocked to answer. Could that have been Victor?

CHAPTER 16
     
    Hours later, after the last of the guests had nearly li cked their dessert plates clean, Kori let herself relax. She hadn’t been stressed with the two Thanksgiving dinners, but it was a relief to have it all finished. Now she was alone with Zach and they could enjoy a private dinner together.
    She put her feet up on her coffee table, Ibis lying on the ground beneath her legs, and let Zach wait on her.
    “A glass of wine,” he said, handing her a full glass and taking a seat beside her on the couch. She heard him sigh as he leaned back into the cushions.
    “Happy Thanksgiving,” she said, their glasses just kissing.
    “Happy Thanksgiving,” he repeated and leaned over, kissing her cheek. “Thanks for including me in it. I think we should make this a tradition.”
    Kori smiled. She’d thoroughly enjoyed having him work with her in the kitchen and sharing the holiday with him. “Serving the town Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and then volunteering on Friday? I could get used to that.” She momentarily closed her eyes, imaging what else could be in their shared future.
    She felt Zach stand up from the couch just as the oven beeped, alerting them that it was preheated. Kori shifted, ready to stand up with him and help him get everything in the oven, but he protested. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
    Kori couldn’t argue with that. There had been enough leftovers to feed another twenty people and they had already made up plates that just had to be reheated. The only thing that had been finished was the dessert. But Kori had another plan in mind for their own dessert later. And it didn’t involve pumpkins or apples like the pies that were gone.
    Zach sat back down and said, “Twenty minutes. Make sure you’re hungry.”
    Kori’s stomach growled at the thought of filling it. The smells all afternoon had helped her work up an appetite, but she had a habit of not eating when she was working. Not that she really thought of today’s time in the café as work.
    With the much needed down time, Kori thought about everything that had happened in the last few days. From Jenna’s arrest to Vera’s questioning, she couldn’t help but wonder who was really at fault for Lou’s murder. She suspected it was Victor, but there was only one way to find out.
    “So, about Lou McKay …” she said, turning to face Zach.
    “Mmm-hmmm,” he hummed while sipping his wine and making no effort to offer any information.
    “If Jenna’s innocent, and Vera was in the shelter at the time of his murder, could Victor McKay have killed him?”
    Zach put his glass of wine down on the coffee table and then draped his arm over Kori’s shoulder. She couldn’t help but lean further into him. “Why are you asking?”
    Kori hesitated. Why was she asking? Her friends had already been proven innocent, so why did she feel the need to still investigate?
    “I guess I just know too much about the case now. I need some closure.”
    Zach laughed. “Closure, huh? Good thing you’re not a detective. Way too many cases go unsolved with no closure.”
    Kori considered this. “So, is this an unsolved homicide then? Has it been closed?”
    Zach slowly shook his head and then leaned it back onto the couch. “No. But we’ve only been following dead ends so far and it’s been more than forty-eight hours. Way too many murders are left unsolved if the killer isn’t caught in the first two days.”
    “Well, maybe I can help you make sure this one isn’t one of those unsolved mysteries.”
    Zach turned to face Kori, not lifting his head from where it was resting. “I’d rather you didn’t.”
    “But think about it.