Pies & Peril by Janel Gradowski

He walked over and sat in the chair beside Amy. "Don't worry. I'll take the jar back to my shop when I leave."
    " Oh, I wasn't worried. I'm happy you thought to bring it. Thank you for helping." She tilted her head. "I don't see Kristi. Is she here?"
    He shook his head. "No. She returned to the bakery after the service, so I am in attendance solo now."
    " Excuse me," he said as he stood again. "I see an old friend I would like to converse with."
    " Of course, thank you again for bringing the jar."
    Elliot smiled as he walked away. Carla and Shepler appeared in the doorway of the coat room. Amy stood up and waved to catch their attention. The couple took a circuitous route through the pie-eating mourners.
    " Smells good in here," Shepler said as he sat down next to Alex. "I love pie."
    Amy wrinkled her nose. "Smells like the town hall did when I found Mandy Jo."
    " Sorry, I didn't mean to stir up disturbing memories."
    " It's okay. I'm a big girl. I'll live." She leaned forward and whispered around Alex. "I figured we could check everybody out from this vantage point."
    " Good idea," he said. Although he didn't look that interested in anybody in the hall other than Carla. "Can we go up and get pie anytime?"
    " Yes. I've seen a lot of people go through the serving line already. We'll stay here and save our spots." Amy leaned toward Carla. "Get a bunch of different kinds so I can sample some from your plate, too."
    " Checking out the competition? I thought your pie was perfect."
    " Nothing is actually ever completely perfect, even my pie, even though I hate to admit it. I know you'll use that information against me."
    Carla laughed as she and Shepler walked to the back of the line of people waiting to load up on free pie. Twenty minutes later Amy had tried over a dozen different pies between the slivers she had arranged on her plate and the bites Carla and Alex offered from their selections. Concentrating on analyzing the baked goods helped her get over the nausea caused by the memory of finding Mandy Jo. A couple samples were tooth-achingly sweet to the point that the fillings tasted like commercially made jam straight from the jar. One was underdone, though the crunchy pears definitely had an intriguing texture. There were two pies that were excellent. Of course, they both happened to be apple, just like her intended entry into the contest. Flaky crust, firm yet tender apple slices, a mix of sweet and tangy fruit, just the right amount of spice. In short, if those pies had been entered into the pie competition she may have lost. Would they be on the tables at the make-up contest?
    " I wish I knew who made these pies."
    Carla stopped making goo -goo eyes at her new paramour long enough to say, "Look on the bottom of the pie plates. Most people put their names on them at things like this."
    " Good idea, but a little too obvious. I think almost everybody who was at the meeting to reschedule the contest is here. I would never hear the end of it if one of them spotted me snooping."
    " Come on," Carla waved around a plastic forkful of pumpkin pie. "You're more creative than that. Tell them you're looking for your pie dish."
    " But I didn't bring a pie. Just the members of the church contributed."
    " So. How many other people know that?"
    Amy wrinkled her nose. "That's a bit sneaky for me. The ideas you come up with…sometimes I really wonder about you."
    " I do too." Carla looked at Bruce. "Pay no attention to that statement."
    He laughed and turned to Amy. "Take notes. Try keeping a notebook in your purse. Write down what you liked or didn't like, any theories about what ingredients they used. I can't tell you how many notebooks I've gone through as a police officer."
    " That's a great idea. Thank you."
    " Glad I could help."
    She slid her fork through a mound of whipped cream on her plate. "Well I hope you've been taking good notes about this case. There are a couple big cooking contests I want to enter soon, and the stress from