Punked by the Pumpkin: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 4) by Constance Barker Page B

Some of the old codgers are already forming militias and hunting parties to hunt this thing down. Pretty soon the natives will be roaming the streets with pitchforks,” Eli said rolling his eyes.  “I’ve got the evacuation truck going around town with its megaphone telling people they’ll be arrested if they take the law into their own hands and start shooting up the cemetery, but I can’t keep them at bay for long. I had to promise that we will take care of this tonight, once and for all. All of our squads are already in prowl mode looking for it.”
    “One hot beef sandwich, extra gravy, and one French dip. Anything else, folks?”
    “Nope. We’re good, Becky. Thanks! Say…Becky, didn’t you enter the bake-off this year? Your one of the best pastry chefs in town.”
    “Well, I’m no chef, and no I didn’t enter, but…” She looked at me with a sheepish smile. “…I helped my cousin, Lonnie, with his…I mean, you’re…pumpkin pie muffins.”
    “Ahh! Okay. That makes sense now.  I wasn’t sure how to feel about it before, but now I feel good – as long as you promise to share any improvements to the recipe with me.”
    “I did try one thing different. Since the muffins bake a lot faster than a pumpkin pie, instead of piping the cooked pie filling in afterwards, I baked the pie half way, made pie balls with a melon baller, got them almost frozen so they would hold together, and then put the balls right inside the wet muffin batter before we baked them. It worked pretty well.”
    “You’re a genius, Becky”
    Eli was half done with his meal already, but I had no problem catching up. There are a few things I’m really good at.
    “That hot beef sandwich seems to be just what you needed to lift your mood.”
    “You’re right, but it’s going to be dark in a less than an hour, and I want to be out there as soon as that thing starts glowing in the dark so we can get it into custody peacefully before people get their guns out.”
    “Why don’t we take a walk through the cemetery as soon as we’re done here? You can visit your mom, and I can visit mine. Then we’ll be there when it gets dark.”
    “You read my mind.”
     
    We weren’t too far from the cemetery, but Eli wanted to have his car with him since he was on “medium” duty, so we drove. I ran into Shaw Florists to get some flowers, an orange lily for his mother and a white rose for Mom. Missy Grant and her father were near the cemetery gate hollering for Scotty when we drove in. We parked by the old chapel near the entrance.
    “Those high school girls have the flower gardens around this dilapidated chapel looking pretty good,” I said. I don’t think Eli had ever noticed.
    “Oh, yeah. Nice.”
    There was a nice bright butterfly ornament on a stake in the middle of the garden to the right of the front door and a big yellow and black bumble bee staked in on the other side. There were colorful geraniums, snapdragons, and some newly-planted mums all around the little church.
    “Do they still use this chapel Eli? It looks like it hasn’t had a coat of paint in a couple of decades.”
    “It’s just unpainted treated wood, so it’s always been grey like that. But I’m not sure if people still use it.” He walked toward the door to check the knob. “The Methodist church had built it back before I was born, and they used to bring vigil candles in so people could pray for their loved ones and light a candle, but…” He tried the knob and it was locked. “…it looks like they might just keep it locked up nowadays.”
      The sun was not far above the horizon, and Eli took my hand as we walked towards his mother’s grave. I carried the flowers.
    I was just a little girl when Harvey lost his wife and Eli lost his mother, so I never really knew her. Eli patted the gravestone and greeted his mother, and I gave him the orange flower.
    “I didn’t know your mom’s name was Lily.”
    “Yup. Lillian Delilah Davis.”
    His eyes were