Tragic Toppings by Jessica Beck Page A

of bed most days, and say what you will about my work ethic, I always got the job done.” Grace pointed to the bag in my hand. “Do a little shopping while you were at Gabby’s?”
    “I thought it might make things go a little smoother if I bought something,” I said, which wasn’t exactly true, but it was all Grace was going to get out of me.
    “Let’s see it,” she asked, so I took the blouse out of the bag and held it up in front of me.
    She studied it for a few seconds, and then said, “It’s hard to tell that way. How did it fit?”
    “To be honest with you, I didn’t even try it on.”
    Grace whistled softly. “That’s really brave of you. Gabby has a no-return policy.”
    I’d forgotten all about that. “Actually, she told me I could bring it back tomorrow if I didn’t like it,” I admitted.
    “Wow, she must really like you. Did you happen to have a chance to ask her about Tim?”
    I nodded. “I learned some things about him that you might not like, and I know Emily’s going to react badly to what I’ve got to tell her.”
    “What did he do?” she asked.
    “Apparently he was dating three women at the same time.”
    I wasn’t sure what I expected Grace’s reaction to be, but it wasn’t the whoop of delight I heard. “Tim was an old tomcat, wasn’t he?”
    “Are you saying that you approve of that?” I asked, not sure why Grace’s reaction bothered me.
    She shook her head slightly. “I’m not saying I do, and in truth it’s none of my business. I was just worried he was lonely all the time.”
    “That turns out to have been the least of his problems. I just hope he told them all he was dating around.” I thought about what Gabby had told me, and then asked Grace, “Have you had much contact with Orson Blaine?”
    “Suzanne, that’s a pretty abrupt segue, even for you. I know him, but we’re not exactly friends. Why do you ask?”
    It was time to share what I’d learned. “According to Gabby, he and Tim were best friends for decades, but something happened to turn them against each other a few years ago, something serious enough to ruin a lifelong friendship.”
    Grace nodded her approval. “So then we have somewhere else to look.”
    “That’s true; they all fit,” I said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “A betrayed friend, a spurred lover, or a shunned competitor could all have a motive for murder, particularly considering the way Tim was found. We can’t lose sight of that.”
    Grace frowned at me. “I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying, Suzanne.”
    “Think about it. A scorned woman, a lost friend or a rebuffed competitor might all have loyalty issues with Tim, and any of them might explain why the Patriot Tree was used to hang him.”
    Grace nodded. “You’re right. I never really thought about it along those lines.”
    “You didn’t have the benefit of the walk over here,” I said. It was nearing noon, and my stomach started rumbling softly. I could always count on it to remind me when it was time to eat. “Can you leave for lunch now, or do you have more calls to make?”
    “There’s nothing I have to do that won’t keep,” she said. “Where should we go? Is it too soon to go back to the Boxcar Grill?”
    “As a matter of fact, I was thinking we might visit Go Eats,” I said.
    Grace looked surprised by the suggestion. “I haven’t been there since my grandfather took me. Is that place even still open?”
    “It must be. What do you say? Are you game?”
    She looked at me for a moment, and then said, “Suzanne, something tells me that we’re not going to that greasy spoon for its culinary offerings. What gives?”
    “Gabby told me that it was Orson’s favorite place to hang out, and I remember that Tim told me once it was his favorite place to eat, too,” I admitted. “I thought we might go and ask around about him.”
    Grace appeared to consider it, and then said, “If your stomach can take it, so can mine.”
    “Then let’s