William Jarvis - Sky Valley 04 - Murderous Coffee Crumble by William Jarvis

CHAPTER 1
WHAT’S YOUR ANGLE?
    “Emmy,” Lena McMahon said, “Serena’s my daughter.”
    Emmy could not believe what she just heard. She was at the back porch of Frank Holt’s house and things seemed great until suddenly, it felt like Frank was just playing games with her because he told Serena, his wife, whom he first referred to as his “stalker”, that he didn’t actually invite Emmy there and that he didn’t want her to make pastries for the event. It turns out that Serena actually has gluten allergies so she couldn’t eat anything that Emmy made. What irked and hurt Emmy was the fact that Frank lied to him—and is now acting like they didn’t spend lots of time together and that this was all Emmy’s doing.
    And then things got even worse when Lena McMahon, the police officer who was in charge of Annabeth’s and Ruby’s cases, suddenly came to the party. Emmy didn’t know what her business in there was; she didn’t think she was actually committing a crime. Then, Lena told her that she’s Serena’s mother. She’s the mother of the person who could be getting gluten allergies because of all those pastries. It’s like the world has crashed down on Emmy; she didn’t know what to feel anymore.
    “I don’t understand.” Emmy stammered. She was feeling cold through and through; the night was unforgiving and her mind was scattered into pieces. She could not believe that this was happening.
    “I don’t think what I said is puzzling, Miss Byrne.” Lena said. “I told you that Serena’s my daughter. And I think you have to apologize. Why would you even bring your murderous ways to my son-in-law’s party?”
    “Excuse me?” Emmy said, her voice shaking. “I don’t know why you hate me so much, Officer McMahon, but I can assure you that I’m not murderous. And you have to watch your mouth because you’re talking so wrong about me and it’s not helpful.”
    “And who would you tell that to, Emilia?” Lena asked, “You know I run this town.”
    Just then Frank came to the back porch and placed his arm around Serena’s waist. “Wow.” Emmy fake-laughed, “Just…wow.” She went on, “So, now you’re actually admitting that you control all of these? What? You’re behind this, aren’t you? You are behind all of these. What’s your angle, Lena?”
    “Hey,” Frank said, “Show some respect.”
    Emmy bit her lip and took a deep breath. “You’re the one who has no respect, Frank. You told me that Serena was your stalker!” The words felt bitter around her mouth, creating intangible calluses. “And now you’re acting like you don’t know me! You’re acting like I’m crazy!” She laughed and cried at the same time, the pain inching through her every vein. “You planned this, didn’t you?” She looked from Lena to Frank and back again. “You both planned this.” She looked at Frank. “You told me once that you’ll do anything for this mother figure of yours. That’s Lena, isn’t it? You’ll do anything for Lena so you wormed your way into my life, pretended that you liked me and that you were my friend so that one day, it could lead to this. You’re insane!”
    “Look who’s talking.” Serena said. “Never call my husband or my mother insane. Look at you,” she looked at Emmy from head to foot, “You’re the one who looks deranged. You’re the one who seems not to be in proper order so why don’t you just shut it? And remember, I’m the one you tried to kill here.”
    “I would never plan on doing that. I don’t even know you!” She then turned towards Lena again. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Emilia.” She said. “But as far as I am concerned, this just shows us how vulnerable and manipulative you are. This shows us that you don’t care about other people and that it’s so easy for you to worm your way into everyone’s lives and ruin their lives on the run. You won’t be able to do that to my