Page 54 of Tangled Up In You

"How do you figure that?" Brodie asked in surprise.

He related what Nina had told him about the key and the payoff.

"There was no evidence of a struggle or a robbery at Phoebe's store," Brodie said. "I was the first one on the scene. There was no blood, no bruising, and the ME confirmed she died of a heart attack."

"I'm just wondering if Mercer scared Phoebe into that heart attack."

"I suppose that's possible."

"I also wonder what the hell he's looking for and how he's tied to Caroline's family. She was married three times, so I'm not even sure which husband or stepchild or whoever he's referring to."

"I'm happy to help. I need to get back out on patrol now, but why don't we get dinner after work?" Brodie suggested. "Chelsea is doing that baking thing at the inn with Lizzie, so I'm free. Let's get some food, talk about the case, and then we can hit up the inn for dessert."

"You got it." As Brodie left, Adam jumped back on the computer. He needed to find out more about Caroline's family members, starting with her father. The man had appeared to be out of her life after she went to Hollywood, and he'd be quite old now, probably in his nineties, so it was doubtful that he'd be involved, but he needed to check his name off the list.

ChapterFourteen

"Too much icing, Lizzie,"Chelsea complained.

Molly smiled, watching as Lizzie put several large dollops of whipped vanilla cream on a cupcake.

"Are you an expert on icing now?" Lizzie retorted. "If I wanted to be judged on my decorating skills, I would have asked Adam."

"He would definitely tell you less is more," Chelsea said.

Molly enjoyed the back-and-forth between the sisters, which had gotten livelier as the evening had gone on. Chelsea wasn't drinking, but Lizzie had had a couple of glasses of wine, as had Chloe, Gianna, and Hannah. She'd stopped at one, knowing she had to drive home and also work the next day.

"I disagree," Hannah interjected. "Less is never better when it comes to cupcakes or sex," she added with a mischievous smile.

Chelsea grinned. "I can't argue with that. In fact, I'll drink to it." She lifted her glass of water.

"No fair," Gianna complained. "You can't keep making toasts when you're not drinking alcohol, Chelsea. I've already had far too much wine. It's a good thing Zach is picking me up. And if anyone else needs a ride, he can take you home, too."

"Good to know," Hannah said, as she topped off her glass.

They were sitting around the vast island in the middle of the kitchen at Lizzie's inn, with dozens of baked goods in various stages of completion. Thankfully, most of them were done, since their skills were disintegrating with the amount of wine being poured.

"How's it going at the store, Molly?" Chloe asked. "Are you ready for the sidewalk sale on Saturday?"

"Not quite, but I'm getting there. I'm having a soft opening on Friday, so if anyone needs anything, feel free to stop by. You can test out my selling skills," she said.

"I'm going to need more of that tea you gave me," Chelsea said. "It has worked wonders on my nausea, along with everything else you gave me, including the book of poetry."

"You're selling poetry?" Hannah asked, a questioning gleam in her brown eyes.

"No, but Phoebe left a book for Chelsea," she replied. "Phoebe thought it would help calm her mind."

"I have to say I thought it was silly," Chelsea said. "But the poems are beautiful, and they really were calming. They also made me feel creative, and it has been awhile since I felt that way. The baby has been sucking all the creative juice right out of me. But after having my tea and reading the poetry, I started working on a new song, and I didn't feel like throwing up."

"I'm so glad." She was pleased that she'd been able to help Chelsea, which reminded her that the benefits of the store to the community could be huge. "I know you've been having a rough time."

"Worse than I thought it would be," Chelsea admitted. "But I keep telling myself it will be worth it."

"It will be worth it," Chloe put in. "As the mother in this group, I can attest to that. Leo has changed my life in so many wonderful ways. He just needs some little friends to play with, so the rest of you need to get on it."

"I'm barely married," Hannah complained.

"Well, then Gianna and Lizzie need to speed things up."

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