Flour Day will Come, page 15
Rita looked at Rhonda. Rhonda sighed. “Let’s go,” she said. She walked Gary back to his truck, loaded the man inside, then went back for Bob. “Zach, we’ll be late,” she said and kissed her husband-to-be. “Keep Phil company and—”
“Hey, where is Phil?” Rita asked and began searching the darkness with panicked eyes. “Phil?”
“Now where did that man wander off to?” Billy fussed and began calling out Phil’s name. “Phil, where are you?”
“Hey… look… there!” Zach said and pointed to a small hill bathed in moonlight.
Phil was standing on the hill doing a crazy dance. “Chickens and ice cream… under the moonlight,” he sang in a voice that was surprisingly pleasant. “Chickens and ice cream… under the moonlight.”
Rita sighed and leaned against Billy. “I hate to take that man back,” she whispered.
“I know what you mean.” Billy nodded, watching Phil dance in the moonlight. “We ain’t got much of a choice.”
“We’ll get Phil the best lawyer money can buy,” Zach promised.
“We sure will,” Rhonda added, watching Phil pretending to dance with an invisible chicken. “It’s a shame we’re going to have to tear down this orchard, though. Love these peaches… even if it is hotter than butt.”
“Sis,” Rita complained, rolled her eyes, and grabbed a mumbling Bob up to his feet. “Come on, you.”
Rhonda kissed Zach on his cheek, looked at Phil again, giggled, and then began walking off toward Gary’s truck. As she did an idea suddenly struck her mind. She spun around and threw her eyes at Phil again. “The gold,” she whispered in a shocked voice. “Phil is dancing on the gold…”
“My… gold… my gold…,” Bob mumbled, barely able to hold his head up. “My gold… kill you all….”
“Shut up,” Rita ordered Bob, throwing him into the truck with Gary. She looked at Rhonda. “Are you coming or what?”
Rhonda continued to watch Phil dance over his gold—cursed gold, but gold that belonged to Phil and Phil alone. She smiled and simply joined her sister and drove into town.
Brad wasn’t too happy that he had been left out of the loop, but he was relieved that Bob Mallard and Gary Morris were in custody and that Phil Whinnel was no longer a problem. “Well, ladies… well done,” he said, leaning back in his desk chair. “You are two very smart cops.”
“Smart?” Rita asked and then laughed. “Brad, this case had us by the seat of our britches.”
“Britches?” Rhonda teased sipping on a cup of coffee.
“Oh… leave me alone,” Rita fussed and plopped down in a chair resting in front of Brad’s desk. “My goal was to catch Gary Morris and make him turn Phil over to us… and then have the man lure Bob Mallard into town. But Gary turned himself in to us instead.”
“Yeah, but we still… basically… followed your original plan,” Rhonda pointed out. “We did catch the killer.”
“Well, we caught someone who planned the murder of two guards,” Rita told Rhonda. “The real killer died… eating our cupcakes.” Rita winced. “Oh, Edna is going to skin us alive.”
“Skin us alive?” Rhonda teased Rita again.
“I know… Billy is rubbing off on me,” Rita cried and then slapped her forehead. “It won’t be long before I start saying ‘sure enough’ and ‘y’all.’”
Rhonda giggled to herself. “And speaking of y’all,” she said, “Brad, what are you going to do with Mrs. Cunningham and her group of misfits?”
“Oh, they’ll all be out at Billy’s farm first thing Monday with some paint and hammers,” Brad promised. “Every last one of them.” Brad rolled his eyes. “Mrs. Cunningham is still insisting that you two are killers, but her steam is dying down. Oh—and we also found Trapper. He caught a ride back home after his car broke down. No one thought to check there after finding his car so far away.” Brad took a sip of coffee. “This was one crazy case,” he said. “One of the strangest.”
Before Rita or Rhonda could reply Billy came charging into Brad’s office holding a bandage on his forehead. “I’m gonna kill him. Arrest me now because I’m gonna kill him!”
“What happened?” Rita asked in an alarmed voice, shooting to her feet and running to Billy.
Zach appeared behind Billy with a grin on his face. “Billy tried to sneak a third donut and Phil threw a plate at his head,” he explained. “That’s when Billy went after Phil with a rifle and chased him off into the woods. Looks like we’re going to have to go find the old guy.”
“Oh, Billy,” Rita said and slapped Billy’s arm.
Billy winced. “You and your big mouth,” he fussed at Zach. “You were supposed to go and leave out the donut part. Ain’t right for a man to be tattled on by his friend…only wanted a third donut for crying out loud…can’t even get a donut in peace…get smacked in the head with a supper plate. Why if my daddy was here he’d tell you all a thing or two, yes sir!”
Rhonda grabbed Zach’s arm and giggled. “Come on, honey, let’s go find Phil before he breaks every window in town. It’s not good to have Ernest T. Bass running around in the dark.”
Rita shot Billy a stern eye, grabbed his ear, and pulled the poor man out of Brad’s office. “You better apologize to that man before he breaks every window in town,” she began fussing at Billy. “I’m not paying for any more broken windows, do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am… yes, ma’am…,” Billy cried out in pain as Rita pulled him out into the hot night.
Brad grabbed his coffee, leaned back in his office chair, and shook his head. “With those two ladies in town, life sure isn’t going to be boring. Just remind me to never eat one of their cupcakes,” he laughed while he listened to Rita yelling at Billy as she dragged him outside into a night that was, according to Rhonda Knight, hotter than butt.
And thus ended “The Case of the Deadly Cupcake” with all the killers caught and the innocent set free… well, almost. One killer was still on the loose… the little kitchen mouse that knocked over the rat poison, but that’s still a secret.
More from Wendy
Alaska Cozy Mystery Series
Maple Hills Cozy Series
Sweeetfern Harbor Cozy Series
Sweet Peach Cozy Series
Sweet Shop Cozy Series
Twin Berry Bakery Series
About Wendy Meadows
Wendy Meadows is a USA Today bestselling author whose stories showcase women sleuths. To date, she has published dozens of books, which include her popular Sweetfern Harbor series, Sweet Peach Bakery series, and Alaska Cozy series, to name a few. She lives in the “Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two mini pigs and a lovable Labradoodle.
Join Wendy’s newsletter to stay up-to-date with new releases. As a subscriber, you’ll also get BLACKVINE MANOR, the complete series, for FREE!
Join Wendy’s Newsletter Here
wendymeadows.com/cozy
Wendy Meadows, Flour Day will Come
