Page 15 of Christmas Fudge Fatality
Keelie nods. “It’s the cookies.”
Both Keelie and Joyce break out into a fit of laughter, leaving Joyce in tears over it.
“I knew I should have opened up a bakery instead.” She dabs her eyes with her pinkies.
Perfect segue, so I go with it.
“What made you open this place? It’s great, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Joyce waves a hand around the room. “It’s my baby and I’ve got three more just like it. It’s been my dream my whole life to open up a place like this.”
Keelie gives a slight nod my way as if to sayI’ve got this. I filled her in on everything Bonnie said on the way over.
Keelie cocks her head. “What made you wait so long?”
“Money,” Joyce is quick to answer. “I finally had a financial fairy step in and save the day.” She wrinkles her nose. “It was Tamara. And now that she’s gone, I’ll have to figure out how to remove her name from the lease.”
“What about the loans? You know, for the equipment and the start-up costs?” I ask and Noel glides in close as if he were anxious to hear this, too.
Joyce glances out the window a moment. “Thanks to Tamara, there are no loans. She wanted to start debt-free. And with the money she was getting from the farm, she could afford to do it. But she doesn’t have any kids. And her parents have both passed away—I guess I own the businesses free and clear. With the exception of the ground leases, of course. But the gyms are in the black, so there shouldn’t be a problem with that.”
Keelie nods. “And now I guess you don’t have to split the profits with anyone either.”
Noel huffs, “She’s our killer, Lottie. I can see it in her greedy eyes.”
I’m wondering if I can, too. In the least I can see a decent motive starting to form.
Joyce takes a quick look around the box-shaped room. “I’ll admit, it is a bit of a relief to know I can make all of the decisions on my own. And if I’m honest, taking the whole profit—well, that’s something I can get used to, I suppose.”
“Bingo!” Noel lights up as blue as a flame. “Lock her up and throw away the key, Lottie! She’s living high off of my sweet Tamara’s hog.”
“Maybe,” I say a touch too loud and both Keelie and Joyce look my way. “Maybe Scott didn’t push Tamara off that embankment.” I shrug. “I mean, he says he didn’t do it.”
Joyce’s mouth falls open. “What are you implying?”
“Oh no, not that.” I try to laugh it off while making a mental note to ignore every ghost in the vicinity for a year.
Noel swims through the air and gets right in her face. “That’s exactly what we’re implying!”
I shake my head at him. “I mean, maybe she slipped.”
“Oh.” Joyce tips her head to the side as if considering this. “No, I don’t think so. Anyone else, maybe—but Tamara? She had enemies.”
“Enemies?” Keelie winces. “That’s a strong word, don’t you think?”
“No.” Joyce shakes her head emphatically. “And I’m not talking about Scott—
that’s a given.”
Keelie leans in. “You mean Stacy?”
Ugh. A part of me wants to swat my bestie for feeding Joyce an option, but then it’s the only other logical one.
Noel growls over at Keelie, “Someone needs a muzzle. Don’t you think, Lottie?”
Joyce shakes her head. “Stacy didn’t want to make any more waves than she already did. She had Scott and they seemed pretty happy together.”
Now it’s my mouth falling open. “So who could have done it? What other enemies did Tamara Gray have?”