stepmumâs place?â and I looked and couldnât believe it, so Mark insisted we rush over right away and find out whatâs happening, didnât you, Mark?â
Mark smiled at Cherril. âAre you okay, Cherry? You look tired.â
âOh yes. Iâm fine. Just a bit tired, thanks.â
âLook, sit down and Iâll get you a coffee.â
Cherril felt certain it was Selina rather than Mark who had rushed over for news, just as it had probably been Selina who directed any lurid post-service discussion.
âShe works here, why are you offering to get her coffee in her own kitchen? Anyway, tell us what happened! Andwhereâs Aunty Lee? Is she at the police station? What did that woman die of? The newspapers didnât say. Was she poisoned? Here?â
âShe wasnât poisoned here.â Cherrilâs previous airline training gave her an edge in dealing with difficult people, but she still found Selina Lee a challenge. âShe never came anywhere near here.â
âSelina almost had the whole church taking bets on whether the woman was poisoned, stabbed, or pushed out the window,â Mark said genially, âwith heavy odds on poisoning.â
It seemed to Cherril that since Mark had saved Aunty Leeâs life last year he had become much nicer to everyone at the café. He seemed more comfortable in the role of generous benefactor than supplicantâand it suited him better too.
Selina ignored Markâs attempt at diversion. âAccording to the papers you were one of the people the dead woman was coming here to meet. So, tell all!â
But Cherril didnât have anything to tell, except that she, Josephine, and Brian had been at the police station answering questions till late.
âItâs nothing to do with us and the café at all. We just happened to arrange the meeting hereâin fact the meeting didnât even take place here, so really weâre not involved at all.â
âBut you were in the papers, Cherril,â Selina insisted. She looked at Cherril, who had moved to sit by the drinks counter while Mark warmed up a cup for her coffee. True, the café did not officially open for over an hour, but normally Nina would be rushing around and Cherril would be sortingout fruits and vegetables and syrups for her drinks. Instead Cherril was sitting motionless, staring into space.
Selina continued. âI recognized you at once even though your hair was so funny in the photo. I told Mark thereâs a jinx on this place. Everybody who works here gets involved in all kinds of funny business. Luckily he got out in time, ha ha.â But her banter was wasted. Cherril did not seem upset. Indeed she barely seemed to be listening to Selina. Neither, it seemed, was Mark.
âTry my new health cocktail mix?â Mark broke into Cherrilâs thoughts. âI think it will do you more good than a coffee. Come on. Just try it. Donât worry, I made it according to your recipe. I just added a dash of vodka and Tabasco, like a Bloody Mary. And donât worry about what happened to that woman. Nobody thinks you people had anything to do with it. And I donât think anybody is really sorry sheâs dead.â
Mark would have made a good nanny, Cherril thought, or a good father. A cool, soothing swallow of the sweet, sharp blend of celery, carrot, and lemongrass made her feel better. Markâs innovation worked tooâshe made a note to try introducing mildly alcoholic cocktails at weekend brunch buffets. She was glad she had come in to work instead of staying at home. She was even glad Mark and Silly-Nah had shown up. Thinking of Aunty Leeâs name for Selina made her smile and Mark took this as a good sign.
âYou knew the dead woman years ago, didnât you? It must have been a shock for you.â
âEven if you werenât friends,â Selina put in. âWere you? Ifyou didnât know her then, why
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