Both Sydney and Grace could tell that she couldn’t hurt a fly, so they weren’t even going to dig into her possible knowledge of Aaron’s death. But they did still want to know how she’d used her recent pies to more fully rule her out.
“Your most recent order—four individual sized pumpkin pies—did you share those? Would it have been helpful if we’d included anything else with them to fit a special occasion?” Grace asked.
“I actually shared them with coworkers and students. We have a student of the term, even in kindergarten. One boy and one girl. So I got each of them a pie, plus one for myself and one for my teaching aid. They loved them. That’s what’s so great—they’re even kid friendly! And I know I need kid friendly treats that aren’t full of all the artificial sweeteners and allergens. But don’t worry, I don’t bribe the kids with sweets!” Jody added at the end. Neither woman had suspected her of bribery.
“Thanks so much for your feedback, Jody,” Grace said, hoping to wrap up their quick meeting before Michael showed up. “Is there anything else you’d like to add for us to improve on?”
“You should open up more branches!” she said with a laugh.
Sydney and Grace chuckled too. They knew that would never happen. They loved their one store, working in a small town and still being able to ship throughout the state. They would never sell out and become a chain.
“Oh, and we brought you have a dozen cider donuts.” Sydney had almost forgotten to give them to her.
“Thanks! I’ll have to keep these for myself.”
Just as Jody was walking out the door, a man walked in, clearly looking for someone he was supposed to meet. He walked to the two women and introduced himself as Michael.
“Michael, nice to meet you. I’m Sydney, and this is Grace. Thanks for meeting us today on such short notice.”
“No problem. I love your products and you do quite the business here in Westhedge! I see the packages that come through the post office and there have to be a couple dozen some weeks!”
They made small talk for a little while before jumping into the same line of questioning they’d asked Jody.
“This was the first of my orders that even lasted long enough to share with anyone,” he said laughing. “They usually disappear within the first six hours of having them in my house. But this time my wife and I were having a dinner party for some friends—the Pages. They said they’d be placing an order when they got home that night, maybe you’ve already seen it come through.”
“Nope, not yet, but thanks for doing our marketing for us!” Sydney laughed.
Grace tried hard to not look up. She didn’t want to give away her surprise. Lewis and Linda Page were on their suspect list, and now they’d had access to the murder ‘weapon.’
Sydney noticed Grace’s avoidance of the conversation and wrapped up so she could ask what was going on. Sydney was making sure to keep on top of the customer suspects and hadn’t paid attention fully when Grace caught her up to speed on the Library Commissioners on the drive over.
“What is it?” Sydney whispered after Michael had left with his complimentary donuts.
“The Pages!” Grace was nearly speechless.
“What about them? You said they were on the Library Commission, but is there something else?”
“He’s an accountant. If Aaron was stealing money, he would have caught it. Or, if Lewis was stealing money, he would have known how to cover it up, but Aaron could have still found out. We didn’t know if they’d bought any pies, but they didn’t have to. Michael brought them right to the Pages!” Grace was just about jumping up she was so excited with this new development.
“I guess we have to find Lewis Page next then.”
“Great news. All the Commissioners will be together. There’s a public meeting in a half hour,” she told Sydney
“Your most recent order—four individual sized pumpkin pies—did you share those? Would it have been helpful if we’d included anything else with them to fit a special occasion?” Grace asked.
“I actually shared them with coworkers and students. We have a student of the term, even in kindergarten. One boy and one girl. So I got each of them a pie, plus one for myself and one for my teaching aid. They loved them. That’s what’s so great—they’re even kid friendly! And I know I need kid friendly treats that aren’t full of all the artificial sweeteners and allergens. But don’t worry, I don’t bribe the kids with sweets!” Jody added at the end. Neither woman had suspected her of bribery.
“Thanks so much for your feedback, Jody,” Grace said, hoping to wrap up their quick meeting before Michael showed up. “Is there anything else you’d like to add for us to improve on?”
“You should open up more branches!” she said with a laugh.
Sydney and Grace chuckled too. They knew that would never happen. They loved their one store, working in a small town and still being able to ship throughout the state. They would never sell out and become a chain.
“Oh, and we brought you have a dozen cider donuts.” Sydney had almost forgotten to give them to her.
“Thanks! I’ll have to keep these for myself.”
Just as Jody was walking out the door, a man walked in, clearly looking for someone he was supposed to meet. He walked to the two women and introduced himself as Michael.
“Michael, nice to meet you. I’m Sydney, and this is Grace. Thanks for meeting us today on such short notice.”
“No problem. I love your products and you do quite the business here in Westhedge! I see the packages that come through the post office and there have to be a couple dozen some weeks!”
They made small talk for a little while before jumping into the same line of questioning they’d asked Jody.
“This was the first of my orders that even lasted long enough to share with anyone,” he said laughing. “They usually disappear within the first six hours of having them in my house. But this time my wife and I were having a dinner party for some friends—the Pages. They said they’d be placing an order when they got home that night, maybe you’ve already seen it come through.”
“Nope, not yet, but thanks for doing our marketing for us!” Sydney laughed.
Grace tried hard to not look up. She didn’t want to give away her surprise. Lewis and Linda Page were on their suspect list, and now they’d had access to the murder ‘weapon.’
Sydney noticed Grace’s avoidance of the conversation and wrapped up so she could ask what was going on. Sydney was making sure to keep on top of the customer suspects and hadn’t paid attention fully when Grace caught her up to speed on the Library Commissioners on the drive over.
“What is it?” Sydney whispered after Michael had left with his complimentary donuts.
“The Pages!” Grace was nearly speechless.
“What about them? You said they were on the Library Commission, but is there something else?”
“He’s an accountant. If Aaron was stealing money, he would have caught it. Or, if Lewis was stealing money, he would have known how to cover it up, but Aaron could have still found out. We didn’t know if they’d bought any pies, but they didn’t have to. Michael brought them right to the Pages!” Grace was just about jumping up she was so excited with this new development.
“I guess we have to find Lewis Page next then.”
“Great news. All the Commissioners will be together. There’s a public meeting in a half hour,” she told Sydney
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