A Fatal Twist of Lemon Read Free

them.”
    â€œI’ll need a list of everyone that was at the tea party.”
    I leafed through my papers and extracted the seating chart I’d drawn up. “Here you are,” I said, handing it to him.
    He blinked at it, then looked up at me in vague surprise. “You do this every time you have a party?”
    â€œFor every formal party, yes.”
    He laughed under his breath and shook his head, folding the page and tucking it behind his notepad. “Okay, so who was still here when you found the body?”
    â€œMy staff, and Claudia Pearson. They’re all downstairs, waiting,” I added.
    â€œAnyone else? Any customers?”
    â€œNot that I know of. Our grand opening is Friday, though we did have some walk-ins today. Iz was out front, she should be able to tell you when the last customers left.”
    â€œIz?”
    â€œIsabel. Naranjo. She’s one of my servers.”
    â€œDid anyone else see the body?”
    â€œYes, Vi was with me. Violetta Benning.”
    He looked up. “Violetta?”
    â€œHer mother’s an opera buff.”
    Detective Aragón stared, his face incredulous. Finally he scowled and scribbled in his notebook.
    â€œBenning. Okay, now could you describe the body as you found it?”
    I did so, as briefly as I could while still mentioning the details I had noticed. He took notes without commenting, only looking up at me now and then with that appraising gaze.
    â€œThe necklace wasn’t around her neck when we got here.”
    â€œNo—I thought there might be a chance…” I swallowed, unable to continue.
    â€œSo you removed it. You realize that’s tampering with evidence.”
    I glanced up at him angrily. “I was trying to save her life!”
    He held my gaze and I felt like I was being weighed. Refusing to be intimidated, I stared back. A distant thumping testified to the activities of the police downstairs. At last Detective Aragón looked down at his notes.
    â€œDid you know the deceased—ah, Mrs. Carruthers. Did you know her well?”
    â€œNot personally. She was a great help to me in acquiring the tearoom.”
    â€œHow so?”
    â€œShe knew of some grants that were available for historic preservation, and helped me meet the requirements and submit the applications. Without the grant money I couldn’t have afforded to remodel and open the tearoom. She also put in a good word for me with the mortgage company.”
    He leaned back in his chair and cocked his head. “Why did she do all that for you?”
    â€œShe wanted to make sure this building was preserved. And she’s—was—also a friend of my aunt’s.”
    Poor Nat! I’d have to call her.
    â€œYour aunt. What’s her name?”
    â€œNatasha Wheeler. She was one of the guests at the tea.”
    He unfolded the seating chart and made a note, then looked up at me. “So Sylvia Carruthers helped you.”
    â€œYes. In fact I organized the tea to thank her, among others.” I banished a momentary wish that I hadn’t done so.
    His glance flicked to the seating chart. “And these others. Can you think of any reason one of them would want to kill Mrs. Carruthers?”
    My heart seized with dismay. “So it’s officially a murder investigation.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Suspicious death, until we get the autopsy results, but yeah. Looks to me like someone offed her.”
    I swallowed, thinking that he must be deliberately trying to provoke me. I would not, however, be tricked into incivility.
    The silence stretched. Finally Detective Aragón leaned back in his chair.
    â€œSo how about it? Any reason one of your party guests would want to kill her?”
    â€œI can’t think of any reason,” I said slowly, “but I don’t know all of the guests well.”
    â€œWhich ones do you know well?”
    â€œMy aunt, of course, and Gina Fiorello. She’s a