Deadly Desserts (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 6) Read Free Page A

welcome, welcome !”
    “Thank you, thank you, thank you !”
I smiled. “How is everyone?”
    “We’re doing great,” Becca said,
raising a highball glass. “Although I don’t know how well I’ll be able to judge
anything after I finish this!”
    “Alright, everyone!” Portia said,
sweeping into the room with a clipboard in one hand and her phone in the other.
“Now that our two slowpokes have arrived, we can finally get started!”
    I caught the scowl on Pinky’s face before
it vanished. “I’m sorry,” she said to the other judges. “It’s all my fault.”
    Portia dismissed the apology with a
wave of the clipboard. “Yes, yes. But let’s not dwell on your shortcomings,
Pinky. We need to begin in just a moment or two. I’d like to ask that you all
switch off your phones and make any last minute trips to the loo.”
    Pinky dropped her purse on the
table and returned to the door. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “Nature’s
calling!”
    After she left, Portia came toward
where I stood. “I wanted to extend a special welcome, Kate. Since this is your
first time on our panel and all.”
    “I’m really happy to help,” I said
as Portia wrapped me in a fleeting hug that felt as warm as a slice of Baked
Alaska. “It’s such an honor to serve as a judge for the festival.”
    She lowered her arms and stepped
back. “Well, as you probably know, I love tradition, Kate. And you’ve
got big shoes to fill. Both your mother and grandmother were among our most
revered tastemakers.” She paused and quickly surveyed my outfit: faded jeans,
bulky cardigan over a white turtleneck and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots. “Although,
to be honest, they both had more of a flair for appropriate attire.”
    I was prepared for the barb, so I
simply smiled and explained that my Michael Kors gown was being altered.
    “Oh, really?” Portia’s mouth curled
into a dismissive squiggle. “I didn’t know he made things for someone so… voluptuous .”
    Luigi Benedetto stood and walked around
the long table. “He does indeed, Miss Portia. He makes all of my chef’s coats.”
His chubby hands patted his belly. “And, as you can see, I, too, am very
voluptuous.”
    For a brief moment, the tension in
the room sizzled, but then I moved closer, surrounded Portia with both arms and
gave her another hug. “It’s so nice of you to include me,” I said in my most
disarming tone. “I’m truly flattered to be here today.”
    When she realized that her
impertinent remarks hadn’t bothered me in the least, Portia pressed her lips to
my ear. “Sorry about what I just said,” she whispered as Luigi returned to his
seat. “I’m exhausted from all of the festival meetings. You look absolutely…” I
waited for the finalé to her unexpected apology, imaging that she’d conclude with ravishing , breathtaking , stunning or flawless .
“…well, you look utterly comfortable , Kate.”
    I refrained from laughing. Instead,
I thanked her again and walked over to the unoccupied chair between Becca and
Luigi.
    “Normally, we do our preliminary
tasting session the day before the festival,” Portia explained. “But we’ve had
so many entries this year, that I decided to eliminate a few so that you’ll
only need to sample ten desserts and ten snacks next weekend at the festival.”
    “How many people entered the desserts
category?” I asked.
    Portia glanced down at her
clipboard. “There’s a total of fifteen,” she said. “Although I think we can
probably just eliminate Trudy Branch before we begin.”
    Yvonne Masterson tapped her cane on
the edge of the table. “Why on earth would you do that? She’s got a right to
compete just like everybody else.”
    “Oh, I don’t disagree,” Portia
said. “But Trudy enters the same tasteless cardboard cream puffs every year.
And, to be honest, I explained that we’d be happy to see a creation that was
maybe a little more—”
    Someone screamed in the hallway.
    “Heavens,”