French Pastry Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery) Read Free

“Thank you. Thank you.” The queen of daytime TV was gorgeous in a shocking pink dress and matching lipstick, her hair a perfectly smooth helmet, her skin aglow, and her teeth dazzling white. She waited while the clapping subsided, then began introducing the theme of her show: women who make a difference. “I’m happy to tell you that right here in Tinker’s Cove you have an amazing group of women who have worked together for more than twenty years to make a difference for local children.”
    Lucy began to have a slight inkling of where Norah was going with this, and nudged Sue. “Could she possibly be talking about us?”
    “No.” Sue shook her head. “Don’t be silly. The Hat and Mitten Fund is tiny. I bet she’s talking about the Hospital Auxiliary.”
    “Twenty years ago these four moms, all with young children of their own, began collecting hats and mittens for less fortunate children,” continued Norah.
    Lucy’s jaw dropped, and she noticed Pam and Rachel were equally stunned. Sue turned and grasped Lucy’s hand. “I was wrong,” she whispered.
    “Dubbed the Hat and Mitten Fund, the four moms went from simply collecting donated hats and mittens to actively raising funds to make sure that every child in Tinker’s Cove is ready for school with warm winter clothing, a nourishing breakfast, and a backpack full of school supplies.” Norah paused, adding one of those impromptu asides that made everyone watching the show believe that she was right there in their living room, talking directly to them. “Over the years we’ve added this up. These four women have raised over five hundred thousand dollars. . . .”
    Here the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause.
    Norah nodded sagely. “I know. Five hundred thousand dollars. It’s a lot of money, and it’s all gone for the benefit of local kids. So now I ask you to welcome these women who make a difference. Sue Finch, Rachel Goodman, Pam Stillings, and Lucy Stone. Come on up, ladies.”
    Lucy found herself unable to move, but Sidra was at her elbow, guiding her, and she joined the others, all equally dazed as they made their way up the steps to the stage. It was terribly bright under the stage lights, Lucy was blinking, and the applause was a roar in her ears. Then they were all sitting down on a long couch, and a screen dropped behind them and a video was shown. Lucy recognized Lexie Cunningham and her daughter Angie, and Lexie was saying how the Hat and Mitten Fund had helped her family when Angie was in the hospital, waiting for a kidney transplant. Then a smiling and healthy Angie was shown, sporting her backpack and climbing onto the school bus. The picture faded, the screen slid out of sight, and the audience was once again clapping enthusiastically.
    Lucy wanted to get up and tell them to stop, tell them that they hadn’t done anything special, that they’d just seen a need and tried to fill it. She felt like a fraud, unworthy of all this attention. Wouldn’t anybody do the same thing?
    “I’m sure these women would all say that they didn’t do anything extraordinary,” said Norah. “But the truth is that just by being good neighbors, by helping others in their town, they have made a real difference. They have made Tinker’s Cove a better place for children and families and . . .” Here she paused dramatically, appealing to the audience. “Don’t you think they deserve a reward?”
    From the roar of approval that followed, it seemed that the audience did think they deserved a reward. What would it be?
    “An all-expense-paid trip to Paris!” announced Norah as the lilting notes of “La Vie en Rose” began to play and the screen began showing footage of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, and tourist boats on the Seine.
    “Imagine! April in Paris! All four ladies, and their husbands, will be going to Paris for two weeks, where they will stay in a luxury apartment in the very trendy Marais district, and . . . there’s more!”
    The