A Beeline to Murder

“So . . . how about I help you push your cart with all those bags to the diner over there?” Abby proffered a helping hand, but Dora adamantly pushed it away.

“Okay. You push, and I’ll walk with you. We can leave the cart next to the diner window. You can see it from inside.” Abby knew the way to communicate with Dora was through simple, direct sentences and nonthreatening actions. She had dealt with Dora before and understood how quickly and easily the woman became overwhelmed. Certain that Dora was more troubled than usual, Abby wondered if the chef’s death haunted her.

When they got to the door of the small diner, Dora, emaciated and surely hungry, refused to go inside. Abby entered the diner, where she ordered and paid for a turkey sandwich and coffee. Then she darted back outside and stood in the rain while Dora devoured the sandwich as if it were her last meal.

Abby waited while Dora sipped the hot coffee, stroking the cup to warm her hands. Finally, she decided to broach the subject of Jean-Louis.

“Miss our pastry chef, Dora?”

The gray-haired woman nodded. “My friend.”

“He gave you coffee, too, didn’t he?”

Again, Dora nodded.

“You liked him, Dora. I suppose everyone liked him.”

Dora shook her head. “No. Not everyone.”

“Really? Who didn’t like him, Dora?”

Dora didn’t speak. She cocked her head, as if voices had started chattering in her ear. Abby waited her turn. A beat later, Dora tilted the paper cup and swallowed the last sip of the fragrant, hot coffee. She licked her lips and shoved the cup back at Abby.

“Good, huh? Refill? You want another?”

When Dora didn’t reply, Abby figured another cup of coffee couldn’t hurt. Although the poor woman’s thinking might be tortured and confused, it was also possible that she saw or heard something prior to finding the body. Dora frequently slept in business doorways and alleys, as well as by the creek. In fact, she prowled about at all hours, and she knew things. Abby would be patient and kind. Dora would open up.

“I’ll be right back, Dora. Don’t go, okay?”

But when Abby returned with the replenished cup of coffee, she discovered that Dora, like a wild bird, had flown away—shopping cart, bags, and all.





The unseasonably cool breeze had chilled Abby to the bone. The drizzling rain had ruined her red silk skimmers and frizzed her hair. When Philippe offered his room at the lodge as a place for her to dry off and a change of clothes as a substitute for her drenched clothing, she demurely declined in favor of driving home to change and then returning. They would have a bite to eat and go through the property and reports together.

“What say let’s meet around seven o’clock?” Abby took her eyes off the road for a moment to assess Philippe’s response.

He sighed and said with resignation, “Bon.”

Abby sensed that his mood had shifted as she drove toward the lodge. Staring straight ahead through the fan-shaped clearing the wipers left on the windshield, presumably at the wet sidewalks and empty streets, Philippe looked as forlorn as a stalk of corn standing alone in a stripped field.





Tips for Treating a Bee Sting ? If you are allergic to bee stings, seek emergency help immediately. Treat a sting in or on the mouth, nose, or throat as an emergency, because it can result in swelling that interferes with breathing.

? Remove the stinger immediately by scraping the sting site with your fingernail or using tweezers. When the stinger goes into the skin, it releases venom, which can cause a reaction, including localized stinging, burning, itching, swelling, and redness.

? Apply ice to the sting site to reduce the body’s inflammatory response.

? Apply hydrocortisone cream to the sting site.

? Take an oral antihistamine, such as diphenhydramine, but always check with a doctor before taking any medication.





Chapter 7


Move chickens and bees at night; when they awake in the morning, the move is a fait accompli.

—Henny Penny Farmette Almanac