Murder By Muffin (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 3)

“By doing my own investigation. Once I know who came to see Tara, then I can try to figure out who had the best motive.”

“I thought you said Travis made you promise not to get involved.”

“That was before I found out that Tara needed my help. That completely negates anything I might have promised Officer Fontaine.”

r /> “I don’t think—”

“I’ll need your help, you know. I can’t do this without you.”

“Why am I always being bamboozled into these schemes of yours?”

“Because you’re my best friend. That’s why.”

The next morning we start bright and early.

“I can’t believe I’m taking a vacation day for this.” Will fills his thermal coffee cup to the brim.

“Since The Bistro is still closed, it’s a perfect day for sleuthing. Starting tomorrow, it’s back to the same old routine, so suck it up. Plus, you’re getting free muffins out of this.”

“True,” he grumbles right before he takes a bite out of an orange cranberry muffin.

I show him the notes I made up. “Here’s a list of everyone Tara would have known in town.”

“What if she was killed by someone from out of town? Have you thought about that?”

“Yes, but first we have to eliminate the most obvious suspects. That would be anyone involved with the show through either the production team or one of the other contestants.”

“What if Wendy Figueroa is the killer? If Wendy gets sent to the big house, that would be the end of Tiny’s Pizza. No one in town is going to thank us for that.”

I swat him over the head with the paper.

He chuckles, then swipes the paper from my hand and quickly peruses it. “Mrs. Torres who owns La Cantina? Seriously? That’s like suspecting Mother Teresa.”

“Well of course Juanita didn’t poison Tara, but we have to go through everyone on the list. There’s a methodical approach to this, and I intend to take it.” I check my watch. “Okay, it’s a little after seven, which means the—”

There’s a knock on The Bistro’s front door. We turn around and spy Brittany and Darren through the large glass pane. Brittany waves to us. “Yoo-hoo! I know you’re closed, but can we come in?”

I unlock the door for them. “You two are up bright and early.”

“Darren needs a muffin fix,” says Brittany. “He’s completely hooked on your blueberry muffins.”

Even though blueberry is the most boring muffin of all, I’m still quite pleased.

Darren flushes. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d still be closed.”

“The police said we can reopen tomorrow. No worries, though. I have some blueberry muffins in the kitchen. They’re a couple of days old, but they’re still fresh enough.”

Will pours them coffee. I offer Brittany a muffin as well, but she declines it just like I knew she would. “I can’t do carbs first thing in the morning, but thanks, Lucy.” She takes a sip of her coffee and inspects my outfit. Jeans, T-shirt, ponytail. “What are you up to today?”

Will and I look at each other. “Will is going to help me taste-test some new recipes,” I lie.

“Sounds like fun,” says Brittany.

The little hairs on my neck stand up like I knew they would because Brittany has just lied right back to me. Despite the fact her family owns a restaurant, Brittany takes great pride in the fact that she can barely boil water.

“How about you two?” I ask them. “What are you up to?”

“We’re putting the finishing touches on a joint PR campaign. Wait till you see it! Darren is really creative.”