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

She grins. “Go for it.”

I select a few of the best-looking muffins, put them in a bag, then clip on Paco’s leash. Outside, it’s cool with clear blue skies. We drive to downtown Whispering Bay, and I park directly in front of Heidi’s Bakery in a spot that’s clearly marked for patrons only, but since her bakery closes in five minutes, it’s not like it’s going to hurt anything.

Heidi spots us through the glass window. I wave to her. She immediately comes outside to investigate. “Here to accuse me of poisoning someone else?”

“Not everything is about you, Heidi. Paco and I are delivering muffins to Darren Winters over at the chamber of commerce. It’s his last day here in town, and he absolutely loves my blueberry muffins.”

“How nice,” she says, making the little hairs on my neck tickle because, of course, she thinks no such thing. “See you later, Lucy.” At least my lie-detecting skills still work as far as Heidi is concerned.

I walk over to the chamber of commerce and open the door. The reception area is empty. “Hello,” I call tentatively. I check my watch, but it’s not quite three, so I know someone has to be here.

Brittany pokes her head out her office door. “Lucy, what are you doing here?”

“Paco and I came to bring Darren some blueberry muffins.”

“Isn’t that sweet of you! Come on back,” she says.

“Where is everybody?”

Brittany’s office, which looks like it came straight off the pages of a design magazine, looks its usual neat and tidy self except for a tray of dirty dishes sitting on top of her desk.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

Brittany follows my line of vision. “The rest of the staff is at a mandatory CPR class. Darren and I stayed back to finish up that PR campaign I told you about. We ordered out lunch from The Harbor House.”

“Fancy,” I say.

“I hear you brought me blueberry muffins,” says Darren. “Or are my ears playing tricks on me?”

I hand him the bag. “You heard right.”

“Thanks, Lucy. That’s really thoughtful of you.” He opens up the bag, pulls out a muffin and takes a big bite. “Delicious. I’m not giving up, you know. I’m going to convince you to open up another shop in Catfish Cove.”

“Maybe someday,” I say politely.

Paco barks. “What it is, boy?”

He looks at the muffin in Darren’s hand, then back at me again.

“No begging,” I scold.

“Smart little guy,” says Darren. “He remembers I gave him a piece of muffin before.”

Paco wags his tail like he’s agreeing.

“Okay,” I relent. “Just one teeny piece can’t hurt.”

Darren breaks off the edge of a muffin and gives it to Paco, who greedily wolfs it down and starts begging again.

“Ignore him,” I say. “So you’re going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks of filming, huh?”

Darren takes another bite of his muffin and nods. “The show will be great for the city’s economy, but I’ll be working round the clock making sure everything goes smoothly.”

“Bummer.”

“Yeah, lots of late nights for me. Not that I’m complaining. The city can use the exposure. The only bad part? It means I’m going to miss another FSU football game. Last week was bad enough, but we play Miami this weekend. I haven’t missed an FSU-Miami game in over twenty years.”

I playfully wince. “Ouch! I bet that hurts.”