Passion Fruit Punch Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 34 Read online

  “I’m Lilly.” She shook his hand. “How long have you lived here?”

  “My mom left me here when I was five. It’s been four years now,” Nicolas said. “But it’s okay. This place is great. There are loads of nice kids and adults.”

  Heather’s heart throbbed at the sight of the two children together. That morning, Lilly had begged Heather and Ryan to take her to the shelter. She wanted to help out, a dream made easier by the fact that Hilda Groats had been removed from her duties that morning.

  She had been the thief, after all.

  “Mom,” Lilly said, “I’m going to go play over there. Dave’s coming too.”

  “Have fun, love,” Heather replied, and stroked her daughter’s hair.

  The two children jogged off, their conversation lost in the yells and squeals of delight from the others in the garden. Dave barked and turned in happy circles. He was in his element now.

  “She seems happy, dear,” Eva said and patted her pale blue hair.

  “They all do,” Heather replied. “And I’ve got a surprise on the way. I’m sure they’ll be happy about it.”

  “What is it?”

  Heather gestured to Amy, who’d just entered the garden, followed by Angelica, Maricela, Jung, Ken and Emily, all in a line. Each of them bore a pink Donut Delights box, large enough to hold a dozen donuts.

  “The donut party has arrived!” Amy called out.

  Several volunteers jogged forward to help out, and the kid’s clapped their hands. It wasn’t often they got sweets, but today signaled the start of something new.

  Heather had been too busy to focus on much else but cases and donuts. That had to change.

  “Look how happy they are,” Eva said. “This is wonderful.”

  “I think there are a lot of other ways to help out,” Heather said. “Maybe we could organize a few fundraisers with the Tea Shop and donate some funds to the organization.”

  “Oh yes, I heard that they had some trouble recently. The Hillside Reporter named and shamed the woman who worked here. Hilda Groats.”

  Heather grimaced. She despised cheap reporting, even if it happened to be on the mark.

  Amy jogged over and stopped beside them. “I had to get away before I ate all the donuts myself,” she said. “Have you decided on next week’s flavor yet, Heather?”

  Heather tapped the side of her nose. “I’ve got something special planned.”

  “But you’re not going to tell me until tomorrow’s crack of dawn staff meeting are you?” Amy asked.

  “Of course not. How else will I torture my best friend,” Heather replied, and slipped her arm through Amy’s.

  They stood that way for a while and watched the children munch donuts, laugh, joke and play.

  Joy came in many different forms, and this week Heather had learned to appreciate the little things. Those actions that seemed small to her might mean a lot to someone else.

  Lilly waved at her mother from under the shade of a tree. A grin of pure delight lit her expression and mirrored those from the children which surrounded her.

  THE END

  A letter from the Author

  To each and every one of my Amazing readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!

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  Stay Curious,

  Susan Gillard