Caramel Glazed Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 19 Read online

  Heather bent and picked up a napkin, and then one of her Caramel Glazed Donuts. She took a bite and the delicious glazed squirted into her mouth. “Oh wow,” she said. “If I do say so myself.”

  The room erupted into laughter.

  Amy appeared in the doorway and beckoned to Heather. “Uh, can I borrow you for a second?”

  “Sure,” Heather replied, and walked to her bestie. She didn’t put the donut down – not finishing it would’ve been a crime. “What’s up?”

  Amy bit her bottom lip and sighed. “I think there’s a problem.”

  “Oh no, what is it now? Has Dave stolen another donut? I told him one a week and he just –”

  “Heather, this is serious,” Amy replied. “Bill and Colleen are here. On the front porch. They want to talk to you.”

  The living room shrank then expanded again. Heather reached out and gripped Amy’s forearm. “What do they want?”

  “They wouldn’t tell me.”

  Heather nodded and walked through to the entrance hall. She dragged her feet to the front door, and Amy joined her. Together, they walked onto the porch and into the failing heat of the day.

  Bill and Colleen stood facing them, an impenetrable wall. “Heather,” Colleen said. “We need to talk to you about Lilly.”

  Heather trembled, and she clutched the donut harder. Caramel squirted onto her shirt.

  “What about her?”

  “We just wanted to let you know that we’re thinking things over,” Bill replied. “We haven’t made any official decisions yet, but we’re leaning toward moving out of Hillside.”

  “That’s crazy. This is crazy,” Amy said. “Why would you do that? This is the best town in the country. In the world.”

  Bill and Colleen exchanged a glance. “What with all the murders lately, we just don’t feel comfortable raising a child here,” Colleen said.

  “It’s not like that,” Heather replied. She shook from head to toe. “It’s not like there're more murders here than anywhere else. The town isn’t that small.”

  “Look,” Colleen said. “It’s not like we’ve made our final decision. We just thought you ought to know that it could happen. We want to do what’s best for Lilly.”

  Heather stared at them for a long time. “For Lilly,” she said.

  Then she turned and walked back into her home. The words rang through her mind, over and over again.

  For Lilly.

  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