Murder She Baked: A Plum Pudding Murder Mystery Page #6

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Both.

I don't know.

But Mike's a better

kisser, right?

Spoiler alert?

I haven't kissed

either one of them yet.

What? Why?

I don't know!

Norman is really polite,

and mother is always around.

And I thought Mike was going to,

and then... He didn't.

Where's your pros-and-cons list?

That was obnoxious.

I can't believe

you even suggested it.

I would never do that.

Yeah, you did.

It's upstairs.

So Norman's pros

are that he's cute--

- Yeah.

- Definitely, right?

He's settled and stable.

He has a secure career,

so we would have

a very comfortable life,

and he likes to travel,

so we could see

the world, right?

Good times.

His cons are that

he is predictable,

and I think he might

be seeing someone else.

'Kay, wait, he's seeing

more than one person

at the same time?

Wow.

That's unbelievable.

Do you want to do this or not?

Yes. Mike, please.

Okay, so, Mike is handsome,

he is very exciting

and unpredictable, right?

And then the cons

are that he does have

a very dangerous lifestyle--

Yeah--

And he's too handsome.

Mike wins. I'm tired.

Goodnight.

Goodnight.

Do you feel safe, sleeping here?

Yes.

I don't know why

I got so scared.

It's not like

whoever's killing people

is going to come after me.

Oh, exactly.

If anything...

If the killer knew how hard

I'm working to identify them,

they'd be coming after me.

Why are we here?

Well, because,

no matter how often I tell you

not to get involved

in police business,

you just can't seem

to stay out of my way.

Go ahead, take your shoes off.

Well, I don't need--

You continue to get yourself

into dangerous situations,

all the time,

and I won't be able to be there.

Okay, well, first of all,

I can assure you,

I don't get in

dangerous situations

on purpose,

and I don't need saving,

thank you very much.

Really?

Well, let's say you are facing

someone who is holding you...

At gunpoint.

Oh, like that's gonna happen.

Like when Mrs. Woodley

was holding you at gunpoint,

and I just happened

to show up just in time

to save your life--

Thank you very much.

Okay, well, that was

a one-time thing,

it's not gonna happen again.

You're not scared, are you?

No! I'm not scared.

Hold on.

Mike?

Hey!

That is my purse.

What are you doing?

This'll do.

Here. Take this gun.

My hairbrush?

Assume that it is a real gun.

Okay.

First lesson--

You never hold a gun

unless you have

the intention to use it.

If you're holding a gun

just to scare somebody,

you are better off without it.

Why?

If you bring a gun

into a situation

without the intention to use it,

somebody can take it from you

and use it against you.

Okay.

Point it at me.

Now tell me to go away

or you're gonna shoot me.

Go away

or I'm gonna shoot you.

You gotta mean it!

Go away,

or I will brush your hair!

Whoa!

I just, um...

Distract you, right?

Right.

Grab your wrist, twist,

put you in a position

where I can take away the gun.

Or hairbrush.

Easily away from you.

Point taken.

Now I have the gun.

What's your first move?

Um...

Sorry, uh... Just a second.

That's Earl Flensburg.

And he's a black belt?

Earl Flensburg?

He's a florist,

he has a flower shop down

the street from the cookie jar,

and the last time I saw Earl

was the day before

Larry jaeger was shot.

He was at the tree lot,

and he came out

of Jaeger's office,

and he seemed really angry.

And I remember

that he was holding his hand,

like it hurt him.

I think maybe Earl is the one

who gave Larry jaeger

that black eye.

I'll look into it.

Okay.

As in "I will

look into it alone,

and you will not go

and question that man."

Of course not.

Fast learner.

Distract, grab the wrist,

and twist--

Got it.

Hmm. I think you do.

You sure you're not some sort

of, like, undercover

baker/ninja/spy or something?

And when you rise

in the morning,

think of what

a precious privilege it is

to be alive.

So said the second century

emperor and philosopher

Marcus Aurelius.

It was true then and it is now.

Welcome, my friends,

to "the Dr. Love show."

"Benjamin haded."

Very clever, Mr. Jaeger.

"You been had."

You must be so heartbroken.

I think I'm still in shock.

I was going to close the lot,

but I have so much money into it

and there are still

so many trees to sell.

Well, have the police

given you any indication

of who might have done it?

None. I think

it was just random.

Maybe that home invasion ring

I read about in the paper?

They tried to Rob Larry

and things got out of hand?

- Can I get some help?

- Excuse me.

Can I get some help

with this tree?

Can I help you?

Hannah Swensen!

What a pleasant surprise!

Hi, detective Kingston.

I'm just here

delivering cookies.

And chatting with

Courtney Miller,

who happens to be

a suspect in the murder

of Larry jaeger.

All right,

but we were just chatting.

Mm-hmm.

Ooh! Those look good.

Can I have one of those?

Yes, you may.

They are our number-one

Christmas cookie.

So good!

- Thank you.

- Mm!

You can't get those

in the frozen section.

You know, I have to tell you

that Courtney's answers

were very odd.

I think her reaction

to Larry's death is peculiar.

Thank you very much,

detective Swensen,

but we have her on

surveillance cameras--

Kelly's diner and Costmart,

between 8:
00 and 10:00.

- Thank you.

- And the coroner said--

...that the time of death

was a little after 9:00,

just before you got

here, so she's clear.

- Really?

- Yeah.

Oh.

I figured out who

Larry's silent partner is.

I thought it might be him,

because he's the other guy

and he has a motive,

but I was wrong.

Why are you so sure?

"Benjamin haded,"

and Larry said

it was his "uncle."

That's what Courtney

said in her statement,

but he's a tough guy

to track down.

Well, don't waste your time.

"Uncle Ben Haded"?

"U. Been. Had."?

I don't think there

was a silent partner.

Larry was a con man to the core,

and he just had

the whole thing set up

so it was split into thirds,

but without there actually being

a dear "uncle Ben,"

he got two-thirds

of the profits, right,

so Courtney puts up

all the collateral,

and he was taking

all of the money.

Brilliant!

Larry? He was despicable.

No, you! That was brilliant.

Thank you.

But we figured it out already.

So, please go home

and stay out

of my investigation.

Of course, detective.

No problem.

Oh! Molly.

Hi, miss Swensen.

Hi.

Are you okay?

No.

You just don't expect someone

to get hurt where you work.

Of course you don't.

I'm sorry that you're upset.

I mean, you're making

everyone else really happy!

Well, I do love my job.

It's definitely one of the best

parts of the holidays--

Picking out a Christmas tree.

She was a very nice lady,

but she took forever

to pick out her tree.

This lady?

She'd come here

night after night.

She would just

stand on the corner,

and stare at the lot,

then she finally

comes in Tuesday night,

and picks out a tree.

Tuesday night?

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