SARA LEE
Sara Lee woke Monday morning with her mind already racing. She'd barely slept, her dreams filled with Raymond's dead eyes and the growing list of suspects June had written in her neat handwriting. The morning sun felt too bright and too cheerful for what lay ahead.
She dressed quickly in jeans and a soft sweater and brushed her hair before heading downstairs. Nana June was already at the kitchen table, reading the Meadowlark Creek Gazette over coffee. The headline screamed, LOCAL MAN FOUND DEAD AFTER FESTIVAL.
"They're calling itpossible suspicious circumstances,” June said without looking up. "Dr. Ward must have been specific enough that Sheriff Gordon won’t be able to ignore it."
Sara Lee poured herself coffee, her hands still slightly unsteady. "So it's official now? A real investigation?"
"As official as it gets in Meadowlark Creek until the rest of the labwork comes in." June folded the paper. "Which means people will be talking. Speculating. We need to listen carefully to what they say… and what theydon'tsay."
Sara Lee thought about her plan to visit Barb at the coffee shop. The idea of having a conversation with an ulterior motive made her stomach clench with guilt.
"This feels strange," she admitted quietly. "Asking Barb questions. Suspecting people I've known my whole life."
June reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "I know, sweetheart. But if we're going to find the truth, we can't let sentiment cloud our judgment. Besides, you're not accusing Barb’s family of anything. You're just talking to your best friend about something that happened. That's perfectly natural."
Sara Lee nodded, though the guilt didn't ease much. She grabbed her canvas bag, kissed her grandmother’s cheek, and headed out into the warm June morning. The walk to Barb's coffee shop took only ten minutes, but it felt longer, her mind rehearsing and discarding opening lines.
“Hey Barb, did your family have anything to do with Raymond Melton?”
No, too intrusive.
“So, Barb, did you happen to poison anyone at the festival?”
No. Definitely not that!
By the time she pushed open the door to A Whole Latte Coffee, Sara Lee still hadn't settled on anapproach. The bell chimed cheerfully, and the familiar scent of roasted beans and cinnamon wrapping around her only made her anxiety rise.
Barb looked up from behind the counter, her curly hair pulled back in a bandana, flour dusting her apron. Her face lit up when she saw Sara Lee, then immediately shifted to concern.
"Hey, you. How are you holding up?" Barb came around the counter and pulled Sara Lee into a tight hug. "I can't stop thinking about you finding Raymond like that. It must have been awful."
The genuine warmth in her friend's voice made Sara Lee's guilt intensify. This was Barb. Her best friend since kindergarten. The person who'd held her hand at her parents' funeral, who'd celebrated every small victory in her life, who knew all her secrets and loved her anyway.
"It was pretty terrible," Sara Lee admitted, accepting the hug gratefully. "I keep seeing his face."
"Come on, sit down. I'll make you something sweet. Sugar helps with shock, right?" Barb guided her to one of the mismatched comfortable chairs near the window. She then chuckled nervously. “And if it doesn’t help with shock, it’ll just be a tasty treat.”
Sara Lee sank into the chair, feeling like the worst friend in the world. Barb disappeared behind the counter, and Sara Lee heard the familiar sounds of the espresso machine, the clink of ceramic, the cheerful efficiency of someone who loved their work.
The coffee shop was quiet for a Monday morning, being just after the pre-work rush of people gettingtheir caffeine fix for the day. Just Mrs. Tuddle in the corner with a romance novel, and old Mr. Hendricks reading the newspaper, shaking his head at the headline. It seemed the gossiping crowd hadn’t arrived yet.
Barb returned with two lattes topped with perfect foam hearts and a plate with two large cinnamon buns. "Fresh from this morning. I couldn't sleep, so I baked."
"You couldn't sleep either?" Sara Lee accepted the latte gratefully.
"How could I?" Barb settled into the chair across from her, curling her legs underneath her. "A man died, Sara Lee. Right here in Meadowlark Creek. Right after our festival. It feels so unreal."
Sara Lee sipped her latte, trying to find a natural way to bring the conversation around to what she needed to know. She thought about Nana June and how she would approach it. Thankfully, she didn’t have to try too hard since Barb opened the conversation for her.
"The paper says 'possible suspicious circumstances.' Does that mean...?" Barb's eyes widened and she glanced around before bringing her focus back to Sara Lee. "Do they think someone killed him?"
"I don't know what they think officially," Sara Lee said carefully. "But Nana June has her suspicions."
Barb leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper even though no one was close enough to hear. "Ms. June thinks it was murder?"
"She thinks any death of someone so… um… off-putting… is worth investigating." Sara Lee broke off a pieceof the bakery treat, the sweet flavor melting on her tongue.
