A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1) Read Online Free

there was no doubt that Mrs. Maples had something to do with his wife’s death.
    Shocked and outraged, Melissa tried to turn off the television but in her haste hit the volume button instead of “off”. The last thing she and Logan heard was the reporter signing off her broadcast saying, “The police have not commented but it is clear to everyone else in town that it is not a coincidence Mrs. Stevenson was found in the Kill Devil Delicacies bakery. We hope to have more information for our viewers tomorrow when the police chief gives his news conference briefing at 10 AM.”
    The TV went dark and all was silent. Neither Melissa nor Logan could find their voice to say anything. Apparently, the public had made up their minds that she was to blame for Linda’s death. The woman had been found in her shop, after all. However, the malarkey about there being a fierce rivalry and that Linda had tried to be nice to her when she returned to town was ridiculous! Melissa had done her best to simply ignore the woman’s unveiled attempts at hostility for years. Frankly, she could’ve cared less about being in competition with the woman. As she saw it, they each had their own niche of the bakery market, thus there was no professional rivalry. The allusion that Kevin’s tragic death in the Cessna experimental aircraft was “questionable” was even more absurd!
    With dread she looked over at Logan who had gone ashen white despite his earlier pinkish tinge. Melissa started to say something in an effort to comfort her nephew. Before she could even think of the right words to say, he unexpectedly jumped up. With anger growing in his voice and his hazel eyes flashing with gold flecks, he began to rant about the stupidity of the entire situation. How could anyone believe his Aunt Mel had anything to do with that crazy woman’s death?! That reporter should be fired immediately and Mr. Stevenson is obviously in need of a shrink if he believes even half of the bull---- coming out of his mouth! She allowed him to continue to pace the living room and rave about the lack of sense and justice being shown by this little “hick” town.
    Listening to her nephew, dread built up in Melissa’s mind. If folks really believed she was guilty of killing Linda she was in trouble. Even the detective from earlier today was ready to write her off as the killer so he could waltz over to his retirement party. If the town had already made its mind up against her, and the cops weren’t going to do their job and find the real killer, that left her only one option. Find the killer herself, before they locked her up for a crime she did not commit.
     

     

Chapter 4
     
    Although neither slept well, or really at all, that night, Melissa and Logan were both up before the sun. Coffee mugs filled to the brim, they headed out to the bakery before any of the locals were up and about their day. She had tried to convince Logan to stay home that day and not to worry about her, but the young man was on a mission. “No one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to railroad my Aunt Mel!” he had declared. Aunt Mel was grateful he believed so strongly in her, but she didn’t want him getting messed up in this craziness. However, if left to his own devices, Logan was more apt to get himself into trouble while “investigating” her case. Not seeing another way out, she decided that keeping him close was probably the best course of action.
    Logan had noticed a news van parked on the other side of the house earlier that morning, so they crept out a side door and kept to the shadows until they were well out of sight. They hurried along the seven blocks from the house to the bakery. The more she thought about it, the more Melissa realized she couldn’t trust the police to handle the investigation properly. It was a shame she had such little faith in them, especially since the one with the kind brown eyes was somewhat attractive and seemed trustworthy. Well, kind eyes or not, she