Donut Shop Mystery 25 - Devil's Food Defense Read Online Free

George Morris ready for his presentation tonight. Gladys is the one she should be worried about, if you ask me.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Think about it. She usually spends her days behind the scenes at the Boxcar Grill cooking. I’m not sure that she’s ever spoken in public before.”
    “She’s probably been coaching her as well,” Chief Grant said. “Why does George need a pep talk?”
    “The mayor is saying a few words about the Food Bank before the movie starts, and everybody knows he isn’t that comfortable speaking in front of big crowds,” I explained.
    “It’s an odd affliction for a politician to have,” Grace said.
    “Don’t forget, Momma railroaded him into the job,” I reminded her.
    “Sure, the first time, but he ran for reelection and won handily since then. He can’t really blame Dot for being in the job now.”
    “That’s a point,” I said.
    Grace leaned in to kiss the chief’s cheek, but he pulled away at the last second. “Come on, not in public,” Chief Grant said.
    Grace raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? Don’t you think folks around town know that we’re together? Stephen Grant, if you don’t kiss me right here and now in front of everyone, you’re not going to get the opportunity to do it later in private.”
    The police chief took one glance at his girlfriend and saw that she wasn’t kidding. He leaned in and gave her a hearty kiss, quite a bit more than the peck she’d just tried to deliver. When he pulled away, he asked, “Is that better?”
    “Well, there’s always room for improvement, but I’ll give you a gold star for effort,” she said with a wicked grin.
    He just laughed, and then it faded quickly. “I cannot believe that they’re putting the chairs in the wrong place. Excuse me, ladies. I’ve got to take care of this.”
    Once he walked over to join the firefighters, I said, “You were kind of hard on him, weren’t you?”
    “Hey, it takes a lot of effort to train a new boyfriend. He’s more work than paper-training a puppy.”
    “I’ll take your word for that,” I said.
    “Do you need any help with your donut cart sales?” Grace asked me a little later. “I can sell anything, from eyeliner to crullers. Just try me.”
    “I would, but I’m not sure that would be fair to Emma.” I glanced at my watch and saw that it wouldn’t be long until Momma started the festivities. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but dusk was clearly on its way, and folks were beginning to gather in earnest. The screen, sections of plywood painted white, had been covered for days, and it would be pulled down only when the movie started. “Speaking of which, my hour is up. I’d better get busy selling.”
    “I’ll see you after the movie,” Grace said.

    I walked into the donut shop and found Emma grinning. “Business has been booming. You’re going to have to really hustle to catch up with me.”
    “Don’t make any plans for that extra hour of sleep just yet,” I answered as I started putting together three trays of our bestsellers. “Could you grab two urns and put some coffee in one and hot chocolate in the other? It’s getting brisk out there,” I said as I grabbed some paper cups.
    “Are we counting coffee and cocoa sales, too?” Emma asked me.
    “I thought we would. Would you like to exclude them and make it donuts only?”
    “No, I think that’s a great idea,” she said, clearly trying to hide a smile.
    “Let me guess. You’ve been selling lots of drinks, too.”
    “Maybe a little,” she said, and then she laughed. “Or maybe even a little more than that.”
    “I’d better get busy, then,” I said cheerfully. I didn’t care if I won or not, but I was going to make it competitive if I could. I carried everything out and got busy selling.
    I had the advantage of being mobile, and I planned on taking advantage of it.

    A stranger approached and pointed to the urn labeled as coffee. “I’ll take the biggest cup you’ve got,” he said as