All You Need Is Fudge by Nancy CoCo Page A

and on purpose.”
    â€œDo you know who might have wanted her dead?”
    She looked up at me. “Paige Jessop.”
    â€œWhy Paige?”
    â€œEleanor saw Reggie kissing Carin down by the docks.”
    â€œEleanor is Carin’s best friend. Why would she tell anyone what she saw?”
    â€œBecause Eleanor would rather be Paige’s best friend,” Mary said and handed me my bag. “Wouldn’t you?”
    I took my things and left. Yes, I guess I would rather be Paige’s best friend . . . but it had never occurred to me that Eleanor would.
    * * *
    â€œShane says there was alcohol in Carin’s system,” Jenn said as I unpacked the groceries.
    â€œIt might have been an accident, then. She could have stumbled overboard and drowned.
    â€œHer lungs were clear of water.”
    â€œI tried to push it out,” I remembered. “I thought some came out of her mouth.”
    â€œShane said the coroner is certain she didn’t breathe any water in. She didn’t drown, Allie.” Jenn put down her laptop and came over to stand at the bar and talk to me as I started dinner.
    â€œI suppose that’s a good thing. Drowning would be terrible. I think.” A shiver went down my spine. I put on an apron over my T-shirt and knee length shorts, got out a knife, and began to cut up the chicken.
    â€œYou might be right. Hopefully I’ll never know. Like I said yesterday, Carin definitely died of the blow to the back of her head. It snapped her brain stem . . . which still could have been an accident . . . but afterward she was clearly dumped in the water. So someone is hiding something.”
    I put the chicken in the pan with olive oil and onion. “Mary Emry said that Reggie is cheating on Paige with Carin.”
    â€œWhat? First of all, Mary Emry talked to you?”
    I smiled. “She did. I know, I was amazed myself.”
    â€œSecondly, Reggie would not cheat on Paige. That man is clearly in love with her.”
    â€œI guess Eleanor saw them kissing down by the docks and told Paige and anyone else who would listen.”
    Jenn wrinkled her brow. “Why would Eleanor do that? She worshipped Carin. People call her the shadow because she never leaves Carin’s side.”
    â€œAnd that’s why people believe her when she said she saw Carin and Reggie kissing. Mary implied that Eleanor really wants to be friends with Paige and went to her with the news . . . not to rub Paige’s face in it, but to make friends.”
    â€œKeep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Jenn said and poured herself a glass of iced tea, then hopped up on the bar stool. “So Paige and Eleanor were talking.”
    â€œI’m sure Paige shrugged her off. Would you take Eleanor seriously?”
    Jenn shook her head. “No.” She sipped her drink. “My guess is that Paige laughed it off. I know I would have.”
    â€œBut it doesn’t look good for Paige if you’re looking for a motive for murder. I think we should keep digging. I don’t want Paige to get hurt. She and Trent are really close. What hurts her, hurts Trent, and I don’t want that.”
    â€œOf course you don’t, sweetie,” Jenn said. “I’ll keep my ears open and see what the local scuttlebutt is about this. I’m sure the autopsy results will be posted in tomorrow’s paper. Let’s hope Paige isn’t suspect number one.”
    â€œI agree.” I chopped up salad to have with the chicken. “Oh, I have some other news.”
    â€œTrent asked you to marry him?”
    â€œWhat?! No.” I felt the heat of a blush rush up my cheeks. “We’ve only been dating a couple months. It’s Mr. Devaney.”
    Jenn frowned. “Mr. Devaney asked you to marry him?”
    â€œStop being silly. Mr. Devaney came to me and asked that you and I put our heads together. He wants to ask Frances to marry him and he wants us to