Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss

there was no mistaking the animosity between them. The other students in class had stopped what they were doing and were watching the show. "We reported everything just as it happened."
    "Except that when you talked to Officer Sands"--Tyler turned to me, automatically making the you plural--"you never mentioned that you saw Drago with Beyla. And Beyla says she never laid eyes on the man. Seems kind of odd, doesn't it? Plus, in case you weren't paying attention, Beyla has an alibi. You swear she and Drago were at each other's throats at a time when a witness says they couldn't have been together. You admit you didn't bother to mention any of this to Officer Sands. And now all of a sudden, you remember? I can't believe it, Eve." He looked her way, and suddenly, it was personal again. "Don't you have anything else to do but leave the scene of a man's death and go home and concoct a crazy story just so you can make my life more difficult?"
    "It's not like that at all," I said. "We didn't mention Beyla to Kaitlin because--" Eve shot a dagger look in my direction, and I stopped short. I knew exactly what that look meant. I'd better not mention how jealous she was of Kaitlin, or more to the point, how jealous she was of Kaitlin's relationship with Tyler. If I did, I'd have to start looking for a new best friend.
    "There is something else we should tell you," I said instead. "Drago mentioned somebody named Alba. Alba Stru. Right before he died."
    "Sure he did." Tyler smiled at me the way I'd seen a mother smile at a child who was clearly making up a tall tale. "What else did he say to you?"
    "Nothing." I nodded, sure of it. "He mentioned Alba, and that was it. We thought he was having a heart attack."
    "Exactly what you were meant to think." Tyler nodded. "The symptoms of a heart attack and foxglove poisoning are very similar."
    Foxglove. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered my mother mentioning foxglove. She was an avid gardener, and she liked to tell me stories about the flowers she grew.
    "Foxglove is what's used to make digitalis, the heart medicine," I said.
    Tyler nodded. "And too much of it . . . well, you saw what can happen."
    "We did see Beyla fight with Drago." Eve stepped toward Tyler, her arms close to her sides, her hands curled into fists. "Just like we saw Monsieur Lavoie arguing with Drago earlier in the evening, before class even started."
    "Now you've got another cock-and-bull story to tell me?" Tyler rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, Eve. Why don't you just admit that you can't get me out of your system and you'll do anything to make my life miserable, just so you can have a little revenge? Even if it means trying to mess with my mind by introducing all this nonsense into the investigation. Let me remind you that in this case, what you're doing is called obstruction of justice. It's not cute, and I'm not going to fall for it--or for you."
    Tyler's words were as sharp as a slap. If I felt their sting, I could only imagine how much they hurt Eve.
    I was just about to tell him to mind his manners when Eve stopped me, one hand on my arm. "You got me there." The smile she turned on Tyler was sleek. "I was pulling your leg, Tyler, honey. And you had it all figured out. You always were as smart as they come. I should have known you'd see right through it. I was just trying to mess with your mind. We never saw Beyla and Drago together. We never saw that cute little ol' Frenchman argue with Drago, either. Why, we're just two little girls who are trying to add a little bit of excitement to our dull, dull lives." She batted her eyelashes at him. "Forgive me?"
    Tyler didn't answer. He flipped his notebook closed and walked away.
    "What was that all about?" I asked Eve as soon as he was out of earshot. "You know that's not true."
    "I sure do." Watching Tyler say something to Jim, Eve smiled. It wasn't until he'd left the classroom that she turned back to me. "Don't you remember when he broke up with me, Annie? I do.