The Crêpes of Wrath: A Pancake House Mystery by Sarah Fox Page B

road and next to it the office of Ogilvie Groves LLP. I had close to fifteen minutes to spare, so I decided to do a little window shopping to pass the time.
    The first shop I stopped at was a little antiques store. A quick glance through the display window was enough to see that the interior of the shop was packed with odds and ends. A pretty cheval mirror caught my eye and I decided to pop inside to take a closer look at it. Not that I had room to haul it back to Seattle with me in my little car, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.
    Unfortunately, as I turned for the shop’s door, two people waylaid me—Goldie Krantz and her son, Jonah.
    Goldie bustled toward me wearing even more strands of chunky beads around her neck than the day before. Jonah lurked behind her uncomfortably, looking out of place.
    “Miley!” Goldie cried out as she reached me.
    I grimaced. “Marley,” I corrected. I hated it when people made that mistake.
    Goldie flapped a hand as if my name was of no concern to her, which it probably wasn’t. She produced a lace-trimmed handkerchief from somewhere beneath her blouse and dabbed at her dry eyes.
    “Is it true?” she practically wailed. “Tell me it isn’t true. Tell me dear Jimmy is still alive and well.”
    “I can’t, because he isn’t.” My voice lacked any of the sympathy it might have had when confirming such news for anyone else, but her grief seemed so fake and over the top that it turned my stomach.
    She covered her face with her handkerchief, probably to hide her lack of tears, and let out a great sob that shook her plump body. “The poor, dear, sweet man. It’s such a tragedy. A terrible, terrible tragedy.” She sniffled loudly and patted at her eyes again. The generous coating of mascara on her eyelashes hadn’t smudged in the least.
    Still lurking behind his mother, Jonah frowned, but his eyes seemed distant, as if his mind were elsewhere. He certainly didn’t seem focused on his mother’s theatrics.
    Goldie put a hand on my arm and I resisted the urge to step back out of her reach. “Jimmy put his heart into the pancake house. What will happen to it now?”
    Although she managed to sound concerned, I didn’t miss the gleam in her eyes. Did she really think Jimmy had left her something?
Had
he?
    “I have no idea what will happen to The Flip Side,” I said.
    Goldie dropped her hand from my arm and some of the tension in my shoulders eased away. “But it needs to be looked after,” she said, crumpling her handkerchief in her hand. “We wouldn’t want the business to flounder. That would have broken poor Jimmy’s heart.”
    “I’m sure someone will take care of it.” I took a step back, eager to escape. “If you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment.”
    I didn’t give Goldie a chance to say anything more. I hitched my bag up over my shoulder and cast a swift glance both ways before darting across the street and into the lawyer’s office. Despite the unpleasantness of my recent encounter, I gave Lisa a genuine smile once inside the office. She got up from her desk and hurried around it to give me a hug.
    “I’m so sorry about Jimmy, Marley. How are you holding up?”
    “I’m doing all right under the circumstances.”
    “Can I get you some tea or coffee while you wait for Mr. Ogilvie?”
    I declined her offer as the phone on her desk rang. While she answered the call, I settled into an armchair in the waiting area and set my tote bag at my feet. From my vantage point I could see out the large front window, and I observed with relief that Goldie and Jonah Krantz had moved on. I had no desire to run into them again after my appointment with Mr. Ogilvie.
    Although Goldie was out of sight, her question about the pancake house circled around in my mind. What
would
happen to The Flip Side?
    I’d probably get an answer to that question in a few minutes. Knowing that sent a flutter of nerves through my stomach. The thought of handing over the business