A Deadly Draught Read Online Free

of us spoke. A tear fell onto the table between us. Then another. Both of us were crying.
    “I thought you were jealous when you told me to be careful of Michael. Now I know you were right.” She picked up her apron and swiped at her face.
    “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry he hurt you. And I’m sorry I tried to interfere,” I said.
    We hugged across the small table and then wiped away the wetness on our cheeks and gulped our coffee.
    “Did you get a chance to talk with Michael at the funeral?” I asked. I uttered my words through a full mouth. Sally laughed at me.
    “If I heard you right, no, I didn’t talk to him, but I heard his announcement. Maybe what he’s doing is a good idea. I mean, he’ll be gone a lot promoting the business and stuff, and you won’t have to deal with him at all. Neither will I. It could help both of us.”
    “I doubt it. You know what they say about absence and the heart, but I have to face the fact Michael and I are friends, only friends, and maybe not even that now. We used to talk a lot about business. That’s changed since his father’s death. We hardly talk at all.” I blew my nose on a napkin. “No. That’s not right. Michael started avoiding me before his father’s murder. I thought he was uncomfortable about the two of you, but I guess he thought I might have a few words to say about his dumping you and taking up with Cory. I did, but I never got to confront him.”
    The taste of preserves on my tongue turned sour when I thought of Michael’s recent behavior. “Since the announcement at the funeral, I don’t know him anymore. Once, I might have solicited his opinion on what I was attempting in the way of new brews, but now, well, I don’t know.”
    Sally opened the sugar bowl and began stirring the granules around with a spoon, patiently waiting for me to get to the point. She knew it was hard for me to ask her for anything. I was always the strong one from the time we first met in grade school, and I chased away all the bigger kids who taunted her with the name “midget.”
    “So you see, I didn’t come here only to eat your bread and break down the wall we built between us. I need your help. I think there’s something terribly wrong with Michael. His mother noticed the change in him, too.”
    Sally gave me a wry smile. “I think Michael would disagree with you. He thinks he’s doing fine. Apparently, so does everyone else. His mother appears to be going along with his plans, and the rest of the community is applauding him for his business acumen. Oh, I’m not saying I agree with them. I find his behavior strange, too, but then, maybe it’s merely jealously on my part. Of Cory, I mean.” Her blue eyes again filled with tears.
    “Jealous of her? What does she have that you don’t? A Mercedes, you say? She has car payments. You don’t.”
    “Right. My Ford pick-up is paid for except for the new transmission I need.”
    “Oh, forget Cory. No more boo-hooing,” I said. “Despite the fact Michael hurt us, we both still care for him. The three of us grew up together, and we know him better than anyone. It must be grief. He told me he hated the brewery, and I know it’s not true. Now he’s turning the whole thing over to some stranger. I think he needs to get back to hand-crafting beer.”
    Sally laughed. “You always think the solution to any problem is hard work, especially if it entails brewing beer. Maybe his father’s murder was an eye opener for him, and without his father hanging over him, he’s found out he doesn’t like beer making.”
    I thought about what she said. There was truth in her words.
    “I guess I’m being insensitive. When Dad died, I converted my grief into taking over the brewery. I know he didn’t want me to run it. He willed it to me, assuming I would find my calling in law school and, when he died, I would sell it to someone else, maybe Michael.” I heard a noise at the door and jerked my head around to see who was there. My