The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free

had happened, which set off another round of questions and discussion. Angie said that she didn’t have any more information and the cause of death was unknown which is why the coroner was involved.
    Courtney could see the strain on Angie’s face and she hurried to her side. She slipped her arm around Angie’s waist and ushered her to a table in the corner.
    “Thanks for the rescue,” Angie murmured to her sister.
    “Sit down for a while. I’ll get you some tea.” Courtney hurried to the counter to prepare a hot beverage.
    The customers realized that their peppering of questions had flustered Angie and had increased her distress. They turned to each other to continue their speculations about the professor’s unexpected passing.
    Courtney returned to the table with a cup of tea for Angie and sat down in the seat opposite her older sister. “Do the police suspect foul play?” Courtney kept her voice low.
    “I don’t know.” Angie’s fingers shook as she reached for the cup and lifted it to her lips. She sipped the tea. “It wasn’t so much what the chief said to me that worried me. It was more the expression on his face and what he didn’t say. He seemed very concerned. It made me think something was wrong.” Angie rubbed her temples. “We’ll just have to see what comes out. Hopefully, the professor died from nothing more than natural causes, which is upsetting enough.”
    “I can’t believe she’s gone.” Courtney looked out the window. “I can’t believe she won’t be coming through that door tomorrow morning.” Her eyes misted over.
    Angie reached for Courtney’s hand.
    ***
    The rest of the day passed quietly as the women tended customers, cleaned the shop, and made preparations for the following morning’s opening. At three o’clock, they locked up the cafe and Angie and Courtney walked along Main Street towards Angie’s apartment. Angie’s shoulders and neck muscles were tight and sore and her whole body felt sluggish and fatigued.
    Courtney wanted to make her sister feel better. “Listen, why don’t we go for a bike ride? The day is still warm. The exercise would do us good. It might help lift our spirits.”
    Angie put her arm over Courtney’s shoulders. “I haven’t biked for months. It’s a great idea. Let’s do it. That is, if you’re not afraid of pulling the bikes out of the creepy basement.”
    “Hmm. Why don’t you get the bikes out of storage, and I’ll pack snacks and water for us.” Courtney smiled.
    Angie grinned. “I’m not surprised by that suggestion knowing how fond you are of cobwebs and bugs.”
    When they reached Angie’s apartment house, they climbed the stairs to the second floor one bedroom place. It was a small, but cozy space with a living room, bedroom with two single beds, small bathroom, and a galley kitchen. It had three big windows in the living room which allowed maximum natural light to flood the room. There was a non-working fireplace on one wall and Angie had hung a large photograph of her and her three sisters above the mantel.
    The picture showed the four girls at the Sweet Cove beach and there was no denying that they were siblings, each one with bright blue eyes and hair in varying shades from pale blonde to light brown. On the day the photograph was taken, they had just finished playing a game of Frisbee when their mother snapped the picture catching their high energy and cheerful spirits.
    Jenna was Angie’s fraternal twin, born three minutes after Angie, and even though a resemblance was strong, no one ever believed that they were twins. Angie’s honey blonde hair had a slight wave to it and Jenna’s light brown hair was as straight as a stick. Angie stood five feet six inches but Jenna was three inches taller.
    Ellie was three years younger than the twins and was nearly as tall as Jenna. Her height and light blonde hair gave her a Scandinavian appearance. Courtney was the youngest, born three years after Ellie. Her height and hair