Town in a Blueberry Jam

huddled solemnly at the graveside.

It’s a pretty good turnout, she thought as the Reverend James P. Daisy delivered a last few words, and Cameron Zimmerman, looking thin and bone weary in an ill-fitting dark brown suit, threw a balsam garland laced with ribbons and blueberries onto the descending black coffin.

So ends the shortest and strangest reign of a Blueberry Queen in all of Cape Willington’s history, Candy reflected with a mixture of melancholy and resignation. Still, Sapphire would be proud. She’s had a good sending-off.

Maggie must have sensed her thoughts. “The Queen is dead,” she murmured, looking uncharacteristically tearful. “Long live the Queen.”

“Here, here.”

Maggie dabbed at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. “Oh, Sapphire, Sapphire, we hardly knew ye! Why, oh why, did you have to be such an obnoxious flake? We could have been such good friends, you and I, if only you had been just a little bit normal!”

“Normality is in short supply around this place, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Candy mused with another furtive glance around at the crowd. “Besides, it’s like you said — her strange behavior wasn’t really her fault. She never fully recovered from the shock of losing both David and Cameron in such a short period of time. She’d been living in some sort of dreamworld of her own making ever since. I guess she really was crazy.”

“Done in by someone who was even crazier than she was.” Maggie shook her head. “It’s so sad. Just so damn sad.” Her voice trembled a bit as she spoke.

Candy took Maggie’s elbow empathetically. “Well, at least Sapphire’s left behind something good — a wonderful legacy, of which she had every reason to be proud.” She nodded toward Cameron and Amanda, who were approaching them.

In a blubber of tears and sobs, Maggie ran forward and hugged Cameron tightly. He looked uncomfortable for a moment, then leaned into her, put his arms around her, and hugged her back.

“It’s done,” he said softly. “She’s finally at peace. Now she and my father can be together.”

“Oh, Cameron,” Maggie said tearfully.

With the appropriate words spoken, the ceremony ended. Reverend Daisy came over to shake their hands and offer some words of condolence before he turned away to talk to others.

As the crowd began to disperse, starting off toward a line of cars nearby, Cameron, Amanda, Maggie, and Candy stood arm in arm, heads bowed, paying their final, silent respects to the former Susan Jane Vincent, alias Sapphire Vine.

“Rest in peace,” Candy said softly.

Maggie squeezed her hand. “She can, thanks to you. You’re the one who solved this murder case. If it wasn’t for you... well, a terrible injustice would have remained, um, unjustified.”

Candy smiled. “I had help — the best partner anyone could ask for.”

“We are a good team, aren’t we?” Maggie asked, brightening a little.

“You never did tell us everything that happened last night,” Amanda said, looking over at the two of them. “When are we going to get the full story?”

Candy pondered that for a moment. She had just come from the police station, where she had spent an hour recounting the events of the night before. After that, she had received a stern warning from Chief Durr, who told her, once again, to never, ever do this again. But then he grudgingly shook her hand. “If you ever need a job,” he told her sincerely, “I might be able to find a spot for you in the Department.”

“It was nothing really,” Candy finally said to Amanda. “Just a little scuffle with Bertha Grayfire.”

“A little scuffle?” Maggie said, aghast. “We were fighting for our lives! We’re lucky to be here!”

“How’d you beat her?” Cameron asked, intrigued. “I heard she had a gun.”

Candy took Maggie’s arm. “This is the real hero,” she told Amanda. “Your mother was amazing last night. She saved us both.”

Maggie glowed in the praise but was quick to return it. “And what about you? I watched you all week. You were like Sherlock Holmes on the trail of Professor Moriarty. You knew Ray was innocent, so you flushed out the real killer. It was genius, pure genius!”

Candy snorted. “I got lucky, that’s all. Heck, I almost got us both killed. I wouldn’t call that genius.”

“No, Maggie’s right,” Cameron said to Candy. “You’re the only one who was smart enough to start snooping around. If it wasn’t for you, who knows what would have happened? You deserve a medal or something.”

Candy’s eyes flashed with sudden humor. “I’d settle for someone to help me fix that broken window in my back door.”

Suddenly put on the spot, Cameron stammered a bit, uncertain how to reply, but Maggie and Amanda laughed. “Oh, I’m sure Ray will be over first thing in the morning to help you with that,” Maggie said, coming to his rescue. “Maybe Cameron can come up with a better reward for you, once he comes into his inheritance.”

“Um, yeah, I’ll think of something,” the teenager mumbled.

Candy laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be silly, Cam. You don’t owe me a thing. I’m just glad we’re all safe, and that Bertha Grayfire is in custody, where she belongs.”

“Is she going to live?” Cameron asked.

Candy nodded. “I think so. The police told me this morning that she has a broken collarbone, a broken hip, and two broken legs. But she’s going to survive to stand trial.” As she spoke, her gaze shifted toward a figure walking from the graveside. “Excuse me a moment. I’ll be right back.”

Leaving her friends, she hurried down the slope at an angle, so she could intercept the lone figure as he headed toward his car. “Herr Georg!” she called after him.

Hearing his name, the baker paused and looked back. His expression brightened as he gave her a muted wave. “Hello, Candy.”

She smiled and waved back. When she caught up with him, he continued, “It was a lovely ceremony, yes?”

She took his arm as they continued down the slope toward the cars. “It was lovely, yes. Sapphire would have been very pleased.” She paused a moment before she continued, her tone becoming more serious. “Herr Georg, there’s something I must say to you.”

He turned to look at her expectantly. “Yes?”

“Well, I... I wanted to apologize to you for what happened yesterday — about our conversation in the park. I didn’t mean to pry into your private affairs like that, and I hope you didn’t think I was accusing you of having anything to do with Sapphire’s death. I know I probably jumped to conclusions, but I should have realized you were...”

She broke off as Herr Georg waggled his finger in the air. “Candy, Candy, meine liebchen. You of all people owe me no apologies. You have been a better friend than I could have ever asked for. It is I who should apologize to you, for not being truthful with you from the start. If I hadn’t been so protective of my past, all of this might have turned out differently.”

Candy squeezed his arm. “You shouldn’t blame yourself about anything that happened at the pageant. You weren’t the only one being blackmailed, you know — and you weren’t the only one who adjusted those scores.”

“I wasn’t?” This took Herr Georg by surprise. His eyes grew wide. “But who else could have...?” But he stopped himself and smiled again. “Ah, but that is in the past, isn’t it? And it is over.”

Candy nodded emphatically. “It’s over.”

He patted her hand, noticeably relieved. “Well, that is good to know.”

She took him by the hand then. “Come, I have something for you.”

She led him to her Jeep, which was parked not too far away. Opening the passenger-side door, she withdrew a thick manila envelope, stuffed with papers, photos, and documents.

“These are yours,” she said, passing the envelope to him. “It’s the rest of the documents Sapphire collected about you. I’ll let you decide what to do with it, though I’d recommend having a nice bonfire in your backyard some night very soon.”

Herr Georg took the envelope appreciatively, his expression solemn. “Candy, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. As far as I’m concerned, this whole issue is closed.”

She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He blushed deeply, making his hair and handlebar