can’t keep making pies if you don’t leave me to it, and then what are you going to sell?” Her expression lit up as she saw Jenny. “Jenny, it’s wonderful to see you. Where have you been hiding yourself, young lady?”
“I’ve been working,” she said. “I’d like you to meet my friends. This is Savannah Stone, and this is her husband, Zach.”
Clayton offered a hand to my husband. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Zach nodded, and then smiled broadly at Sherrie. “I hear you make the best pie in the world. That makes me an instant fan of yours.”
Sherrie looked pleased by the compliment, though she tried not to show it. “Jenny, have you been spreading lies about me again?”
“Nothing but the truth,” Jenny said.
“Well, it’s good to see you. Can I bring you something?”
“Some coffee would be nice,” she said, “and three slices of pie.”
Sherrie looked at Zach. “Any kind in particular?”
“What would you say if I told you I wanted to taste one of each?”
She laughed. “I’d say your eyes were too big for your stomach.”
“Then bring me a slice of your favorite,” Zach said.
“And how do you know you’ll like it?”
“If it’s good enough for you, I’m sure it will be perfect for me,” my husband replied.
Sherrie swatted at me with a rag that was flung over her shoulder. “Hold on to him, Savannah. He’s one of the good ones.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said.
After Sherrie was gone, a man tried to get Clayton’s attention at the register. “If you all will excuse me.”
“Of course,” Jenny said.
After they were gone, I asked, “Are they married?”
Jenny shook her head. “No, they grew up together, but nobody from either side of the tracks liked them being such good friends, so they drifted apart. Fifteen years ago, Sherrie lost her husband in a car wreck about the same time Clayton’s wife left him for another man, and the two of them decided it was high time they got to be the friends they were meant to be. They bought this place, and it’s been thriving ever since they opened it.” She looked around and said, “Judges eat here, right alongside trash collectors. The only rule they have is you take the next open seat if you’re waiting, no matter who’s around you. They pride themselves on serving the best pie in North Carolina, and offering it to anyone with the price of a slice on him.”
“That still doesn’t explain why they’re so fond of you,” I said.
“I helped them out once with a little situation, and they won’t let me forget it,” Jenny answered.
“You’re not going to leave it at that, are you?”
“I am,” Jenny said. “Look, here comes our order.”
Sherrie came out with a tray loaded down with six plates. “That’s too much,” Jenny said.
“Only one is for you,” she said as she slid a piece of peach pie in front of her. “Savannah, do you like apple?”
“I sure do,” I said, and she gave me a piece of pie with a flaky golden crust barely able to contain the golden apple slices inside.
Zach looked a little worried. “Sherrie, as much as I’d love to, I can’t eat that much.”
She laughed again, and Clayton smiled at the register. “I’m just having some fun with you, Zach. Take your pick, though.”
He studied the pie slices, and then finally settled for a slice of lemon meringue.
“That’s an excellent choice,” Sherrie said.
“What would you have said if I’d picked the sweet potato?”
Sherrie laughed. “The same. How do you know it’s not pumpkin?”
“Pumpkin is darker, and the texture is different. It’s easy enough if you know what you’re looking at.”
Sherrie nodded. “Not everybody can tell, though. You do like pie, don’t you?”
“I told you,” Zach said as he took his first bite. “Wow. This is unbelievable.”
“Glad you like it,” Sherrie said, and then looked at us. “Anything else for you ladies?”
“No, we’re good. Thanks.”
“Then I’ll give you some peace.”
She disappeared into the back after whispering something to Clayton, who laughed heartily. It was clear that they were indeed the best of friends.
“They’ll give us some space,” Jenny said as she took a bite of her pie. “The woman is magic.”
I tasted mine, amazed by the texture of the crust, the crisp edge to the apples, and the blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and some spices I didn’t recognize, giving the pie a whole different level of flavor. “Wow is right.”
“I told you she was good,” Jenny said as she took another bite. “What did you find out from Lassiter, Zach?” Jenny asked.
He finished a bite, and had another poised for his mouth. “You two go first.”
“So you can finish your pie?” I asked.
“Guilty as charged.”
I didn’t have a problem with that. As my husband kept eating, I began to bring him up-to-date on what Jenny and I uncovered so far.
Chapter 19
I TOOK A BITE OF MY PIE, AND THEN GOT STARTED. “OKAY, I’LL go. Probably the biggest thing we learned was that Kelsey and Brady have been dating for seven months. He’s the one who got her the job with Derrick.”
“What a lousy thing to do to a girlfriend,” Zach said through a mouthful of pie.
“That’s what we thought, but Kelsey appears to be grateful for it. Brady claims that when we saw him visiting Cary, he was just trying to keep Kelsey’s job for her.”
“So, they weren’t courting flowers after all,” Zach said with a smile.
“Or condolence flowers, either.”
“I get it; we were both wrong,” Zach said. He stabbed his fork in the air at me as he added, “But that doesn’t exactly clear him in Derrick’s murder. If anything, it gives him more reason to want to see him dead than we realized before.”
“That’s what we said. He seemed to think that because he’s the one who pulled Kelsey back from the bus, he’s absolved of Derrick’s murder.”
That caught my husband by surprise. “He was with her when it happened?”
“Yes,” Jenny said, “but he claims he didn’t see anything until she started falling toward the bus.”
“It gives us something else to check,” Zach said. “What else do you have for me?”
“We’re fairly certain that it wasn’t Sylvia,” I said, “at least not when it comes to the attempt on Kelsey. She’d ordered a salad from room service, and it took an hour to deliver. There’s no way she’d risk leaving if it would be so easy to verify that she was gone.”
“Did you check with the hotel to see if it’s true?”
“Yes,” I said simply.
“Tell him how you did it,” Jenny said with a smile.
“He doesn’t need to know everything,” I answered, hoping Zach would drop it.
“I just assumed you asked Benjamin.”
“I tried that first,” I admitted, “but he was gone; at least we thought he was.”
Zach stroked his chin, and then said, “If I had to guess, I’d say that you impersonated Sylvia with the front desk clerk.”
Jenny looked shocked by my husband’s guess. “She did! How could you possibly know that?”
“You keep forgetting I used to do this for a living,” Zach said. “That means we can mark Sylvia off the list for
