#SuspenseMonday It's an apple pie or murder?
When delicious baked goods become lethal, itβs
time
to find a killer.
Kindness is a virtue
Meanness is a
sin
Better watch your bakery
pies
For poison I've slipped in
The Amish Artisan Village in Middlebury, Indiana, has
been
decorated with every color of balloon and flower for the
Race for a Cure. As manager of the Village, Amber Bowman
is
thrilled to see the turnoutβand relieved to have
something
to distract her from the βPoison Poetββan individual who
has
been sending notes containing bad poetry to warn of
poisoned
baked goods.
Then Ryan Duvall crosses the finish line of the raceβand
falls down dead, murdered in broad daylight. But who did
it?
And why? The police suspect Preston Johnston, but Amber
refuses to believe her employee could do such a thing.
Amber once again looks to her young Amish friend Hannah
Troyer to help her find the killerβand to determine if
itβs
the same person leaving the cryptic poems and pies. Can
they
help the police before the Poison Poet strikes again?
Both
Amber and Hannah will need to draw on their faith as they
fight to preserve the peaceful community theyβve built at
the Amish Artisan Village.
Excerpt Tate pulled the camera strap from around his neck and handed the camera to Hannah as
he rushed forward. Amber and Tate reached Ryanβs side at the same moment. Shrugging
off his outer shirt, Tate rolled it into a bundle and pressed it against what was left
of Ryanβs chest.
βPressure on the wound,β Tate murmured, waiting to move until Amber had her hands
pressed firmly on top of the cloth.
She glanced down at the wound in Ryanβs chest, then looked away as bile rose in her
throat. Slowly she forced her gaze back to the man lying on the ground. Ryanβs wavy
black hair was wet with sweat. His face was unnaturally pale, and his eyes were
closed.
βIs heββ
βHeβs bleeding out. Looks like the bullet went through his heart. Iβll check for a
pulse.β But one look in Tateβs eyes told her all she needed to know.
The white T-shirt Ryan had been wearing read βForty and Loving It.β The letters were
splattered and torn from the violence of the wound, and the cloth had turned crimson.
Tate moved so that he was positioned alongside Ryanβs head. Pressing his index and
middle fingers to Ryanβs neck, he checked for a heartbeat at the carotid artery.
The sounds around them faded to background noise.
To Amber it seemed she heard the cries and shouts as if from a great distance. Some
woman continued to scream. A child asked a parent what was wrong. The person who had
been running the portable public address system, moments ago announcing the names of
each person as they crossed the finish line, now urged caution. The piercing wail of
an ambulance added to the chaos. It had been stationed in the parking area in case a
runner needed oxygen or fluids.
But fluids wouldnβt help Ryan.β¨Oxygen wouldnβt bring him back.β¨She closed her eyes and
prayed with all her mightβprayed that God would have mercy on Ryan, that God would
save him.
She became aware of Pamβs hand on her shoulder, her voice soft and low, her accent
Southern, urging her to come away. βLet the paramedics have him, honey.β
βI have to . . . I have to hold this.β Tateβs shirt was now slick in her hands.
Tate stood and shook his head once. Jack Lambright, who had worked at the Village as a
boy but had been with the EMS for at least five years now, jumped out of the ambulance
and crouched beside Ryan. He spoke into his radio, his voice urgent and clipped. She
heard him say βGSWβ and βfatality,β and then Tate was pulling her to her feet,
circling his arms around her.
Start Reading MURDER FRESHLY BAKED Now
 Amish Village MURDER SIMPLY BREWED
#1.0
β’ April 2014
 MURDER TIGHTLY KNIT
#2.0
β’ January 2015
 MURDER FRESHLY BAKED
#3.0
β’ June 2015
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