by Agatha Ball
"I am an INFLUENCER. They know exactly what I want them to know. Believe me, they're so stupid, they'll trust whatever I tell them. Don't push me."
The crowd stared accusingly at Madison. The sound of our voices popped up again as one of the other protesters found the video on the Seaside bakeoff feed. And again. And again. Everyone was pulling out their phones and watching what sort of person Madison really was.
"You think we're stupid?" said one of the women who had come into Bitter Beans this morning.
The mob's turn on Madison was ugly.
"You don't want us to push you?" said another, giving Madison a little shove.
Meanwhile, Granny's posse stood there watching it all go down with their arms folded. Holly took her phone from the original girl and, blinking behind her thick lenses, smiled gently at me.
The gang of protesters were now circling Madison, ripping off their Free Kylie shirts and demanding their money back. Madison shouted as they jostled her, "No refunds! No refunds! She set my table on fire! TREVOR!"
"Don't make me turn my fire extinguisher on you!" he shouted, brandishing the nozzle.
Granny turned to her friends. "Coffee, ladies?"
The posse nodded their heads and sashayed away.
Stan went over to break up the angry crowd as the boat pulled into the dock. "Ladies! Ladies! Everyone off the island!"
Fred turned to Nate. He seemed to be searching for the right words. I gave Nate's hand a squeeze, ready to hear Fred say how grateful he was for our help.
Instead, he said, "Hey, sorry to ask, but could you drive us back to the precinct?"
Henrietta gave a little wave.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The ferry was rapidly filling as the time to depart approached. Stan had calmed everyone down. Angry videos about what a horrible person Madison was had been posted online. Nate had let Stan and Fred borrow his truck to transport Henrietta. All in all, it was a pretty happy ending.
The boat horn sounded.
Richard held Granny's hand and promised, "I will be back next weekend. Perhaps we can even plan for a long weekend on the mainland sometime."
She looked over and gave me a wink. "Well, I'll have to see if my employees are available for coverage."
Nate pressed a kiss against my temple. "I'm pretty sure we can figure out the schedule."
Richard smiled at us, but then spotted someone over our shoulder and his face lit up. We all turned to see who he was waving over. Lorraine had changed out of her spangly uniform into casual jeans and an oversized, button-down shirt. Her arm was linked through a man I hadn't seen without his mask, but I'm pretty sure he was the mystery judge.
"Oh, I'm so glad I didn't miss you!" called Richard.
The smiling couple came walking over.
"What a weekend!" laughed the man. His face was slender and he spoke with a slight French accent.
"I mean, aside from all the drama, I can't tell you what a delight it was to have this excuse to reconnect." Lorraine was looking at our mystery judge in such a way that I had a feeling they'd be reconnecting a lot more in the future, too.
Richard turned to introduce us to him. "You already know each other from the competition, but allow me to formally introduce my friend's granddaughter, Paige." He then turned to me. "And Paige? This is Alain."
Lorraine leaned toward me. "I told him that there were some very special bakers in this year's bakeoff. Alain tasted all your bakes and he concurs."
"That cake was an absolute masterpiece," he stated, shaking my hand. "The tempering of your chocolate in this climate and your sugar work? It was magnifique!"
I grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you. I learned everything from my Granny."
"If we could have awarded the golden spatula," said Lorraine, "it most definitely would have gone to you."
"Did I mention that Henrietta gave it to me and that's sort of how we figured out she was out to kill everyone...?" I mentioned, guiltily.
Everyone's eyes got huge.
Richard reached out and patted my arm. "Keep it. And use it for good, to cook something amazing to kill the hunger pangs in all your guests' stomachs."
Everyone laughed, but Alain was regarding me strangely. I could feel his appraising gaze. Finally, he spoke. "I have many friends at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and Richard has mentioned it is a place where you would like to continue your studies. Please, here is my information." He reached into his sports jacket and pulled out an embossed, linen, business card. "Call me when you apply and I will let my friends know you are a very talented candidate."
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, not believing my ears.
"He scouts for talent, Paige," said Richard. "And he thinks you have what it takes."
Nate squeezed my hand with excitement. I couldn't believe it. It was like a dream come true.
"Wow," I said, at a complete loss for words. "Wow. Thank you... I—"
The boat blew its horn again to alert all the stragglers that it was ready to depart.
"A pleasure meeting you, Paige," Alain said, kissing me on both my cheeks in such a European manner I thought I might swoon. "Call me for that recommendation!"
Granny and Richard said their goodbyes and we all waved at the ferry until it was out of sight.
But as I stared across the straight, holding Nate's hand, watching Johnny run out into the surf to catch one last wave before the last rays of the sun disappeared, I wondered if my future happiness lay across the sea... or if perhaps it was right here all along.
The Paige Comber Mystery series continues with book four, The Cove Conundrum, coming Fall 2019.
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Books by Agatha Ball
Paige Comber Mysteries
The Secret of Seaside
Murder's a Beach
Mystery Comes in Waves
The Cove Conundrum
Grey Skyes Adventures
Skye's the Limit
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