Brewing Up Murder

By Catherine Lynn

When Joanie Chandler comes back to her hometown, Hemlock Ridge, she never dreamed her life would be in such turmoil. First, she finds her best friend from high school, Jason, whom she’s always been secretly in love with, is dating their former high school nemesis. If that wasn’t bad enough, she finds a body in the dumpster behind her brand new coffee shop.

This tale of romance and mystery finds Joanie trying to deal with her feelings for Jason and her suspicions of who committed the only murder that’s ever happened in this small town. Will she get over Jason...or get him back? Will she figure out who the killer is, or will she be accused of the murder? Find out in this first novella in the Hemlock Ridge Mysteries series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Catherine Lynn
• Release date: Apr 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310650208

Catherine Lynn

Catherine Lynn is an author of sweet romances and mysteries. She’s been married to the same wonderful man for many years, has two grown sons, and lives in southeastern Tennessee. Church and family are very important in her life. Her hobbies include reading, playing computer games, and enjoying time with family and friends. She also enjoys a good cup of coffee in the mornings.

Book preview

Brewing Up Murder

(Book 1 in the Hemlock Ridge Mysteries)

Catherine Lynn

Smashwords Edition

Copyright© 2014 Catherine Lynn

Cover Design by Anya Kelleye

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. All people, places, or events are purely products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is entirely coincidental.

Chapter One

Joanie had mixed feelings as she passed the sign which read ‘Welcome to Hemlock Ridge’. She had so many good memories of this little town she’d grown up in. But there were heartaches, too. Hopefully, after ten years, she had gotten past all those. She was still a little apprehensive about seeing certain people…well, a certain person… but she would just have to get over that. It had been ten years, for crying out loud.

The name of the town was a little misleading since it was more at the bottom, not actually on the ridge. The ridge itself was covered in hemlock trees, and Joanie had always thought it was beautiful. It had been a lovely place to grow up.

She slowed down as she crossed the town line, taking time to look at all the locally owned shops she passed on Main Street. In ten years, there hadn't been much change. She waved at a couple of old men sitting in rocking chairs outside the Cafe. They looked puzzled for a moment, then they smiled when they realized who she was. A warm feeling came over her, and she was glad she had decided to return.

And there it was! Her new coffee shop, Joanie’s Java. Her father had overseen the changes that were needed to transform the building into what she would need for her business. She'd had everything delivered there so she would have what she needed when she started getting things organized. It was so tempting to stop by and look everything over, but she'd promised her parents she would come straight to their house for dinner. She sighed. It would have to wait.

Suddenly a little red sports car pulled out in front of her, and she had to slam on her brakes to avoid a collision. What in the world? She saw long, blond hair flying as the woman in the convertible glared at her through the rear view mirror. Courtney Blake. Her nemesis in high school. She groaned as she realized she would have to see the little witch since it was such a small town. She just hoped it wouldn't be often.

Her mind went back to her high school years when her best friend, Jason Reynolds, and she used to laugh about Courtney, hoping she would fall off the cheerleading pyramid. They didn't really want her to get hurt, of course...at least not too badly, but it was fun to dream. Jason and Joanie had both been kind of nerdy, along with their other friend, Livvie O’Donnell, and Courtney had given them a lot of grief. However, Joanie did notice during the last half of their senior year, Jason didn't derive as much pleasure from joking about their nemesis, and she caught him looking at Courtney in a different way. What hurt the most was she had realized she felt more for him than friendship. All through high school, they had been friends, but she hadn't admitted her true feelings because she knew he didn't feel the same, and she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Going away to college seemed to be the answer to her problems. But she knew she was just running away. Maybe by coming back to town and facing him, she could finally move past the old feelings and get on with her new life.

Joanie finally arrived at her parents' house, pulled into their driveway, and turned off the car. She sat there for a moment, bracing herself for what was to come. She loved her parents, but they could be overbearing, and she knew what this argument was going to be about. She took a deep breath, stepped out of the car and walked to the front door. As soon as her hand touched the doorknob, the door was flung open, and a flurry of hugs and kisses assaulted her.

It's so good to see you, dear! exclaimed her mother as she drew her daughter into the foyer.

It's good to see you, too, Mom. Hi, Dad.

Come on in and sit for a few minutes. Dinner will be ready soon, said her mom.

There’s a ball game on. Come on and watch it with me for awhile, said her dad.

Now, Jerry, Joanie might have grown out of football by now.

Joanie grinned. No, Mom, that hasn’t happened. Dad, I would love to watch the game with you until dinner’s ready.

She and her dad yelled at the TV for a while, and then it was time to sit down for dinner. And probably the argument.

Mom, your sweet potato casserole is still just as good as ever. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me. It’s not Thanksgiving yet, you know.

Nonsense! I had to do something special to welcome you home.

Her dad cleared his throat. Joanie, there’s something we want to talk to you about.

I know what you’re going to say, Dad, and I’ve already made up my mind.

He looked helplessly at his wife. Jane, can you talk some sense into her?

Her mom said, Honey, we have this great big house, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t stay here with us. We would love to have you!

I know, Mom, but I’ve been living on my own for ten years. I’m an independent woman, and I like to have my own space.

We would give you your privacy….

Mom, it’s not the same thing. There’s a perfectly good apartment over the coffee shop. And it would be much more convenient for me to be there right over the business.

We just worry about you, said Jerry.

I was alone in an apartment for years in a bigger city than this. I’ll be fine. Please, let’s not spoil our dinner by talking about this, okay?

Surprisingly enough, her parents let the issue drop, and they were able to enjoy their dinner. When it was over, her mother said, Will you at least stay here tonight?

I really want to get over to the shop and start working on things.

Jerry said, Do you want us to come and help?

No, I want to be alone with it for a while, if you don’t mind. This has been my dream for so long, I want to revel in it a little.

You should have come back home after college, sweetheart, said Jane.

I wasn’t ready yet. I needed to get out in the world, work for someone else for a while, and get some experience. And I really appreciate you both being willing to come visit me instead of insisting I come back here.

I don’t know why you were so adamant about not coming back, said her mother.

A little sharp pain pricked her chest. I…just wasn’t ready.

Jane smiled. Maybe someday, you’ll tell us why.

Maybe, Joanie said with a smile of her own.

Chapter Two

The excitement was bubbling over in her as she drove toward her new shop. This was it! It was finally real. She had always wanted to own a coffee shop, but she never thought her dream would come true. When she arrived, she jumped out of the car and hurried to