Tuesday Tales 2025-5-27 Cup

Welcome to Tuesday Tales, powered by a small group of authors, where word prompts inspire passages in the books we’re writing. I’m working on a cozy mystery, Pumpkin Patch Murder. Our word of the day is cup. When you finish the passage, make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.

She grimaced. “Oh, yeah. I forgot Bon Bon was going out of town. Well, what about Naomi Upshaw? I know she doesn’t hand out any cups of kindness, but possibly she could provide some insight into Skip’s mindset.”

I twisted my lips. “We’d have to approach her on tippy toe and then hear a sermon about upstarts behaving badly. Are you up for that?”

She peered in the rear-view mirror, keeping an eye on the truck behind us. “Only as a last resort. Let’s see—I don’t know the Sandra person, and Vivian is a bit of a scatter brain.”

I jerked my head to look at her. “But I thought she ran a whole retirement home.”

“She does, but she’s still scatter brained. Did you see how she took up for Kitty?”

At some point I’d have to find out what the deal was with Robin disliking Kitty. Right now, though, I’d let it go. More important things were at hand, as I tried to think of someone who could give us fresh insight. “How about Helen? Would she be worth talking to? I bet she keeps up with the affairs of Monroe’s friends and employees. If we approach her subtly, she might take the opportunity to fill us in on everything she ever knew about Skip.”

“As a reporter I know I shouldn’t, but I’d feel funny talking to her about Skip. Wouldn’t you? She’d naturally be on Monroe’s side of any triangle.”

“I actually saw her this morning.”

“You did?”

“Not about Skip of course. I popped into her shop for a moment to ask about an unusual notebook of Jack’s. I could certainly see her again. How long had Vonna been working for Monroe?”

“Oh, I don’t know, a few months I guess, since his father died.”

“Until we have facts to support or refute what Skip said, I think we have to keep an open mind. Anyway, we can talk to all of them if we want. We just have to determine who will be first.”

 She nodded agreeably and downshifted for an approaching hill.

I bolted up straight. “Wait a minute! Vicky!”

“Vicky wasn’t even at the committee meeting.”

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the piece inspired by the word cup. If you haven’t done so already, check out the other excerpts at Tuesday Tales.

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