Pecan Pie & Perjury

Early autumn has come to Maplewood, bringing golden leaves, crisp mornings, and the rich scent of pecan pies fresh from Emily Harper's oven.

The town's Autumn Makers Weekend should be a cheerful celebration of handmade treasures and familiar faces. At the restored railroad depot, local artisans are preparing their displays, and Emily has promised pecan pies for the Friday afternoon social. Even the pie shop's stubborn little blue serving cart has been pressed into service.

Then Miles Alden is found dead in a secluded depot workshop.

The respected volunteer organizer had just withdrawn textile artist Elise Porter's place in the exhibition. Months earlier, his sworn testimony about a workshop accident had already damaged her reputation. After a public argument and the discovery of Elise's measuring tape near the scene, suspicion settles on her almost at once.

Emily knows that anger is not the same as guilt.

And she remembers something peculiar about the little blue cart—and the route someone claims it took through the depot.

With Lila's dry humor, Mrs. Collins's sharp observations, Grace Holloway's eye for detail, and Detective Tom Bennett following the official evidence, Emily begins piecing together disputed testimony, workshop access, and the small traces a busy autumn fair leaves behind.

Because in Maplewood, a story told under oath can still lead everyone in the wrong direction.