Harriet and Luke stopped in front of the shop window that displayed Connie’s cupcake quilt.
“Connie did a nice job on that,” Harriet said.
“They should make some cupcakes that are decorated just like the ones on the quilt,” Luke said and craned his neck to see around it into the bakery.
Harriet laughed and opened the door.
“Can I get one of everything?” Luke asked as he went inside.
No one was tending the counter, but they could hear loud voices coming from the bakery in back.
“It doesn’t matter that it isn’t me, they have pictures,” a woman said.
“But you didn’t kill anyone,” a second woman shot back.
Harriet coughed loudly, and the voices abruptly went silent. A moment later, Sunny Mason, the owner of Sunshine Bakery, appeared, removing her white apron as she approached the counter.
“Hi, how can I help you?” she asked, looking from Harriet to Luke and back again.
Luke was staring at the display case. There were samples of at least twenty different cupcake varieties.
“How am I supposed to choose?”
Sunny slid the door of the case open.
“What’s your favorite flavor in the world?”
“Chocolate,” he answered without hesitation.
“Okay, that cuts the choices by half. Do you like your chocolate more fudgy or more cake-y?”
Luke thought a moment.
“Fudgy,” he said with a grin.
Sunny continued offering ingredient and flavor choices until they’d narrowed it down to four possible cupcakes.
“Okay,” Harriet said, interrupting their game. “Let’s get one of each of the last four contenders.” She looked at Luke. “Is four enough?”
“I think four will do it,” he said with an attempt at a straight face.
“We’ll take his four, and I would like a lemon blueberry and a gingerbread.”
“I’ll bring them out,” Sunny said. “Would you like anything to drink? I have peppermint hot chocolate in addition to the usual stuff.”
They both ordered the hot chocolate and settled in at a bistro table near the window. Lauren came in as Sunny carried a tray with their cupcakes and hot chocolate to their table.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” she told Sunny.
“What are you up to?” Harriet asked as she drew a chair up from another table so Lauren could join them.
“I had to get an ink cartridge for my printer, and ever since we first saw Connie’s cupcake quilt, they’ve been on my mind. I thought I was going to slip in here and indulge in a guilty pleasure with no one the wiser.”
Harriet filled her in on their visit to the equestrian center.
“You’re getting in deeper and deeper with that horse.” Lauren commented.
“I just hate to see her suffer because her owner is in financial trouble.”
Harriet took a bite of her lemon blueberry cupcake as Sunny delivered Lauren’s.
“So, where did you get your ink cartridge?” she asked. “Don’t you usually get them from Daniel?”
“Indeed I do,” Lauren said around a bite of cupcake. “Fortunately, Keystroke Computer Repair also carries a variety of printer cartridges. He also sells printer paper by the case.”
“Good to know,” Harriet said. She looked over at Luke, who was midway through his third cupcake—a chocolate brownie number with strawberry filling, strawberry frosting dribbled with chocolate, and with a chocolate-dipped strawberry on top.
“We heard an interesting argument from out back when we first got here,” Harriet said in a quiet voice.
“Do tell,” Lauren encouraged her.
Harriet repeated what they’d heard.
“Given today’s events the ‘Yeah, but you didn’t kill anyone’ caught my attention.”
“Could you tell if one of them was Sunny?”
Harriet looked at Luke. He shrugged.
“I think the one who said ’It doesn’t matter that it isn’t me, they have pictures’ could have been Sunny.”
“Do you think we should tell…” Lauren stopped mid-sentence and put both hands up. “Wait, didn’t we just discuss how Daniel’s murder was none of our business and we were going to stay out of it?”
“If it turns out Daniel was murdered, Morse would want to know we heard someone talking about someone being accused of killing someone,” Harriet argued.
Lauren shook her head.
“First, that’s a big if. Second, we have no idea who they were talking about, and third, all you heard is someone didn’t kill someone. I’m not sure how any of that helps Morse.”
“I suppose,” Harriet said, and sipped her chocolate.
The string of Christmas bells on the door jingled as Connie came into the shop.
“Are we having a Loose Threads meeting?” she asked.
Lauren laughed.
“Your quilt is making everyone cupcake-hungry.”
“It’s been great for business,” Sunny said from the counter. “I think your whole quilt group has been in, plus a lot of other people. And we can use all the sales we can get.”
“Isn’t Christmas usually a pretty good time, business-wise?” Lauren asked her.
Sunny’s expression darkened.
“You would think so,” she said.
Connie went over to peruse the cupcakes.
“What can I get you?” Sunny asked.
“I would like a dulce de leche and a peppermint chocolate,” she said. “And a small coffee.” She slid another chair from a nearby table and joined them, then leaned forward and gestured with her hand for Lauren and Harriet to do likewise.
“Does anyone else find this whole business-is-bad story that we’ve heard from several shops to be a little strange?” she asked in a quiet voice. “I talked to Marjorie, and she said business at the quilt store is up twenty percent over last year. Beth got a similar story from Serena at the kitchen store.”
“James says the restaurant is up, also,” Harriet said in the same tone.
The doorbell jingled again, and Chris Baker from Keystroke Computers came in. He was a lanky blond who looked like he could use a good meal.
“Are you following me?” Lauren asked him with a grin.
“You did mention you were stopping here. Once you left, I couldn’t stop thinking about…” He paused for dramatic effect. “…cupcakes,” he finished with a laugh. “Besides, I needed to deliver Sunny’s laptop.” He held up an older model Sony Viao.
“Did it get a virus?” Lauren guessed.
“No, just came in for a routine check-up. It takes a lot of TLC to keep these older models alive.” He looked over what was left of their cupcakes.
“You guys have any recommendations?”
“Anything chocolate,” Luke said
“Works for me,” Chris said, and strolled to the counter.