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“I CAN’T BELIEVE THE nerve of that man,” Zoe fumed a couple of hours later. They’d just returned from the station after picking up Annie from Mrs. Finch’s.
“I know,” Lauren agreed, sinking down onto one of the chairs in the cottage kitchen.
“Brrt?” Annie hopped up on the chair next to her and looked at her enquiringly.
“We just saw mean old Detective Castern,” Zoe told her. “Yuck!” She shuddered.
“He’s not really that old,” Lauren corrected her. “But I don’t know why he felt the need to take us down there.”
“Because he wanted to grill us.” Zoe still looked annoyed. “Just like I grill suspects when we investigate a murder.”
“Maybe we should let the police find the killer this time.” Detective Castern’s final words after taking their statements rang in Lauren’s ears. “I don’t want to hear or see you anywhere near this case.”
“Mitch wasn’t even around to tell him off for dragging us down there,” Zoe muttered.
“He must have been chasing this missing person.” Oops. Lauren realized what she’d said when Zoe looked at her with wide brown eyes.
“What missing person?”
“Mitch hasn’t told me much.” Which was true. Yesterday he hadn’t spoken about work, saying he’d rather talk about more pleasant things with her.
“He could tell you when he comes over tonight,” Zoe suggested. “And then you can tell me.”
“Brrt!” And me!
“If it’s okay with him,” Lauren replied.
“I’m sure it will be.” Zoe waggled her eyebrows. “He lurves you.”
Lauren blushed. Mitch had captured her heart a while ago, and he’d told her that she had captured his.
“I can’t believe Detective Castern asked why the victim had your red velvet cupcake stuffed in his mouth.” Zoe drummed her fingers on the pine kitchen table. “As if we would know.”
“Well, we would if we’d killed him,” Lauren pointed out.
“But we didn’t.” Zoe shook her head in exasperation. “Anyone with half a brain could see we’re not killers.”
“Brrt!”
They grumbled about Detective Castern for a while longer, then Lauren glanced at her practical white wrist watch – three o’clock.
“I’ve got to make cupcake batter for tomorrow.” She jumped up.
“Ooh, what kind?” Zoe asked expectantly.
“You choose.” She hadn’t come up with an exact plan yet – being at the police station giving her statement had put all thoughts of baking out of her mind.
“Maybe not red velvet this time.” Zoe scrunched her nose. “Although I do love them. What about triple chocolate ganache, super vanilla, and Norwegian apple cake?”
“Great choices.” She hadn’t made Norwegian apple for a while.
“Brrt,” Annie approved.
“What are you doing tonight?” Lauren asked. “If you don’t have plans you’re welcome to join me and Mitch.”
“Brrp.” And me.
“Thanks.” Zoe smiled at both of them. “But I’m going over to Chris’s house and making dinner for him. He should get off shift at seven.”
“What are you making?” Lauren was curious. Zoe’s idea of cooking was paninis from the café or ordering – and now making – a pizza with a store-bought base.
“Tacos,” Zoe replied. “Chris usually cooks when I’m over there, so I want to do something for him.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”
“I hope so.” Zoe grinned.
***
LAUREN WHIPPED UP THE cupcake batter, then returned to the cottage, tidying the kitchen and living room. Zoe had borrowed her car to go to Chris’s house.
“Brrt?” Annie patted Lauren’s cell phone. It lay on the coffee table.
“Want a video play date with AJ?” Lauren asked.
“Brrt!” Yes! Annie’s green eyes sparkled as she pressed a button on the phone.
Lauren shook her head at her cat’s ability to speed dial Ed.
“Meow,” came from the other end of the phone.
“Brrt!” Hello!
“Meow!” AJ’s brown tabby face appeared on the screen.
“AJ, are you on the phone?” Ed’s gruff voice sounded.
“Hi, Ed, it’s Lauren and Annie.” Lauren picked up her cell. “Is this a good time for Annie and AJ to have a play date?”
“It’s the perfect time,” he assured her. “We’ve just gotten back from helping out at the shelter.”
“Meow!” AJ sounded a little impatient.
“Okay, AJ, go and play with Annie,” Ed said indulgently.
“Thanks.” Lauren propped the phone against the leg of the coffee table.
“Brrt!” Annie pushed her jingle ball toward the screen.
Tinkle. AJ appeared on the phone again, pushing her own jingly toy.
Lauren finished tidying, then got out the vacuum. By the time she finished, Mitch might arrive.
She was right.
“Hi.” He came in the back door, carrying a bag from the supermarket.
“Hi.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Maybe I should come over for dinner every night,” he joked after a few minutes.
“Maybe you should.” She smiled up at him.
He cleared his throat. “Where’s Zoe?”
“At Chris’s.”
He nodded.
“Brrt?” Anne trotted into the living room.
“Have you finished playing with AJ?” she asked.
“Brrt.” Yes.
“Want some steak, Annie?” Mitch asked the cat.
“Brrt!” Yes, please.
Mitch cut up some sirloin and put it in her bowl, which reminded Lauren of something.
“Thank you for giving Annie breakfast this morning.”
“You’re welcome.” His mouth curved up in a smile.
“Need any help with dinner?”
“I’ve got it covered. Go and relax.”
“We could talk about the case while you cook,” she suggested.
“Which one? The pizza winner on Saturday, or my missing persons case?”
“Both.”
“I heard today that there was cheese goo and pizza sauce residue on the murder weapon.” He got out a pan. “So it looks like the killer used one of the competition knives that Vince used to cut the pies for Father Mike to taste. They were just left out on the table, along with the remains of the pizzas.”
“So anyone could have walked by and picked one up.”
“If there was no one else around,” Mitch confirmed.
“Oh – I didn’t tell you about Detective Castern.” She filled him in on their visit to the station that day.
His mouth tightened as he placed the steaks in the pan, a sizzling sound filling the kitchen.
“He probably did that because he knew I was out of the office all day.”
“On your missing person’s case?”
“Yes. A man in his forties didn’t come home from work a few days ago. Apparently, he’s pulled all-nighters before, so his wife didn’t think much of it at first – until he didn’t return home the following evening.”
“And she was okay with him not coming home?” Lauren frowned.
“Not really.” He turned over the steaks. “But they seem to live somewhat separate lives. She doesn’t even have a recent photo of him.”
“Oh.”
“That wouldn’t happen to us.” He turned from the stove, as if to reassure her.
“I hope not.”
“Definitely not.” He pulled her up from the chair and wrapped his arms around her. “You know I’m crazy about you.”
“And I’m crazy about you.” She melted in his embrace.
“Brrt?” Annie had finished her dinner and leaped onto the kitchen chair. The sound of burning suddenly filled the kitchen.
Mitch rushed to the stove and picked up the pan.
“I think it’s salvageable.”
“Good.” Lauren opened the refrigerator and got out the bag of salad leaves he’d brought.
“I’ve got it.”
“Okay.” Lauren returned to the kitchen table, watching him tend to the steaks. She could definitely get used to this.
***
“HI, ED,” LAUREN GREETED him the next morning. He was already hard at work in the cafe kitchen, kneading dough.
“Hi.” He briefly looked up. “I wanted to let you know the shelter raised six-hundred-and-twenty-nine dollars on Saturday.”
“That’s great.” She smiled.
“Awesome!” Zoe stuck her head through the swinging kitchen doors. “Maybe Vince and the shelter can do it again next year.”
“As long as someone else doesn’t get killed.” Ed’s voice was somber.
“True,” Zoe agreed.
Lauren busied herself with baking cupcakes. Yesterday afternoon she’d also mixed up the frosting for them. Mitch had stayed the night again and they’d overslept a tad, which meant she’d scrambled to get to the café at her usual time – a fact that Zoe had found amusing.
“How did your dinner with Chris go?” Lauren asked once the cupcakes were in the oven and she’d returned to the café space. Annie sat in her pink basket, ‘supervising’.
“Not as well as I’d hoped.” Zoe wrinkled her nose. “I made tacos, but microwaved the shells for too long, so they ended up all black and burnt.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Chris said he loved the filling, though. And we had extra ice-cream for dessert.” Zoe brightened. “He had an early shift this morning, so I came home late last night. I tiptoed past Annie on the sofa – she was fast asleep on your peach sweater.”
They finished getting the café ready, opening on the dot of nine-thirty for their first customer.
“Hi, Mrs. Finch,” Zoe greeted their friend.
“Hello, dears.” Mrs. Finch beamed at them. Today she wore a tan skirt and a green blouse.
“Brrt!” Annie ran to greet her as she stood at the Please Wait to be Seated sign.
“Where should I sit today, Annie?” Mrs. Finch asked her.
“Brrt!” This way! Annie slowly led her to a four-seater near the counter.
“What can we get you?” Zoe zoomed over to the two of them.
“I would love a pot of tea this morning,” Mrs. Finch replied, “and one of your cakes.”
Zoe ran through their offerings, their friend settling on Norwegian apple cake.
“When I bring your order, you can tell us more about the girl who had the baby – the one who married the cheating pizza winner,” Zoe said.
“And you must tell me how your visit with Detective Castern went,” Mrs. Finch replied.
“We will!”
Lauren chose English Breakfast tea for their friend, while Zoe plated the Norwegian apple.
They brought over her order and quickly filled her in on their visit to the police station.
“I think he has some nerve, taking you down to the station as if you’re common criminals.” Mrs. Finch tsked.
“Brrt,” Annie agreed, sitting opposite her.
“Let’s not talk about him anymore,” Zoe said. “I want to know more about this ex-wife of the cheater who won the pizza competition!”
“Well, let me see.” Mrs. Finch took a sip of her tea. “I heard from a friend a couple of years ago that she remarried and moved back to Gold Leaf Valley.”
“That’s it?” Zoe sounded disappointed.
“She had a few children with her new husband,” Mrs. Finch added.
“That’s it?” Zoe sounded even more disappointed.
“What happened to her ex-husband?” Lauren asked. “Before he wound up murdered?”
“I didn’t hear any more about him,” Mrs. Finch replied. “As far as I know, he was still living in Sacramento. Unless he moved.”
“Huh.” Zoe tapped her cheek.
“What about that woman I saw in the park on Saturday?” Lauren said slowly, the memory of the harried mother with the children urging her to take her place in the pizza competition flashing in her mind. “I saw her pass the victim before his death and she had a strange look on her face.”
“What if she was his ex-wife?” Zoe drew in a breath.
“She had children with her,” Lauren added.
“How many?”
“Three. A girl who looked tween age, and two younger boys.”
“That could fit, Lauren,” Mrs. Finch said.
“Ooh, what about the bossy woman you told me about?” Zoe asked. “The one who was in my heat and who bought a cupcake from you. Maybe she killed the cheating winner!”
“Why would she do that?” Lauren asked.
“Because she was mad at him for cheating,” Zoe replied.
“But how would she know he cheated?”
“I don’t know.” Zoe sounded a little exasperated.
“Perhaps she killed him for another reason,” Mrs. Finch suggested.
“Yes!” Zoe’s eyes lit up. “And that would explain why she stuffed a cupcake in his mouth instead of the pizza dough Mitch found in his daypack.”
“Maybe they dated a while ago,” Lauren suggested.
“And he said he wanted to get back with his ex-wife and she got mad and STAB! she killed him.”
“Don’t forget the harried woman who could possibly be the victim’s ex-wife.”
“That’s true.” Zoe sounded deflated.
“It looks like you two have a lot to discuss.” Mrs. Finch looked across at Annie. “I mean, three.”
“Brrt!”
“You will be careful, though, won’t you?” their friend asked.
“Of course,” Zoe replied breezily.
“Remember, Detective Castern warned us off the case yesterday,” Lauren said.
“If he solves it quickly, we won’t need to investigate,” Zoe replied. “Will we?”
Their attention was taken up by two of their favorite customers entering – Hans, and Martha.
“Did you see it on TV yesterday morning?” Martha barreled up to them, pushing her walker.
“See what?” Zoe asked.
“Your interview with the morning show host,” Martha explained. “When you won the prize for most unusual ingredient on Saturday.” She glanced at Annie. “You’re a clever girl, cutie pie, swapping basil for catmint like that.”
“Brrt!” Thank you. Annie sat up straight in the chair, preening a little.
“No.” Zoe looked chagrined. “I totally forgot it was on.”
“Me too,” Lauren replied ruefully.
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Finch looked disappointed. “I missed it as well. I’m afraid I overslept a little yesterday.”
“You were very good, Zoe,” Hans told them in his slightly accented English. “Congratulations on winning your prize.”
“Thanks.” Zoe grinned. “But I don’t know who is going to win the first prize now that everyone knows the winner cheated.”
“He did?” Hans looked shocked. “I had not heard.”
Zoe told him how the winner who had been murdered had swapped the competition dough with his own. “That was totally against the rules,” she finished. “We could only bring one topping each, nothing else.”
“That is terrible.” Hans shook his head.
“No wonder he got killed if he did stuff like that all the time,” Martha tutted.
They joined Mrs. Finch at her table. Lauren and Zoe took their orders, while Annie ‘chatted’ with three of her favorites.
Lauren made a hot chocolate for Martha and a cappuccino for Hans, finishing both off with a peacock design – although all the pink and white mini marshmallows crammed into the hot chocolate made it difficult to actually see the bird – while Zoe plated a triple chocolate ganache for Martha and a super vanilla for Hans.
“I would have loved to see myself on TV,” Zoe said wistfully.
“I know,” Lauren sympathized.
“Maybe Jenna has a copy of the segment she can lend me.” Zoe brightened.
“Good idea.”
“I’ll call her.” Zoe pulled her phone out of her jeans’ pocket.
While Zoe talked to Jenna, Lauren took the beverages over to the table.
“I’ll be back with the cupcakes,” she promised.
“Can’t wait!” Martha winked at her, then looked at her hot chocolate. “Lots of marshmallows – goody.”
“Jenna’s sending me a video file of the segment.” Zoe stuffed her phone into her pocket. “And,” she whispered, “her co-host is still seeing his married girlfriend.”
Lauren didn’t know what to say to that, so she simply nodded. She hoped that situation worked out for everyone involved.
“I’ll take the cupcakes over.” Zoe grabbed the tray.
Vince entered and glanced around the pale yellow interior. A string-art picture of a cupcake with lots of pink frosting decorated one of the walls – evidence of one of Zoe’s previous hobbies.
“Hi, Lauren. Can I talk to Zoe for a minute?”
“Of course.” Lauren was curious.
“Hi, Vince.” Zoe turned around and saw him.
“Here are your extra free pizza coupons.” He handed her the tokens. “The staff at the animal shelter and myself decided you should win first place after what happened on Saturday.”
“Thanks.” Zoe’s face lit up. She put the five vouchers in her wallet.
“Who’s going to win Zoe’s prize?” Lauren asked. “If there is going to be another prize?”
“I consulted with Father Mike after we determined Zoe to be the ultimate winner and he said the sausage and mushroom pizza in the first heat was the next best.”
“That’s the woman who—” Zoe’s mouth shut abruptly as Lauren gave her a look.
“What were you going to say?” Vince asked curiously.
“Umm ... that’s the woman with lots of kids,” Zoe uttered.
“Yeah.” Vince laughed. “They were cheering her on during her heat. I’m glad she’s getting some free pizzas.”
He ordered a latte to go.
“I’ll give a couple of my coupons to the animal shelter.” Zoe dashed into the kitchen.
Lauren smiled at Zoe’s thoughtfulness – at the rate she was giving away her vouchers, she wouldn’t have many left for herself.
“Ed said he’s going there this afternoon with AJ to volunteer.” Zoe headed back to the counter, the kitchen doors swinging behind her. “He said the volunteers will be glad to have a treat when they finish up there in the evenings.”
“You’ve got a good heart.”
“If it wasn’t for the animal shelter, I mightn’t have won the extra coupons.” Zoe grinned.
More of their regulars came in that day: Ms. Tobin, Mrs. Wagner, whom Annie and Zoe had co-starred with in the town’s annual Christmas play, and Father Mike.
Annie seated all of them at the tables she chose, spending time with each person.
“Father Mike, I’d like you to have one of my coupons.” Zoe pressed a token into his hand.
“That’s very kind of you.” He beamed. “I was wondering what to have for dinner tonight – now I know.”
“It’s a shame that the pizza shop doesn’t have catmint as a topping option,” Zoe mused, “or you could have Annie’s favorite – pepperoni and catmint!”
“Now there’s an idea.” He chuckled.
“Brrt!”
Father Mike ordered a large latte and a super vanilla cupcake. After delivering his order, they chatted to him for a few minutes.
Lauren looked up as she heard someone enter the café – Mitch.
“Hi.” She headed over to him.
“I can’t stay.” He looked regretful. “But I was due a coffee break and thought I’d come down to see you.”
“I’m glad you did.”
He was dressed for work in tan slacks and a blue button-down shirt. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him.
“I heard something just now at the station.” He lowered his voice. “They found the murder weapon in a trash bin at the park.”
“Were there fingerprints on it?”
“Nothing useable. It seems the killer wiped their prints. There was also a lot of garbage on top of the knife, which wouldn’t help the trace evidence.”
“Did Detective Castern tell you that?” she asked.
“No – but he was talking so loudly on his phone to the lab I couldn’t help but overhear.” He shook his head. “Sometimes he seems to think he’s the only person in the department.”
Lauren nodded. She hadn’t liked the man’s attitude when he’d tracked them down at Mrs. Finch’s yesterday. Surely he knew by now that she and Zoe weren’t killers?
“What about your missing person’s case?” She steamed the milk for his latte.
“I haven’t turned up anything new.” He sounded frustrated. “But I’m in the process of getting the guy’s driver’s license photo.”
“That’s good.”
“I just hope I’m not searching for a needle in a haystack. He hasn’t used any of his credit or debit cards since his wife reported him missing.”
Lauren handed him his latte – and his favorite super vanilla cupcake – pondering what he’d just said. She hoped Mitch tracked down his missing person and that the guy was okay – and not another murder victim.
She watched him stride out the door, feeling a little wistful that he was working late tonight. But she’d enjoy an evening of TV with Zoe and Annie.
“Chris just texted me.” Zoe waved her phone in the air. “He’s taking me out to the bistro – the one you go to with Mitch.”
“That’s great.” Lauren smiled at her cousin.
“Are you doing anything with Mitch?”
“He’s working late tonight.”
“Pooh.” Zoe looked disappointed for her. “I’m sure Chris won’t mind if you have dinner with us.”
She was touched by her cousin’s thoughtfulness.
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I’ll hang out with Annie. You enjoy your dinner with Chris.”
“You and Annie could have your own play date!”