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THE DELICIOUS SCENT of French vanilla and freshly baked cream cupcakes wafted to Dana Sweet’s nostrils through the open door as she sat in her office at the Cozy Cupcakes Café.
Dana sat at her desk tallying some receipts, more than a week after helping hot detective Troy Anders solve the latest murder of the wealthy oil magnate who had moved to Berry Cove. She was feeling on top of the world. Was there a chance for them to be together? Could she really date a handsome detective like Troy?
She should forget about it, really. Her heart had already been broken once before by her ex-fiancé who ran off with her money, her dreams of happily-ever-after and Dana’s best friend. So Dana guessed she should just kiss goodbye any chance of having a relationship.
Never let the actions of other people destroy your chance at happiness. Dana then heard the soft words of her grandmother whisper in her mind.
Grandma Rae, who left the Cozy Cupcakes Café to Dana in her will, used to also say “The secret ingredient to being truly happy is to focus on your blessings, not your disappointments. Make the most out of each day you’re given and be happy.” The last part about being happy, Grandma Rae would always emphasize.
Could Dana ever be happy with too-sexy-for-his-own-good Detective Troy Anders? She wondered.
Dana’s thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open.
Katie came into the office with a plate and a frosted Vanilla Cream Cupcake of the day. “Here it is. Our special of the day with our secret ingredient. Thought you should taste the finished product. Customers love it. They’re gobbling it up like crazy. The place is packed this morning. Everyone’s stopping by for their morning cupcake fix.”
“Sweet.” Dana felt a sense of pride. “I’m so glad they’re enjoying it. I wanted us to try something a little different with Grandma Rae’s famous recipe.”
“I know. I really miss Ma Rae. I wish she were here to see how fine this place has turned out.”
“She would be proud.” Dana took a spoonful of the rich vanilla cream icing and cupcake. “Mmm. Delicious.”
Katie placed her hands on her hips. “Can you believe customers were waiting for thirty minutes outside in the cold for the café to open up?”
“Thirty minutes?”
“Yes. Mrs. Johnson was just saying that everyone wanted in on the deal.”
“Oh, right. First thirty customers get a cupcake and coffee on the house.”
“Talk about good advertising.”
“More like good customer service as Grandma Rae would say. It’s just our way of saying thanks to our loyal customers.” A warm feeling centered on Dana’s heart. She had been thinking of ways to reward loyal customers who always showed up early so she figured why not reward the first thirty on the first Monday of each month with free cupcakes of the day. Of course, many customers ended up buying a whole batch of cupcakes for their office meetings or events, but Dana was still glad she offered them something in return for their loyalty.
She glanced out the window. The fall wind bent the tree branches and the orange, red and yellow leaves fell to the ground. She couldn’t believe the nice people waited outside for half an hour in this nippy weather. She truly appreciated their loyalty.
“Oh, Dana,” Katie smacked her forehead with her palm. “I almost forgot to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“There’s a blond chick with a black Chanel bag asking questions about Gerdie-Sue. Anyway, she wants to speak with you.”
“Speak with me? What on earth for? Is Gerdie-Sue okay?”
“Not sure. But this chick’s really interesting. You should talk to her.”
Dana finished up her tallying and saved her file on the computer before closing it. She also scooped up another spoonful of the tasty fresh whipped cream French Vanilla frosting of the cupcake with the spoon that came with it. Cozy Cupcakes Café was famous for serving cupcakes with a spoon because the cream was piled high and the decorated wrappers usually carried a fun light saying of the day. Today’s saying was: “Taste the sweet side of life.”
When Dana finished, she walked out into the café’s dining area.
Why on earth did she get the feeling that her conversation with this mystery customer was going to be anything but sweet? The woman said she wanted to speak to Dana about Gerdie Sue—who was the unofficial town news bulletin or town gossip.
“Hi, you wanted to speak with me?” Dana said, extending her hand to the blond woman standing by the counter with a black Chanel flap bag over her shoulder.
The woman who had porcelain like skin, bone straight blond hair and icy blue eyes looked at Dana’s hand with intrigue but didn’t shake it. Her Chanel flap bag looked authentic so Dana guessed she was well off.
Dana was left feeling awkward and hanging and immediately shifted her hand and smoothed her apron instead.
“Yes. I need to ask you some questions.”
The café was packed that morning.
“Can I get you something to eat?” Dana asked politely, “We have two specials of the day. Our Peanut Butter Cream Cupcake or Vanilla Cream Cupcake of the day.”
The woman scuffed. “Oh, God. Please, no peanut butter. How can you serve that?”
“Excuse me?”
“There are people with peanut allergy you know. I have severe reactions to it. I’ll take the Vanilla Cream as long as you haven’t used peanut products around it.”
“Oh, no. Our cupcakes don’t usually have any peanut products. Well, except our Peanut Butter...um...creamy cupcake...um...Katie, can you please ring one up for...”
“Lichelle. Lichelle Sampson.” The woman’s voice was raspy and curt. She looked around the café and her eyes widened.
Dana noticed that her glare fell on a customer who looked just like her. He also had icy blue eyes and straight blond hair and similar facial features. Were they related? They could certainly pass off as twins.
“You wanted to speak to me, right? We can take a seat over there by the fireplace.”
“Not here. I don’t want to speak here. Is there somewhere private where we can go?”
Dana hesitated for a moment. She didn’t like to take customers to the office which was through the kitchen in a room at the back, but that was the only place she could think of.
* * *
“YOU SAID YOU HAD SOME questions to ask me?” Dana said, standing up in her office. She was always taught in office etiquette that if you didn’t have time to talk then it was better to be standing so the other person would get the message that it would be a brief conversation or meeting.
“Yes,” she said, closing the door behind her.
Dana was hoping that the door would be left open so that if the woman turned out to be a psychopath, well, at least the others in the kitchen would hear whatever commotion there was.
“Okay, I’m listening.”
The woman hesitated for a moment, holding her French Vanilla cupcake in one hand after having only taken one spoonful of the frosting and cake. The spoon was dug into the top of the dessert. “You see, this is very hard for me but Gerdie-Sue used to work for my...my father.”
“She did?”
“Yes. And well, you see he passed away recently.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. Daddy wasn’t a very nice man.”
Dana’s heart dropped. Okay, how was she to respond to that? “I’m sorry to hear that, too,” Dana finally said, softly.
The woman shifted uncomfortably on the spot. “Well, anyway, I just need a few questions to ask of her but I’m not able to reach her. I understand she comes here often...”
“You’re not able to reach her? Well, you might find her at the Berry Cove Beauty Parlor. Everyone hangs out there.”
“Do you have her phone number? The one I was given has been disconnected. It’s really important. You see, Daddy left something for her in his will.”
“He did?”
“Yes. We were all surprised.”
“We?”
“Yes, my brothers and I. And well, pretty much all the staff that worked with father.”
“I see.”
“Do you have a number I can reach her at?”
“Well, Lichelle, to be quite honest, I don’t give out phone numbers of any of my customers. But, if you leave your number, I can forward it to her when I see her again.”
Lichelle bit her lower lip. She seemed upset by this suggestion. She then let out a deep sigh. “Fine. Do that.”
Lichelle pulled out a business card. “I travelled here from Boston. I’m now staying at the Maison apartments.”
“The Maison apartments?”
“Yes. I decided to stick around town so I rented a place.”
Dana thought the whole situation was odd. Why come all the way from Boston for a visit and rent an apartment to stay? Why not a hotel? The woman looked rich enough to afford that kind of luxury. Dana guessed not everyone liked to check into hotels. She wondered just how long this Lichelle person was planning to stay in Berry Cove?
“Um, by the way,” Lichelle said, taking a scoop of delicious vanilla frosting and cupcake. “Did Gerdie ever tell you about her...past?”
“No. What about it?”
A wicked grin touched her lips. “Oh, nothing. You know, everything isn’t as it seems. She didn’t tell you how she really came into her money?”
“Gerdie-Sue’s a widow. Everyone knows that.”
A grin curved her lips again. “Oh, really. I guess that’s what she wants people to believe. Well, see you later.”
She turned to leave the office, leaving Dana more stunned than anything.
As Lichelle walked through the kitchen and out through to the café, she stopped at the counter. “You know I would love to have a half dozen of those dreamy cupcakes. Vanilla, of course.”
“Sure thing.” Katie rung up the order while another member of staff grabbed a box to fill with a half dozen creamy cupcakes.
Lichelle fished around inside her purse looking worried.
“Are you okay?” Katie asked.
“I seem to have lost my keys,” Lichelle said, looking deep into her purse, pulling things out.
“Is this it?” Dana said, pointing to a pink furry keychain puff hanging out of the front pocket of her purse.
Lichelle laughed nervously. “I must be losing it. I usually stuff it inside my bag.”
“Hey, no worries. It’s happens to the best of us.”
Lichelle paid for her desserts and took the merchandise and left the store, looking over her shoulder.
The lookalike guy who sat by the fireplace in the corner suddenly got up and followed Lichelle out the door.
Dana wanted to say something but she didn’t want to cause any trouble so she just observed the guy. It seemed like Lichelle really had cause to have a lot of things on her mind. And that guy could be one of them.
Troy always told Dana to take note of things. Observe what people were wearing, what they looked like and take note of any noticeable scars or features. It was as if he was grooming her to be a detective. But she just wasn’t interested, of course. Sure, she loved to solve mystery riddles. She had her popular mystery blog running. But between that and running the café, that was enough drama for her life.
Another customer took a box full of delicious vanilla cupcakes saying, “They are so rich and creamy. What secret ingredient did you use? I’ve never tasted anything so heavenly.”
Dana grinned. “Our secret ingredients are never shared. Sorry, ma’am.”
Not soon after Lichelle left, Katie inched closer to Dana behind the counter. “What was that about?”
“Oh, nothing much. She just wanted to get Gerdie-Sue’s phone number.”
“You didn’t give it to her, did you?”
“Well, of course not. But there’s something very odd about her and...” Dana looked around. She glanced through the window of the café to the parking lot to see if Lichelle and the lookalike guy were anywhere. She noticed that Lichelle and the blond guy were standing having a conversation. A very heated conversation at that. Lichelle had plopped her box of cupcakes in the back seat and had her arms folded across her chest, scolding the guy. Dana noticed he was well dressed in a leather jacket and kaki pants and a very expensive gold watch on his wrist.
“What’s wrong, cuz?” Katie asked noticing Dana peering out at the parking lot.
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that I noticed that guy earlier. It looks as if he’s a relative.”
“He’s her brother,” a voice sounded behind them.
“Excuse me?” Dana spun around.
It was Kerry, one of the café’s regulars and new grad student. Dana always admired the way Kerry worked so hard. Kerry had an unusual appearance. She had white porcelain skin, jet-black shoulder length straight hair that cut into a nice bob and was obviously dyed. She wore thick eyeliner and had lovely wide dark brown eyes. The color of dark chocolate.
“Hey, Kerry, I didn’t notice you.”
Kerry had just purchased a box of half a dozen Vanilla Cream cupcakes from one of the other cashiers. The café was so busy that morning; they had all the tills going at once.
“It’s okay,” she yawned. “I’m just so tired.”
“Another night shift, eh?”
“Yeah, it’s the only job available for a new grad like me, but I’ll take it. Besides, I need to pay off my student loans and my debts.”
“I hear you, girl. I remember what that was like.”
Just then, another customer bumped into Kerry causing her to push forward.
“Hey...Oh, Mr. Terrence. I didn’t see you there.”
“Sorry,” the man said with a gruff voice. He then gave Kerry a glare and walked off.
“What was that about?” Dana asked.
“Oh, that’s the landlord of the Maison. He’s in a bit of a mood today. Actually, he’s in a bit of a mood everyday.”
“Oh, wow. He seems like a nice guy,” Dana teased. “Anyway, you were saying?”
“Oh, yeah. Lichelle moved into the Maison right above me a little while ago. She seems a little flirty with the landlord. I think he got burned though. I heard him arguing with her about her bounced deposit check. I thought she was a bit of an odd ball. She’s been there for a few weeks now, asking questions about our Gerdie-Sue.”
“She’s asked you questions, too?”
“Yep. Word has it that her daddy left her and her estranged brother out of his will and gave all the dough and assets to his former maid.”
“Gerdie-Sue was a maid?” Dana looked stunned. Not that there was anything wrong with being a maid, but the way Gerdie always dresses so fine in expensive clothes and designer duds and travels the world and turns her nose up at those not doing too well, she would never have guessed.
“How did you know this?” Dana asked Kerry.
“Unfortunately, she moved right above me and the walls in that old Victorian converted duplex are as thin as the paper in my note book.”
“Oh, no. How awful.”
“No worries. I’m hardly there anyway, busy with work and studies. But I do find it odd that she and her brother seem to be sworn enemies. It’s almost as if they’re here on some treasure hunt and the one that wins gets all the gold.”
“Sounds like that’s one for you mystery riddles blog, eh, cuz?” Katie grinned, her arms folded across her chest as she listened to Kerry.
“No way, cuz. This is one for the police, if anything gets out of hand,” Dana replied.
“The police?” Gerdie-Sue’s voice sounded and Dana’s heart jolted.
“Um...G-Gerdie-Sue? I didn’t see you come in?” Talk about major awkward. They’d been caught gossiping about the town gossip—one of their most faithful customers who’d been there since Grandma Rae owned the café.
“What are you guys talking about?” Gerdie Sue had her monogrammed Louis Vuitton speedy on the crook of her arms. Her designer perfume was kicking today. And she had her hair done in an updo and colored in red streaks. She would often change her hair color as often as she changed her attire. She often frequented the Berry Cove’s most popular beauty parlor, Bea’s Salon, where she also cultivated a lot of juice for her gossip from the town’s women who frequent there to both hear her stories and to share theirs. She was known as the merry rich widow, whom, according to her own words, never had to work a day in her life because her wonderful husbands always took care of her. Well, according to Lichelle, that wasn’t always the case. She was a maid for the rich, so somebody wasn’t telling the truth. Go figure.
“Um...oh...um, nothing Gerdie-Sue. Well, actually, it’s about someone looking for you.”
“Looking for me?” Gerdie said as she turned to one of the cashiers and ordered some desserts. “I’ll have the two cupcakes of the day, please. The peanut butter cream and the vanilla cream.”
“Sure thing,” the cashier said while she scooped up a couple of delicious large cupcakes topped with whipped cream frosting and placed them in a box. She then rang up the order.
Gerdie paid for the goodies and turned her attention back to Dana.
“Y-yes,” Dana said, reaching into her apron pocket and pulling out the business card that Lichelle left. She then handed the card to Gerdie.
Gerdie didn’t have to say anything. Her expression said it all.
Gerdie’s eyes widened with terror as if she’d seen a pale blue ghost or something. Or maybe the ghost of her past. The ghost of her secrets.
“Gerdie, are you all right?”
“Um...” Gerdie was speechless for the first time since Dana knew her. Gerdie always had something to say.
Soon after a moment of silence, Gerdie’s expression slid from shock to anger in seconds.
“What’s wrong?” Dana asked concerned.
“What did she tell you?” Gerdie asked, seething.
“About what?”
“About me? That little rat. She’s always been up to no good, stirring up trouble wherever she goes. She’s a devious little character.”
“Well, only that you used to work for her father.”
Gerdie-Sue looked as if she was going to be ill. The color drained from her face. Gerdie was always the one to keep up appearances but it looked as if she couldn’t right now.
“Gerdie, you’re skin is pail. Are you feeling all right?” Dana asked concerned.
“Yes.” Her tone was aloof.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but Mr. Sampson passed away, and well, I think you were mentioned in the will. Lichelle will tell you the rest...”
“No, she won’t.”
“Excuse me?”
“I won’t give her the chance. It’s a trap. That no good son of a...she can’t just come in here like that spewing her lies. What else did she tell you about...my past? Gerdie had one hand placed on her hips, her eyes narrowed and the other hand holding on tight to the box of cupcakes.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Gerdie-Sue sounded dubious.
“I know what she’s up to. She can’t stay in Berry Cove. No way in hell.”
“Gerdie, what’s going on?”
“Yes, I used to work for her pappy as...oh, never mind. I wasn’t just an employee and she knows that.”
“You weren’t?”
“I’m going to rid of that no good...she’s not staying in this town...”