Cupcakes and Killers

by Laina Turner

“You need to tell Jonathan. You can’t put it off any longer, Cora. He cares about you and has a right to know what is going on. You’re about to get married and have a baby. You shouldn’t have secrets,” I said. “Especially secrets that could put you and the baby in harm’s way.”

  “I know. You’re right. I just don’t want to bother him. He has enough on his plate.”

  “I don’t think he will see this as a bother. He’s going to be angrier if you don’t tell him. You’ll tell him? Today?” I said.

  “Yes. Fine. I will. We are meeting at the florist and having dinner. I’ll tell him then.”

  “Good girl,” Sally said, giving her a hug. “I didn’t mean to be so hard on you, we just worry. And like Trixie said, this guy found you here and followed you. That takes dedication. It’s not a stretch to think he will get tired of admiring you from afar. You don’t want to wait and see what he will do when that happens. Because then it’s too late.”

  “You’re right. You’re both right,” Cora finally agreed.

  The rest of the morning passed slowly, and when I looked at the clock and saw it was only 3:12 p.m., I groaned. It was one of those days where it felt like it should be nine at night already. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I wanted my bed in the worst way.

  “I’m right there with ya, sister,” Sally said. We were doing an inventory of our coffee to place an order for the next month. We’d found a place online to order in bulk, which saved a lot of money, but it also made it much more challenging to forecast and plan. We’d only been open a few months and didn’t have that much sales history to go off of or to identify trends. Buying in bulk and saving money wouldn’t be saving money if the customers didn’t want what we had. We couldn’t afford to have items sitting here that didn’t sell. These were some of the things I hadn’t really thought about when we opened this place. It had been a learning experience. Ah, the joys of being a business owner.

  “Why don’t you take off?” Sally said. “You had a stressful morning, and we’re about finished here. I can finish up, and Barbara will be here soon to help out.”

  That sounded wonderful. If I left now, I would have enough time to take a nap, maybe even a hot shower, before picking up Cody. Cody and I had plans to go to Pizza Hut and duckpin bowling with a couple friends of his and their moms. It would be great to get some downtime before tonight’s festivities. Hopefully, I would wake up with renewed energy.

  “Are you sure, Sally? I hate to leave you with this mess, and you didn’t get any more sleep than I did,” I said, looking around at all the coffee we had pulled from the shelves to get an accurate count. I felt guilty leaving her to finish.

  “Sure, it’s fine,” she said, waving me away. “Go! You can repay the favor sometime.”

  She didn’t have to tell me twice. I grabbed my coat from the coat rack, my purse from the office, and practically ran out of the building before she had a chance to change her mind or it got busy again. I was already mentally in a bubble bath. I was so lost in thought I didn’t see anyone was in my path until I ran smack into someone.

  “Oomph,” I said, dropping my purse. Luckily, it was zipped, or my things probably would have been scattered all over the parking lot. “Sorry,” I said as I bent down to grab my purse.

  “Don’t worry about it,” said a male voice. A voice I recognized. I slowly looked up, and a smile spread across my face.

  “Jack! What are you doing here? I mean, it’s great to see you,” I continued, giving him a hug. “But what are you doing back?”

  “Good to see you too,” he said, with that smile of his that had caught me off guard the first time I met him. That, and his voice. He had such a deep, sexy voice.

  “Really, what are you doing back? When we talked the other night you didn’t say anything about flying back.” I hadn’t talked to him in a few days. Neither of us had tried to call the other, and while I realized our relationship was following the long-distance fizzle-out path, I was surprised he hadn’t told me he was coming. I was kind of mad he hadn’t, actually.

  “It was a last-minute thing. I thought I would surprise you.”

  “I’m surprised all right. In a good way.” I didn’t want him to think my reaction was due to not wanting him here. I was just caught off guard. So many thoughts were running through my head. I was so confused. “Did something at the law office need your attention? By the way, the girls and I like the new lawyer Pete hired to replace you.”

  “He told me she was fitting in nicely. No, I came back because of you.”

  That sent warm fuzzies down my spine, and suddenly, I wasn’t tired anymore. Funny how that worked.

  “I’ve missed you, Trix. When Clive called me yesterday and told me everything that’s been going on around here, I had to come see for myself you were okay.”

  I took a step back. “Clive called you?”

  “Yes. He’s worried about you. About everything that’s going on, and he wanted to make sure you had told me.”

  I had told Jack everything. At least, up to the last time we spoke. While I knew Clive cared and that was his motivation for calling Jack, the independent woman in me was a little miffed. It wasn’t like Jack and I were married, and even if we were, it still would have annoyed me. Jack knew me well enough that he picked up on the fact I was a bit annoyed.

  “Trixie, don’t be mad at Clive. He has your best interests at heart, and you have to admit, your life hasn’t been normal lately.”

  “I know,” I said, and let him pull me in for another hug. It was so nice to melt against him. I inhaled a whiff of his cologne and felt tears prick the back of my eyes. I really did miss him. This distance thing sucked. I’d thought Jack and I had something that would go somewhere. After a few moments, we pulled back.

  “Where were you heading in such a hurry that you weren’t paying attention to where you were going?” he asked.

  “Home, actually. Sally took pity on me and sent me home early. There was a disturbance at the shelter this morning, and with everything else going on, I’m just drained.”

  “What happened at the shelter?” Jack said, concerned.

  “Nothing related to me. The estranged husband of one of the women I have been working with discovered she was there and tried to get in to see her. The cops came quickly, and thank goodness, nothing happened. She was just rattled. Makes me appreciate my life more. I can’t imagine having to deal with that. And they have a daughter together. At some point, she will have to let him see her. How terrifying that will be.”

  “If you were headed home, why don’t I join you, and you can fill me in on everything?”

  “That would be great. I would love your company.”

  Thirty minutes later, I was relaxing in a hot bubble bath with a cup of my favorite herbal tea, since it was too early for wine. Okay, it wasn’t actually too early, but I had to drive later. Jack offered to pick Cody up from practice so I could have a little more time to relax before going out. I took him up on the offer, fully grateful to be surrounded by people who cared so much about my well-being that they were willing to help me. I called the school to notify them and drew my bath. So I was surprised a few moments later to hear a knock on the door and Jack’s voice.

  “You decent? Can I come in?”

  “All the important parts are covered in bubbles, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said. “So come on in.”

  “Darn. I have such bad timing,” he said as he opened the door and walked in, bringing me his cell. “It’s Sally. When you didn’t answer yours, she called mine. She says it’s urgent, or I wouldn’t have bothered you.”

  I had called Sally on my way home to share the news about Jack popping up out of nowhere. So if she was trying this hard to get a hold of me, it must have been important. I knew she wouldn’t disturb me otherwise.

  “What’s up, Sally?” I said as Jack motioned to me he was now leaving to get Cody.

  “Stephen just called!”

  I sat up so quickly some
water and bubbles sloshed over the side of the tub. “What!”

  “He thought you were here, and at first didn’t believe me when I said you weren’t. I guess the good news is, he wasn’t in sight of the shop,” she said dryly.

  “Small consolation,” I said, though it made me wonder how many other times he had pretended to know where I was and was only guessing.

  “I think it’s more than small. Think about it. He was counting on you being here and being able to fool us into thinking he knew what was going on. So maybe he hasn’t actually been there all of the times we have thought he was around. He’s just a good liar. Anyways, it made me feel a little better. He was livid when he found out you weren’t here. I think probably because he realized that I knew he didn’t really know what was going on. Did that even make sense?”

  I laughed at her explanation. “Yes, it makes sense. Did you call Clive yet?”

  “No. I called you. And when we’re done, I’ll call him.”

  “So what did Stephen say after he found out I wasn’t there?”

  “Nothing. He hung up. Clearly, he only wants to talk to you. Having fun with Jack?” she asked, switching subjects.

  “Not that kind of fun, but he was kind enough to go pick up Cody so I could take a bath, which is what I was doing when you called. Did you tell Stephen I wanted to meet him?”

  There was a pause.

  “Don’t tell me you forgot,” I said.

  “I was so thrown off guard by his assumption you were here. And then I didn’t know what to say. He hung up before I had a chance.”

  “Okay. Well, I’m sure he will call back.”

  “I’m sorry, Trix.”

  “Don’t be. You can’t help that he hung up.”

  “I need to let you go so I can call Clive. Then you can get back to your bath. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Call me later.”

  “I will,” I said, hanging up and settling back in the bath. Setting Jack’s phone down on the ledge behind me, I closed my eyes and tried to relax again, but too many things were running through my head. Part of me was relieved that I hadn’t been there when Stephen called, but part of me wanted this to just be over. And it couldn’t be over without talking to him. Not to mention I didn’t know what lengths he might go to in order to contact me. I couldn’t help but worry about Cody. How far would Stephen go? I looked at the clock and noticed it was about time for Jack to be back with Cody, and I should probably get out of the tub and get ready. Cody hated it when I made him late.

  I heard the front door open and Cody’s loud footsteps as I was just finishing getting dressed. In a few seconds I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Jack had fixed Cody a snack. I wasn’t worried about it ruining his dinner, since the boy was always hungry. I ruffled his hair and sat down across from him, stealing one of the peanut butter crackers Jack had made for him.

  “How was school?”

  He shrugged. “Boring.”

  “Boring? School’s fun.”

  “Only ’cause you’re not in school.”

  Jack set an iced tea down in front of me.

  “Thanks,” I said, smiling gratefully and turned back to Cody. “Do you have any homework?”

  “Yeah. Mrs. Harper gave us reading to do over the weekend. Can you believe that?” He said it in that kids’ tone that made it seem as if it meant the end of the world. The kind of tone that’s funny, but you can’t laugh because you don’t want to make them mad.

  “Well then, why don’t you take your snack up to your room and get the reading out of the way? We have an hour before we need to leave, and if you get it done now, you won’t have it hanging over your head this weekend.”

  “Okay,” he grumbled, and took his stuff up the stairs. He was a good kid.

  I turned to Jack. “Thanks for picking him up for me. The bath was wonderful. I feel so much better.”

  “No problem. Did something happen while I was gone? You look worried.”

  “Stephen called the shop after I left. That’s why Sally was trying so hard to get a hold of me. The strange thing is, he thought I was there. Don’t you find that odd? Until now, he seemed to know where I was.”

  “That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” he said.

  “No, not at all, just unexplained, I guess. Hey, listen, you’re welcome to stay here while I do the mom/playdate thing at Pizza Hut. We can catch up more when I get back—unless you had other plans.” I was suddenly a little uncomfortable, not knowing exactly where we stood, and if I should be assuming he would want to stay here.

  “I was hoping you would say that. I didn’t want to ask and impose. I have some emails to catch up on and will wait for you to get back. Maybe then we can talk over a bottle of wine.”

  “That would be nice, and maybe—” I stopped talking when I heard my phone vibrating on the counter. I glanced over. Blocked.

  Jack noticed the look on my face. “You think that’s Stephen?”

  “It has to be. That’s the only blocked number calling me lately.”

  “Answer it. I’m here. He can’t hurt you.”

  I slowly nodded and picked up the phone. Forcing my voice to be strong, I said, “Hello?”

  “Went home early, did you?”

  I looked at Jack and mouthed it was indeed Stephen. His face grew hard.

  “I think you already know the answer to that. So why ask me?”

  “Just trying to make some friendly conversation,” he said in a conversational tone. What was he up to?

  I decided to go right for it. “Then how about we meet and have some friendly conversation face-to-face?”

  There was a slight pause. I’m sure he was taken a bit off guard by my forwardness.

  “I take it you have what belongs to me?”

  “Guess you will have to meet me and find out,” I said.

  “You name the place and time, and I’ll be there.” I proceeded to give him the directions to the remote farmhouse we’d followed George and Rachel’s dad too. Rachel had suggested it as a perfect place because it was remote, yet the barn provided a place for cover. The barn would allow Jonathan and some of Clive’s men to watch over us. That was the only way they said they would allow us to go through with this “idiotic plan” (their words, not mine). I hung up the phone and looked at Jack. “Well, hopefully in about thirty-two hours Stephen will be one less worry,” I said with a bravado I sure didn’t feel.

  Cody and I were finally on our way to Pizza Hut a little while later. We were running behind, to Cody’s annoyance, due to the calls I had to make. But as I had learned years ago, annoying your child was a mom’s right, and sometimes the only fun we had. My phone rang again, and I reached for it, seeing it was Avery.

  “Have you talked to Clive?” she asked the second I answered.

  “No. Why? Is something wrong?”

  “One of his deputies came over with the report for the forensic investigation they did on CupCakes.”

  “And?” I asked, both nervous and excited for what she was about to tell me.

  “Clean. Clear as a whistle. They didn’t find any evidence that the poison came from my shop.”

  “Whoo-hoo!” I shouted, though it dawned on me if it didn’t come from her shop and the cupcakes at Read Wine, that meant that the poison was specifically aimed at Harvey. After this mess with Stephen was over, we had to get to the bottom of who killed Harvey. “I’m so happy for you! When can you reopen?”

  “He said as soon as we want. I’m going to get baking right now and plan on opening first thing tomorrow. I hope my customers come back.”

  “That’s wonderful, Avery.” I was really happy for her. “And they will come back. It hasn’t kept them away from Read Wine.”

  “Thanks, but I wish I knew who poisoned him.”

  “Clive will get to the bottom of who killed Harvey,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

  “Mom, you just passed Pizza Hut!” Cody yelled from the back seat.

  “Crap!” I
said out loud, catching the Pizza Hut sign out of the corner of my eye.

  “What?” Avery asked.

  “I just missed the restaurant where Cody and I are going. Distracted, I guess.”

  Avery laughed. “I’ll let you go. Call me tomorrow.”

  “Okay. It really is great news, Avery. I am happy for you.”

  After turning around, we finally made it and joined everyone else, who had been on time. It took a while, but I finally pushed the drama of the day out of my head and enjoyed the company and conversation of the other ladies. The boys talked us into heading out to the Putt-Putt golf place and hitting a few rounds before making a stop at the Dairy Queen.

  A few hours later, back home, a tired Cody only lightly resisted when I told him it was time for bed. Soon I was in the living room, with my feet propped up, and Jack had poured me a glass of my favorite Red Moscato. Slightly chilled, just the way I liked it.

  I took a sip and sighed, savoring the good taste.

  “You’ve had a long day,” he said sympathetically.

  I nodded in agreement. “Was it ever.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked me after a few minutes of silence.

  As happy as I was that Jack was here, I knew we needed to not ignore the issue between us. Meaning the distance. I didn’t want to keep on with this relationship limbo, and I was sure he didn’t either. Chitchatting like everything was fine wouldn’t help the situation.

  “Jack, we need to talk.”

  “Uh-oh, that’s never a good opener.”

  I smiled. “C’mon, don’t make this harder than it already is. You know we need to talk.”

  He hung his head for a minute before lifting it back up. “I know. I just don’t want to.”

  “Me either,” I said

  “Denial can be a beautiful thing,” he said.

  We sat in silence, sipping our wine for about ten minutes. Neither of us wanted to be the first to start this conversation. Finally, Jack spoke. “I’m sorry.”

  I shook my head. “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything.”

  “I appreciate you saying that, but I’m the one who made the decision to move away,” he said, looking dejected.