Truffle Me Not: Baker by Day ,Sleuth on the Side (Cupid's Catering Company Book 2)

by M K Scott

  The woman sat, leaving Della doing the math. Her odds just improved considerably. Mary took over the microphone and attempted to talk over the spirited discussion about what brand of commercially made truffles was used. “All right. Let’s move on to the winners. In third place, we have Gretta Jones.”

  A beaming senior made her way up the stairs with the help of an Optimist volunteer to accept a red ribbon for her white chocolate snowflake truffle. Noelle Adams, a senior at Owens high school, took second place. Della made a mental note to ask Elise about her. Where was Elise? Della thought she’d be here. Mary held the microphone up to her mouth.

  “First prize goes to…”

  Della crossed her fingers while telling herself just to place would be enough recognition. After all, outside of the people who remained for the contest, no one would know.

  “…Jedediah Keeler!”

  “Woo hoo!” A white-bearded man who could have easily stood in for Santa trotted onto the stage to accept his ribbon. He brandished the ribbon and shouted. “It’s a Christmas Miracle! I’ve entered the county fair dozens of times, but I never placed. Why, you might ask yourself…”

  The microphone went silent as Barney stepped on stage to encourage the newest winner to give up his soapbox. He must have confused the event with the Academy Awards.

  Once the microphone came back on with a squeal, the program continued. “Now, the grand champion of truffle making of Owens is…”

  Zac simulated a drumroll by rhythmically pounding on the table. Being too nervous, Della closed her eyes and fisted her hands, reminding herself nothing had changed. Her world would go on.

  “Della Delacroix for Irish Delight!”

  Her mother whooped with joy. Polite applause sounded from the remaining crowd, and a hard nudge came from Clarice. “Go get your trophy.”

  While the other winners had rosette ribbons, Mary presented her with a trophy worthy of any child beauty contest. Instead of a little beauty on top, it sported a cupcake. “I accept this trophy on behalf of the entire staff at Cupid’s Catering and Bakery, who made it possible.”

  From her elevated position, she observed Lacey’s peons packing up while her nemesis had a few choice words for her sidekick. Since she had stopped speaking and Lacey hadn’t, the words carried. “Petit Fours! Can’t you tell the difference between a truffle and a petit four?”

  It was a common mistake made by many.

  BOTH ELISE AND Stephanie stepped through the double doors carrying bakery boxes. Still at the microphone, Della took the opportunity for a shameless plug. “It looks like a special delivery from Cupid’s Catering Company and Bakery.”

  Her staff had packed up every unsold goodie to bring down to the hall at her mother’s urging. Stephanie even brought the truffle box. People trailed the two rather reminiscent of the Pied Piper. None, she was sure, would relish being compared to rats as they noshed down on the goodies. A few complained about the lack of coffee. It was all good. She watched her mother flirting with Barney. Should she say something? That was the question of the hour.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  THERE ARE FEW moments in life when time slows down. Della held up her trophy as a few of the judges explained why her truffles wowed them. Most of the crowd watched the stage while a few worked their way to the table where Stephanie and Elise passed out the newly arrived treats. Guy gave her a thumbs up. The one person she’d expect to be focused on her had moved to confront Lacey Dankworth. What could her mother possibly be up to?

  Another round of polite applause sounded, which probably meant her fifteen minutes of fame had run out. It was not exactly fifteen minutes, but she’d take it. Della cradled the trophy and carefully navigated the few steps down to ground level. Falling flat on her face would be memorable but not the impression she wanted to make.

  At the bottom of the steps, Guy met her, stopping her investigation of what trouble her mother might be stirring up. Obviously, the money train had derailed for the Dankworths, which meant no posh bakery for their darling. Just as well. If the woman hoped to pass off petit fours in a truffle contest, she had no place inside a bakery unless it was in the customer line. There was no reason for her mother to hone in on Lacey. Was she hoping to make up for the torment Lacey dished out in her younger years?

  “Great job,” Guy enthused with a huge grin. “I had confidence in you.”

  “Odd,” she teased, “when you’ve never even tasted a truffle.”

  He held up one finger. “I tasted your cookies. Zac and I ate all of the first dozen you sent me. Good thing I hadn’t added them to the menu. Why don’t we see if there are any cookies or possibly truffles left, and I can offer you my unbiased opinion.”

  The two of them strolled to the table where Elise and Stephanie passed out treats. One woman moaned so much as she bit into the truffle nicknamed Dark Embrace that even Della blushed. People enjoying what she made brought on an overwhelming wave of joy that made her want to twirl and sing, rather like Julie Andrews at the start of The Sound of Music movie. Being in a public place squelched that desire, along with the fact she couldn’t sing like Julie Andrews.

  Della accepted well wishes from Elise and Stephanie while keeping an eye on her mother. Whatever it was, Barney had to be a part of it. He stayed by Mabel’s side. In hindsight, she realized her father had served as a stabilizing force in all their lives. Whenever Della got pulled into a problematic activity, rather than forbidding it, he made her question her motivations and possible outcomes. It didn’t take too long before she saw the thing she absolutely had to do or thought she couldn’t live without didn’t serve her. He probably did the same for her mother. Barney, on the other hand, simply allowed himself to be swept along with the force of nature named Mabel Delacroix.

  Clarice beckoned to Della, which resulted in her turning to Guy and saying, “Just a minute. I need to find out what Clarice wants.”

  The strong-willed woman had helped in their previous amateur sleuth case. It made her wonder why her mother hadn’t availed herself of Clarice’s numerous contacts. Maybe she had.

  As Della drew closer, Clarice whispered, “Do it soon. Before her heart becomes attached.”

  What did she expect Della to do? Forbid any association with Barney? Everyone knew forbidden things were all the sweeter. Romeo probably wouldn’t have given Juliet a second look if his parents urged the match. Not willing to commit to anything, Della settled on waving. “Thanks for coming. See you soon.”

  Clarice winked. “I understand. We’ll let this be our little secret.”

  The problem was, if Clarice knew something, it wasn’t a secret anymore. She watched the woman depart with a word to Mabel on her way and obviously snubbing Barney. Surely Mabel knew her friend’s opinion by now. There was no reason to pile it on. After all, as an adult, her mother made her own choices.

  If the stragglers left in a prompt fashion, Della could help clean up the place as agreed. One of the contest organizers gave her a thumbs up. It was an unsubtle and very public gesture if someone felt they’d been cheated of victory. Right now, all Della wanted to do was clean up and go home—and find out where she stood with Guy. His help and congratulations signaled things might be okay between the two of them. Who knows? He might ask her out for tonight if his restaurant remained closed today.

  If Mary told the other vendors they had to help clean up, very few complied. The speed at which most broke down their tables and stowed their goods reminded her of a race. If nothing else, it demonstrated this wasn’t their first event. A few might even have day jobs as firemen or movers. Guy and Zac stayed behind and helped stack chairs. Elise emptied the trash while Stephanie vacuumed. This left Della doing whatever errand Mary needed done, which included cleaning out the bathrooms. It reminded her that people could be pigs when left unsupervised.

  After cleaning the last restroom, Della exited the room. While stripping her gloves off, she bumped into her mother, who had been suspiciously absent during the cleaning.
“Where have you been?”

  “Sowing the seeds for the big sting.” Her mother beamed as she rubbed her hands together in delight.

  Parents complained their children often spoke in slang or cryptic phrases. It was just the opposite with her. Della said what she meant. “What big sting?”

  “You know. Catnapping, jewel thieves, breaking and entering, and all that. I’ve sown the seeds for our thugs to show their true colors tonight.”

  While Della had reason enough, as much as any girl who had had the misfortune to attend high school with Lacey Dankworth, that alone didn’t make her guilty. “What made you suspicious of her?”

  Her mother lifted her chin and gave an upward tip of it before winking. She tapped her temple. “I pay attention. Observation skills, sweetie.”

  Della would have sworn she used her skills, too, but hadn’t come up with Lacey.

  “First,” Mabel flourished a closed fist, then allowed one finger to pop up. “Dankworths weren’t in the public eye. Weird. Said something about it and people assumed they were traveling, jetting from place to place. Clarice’s cousin is their travel agent and said they haven’t booked anything in at least two years.”

  “Okay.” Della remembered her mother saying something about the Dankworths, but it hadn’t registered. “Money troubles?”

  “Must be,” her mother acknowledged. “Everyone said the money would run out sometime. If her parents had the moolah, they would have bought a prime location for their little darling’s bakery. I’ve been watching those prime locations.”

  A hand found purchase on her hip as Della cradled the trophy with the other arm. “I’m always the last to know.”

  “No reason to mention it because it didn’t happen. If it did happen, I might not mention it due to Lacey’s short attention span. That gal isn’t good at sticking to anything. By the time her parents managed to open the bakery, Lacey would have moved on. Don’t feel too bad, the information that confirmed my suspicions came via Barney.”

  “Barney,” Della echoed the name. Even though retired, the man probably still had a finger on the pulse of the criminal element in town.

  Her mother gave a vigorous nod. “I pointed out George and Lennie as the shady characters hanging around our neighborhood. Barney did a double take. Told me they were Melvin and Moe. Can you believe anyone named their child Moe?” Mabel sniffed. “Can you imagine the poor boy in grade school? All the other kids must have thought he was named after the annoying rodent that ruined lawns. Probably traumatized him.”

  It was time to get her mother back on track if she ever wanted to find out about the sting operation. “I’m sure Moe is a nickname. His real name is probably Mortimer, Morris, Mordecai, or Morton. Hefty names for a little kid. Did Barney say anything else?”

  “Yep. Said he was surprised they were already out of prison. Apparently, they were convicted of insurance fraud. They set a woman’s house on fire so she could collect insurance money.”

  “Real sweethearts.” Della switched the heavy trophy to the other arm. “Obviously, they got caught.”

  A chuckle escaped her mother, who fanned her face with her hand—an indicator she found whatever Barney said vastly amusing. “And—they were trying to drum up business by using the fire as a testimonial. They even had a slogan: dirty deeds done cheap.”

  “Enterprising.”

  “In a way.” Mabel shrugged as if to give the cons points for trying. “Barney joked only they could be responsible for screwing up a simple cat snatch. That,” she held up one index finger, “brings us to how I am going to reel in our guilty fish.”

  Della never considered fish to be guilty. Even though she might regret it, she asked, “How did you do that?”

  Her mother tilted her nose upward and pressed a hand against her chest. “Oh, no worries. I was subtle.”

  Probably as subtle as a three-hundred-pound gorilla. “What did you say?”

  “Naturally, I was excited that my daughter won the truffle contest, which any mother would be. I think I said how wonderful it is that my talented daughter receives the recognition she deserves.”

  Any interest Lacey had shown her previously had been happenstance to Della’s way of thinking. She’d somehow got between Lacey and something she wanted. Her mother’s bragging probably painted a bullseye on her. “Thanks, Mom. How is that setting up a sting?”

  “Oh, that wasn’t it.” Her mother crinkled her nose. “That was just rubbing salt in the wound. I mentioned that Vanessa would have loved to have been here, but she’s getting reacquainted with her fancy Himalayan cat with the jeweled collar. Fortunately, the kitty returned home.”

  “Did it really return home?”

  “Good heavens, no. Jolene, up the street, has it trapped in her house. If you remember when the Snyders’ toy poodles went missing, she kept them penned in her basement. Vanessa and I walked the neighborhood and saw Prince Purrfection put his flat face up to the window at Jolene’s house. Pitiful.”

  “Why didn’t you knock on her door?” Della folded the gloves and put them in the cleaning caddy. Why all the drama? It would be a simple thing to ask for your cat back. It’s what she would have done.

  Her mother snorted. “You don’t know Jolene. The Snyders had to bring a vet with a portable chip reader to prove they were their dogs.”

  Jolene could sometimes prove difficult. “How do you plan to get the cat back?”

  “Police interference in the form of Barney.”

  “Barney’s retired,” Della felt obliged to point out in case the man had failed to do so.

  “I know.” Her mother patted Della on the shoulder. “The man isn’t flimflamming me. We’re just putting on a good show for Clarice.”

  Somewhere along the line, Della had missed vital information. “Why would you do that?”

  Mabel sighed. “The heart wants what the heart wants.”

  Barney might fancy Clarice, but it definitely wasn’t reciprocal. “She called Barney needy and desperate. She told me to warn you off him.”

  Her mother clapped her hands together. “Excellent. Can you come by tonight? We need as many eyes as possible to catch our catnappers in action.”

  It was not exactly the evening she’d hoped for, but she’d like to put an end to the catnappers. “Um, Mother, did you consider you don’t have the cat, yet?”

  “Oh that.” She chuckled. “Helen provided a decoy cat, Tunameister. She told Vanessa she could keep him, which was generous considering how expensive those cats are. Helen actually thanked Vanessa for stealing the cat at the rest stop. She figured that probably kept him alive and in the area.” Mabel shook her head. “Here I thought I knew everything about Vanessa. She’s been volunteering at a school in Centerville. She goes twice a week and reads stories to the kindergartners. She shows up with a basket of books and a stuffed cat, which explains why she stopped off at a rest stop.”

  This new information did put Vanessa in a much more sympathetic light. Just when you thought you knew someone, they did something surprising. Helen thanked the woman who stole her cat the second time, a crime Vanessa admitted to by calling it a rescue.

  “She doesn’t want to pay Jolene the reward she’s offering for the cat since she stole it from Vanessa.”

  Vanessa wouldn’t get the reward, which explained the generous offer of a cat. It must be the least liked cat to be given away so easily. Della closed her eyes as she felt a headache coming on, and then the iconic lightbulb went off over her head. Her eyelids flickered upward. “I’ve got it. The cat is stolen property. Jolene is in possession of stolen property, which makes her an accessory.”

  Mabel’s brow furrowed as she pondered the situation. “Most of the time, people who have stolen property don’t have to give it up unless the police can prove they knew it was stolen.”

  “That’s what you need to do.”

  “True. I think I can get Barney to do that.”

  “Stop!” Della held out her hand in a halt motion. “Do
n’t go dragging Barney into this. Have Helen call the police. She can accompany a uniform and identify her cat. Maybe she might want to contact her vet, who can show up with a mobile chip reader.”

  “Better yet, bring the portrait from her house.”

  “Keep it simple.”

  “Ah sweetie, you sound so much like your father. Still, I need you at the house by seven. Park down at the corner and walk. I don’t want any extra cars to scare our prey away.”

  It was definitely not the evening she had been anticipating.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  THE STUFFED CLOTHES, complete with rainboots for feet and gloves for hands, reminded Della of the mannequins topped with gruesome masks they used to place on their porch for Halloween. Once most of the kids got used to it, her father took the place of one of the mannequins. Usually, he only moved the tiniest little bit to see who might notice. In the case of smart-mouthed teens, he’d jump up and scare a yelp out of them. Vanessa returned with a wig head, complete with a wig on it.

  “Okay.” Mabel took the head and tried to insert it inside the neck of the stuffed clothes without success.

  “Try a bungee cord and attach it to the rocking chair. Use the wig to hide the cord,” Della offered, wondering, and not for the first time, why everyone was dressed in all black, complete with black beanies. Her mother insisted it was to not be seen by the thieves. Maybe they were participating in her mother’s secret fantasy to be a spy or possibly an actress in a spy movie. It would have to be a spoof.

  Both Vanessa and Mabel labored over the decoy Vanessa. When they finished, it gave the appearance of stuffed clothes with a wig head.

  “Lemme do this…” Vanessa turned on the television to a game show and turned off the light.

  Creepy. Like Psycho creepy. If the chair started rocking on its own, she was gone.

  Helen brought along a stuffed cat sporting a glittery collar. None of them wanted to take a chance on using a live cat. All they had to do was catch them in the act, not allow them to take the cat. Helen placed the cat in the fake Vanessa’s lap.