Death by Chocolate Cupcake

by Rose Pressey

  I smiled. “That’s very sweet of you.”

  “What can I say? I’m a sweet guy,” he said in a teasing tone.

  “Well, I’ll be the judge of that,” I said with a wink.

  Just then a phone rang. I glanced at mine and realized it wasn’t for me. Finn set the plates on the counter and pulled his phone from his pocket.

  “Do you mind if I take this call?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” I said.

  He stepped into the other room. Did he not want me to hear the phone call? Was it secret? Maybe it was Kristen calling to tell him that I had gotten the boot. Or perhaps it was just a friend of his and was none of my business. I put the dishes in the sink and washed them off while I waited for him to return. A shuffling noise from behind me caught my attention. Finn had come back into the kitchen.

  Chapter 20

  “Sorry about that,” he said.

  “Oh, that’s perfectly all right.” I set the dish towel on the counter.

  “You did all the dishes,” he said.

  “I just put them in the sink and let them soak for a bit.”

  “Let me help you with that.”

  “It’s not necessary really. I know it’s getting late and you have to get back,” I said.

  “Yeah, I guess it is late.” He studied my face.

  Finn had never said anything about getting back, but I didn’t want that conversation with my best friend to come true and have Finn staying late. I still wanted to remain professional with him. I had a job to do and that was exactly what I was going to do. Yes, Finn was gorgeous, but I wouldn’t let that get to me.

  “I’ll just pop the dishes into the dishwasher.” I pointed.

  “If you’re sure,” he said with a look of disappointment.

  I nodded. “I’m positive. Thank you though.”

  He stared at me for a long moment and I felt a bit uncomfortable. What was he thinking? Finn stepped over to the counter and I wondered if he was going in to give me a kiss. My heart beat faster as I immediately panicked. I was frozen and didn’t know what to do.

  He placed his phone on the counter and smiled. Then he grabbed the towel. “I’ll just take this back into your bathroom if you don’t mind.”

  I felt silly for thinking he wanted to kiss me. And a bit disappointed? Anyway, I knew I had a funny look on my face and he probably assumed what I’d been thinking. Thank goodness he was nice enough not to say anything. Could I hide under the table now until he left?

  “No problem. It’s just down the hall.” I pointed.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  I watched as he headed out of the kitchen. If only I could hide or start this whole thing all over again. I just wouldn’t mention the encounter and hope that he didn’t get the wrong idea.

  When the phone chimed I jumped a little. Was I ever on edge. Someone had sent Finn a text. I wasn’t always the snoopy type, but I was standing right next to the phone. Okay, I was sometimes snoopy.

  I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to take a tiny peek and read the message. Not that it was any of my business or I even cared who was texting him. Okay, if I didn’t care I wouldn’t look. I was mildly curious. I mean, I had suspicions about him a bit, although it was crazy to have him in my house if I doubted him. If I didn’t trust him then I shouldn’t even let him come over here. My thoughts were all over the place. I needed to get myself together. I was totally losing it. Apparently, all the stress was making me crack.

  I leaned over so that I could get a better look at the screen. Then it went black. After checking over my shoulder to make sure Finn hadn’t returned, I touched the phone to get it to light up again. The screen lit up and I got a look at the name. Adam? Immediately it felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. The cameraman? Why was he texting with the cameraman? I glanced over my shoulder again to see if Finn was on his way back. Not yet. Quickly I read the text message.

  Are you staying there much longer? Can you meet me?

  Why was he meeting him? What was that all about? After I’d told Finn about Adam would he still talk to him? Immediately a terrible feeling settled in my stomach. Should I ask Finn about this? Then he would know I had looked at his phone. I didn’t want him to know that. I would have to just let this go. Noise came from the hallway, so I picked up the dish towel and pretended as if I was wiping my hands, totally acting casual. In reality, I probably looked completely guilty of something. Finn studied my face and I wondered if he was suspicious.

  “Well, I guess I should be on my way,” he said.

  I walked over to the door and opened it. This definitely hadn’t ended as my best friend had thought. He wasn’t staying late.

  “I had a really great time,” he said.

  I didn’t want to be suspicious of him. I wanted to like him. However, if he was guilty of something then there was no way that would ever happen.

  “I had a nice time too. Drive safely on your way back to town. I suppose you’re tired. I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep at the wheel or anything. Are you going straight home?”

  Okay, that wasn’t subtle at all. I thought I was being so clever. Now I was just a rambling mess.

  “Oh, yeah, going straight home,” he said.

  Liar. That wasn’t what the text had said.

  He stepped out onto the porch. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, see you then.” I closed the door immediately and locked it.

  Oh, my gosh. What a disaster. After a couple seconds, I peeked out through the blinds. Finn still stood outside the door. When he turned and walked down the driveway toward his car, I released a deep breath. I was glad he was leaving, but a little sad he was leaving too. Talk about clueless. I had no idea how I truly felt.

  Finn got into his car and backed out of the driveway. I watched as the car’s taillights faded into the distance. Well, now that was over. What should I do? It was getting late. I could go to bed or maybe watch TV. Maybe read a book. Thoughts about what Finn was up to stayed at the front of my mind. I should’ve asked him more questions. I needed to be tougher. Maybe I should’ve followed him. Was it too late for that? Could I jump in the car and actually catch up to him? That would be risky.

  ***

  The sun popped up over the horizon and splashed through the bedroom window. The clock read six a.m. At least it wasn’t late. Soon it would be time to get back to the studio. I wasn’t even sure if I was prepared for this. Why couldn’t things just be normal? Who was I kidding? Even if the case was solved things wouldn’t be normal. Would things ever be okay though? I had no idea, but I had to try and find out. That was the only way I would ever know for sure.

  I jumped up out of bed and headed for the shower. What would I make on the show today? I supposed it would be Finn’s turn to decide. Though I was the cupcake whisperer, not him. I needed to stop being so controlling with everything. I had to learn to share. Though I was still upset with him over the text he’d received last night.

  After the shower I dressed in my black slacks, black heels, and pink blouse. No need to do makeup because I would get that at the studio. As I stepped out of the house I checked all around. No signs of anyone, thank goodness. Lucille wasn’t out on her porch this morning either. I figured she would be curious if I’d seen anything else last night. Maybe she’d stayed up late while running surveillance on the area and now she was sleeping in.

  As I headed into town, I felt lucky that no cars followed me. Maybe all of this was over. Perhaps the person had given up. Could I get that lucky? I hoped so. This time when I pulled into the studio I got an even worse parking spot. How early did I have to arrive in order to snag a prime spot? The walk across the lot couldn’t be much farther unless I parked a few blocks away.

  Once at the door, I paused before I entered. I had to prepare myself. Pushing my shoulders back and holding my head high, I opened the door and peeked inside. It was still pretty dark in there. Where were the lights? With apprehension churning in my
stomach, I made my way down the hallway. My feet clicked against the floor. It was the only sound.

  Halfway down the hall, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I screamed and threw my hands up in a karate stance. I didn’t even know karate. Finn held his hands up in surrender.

  “I had no idea you were a black belt,” Finn said.

  “Not funny,” I said. “You know someone grabbed me in this hallway. Why would you do that?”

  “I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I just tapped you on the shoulder.”

  “Well, calling out to me would have been better. Tapping me on the shoulder without warning wasn’t the best option.”

  “In hindsight, I see that now.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out.

  “Have you calmed down now?” he asked.

  “My heart rhythm is almost back to normal,” I said. “You might want to have a cardiologist on standby though.”

  “I thought maybe you wouldn’t show up,” he said, looking at his watch.

  “Yeah, I hit some traffic. Listen, I have to change, but I’ll see you on set,” I said.

  He studied my face for a moment as if he wanted to say more. Regardless, there was no time for chitchat. I wanted to ask about his meeting with Adam. That was all too fishy. Was Adam already here?

  “Yeah, okay, I’ll see you in a few,” he said with a frown.

  “I’ll talk to you soon,” I said as I raced for the dressing room.

  I’d barely arrived in the room when Ruby stepped in. She’d knocked on the door but hadn’t waited for me to tell her to enter. That was fine with me, but something seemed off about her. Maybe it was her wrinkled black t-shirt or her disheveled hair. Or it could be that she wore no makeup. She’d always had a full face of immaculately applied makeup.

  “Is everything okay, Ruby?” I asked.

  “Everything’s fine,” she said with a nervous edge to her voice.

  I wouldn’t press the issue, but I knew something wasn’t right. Did this have anything to do with the murder? She remained quiet the entire time she applied my makeup. I wondered if it was something I’d done to make her mad.

  “I’m all done,” Ruby said as she gathered her things. “Good luck on the set today.”

  And with that sentence she was out the door. Certainly an odd encounter, but there were a lot of weird things around here so I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised. After getting into my black pencil skirt and emerald green blouse, I headed for the set. Which was no easy task in this fitted skirt and heels. I felt as if I was walking like a mermaid stranded on land.

  Finn was already waiting for me, along with everyone else, including the creepy cameraman. I couldn’t help but glance over at him. And even worse, he was watching me. Granted, everyone else was kind of paying attention to the fact that I was a bit late, but his stare seemed even creepier.

  I stood beside Finn in my usual position. Today we were making mini chocolate chip cookie dough mini cupcakes. I couldn’t seem to get the recipe right as I kept grabbing the wrong ingredients—again, adding salt instead of sugar. Good thing no one was watching that, and no one would taste them.

  “Oh, don’t forget the vanilla extract,” Finn said as he handed me the measuring spoon.

  We already had cupcakes prepared for the tasting part. Knowing that the cameraman was watching me had definitely left me rattled. This wouldn’t be good for keeping the show around.

  “How do you get the cookie dough to stay like dough while they’re baking?” Finn asked as if he didn’t know.

  “We freeze the cookie dough, Finn.” I said as I pulled the tray of dough from the freezer.

  Next I took the finished product from the oven. I’d been so flustered that I’d almost forgotten to decorate the top of the mini cupcakes with a mini chocolate chip cookie.

  Finn snatched one of the cookies and popped it into his mouth. “These are good too.”

  “Yes, they are,” I said with a big smile, trying not to be thrown off by his unscripted dialogue.

  Thank goodness we were wrapping this episode up. I wanted to hang around on set until the cameraman was out of there. I didn’t want to talk to him. Plus, I was hoping he wasn’t the one waiting for me in the hallway. Now that everyone was cleared out though, maybe I should take a look around the studio myself.

  I wanted to take a look around Kristen’s office. Maybe I’d discover information about whether the show was going to continue or not. She wasn’t telling me much and I had to know. Considering Kristen said she was taking off right away, this would be the perfect time to check her office. Though she probably had locked her door.

  After crossing the studio, before I stepped out into the hallway, I took a quick peek, checking to the left and the right. Maybe they should have a security guard here in the hallway. I released a pent-up breath when I realized no one was around and hurried out the door and down the hall. I knew exactly where I was headed.

  My hand shook as I wrapped it around the door knob. I really hoped it was unlocked but wasn’t holding out hope. I twisted the knob and it opened. Yes! I looked back to make sure no one was watching before stepping into the office.

  What was I in here for? What was I really looking for? A schedule for future shows? Any information about Ruby and her employment? Had Ruby had any kind of outbursts in the past? What about the cameraman? Adam had to have had encounters with others. I was looking for anything I could find.

  I sorted through drawers, looking for anything, but so far, I found nothing. Until the notepad. I was frozen on the spot as I stared at the paper in my hand. It looked just like the paper I’d found at my house. A number with Adam’s name above it was written on the top page.

  The rattle of the door knob caught my attention and I shoved the notepad into the waistband of my pants. When the door opened Kristen entered. Naturally she was surprised to see me standing there.

  “There you are,” I said with a smile.

  Based on the raised eyebrow I knew she was definitely suspicious.

  “I was looking for you,” I added.

  “Well, now you found me,” she said in a curt response. “What can I do for you, Scarlet?”

  “I was a bit confused about filming for tomorrow. I don’t remember what you said. Am I supposed to be here tomorrow or is it the next day?”

  This was a lame excuse and she could probably see right through my lie.

  She studied my face for a moment before she said, “It’s the day after tomorrow.”

  Now I needed to make my way out of here.

  “Okay, that’s all I needed to know,” I said with another smile.

  The smiling was having little effect on her. She didn’t take her eyes off me as I moved away from her desk. Unfortunately, she still stood right in front of the door. Plus, she was definitely acting weird.

  “Well, like I said, I should go now,” I said as I moved a couple of steps toward the door.

  I had hoped she would take the hint and move out of the front of the door. She wasn’t budging.

  “How long have you been in here?” she asked.

  “Oh, I just stepped in right before you came. I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I just came on in.”

  “You could clearly see I wasn’t in here,” she said.

  Okay, now she was angry. What had I done? This was a mistake. She’d found me at her desk and now she probably knew I’d looked through it.

  “I thought maybe I would write you a note,” I said.

  “Instead of just leaving me a voicemail or a text message? What is this, 1986?”

  “No, this is definitely not 1986. If it were I would be playing with My Little Pony.” I chuckled. “Or my Easy-Bake Oven.”

  Okay, that sounded much funnier in my head.

  Chapter 21

  “Well, I should be leaving now,” I said as I tried to maneuver around her.

  For a moment I thought she wouldn’t let me go. Thank goodness she finally stepped out of the way. I
opened the door and hurried out of there. I honestly didn’t know what to think about the whole encounter. Kristen had always been a bit rough around the edges, but this time was even worse.

  Now I had to get out of that long, darkened hallway. Running like I was competing in a track meet, I burst out of the studio into the side parking lot. Pausing for a moment to catch my breath, I glanced over and noticed Finn’s car was already gone. I hurried my step and reached my car. Now I was breathless. Since my hands were shaking, I dropped my keys. When I reached to pick them up, I checked over my shoulder. Kristen was watching me from the door. What the heck?

  I waved so that it would seem as if everything was totally normal. After a few seconds of weird staring, she waved back. I got the car door open and then practically jumped inside. The 80s hits channel I’d been listening to when I arrived blared from the speakers. Apparently, I’d seriously been jamming out.

  Was it appropriate that the song playing was I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me? I thought so, since when I checked again, Kristen was still standing at the door. She tossed her hand up in a wave again and then walked inside. How bizarre. It was as if she’d been checking to make sure I was truly leaving. Maybe she thought I was stealing something from her office. I hoped she knew I would never do such a thing. Well, other than the notepad, but that was totally necessary. I’d return it if it turned out to be nothing.

  I backed out of the space and pointed my car in the direction of home. Honestly, I had no idea what to do. I felt as if I should do more. But what? With no true leads, there was little I could do to solve the case. I supposed I had to count on the detective to discover something that would finally track down the killer.

  As I sat at the red light I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. At least no one was following me. Plus, I’d gotten away from the studio without the creepy cameraman tracking me down. Or being attacked! The light turned green and I pushed the gas pedal. My phone alerted me to a text message, but I couldn’t read it while driving.