Ashley Crane Cozy Mystery Collection

by Laurie Anne Marie

  “I have a bad feeling about him. Something is really telling me it’s the same guy. Can you at least check him out?” Ashley said.

  “Ok. I will. Get me his full name and I’ll find out what I can.”

  “Thank you Detective. I really appreciate it. And thank you again for the car. It’s been a relief to see it following us and parked outside the home. Can you make sure it’s here when I leave to follow me home? I’m off at 2:30 p.m. today.

  “You’re welcome. Someone will be there. Talk soon.”

  As Ashley hung up the phone, she realized that she hadn’t gotten the ‘weak in the knees’ feeling that she generally got when speaking with Thompson. She realized that she must be really unnerved not to have that happen. She sighed and walked back into work. She really needed a snack, but there wasn’t any time now.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Where were you?” Nash barked at her.

  Ashley lied. “I had to run to the restroom.”

  “No you didn’t. One of the servers went in there looking for you, and you weren’t there,” he insisted.

  “I had to make an important call,” she confessed.

  “Look, nothing is as important as getting the food out on time. Don’t let it happen again. I’ve got a restaurant to run, and you need to take your job seriously,” he fumed.

  As Nash stormed out of the kitchen, Ashley caught the tall, skinny cook smirking at her. Jose gave her a nervous look, and she felt the hairs go up on the back of her neck. But as bad as it was, she had to stay at the job and see what she could find out.

  “What’s your name?” Ashley asked the cook.

  “Chris,” he smirked.

  Ashley stuttered. “Chris? That was the name of our previous cook.”

  “There’s more than one Chris in the world lady. Excuse me, but I have to get back to work.”

  Chris then glared at her again. Now Ashley was pretty sure it was him. His voice sounded similar to the one on the phone calls.

  The rest of the day called for composure. She got his name from the assistant doing the scheduling--Chris Jackson. Ashley was rattled as could be working in the kitchen with him but figured he wouldn’t try anything while they were at the job.

  At the end of her shift, Ashley glanced back nervously as she left the kitchen. Chris was staring daggers at her again. She decided to walk out the front instead of the back and caught Meagan getting off at the same time. As distasteful as it was to be around her ex’s girlfriend, there was information that she might be able to get out of her.

  “Uh Meagan, can I talk to you?” Ashley asked.

  “Why? We’re not the best of friends you know,” Meagan fired back. She kept walking away.

  “It’s really important, and it’s about you,” Ashley said.

  “Oh, what you really mean is it about your lousy ex-boyfriend Ray? Well, you don’t need to ask me about him because we’re no longer together. Happy now?”

  “I didn’t know that. But then again, it doesn’t surprise me,” Ashley said.

  “Why? You didn’t think I was good enough for him?” Meagan retorted.

  “No, not at all. It’s just that if he cheated on me, of course he would have done the same thing to you,” Ashley explained.

  “Who said he cheated on me? Don’t assume things. And don’t try to butter me up. Just because Ray and I aren’t together anymore, that doesn’t mean we’re going to be ‘tell all’ ex-girlfriends of that jerk.”

  “Why did he say he was leaving you?”

  Ashley sensed her anger and wanted to capitalize on it.

  “He didn’t leave me. I left him,” Meagan snorted.

  “Boy, you were smarter than me. You saw his true colors before I did.”

  “He was accusing me of being unfaithful to him,” Meagan blurted out.

  “Weren’t you? I saw you flirting with Darren the day he died. You two looked really cozy to me.”

  Meagan glared at Ashley, then sputtered in a rage.

  “You have no right to accuse me of that. You don’t know what was going on just because I was getting along with the boss!”

  “I think you were more than just getting along with him. Ray must have suspected it. Being a cheater himself, he was probably furious that you beat him at his own game, especially with your boss. Did Darren’s wife know about you two also? I’ve heard that she kept confronting him about his cheating over the years and maybe you were the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

  “How dare you? You leave me alone! I’m not talking to you about anything at all anymore,” Meagan shouted. She ran to her car.

  Ashley stood and thought about Meagan’s reaction. She had obviously hit a sore spot. And things could have gotten seriously explosive if Ray had confronted Meagan about cheating and then got into a fit of rage about her and Darren. Maybe silly little Meagan had thought Darren would leave his wife for her and then found out she was on the losing end between her boyfriend and her boss.

  “Could revenge be a motive for murdering Darren?” Ashley wondered.

  Ashley wanted to analyze it longer but then realized that without something in her stomach, she couldn’t think anymore. Her blood sugar was falling fast. She had to get over to Sean’s and indulge in something delicious.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As Ashley hurried to her car, the new cook Chris came out back for a smoke. He stared at her as she got in the front seat and then slipped his finger across his throat.

  “Did he really just do that?” Ashley said to herself. A chill ran down her spine.

  Just then a cop car pulled into the restaurant to escort her, and she saw Chris scuttle back into the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately called Detective Thompson and gave him the cook’s name.

  “His first name really is Chris, but his last name is Jackson. I managed to wrangle it from the assistant who was filing the applications,” Ashley said.

  “Thanks, I’ll get on it ASAP,” Thompson replied.

  “I’m calling him Chris #2.”

  Detective Thompson was confused. “You just said his last name was Jackson.”

  “Well, that’s too much to say each time we talk about him, especially since we will still be talking about Chris Durst whose skipped town,” Ashley stammered. “We can just say C#1 and C #2.”

  “Sounds like potty humor. Or a pop song.”

  “Oh yeah, it does,” Ashley said brightly. She was happy to finally hear him joking. He was a hunk for sure, but usually he was slow on the uptake with her jokes.

  “I’ve got some other leads too, and I’m asking a lot of questions. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  There was a pause on the phone. She heard the detective cough.

  “He did a slit throat gesture to me when I was leaving work,” she said.

  Detective Thompson coughed again. “He did that?”

  “Yeah, but your cop car came in the parking lot just then, and he ran back to the kitchen,” Ashley said.

  “Please, please just keep cooking and stay out of trouble and we will do all the police work. We need real police handling this, and you could hamper the investigation. Most of all you could get hurt. Please listen to me. But thanks for the info.”

  He hung up.

  Ashley sighed. She thought he really should welcome her keeping her eyes open by now and gleaning information from the restaurant crew. Guess not. But even after seeing her tormentor show up to work, she still wasn’t going to back off easy.

  ***

  Ashley quickly walked over to the patrol car and thanked the Officer for coming to follow her home. Then she told him that she needed to stop at a bakery for a few minutes and hoped he wouldn’t mind. He gave her a quizzical look.

  “Just for some pastries,” she told him. “I’ll get one for you too.”

  As soon as she got to Babycakes, Sean gave her a big smile when she walked up to the counter. He was getting ready to close for the day.

  “Hey Ash, y
ou look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Sean said.

  “I might be a ghost soon,” Ashley muttered. “Give me the most delicious pastry you have today. I’ve got to eat fast.”

  Ashley sat at the counter with a sigh.

  Sean brought her a slice of Vienna Torte and an espresso.

  “Here, pretend you’re in a café in Austria without a care in the world,” Sean said.

  Ashley took a mouthful of the torte. “Wow Sean, you’ve done it again. This is fantastic.”

  “Thanks,” Sean said. “That’s actually a recipe I picked up when I was traveling through Europe years ago. I use it all the time, and people say it’s exactly like what they’ve had over there.”

  Sean looked at her with concern in his eyes.

  “Rough day back at work, huh?”

  “You don’t know that half of it,” Ashley admitted. “But after I eat this I’ll feel much better.” She raised up her espresso cup. “Here’s to good food and how it works wonders for the soul.”

  “As soon as the last customers leave, I’ll come over and join you. You can fill me in.”

  “Sorry, can’t stay long. Can I get some more tortes to go?”

  ***

  Ashley tried to piece everything together. Obviously this new guy Chris #2 at the restaurant was bad news. But was he tied to the murder? She was sure he was the guy who called her and tried to run her over. Maybe Thompson would pick up something in his background that could help. She couldn’t wait for him to call back.

  Sean came around the counter and put his arm around Ashley and tweaked her chin.

  “Cheer up. This will all be over soon,” he said.

  “I hope so. I got some reaction today from Ray’s ex-girlfriend Meagan at the restaurant after asking her some questions. She said she broke up with Ray.”

  “Bet that doesn’t break your heart,” Sean said.

  “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple,” she muttered.

  “But the big news is that the guy who tried to run me over is working at Gratitude now as a cook,” Ashley said.

  Sean looked at her with total disbelief. “What? How’s that possible?”

  Ashley explained everything and how the new cook Chris #2 had made a ‘knife across the throat’ gesture to her as she drove off.

  “I hope you’ve called the detective,” Sean said.

  “I did. They’re checking him out now. It seems surreal that he showed up to work there, doesn’t it?”

  “Look, maybe it’s not him Ash. Maybe he just resembles him. You’ve been through a lot, and you’re pretty shook up now.”

  Ashley groaned. “Sean, what did I just tell you that he did to me?”

  “Ok, ok. Relax. I’m getting you some torte to go.”

  “By the way, I see Julia Short sitting over there. Has she been in here a lot lately?” Ashley whispered.

  “A lot more recently. Same every time. Types endlessly on her computer. People come in and talk to her, then leave. I just reminded her we’re closing at 3, and she shot me a dirty look. Really rude considering she’s in my bakery all the time,” Sean said.

  “And only buys coffee and uses your Wi-Fi,” Ashley said.

  “Yeah, the nerve,” Sean grumbled.

  “If you can slip in two pieces to go, my parents can have some. Oh, and one for that nice policeman out there.”

  Ashley felt guilty hanging out at the bakery while the cop sat outside.

  Sean smiled back. “I’ll give you four slices. You still need another one too.”

  ***

  As Ashley walked out with the pastries, she thought how amazing it was that some delicious treats made her feel better. Before she could get to her car however, she heard a voice behind her.

  “Are you following me?”

  Ashley whirled around and saw Darren’s wife Julia glaring at her.

  “No!” Ashley said, startled at the intrusion.

  “Why are you always in the bakery then? If you’ve got something to say to me, say it now, but stop following me,” Julia insisted.

  “The owner is a friend of mine. I stop in to see him and stuff my face with his delicious pastries. I’m not following you,” Ashley shot back.

  Julia snorted in disgust. “Were you one of my husband’s paramours too?”

  “Absolutely not,” Ashley insisted.

  “Then you’re probably one of the few women in this town that weren't,” Julia snapped.

  Julia turned her back on Ashley and started to walk away.

  “But I think we both know at least one woman who was,” Ashley said, hoping Darren’s wife would take the bait.

  “Who?” Julia demanded.

  “Meagan Twicking, from the restaurant. I caught them flirting with each other the day he was murdered.”

  Julia’s face went white as a sheet. She stood there shaking. Ashley wondered if she had gone too far. Obviously she had pressed a button.

  “That little tramp! She told me it was a server named Sara he was fooling around with.”

  “Maybe he was fooling around with multiple servers. Who knows? I can see how much it must have hurt you. I’ve been cheated on myself, and I know how painful it is.” Ashley said, in a soothing voice.

  “He didn’t cheat on me once or even twice. He did it constantly,” Julia said. “I hated him for it.”

  “That’s a pretty strong emotion. Did you hate him enough to want him dead?” Ashley pressed on.

  “Are you suggesting that I murdered my husband?”

  Julia’s eyes narrowed into slits. She sure looked positively murderous at the moment.

  “Look, if my husband was constantly cheating on me, I could totally understand why…,” Ashley started to say.

  “Wishing him dead and actually killing him are two different things,” Julia shouted.

  She stormed off.

  Ashley knew that Julia was hiding something. She certainly had a motive for killing her husband. With his murder, Darren would no longer be able to torment her with a new honey all the time, plus she would inherit whatever assets he had.

  As Ashley watched Julia walk away, one thought came to her head.

  “Always look at the scorned wife.”

  That’s what her mom’s decoupage club said. Ashley thought long and hard about that as she drove home.

  The cop car followed steadily behind. She would ask Detective Thompson about any progress on the case when he called her because at this rate, stress would get to her before anything else could.

  “I’m going to invite him out for coffee and have a serious talk about all of this,” she thought.

  Ashley was also thinking about how nice it would be to sit with the detective and stare at his hunkiness. Then she immediately looked at the Vienna tortes and thought of Sean and felt guilty.

  “That’s crazy. Why can’t I get one or another off of my mind?”

  As she pulled into her parent’s driveway, the cop car parked across the street. She walked quietly over and handed the policeman a slice of torte.

  “Thanks,” the Policeman said.

  Ashley smiled back. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Ashley walked in the house, her mom’s wonderful cooking smells almost knocked her out. Charlie and Susie Q were playing on the living room floor, and her dad was in front of the TV yelling at it.

  “Don’t tell me that bum tripped with the ball. He dropped it like a weenie! Guy can’t run. No more excuses for losing the game!” Burt yelled.

  Ahhh, it was good to be home.

  After a delicious dinner and a good night’s rest, Ashley felt ready for the next day. Her alarm went off early, and she jumped into her clothes. She gulped down her mom’s strong coffee and grabbed one of her banana muffins as she started to run out the door.

  Her mom stopped her in the hallway just before she exited. She looked sleepy but excited at the same time.

  “My decoupage group says not only look at the scorned wife, but whoever co
uld be her new lover. Maybe it was teamwork that bumped off your old boss,” April explained.

  “Thanks mom. I’ll check into it.” She hurried to the door.

  Ashley wasn’t trying to be dismissive, but she didn’t put much faith in her mom’s friends just sitting around theorizing the case.

  April called out to her daughter.

  “Ashley, remember, they are mystery buffs, and a lot of mystery books are written from real life cases.”

  “Thanks again mom. Maybe you should take some of those great muffins to the cop sitting in his car.”

  “That’s a good idea,” April replied.

  Ashley got into her car and drove off after waving at the policeman. She better help solve this case soon not only for the sake of the police department and the town’s citizens, but to get that squad car off their street. Ashley had noticed several looks again this morning as the neighbors were leaving for work as well as curtains opening as people peeked out.

  Ashley laughed. “Wait till they see the muffins mom is going to bring that cop.”

  Speaking of muffins, she quickly gobbled up the one she had snatched from the kitchen. So good. She immediately regretted not grabbing two.

  “Oh well, that means I have to go to Babycakes after my shift and get another one of Sean’s pastries,” Ashley thought. The very thought made her feel better. Food was necessary, food was delicious. But mostly food was the best addiction ever.

  “What if Sean and I ever wound up together? We could cook for one another forever.”

  Ashley smiled to herself. Then she thought of hunky Detective Thompson and sighed.

  She groaned loudly. “I’m a mess.”

  ***

  The minute Ashley pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant, there was no time to think of anything more as she noticed Nash arguing with one of the servers outside back by the kitchen. She quietly parked off the side and rolled down her window to eavesdrop while she pretended to go through her purse.