Icing on the Casket

by Catherine Bruns

  The action stung like a wasp, and I reached out to touch his shoulder. Thankfully, he didn't pull away. "Please don't be mad at me, sweetheart. I didn't mean for things to wind up like this."

  He didn't answer.

  I leaned over him so that I could see his face. "Will you please look at me when I'm talking to you? Don't shut me out."

  Mike gave a sigh and flopped onto his back, pinning his dark blue eyes on me. "Okay, Sal. Tell me why I should listen when you don't give me the same courtesy?"

  I tried to blink back tears but was unsuccessful. "Mike," I blubbered. "I'm so sorry. My father asked me to help him. How would you feel if a friend of yours was killed like that? I had no idea it would turn into this, but I couldn't tell him no."

  A tear dripped off my chin as Mike watched. "Come here," he said gruffly and pulled me against his chest.

  I continued to sob as he wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry."

  "No, princess. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to be such a jerk. But you've got to understand where I'm coming from. I'm sick and tired of seeing you always caught up in dangerous situations. Cookie needs you." His voice was soft against my hair. "And so do I."

  I wiped at my eyes. "I don't know how to get out of this. All I wanted to do was help, and now it's backfired on me. If we don't find who did this, maybe something else will happen—to you or Grandma Rosa this time—"

  "Stop it," he said gently. "Listen to me, baby." He wiped underneath my eyes with the pad of his thumb. "Let's see if we can figure this out together. You must be getting too close to the truth and have talked to the killer. Who can you narrow it down to?"

  "In my opinion?" I sniffled. "Either Linda, Arthur, Wally, or Charlene." Zach crossed my mind, but I didn't feel his name was worth mentioning.

  He ran his hands up and down my bare arms. "I wish I could fix this, but I know you won't back off now."

  "I can't," I said in a choked-up voice.

  Mike sat up in bed and placed his arms around me. "This happens far too often, Sal. I don't know why or if I can ever learn to accept it. Cookie needs a mother."

  "She loves you more." The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  He watched me in amazement. "Where is this coming from?"

  "I don't know," I admitted. "She cries whenever I hold her but smiles for you all the time. She even looks just like you. It sounds crazy, but maybe I'm a little jealous."

  He barked out a laugh. "Sal, you're her mother. She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Don't you ever notice the way her eyes light up when you walk into the room?"

  Mike's eyes were shining, and my heart melted into a puddle. Cookie did look at me the same way, with the same beautiful eyes that I never tired of seeing. "Maybe I didn't make the connection before."

  He smiled tenderly into my eyes. "She's not smiling at you like that because of gas, or because she's hungry, princess. It's because she loves you. Same as me. You two are the most important people in my life."

  Tears started to gather in my eyes again. "Same here."

  Mike sighed heavily. "I love how you put everyone else before your own needs. You make the world a better place and are the kindest and sweetest woman alive. But I have a confession to make. Some days I get tired of your family interfering in our lives. Well, except for your grandmother. I swear that woman is a saint."

  "I wish I was more like her." Grandma Rosa always gave sound advice and knew how to fix everyone's problems. "Lately I feel so overwhelmed by everything and that I can't take proper care of Cookie, the bakery, or even you."

  He gave me a teasing smile. "All in that order?"

  I swatted his arm playfully. "You know what I mean."

  Mike glanced at my nightgown and whistled. "Well, that's a good way to start taking care of me. You look gorgeous."

  The way Mike looked at me when he said those words instantly made me feel better. He wouldn't care if I'd had a complete makeover or was wearing baby spit-up on my shirt. Mike loved me unconditionally, and that was all that mattered. "I've been neglecting you."

  "It's okay, my love." He looked at me hopefully. "We both have a lot on our plates right now and need to spend more time with each other. Maybe even do a date night every week. But we're definitely having more alone time, starting this minute."

  "Sounds good to me." I pushed him down onto his back and kissed him with renewed force. He chuckled and ran his hands through my hair.

  "I do love it when you're feisty." He grinned. "Things will work out. We love each other, and that's what counts. You're an amazing mother to Cookie, and I'll help in any way that I can."

  "That's why I adore you, Mr. Donovan." I pecked his lips.

  "And I love you more than you'll ever know." Mike's expression turned serious as he gazed into my eyes. "Remember, it could always be worse."

  His words sent a chill through me. "You mean, like being a suspect in a murder?" I didn't wish that on anyone.

  "More horrible than that."

  I drew my eyebrows together, wondering where he was going with this. "Being the victim?"

  Mike grinned at me wickedly. "Nope. Not even close."

  "I give up."

  He chuckled. "You could be Gianna, and have Nicoletta living with you."

  "Oh, so true." I wrapped my arms around him as he placed a trail of kisses down my neck. "It doesn't get much worse than that."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  "Are you sure it's not in the house somewhere? Or maybe the bakery?"

  "Positive, Sal. I must have lost it at Phibbins Mortuary when we dropped off the cookies to Linda."

  I suppressed a groan. It would be nice to limit my trips to the funeral home, but it looked like that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

  "Fine." I laid aside the batter I'd prepared for raspberry cheesecake cookies and removed my apron. "Let's go now and get it over with."

  Josie looked at me in amazement. "You want to leave Dodie in charge again? On one of our busiest weeks of the year?"

  "Well, I'm not about to let you go alone, especially after the incident at Nicoletta's house last night. Dodie will be okay by herself." I hope.

  "Did you call me, girls?" A cheerful voice rang out from the storefront, and a moment later, Dodie Albert appeared in the doorway. She was a sweet-tempered woman in her sixties, with short silver hair sticking out from underneath her pink Sally's Samples ballcap. Although congenial and always anxious to help, it often wasn't the type of help we needed. Dodie had an unfortunate habit of making more work for us. Clumsy came to her as easily as dead bodies did to me.

  "At your service." She grinned and stuck out her hand. It connected with the metal bowl of batter I'd just prepared, sending it up into the air and then crashing down on the floor. Pieces of the dough splattered Dodie in the face. She stumbled for a second, but I caught her before she collided with the cookie racks standing next to the oven.

  I helped to steady her. "Are you okay?"

  Dodie looked a bit dazed as she adjusted her apron. "All good. Not a scratch on me."

  "I wish I could say the same for the cookie batter," Josie muttered under her breath.

  With Dodie's help, we began picking up the mess. She grabbed a broom from the back corner, and I ducked as she swung it around in the air. "I'm so sorry about that, girls. What did you want to see me about?"

  Josie raised an eyebrow, as if daring me to go through with it. "Yeah, what did you want to see her about, Sal?"

  Fortunately, it was late morning and not a busy time. With a little luck, we'd be back within the hour. "We were wondering if you'd watch the shop for a little while. Josie and I need to run an errand. No need to do any baking. As a matter of fact, why don't you just stay in the storefront until we get back?"

  Dodie's face brightened at my words. "Oh, of course! Now you two just go ahead and do whatever you need to. I'll take good care of the place."

  "It's like giving someone permission to start a fire," Josie remarked as we got
into my car. "Thankfully the bakery is doing well, but Sal, we may have to cut our losses at some point."

  I placed the car in drive, and we moved down the alley. "But she's such a dear, and the customers adore her. I keep hoping that she'll get better."

  Josie settled back against the seat. "You're forever the eternal optimist. Forget about that for now. Finish telling me what happened last night after you and Mike talked things out. From the smile on your face, I can wager a guess. Now the big question is will Cookie have a baby brother or sister in nine months?"

  My face heated. "Will you ever learn tact?"

  She grinned. "You should know better than to ask something like that. So I take it that everything is fine between my two favorite lovebirds again?"

  "Yes, but I do understand where he's coming from." I put my blinker on and made a righthand turn into the funeral home parking lot. "We'll look for your bracelet and then clear out. I don't care if Linda's there. No chitchat. No cookie deliveries. And no more hanging out with dead bodies. But I would like to talk to Eddie's son if possible. He may have something to add. My father's trying to get ahold of him but hasn't had much luck, given the time difference."

  "You'll figure this out. I have faith in you. Maybe you should think about writing a book," Josie suggested as we walked up the front steps.

  I barked out a laugh. "Like my father? Don't you remember high school? English was my worst subject." The rest hadn't exactly been a breeze either.

  "True," she admitted. "You and Mike were always skipping class. Remember that time Mrs. Bentley caught you two making out in the home economics room?"

  "You were no angel either," I reminded her.

  Josie grinned and opened the unattended front door. "What fun would that be? Okay, we'll get you a ghost writer for your autobiography."

  I blinked. "Who would want to read my autobiography?"

  She shrugged. "Why wouldn't they? It certainly can't be like any other one out there. Plus, if you sold some books, it could help to pay for Cookie's college. Rob and I are already trying to save for the boys. Do you know how high tuition is—"

  "Can I help you, ladies?"

  We whirled around in surprise. Zach was coming from the direction of Linda's office and looked anything but pleased to see us.

  I gave a small wave. "Hi, Zach. Josie thinks she might have dropped her bracelet here last night."

  He narrowed his eyes. "I always check the floors at the end of the night, miss. There is no bracelet here, I can assure you."

  What was his problem? "Do you mind if we take a quick look around?"

  He cocked his balding head to one side and studied me carefully. "Mrs. Donovan, I'm curious if this bracelet even exists."

  "What?" Josie blurted out. "Of course it does. I'll show you a picture."

  He looked unconvinced. "Is this some type of pretense to look around or, pardon me, to nose around like always?"

  Someone was testy today. I smiled pleasantly at him. "I'm sure if you ask Linda, you'll see that she's fine with us being here."

  "Linda's not here this morning. She went to meet with Arthur."

  My heart gave a little jolt. "She's decided to sell the funeral home to him?"

  Zach gave a casual shrug. "It's not for me to comment on such things. I try to mind my own business, unlike some people."

  "What's the deal with you?" Josie demanded.

  He gave a snicker. "The deal, you say? Are we playing cards?"

  "Your problem," Josie answered. "Your beef. Isn't that slang for traditionalists like you?"

  I poked her in the side. "Let's find your bracelet, and then we'll get out of Zach's hair—uh, I mean way."

  Josie winked at him. "Maybe he's hiding something, Sal. Or he knows more about the murder than we think."

  "Stop it," I hissed.

  Zach's mouth tightened as he addressed Josie. "I have nothing against you, madam." He then pinned me with an accusatory stare.

  Oh brother. I blew out a sigh. "What have I done now?"

  "Honestly," he muttered. "This is too much. Throwing yourself at Nicoletta's boyfriend wasn't enough. Now you've tried to destroy her house? I never thought you'd stoop so low, madam. Why, you're—you're a shameless hussy!"

  Josie snorted back a laugh, and I would have chuckled too, except it wasn't really funny. Zach's face was the color of a ripe tomato. This whole incident had gone too far. "Did Nicoletta tell you I tried to destroy her house?"

  He shook his head. "No, Ronald did."

  "What?" I gasped. "Why would he say something like that?"

  Zach folded his arms across his chest. "Because you've been throwing yourself at him, of course. Ronald's always been quite the lady's man. Lucky for you, Nicoletta doesn't believe it. She said that you're happily married with a new baby. Oh, and that you're crazy like the rest of the Muccios."

  "Sounds like the old lady has a heart after all." Josie grinned. "Or at the very least, it does manage a beat from time to time."

  I shot her a death glare. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't made up that dopey story to begin with—"

  She choked on a laugh. "Okay, I'm sorry. Sal's telling the truth, Zach. I did make it all up."

  He turned up his nose. "Don't waste your time defending her, young lady."

  We'd already wasted enough time on this insane topic. "Can we get back to Linda? You really have no idea why she's gone to see Arthur?"

  To my surprise, Zach's face fell, and he bit into his lower lip. "I'm worried," he confessed. "If she sells the place, I may no longer have a job."

  How quickly things changed. A minute ago, I'd felt like smacking Zach upside the head, and now I was filled with genuine sympathy for his plight. "I'm sure that won't happen. You really like working here, don't you?"

  He gave another noncommittal shrug. "It gives me something to do. Fills the day, so to speak."

  "Maybe Linda's gone to see him about another matter," I suggested. "When she comes back, why don't you talk to her and see—"

  Bam! The sound of glass shattering pierced my ears. I looked over at the entranceway and saw pieces of the front windowpane go flying through the air. Zach dove to the floor and just missed being hit by one. My eyes focused on a large black object that had landed near the podium and was smoldering away on the antique rug.

  Terror coursed through my veins. This was a repeat of what had happened at Nicoletta's last night. "Oh my God! Is it a bomb?"

  "Get back, Sal!" Josie screamed as she rushed toward it.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "What are you doing?" I shrieked and tried to grab Josie's arm. "We need to get outside!"

  Zach quickly raised himself from the floor and ran past us, knocking into me. I lost my balance and fell as he rushed by for the door, not even looking back to see if I was okay. Chivalry was indeed dead, and Zach must have figured he wasn't far behind.

  Josie was standing next to the blackened spot, watching it burn its way into the carpet.

  "Get away from it!" I screamed.

  "Sal, it's okay," she assured me. "It's not an M-80. Looks like a regular firecracker that someone attached to a rock."

  "How do you know? And who did this?" Too late, I ran to the front entrance and flung open the door. Shards of glass that had been clinging to the remnants of the windowpane fell on impact. I peered outside into the parking lot and street, but there was no activity. No guilty party running away from the scene or a getaway car zooming past us at 100 miles per hour.

  "Damn," I cursed under my breath and rushed back to Josie's side. She was sitting on her knees, talking to a 9-1-1 operator.

  "Yes, that's right," she said calmly. "At Phibbins Mortuary. No, we didn't see anyone. Yes, of course we're outside." She gave me a sly wink. "Okay, thank you very much." She clicked off. "Help is on the way. With our luck, it will be Brian."

  The smoke had dissipated, but the air was acrid, and my eyes started to water. I squinted down at the object. "You're sure it wasn't an M-80 like the
one at Mrs. Gavelli's?"

  Josie snorted. "Not even close. Those can do a heck of a lot more damage. Didn't you ever set firecrackers off as a kid? Oh wait. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute."

  I placed my hands on my hips. "And I suppose you did?"

  "Oh sure. My brothers always had them." She got to her feet and looked around the room. "What happened to our buddy after he shoved you out of his way?"

  "At the rate Zach moved, he might be all the way to Canada by now." I stepped outside onto the porch and scanned the surrounding area. His car was still in the lot. "Zach?" I called loudly.

  A hand shot up from behind the well-kept evergreen shrubs. I crossed over to the tree and helped the elderly man up. After a few seconds, Zach had steadied himself with my support. He flicked a branch off his head and stared at me sheepishly.

  "Are you all right?" I asked.

  He nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing in time. "I'm sorry, miss. I guess I panicked."

  "It's okay," I assured him. "We were all scared."

  His clear blue eyes searched mine. "It must have been the same person who killed Eddie. They're trying to scare us all off."

  "We don't know this for certain." But I silently agreed with him. First Mrs. Gavelli's house and now the funeral home. A jolt of fear shot through me as realization set in. I'd been the only person present at both places. This was no coincidence. Someone wanted to make sure I minded my own business.

  Sirens wailed in the distance. Zach and I watched as a firetruck pulled into the parking lot followed by a police car. I cringed when Brian and Adam emerged from the vehicle. Good grief. Weren't there ever any other cops on duty in Colwestern?

  Two firefighters nodded as they hurried past us. Brian was talking to someone on his phone. He looked up, and our eyes met. He didn't look happy to see me. This wasn't going to end well.