Rice, Beans, and Revenge

by Holly Plum

  “Maybe not,” Edith agreed. “How is Randy these days?” She changed the subject. “I met his lovely fiancée the other day.”

  Joy couldn’t help keeping the worried frown from her face. “I met her when they came into the bakery to pick out a wedding cake. Do you like her?”

  "You don't?" Edith regarded Joy, her wise eyes not missing a thing.

  Joy smirked at Edith’s ability to read her so well, and then sobered as she thought of what she knew of Daisy. “I don’t know her very well. And they got engaged awful fast.” She frowned. “I’m worried Randy doesn’t know her real well either.”

  Edith nodded in agreement. “Yes.” She sighed. “That happens.” Edith toyed with the wedding ring she still wore though she had been a widow for several years. “I’ve only heard good things about her, though, and Daisy was nice when I met her.”

  Joy was quiet, feeling slightly better about Daisy knowing Edith didn’t have any dirt on her. But Joy still couldn’t shake her unease at seeing Daisy with the man from the police sketch. Joy glanced at her phone, hoping to see Randy’s number. She took in the time.

  “Oh, I need to get going,” Joy said, thinking of all the cakes she still had to bake.

  “It was lovely talking to you, dear. I hope to see you again soon.” Edith smiled at her.

  Joy returned her smile. “Good to see you too, Edith.” She watched as Cheesecake tore across the carpet after the string as his crowd of admirers laughed.

  “Tell Randy and Daisy I said hi next time you see them,” Edith said. "And don't be a stranger, Joy."

  “Okay,” Joy answered. She hoped she would be able to make good on her promise. Joy's mother had. She and Edith had been dear friends.

  Joy took a deep breath.

  She had to speak to Randy.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sara Beth had left about an hour earlier, her big cup of sweet tea dry. Joy had finished up their last specialty order for the day that was an early pick up for the next morning. Then she’d tidied up the bakery and shut things down, Cheesecake following her as she moved from room to room. He was restless and wanting to go home to his dinner. Joy finally got in her car. She drove toward home with music playing and Cheesecake sprawled out across the top of the backseat in his favorite spot.

  Joy blew a wisp of hair out of her face as she stopped at a red light. She couldn’t wait to get home and sink into a nice, hot bath. She was exhausted. Even the sight of the last glowing rays of sun setting beyond the ocean didn’t rouse her tired soul. Sara Beth had stayed late with her to help finish up the specialty order cakes of the day, but tomorrow, they would have a fresh list. Thankfully, the new temporary employee was starting tomorrow. Joy had met her briefly just after lunch, and she had seemed competent enough to run the register.

  Joy started forward, and then slammed on the brakes. Daisy was walking down Main Street as if she had somewhere important that she needed to be. What is she doing? Joy’s exhaustion evaporated as intense curiosity took hold of her. She changed her mind about going home. She was going to find out what her cousin’s fiancée was up to.

  Before the car behind her started honking, Joy drove to the side of the road and parked, hoping Daisy wouldn’t notice her. Her eyes moved to the rearview mirror, seeing Cheesecake gazing back at her. Joy would have to take him with her. She couldn’t leave him in a hot car.

  Joy got out of her car and shut the door as quietly as she could, then got Cheesecake out of the back. The cat’s eyes lit up with interest as he took in the busy streets. He purred away in Joy’s arms. Joy began walking down Main Street while scratching under Cheesecake’s chin. She tried to catch up to Daisy without drawing any attention to herself.

  Suddenly, Daisy turned, causing Joy to stop. Daisy continued, to Joy’s dismay, toward The Sugar Room. Maple has started staying open later than Joy's bake shop. Another one of her under-handed tactics to put Patty Cakes Bake Shop out of business.

  Well, there’s no way I’m following her in there, Joy thought. But even though she couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Maple’s face, Joy couldn’t help edging close enough to The Sugar Room to get a peek inside the window. She clutched Cheesecake tightly to her chest as she looked inside. He chirped a meow, making Joy realize she’d stopped scratching his chin. Joy resumed, shushing him softly.

  Maple filled a big box of donuts for Daisy. Randy must have been caught up in the murder case because he hadn’t called her all day. Joy had thought about trying to get ahold of him several times, but she just hadn’t had the chance to call him again with all of the extra work the donuts had caused.

  Joy quickly ducked below the window when Daisy turned around to head for the door of the bakery. It would be weird if Daisy spotted her outside The Sugar Room. Joy couldn’t think of a good excuse for why she was there other than to check out Maple’s donuts – and Joy would never admit to doing that.

  When the front door opened, Joy backed around the corner of the bakery so that Daisy wouldn’t see her and hoped Cheesecake would stay quiet. Daisy walked toward a car that was parked directly in front of Joy’s. Joy waited as she watched Daisy get into the blue sedan and start the engine. It wasn’t long before the car pulled away from the curb and started slowly down Main Street.

  Joy let out a sigh of relief but then noticed another car behind her own pull away from the curb as if it were following Daisy. She would have chalked it up to coincidence, but Joy recognized the face of the man driving the car right away. It was him.

  It was the same man from the police sketch.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Joy raced back to her car as fast as she could with a cat in her arms. She flung open her door and tossed Cheesecake inside before diving into the car herself. Cheesecake gave a grumble of a meow, clearly not pleased with being manhandled. But Joy couldn’t help it. She had to call Randy again. Joy reached for her purse, but her hands clutched nothing. She had left her purse back at the bakery, and her cell phone was in it. Her heart pounded.

  Joy glanced up at the man’s car as it followed Daisy's car down the street. She made a split-second decision to follow him. Her car pulled away from the curb, and she sped up, running a red light for the first time in her life so she could catch up to him. When she’d managed to get close enough, Joy read the license plate number out loud, and then said it several times as she looked for something to write it down with. Of course, she didn’t have her purse where she knew she would have been able to find a pen. Regardless, Joy managed to dig a pen and a gum wrapper out of the center console. She wrote down the license plate number, glancing up at the road between each letter or number in hopes that she wasn’t swerving too severely.

  It was obvious that the man from the police sketch Randy had shown Joy was following Daisy. Any time Daisy changed lanes or made a turn, he did the same. Joy tried to stay back far enough that he wouldn’t catch on that she was following him. Joy was careful to stay in her lane instead of shadowing the suspect's every move. As Daisy approached the police station, Joy hoped that someone would spot the man as he passed by, but the man turned a corner and went off in another direction. Joy hesitated for just a moment before turning the corner herself and following him further.

  A sense of fear rose inside Joy as her surroundings grew less populated. The little beach town was already small, to begin with, but patches of countryside began to crop up. The man was heading for the outskirts of town. Joy eased off of the gas and let him have a lengthy lead.

  Once Joy got to the highway, she could either continue on or circle back and head toward the other side of town. Joy wasn’t sure if she should follow him for much longer, but on the other hand, what would she tell Randy if she stopped? She wouldn’t be able to tell Randy where the man went.

  Finally, the man pulled into a motel parking lot right before the road veered off onto the highway. For a moment, Joy was pleased with herself, knowing she would have some information for Randy. But then, the man jumped out of his car and stared ri
ght at Joy as if he was trying to get a good look at her.

  Joy gulped as she slammed on the gas and sped onward. Maybe following a murder suspect was a huge mistake.

  Joy looped around the highway, so it took her forever to get back to the bakery. When she arrived, she left Cheesecake in the car knowing she would be right back and hastily trotted to the door. She went to the back and found her purse right away, mumbling at her carelessness. Joy opened it and took out her cell phone. It was dead.

  “Figures,” Joy said out loud.

  CONTINUE READING …

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