by Diana Orgain
“Second pregnancy,” Paula said. “With my second I noticed it way earlier. They say it’s because you know what you’re expecting or something like that. So, you don’t mistake it for indigestion or whatever.”
Jim sat down, a very empty looking plate in front of him. He’d been a nervous wreck over the past several days, so he had been eating like a bird. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. He was worried about the babies after I had given him the rundown on everything that Cassandra had done. I think a part of him blamed himself; he had been the one running off to get me those poisoned brownies every couple of days.
But how was he supposed to know she’d doused them with nicotine and poison to attempt to slowly kill me? Frankly, the one and only reason we caught her is because she had gotten impatient and had tried to finish me off at the party.
The scary part was, if those brownies hadn’t gotten mixed up, I probably would have eaten several of the poisoned ones. But, I had bit into a different brownies recipe that had merely been disguised as one of my tasty purple brownie treats. Thank goodness because she had put enough chloroform in there to kill someone who hadn’t already been being regularly poisoned by her.
Mom came trotting up, having changed out of her costume, and she plopped down at the little table where the rest of us were seated. “Well, this was a fun little adventure,” she said, glancing up and waving Galigani over who had gotten lost in the crowd.
“What, the play, or Kate’s case?” Deb asked.
“Both,” my mom said. “Not sure if acting is for me.”
I laughed. Knowing Mom, she was ready to for her next big adventure. We all chatted about the play and the case – Deb enjoyed giving Jim a hard time about Cassandra stalking him.
He wasn’t a fan of her poking fun, but he went along with it anyway. He was a sensitive man, but he could take a few jokes. I was so glad that we were going to be able to put this whole Cassandra thing behind us, and I was especially glad that we had gathered up enough evidence to convict her.
According to Deb, she was going to be spending a lot of time behind bars for this one. There was something oddly satisfying about knowing your husband’s ex-girlfriend was going to be hanging out in a jail cell for an extended vacation.
As we were all laughing and having a good time, I spotted Domingo sulking in a corner and drowning his sorrows in soda and fried chicken. He and I had had our differences, but I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have something you worked so hard on and put so much of yourself into become the local laughing stock.
I excused myself from my friends and family for a moment and wandered over to Domingo, plopping myself down in the empty seat beside him.
“No amount of fried chicken is going to make you feel better,” I teased lightly, and he sat back and wiped his face and hands on a napkin before chugging a bit of his soda to wash the crumbly meal down.
“No, probably not,” he said, shaking his head as he sat his soda down. “You come over here to poke fun at me?”
“No, that sounds more like something you would do,” I said, crossing my arms. “You know, I’ve read the original script. And, as much as it pains me to say it, you’re an excellent writer, Domingo. I just wish your play had gotten into the right director’s hands. One who wouldn’t have rewritten half the play just to get a few laughs… or added in a random musical number.”
“Yeah, that one hurt,” Domingo admitted, but he laughed slightly. “It… it was kind of funny, I guess.”
“Oh, no, it was hilarious. Very slapstick, but I still like your version of it a lot better,” I said, and the man broke into a slight smile. I sat upright. “Did you just smile at me?”
It was immediately gone; he broke into a scowl. “Well, don’t get used to it. And, thank you, Kate. I appreciate hearing that.”
“Maybe you can find another director willing to put on the show?” I suggested.
“People will expect to see a comedy now,” he said. “This was the show’s debut, and it got a decent amount of attention. Now, people are going to expect it to be funny. If I go to some other playhouse and put this thing on, the audience will buy tickets expecting to see a comedy. That twerp ruined this for me.”
“Sorry, Vicente,” I said.
We sat together in silence for a moment and then he said, “Kate, I’m proud of you. You did a great job cracking this case. You’ve really got gusto.” He stood and walked off, depositing his half-eaten dinner in a trash bin.
Was that a compliment?
Yeah, I decided it was. I headed back to my group of friends, but by now the party was starting to die down. “I say we go back to Jim and Kate’s place and make margaritas,” Deb said.
“Well, look at that,” Deb said with a wink. “Come on, my treat. I’ll pick up the ingredients on the way. I know you have that fancy blender.”
Jim leaned over and whispered to me, “Has this woman been in our house?” I just shrugged, knowing that my friendship with Deb was going to be very interesting.
Jim laughed and smiled. “You know what? I could use a margarita.”
“Hazzah!” Deb exclaimed. “This is my type of guy right here, well, if I had a type of that sort.”
The End
New Series Alert!
A Gluten Free Crew Mystery Series
Murder as Sticky as Jam
Mona Reilly is preparing for the grand opening of Jammin’ Honey, a local Jam and Honey shop, in the small town of Magnolia Falls. Her best friend, Vicki, supplies the shop with honey and homemade lotions, candles and royal jelly. While Mona and Vicki are off taste testing the gluten-free catering, the shop mysteriously burns down. When a body is recovered from the fire, Vicki’s brother, incidentally the most handsome cop Mona has ever laid eyes on, is assigned to the case. Everyone in town has a motive, and it's up to Mona to clean up this sticky situation.
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Bonus Preview – Murder as Sticky as Jam
Please enjoy the following excerpt from Murder as Sticky as Jam: Book One in the Gluten-Free Mystery Series.
MURDER AS STICKY AS JAM
A Gluten-Free Mystery
by
Diana Orgain
Copyright © 2018 by Diana Orgain
Chapter One
Soft jazz played in the background as Mona Reilly bustled around the empty shop. In just a few days, in time for the Memorial Day weekend, would be the grand opening of her shop Jammin’ Honey, but only if she finished the prep work in time.
Memorial Day weekend was the official opening of the summer tourist season in the scenic mountain town of Magnolia Falls. Mona knew it would be the perfect time to open the doors to the shop that had been only a dream a few months ago. Tucking a strand of glossy black hair behind her ear, she sat down at the café table by the window to catch her breath.
Picking up the Magnolia Falls Gazette, she read the report on the front page about the grand opening. Pride filled her chest with warmth as she read the article once more. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
It’s real, Mona thought, her nerves kicking up a notch.
A pair of tourists stopped out front and peeked through the window. Mona jumped to attention; her shop was supposed to open in a few days. She had to get a move on.
Where’s Vicki? Mona wondered.
It was a quarter past ten, and she hadn’t heard from her best friend and business partner, Vicki Lawson. Vicki was an organic beekeeper and was the honey part of Jammin’ Honey. Mona reached for her cell phone to call Vicki, but the phone buzzed in her hand before she could dial.
She saw from the caller I.D. that it was her Great Aunt Beatrice. She’d been able to finally finance the opening of her shop through a generous loan from her Great Aunt Cecilia, Beatrice’s identical twin. The two Aunts were identical in everything except the way they handled money, and now Mona cringed at the thought that Aunt Bee was calling to impose some sort of financial frugality.
“Hello Aunt Bee
,” Mona said into the phone.
“Mona! Is everything ready?” Bee asked, her voice cracking with enthusiasm.
“Just about. Putting on the finishing touches, you know.”
“Cecilia will be very proud.”
“I’m sorry she won’t be at the opening,” Mona said.
Her Great Aunt Cecilia had shocked everyone declaring that, as a celebration for her 80th birthday, she’d be traveling around the world on an exclusive cruise with her new beau, Herman. Herman was a spry and debonair seventy-year old, and Beatrice swore the man was only after Cecilia’s money.
As if in a show of defiance, Cecilia had loaned Mona the seed money to open her shop, further annoying Beatrice who firmly believed that everything in life should be a struggle; that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, was her motto.
Of course, Beatrice had opted to stay in Magnolia Falls and celebrate in her own way, saying that a cruise was way too extravagant, not to mention expensive.
“Are you going to make us a coupon for opening night?” Beatrice asked.
Mona laughed. Bee ran a coupon clipping club. Her frugal reputation preceded her. She was notorious for working over every business owner in the community and hustling discounts for all her members.
“What do you suggest?” Mona asked.
“BOGO,” Bee said eagerly.
Mona chuckled. “If I offer buy-one-get-one on opening night, I’ll be out of business before the party’s even over.”
“Okay,” Bee said reluctantly. “How about a BOGO on your special blackberry ginger jam?”
Mona glanced at her shelf stocked with jams. There weren’t enough blackberry ginger jars to run a special, but if she made a few more batches, she could accommodate Aunt Bee.
“For you, I’ll do it,” Mona said.
“Ah! You are a dear. I’ve got the coupons already printed.”
“What? You printed the coupons before I even agreed?”
Aunt Bee cleared her throat. “No. Of course not. I only meant you could consider it as good as done.”
Mona laughed. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Bee giggled. “Well, I can guarantee the whole club will be there opening night. And that’s another thing I wanted to speak to you about. Don’t go all crazy on that party. No need for caterers, or a band or whatever you’ve got planned. Just put up a few balloons.”
Mona winced. There was no way she was going to hold back on her party. She’d been dreaming about opening the shop for too long. She looked around at the hardwood floors, the cherry trim, the glass cases and brass lined counters. It all screamed that no expense had been spared. The shop had a vintage yet modern look. It was a cheerful environment that she knew would be a success.
“Well, you know what Cee says, it takes money to make money,” Mona said through a smile.
Bee let out a high-pitched scream, “Don’t listen to that old bag! She knows nothing.”
Mona giggled. “I knew that’d get your goat. I have to go now, Bee. I have to make some more jam for your coupon clippers.”
She hung up and hightailed it to the back of the shop where she plugged in a small burner. As she measured out the water to boil, her cell phone buzzed again.
It was Vicki. Mona poured the water into the pan and answered the phone.
“Hey, what’s up? Where are you? I was getting worried,” Mona said.
“Sorry! I should have called you earlier, but I got a little carried away here at home and made an extra batch of honey lip balm and honey candles, just in case.”
“Just in case, in case of what?”
“What if we sell out? I don’t want the shelves to be empty on our grand opening weekend, do you?”
“My Aunt Bee called you, didn’t she?” Mona asked.
Vicki chuckled. “Yeah, I agreed to a—”
“Two for one special?”
Vicki moaned. “You too?”
“I’m just starting another batch of my blackberry ginger jam,” Mona said.
“Oh,” Vicki said. “I thought you were already at the store?”
“I am. I brought my portable hot plate,” Mona said.
“Well don’t burn the shop down!” Vicki said.
“Come on,” Mona laughed. “I’m not that stupid!”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon. I’ll bring breakfast,” Vicki said. "Biscuits and coffee sound good?”
“You know me too well. In the meantime, I’ll be here all alone, working my hands to the bone.”
Vicki laughed. “I know you’re such a workaholic! Anyway, I’m going to make it up to you.”
“Yeah, well coffee and biscuits will only get you so far. I need you to scrub the bathroom and stock shelves.”
“I know,” Vicki said and by the tone of her voice Mona could tell she was smiling, “But I have another little surprise for you.”
Mona gripped the phone tightly. She hated surprises. “What’s that?”
“Leo is coming for the grand opening,” Vicki said, giggling as she hung up.
“Wait! Wait!” Mona said into the dead phone. She stared at the phone in her hand, trying not to hyperventilate.
Leo’s coming to the grand opening?
Leo Lawson, Vicki’s older brother, was tall, dark and handsome. He’d been the first boy Mona had a crush on back in school, and she’d never gotten over him. In high school, he’d broken her heart when he started dating, Lacey, the head cheerleader. But shortly after graduation, he’d left Magnolia Falls, to join the military, and now he was back after eight long years.
She knew he worked at the Magnolia Falls PD, but she hadn’t seen him, yet.
Not properly anyway.
She’d ducked out of the grocery store a few times, when she’d seen his patrol car pull into the parking lot. And there’d been the time, she snuck out of the back of the bookstore on Main Street, when she’d heard his voice asking the clerk for the latest police procedural.
But she hadn’t spoken with him, yet.
She’d been in the hospital with tonsillitis during his homecoming party, and she’d missed him twice at Vicki’s due to bad timing.
As she waited for the water to boil, she printed out the inventory list and the pricing guide and headed back to the shop. With a pricing gun in her hand, she priced all the blackberry jam and then began working on the strawberry. Thoughts of Leo filled her mind and she daydreamed about seeing him at the grand opening.
What am I going to wear? Mona thought in a panic.
Looking around the shop, she wondered if she would have time to go shopping and pick out something new and sexy before Friday. Jammin’ Honey was filled with half empty shelves, boxes of jams, jellies, honey candles, lotions and balms everywhere, she doubted she would have time to sleep much less go on a shopping trip.
She hummed along with the music and priced the merchandise to the beat, invigorated by the thought of the grand opening and Leo. When the phone in her apron pocket vibrated. She answered it without glancing at the caller ID.
“I knew you couldn’t stay away. Are you bringing me lunch instead of breakfast?” asked Mona.
“Excuse me?” asked the voice on the phone.
Mona realized it wasn’t Vicki, she looked at the phone and saw that the caller was Lacey MacInroy from the bakery.
“Lacey, I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.”
“Obviously,” said Lacey in a condescending tone, “I need to meet with you at once, can you come by the bakery before lunch?”
“Lacey, this isn’t a great time. I have so much to do before the Grand Opening. Can you just tell me what’s going on over the phone?”
“I only called because this is important. It affects the catering menu for the Grand Opening. One of my suppliers has informed me that he’s out of that gluten-free almond flour you wanted, so I’ve had to make a few last-minute changes. I think you’ll find the substitutions suitable, but I need your approval before I can proceed,” explained Lacey in a tone that M
ona felt sure betrayed the fact that Lacey was rolling her eyes.
“I’m sure whatever you substitute will be fine, as long as it’s gluten-free,” Mona said.
Lacey made a clucking noise in the back of her throat. Clearly, she was put out by Mona’s request. It had been a struggle to get Lacey to agree to cater the event at all, much less make it gluten-free. But, after the great write up in the Magnolia Falls Gazette, Mona had been able to persuade her.
“Do you really need me to come right now?” Mona asked. “I’m in the middle of prepping the shop, and I have so much left to do. Can I just give you my approval over the phone?’
“Not if you want me to cater this affair. I must have you taste the final recipe. I need to know that you will be pleased with the pastry selections, and this morning is the only time I have available.”
Mona stuffed down her impatience. Lacey’s bakery was the only caterer in town and with only few days left before the grand opening, she didn’t have the time or energy to make enough food for the event. Obviously, Lacey wasn’t giving her a choice.
With a sigh, Mona said, “Give me ten minutes. I’ll be right over.”
“Fine,” answered Lacey.
Mona was about to say goodbye, but Lacey had already hung up. She slipped the phone into her jeans pocket and tried not to think about how infuriating Lacey was. Pulling the apron over her head, she vowed not to let Lacey’s attitude ruin her day. Despite the inconvenience of having to stop work and test drive a few pastries at her caterer’s insistence, the day was going well. If she kept working at her present pace, all her stock would be ready to sell by the weekend.