“She’s been such a blessing around the farm. She’s been volunteering here for years, you know? Never asks for a penny. I’d wager she loves this place almost as much as I do, and that’s saying something. A friend of hers is a friend of mine. I’m so glad we could help you out.”
“Oh, um, thank you. When she mentioned this job, I just knew I had to have it. I came to the haunted hayride last year, and it was amazing.” Realizing that maybe the hayride wasn’t the best subject, since it was closing down soon, she cleared her throat and got to the point. “I was actually wondering if you sell anything cold to drink here?”
“We sure do. How does a nice cup of cold apple cider sound?”
“Wonderful,” Lilah said, reaching into her pocket for a five-dollar bill that she was pretty certain had gone through the wash with her pants the other day.
“No need to pay,” Mrs. Perry said with a wave of her hand. “Employees get cider and donuts for free. Come, follow me, I’ll show you where the staff fridge is.”
A few minutes later, Lilah was on her way out the door with a Styrofoam cup of apple cider and a freshly made cinnamon donut in her hand. She liked Mrs. Perry already; it was a shame that this was only a seasonal job. If she could work here year-round, she’d be happy.
“Whoops, sorry,” she said as the door to the little farm shop swung open right in front of her. She nearly ran into the person that was walking through. “Reid?”
“Lilah? What are you doing here? What are you wearing?” The tall, dark, and handsome businessman looked bewildered, and Lilah realized that she was still in the scarecrow get-up.
“I work here now,” she said. “Val got me the job.”
“Ah,” he said, as if that explained everything. “Well, it’s nice to see you. We’ll talk later. You’re spilling your cider.”
With that, he pushed past her and into the shop. Lilah jerked her cup back upright and stared after him. What was he doing here? He had a clipboard in his left hand, but she couldn’t see what was on it. Whatever it was, it must have been important. Reid never brushed her off like that.
The door swung shut in front of her face, and with a mental shrug, Lilah decided that finding out what he was doing could wait for later. Right now, she had cider and a donut to enjoy, and a scratchy, too-tight scarecrow outfit to take off. She could only worry about so many things at once, and there was no reason to add Reid to that list. She had never been interested in his doings before; why should she start now?
CHAPTER THREE
* * *
Margie’s kitchen was hot and smelled of vanilla. Neither was unexpected; the older woman was almost always cooking something, and as a result her kitchen was always a good ten to twenty degrees warmer than the rest of her house. Lilah, who was used to working around food and hot stoves all day, much preferred the sweet scent of vanilla extract to the cloying grease smell that seemed to stick with her after every shift at the diner.
“Keep beating those egg whites. They aren’t quite ready yet,” Margie said as she peered into the bowl. “You’re nearly there.”
Lilah tightened her grip on the electric mixer and watched the mixture of egg, cream of tartar, and salt as it whipped into a froth. She still wasn’t sure how it was possible to make cookies without any flour, but she had complete faith in her friend’s baking skills. If Margie thought it would work, then it would work.
“That’s it,” the older woman said at last. “Keep beating them, and I’ll add the sugar.”
Gradually the mixture started to form stiff peaks and became silkier looking. Once all of the sugar that they had measured out beforehand had been added in, Lilah turned the mixer off and helped her friend separate the batch into two bowls. The first, they folded vanilla extract into, and the second got lemon zest. Then they split the vanilla mixture into a few more bowls, and added drops of food coloring to each. They spooned the mixtures into piping bags, and Margie began showing her how to make shapes on the parchment paper lined baking trays.
“The ghosts are lemon-flavored,” she said. “Use the green for the witches, the red for the devils, and the orange and yellow mixtures can be alternated to look like candy corn. Take your time, but the shapes don’t have to be perfect. Even lumpy ghosts will taste great.”
“I’ve never been a great artist, but I’ll do what I can,” Lilah said. “I can’t wait to try them. I’ve never had meringues before. Not meringue cookies, anyway. I love lemon meringue pies.”
“Meringue is what this sweetened egg mixture is called. It can be used in quite a few different desserts. Now that you know how to make it, you should try experimenting with it. It’s pretty versatile — you can do fruit flavors, vanilla, of course, peppermint, chocolate… the list goes on.”
“The ingredients are pretty simple, too,” Lilah said. “Meringue cookies sound so fancy, but they only need eggs and sugar and flavoring.”
Her friend nodded. “See? Baking isn’t really that difficult, once you know what you’re doing. Even the things that sound intimidating are usually pretty simple. Have you made anything on your own yet?”
“I made some sugar cookies with icing a few days ago. I meant to bring them over, but, erm… I ate them all. I’ll make you some next time.”
“I can’t wait to try them. I’m so glad you’ve begun baking on your own, Lilah. It’s good for the soul.
The two of them worked in silence after that, drawing ghosts, devils, witches, and candy corn on the baking sheets. Once all four sheets were in the oven, the two women were able to take a breather. They sat down at the kitchen table, which was cluttered with Halloween decorations waiting to be put up, and Margie poured them a couple of glasses of iced tea.
“How are things going with you?” Lilah asked as she took a sip of her tea.
“Oh, fine. I’ve been busier than ever, but have been enjoying every second of it. I’ll be volunteering at the hayride’s opening night again, so I’ll probably see you there. I’m a bit behind on putting up my own decorations, because I’ve spent the last few days helping the library get ready for their ‘Spook-tastic Campfire Stories’ event. Oh, and I’ve got some family coming in a few weeks.”
“That sounds nice. Who?”
“My son, and his wife and three children. They’ll be staying with me for a few days before continuing on to visit her family up in New York.”
“That sounds like a full house,” Lilah said. “And I thought I had it bad when my mom came to stay that week my dad was in Germany.”
“Oh, it will be nice. I don’t get to see them very often and it’s been a long time since I’ve had little ones running around. I’m hoping that they’ll stop by on their way back through, even if just for a night. They live in Texas. Have I told you that? Right on the border of Texas and Louisiana, in fact.”
She knew that Margie had two children, a son and a daughter, but she hadn’t ever heard many details about them. Her friend rarely talked about her past, though Lilah had been able to gather that Mr. Hatch had passed away far too soon, and there had been sort of falling out with her daughter. It would be interesting to meet at least the one part of her family; maybe her son would be able to shed more light on Margie’s past.
“They’re driving from Texas to New York? That’s a long trip, especially with kids,” Lilah said. She didn’t have very much experience with children herself, but imagined that they wouldn’t much enjoy spending hour after hour in the car.
“They don’t know what they’re in for,” the older woman agreed with a chuckle. “Anyway, enough about me. How did your first day at the farm go?”
“It was just training. It went… okay.” She wasn’t eager to bring up the fact that she had gotten lost in the corn maze. She tried to come up with something else to say. “Oh, I saw Reid there. I don’t know what he was doing — he was carrying a clipboard and seemed pretty distracted.”
“He must have been collecting petitions,” Margie said, nodding sagely.
Lilah rais
ed her eyebrows. “Petitions?”
“A couple of us have been going around town and collecting signatures to keep the haunted hayride open. We figure if we get enough people and we send it to the owners, they’ll have to tell Mark Perry he can’t shut it down. We just have to show them how popular it is.
“That’s a great idea. Can I help?”
“Of course. Do you think you could collect any signatures while you’re there before or after your shift?”
“I can do that.” She sighed. “I really hope that the ride stays open.” Lilah considered telling Margie about the conversation between Mark and that man while she was in the corn maze, but decided against it. There was no reason to worry her friend; it was possible that they might still be able to make a difference and keep the haunted hayride open.
CHAPTER FOUR
* * *
Melcome to Granger Farm. The corn maze opens in half an hour, and the haunted hayride will begin at seven o’clock. The farm shop is selling fresh apple cider and donuts, along with candy apples, homemade kettle corn, and hot dogs. Here’s a flyer. I hope you enjoy your visit.”
Lilah handed the family a pamphlet with a smile, and put their five-dollar entrance fee in the pouch she was wearing at her waist. It was the very first day that the Halloween attraction was open to the public this year, and already the parking area was getting crowded. It was easy to let the upbeat and excited mood of most of the guests sweep her away. She was even eager to begin working in the corn maze as a living prop, even though it meant getting back into that uncomfortable, itchy costume. She felt a bit bad that she hadn’t managed to gather any signatures for the petition to keep the hayride open yet, but she had been corralled into working at the entrance as soon as she arrived, due to one of the high school kids that was supposed to do it not showing up. She figured she would have enough time to get at least a few signatures during her break, between her time in the corn maze and working at the hayride.
“Welcome to Granger Farm… Oh, hi, Val.”
“Hey. I’m just here to help with the kiddie maze. I saw you, and thought I’d stop by to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m doing well,” Lilah told her friend. “I think I’m really going to enjoy this job. Thanks so much for telling me about it.”
“Not a problem. I thought you might enjoy it.” Val grinned. “And hey, since it’s just a temporary job, I bet your curse won’t apply.”
“My curse?”
“Sweetie, you haven’t been able to keep a job for more than a few weeks ever since you left your father’s company — other than working at the diner, of course. After seeing what happened at the salon, I’m pretty sure you must have rubbed a genie’s bottle the wrong way, or maybe broken a bunch of mirrors in a past life.”
“Thanks a lot,” Lilah said, rolling her eyes. “I’m cursed. That’s great to hear.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find your perfect job eventually.” Her friend patted her on the arm. “Anyway, I’ve got to go herd a flock of fourth graders through the kids’ maze. I’ll come find you during your break. Good luck.”
With that, Val left. Lilah shook her head and tried to focus on greeting the next family, but she couldn’t get the other woman’s words out of her head. Was she really cursed? It was true that she hadn’t been able to hold any job other than waitressing at the diner for more than a couple of weeks. Hopefully this job at the farm would mark a turning point for her. She really needed the money, and she was determined not to mess it up.
An hour later, Lilah was standing at her spot in the corn maze sweating into her costume. It was a semi-cool day at around seventy degrees, but with the sun beating down on her and her entire body covered in burlap, it was uncomfortable. Even so, she was having fun. A couple of people had come by already, and she had successfully startled them. She had perfected the art of standing perfectly still with her head drooping down until her next victim walked by. Most people didn’t realize that she was a living person until it was too late, and would jump back with a yelp when she moved.
As far as jobs went, this was definitely one of the more entertaining ones that she had ever had. It would be hard to beat getting paid to scare people, though what she was really looking forward to was the hayride. The haunted hayride took place after dark, and the path that the tractor took through the cornfield and the orchard would be lined with fog machines. It should be much cooler, for one thing, and she wouldn’t have to stand in one spot the entire time.
“Grarr!” she exclaimed, jumping towards a young couple that was passing her by. The girl let out a scream and stumbled backwards, then burst out laughing at her own reaction. Her boyfriend chuckled, and looked Lilah up and down.
“Great costume, dude,” he said.
She snorted and returned to her post. Dude. Maybe she should ask for a more flattering costume. Still, a compliment was a compliment. Apparently she made a very good scarecrow.
Lilah heard voices and immediately got back into her pose. She slitted her eyes, waiting for her next victim to appear. She wasn’t prepared to see Reid round the corner, followed by a girl who looked to be about twelve, and a boy who was four or five. The girl trailed behind, her eyes on her cell phone, and the boy was eagerly exploring every inch of the path. When he saw her, he rushed right up close and stared at her.
Not wanting to scare the kids too much, Lilah moved her head slowly until she was looking down at the boy. “Boo,” she said.
“Boo!” he yelled right back at her, and, giggling, ran to hide behind Reid, who gave a half smile at the sight of her in the scarecrow costume.
Straightening up, she stepped away from the pole and began walking towards them with slow, staggering steps. The boy squealed, enjoying every second of it, and ran away from her. The girl startled and jumped back, looking up from her phone for the first time to see a scarecrow staggering towards her. Reid laughed.
“That’s why you shouldn’t have your nose in your phone all the time, Alisha,” he said.
“I just got it for my birthday, Uncle Reid,” she replied. “I still need to finish downloading all the apps my friends have.” But she put the phone in her pocket anyway and rushed ahead to join her brother, letting out a yelp of her own as the scarecrow reached towards her. Reid shot a smile towards Lilah as he followed them, and she couldn’t help but smile back. She hadn’t known that he had his niece and nephew in town, and she thought it was nice of him to take them to the farm for the day. She wouldn’t have guessed that the busy, business-oriented man would be good with children, too. It just went to show that people were full of surprises, she thought.
She got a forty-five-minute break starting at six between her shifts in the corn maze and at the haunted hayride. After taking a few minutes to refresh herself with a cup of cold cider and a couple of donuts, Lilah hurried back to Margie’s car and got out of her costume, then got out the clipboard with the petition on it that Margie had given her to collect signatures to keep the haunted hayride open. She wandered around the farm, enjoying the sights and autumn smells, and the soft breeze that did wonders to cool her down now that she wasn’t wearing the costume over her clothes. She stopped a few people and asked them to sign before moving on to a new area — she didn’t want to bother anyone too much; they were all here to enjoy the farm, after all. After a good half-hour of this, she had twenty signatures, and felt quite pleased with herself as she went to get changed back into her costume for the haunted hayride.
Chasing the tractor through the foggy corn field and orchard was just as fun as Lilah had hoped. She was the only scarecrow, but other employees were dressed as witches, werewolves, mummies, and zombies. Someone dressed as a vampire lay in the coffin along the side of the path, and a couple of women in pale dresses and carrying flickering lights followed the hayride at a distance as ghosts. Speakers set up intermittently along the path played eerie sounds — howls and wails and moans. The guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, and by the time her shift was
over, Lilah could hardly believe that Mark Perry wanted to shut the hayride down. How could anyone want to get rid of such a popular attraction? She could only hope that between her, Reid, Val, and Margie, they would get enough signatures to convince the farm owners to force Mark to keep the hayride running.
CHAPTER FIVE
* * *
The next few days were busier than ever. Working two jobs was hard; Lilah only got about an hour off between her morning shift at the diner, and her evening at the farm. She felt bad leaving Oscar and Winnie alone for such a long time, but she reminded herself — and them — that it was only temporary. It helped that Margie had offered to check in on them around dinnertime every evening. Lilah knew she owed her neighbor a serious favor, but wasn’t sure yet how she would repay it.
Saturday afternoon, she was even more wiped out than usual when she got home from the diner. It had been an exhausting week, and she was looking forward to the next day, her one day off of both jobs. The decision to leave her fast-paced yet financially comfortable job at her father’s firm was something that she sometimes doubted on days like today. It was one thing to leave a job that she found mind-numbingly boring if she was following her passion, as had been her original plan, but right now she was feeling like she wasn’t even achieving that. Sure, she was working two jobs that she enjoyed, but neither were long term careers, and neither were something she would want to spend the rest of her life doing. There had to be something out there that was both interesting and would make for a lucrative career. Something that she could see herself caring about. Something where she would actually be making a difference in people’s day-to-day lives.
Killer Halloween Cookies: Book 2 in The Killer Cookie Cozy Mysteries Page 2