A Tasty Dose of Trouble (An East Pender Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Leona Fox

“She needs someone to stay with her,” Ellen said, looking back worriedly at Carrie, who just had had her whole world torn down.

  “I know, but I need you for a plan,” he said.

  He told Ellen what he had in mind as he directed some of the guards to bring Carrie a blanket, cocoa, and just to generally make her as comfortable as possible. He knew she was going to need all the help she could get in the coming days. Being locked up was an ordeal in and of itself, let alone finding out that your only daughter was responsible for it.

  Chapter 8

  The stars twinkled outside the cafe. The streets were empty. It was late at night. Ellen still was burning with anger but she needed to remain composed for the plan to work. It was an inventive plan, and one that Andy should have been proud of, but Ellen had her doubts it would work properly. Perhaps she simply wanted something more devious. The cafe was silent. She had decided against bringing Scampy along. She knew the plan required something a little quieter, and she was afraid Scampy would give away Andy's position.

  “Are you okay?” Andy asked. Ellen glanced down to look at him behind the counter.

  “Yeah, I just hope it works. She deserves to go away for a long time for this.”

  “She will,” Andy said, and then he ducked even lower to ensure nobody would be able to see him.

  Ellen walked from behind the counter as she saw a car pull up outside. The bright beams of light slashed through the darkness. Ellen heard the engine ceased its roar then a loud thud of a door close, and then the headlights were shut off, once again plunging the surroundings into darkness. Ellen had opted to keep the lights low to give the place more mystery, hoping Justine would feel a little more unsettled. It had the added effect of providing more cover for Andy. But all Ellen had to do was act as natural as possible and not give Justine any idea that anything was wrong.

  “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Ellen said when Justine barged her way through the door. Her clothes were shabby and disheveled, as was her hair.

  “You just be thankful that I need the money, or else I wouldn't be here at all, not when you are friends with that husband-stealing rat.”

  “Let's leave my friend out of this, shall we? It's simply a business arrangement, that's all,” Ellen said through gritted teeth, glad that this unpleasant woman soon would be getting everything she deserved.

  “Now, if I like your work there's a chance for a regular contract between us. How much would you charge me for one deep clean a month?” Ellen asked, and then listened absently as Justine gave her the figures. Ellen was aware of Andy behind the counter, muscles strained and ready to pounce like a tiger, but the timing had to be right. Ellen had to play her part to perfection.

  “That seems reasonable. But obviously, with this being a café, I have to be careful about the chemicals used. I can’t risk any of them entering the food and poisoning the guests. After all, we saw how bad that was at the festival,” Ellen said, trying to notice any discernible change in Justine's expression.

  However, she had turned her back so Ellen was unable to see her face. To combat this, Ellen moved around the room, speaking slowly as she did so, maintaining an even tone that she hoped would bore into Justine.

  “Speaking of which, I heard your mother isn't doing too well in the cell. It looks like unless they find the real culprit she's going to go to prison for a long time. I only met her a few times but I can't believe she would ever have done such a thing. So somebody must have framed her, but then again who am I to pass judgment on that? Perhaps she really did have a grudge against other people and wanted this to be the pie that people would never forget. It is a shame, though, to tarnish such a legacy.”

  “She never would have done it.” Justine said.

  “Then who would?” Ellen's question was met with silence.

  “Well, I suppose that question will have to go unanswered. I dread to think of Carrie in a proper prison, though. At the moment she's just sitting in a cell on her own but in prison there will be all of those other people around her, all of those violent offenders, drug dealers, murderers, all around your mother. And just think of the stress she's going to be under. She's not as young as she used to be and she's already been under enough stress this weekend. The sentencing is going to be more, and then actually being taken to prison. It's going to put a lot of pressure on her heart and you have to wonder if it's going to be able to take the strain.”

  “Look, what did you bring me here for? Are we talking about business or you going to keep talking about my mother?” Justine snapped, but it lacked the biting snarl of her previous encounters. Ellen knew she was getting through to her.

  She continued talking about Carrie and the deplorable conditions of prison; and how everyone in the town would know that Carrie was the person who poisoned the pies; how everyone would think of her as a devious villain; that they would know the kind nature was just a costume hiding a malevolent darkness; that her legacy in East Pender would be forever tarnished; that instead of being celebrated as a pie-making maestro, she would forever be held up as an example of someone who cheated and schemed her way to victory.

  And that was enough. Justine began crying and fell to her knees, holding onto the edge of a table banging her clenched fists against the surface as the hot streams of tears ran down her face, smearing what makeup she had on. Her cheeks were flushed and when she cast her eyes toward Ellen, the amateur detective saw the rivers of red in her bloodshot eyes.

  “It was me! Okay? I did it! I was so mad at her for the way she treated me during the divorce. All the time she kept telling me to change and to try seeing things from Matthew's point of view. To make matters worse, all these months after that she's been telling me it's such a shame I wasn't able to make things work and it's been nagging me all the time. And then the pie contest came around and she's so smug about it. She always wins and she doesn't have to put any effort into it. I tried my hardest, you know. I tried every year to make the best pie but she just couldn't give me a chance. I would have won as well if she had just retired, but she never will. She never can let me have my moment of glory. And to rub it in, she kept trying to give me all this help, even handing me down her recipes, treating me like a baby because she didn't think I could handle it myself.”

  “And that was why you wanted to kill her?!” Ellen shouted, and this just brought on more tears from a now-distraught Justine.

  Her hands were scraping against the table and her hair was strewn all over her face. She looked a miserable wreck. Her appearance during the previous few days could be explained by the endless guilt that must have been plaguing her soul, eating her up from the inside and not allowing her any semblance of peace.

  “I never wanted to kill her! I didn't want to hurt anyone,” Justine said morosely, her words interrupted by gasping breaths and gulps.

  “I only wanted to mix in the chemical to make people a little ill, just so they wouldn't vote her pies the winner. I just wanted to bring her down a notch; just to show her I can do something right; just to punish her for not taking my side. She's never had to feel shame like I have. Everyone loves her because of her pies but when people look at me they see a broken woman, even you. I've seen the way you look at me. It's the same way that Matthew looked at me before he left. If she just knew how much it hurt...”

  “But you couldn't even do that right, could you? You know what your problem is? You think the world is to blame for your problems but it's not. You're the only one responsible for your own actions. If you want to be miserable and hurt people then fine, but at least accept that it's your choice to do so. Don't let anyone else get hurt because of it, because right now you have caused your mother so much distress, and you also almost killed people.”

  “I'm so sorry,” she said, and then, to her horror, Andy rose from behind the counter.

  “Justine, I think you'd better come to the station with me. We can take you to your mother and you can explain this to her yourself,” he said, and Justine nod
ded sullenly.

  She cast a disconsolate figure as Andy escorted her out of the cafe and to his car, which he had parked around the corner, out of sight. As he left he gave a nod to Ellen, who returned the gesture. Another case was solved, but the repercussions of this would echo for a long time. Ellen didn't know how Carrie ever was going to get over what Justine had done to her. And yet, there were fewer things stronger in this world than the love of a parent for their child. So if there was any way for the two of them to repair their relationship after this Ellen was sure they would find it. Indeed, it even might provide a big enough shock that Justine would re-evaluate her entire attitude and actually come out of it a better person. Ellen hoped that would be the case, for Carrie's sake at least. In the meantime, Ellen tidied up the cafe and then locked the door behind her. She returned home to Scampy, giving him a big kiss as she slipped into bed, for now that the case was completed it was time to explore her attraction to Andy.

  Chapter 9

  It had been about a week since Justine had been arrested. During that time Ellen had been to see Carrie, who was devastated by the revelation. In a kind gesture, Matthew had been to see her, too, and this had been a great help. The town was getting excited for Halloween and already people were getting their costumes ready. Ellen was sitting in the cafe, leaning against the counter, watching Andy as he ate breakfast. Kelly was sitting at the same table, working on a new art project that fit with the upcoming celebration. Andy and Ellen had been spending a few evenings together during the week and she had been walking around with a permanent smile on her face, and a giddy feeling in her heart. It was still the early days, but Ellen was hopeful this was going to turn into something special.

  She walked from behind the counter and Scampy wandered around her feet before settling near the table where she was headed. Ellen leaned down and sat on Andy's lap, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. They kissed deeply and she could taste the coffee on his lips.

  “Get a room,” Kelly teased, then returned to her work.

  “It's been a good week,” Andy said.

  “It has indeed, and let's hope East Pender stays quiet for a while. I could use a break from all these cases. If I had one wish it would be that the winter months are uneventful and everything in the town can live a peaceful, quiet life.”

  “Come on, I don't believe that for a second. You'd get so bored you wouldn't know what to do with yourself,” Kelly snorted.

  “I have something else to occupy my time now,” she said, smiling lovingly at Andy.

  She sighed with contentment as she looked at her friends and the cafe around her, populated with people who all had their own lives. She thought back to the festival and wondered how these times would be remembered in future years. Hopefully, they would be seen as good times, filled with people who cared for each other and who would do anything to keep each other safe. There was still time for her to have an impact on the town as well.

  “You know; it was kinda fun being here with you when you caught Justine. I think we should do that some more in the future,” Andy said.

  “I don't know; you might be stepping on my toes. We can't do everything together you know. I need to maintain my independence,” Ellen replied, teasing him, but then rewarding him with a kiss.

  “Shall we go for a little drive today?” he suggested.

  Ellen nodded as she looked forward to getting out of the town and leaving their responsibilities behind. Sometimes it was nice to just be a man and a woman, rather than a police chief and a cafe owner. But just as they started to get up they heard the pattering of feet as a boy crashed through the door. He couldn't have been more than nine years old, and he was panting heavily. His face glistened with sweat and his clothes were muddy and stained with dirt. He looked around. Ellen rushed to get him a glass of water. When she handed it to him he gulped it down eagerly, and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve, which left a trail of dirt over his lips.

  “What's wrong?” Andy asked, moving closer to the boy.

  He still had a few breaths to catch, but once his breathing returned to a normal level he looked up at Andy with wide eyes. He revealed he had found something strange in a cave near the river bank, and his friends were still there to make sure nothing happened to it. In a high-pitched yell he urged them to go and look, and how could the three of them resist?

  “Lead the way,” Andy said, and followed the boy.

  Kelly and Ellen rolled their eyes as they followed him. Ellen called Scampy to heel, and the dog needed little encouragement. He already could smell adventure in the air and was eager to see what awaited them.

  “It couldn't stay quiet for long, could it?” Ellen asked rhetorically.

  But that was East Pender, and that was a sign of the times in which they were living. The town was rife with cases to solve, and Ellen was at the heart of them all, ready to help. Perhaps, one day, she would even have a mention in the founding festival as the woman who solved the crimes that nobody else could.

  Find out what Ellen discovers in book 5 of The East Pender Mysteries here: http://amzn.to/2aMdA6S

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