Allison Janda - Marian Moyer 01 - Sex, Murder & Killer Cupcakes

by Allison Janda

  I opened my mouth at just about the same point as my earlier conversation with Addison dawned on me. Gasping, I slapped Mika’s hand away. Surprised, he also dropped the cupcake. He stared at it for a moment, before looking back to me confused.

  “Sorry!” I said horrified, kneeling to scrape up the cupcake. Could I contract poison through touch? Mika must think I’m a total nut job. I paused, unsure of what to do. When he knelt to help, I practically threw my body across the mess. “I just remembered!” I shouted at him, desperately searching for an explanation for my sudden loss of manners. How did you explain to someone that their predecessor had been murdered? You couldn’t. Not without scaring them off. Call me selfish, but I wasn’t ready for this one to disappear. “I promised to send all of this back to the bakery! Tomorrow! For their window display!” Was that plausible? Did Yummy Tummy even have a window display? Chances are that if I didn’t know, Mika wouldn’t either. I hoped.

  He seemed to accept my bizarre explanation, even as I tottered, trying not to fall into the mess. “In that case, how about dinner tonight?” he asked me. Casual. Collected. Like he hadn’t just asked a crazy person on a date. “I know a place that serves the most amazing cheesecake. If we can’t eat dessert here, it only makes sense to find some elsewhere.”

  Something inside of me stirred. “Dinner!” I cried, smacking my forehead with my palm. Turning, I grabbed for my purse, which was laying on the floor, and began to dig frantically through it for my cell. Six missed calls. One voicemail. All from Addison. Smiling apologetically, I opened my voicemail app and held the phone closely to my ear, not wanting him to overhear a single word of the conversation.

  “Pick up your phone, you saucy minx!” Addison chirped the opening line of her message. “I’ll be at the studio around 5:30 to give you the plan and get you wired. Be ready!”

  Irritated, I closed out of the app and turned back to Mika. Just my luck that a beautiful model who actually ate would ask me out on the same night I had to go on a date with a murderer. “I can’t,” I said, tossing my phone back into my purse. “I already have plans.”

  “I’m not surprised,” he replied, easily. I blushed and looked away. “How about tomorrow night?”

  Ah, persistence. I was planning my outfit already. Assuming I made it home alive. “Tomorrow is perfect,” I told him.

  “Great.” That smile again. “Let me help you clean this up.”

  My eyes locked on his gorgeous, smooth hands, completely free of any blisters or burns. Who knew how he managed that, being around wood and power tools all day? “No!” I cried, fending him off from the mess again. “I mean, I can get this. Really just a one person job. No need to get dirty. I mean to dirty you up. I mean get your hands dirty.”

  He gave me that crooked smile and I was lost in a daydream. “Well, in that case, I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll just meet you back here tomorrow. Maybe around six?”

  “That’s great.”

  “Great.” There was a nervous pause and we both laughed. “Well…great,” he said, turning and heading for the stairs. “I’ll see you tomorrow at six.”

  I resisted the urge to wave goodbye but, once he’d shut the dressing room door, I let out a small squeal of glee and did a little dance around the studio.

  “My, my, my, aren’t we excited to be walking into the lion’s den,” Addison called to me from where she stood by the entrance.

  I stopped quickly and whirled to face her. “You’re early!” I said, surprised.

  She checked her watch. “Actually, I’m right on time,” she responded, striding towards me confidently. Then, with a knowing grin she asked, “Good shoot?”

  “The best,” I crowed. I checked to make sure the door to the dressing room was closed before I grabbed for her hands and started jumping up and down. “He asked me out!”

  She grinned, knowingly. “I knew he’d go for you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I muttered.

  “Please! You’ve got brains, talent-”

  “And the modeling industry truly believes in inner beauty. What with all the airbrushing and such,” I tossed back, slapping her playfully on the behind as I moved to pack up my camera, which was still sitting among the sweets. Nodding to her tight, bright ensemble, I added, “You trying to earn a spot in next month’s edition?”

  “What are you suggesting? I’ve got brains and talent!” she fired back as she tugged at the hemline of her curve-hugging pencil skirt.

  “You wouldn’t know it under all that,” I retorted playfully, pointing to her barely there — but somehow still professional — outfit.

  “I have enough brains and talent to piece together a plan that will keep you from getting murdered in short order.” She turned her gaze down to her perfect bubblegum pink manicure and began picking at the edges.

  “You should probably fill me in on that,” I agreed. Looking down at the mess that was still on the floor, I decided that a safer approach was better. If only I could find some paper towels.

  Digging in her purse, Addison produced a small black box, which she handed to me. I opened it, revealing a beautiful pewter pin shaped like a looped ribbon. “It’s your audio,” she told me when I fingered it cautiously. Gently pulling it out of the box, she pressed the back of it before pinning it to my shirt. “You’re live,” she told me. “Richard and I will be able to keep tabs on you as long as you stay within about two miles.”

  “Richard?” I asked.

  “My version of Barry, but he’s with the Chicago PD. Works Narcs. He came up to help me out with this special favor for a little stray from the usual cases of drugged-up hookers and crazed drug lords.”

  “Nothing too special, I hope,” Rory called to us, strolling around the corner from his cubicle. Betsy lagged behind him, an angry scowl on her face as she clutched her clipboard, which she seemed to be permanently attached to these days.

  Addison smiled at him. “Probably not special in the same way you’d prefer.”

  He blushed and ducked his head quickly. Since when was she making sexual quips towards Rory?

  Betsy made a low, disgusted noise in the back of her throat and Addison quickly turned her attention towards our disgruntled intern. “Haven’t seen you around much this week,” she said, a little too sweetly. “What have you been up to?”

  “Home,” Betsy snapped back. “Where I was told to stay for a few days.”

  “So kind of you to make it into the internship that counts towards your college credits,” Addison responded, shrugging off Betsy’s attitude. “Which reminds me, you have a journal coming up due to your advisor, correct? I suggest you find enough work to fill your pages so that I have something to sign off on – now that you’re not modeling and all.”

  Huffing, Betsy turned and stalked back towards the cubicles. Once she was out of earshot, Rory turned to us. “I don’t know what has gotten into her,” he said, shaking his head. “Surely she can’t still be upset over the other day.”

  “There wouldn’t even be an issue if someone had created the call correctly,” I told him pointedly.

  “She still would have tried,” Addison muttered.

  “How much longer is her term with us?” I sighed.

  Addison shrugged and sighed. “I can never remember when school ends. November, December.” She frowned. “Or is their break now in January?” She flipped her hand as if to say who knows? “But really, what kind of administrative help can you expect to get for free? We’ll have to check out her application again next week. But tonight…we have things to do.”

  I broke from the group to grab a roll of paper towels and quickly picked up the cupcake blob that was slowly melting onto the floor.

  “What happened here?” Rory asked.

  “Don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered, tossing the whole mess into a trashcan. “So, for tonight, what-”

  We all turned when we heard footsteps on the upper landing. As Mika descended the stairs, the three
of us watched him, not wanting to continue any of our conversations among outside ears. Besides, he was just so incredibly lovely to watch. Smooth. Graceful. Gorgeous. Approaching us, he smiled. “I just wanted to say thanks again,” he said kindly to all of us. Stepping around our little circle, he retrieved his jacket, which hung just next to mine. It was fate! As he pulled it on, he directed his smile to me. “And I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”

  I smiled back and felt the blush rising in my cheeks. “Me too,” I told him sincerely.

  “What’s tomorrow?” asked a deep voice. Stepping around the black curtain and into the studio was James.

  Panicked, I turned to Addison, my eyes practically bugging out of my head. “What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the restaurant.” My eyes still focused on Addison, I added, “You’re really early.”

  “Turn around,” she mouthed as discreetly as possible. We had a brief stare down before I turned my smile up to full wattage and spun to face him. Rory, who was beginning to understand, crossed his arms amusedly and waited.

  James and Mika were focused intently on each other. No one moved. Just as I thought the room would explode with testosterone, James turned to me. “I wanted to surprise you,” he said. “I thought we could walk over to the restaurant together. It’s only a few blocks.”

  A vein in Mika’s neck bulged slightly and he narrowed his eyes, shifting his gaze from James to me and back to James. I swallowed hard as Addison started to fan herself and took a seat on a nearby stool. It was pretty hot. I’d never had two men into me at the same time, let alone two mind-numbingly gorgeous men. Still, one of them was probably an axe murderer, which kind of put a damper on the situation. “Mika, this is James,” I stammered, as my legs locked in fear. Maybe I shouldn’t be introducing the two. “James owns Yummy Tummy, the place we have the exclusive with for next month.”

  Mika’s face relaxed slightly and he held out his hand to shake James’s. “Oh, you bake,” he said in a way that suggested he wasn’t overly impressed.

  James gave him a tight smile and took his hand with slightly more force than was necessary. “Actually, I just own it.” He paused and cut his eyes to me quickly before looking back to James. “I own a lot of things in this town. Where did you say you were from?”

  Mika pulled his hand away. “I didn’t,” he responded.

  “James, this is Mika,” I said helpfully, breaking the tension. “Mika is our-”

  “Model,” Mika finished. “You did ask for the best.”

  “The manager probably requested that,” James replied smoothly. “He takes care of all of the advertising.”

  I turned to Addison, my eyes wild with fear. I hadn’t even heard the full plan. Should I walk with him? That would mean I’d probably be walking back with him following dinner. In the black of night. What was I supposed to talk to him about? Should I just be casual? Was I supposed to try to draw out a confession? How was I supposed to remain focused, anyway?

  Addison grabbed my arm and smiled brightly. “Well, gentlemen. I’ll let you two chat. I need to borrow Marian for just a second.” With that, she was tugging me urgently across the studio, Rory following in hot pursuit. We rounded the corner and she drug me past the cubicles, into the development room. Once Rory was inside, she shut the door with a soft thud. “Was it just me or was that really hot?” she asked, eyes glazing over.

  I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Focus!” I cried. “What’s the plan?”

  “Wait, you’re not going to walk with him are you?” Rory asked, his face frowning with worry.

  “No!” I shouted at the same time Addison shouted, “Of course!”

  “What?!” we said, looking at each other.

  Addison put a hand on my shoulder. “This is perfect,” she told me.

  “It’s getting dark!” I bleated. “This is not perfect. This is a time to panic. I’m panicking.”

  Addison motioned to my pin. “We will know exactly where you are the whole time,” she said.

  “Not if he drags me outside your paltry two-mile radius,” I snapped.

  “She’s right, Addison,” Rory started. “She’s not-”

  “Oh, who asked you?” Addison growled, fixing him with a dark look. Turning back to me and taking me by the shoulders, she said, “Look, we’re not even sure he did it. I put myself in dangerous situations like this all the time to get stories.”

  “Who else could have-” I began, but she held up a finger to silence me.

  Gently stroking my hair, she looked me straight in the eye. “That’s what we have to find out,” she told me. “Right now, you’re our best shot.”

  I stared back at her before sighing in defeat. “That’s your whole plan?” I asked. “I just have to go along with everything?”

  She nodded. “I have Richard. He has access to backup if we need it. Other than you catching him trying to slip something into your food, or him dragging you into a back alley, we have no idea how else to catch him.”

  “So I’m bait?” I asked. When there was no response, I muttered, “Can you guys hear me on this?” as I tapped the pin.

  “Crystal clear,” she assured me, pressing a finger to her ear. The listening device must have already been set up and turned on.

  “I can’t believe this stupid plan took you nearly five hours to formulate,” I fumed.

  She seemed to hesitate as if she wanted to add something, but instead replied, “I’m going to head out the back door. I’ll be with you the whole time.” With a wink she added, “Don’t make me regret that decision.”

  “I can’t tell if you’re encouraging me to sleep with him or not.” I reached around her for the door knob and added, “Your sex life must be really atrocious if your hopes are pinned to me.”

  Rory coughed as Addison eyed me with a sly smile as she practically waltzed out the door. “I’ve never had any such thing” she promised.

  Shooing Rory out the door, I took a moment to collect myself, then strode confidently back into the studio, where both men still stood, arms crossed, frowning at one another. When they heard me approaching, they immediately dropped their arms and turned to face me with equally endearing smiles.

  “Are you ready?” James asked, holding out his elbow.

  Mika turned and snatched my coat from its hanger, holding it open for me. As he helped me slip it on, he gave me a gentle squeeze on my shoulder, whispering, “I’ll see you back here tomorrow night.” With a nod to James, he slipped around the curtain and out the front doors.

  Still holding out his elbow, James smiled. “I was starting to worry he’d tag along,” he told me. With a wolfish grin, he eyed my blouse upon which I’d undone an extra button prior to the photo shoot. Embarrassed, I tugged at the shirt with my free hand, trying in vain to piece it back together with one hand. Unlooping our arms, he moved in front of me and buttoned me back up. I smiled shyly and cinched my coat closed before taking his arm and walking with him towards the door. Something about him felt incredibly dangerous and yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made it all up in my head. Maybe he wasn’t even our guy.

  Out front, a shiny black pickup truck sat waiting for us by the curb. Guiding me towards it, he opened the door and smiled. “Get in.”

  I swallowed hard and tried to steady my voice. “I thought we were walking.” With a laugh, I nervously added, “It’s only a few blocks.”

  “I actually have a different place in mind,” he offered by way of explanation. “Come on, hop in.” A pause before he broke into a gorgeous smile that reached all the way up to those emerald eyes. “I won’t bite.”

  “It’s just- I mean- I was really looking forward to sushi,” I told him pathetically as my mind raced. What was I supposed to do? Addison didn’t cover this!

  “Me too. But I thought about it and think we should start fresh.” With a laugh, he came over and put his hand in the small of my back, guiding me to his truck. “Come on.”

  Hoisting my
self into the cabin, which smelled overpoweringly like vanilla, I silently hoped that Addison was, in fact, privy to the entire conversation and that she and Richard were set to roll. “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “It’s a surprise,” he answered, closing the door behind me. I suddenly hated surprises.

  As he walked around the back of the truck, searching for his ignition key, I whispered menacingly into the pin. “I hope you know that if I make it out of this alive, I’m going to kill you. And your little dog, too. That means you, Richard.”

  As we sped through the streets, I did my best to nonchalantly mention the intersections we paused at, hoping that Addison and Richard could still hear me. James seemed amused by my nervous commentary, which I took as a bad sign. He knew exactly what I was up to. He was totally going to kill me.

  Instead of driving us to some creepy place in the middle of nowhere, however, he pulled his Ram into a parking lot overflowing with cars of every color, shape and size. “Where are we?” I asked, trying to find a sign or banner on the shoddy wooden structure that looked ready to sink in on itself at any moment.

  James just smiled and came around to open my door. Holding out a hand to help me out of the truck, he said, “We are at the best little seafood joint in the city. Amazing fish and chips.” With a smile, he added, “You never struck me as the frilly type.”

  For a moment, I was wrought with memories of our escapades just out of college and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing. Subconsciously, I rubbed softly at my lower back despite the fact that it hadn’t been repeatedly hitting a seatbelt buckle in ages.

  James wrapped an arm around my shoulders casually and we walked towards the entrance where a small group of teenagers huddled with laughter and loudness. The girls broke their gazes towards my date as we walked by and one of them scowled at me, eyeing my gray pants, which suddenly felt incredibly dowdy. James had shown up so suddenly, I hadn’t even had time to powder my nose. Nervously, I reached for the door, but James blocked my hand.