Sweets, Suspects, and Women Sleuths Cozy Mystery Set

by Meredith Potts

  “I’m not really in the mood to cook.”

  “I don’t blame you,” he said. “I’m not in the mood to cook either.”

  I cracked up.

  His nose crinkled. “What’s so funny?”

  “When was the last time you cooked anything?” I asked.

  “You got me there.”

  I kept laughing. “I’ll say. You barely even know your way around a microwave, much less a stove.”

  He held his hand up. “Hey. It’s not that funny.”

  “Honey, don’t get me wrong. I love you to death, and you are great at a lot of things, but the idea of you wearing an apron and cooking something is hilarious.”

  He played along. “I guess you’re right.”

  “It would be like me trying to sing opera. Or perform ballet. Or sing opera while performing ballet. What a disaster that would be,” I said.

  “Before we get a little too far off course, what was this idea of yours?”

  “Oh, right. Why don’t we go over to Zelda’s Diner for dinner before heading home?”

  His eyes lit up. “I like the sound of that.”

  “I figured you would,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

  Chapter Nine

  Before we grabbed dinner, David had one last investigative item to cross off his list. In an effort to cover all his bases, David assigned a patrol car to tail each of the suspects. If any of them did something strange, an officer would immediately notify David.

  Having that sort of peace of mind allowed us to go about the rest of our evening without worrying that we were missing something potentially important.

  Once a patrol car was assigned to keep tabs on each of the suspects, David and I headed over to Zelda’s Diner.

  An hour later, we finished our delicious meal and I returned home.

  When I kicked off my shoes, I told myself to relax. Whether my mind would listen to me was yet to be determined. Ideally, I wouldn’t think about the case for the rest of the evening. Although, it was safe to say that the situation was far from ideal. That said, I had to find a way to make the best of the bad situation. Even though it was never easy to turn off my brain and veg out, it was more vital than ever. If I just remained fixated on the case, it would drive me crazy.

  Television was usually a pretty reliable distraction. That evening was no different. David and I watched a number of cooking competition shows before finally heading into the bedroom to call it an early night.

  Just as I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed, though, I received an unexpected phone call.

  Immediately, a sense of panic came and took hold of me. I asked myself, who would call at that hour? Was it an emergency of some sort? As I went on high-alert, I looked at the caller identification screen on my phone and saw my daughter’s name listed.

  My stomach twisted in knots as I took the call. “Jessica, is everything all right?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Jessica said. “Why did you ask that?”

  “I was just worried,” I said.

  Jessica sounded surprised. “About me?”

  “Of course,” I said. “You’re calling pretty late.”

  I could hear the confusion in her voice as she responded, “Mom, it’s only nine-thirty.”

  I looked down at my phone. “Really? Wow. It might as well be midnight with the way I feel.”

  Jessica became more concerned. “Are you okay?”

  My daughter didn’t realize how complicated the answer was to that question. Nor was I in the mood to clue her in on all of the details. If anything, I desperate wanted to avoid discussing the events of the day.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said.

  Jessica didn’t buy my answer. “This case is really getting to you, isn’t it?”

  On one level, I was highly impressed by my daughter’s knack for sniffing out the truth. On another level, I wished that she wasn’t so intuitive. However, since she was able to read the situation so well, I realized it would be futile to avoid the topic any longer.

  “How did you know about the Denise Carlisle case?” I asked.

  “I just read a news briefing about her murder on the internet. It’s so terrible.”

  I nodded. “It sure is.”

  “The minute I finished the article, I knew that I had to check in with you and see how you’re holding up.”

  “Honey, thanks for your concern, but I don’t really want to talk about it.”

  “Mom, you know that avoiding the topic won’t make it go away, right?”

  “I’m aware of that. I just need a little breathing room is all. Otherwise, the stress of the case might weigh me down too much,” I said. “If you decide to continue with your police training, maybe one of your instructors will teach the importance of taking a step back every once in a while when you are investigating a case.”

  “Wait a minute. What do you mean, if I continue with my police training?” she asked.

  “It’s just that you’ve been telling me about all these growing pains you’ve been having since you entered the police academy.”

  “True. Although, just because I’ve had some painful experiences doesn’t mean that I’m not growing. Besides, I knew that becoming a police officer wouldn’t be easy. In my mind, though, all the hard work is worth it.”

  “You’re determined to stick it out then, huh?”

  “Absolutely. I mean, this case has been giving you a really difficult time, but you’re not going to quit, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Exactly. You and dad are not giving up until the killer is behind bars.”

  “Point taken,” I replied. “Now, what do you say we talk about something more pleasant than murder?”

  “You’re really not going to discuss the case with me, are you?”

  “Nope. But I’d be happy to talk about anything else. Preferably, something light-hearted. Does anything come to mind?”

  “Now that you mention it, I stumbled upon this new local bakery a few blocks away from the academy. They sell this amazing toffee. It is out of this world.”

  My eyes widened. “Oh my.”

  “Without exaggeration, it is the best toffee I have ever tasted.”

  My mouth began to water. “In that case, you’ll have to take me there the next time I come and visit you.”

  “I absolutely will,” she said.

  “Good. I’m looking forward to it already.”

  “So am I.”

  “Anyway, I hate to cut this conversation short, but I want to call it an early night. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a bear of a day.”

  “I understand. Love you.”

  “Right back at you.”

  “Tell dad that I love him too.”

  “I will,” I said.

  Chapter Ten

  A few seconds later, I got off the phone and plopped my head down on my pillow. Meanwhile, David finished brushing his teeth in the bathroom and joined me in bed. As he curled up close to me, I got excited about doing a little snuggling before we both nodded off.

  Unfortunately, my excitement didn’t last long. Just as I was getting really comfortable, our doorbell rang.

  Our pet corgi, Sebastian, jumped off the bed and darted down the hallway, barking like crazy. As Sebastian made his way to the front door, David and I jumped up in bed. I knew my husband was thinking the same thing that I was. Who was outside? And what did they want?

  In all honesty, I wasn’t sure that I wanted the answer to that question. At that point, I just craved some sleep. Instead of getting some shuteye, I found myself on high alert. Although, I tried to keep from freaking out too much. After all, whoever was at the door did ring the bell. If someone had nefarious plans, they would make an effort to break in quietly. Besides, even though Sebastian didn’t have terribly intimidating bark, he was a scrappy enough to put up a serious fight if things came to push and shove.

  I turned to my husband. “Do you have any idea who that might be?”

 
He shook his head. “I have no clue. But I’m going to find out.”

  “I’ll join you,” I said. “Or follow behind you.”

  David and I made our way toward the front door to see who was standing on our porch. Before we made it into the living room, the doorbell rang again.

  In response, Sebastian began barking even more.

  Suddenly, I heard a familiar female voice coming from the porch. It was my mother, Elizabeth Daley.

  “Sebastian, calm down. It’s your grandma,” Elizabeth said.

  The moment I heard my mother’s voice, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. So much for danger. It turned out I had gotten all worked up over nothing.

  When I opened the front door, my thoughts turned to another matter.

  “Mom, what are you doing here this late?” I asked.

  My mother stared deep into my eyes. She must not have liked the expression on my face, because she became incredibly worried right then.

  “Honey, you don’t look so good. Did I come at a bad time?” she asked.

  “No. We just weren’t sure who was at the door,” I said.

  David picked up where I left off. “And we’ve learned over the years that you can never be too careful.”

  “I can’t disagree,” Elizabeth said. “Especially when a murderer is on the loose.”

  “You heard about Denise’s death then?” I asked.

  My mother nodded. “What terrible news.”

  “It has certainly been a pretty awful day. So it shouldn’t surprise you that I’m really on edge right now,” I said.

  “I understand,” Elizabeth said.

  “When the doorbell rang, I immediately feared the worst,” I said.

  “I’m sorry about scaring you,” Elizabeth replied. “In retrospect, I probably should have let you know I was coming over here. That said, there’s something I needed to do in person.”

  I shrugged. “What’s that?”

  My mother handed me the box she was holding. “I know how stressed out you get when you’re investigating a case. And it turns out that chocolate is a real stress buster. So I made these brownies for you.”

  My eyes widened as I opened the box. “Wow. Talk about a treat.”

  “I guess I had a good idea,” Elizabeth said.

  David smiled. “That’s so nice of you.”

  “Honestly, I figured it was the least I could do,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t have the investigative skills to track down a murderer, but I can bake some killer brownies.”

  I took a bite of the sweet treat. It was a chocolatey delight. “You sure can. These are amazing.”

  “I’m glad you like them,” Elizabeth said.

  David tried one of the brownies. His eyes lit up as he took a bite. “I don’t just like them. I love them.”

  “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that,” Elizabeth said.

  I took another bite and replied, “Honestly, they are almost too good. I could eat the entire batch right now.”

  “So could I,” David said.

  “But we need to save some for tomorrow. These brownies might really come in handy when we’re investigating the case,” I said.

  “Oh yeah. There’s nothing quite like a tasty chocolate pick-me-up during a rough day,” David said.

  My mother held her hand up. “Not to interrupt, but maybe tomorrow won’t be as tough as you think.”

  My eyes widened. “Wishful thinking. I like it.”

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” David said.

  “In the meantime, thanks Mom,” I said.

  “Don’t mention it,” Elizabeth said. “Besides, the beauty of making brownies for others is that you have a good excuse to taste some for yourself.”

  Chapter Eleven

  David and I finished up our conversation with my mother and found ourselves staring down the rest of the brownies. Thankfully, we were able to muster enough willpower not to polish off the entire batch. Instead of giving in to my cravings, I put the rest of the snacks on the counter and joined my husband in the bedroom.

  From there, we both drifted off to sleep. And not a moment too soon. While getting shuteye was always important, it was especially vital that evening. A full night of rest was an incredibly powerful thing.

  Unfortunately, when my mind was trying to piece together a murder investigation, a disturbing amount of tossing and turning in bed took place. So even though my head hit the pillow around ten o’clock, I didn’t actually crash out until after midnight.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, I had a disturbing dream that evening. I will spare you the graphic details and just say that even while I was asleep, my subconscious was focused on the case.

  I wish I could tell you that when I woke up in the morning, I felt completely refreshed. That just wasn’t true, however. When my corgi jumped up on the bed shortly after sunrise, I was as groggy as ever. To the point where I could have easily rolled over in bed in hopes of grabbing a few extra winks. With Denise’s killer still at-large, sleeping in was a luxury that I couldn’t afford.

  There was work to be done. That said, I knew that if I was going to get results, I would need some help. Luckily, some caffeinated assistance was just a short drive away. Let me tell you, during mornings like that, I was so happy that coffee existed.

  When David’s car pulled up in front of Daley Buzz Coffee Company, I swung the passenger door open and got out of the car. Surprisingly, my husband remained in the car.

  I turned back to him with my nose crinkled. “What’s up?” I asked.

  “You go ahead and order our drinks. I’m going to stay here and make some calls,” David said.

  I nodded. “All right. I’ll be back soon.”

  ***

  When I entered the coffee shop, I saw Shannon and Kelly sitting at a table, gabbing away. I walked over to the front counter of the shop and ordered drinks for David and I, then joined my friends at their table.

  Shannon was the first to greet me. “I was wondering if we were going to see you this morning.”

  My eyes widened. “Are you kidding? On a morning like this, I need espresso more than ever.”

  “I imagine,” Shannon said. “But secretly, I was hoping that you and David would stumble upon some crazy break that would lead you to the killer.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s just wishful thinking on your part,” I said.

  Disappointment filled Shannon’s face.

  I continued. “You were right about one thing, though. We’ve certainly had a lot of craziness thrown our way. It just hasn’t led to capturing the killer.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Shannon said. “In that case, I guess it would be foolish of me to ask how you’re doing then.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “It’s safe to say that I’ve been better.”

  “There’s an understatement for you,” Kelly said.

  “In truth, there’s a number of other statements I could make, but I’ll just keep those to myself,” I said.

  “That’s probably for the best,” Shannon said. “Just so you know, I said a few prayers for you and David last night.”

  Kelly held her hand up. “I went one step further and performed a circle of protection enchantment for you two.”

  I winced. “Kelly, did you have some sort of terrifying vision about my future?”

  Kelly shook her head. “No.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I already have enough on my plate.”

  “I realize that. Which is why I figured that it couldn’t hurt to cover all the bases,” Kelly said.

  For the longest time, I used to think that Kelly’s New-Age practices were just a waste of effort. But with all the nutty things that happened in Treasure Cove on a regular basis, Kelly’s mystical enchantments now seemed rather tame in comparison. Besides, she was doing her best to help me. I wasn’t about to turn down her aid.

  “You can’t argue with that logic,” I said.

  “Plus, I’ll bet you’ve already he
ard enough arguing from the murder suspects that you’ve interviewed during this case,” Shannon said.

  I nodded. “Isn’t that the truth?”

  Kelly’s eyebrows rose. “I don’t know how you do it. I’d probably lose my mind if I was in your place.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve come close to screaming in frustration, but I always seem to find a way to keep from tearing my hair out,” I said.

  “I’m happy to hear that,” Kelly said.

  “You know what I would be happy to hear?” I said. “Some conversation that doesn’t revolve around Denise’s murder. What’s going on with you two?”

  Shannon threw out her arms. “Are you sure you want to hear about our mundane lives?”

  I nodded. “Absolutely. What you call mundane, I call delightfully normal. Trust me, I could go for an ordinary day right about now.”

  “I hope you get one, sooner rather than later,” Shannon said.

  “So do I. Of course, it’s not like the universe asks my opinion,” I said.

  “Let’s be honest,” Kelly said. “The universe answers to no one.”

  “That’s so true. Meanwhile, I’m at the beck and call of espresso,” I said.

  Shannon chuckled.

  “Speaking of, I’m going to check on my latte,” I said.

  Thankfully, my drink was ready.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to slowly savor it.

  As a matter of fact, I was only able to take one sip of my latte before David rushed into the coffee shop.

  “Sabrina,” he said.

  I turned to him. “Yes?”

  “We need to go right now,” David said.

  Chapter Twelve

  The look on David’s face was very telling. He wasn’t messing around. Instead, he was all business.

  When I hopped into his car, he broke down the latest development in the case. Apparently, the police deputy that was keeping tabs on Mark Carlisle’s movements had radioed David while I was inside Daley Buzz. According to the deputy, Mark Carlisle had headed over to Treasure Cove Cemetery.

  While that was a curious tidbit, the real twist came when the deputy revealed what grave Mark was visiting—Joe Carlisle’s.