by Morgana Best
“Amelia,” Thyme said, her jaw dropping wide open. “You’ve done it!” She was overjoyed. “These are great! The outside is nice and crispy, and the inner ring is a good size.”
I sighed. “Thyme, there isn’t meant to be an inner ring. I was cooking cupcakes, not donuts. They’ve sunk so far in the middle that the middle has disappeared.”
“Oh.” Thyme looked a bit embarrassed. “Still, they’re the best batch you’ve ever cooked. You really are improving. Honestly, I think these are almost edible! Though, to be safe, I think I’ll make a batch for the customers.”
Even though the cupcakes hadn’t turned out too well, they were by far my best ever batch. There wasn’t even any smoke or charcoal. Better yet, I had made an almost edible food, even if it wasn’t the food I was aiming for.
I handed Thyme the ingredients as she prepared a batch of cupcakes for customers. It was going to be a busy afternoon, if this morning was anything to go by, so she made extra.
Eventually, we were ready to reopen the store. Moments after I removed the sign, hordes of hungry customers rushed inside, all politely asking for their favorites. Thyme and I busied ourselves for another hour or so serving as quickly as was humanly possible. Camino made coffee non-stop. All things told, it was a dream come true. Customers would come in, politely ask for whatever it was they were after, and then pay extra. The workload was exhausting, but it also made time fly by. Even though I wouldn’t want to cast the spell again, maybe it had some upsides as well.
Finally, the influx of customers slowed down. It was a much nicer pace, as while we were still slightly busier than usual, it wasn’t overwhelming. Thyme even had time to go out back and bake more cupcakes, although unfortunately she left just as Craig and Kayleen walked in the front door.
“Hello, Amelia!” Craig beamed at me. Kayleen waved happily as they examined the display case diligently.
“Oh, these all look so delicious,” Kayleen murmured.
“Select whatever you like, dear one!” Craig announced to Kayleen. “They all look so good, I can’t choose. You’re a genius at this, Amelia.”
I sighed dramatically. “I didn’t cook them, Craig,” I explained flatly. I appreciated that everybody was nice to me, but I knew that these two wouldn’t be nice if they weren’t enchanted.
“All the same, you run a tight ship. Have you made up your mind, Kayleen?” he asked her.
“Oh Craig, we’ll just get one of each. We can simply give away the others if we can’t eat them all.”
I bagged one of each cupcake at near superhuman speed, desperate to get the two out of my shop. I wasn’t exactly their biggest fan at the best of times, but under the influence of the niceness spell, they really creeped me out. Predictably, they left me an enormous tip and chatted happily on their way out the door. I forced myself to smile broadly back at them, even though it felt wrong to do so.
Right on cue, Thyme returned from the kitchen. “Sell much?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Just my soul,” I said, sitting in a chair and leaning back. “Everybody being this friendly is exhausting. When do you think it’ll wear off?”
Thyme shrugged. “I have no idea. None of us do. This isn’t exactly a common occurrence. Hopefully, soon. Though not too soon,” she said as she glanced at the cash register.
I laughed. “We can’t keep it all, Thyme. It’s basically exploitation. We’ll need to give it back to the community somehow.”
“I think we should invest in upgrading that cupcake store everyone in town loves so much,” Thyme said with a wink. Before I could reply, the door swung open.
I turned around to see Selena walking inside briskly, preceded by a strong fragrance of gardenia. Refreshingly, she was the first person I had seen that day who looked upset, though of course I wasn’t happy to see her that way.
“Selena,” I said, standing up. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s her,” Selena said, spitting the words. “She’s here. I was just walking by and saw her coming this way, so I ducked inside to avoid her.”
“Who?” Thyme asked. She looked at me and I shrugged. I had no idea who Selena was talking about.
“It’s Clara!” she announced. “Clara’s here. That conniving b…”
The door swung open again. A woman entered the store, wearing an expensive looking tailored suit. She had shoulder-length black hair and an intimidating glare.
“I knew I saw you come in here!” she said angrily, pointing at Selena. “You! You killed my husband!”
Camino gasped and hurried to the back room.
I went cold all over. Thyme looked as shocked as I felt, and Selena was wearing a similar expression.
“Of course I didn’t kill Nick,” Selena said nervously.
“You did! You killed him because you couldn’t have him!” Clara said in a raised voice.
I thought that perhaps I should duck for cover, but didn’t want to make a sudden move near either of them.
“You were getting a divorce,” Selena said stubbornly. “He didn’t want to be with you, anyway.”
“That’s not true,” Clara spat back.
“Yes, it is.” Selena glared at her. “You’ll get to keep the whole property for yourself now that he’s dead. It won’t have to be sold in a property settlement. How convenient! He was murdered just before he divorced you!”
Thyme and I looked at each other. It was certainly suspicious. The police would undoubtedly have questioned Clara already if they weren’t acting so nice.
I slowly got up and walked behind the counter to stand next to Thyme. The two women were arguing loudly about the whole situation, insulting and berating each other. Luckily, Clara left after another minute or so. Selena followed her and the two argued briefly in the street before storming off in opposite directions.
“Well, one thing’s for sure,” I said, still unsure of exactly what had happened. “That Clara wasn’t affected by the happiness spell.”
“She lives out of town,” Thyme explained. “I mean, I don’t know her as such, but she’s well known.”
I sighed and rubbed my temples. For once I wished that the happiness spell had spread a little further. Still, Clara was definitely suspicious. She had the motive to murder Nick. She was definitely a suspect, which meant I had to dig up some dirt on her. I groaned loudly.
“You’re thinking of snooping on her, aren’t you?” Thyme asked, laughing. “I could tell because you’re clearly not looking forward to it. She is quite scary, I’ll give you that.”
“I really don’t want to,” I admitted, “but she’s the most likely suspect by a wide margin. She had a wealthy husband who happened to be unfaithful. She’s the only suspect who’s turned up so far.”
Chapter 7
Today was the big day, the one hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of Bayberry Creek. I was catering the cupcakes for the event, but my contribution would be minor. I was not looking forward to it, not only because of the murder and the fact that I had been Thyme’s baking assistant until late the previous night, but also because everyone was going to be overly nice. I found the abundance of sweetness rather sickening. Now I understood the expression, ‘sickeningly sweet.’
All the stores in town, apart from the cafés and restaurants, were shut for the day. The weather was sunny, and the wind was now abating. Thyme helped me carry the trays of cupcakes into my car and we left for the short drive down to the local park.
As we walked into the old yellow building in which the cupcakes and drinks were to be served, I was taken by the heavenly scent of caffeine. “Thyme, how about you get us some coffee and I’ll carry the rest of the stuff in from the car?” I threw her some coins and she caught them mid-air.
“Sure.”
I didn’t take me long to unpack, and I was busily arranging cupcakes, when Selena walked in. I immediately felt contrite that I hadn’t checked on her the previous day. “Hi, Selena. Would you like a cupcake? My treat of course.”
>
Selena selected one and thanked me.
I had chosen a very pretty Shelley Rose and Red Daisy tea set in the Dainty design, making up the required numbers with matching Dainty shaped, solid colored cups and saucers, in pale blue, mint green, butter yellow, and soft pink. The cupcakes Thyme had baked were iced and decorated in the soft colors of the china. The cupcake selection was sumptuous. I placed the rose and lavender cupcakes, decorated with tiny rosewater-soaked rose buds and sprinkled lavender petals, on a large Rose and Red Daisy bone china platter. I arranged the wattleseed and macadamia cupcakes, decorated with white icing pearls and small blue and yellow flowers, next to them.
On another silver-tiered cake stand were lemon myrtle and lime cupcakes, frosted in green and decorated with candied lime peel. I placed white flowers between the Danish butter cupcakes and the cream and fresh strawberry cupcakes, which were simply adorned with a small strawberry. Pale blue hydrangea frosting petals topped the blueberry and almond cupcakes. I continued arranging the cupcakes, matching the soft colors to the cake stands. The overall effect was breathtaking, if I do say so myself, traditional befitting the occasion, and colorful to reflect the town’s celebration.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t call last night to check on you,” I said, when Selena finished her cupcake.
Selena waved my concerns away. “That’s all right, I wanted to be by myself, anyway. Have you heard from the police at all? They haven’t contacted me, and I was hoping they would. I’d like to feel I was contributing in some way to catching poor Nick’s murderer.”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t heard from them, either. I’m afraid that the detectives were affected by the happiness spell, too, so they won’t be their usual selves. Still, the forensics people will be useful. They weren’t in town at the time of the spell.”
Selena frowned. “I’m sure the poison was in his antacid. He was fine up until the time he drank it. His wife must’ve slipped some deadly poison into it.”
“I know you think she was the murderer because you don’t like her,” I said.
“It’s true that I don’t like her,” Selena said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m not right. Me not liking her doesn’t prevent her from being the murderer.”
I had to admit that she had a point. “I have to look into Clara. If she is the murderer, then I think the police will need some help.”
Selena looked alarmed. “Oh, please don’t, Amelia. I’d feel terrible if something happened to you. Clara is dangerous. She probably killed him because she knew he was going to leave her for me.”
I was puzzled. “But I thought you said he’d gone cold and that’s why you wanted me to do a love spell.”
“No, that’s what I thought, but when he came to lunch, he said he’d only been trying to keep me away from him until he’d actually left the house. He was planning to move out, and he didn’t want Clara to know he was with me, in case I was in danger.”
I held up a finger. “Wait a minute. Have you told the police this? That’s probably quite important.”
Selena shrugged. “Like you said, the detectives have been affected by the happiness spell. Is there any point giving them the information?”
I thought it over for a minute. “Probably not, but you should tell them anyway.”
Just then, Thyme returned with two steaming polyurethane cups of coffee. “They’re so slow,” she complained.
I looked over at the barista’s stand to see a crowd people lined up out the door. I turned back to Selena. “Would you like some coffee?”
She declined. “I’ve already got adrenaline pumping through me,” she said. “I’m so on edge.”
“Here, have a cupcake.” Thyme handed her one of the blueberry and almond cupcakes, decorated with the hydrangea petals.
A man I had never seen approached us. “Isn’t this wonderful!” he exclaimed, clasping his hands together in obvious delight. Before any of us could speak, he continued. “How wonderful that this town was founded one hundred and fifty-five years ago. It’s such a wonderful place with a wonderful climate.”
If he said the word ‘wonderful’ one more time I thought I would have to punch him. “The coffee is good,” I said, hoping he would take the hint and leave us.
To my relief, he hurried away to join the long line for the coffee. “This spell doesn’t look like it’s wearing off anytime soon,” Thyme said in dismay. “Amelia, we should have served your cupcakes and everyone would have thought they were wonderful.” She burst into laughter.
I glared at her. “Don’t forget, I’m not affected by the happiness spell.”
She stopped laughing at once. “Selena, have the police given you any updates?”
I answered for her. “No, Selena was just telling me that she hasn’t heard from the police at all.”
“That’s strange.” Thyme screwed up her face.
“Yes, and I don’t want to go back to Melbourne until Nick’s murder is solved,” Selena said, dabbing under her eyes with a tissue. “I suppose I don’t have a choice, anyway. The police did tell me not to leave town.”
“Thyme, I think we should investigate Clara, Nick’s wife,” I said. Just then, my phone rang, and my heart leaped out of my chest when I saw it was Alder. “Alder!” I exclaimed. I raced out of the building. I headed for a private spot under a white gum tree. “Alder! Are you okay? I’ve been so worried. I haven’t heard from you.” I stopped to draw breath.
“Amelia,” he said, and then hesitated.
It was if my heart stopped beating. Tension filled every cell of my body. Something was wrong. Had he been affected by the happiness spell and taken up with another woman?
“Amelia,” he said again in that strange voice, “there’s something I have to tell you...”
He was interrupted by a woman’s voice. “What are you doing?” she said abruptly, and then the phone went dead.
I tried to call back, but it went straight to voicemail. I leaned back against the tree and then sank to the ground. I could not stop the hot tears spilling. My worst fears had been realized. Alder had indeed been affected by the spell. He was involved with another woman.
“That looks to be a comfortable spot, there in the dirt,” Constable Dawson said cheerfully. “Is Thyme around?”
I stood up and wiped my eyes. “Yes, she’s in that yellow building right there.” I pointed.
Constable Dawson took off in the direction of the building, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and what miserable thoughts they were.
Just then, I saw Clara walking over to the building. I’d have to stop her before she created another huge scene with Selena.
I called out to her, and she turned around, fixing me with a steely gaze. “Hi there,” I said, wondering whether she would remember me. “I’m so sorry to hear about your husband. Please accept my condolences.” I didn’t know what else to say, but I had to find a way to stop her going into the building.
She narrowed her eyes even further. Maybe she did recognize me, after all. “Thank you,” she said icily through pursed lips. With that, she turned and walked away, but thankfully she continued on past the entrance to the building. I heaved a sigh of relief.
“Please forgive my sister,” a deep voice said from over my shoulder. “She’s very upset over the death of her husband, as you would expect.”
I swung around to see a rather handsome man. He was tall and broad shouldered, with the sort of muscles one gains from working hard in the gym rather than from working out in the fields or from any form of athleticism. He had a hawkish look about him, and I suspected he was some type of sales or marketing executive.
“I completely understand.” I shot him a winning smile, but then figured that the effect was probably lost due to the long streaks of mascara running down my face. I thought he might be a useful person to speak with, given that he was my main suspect’s brother. “Your sister must be terribly upset.”
He looked at me appraisingly. “Yes, she is. How well do you know
Clara?”
“I don’t really know her at all,” I said, “but I kind of know everyone in Bayberry Creek, given that it’s such a small town.”
He laughed at my comment. “Too true. And what people don’t know about somebody, they make up.”
It was my turn to appraise him. I thought he perhaps didn’t mean anything by it, that it was just an off the cuff remark. “So you’re not from town, then?”
He shook his head. “I am, or rather was, Nick’s business partner, Harrison Blake. Have you heard of Miraculous Cosmetics?”
“Yes, I have.” I knew it was a new cosmetics company that had been advertising very heavily on TV recently. More than that, I did not know, and I did not even know it was an Australian company. I told Harrison that, and he smiled.
“Yes, we’re a new nutraceuticals company on the market, or should I say, a cosmeceuticals company.”
“What will the impact on the company be now that Nick’s, um, gone.” I knew it was a tactless question as soon as I said it, but my mind was still on Alder.
Harrison’s demeanor at once changed. “Nick wasn’t exactly an active part of the business. He only became part of the business at my sister’s request. She married...” He hesitated, and looked somewhat embarrassed. “You will think me awful if I say she married down, but that’s exactly what she did. And now if you’ll forgive me, I must find my sister.”
He, too, hurried away, and walked past the yellow building. I had left Thyme in the building serving the cupcakes on her own long enough. As I entered the building, I saw Constable Dawson fawning over her. I knew he’d be doing that anyway even if it hadn’t been for the spell, but Thyme looked disconcerted. I hurried to help her serve, and was relieved to see that Selena was already helping. I whispered my thanks to her.
“It’s the least I could do,” Selena said, with a wave of her hand. “You’ve been a great support to me, you know, what with Nick and all.”
“I just spoke to Clara outside,” I said, again in a low voice.
Selena froze. “That murderer!” she hissed. “I hope the police arrest her soon.”