Mel lived in a snug studio apartment above her cupcake bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes, in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale. Angie DeLaura was her partner, along with their other childhood friend Tate Harper, who was their main investor. Fifth and Scottsdale was only a block away. She could be there in minutes.
She pounded down the back stairs and hurried to her red Mini Cooper, which was parked in an adjacent lot. Two quick rights and she slid into a parking spot in front of an art gallery. The commuter traffic was just beginning and the light at the corner had an impressive line of cars waiting for it to change. Mel spotted Angie sitting on a wooden bench just south of the corner.
She didnt appear to be sporting burns or lacerations, so a car accident was out of the question.
Whats up? Mel asked as she slid onto the bench beside her.
Wait for it, Angie said and handed her a large, steaming latte in a tall paper cup.
Ah, Mels will to live increased tenfold.
Wait for . . . ?
Angie held up her hand and Mel took a sip from her cup, knowing it would do no good to press. Angie was stubborn like that.
The steaming swallow of coffee was halfway down her throat, when she glanced up and saw a six-foot-tall cupcake come around the corner, approaching the crosswalk. Her coffee shot back up her throat and she erupted into a fit of coughing, causing Angie to pound her on the back.
Mel shoved her aside as soon as she could drag in a breath and goggled at the enormous pink confection strutting between the idling vehicles. It only took a moment to recognize her arch enemy, but there was no doubt. The cupcake was Olivia Puckett!
She was wearing a blue satin skirt, pleated accordion style and topped by a pink puffy blouse, stuffed to resemble frosting and beaded to give it a sprinkle effect. She wore this over bright blue support hose and broad white high heels. She also had a big round cherry on top of her head tied under her chin like a bonnet. She was handing out bright pink flyers, one of which Angie shoved into Mels hands.
Free Cupcakes! it read in bold print. It was a coupon to anyone who entered Confections, Olivias rival bakery.
Do you think its a felony to hit a cupcake with your car? Mel asked.
Hard to say, you might want to check with Uncle Stan first, Angie said.
Mels uncle Stan was a detective in the Scottsdale Police Department. She supposed she could ask, but somehow she didnt think shed like the answer.
The light changed and they watched as the enormous cupcake was caught in the crosswalk and had to hustle her pleated derriere out of the way before the rude honks escalated to rude hand gestures.
It was then, as she tottered on the curb, trying to catch her balance, that the giant cupcake spotted Angie and Mel. She gave them a calculated glance as if she considered them potential customers but then recognition kicked in. Her ingratiating smile morphed into a look of haughty disdain, impressive with a cherry the size of a bowling ball on her head, and she turned away from them with her nose in the air.
Youd think after her shenanigans last year, Olivia would strive to maintain a lower profile, Angie said.
Youd think, Mel agreed. But what kind of nemesis would she be if she crawled off and disappeared?
True, Angie said. Where would we channel all of our misdirected rage if we didnt have Ginormica Cupcake?
A honk blared and Mel glanced up in time to see a silver Lexus pass by Olivia, who dropped her basket in surprise. The Lexus zoomed away and Mel recognized the driver as Tate, their business partner. Before she could retrieve her basket, Olivias bright pink coupons were jettisoned by a blast of exhaust from a passing Escalade and it looked like an impromptu ticker tape parade.
Mel felt Angie nudge her when a motorcycle cop with his lights flashing pulled up alongside the giant cupcake. Over the roar of traffic, it was impossible to hear the conversation but judging by Olivias wild hand gestures and bobbing cherry hat, it wasnt going her way.
Just then Tate pulled up beside them and said, What were dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.
Smokey and the Bandit? Mel asked. Youre quoting Buford T. Justice from Smokey and the Bandit?
Its a classic, Tate said as he pushed open the passenger door.
Mel glanced up and saw Olivia gesturing wildly in their direction. The police officer was studying them over the top of his sunglasses.
We can debate what merits a classic movie later, Angie said and gave Mel a shove into the car. Get in! Put your pedal to the floor, Bandit!
Tate stepped on the gas and they shot out into the traffic. Mel and Angie smiled and waved as they passed Olivia while the officer scribbled a citation on his pad and tore it off and handed it to Olivia with a flourish. She looked ready to spit sprinkles at them and Mel sank back into her seat, clutching her latte with a smile.
Well, that was worth getting up before the sun, she said.
Tate circled the block and parked in front of Fairy Tale Cupcakes.
He opened the car doors for Angie and Mel and said, Probably, we should wait before we go get your cars.
Well get them later, Mel said. I have to prep for my couples cooking club tonight.
Ah, yes, your lead-up to Valentines Day, Tate said.
Hows that going?
Five couples for four weekly nights of baking fun, Mel said. Other than the Bickersons, its going well.
Bickersons? he asked.
Thats what we call the Bakersons, Angie said. Neither one of them knows a pastry bag from a garbage bag but theyll fight to the death about it.
Some couples are like that, Tate said.
Angie fished the keys to the shop out of her purse and led the way into the bakery, after deactivating the alarm.
Mel glanced at Tate out of the corner of her eye as she followed him into the shop. It had been three months since his fiancée had been murdered and even though he had been duped into getting engaged to her (she drugged him and then pretended he proposed), Mel wondered if the upcoming lovers holiday was making him wistful.
Thank God I dont have to buy anyone flowers or candy or even a card, he said. He shuddered in his charcoal gray power suit. Well, that answered that.
Angie glanced at him with a small smile. Hearts will be practical only when they are made unbreakable.
The Wizard of Oz. Tate identified the quote. Nice.
Angie bowed her head in acknowledgment before flicking on the overhead lights.
The three of them had met when they were in junior high school. A mutual love of old movies and junk food had sealed their friendship, which was now going on twenty years. They still spent almost every weekend together watching old movies and now liked to quote them to one another and see if they could stump one another.
For the record, my heart is not broken, he protested. Merely dented.
Angie grinned at him and Mel felt an anxious butterfly flap its wings down in her belly. How could Tate not see that when Angie smiled at him her heart was in her eyes? She literally lit up from the inside. A beautiful girl to begin with, when she looked at Tate, she was breathtaking.
Mel was torn between wanting to smack Tate into getting a clue and keeping him ignorant for the sake of their friendship. After all, what if Angie and Tate did get together? Shed be shut out. It was completely selfish, but she wasnt sure if she was ready for that.
Tate pushed back his starched cuff and checked his snazzy Omega. Gotta go. Big meeting with the shareholders. Call me if the giant cupcake causes any more trouble.
Will do, Mel and Angie answered together.
Tate hugged each of them in turn and then left. The bells on the door handle jangled in his wake.
Mel and Angie exchanged a look, and Angie shook her head. No, Im not going to tell him how I feel.
But . . .
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Change of subject please, Angie said as she pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen beyond. Like, when are you and Joe going to seal the deal?
Mel followed her. What makes you think we havent?
Oh, please, if you and Joe had slept together, Id know, she said.
Mel couldnt argue the point, well, she could but it would be futile. Angie had known her forever and Joe was Angies older brother, one of her seven older brothers, so shed known him even longer. There was no hiding from Angie.
Mel had lusted for Joe DeLaura from the first time she clapped eyes on him when she was twelve years old. And now, they were actually dating. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to believe it. But then, when she remembered they hadnt progressed much past hand-holding, she began to fret.
Change of subject, she said.
Angie gave her a knowing nod. Fine. What are we cooking tonight?
Kiss Me Cupcakes.
Describe please.
Angie dropped her purse on the steel table and headed straight for the coffeepot. Mel talked while Angie started a fresh pot.
Chocolate mint chip cupcake with red and white swirled mint icing and a big Hershey Kiss planted in the middle.
Wrapper on or off?
On, Mel said. I like the silver foil as a decoration.
Do I need to run to Smart and Final for any supplies? Angie asked.
Mel checked the stock in the large plastic bins they kept along one wall of the shop. Flour, check. Sugar, check. Baking soda, check. Then she poked her head in the large walk-in refrigerator. Butter, check. Eggs, check. And lastly, she looked in the pantry for the lesser used items. Chocolate, in various shapes and sizes, check.
No, I think were good, she said. Im going to go grab a shower. Give me fifteen and we can get started.
Sounds good, Angie said. You do realize, though, that Olivia has issued a challenge that cant be ignored.
Dont you worry, Mel said. It wont be. I promise.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Four teen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Recipes
Teaser chapter
Sprinkle with Murder Page 20