by Lyndsey Cole
“Hi Danny. How was your fishing trip?” She gave him a quick welcome back hug.
“Pretty good, but I’m glad to be home.” His love-filled eyes returned to Leona as she slid a streusel topped blueberry muffin in front of him. His favorite ever since the Black Cat Café opened.
Leona handed a box to Annie. “I packed up some Christmas kitty cookies for you to take to Edwin. I thought that would be appropriate, right?”
“You would think so but with that guy, it’s hard to tell.”
Leona leaned toward Annie. “I filled Danny in on what’s been happening. He told me he saw Marty heading into the pub with Phyllis. You’d better hurry to Edwin’s house before Marty finishes his business with her. You don’t want to get caught inside while you’re stealing his computer.”
“How about if I keep an eye on the pub and send you a text if he leaves?” Danny offered.
“I like that idea,” Jason said. “Text me, too, since Annie will probably just ignore the warning.” He picked up the box of cookies and hurried Annie out to his car. As he left the parking lot, he told Annie, “You need to get this over and done with while the coast is clear. Danny will watch out for Marty and I’ll keep an eye on Edwin’s house.”
Annie patted Jason’s leg. “I’m feeling good about this. At least we know what we’re looking for to clear Mia from the suspect list.”
Jason drove by Edwin’s house and was about to park on the street. Annie hissed, “Keep going. A police car is in Alice’s driveway. Don’t let them see us.”
“This wasn’t part of the plan,” Jason complained. “We’re losing valuable time while I drive around the block. One time around and if the police car isn’t gone, you can’t risk going inside.”
Annie crossed her fingers. She wasn’t about to start arguing with Jason over this point. Besides, a small part of her hoped the police car would still be at Alice’s house so Jason would keep driving her away from this nightmare. Her heart raced with anticipation.
The police car was gone. Jason pulled to the side of the road and held Annie’s hand. “Are you sure you want to do this? How about I go inside instead?”
Did he feel her fear? In what she hoped was a strong voice, she said, “Edwin doesn’t know you from a hole in the ground. He might not let you in. I already know the lay of the house and where to look for the laptop. Don’t worry.” Could Jason hear her heart pounding?
He let go of her hand. “Be careful.”
Annie checked the street for any cars. Nothing. She hurried to Edwin’s door and knocked. Nothing. She knocked harder. Her foot tapped impatiently. She glanced up and down the street. She leaned to look in the window. Edwin was slowly pushing himself out of his chair. Hurry, she said to herself as she checked the street again.
Finally, the door opened. “You! What are you doing here? Go away.” Edwin began to close the door.
“Wait. I brought you some cookies. And an apology. Can I come in?”
Edwin’s eyes left Annie’s face and settled on the box she offered. He took it and turned around. He didn’t invite Annie inside, but he didn’t close the door either, so she followed him.
Edwin shuffled to his chair, lined up his backside, and fell onto the cushion. Snowball lifted his head and flicked the end of his tail with annoyance. Edwin had the box open and examined one of the cookies. “Cats? Alice would have liked these cookies.” He bit the head off one.
Annie wasted no time scanning the room. The cat shelf was empty, but one black cat figurine rested on the table next to Edwin. Annie chuckled with the thought that maybe the cats came to life at night and moved themselves to different locations.
“What are you laughing at?” Edwin’s eyes pierced into Annie.
“Nothing. How are the cookies?”
“Edible I suppose.” He devoured a second one.
With Edwin occupied munching on the cookies, Annie was relieved to see the laptop in the same spot she saw it before. The screen showed an empty room so Marty was still monitoring Alice’s house. She glanced once more at Edwin before she opened her tote bag and turned her back. Silently, she closed the computer. Annie felt Snowball brush against her leg demanding attention. She pushed him away and bent down to unplug the battery cord. Her phone beeped with a text message.
“What are you doing?” Edwin hissed behind her. “You and Alice—too nosy for your own good. I should have finished you off the first time you came snooping around.”
Annie looked up just as Edwin’s arm swung down toward her head. His hand clutched the heavy black cat figurine. Annie shielded her head with her arm. Snowball yowled as Edwin stepped on his tail, throwing Edwin off balance. As he fell toward Annie, the figurine crashed against her arm. She heard a dull thud. They both fell and he landed on top of Annie. Like a sack of potatoes. Snowball purred in her ear.
Annie shoved Edwin off and pushed herself off the floor with her uninjured arm. The other one throbbed and hung useless at her side. Edwin was face down on the floor. She nudged him with her foot. He groaned and rolled onto his side. Too bad, he was still alive, she thought.
Annie anxiously tried to stuff the laptop into her tote with one hand. All that went over and over in her head was—get the laptop and get out.
A hand lashed out and grabbed her ankle. “Not so fast, missy. I’m not done with you yet.”
Annie kicked her foot wildly, trying to shake off Edwin’s hand. His grip was like a steel leg trap and she heard him laugh. “You thought you were so smart bringing all those sweet things for me to eat, didn’t you?”
“Let me go before the police show up,” Annie threatened.
“The little girl who keeps crying wolf. They won’t be so quick this time. I’ll have plenty of time to deal with you.”
Annie stopped pulling away from Edwin and moved closer. Close enough so her free foot stomped on his arm with all her force.
He grabbed that ankle too and managed to pull her off her feet. As she fell, a million thoughts flew through her mind in a fraction of a second but the first one was— Jason was right, everything could go wrong. Then her head hit the floor.
Chapter 23
Annie felt cool hands on her face. She thrashed with her good arm and kicked with both feet.
“It’s over, sweetheart.”
“Let go of me,” she shouted.
Strong hands held her.
Her head throbbed. Her arm was numb. It was dark.
She stilled her body and listened. Sirens. Someone was coming to save her. She finally opened her eyes. It wasn’t Edwin holding her, staring at her.
“Are you back with us now, Annie? Everything is over. Edwin can’t hurt you.” Jason smiled at her.
“Edwin? What about Marty? We have to leave before he comes home.”
Jason rocked Annie in his arms. She saw tears well up in his eyes. Everything flooded back—Marty, the computer, Edwin, the cat figurine he tried to smash on her head.
“It was Edwin? Edwin killed Alice?”
Jason nodded. “It’s all on the computer. You were right about that all along.”
“Why did Marty try to protect Edwin?”
“We’ll talk about it all later. Do you think you can stand up yet?”
Annie nodded but didn’t make an effort to move. She looked around Edwin’s room as he was escorted out in handcuffs. His comfy chair was empty. The view from his big picture window was filled with police, news people, and the local curiosity seekers who already heard about the drama. His corner shelf was empty; Annie assumed Marty had taken all the cat figurines to sell to Phyllis or Sheila. Snowball sauntered over to Annie and rubbed against her leg.
“Here’s my savior, Jason. He’s kept an eye on me since the first time I visited Edwin. What do you think about bringing him home with us?”
Snowball meowed and curled up in Annie’s lap.
“I don’t think I have a choice in the matter, do I?” Jason said as he patted the BIG white cat.
“No, I suppose you d
on’t.” Annie rose to her feet with help from Jason’s strong arms. Snowball waited by her side.
Jason drove them to Cobblestone Cottage where Mia and Leona were waiting impatiently.
“It’s about time you got here. We tried to see you at Edwin’s house but Tyler wouldn’t let us in,” Leona complained. “Are you all right?”
“Exhausted,” Annie replied. She flopped on the couch next to Roxy. Snowball hissed at the terrier before he made himself comfortable on the other side of Annie. “They’ll be fine.”
Smokey, Annie’s black cat, took one look at the BIG white cat and made a beeline for the door. Annie laughed. “Smokey might need a little more time to adjust.”
Mia hovered over Annie, covering her with a warm blanket and bringing her hot tea. “So, fill us in.”
Annie pulled the blanket tight around herself and sipped the tea. “All I remember is reaching for Marty’s laptop when Snowball let out a blood curdling howl. Edwin must have lost his balance as he tried to smash me over the head with a cat figurine but he hit my arm and landed on top of me as he fell.” Annie shuddered at the memory. “I managed to wiggle free but he grabbed my ankle and I guess I blacked out when my head hit the floor. Jason needs to fill in the rest of the story.”
Jason squeezed in between Annie and Roxy and wrapped his arm around his fiancé. Roxy gave Jason a look as if to say— what do you think you’re doing?— but she sighed and moved a little to give Jason space.
“Marty and Edwin are quite the pair,” Jason began. “Once the police swarmed Edwin’s house, he said if he was going down, Marty was going with him. The worst punishment would for the two of them to have to spend their time together in a jail cell.”
“They both killed Alice?” Mia asked.
“No, Edwin killed Alice. He had some kind of warped expectation that Alice and Marty would get back together after Marty’s wife died. When Roy visited Alice, Edwin thought Alice was cheating on Marty and went kind of crazy.”
“Went crazy,” Annie blurted out. “That guy was already ten shades of crazy.”
“Okay. He went completely crazy. Anyway, Marty did have a security camera set up in Alice’s house, not to spy on her, but she suspected someone came into her house when she was out and she wanted to find out who it was. Marty knew it was Edwin but he didn’t want to tell Alice.
“Why not tell her?”
“He couldn’t. Edwin had a secret about Marty.”
Everyone held their breath waiting for the details but Jason sipped his tea and pretended his story was over.
“You can’t stop now! What was the secret?”
Jason chuckled. “Marty did kill his wife. Edwin had the evidence that he gave the police to tie up all the loose ends.”
“And all those cats?”
“Just a distraction. Marty had no interest in them but Edwin would take one every now and then when he was in Alice’s house, always the black ones. He didn’t think she would notice.”
Annie leaned back against Jason’s shoulder. “Why didn’t Tyler ever believe me when I pointed him in what turns out to be the right direction to solve the crime?”
“Yeah. About that,” Jason said. “He asked me to apologize to you for him. I don’t think he wants to face you for a while. He thought you were blinded by your emotions to help Mia. You know, a mother-daughter thing and you couldn’t accept the writing on the wall.”
“So he did think Mom was guilty. He’s the one with blinders on.” Annie huffed with disgust. “I’m not letting him off the hook. He can apologize in person.”
A knock on the door made Annie stiffen. “Who now? Tell them to go away!” With a deep sigh, she let her eyes close.
Footsteps approached the couch and stopped. “Annie?”
Annie kept her eyes closed. With any luck, she could fool the intruder into thinking she had fallen asleep.
“Annie?” A hand jiggled her shoulder.
“What, Tyler? Don’t you get the message that I don’t want to talk to you right now?”
“I have to get this off my conscience. I should have listened to you.”
“Uh huh. Anything else?”
“You were right all along.”
“And?”
“Uh, I’m sorry?”
“Thank you Tyler. You can leave now.”
Tyler did leave, along with Mia and Leona.
“Finally,” Annie murmured as her eyes shut for a long winter’s nap.
The End
Never miss a release date. Click here and start reading my next book today!
Behind the scenes with Lyndsey
Christmas time is usually busy—sometimes chaotic—but always fun at my house. Especially this past Christmas with my grandsons, Mark and Danny. They were finally at the right age to be excited and curious about the gifts I had under the tree. Mark could read the names, and before I knew what he was up to, he had the gifts sorted by recipient. That would make it easier to hand out, he informed me. It was fine with me if he was planning to do the giving.
In order to distract them until everyone was out of bed, I suggested we make something that would be delicious to eat for Christmas morning. Of course they were ready for that project.
Danny told me, “Sometimes, cooking is more fun than eating. I don’t always like what you make, Mimi. But I always like to help.” That works for me.
So, with their aprons on and the chairs pulled to the kitchen island, I got out the ingredients and we got to work making:
CranBuried Coffee Cake
When Mark heard what I planned to make, he announced, “I won’t like it.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Really. But I’ll try it.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle and told him, “That’s a good plan.”
First, Danny added
1 ¾ cups of light brown sugar to a large mixing bowl.
Mark added
½ cup canola oil
and I let them each have a turn turning the mixer on to cream the oil and sugar.
Next I added
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
and let the boys take turns mixing again.
I added
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
and I stirred until it was thoroughly combined.
Finally, I added
½ pound whole fresh cranberries
2 cups chopped apples (minus a few pieces the boys ate!)
½ cup chopped walnuts
Once everything was mixed together, Mark and Danny “helped” me pour the batter into a 9 x 13” pan and we baked it at 350 with the timer set for 50 minutes. That gave us plenty of time to open all of the presents!
This is a very moist coffee cake, and in my opinion, very delicious. I don’t think Mark agrees with me on that last point, though. But he did try it!
Enjoy
~Lyndsey
A Note from Lyndsey
Thank you for reading my cozy mystery, CranBuried Coffee Cake.
If you enjoyed this installment of The Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series, be sure to join my FREE COZY MYSTERY BOOK CLUB! Be in the know for new releases, promotions, sales, and the possibility to receive advanced reader copies. Join the club here—http://LyndseyColeBooks.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lyndsey Cole lives in New England in a small rural town with her husband, dogs, cats and chickens. She has plenty of space to grow lots of beautiful perennials. Sitting in the garden with the scent of lilac, peonies, lily of the valley or whatever is in bloom, stimulates her imagination about mysteries and romance.
OTHER BOOKS BY LYNDSEY COLE
The Black Cat Café Series
BlueBuried Muffins
Annie Fisher is scared. She’s scared of the mess her boyfriend, Max Parker, is in the middle of and she has to get out of his house. She puts a whole state between them and drives like
a madwoman from Cooper, NY to her hometown of Catfish Cove, NH where she hopes she’ll be safe.
She decides to start a new life, a life she ran away from two years ago but is finding herself missing as soon as she gets home. Annie immediately has a place to live, a job at her Aunt Leona’s new café—Black Cat Café—and plenty of boyfriend prospects. Unfortunately, she also has plenty of bad things follow her.
Like Max Parker. Only the next time she sees him he’s dead. Suddenly everyone she runs into turns into a potential suspect. There are ghosts from her past and new neighbors that make her hair stand on end. And right in the middle of everything is Annie with Max’s last warning to her—Don’t trust anyone. Will those words prove to keep her safe or put too much distance between Annie and those trying to help her?
StrawBuried in Chocolate
Annie Fisher wakes up on Friday the thirteenth, but she reminds herself she’s not superstitious. The Black Cat Café is loaded up with special Valentine’s Day goodies, the most popular being Annie’s chocolate covered strawberries. She is so looking forward to a romantic weekend with current flame, landlord and neighbor, Jason Hunter.
But when her Aunt Leona finds a body in Jason’s house, all plans for that romantic weekend are scrapped. All Annie, Leona, Mia and Jason can think about is who killed Lacy McGuire and why.
With more and more clues pointing toward Leona as the killer, they need to work fast to figure out who the real killer is before Leona ends up in jail for good. To complicate matters for Annie, information surfaces about her birth parents, a mystery she’s been working on for the past few years. She thinks she wants to find the answers, but will it destroy her world?
Now, Annie must struggle to save her aunt, but as she questions neighbors and relatives, will she put herself in danger with the real killer? Will she save her aunt but get herself killed in the process?