Pancakes and Corpses: A Cozy Murder Mystery (Peridale Cafe Mystery Book 1)

by Agatha Frost

  Pancakes and Corpses

  A Peridale Café Mystery (Book 1)

  By Agatha Frost

  About This Book

  Released: January 2017

  Words: 37,000

  Series: Book 1 - Peridale Cozy Café Mystery Series

  Standalone: Yes

  Cliff-hanger: No

  Soon to be divorced Julia South never expected to be caught up in solving a murder, until she discovered the body of her cafe's most awkward customer. With a new smug Detective Inspector in town who underestimates her every move, Julia makes it her mission to discover the real murderer, before her village friends are dragged into the frame, and more bodies are discovered.

  Copyright © Agatha Frost

  Cover designed by Ashley Mcloughlin

  Edited by Keri Lierman

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact the author at agathafrostauthor@gmail.com.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Book 2 SNEAK PEEK!

  Baking was Julia South’s therapy. As she squeezed more lemon juice into the buttercream icing, and avoided looking at the divorce papers sitting on her kitchen counter, she was grateful for that therapy more than ever.

  “Good morning,” she said to her smoky grey Maine Coon, Mowgli, as he strutted into the kitchen from the garden. “Hungry?”

  Mowgli jumped onto the counter to greet her, making sure to cover the envelope containing the divorce papers with his muddy paw prints. Julia licked buttercream off her finger, and tickled appreciatively under his chin. He purred and rubbed his head against her, making her realise she wasn’t just grateful for baking this morning.

  Julia emptied a pouch of cat food into Mowgli’s bowl as he softly purred and circled her feet. She tickled his head one last time before washing her hands and returning to her baking, just in time for the oven to beep.

  Julia pulled out the lemon sponge cake and probed it with the end of a knife, delighted by how perfectly cooked it was. She removed it from the tray and set it on a cooling rack so it would be ready for the freshly made lemon buttercream icing. Julia had been working on the recipe for her new lemon sponge cake for the best part of the week, and she was sure she had found the right balance between tangy and sweet with her latest batch. Even if she approved of the cake, it wouldn’t make its way onto her café’s menu until her customers had taken their turns sampling it.

  Leaving the cake to cool, Julia turned her attention to the thick envelope again. She reached out to pick it up, but stopped herself. Ever since it landed on her doormat three days ago, it had been sitting untouched in the same spot on her kitchen counter. She knew she needed to open it eventually, but she didn’t want to ruin her Saturday morning, so she shook out her curls and wandered in to her bedroom.

  Julia lived in a quaint, two-bedroom cottage in the tiny village of Peridale, in the heart of the Cotswolds. She had been born and raised in Peridale, and it had been her home until she met her soon-to-be ex-husband, Jerrad, at the age of twenty-one. She had moved to London to be with him, where she lived until two years ago, when Jerrad politely informed her that they would be divorcing so he could marry his blonde twenty-five-year-old secretary, Chantelle. She had entertained the idea of staying in the big city to make it on her own, but the lure of home had been too strong, so she sunk her life savings into the tiny cottage.

  She quickly dressed and assessed herself in the mirror. She brushed flour out of her brown curls as well as the creases out of her mint coloured 1940s style dress. It covered the tops of her arms, nipped in at the waist, and flared out into a skirt that stopped just below her knees. She had twenty pounds on Chantelle, as well as ten years in age, but Julia didn’t care; she had never been happier.

  After icing the lemon sponge with the buttercream, she boxed up the cake, and scratched Mowgli’s cheek. He was sitting on the white envelope, hiding it from view with his fluffy behind. She liked to think he was hiding it on purpose, so she thanked him with a quick kiss on the head.

  “See you later,” she called to him, as she flung her handbag over her shoulder and grabbed her car keys. “Be good!”

  The cool February sun shone down pleasantly on Julia as she hurried across her immaculate garden. A couple of the daffodils had sprouted early, adding some much needed bursts of yellow after a long and bitter winter.

  She ducked into her vintage aqua blue Ford Anglia, dumping her handbag on the back seat, and her cake on the front. As though it was a small child, she pulled the seatbelt across the box before slotting her keys into the ignition. The car eased into first and she set off down the winding lane towards the heart of the village.

  Julia’s cottage was one of the last cottages on the edge of Peridale before the winding lane sprawled onto miles and miles of uninterrupted countryside past her cottage and beyond Peridale. She passed the next cottage dotted on the lane, and waved to Emily Burns, who waved back as she indulged in a spot of early morning gardening. The next cottage on the road had been empty for almost a year since Todrick Hamilton died. Julia usually cast her attention to the other side of the road as not to stir up the still raw emotions of losing her elderly neighbour, but today she looked at Todrick’s cottage because there was a large white van parked up outside it blocking the road. She slowed down until she could go no further, and pulled on the stiff handbrake. The door to the cottage was wide open, with furniture and boxes littering the small, messy garden.

  Leaving her keys in the ignition and cake on the passenger seat, Julia got out of her car and walked over to the low stone wall surrounding the garden. As she did, a tall man ducked through the front door, shielding his eyes from the sun. He was wearing faded denim jeans with a simple white t-shirt. His hair was dark, with flecks of grey prickling the edges of his hairline. Julia would have put him in his late-thirties if she were a betting woman. The stranger dropped his hand and looked in her direction, and Julia was taken aback by how handsome he was. He hooked his thumbs into his jeans and walked towards her, an easy smile on his face and a slight pinch between his brows.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, his voice deep and husky.

  “I need to get through,” Julia said, casting a finger to the van, suddenly feeling flustered.

  “No problem” he said, his smile widening. “You local?”

  “I live just up the road.”

  “I guess we’re neighbours.” The stranger walked over to the open gate and instead of going straight to the van, he walked over to Julia with an outstretched hand. “Barker. Barker Brown.”
>
  “Julia South,” she said, accepting his firm handshake. “Welcome to Peridale. The clouds have cleared for your first day of village life.”

  People in Peridale talked about the weather a lot, which was a sign of not much else happening. Julia tried to avoid the subject at all costs because it was all she heard all day in her café, but she was a Peridale girl, born and bred, so the weather seemed to be her default conversation setting.

  Barker nodded his thanks of her welcome and let go of her hand. Her comment about the weather didn’t start the conversation she had hoped. Barker smiled at her, but it didn’t seem like a friendly smile. He seemed slightly amused, and Julia couldn’t help but feel judged by her new neighbour. Julia could practically smell the big city on him.

  Barker pulled the van into a curve in the road, and Julia just stared for a moment, wondering what could have brought the man to the village. She hadn’t spotted a wedding ring, but she knew it could easily be in his pocket. Trying not to overthink it, she jumped back into her own car. Barker climbed out of the van, walked back, and leaned his hand against the top of her car. Julia reluctantly rolled her window down.

  “I’ll see you around, Julie,” Barker said, slapping the roof of her car.

  “It’s Julia.”

  “Right,” he said with a nod, as though it didn’t matter to him either way. “Bye.”

  Barker turned around and headed back into his cottage without a second look back at her. If it hadn’t been for the car slowly pulling up behind her, she didn’t know how long she would have stared at the cottage before driving away.

  Julia tried not to be a judgemental person, but nothing about Barker seemed to fit Peridale. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly why, but the man left a sour taste in her mouth.

  Julia pulled up into the single parking space in the tight alley between her café and the post office. Grabbing her cake and handbag, she squeezed out of the car and walked around to the front door. Her café was situated in the perfect place, right in the middle of the only shopping street in the village, which directly faced the village green. A terraced row of cottages sat on the opposite side of the green, one of which was owned by her Gran, Dot. St. Peter’s Church and the small cemetery filled one of the other sides, with The Plough pub on the other.

  Julia walked into her dark café, instantly noticing something was wrong. She put her handbag and cake down on the nearest table and hurried across to the counter. Not for the first time that month, her cake stand had been ransacked, with only the crumbs left behind as evidence of yesterday’s baking. She checked the backdoor, but it was still locked and there were no signs of forced entry.

  “The cakes were gone again this morning,” Julia said to her sister, Sue, who turned up for her usual Saturday shift to help out in the café. “Every last one.”

  “How many times is that now?” Sue asked as she secured her pale pink apron in place.

  “Four,” Julia said as she pulled a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.

  “I keep telling you to go to the police.”

  “For stolen cakes?” Julia slid the warm cookies onto a cooling rack and started shaping the next batch. “Do you think people will mind that I’m only selling cookies today? It’s the quickest thing I could think of to fill up the display case.”

  “People will love whatever you put out there. Everybody knows you’re the best baker in Peridale,” Sue said as she cut herself a slice of Julia’s new lemon sponge cake. “Maybe it was rats?”

  “How would a rat get up to the top shelf in that display case?”

  “Super rats?” Sue said seriously with a shrug before taking a bite of the lemon sponge. “Ugh, this is so good. You’re ruining my diet.”

  Sue had been on a constant diet for as long as Julia could remember, despite her younger sister having a svelte figure that most women would kill for.

  “Who breaks into a café and only takes the cakes?” Julia mumbled under her breath as she moulded a ball of dough into a flat disc.

  “Stop leaving the cakes in here overnight,” Sue said through a mouthful of lemon sponge. “They’ll soon get the message.”

  “I have a feeling it’s somebody who needs the food.”

  “Call the police.”

  “I don’t have any evidence.”

  “I think it’s time for some cameras,” Sue said as she licked buttercream icing from her fingers, before casting a finger into the corners of the rooms. “It’s also time to hire some real staff. You know I’ve enjoyed helping you out on the weekends, but I can’t keep turning down the extra shifts at the hospital for much longer.”

  Julia’s stomach squirmed. The ‘HELP WANTED’ sign had been in the window since the beginning of the year but it hadn’t generated much interest. Most people in Peridale either owned their own small business in the village, or they commuted to the bigger towns for work. The rest were retired, which suited Julia and her café. She was never short of customers wanting a slice of cake, a cup of tea, and a friendly chat.

  When the cookies were finished, Julia flipped the sign from ‘Sorry! We’re closed’ to ‘Come on in! We’re open!’, and it wasn’t long until her first customer and closest neighbour, Emily Burns, walked in, still wearing her gardening gloves.

  “Cup of tea when you’re ready, Julia,” she said as she sat down at the table nearest the counter. “And a slice of whatever that cake is on the counter. Smells delicious.”

  Julia made up a small pot of tea and cut a slice of the lemon sponge, while Sue finished making the cookies for the day in the kitchen.

  “The cake is on the house,” Julia said, setting the plate in front of Emily. “It’s a new recipe I’m working on, and honest feedback is welcomed.”

  “You haven’t disappointed me yet!” Emily exclaimed. “Have you seen our new neighbour?”

  Emily asked the question so casually, but Julia knew Emily had probably been peeking over her garden wall to witness Julia’s interaction with Barker. If talking about the weather was the number one topic of choice in Peridale, gossiping about fellow villagers was the second. Julia wasn’t much of a gossip, but it was rare she wasn’t one of the first to find out the latest information, thanks to her café.

  “I had a brief conversation with him this morning,” Julia said, taking up a seat across from Emily and pouring a cup of tea from the pot. “He’s called Barker Brown. I think he’s from the city.”

  “Oh really?” Emily mumbled, her eyes widening at the new information. “He’s rather handsome. If only I was twenty years younger.”

  “I hadn’t noticed,” Julia lied, adding a splash of milk and a spoonful of sugar to her tea. “Do you know why he’s here?”

  Much to Julia’s disappointment, Emily shook her head as she took her first bite of the lemon sponge. Her eyes widened even further than before, and then clenched shut as she savoured the citrusy tang of the cake.

  “Oh, Julia!” Emily exclaimed. “You’ve really outdone yourself with this one! I think this might be my new favourite.”

  “Thank you,” Julia said quickly, wanting to get back to the topic of their new neighbour. “I’m not sure about Barker. He seemed a little smug.”

  Julia sipped her own tea as she tried to figure out why the man had had such an effect on her.

  “The handsome ones usually are.” Emily sighed regretfully. “Maybe he’s retired young.”

  “Maybe,” Julia agreed, not really believing it. “He doesn’t strike me as the type of person who would choose a place like Peridale to retire.”

  They both finished their tea and Emily settled her bill to get back to her gardening. Julia knew she would try to strike up a conversation with Barker, if only to extract some information worth gossiping about on their next meeting. Even though Julia wouldn’t usually be privy to joining in, she was more than intrigued by his sudden arrival.

  The moment she resumed her place behind the counter, the bell above the door rang again. This time, it w
as Roxy Carter, an old friend from school. They had been the only two girls from Peridale village in their class at the local comprehensive, Hollins High School, so they struck up a close friendship that had lasted long into adulthood. Roxy now worked as a teacher in Peridale’s only school, St. Peter’s Primary School.

  “Good morning, Roxy,” Julia said with a smile as Roxy approached the counter. “What can I get you today?”

  “Huh?” Roxy mumbled, staring at Julia as though she had no idea where she was.

  Roxy frantically ran her fingers through her red hair, tucking it messily behind her ears. Her eyes were sunken in and her skin pasty, as though she hadn’t slept well for days.

  “Is everything okay?” Julia asked.

  Roxy blinked hard at Julia and glanced up at the chalkboard menu on the wall behind her.

  “Latte to go please,” Roxy said, shaking her head heavily. “I’m fine, just a little tired. You know what it’s like.”

  Julia dug out a cardboard cup from underneath the counter and walked over to the coffee machine, not taking her eyes away from Roxy. Roxy chomped on the edges of her nails and jumped when the coffee machine hissed into life. Julia didn’t need to ask again to know Roxy wasn’t ‘fine’.

  “Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring it over to you?” Julia offered.

  Roxy nodded and picked the table closet to the counter, just like Emily had. Julia poured the steamed milk into the coffee and pressed the plastic lid securely in place. She placed the cup in front of Roxy, who stopped drumming her fingers to pick up the cup. She took a deep sip, not seeming to notice it was hot.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Julia asked softly, reaching across and resting her hand on top of Roxy’s. “You seem a little on edge.”

  Roxy tried to feign a smile, but her bottom lip wobbled to the point where Julia reached into her dress pocket for her handkerchief. She pushed it across the table to Roxy, who gladly accepted it and dabbed the inner corners of her eyes.