A Catered Christmas Killer (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery)

by Lee, Carol

  Instead, she headed upstairs, hoping she’d find Eduardo so she could bring him to Detective Moore herself.

  At the top of the stairs, the front ones this time, she stopped to listen. She didn’t hear anyone upstairs, nor did she see any lights coming from under any of the closed doors. She began tiptoeing the length of the hall, back toward her own room.

  As she got closer to her room, she became aware of someone watching her. Her mind went in two drastically different directions for the way this could play out, and she wasn’t sure which was worse.

  She looked around, trying to spot the source of her discomfort, but didn’t see anyone in the hall. If Eduardo was the killer, he likely wouldn’t suspect that she was onto him. They hadn’t spent any time talking. Unless Maria had alerted him. So he could be watching her from a dark corner, waiting to reveal himself with her own knife.

  Or he could have planted the murder weapon in her own room. If Maria was helping him—whether accidentally or on purpose—he would know where Sydney’s room was.

  But there was no way that he could have left the house, so he was definitely still here. All exits were guarded by detectives. No one was allowed to come or go. The knife in her room might look worse than a knife disappearing altogether.

  Why would he have picked her to frame? Dumb luck on her part? The knife could have just been the first weapon he’d seen and later learned it belonged to Sydney.

  Sydney didn’t have time to work through each scenario, because suddenly an arm was thrown around her neck, a knife against her throat. The air was being squeezed out of her, but she managed to squeak out, “It won’t help you . . . if you kill . . . the police’s . . . prime suspect.”

  She was sure Eduardo was the one holding her. Maria wouldn’t have been this strong and Marcus was downstairs. She suddenly wished she had told Grace and Austin where she was going.

  “You’re right. So I guess I’ll just have to hand deliver you to Detective Moore,” Eduardo whispered in her ear. His arm around her neck loosened and she could more easily breathe again.

  “This isn’t the way this should end.” Sydney was pleading. She had to get him to admit the truth, but at just the right moment so there were other witnesses. She had to get them to head back downstairs on her own terms. She was starting to fear for her life.

  “This isn’t the end. This is my ticket to freedom.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, taking a step toward the front staircase. They were still too far for anyone to see or hear them unless she called out, but she didn’t think that would be the best defense right now.

  “Apprehending a killer? You don’t think they’ll still deport me, do you?”

  “What about your family?”

  “My family? Maria is the only family I need.”

  Sydney stopped moving her feet. Maria was his family? Everyone had lied about him? “You’re married?” she asked, starting to walk again after he pushed her forward.

  “That’s my wish. But she doesn’t feel the same way, even if it would be the only way to keep me here.”

  “What about your wife and kids?”

  “They’ll be fine without me.” He snickered.

  “Why did you lose your job at Marcus’ factory?”

  “Julia found out I wasn’t legal. So she offered to help get me my papers, but I knew it wasn’t as simple as that. Even for a pretty woman like her with a well known name. So when she told her husband what her plan was, he fired me. He wants to run a legitimate business. Just like I want to earn a legitimate living.”

  At least part of the story had been true. “So you blamed Julia for losing your job.”

  “Who else could I have blamed? If she’d just let me deal with it on my own and not gotten involved, I’d still be working and no one would be any worse for it. My family would be here, the authorities wouldn’t know about our status and life would have continued.”

  Sydney saw his logic, but thought he’d taken it a step too far. “So you killed her to get even with her. And to get even with Marcus at the same time. She lost her life, and he lost his wife.”

  “And it took you all night to figure it out. Too bad there’s no one here to know the truth but you.”

  “Actually, you’re under arrest, Mr. Eduardo Perez.” The grip on Sydney’s neck tightened with Detective Moore’s words.

  “I’ll kill her first!” Eduardo shouted. “I will! I did it once and I’ll do it again!”

  Eduardo spun Sydney around so they were facing Detective Moore. Sydney was grateful for his presence, but confused about how he’d known to come upstairs to find her. Then she saw Grace and Austin come out of the shadows. When she hadn’t returned to the kitchen, they must have stealthily come up the back stairs to make sure she was okay.

  Detective Moore had his gun trained on Sydney and Eduardo. Fear oozed from her, pleading him with her eyes not to shoot. She knew he’d have good aim, but she didn’t want to take the risk. A knife at her throat was preferable to a bullet in her heart.

  “Eduardo, there’s no need for this. No need for more blood to be spilled. Sydney had nothing to do with this, just let her go.”

  “She had everything to do with this. If she had kept to herself, I’d still be a free man!”

  “If you hadn’t killed Julia, you’d still be a free man,” Moore countered.

  Sydney felt Eduardo’s arm around her neck suddenly loosen. She had no idea why until he’d completely released her and she turned around. A second detective had come up the front stairs and surprised Eduardo from behind. The knife was on the floor, still bloody from last night, and Eduardo was in handcuffs before Sydney had looked back up.

  CHAPTER 6

  “I have to extend my most sincere thanks, Sydney,” Marcus offered on Sunday morning after all of the guests had left and the few people staying overnight had gotten a couple hours of rest.

  The chaos of the previous night had ended quickly after Eduardo was arrested. Maria was arrested as well as an accomplice. She’d given Eduardo the key to the Durans’ house and had concocted a story to cover for him once she’d figured out what he’d done by planting the knife and lingerie in Marcus’ office. She’d tried to get Sydney off of Eduardo’s tracks, but she didn’t succeed in the end.

  Maria had known that Marcus and Stacey were having an affair and planted her hairs in the clothing as well.

  “I was just doing my job,” Sydney said shyly.

  “No, your job was to cater the best Christmas party of the year, but you ended up finding justice for my wife. I can’t thank you enough.” There was evident pain in Marcus’ eyes.

  “Well, I only did what any person would do.”

  “But you did it.”

  Sydney smiled, not knowing how else to respond. She continued cleaning up the kitchen. She and Grace had huge piles of dishes to do. Originally, Julia had asked that they stay through Sunday, but Marcus was releasing them at noon.

  “Just one last question,” Sydney said, looking back up.

  “Anything.”

  “How did you not notice that Julia never came to bed that night?”

  “I take sleeping pills.” Marcus turned and left the kitchen, likely avoiding any more questions.

  “Overall, a success?” Grace asked after Marcus had left.

  “I’d say so. I gave out a few business cards and kept my record clean. I doubt that we’ll be catering that Super Bowl party for Ryan and Stacey, though. He was devastated when he found out about her affair. I don’t know how he didn’t see it coming. She couldn’t stay away from Marcus all night!”

  “Some people only see what they want to see.”

  ***

  “Auntie Sydney!” Addison and Ariel called from the open door of Mia’s house. Sydney walked through the door and could smell Christmas in the air—the tree, eggnog and sugar cookies.

  “Hey girls. Did you have a good weekend with Maple?”

  “Yeah! And Mom said we can get a dog!” Addison was bes
ide herself with joy.

  “That’s great!”

  “Come see our Christmas tree,” Ariel demanded, leading Sydney into the living room. Mia was lying on the floor with Aiden. She looked up and smiled. Maple was asleep on the couch, wiped out from days of constant playing.

  “It’s beautiful,” Sydney gushed for the sake of the kids. “Did you decorate it all by yourselves?”

  “No. With Mom and Dad,” Addison said, smiling. “We have a present for you.”

  Ariel ran to the tree and picked up one of the few gifts that were already wrapped and waiting to be opened.

  “Santa brought it early?” Sydney asked.

  “Because he knew you wouldn’t be here on Christmas morning,” Addison explained.

  Sydney carefully opened the gift wrapping and then the box.

  “A cookbook! How appropriate!” She already had a bookshelf full of them, but she still loved getting new ones.

  “And something else,” Mia said. “I let the kids choose the book. I think they picked based on the cover. But I chose this other gift.”

  Sydney opened the envelope and found a gift certificate to the fanciest restaurant in town. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “I thought it’d be a nice place for you to take Austin,” Mia said, defending her choice. “You know, for the holidays.”

  “Thanks.” Sydney was speechless, and looking forward to the impending date her sister had planned for her.

  Sydney’s All-Natural Vegetable Wash

  Whether buying organic or not, fruits and vegetables attract unwanted grime in their transportation from the farm to your table. Water doesn’t get rid of nearly as much as you’d like. To easily remove that sticky waxiness on apples and tomatoes and the unseen dirt on nearly everything, consider making this super easy rinse part of your routine:

  INGREDIENTS:

   Enough water to cover all of your vegetables (some will float, don’t worry about that)

   1 cup distilled white vinegar for every 6 cups water

  In a large bowl or straight in your sink, place all of your just purchased fruits and vegetables. I do this while I’m unpacking from the grocery store.

  Cover the fruits and vegetables with water (you can measure so you know how much vinegar to add).

  For every 6 cups of water, add one cup of vinegar (I eyeball it).

  Let everything sit for 10-15 minutes—while you finish unpacking and getting organized.

  Drain the water and vinegar mixture. Rinse the fruits and vegetables with water and let them dry before you put them in the fridge.

  They’ll be clean and ready to eat for any occasion!

  Also a great rinse for the counter top!

  About the Author

  Carol lives in New England with her husband, her trusty and awfully energetic brown lab and her beautiful rescue cat, Bear who has no tail. She likes to write cozy mysteries novelettes and short stories perfect for the busy person on the go. When she’s not working on her next mystery you can find her hiking, gardening or spending time with her family.

  One Last Thing. . .

  Don’t miss your chance to join my FREE Cozy Mystery Book Club! Receive updates on New Releases, promotions, clearance sales, and even have the opportunity to receive ADVANCED REVIEWER COPIES! Stay connected and join my Loyal Reader Update List here- http://carolleebooks.com

  Other books by Carol Lee

  Stay tuned… the sequel is coming soon!

  Deadly Pumpkin Slice

  In the meantime, please enjoy a complimentary first chapter from The Way the Cake Crumbles.

  CHAPTER 1

  I started the day as usual by opening my bakery, Dessert First. I made three urns of delicious coffee, put water on for tea and made sweet treats for friends and neighbors in the small town of Fish Creek Falls. In addition to the morning’s sweet treats, I also began planning the specials for the huge annual 4th of July Carnival. It seemed hard to believe that it now was only days away. Usually the town was the epitome of sleepy, but in a few days it would be put on the map because a national lifestyle maven would be coming to our quaint corner of the country to film the festivities for her show.

  Rachel Whey had a huge following and some delicious recipes, I thought, but she seemed to bring drama wherever she went. Rumor had it that she really could be a bit of a prima donna when it came to traveling and filming on location. She allegedly demanded things like special down pillows, a certain type of bottled water and her own china and silverware for each meal.

  For the most part, the rumors didn't change my opinions of her though. I had always thought that she had been a good cook with a great deal of stage presence who had ultimately been very lucky to have been discovered by the network. Being truthful, I was excited to have all the television crews come to Fish Creek Falls, but I felt a bit slighted because the Town Council had voted to have Rachel bake the traditional carnival cake this year. Last year had been my first 4th of July in town and my cake was a big hit. I looked forward to creating a killer cake this year to top my first showing; but that couldn’t happen with our famous guest coming.

  The visit had been the talk of the town for weeks, but as it drew ever closer, the people of Fish Creek Falls were even more excited for Rachel to arrive. Even Lizzie, my best friend, had become a broken record with tidbits about Rachel's quirkiness and any rumor that she could recount got her greatly excited.

  Just as I'd finished the final batch of crumb cake muffins and was preparing to make a Red White and Blue trifle as a shop special, the bells on the door jingled announcing the first customer of the day.

  "Good morning, Green Eyes! It's a beautiful day!" Detective David Bentley greeted as he walked through the door with a smile on his face.

  "Someone's in a great mood this morning. Coffee?" I asked, returning the smile.

  "Yes, please. And yes, I am in a fabulous mood.”

  "Oh really, why is that?" I asked as the typical, “David’s my boyfriend” huge grin spread across my face.

  "I had a date with an amazing woman last night."

  "Oh really?" I asked, nearly forgetting to stop pouring the coffee.

  "Yes, she's smart, funny, had beautiful long hair and green eyes and she can even… cook," He paused at the last word for effect.

  I always corrected him because I was a baker and a pretty good one at that, but as a cook, I was dreadful. “Oh well, the true test would be to find out if she can bake, too. That’s the total package.”

  He laughed and took the coffee. “I’m pretty sure she can, but I think that I need to spend more time with her to see what else I can find out. How about tonight?” he asked and took my hand to lead me around the counter.

  “Sounds fine to me, Detect—,” he kissed me before the word finished.

  After a long minute, we separated and I leaned back against the counter. It is true that sometimes a kiss can leave you weak in the knees. I stared at his face as he sipped his coffee and his boyish smirk snuck out from behind the cup. I reached out and brushed the piece of hair that fell onto his forehead. Though his hair was cut short, the front had some length to it. He took my hand, lowered his coffee cup and pressed his coffee-warm lips against my hand. Goosebumps rose on my arm and I gently pulled it back.

  He cleared his throat. “Dinner then? 6:30?”

  “Sure. Want to try the new restaurant El Paso in Caraway?” I asked, knowing the reviews were glowing.

  “Could be the perfect beginning to a spicy night,” he whispered with his hands around my waist.

  I laughed and turned around to face him.

  “Could be,” I said with a question on my face, not promising anything. I disentangle myself from his arms and walked around the counter to grab the rag from the bleach water to wash the counters.

  “So, when is your meeting with the advance crew for Rachel Whey?”

  “This morning. They want to just ‘touch-base’ with me because they want to do some kind of collaborative segment or somethi
ng.” I threw the wet rag from the end of the counter and it splashed water like a small fountain. I sighed and grabbed for some paper towels to wipe it up.

  “Well, I can see how thrilled you are about that prospect, but please feel free to elaborate for me.”

  “Well,” I sighed again and headed to the sink to wash my hands after wiping up, “I just don’t want to embarrass Fish Creek Falls or myself and I’m not sure what to expect.”