by Holly Plum
Joy introduced herself to each table and encouraged the guests to try a slice of her cake. “My name is Joy from Patty Cakes Bake Shop, and I'd just be overjoyed if you'd try some of this cake that I made for a bridal shower that took place here today."
Maple had her own strategy. “Hello, I'm Maple from The Sugar Room, the bakery that has been voted #1 for the best frosting in town. Just remember – best frosting! Try this cake we supplied for a bridal shower today. It has our award winning frosting."
The women made their way down the line of tables, shoving their plates under the noses of each guest. The waiters for the hotel were also serving up plates of food at the same time and almost collided with the bakers multiple times. At one table, Joy just about placed her plate on top of a bowl of soup.
Each guest was quite blown away by the presentation of each slice, and even more so by the taste. The room buzzed with talk about the cakes and the food. Joy quickly ran out of cake, even before Maple did. She made her way back to her seat, her tummy rumbling louder than ever.
“Hey, I have some follow-up questions.” Detective Sugar took a seat across from Joy.
“Go ahead.” Joy got herself situated and placed her napkin back on her lap.
“First of all,” the detective held out his hands in exasperation, “why didn't I get any cake?”
CHAPTER NINE
Dinner was served. Joy tried to keep up a conversation with Detective Sugar, but Bridget and Willow kept distracting her. They were sitting much too close to Maple.
“Why did they sit near Maple? I hope it has nothing to do with her cake." Joy whispered to Sara Beth, who was too busy laughing with Lenny to hear Joy's complaints.
Joy sighed and focussed on her dinner. She had a plate of ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and topped with a chunky pesto of sage and walnuts. The dish was divine. Each bite made Joy forget about Maple. It was perfect comfort food, and she almost forgot about the storm raging outside.
Detective Sugar reached across the table and rudely tried stabbing one of Joy's ravioli with his fork, breaking her focus.
“Hey,” Joy protested. "Get your own ravioli." Joy rolled her eyes and gave in. She offered the detective some of her food. Detective Sugar shoved ravioli in his mouth and shrugged.
“Not bad," the detective commented. "Want some lamb shank and mashed potato?” He held up his plate. The dish had already been dissected by the detective. All the meat had been ripped off of the bone and cut into tiny pieces, then mixed evenly into the mashed potato. It didn't look appealing, and Joy politely declined.
“Would you like to try some soup?” Willow offered quietly. She was sitting beside Detective Sugar, across from Maple and Lenny. Willow had been unable to stop crying. She blew her nose and wiped her eyes before placing the tissue on the growing pile of used tissues in front of her.
“You don't like your soup, Willow?” Bridget butted in. “Please, try to eat. It will help you calm down.”
This set Willow off into more of a sob-fest, her cries coming out like hiccups.
“Oh gosh, I'm sorry.” Bridget sighed. “There, there. Why don't you tell me more about your time in Greece? I know. Tell everyone about the time that Greek woman made you try anchovies for the first time.” Bridget egged her sister on toward some happy memories. “It's a really funny story.” Bridget assured Joy and Detective Sugar with a nod.
Willow blew her nose and shook her head. "Now isn't a good time."
“Why not?" Bridget asked cautiously.
“Charles was there," Willow answered. "He loved Greece. He's been my faithful travel companion since he was a little baby bird, and now he's… gone.” Willow burst into tears.
“Oh geez,” Bridget replied. She began rubbing her sister's back in hopes that it would help her stop crying.
“Gone, huh? That's interesting.” Detective Sugar pulled out his notepad and pen and asked Willow for the details of the last time she saw Charles, the parrot.
“He was in my hotel room with me," Willow informed him. "I went to run myself a bath, and when I came back, he wasn't there.”
The detective wrote down all of the details and was about to ask follow-up questions when Maple leaned across the table and interrupted.
“Have you found Janet's killer yet, Detective?” Maple asked loudly.
Joy noticed that guests all around them had overheard Maple's inappropriate question, and they shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Joy heard a few hushed whispers about Janet's death being a suicide. Detective Sugar noticed these whispers too but kept his answer very simple.
“An investigation is underway, thank you, Maple,” he answered.
“Investigation?” Maple asked primly. “A murder investigation in the middle of a hurricane must be difficult. All the phones are down, after all. How are you able to contact the station to run background checks and so on?”
Suddenly a man placed his hand on Maple's shoulder. Lenny and Sara Beth noticed his presence and stopped chatting amongst themselves. The man was Mr. Sullivan, the hotel manager. He cleared his throat and gave everyone a charming smile.
“I think we can all agree it was a terrible accident,” Mr. Sullivan said. Joy understood loud and clear that he wanted everyone to stop talking so loudly about the death that had occurred earlier that day.
Maple wasn't going to have it. “An accident? Mister Sullivan, are you aware that the window from which the late Janet Foster fell was the only window that was not correctly bolted shut? Someone had to have planned that.”
“Oh, here we go,” Joy muttered at Sara Beth.
“What is she talking about?” Sara Beth asked her boss.
“I've been doing a little investigating of my own, and I have come to some very important conclusions,” Maple began, speaking louder and drawing more attention to herself.
“She's showing off. She always does this. She wants this wedding deal so badly.” Joy whispered her thoughts to Sara Beth. “She'll say anything to get attention. I bet she's about to say she knows who the killer is.”
“And I know who the killer is,” Maple added.
“I told you.” Joy rolled her eyes, sat back in her chair, and went back to her ravioli.
CHAPTER TEN
Maple's announcement was met with a lot of attention from Detective Sugar, Bridget, and everyone sitting nearby. Joy thought bitterly to herself that the attention was exactly what Maple wanted. But even with so many people giving her their full attention, Maple's follow-through was weak. She didn't name a suspect, stating that she didn't want to poison anyone's judgment. Instead, she used the attention to list off the facts of the case that everyone already knew.
There were no signs that Janet's death was suicidal. The window she fell out of was the only one that had been unlocked, and Maple explained that Bridget suspected someone had been through her room. Could the two events be connected? Maple lost most of the group's attention when she began recounting her own movements of the day, including a detailed description of how much time and attention went into baking her cake. She referred to The Sugar Room thirteen times. Joy counted.
Sara Beth was the first to zone out from Maple's speech. She was completely distracted by her meal. Sara Beth had never eaten so many different delicious dishes in her life. The food just kept on coming. The kitchen had lots of main courses to choose from. Next, they were served perfectly cooked sea scallops with a thick white sauce that tasted like ginger, leek, and mild soy sauce. Vegetable dishes filled the table. Sara Beth's favorite was the stir fried snow peas, snap peas and broccoli. Lenny offered her some salt and pepper calamari. It was his all-time favorite dish, and he had piled too much onto his plate thinking that he'd be able to eat it all.
“I know I should be depressed right now, but I'm not?” Lenny was excited to carry on the evening and talk with Sara Beth. “This hotel should have power outages more often."
Sara Beth smiled as she tasted her latest dish. “That's a weird thing to say, Lenny.”
Joy leaned over Sara Beth and whispered, “Maple must be exhausted from all of that babbling.”
“What's wrong now? Can't you just enjoy your meal like a normal person?” Sara Beth glanced around as she sipped a glass of fruit punch to wash down the salty calamari. The fruit punch was subtle and mildly sweet. Too subtle and too mild, in Sara Beth's opinion. She felt a sharp craving for sweet tea.
“Today has been anything but normal, Sara Beth,” Joy whispered, and pointed to the door where Maple was leaving the banquet hall to return to her room.
Although trays of food were still flooding out from the kitchen, many guests were already stuffed and heading back to their rooms. Mr. Sullivan made an announcement, urging everyone to stay on the first floor for their own safety, and Joy heeded his words. With Sara Beth and Lenny engaged in conversation about calamari, she decided to move to the window and spend some time watching the storm. Joy caught glimpses of the beach when lightning struck. The crazed wind blew ocean spray from the tops of the huge breaking waves in sweeping arcs. The windows of the hotel continually rattled as the wind banged against them, and Joy enjoyed the way the noise drowned out the sound of the crowd around her. Joy was grateful for the safety of the huge hotel. It was solid, sturdy, and warm. She would not have been afforded the same feelings if she had stayed at home in her tiny beachside bungalow.
Joy wondered if her cat Cheesecake had found somewhere safe to hide from the storm. She prayed that he was inside and that he was comfortable. Joy feared that instead, he was hiding in the garden, soaking wet, shaking in fear and wondering where she was.
Joy was snapped out of her daydream as Sara Beth and Lenny ran up to her, their silk robes flapping behind them. Joy realized she had lost all track of time. It felt like two seconds, but Joy had really spent twenty minutes thinking about all of the disasters that could be happening back home.
“She's missing,” Lenny said.
“Joy, you have to help us," Sara Beth explained. "We went looking for Maple, and we can't find her anywhere.”
Joy blinked a few times, confused.
“I went to check on her, and she wasn't in our room.” Lenny waved his hands around to emphasize his point. “I checked the lobby and the other ballrooms. I don't know where else she would have gone."
Joy let out a long breath.
“Joy, come on," Sara Beth responded. "We know how you feel about her, but Maple was just bragging about how she knew who the killer was. Now, she's missing. Don't you find that troubling? There's a killer running around in this hotel."
“There might be a killer in this hotel, Sara Beth,” Joy corrected her. Sara Beth rolled her eyes and gave Joy a familiar look that she normally broke out when Joy burned a good batch of scones.
“Please, help us,” Lenny pleaded. "Maybe she slipped and fell somewhere?"
Joy considered her options. Maple could be in danger, but she could also be just fine. Joy thought it was silly the way Maple had chided on about the murder investigation. But that was her own fault. Joy tapped her foot. Her conscience wouldn't let her say no.
“Oh, alright,” Joy reluctantly agreed. "But no one tells Maple that I helped. I don't want the thinking that I actually care."
"Understood." Sara Beth chuckled. "What sort of world would this be if the owners of the only two bakeries in town actually got along?"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Joy, Sara Beth, and Lenny split up and searched different ends of the hotel. Joy checked the kitchen first. She figured she should stick to what she knew. If Joy knew anything, it was her way around the kitchen. Joy also secretly suspected that Maple had snuck away to do something that would win Bridget over. Maybe she had snuck into the kitchen to whip up a custom meal. Or perhaps a quick, personalized dessert for the bride-to-be?
Joy made her way through the huge hotel kitchen. The last of the dishes were being picked up by the staff to be delivered to the banquet hall. Chefs were hanging up their aprons, and kitchen hands were finishing cleaning up the counters and sweeping the floors. Joy grabbed a fruit tartlet from a tray as it whizzed past her. She told herself she needed all of the fuel she could get for this annoying errand. The tartlet was a little too tart, but the taste of passionfruit and lemon rind certainly made Joy feel more alert.
Joy asked a few people if they'd seen Maple, speaking with her mouthful as she finished off her dessert.
“I'm looking for someone, and I think she's in the kitchen somewhere,” Joy explained to a dish hand as he washed a huge soup pot.
“Sorry, I haven't seen any guests back here. Your friend might be back there, though.” He motioned to the other end of the kitchen.
“She's not my friend,” Joy added as she walked away.
“There are three kitchens,” the dishwasher explained.
The second and third kitchens were pitch black and empty.
“This hotel has three kitchens?” Joy asked.
“Five, actually, but the others are under renovations.” The dishwasher rinsed the pot and motioned for Joy to get out of his way so he could hang it to dry. Joy took the hint. She thanked him and went to check out the next room.
Both kitchens looked completely untouched, and there was no sign of Maple.
“Hello?” Joy called out. Her voice echoed off the stainless steel appliances and concrete floor. No sign of Maple. The darkness made Joy twitch, but she carried on feeling her way through the darkened space. Joy cleared her throat nervously and called out again. “Maple, Lenny is looking for you.”
No reply.
“Okay, time to go,” Joy said out loud and quickly moved toward the exit. On her way out, Joy caught sight of something that made her gasp. It was a brand new state-of-the-art convection oven.
“I could bake something incredible with that,” Joy whispered to herself. Her eyes moved toward the industrial refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Joy snapped out of her trance and got out of the kitchen before she started making a personalized dessert for the bride-to-be.
The hallways of the first few floors were identical. They all had the same layout and were all equally creepy. The darkness ad sound of the wind howling outside added to the overall chilling atmosphere. The emergency lights were dim and left long stretches of the hallway that remained pitch black.
Joy crept through the halls, looking for any sign of Maple. She looked inside any room with an open door and tried the handles of a few closed ones too. The longer Joy looked, the jumpier she became. And the jumpier she became, the more Joy questioned why she'd agreed to look for her nemesis in a huge hotel during a blackout and a hurricane. Was it Lenny's puppy dog eyes that had convinced her? Or was it that she was cursed with good manners?
A strange noise filled Joy's ears. She gasped and stopped in her tracks. Her heart pounded so hard that she had to strain her ears to hear anything else. The noise sounded like crying. It was coming from nearby, in a dark patch of the hallway. Joy took a deep breath and tiptoed closer.
Joy told herself that everything would be fine, but she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She dug them into her pockets and clenched her fists.
“Who's there?” someone asked in a shaky, scared voice.
“You first?” Joy answered.
“Joy? Is that you?”
“Willow?” Joy wrinkled her nose.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Joy knelt next to Willow and asked her what she was doing in the hallway. The girl had obviously been crying, and her tear-soaked cheeks glistened underneath the emergency lights.
“I'm just…you know…trying to clear my head. I'm relaxing.” Willow laughed, trying to brush off Joy's concern.
“This is probably the least relaxing place in the entire hotel.” Joy quickly called her out on her lie.
Willow wiped her face with her sleeve and gave Joy a fake smile. Joy did not buy it. She replied with the same look her mother used to give her when Joy wouldn't open up about her feelings. It worked every time.
“Bridget is mad at me
. I screwed up.” Willow began to cry. “I should have given her a more expensive gift. Maya gave her something super expensive, and my gift was just…pathetic.”
"I don't know what you're talking about," Joy replied. “That locket was beautiful. It was the perfect gift. Something old and something blue. It is the thought that counts and you searched forever to find the perfect necklace.” Joy grinned. She believed what she said to Willow. Thoughtful gifts were better than expensive ones.
“Yes, but I…” Willow sobbed, and it sounded more like a hiccup. “I lied, Joy.”
Joy waited for a torrent of Willow's sobs to subside, and then she gently asked her, “What did you lie about?”
Willow was more than ready to confess. She talked quickly and passionately. “I didn't find the locket in an antique store. I can't afford to buy Bridget anything at any store. I'm dirt broke, and I'm a terrible sister.”
Joy let the news sink in. She frowned, confused.
“Well, how did you get the locket?” Joy asked.
“I swear I didn't steal it," Willow responded. "I found it on the beach. I just got lucky. I came here with no gift for my own sister's bridal shower, and I found this antique locket when I went for a walk. But I lied about it.” Willow began crying again, and Joy did her best to comfort the girl by rubbing her back and waiting for her sobbing to slow down.
“I'm sure Bridget will forgive you," Joy stated.
Joy had a hard time understanding sibling drama. For most of her life, it was just her and her mother, Patty. No siblings, and no extended family.
“Not when I tell her that I came to her bridal shower because I have nowhere else to go," Willow confessed. "I came here to ask Bridget for money, and I thought that the locket might win her over. Bridget already thinks I'm irresponsible. My finances are an example of how much of a mess I am. And the worst part is, she's right."