Cookies and Chaos

by C A Phipps

  Suzy was the least patient, which was to be expected when she had a vested interest with her mother being involved. “So, Owen found out about Bertram Langley being his father and he came to Maple Falls to get him to go straight?”

  “According to Bertram, Owen found out about his father living here by accident. He was doing a delivery and saw his father outside the gallery. I can vouch for the fact that the two men look very much alike.”

  “I can too.”

  Mavis had been nursing her teacup in a chair at the table. She had looked shell-shocked on Maddie’s arrival and didn’t look much better now.

  Gran went to sit beside her. “Drink up Mavis. A cup of tea will bring some color to your cheeks.”

  “I feel so bad that I let that Mr. Smith into my home when he could have killed Maddie or that lovely detective Jones.”

  “Shush. No one holds you responsible. He was a clever man and you weren’t to know that he wasn’t who he said he was.”

  “Or Bertram. How could he have been caught up in this? He had a son that he never saw, but he was so sweet to us all. He helped us with anything we couldn’t manage. Even Nora.” Mavis finished with a hiccup.

  “Mr. Langley didn’t want to be found, even by his son. He was ashamed of his former life. In fact, they had different names, because Owen had been adopted by his step-father, which made it hard for anyone else to make the connection especially when Bertram never mentioned having a child. He didn’t engage outside of the retirement community either.”

  Gran shook her head. “I like to think I know most of the population of Maple Falls, but I hardly knew him at all. Considering how much time I spend at Sunny Days or with people from there it should have been a clue that something was amiss.”

  “It is odd that we all knew Owen who had only been coming to town for several months, but a man who lived here for several years was a stranger,” Angel said with sadness.

  “Carry on Maddie,” Suzy pressed.

  “Against his will, Owen’s father got himself mixed up with Smith and Chance in the last year. Having done time for theft before, he’d moved here to lie low and stay out of trouble, but someone recognized him. He was threatened with exposure and when that didn’t work, they threatened his family. I should say ex-family.”

  “So he was actually protecting Owen and his mom?” Angel’s eyes were misty.

  “Exactly, and no matter that he hadn’t seen his son for years, he couldn’t let him get hurt. Especially when they had only just found each other. At first, it was a matter of pinching jewelry and things that might go unnoticed for some time from the country club members, but that wasn’t enough for Smith.”

  “That’s when the painting forgery began?” Suzy asked.

  “It was actually an insurance scam that Smith had devised in other states. It was lucrative, because people didn’t realize that the paintings were swapped and so never reported them stolen. The key was to never stay too long in one place.”

  Laura frowned. “But why Maple Falls?”

  “Because they heard of Nicholas Brack and his problems from Bertram. Smith also saw inside one of the retirement community’s apartments and he found another cash cow. Plus the gallery, with only Suzy’s mom in attendance most days, it was easy pickings and a way to hide paintings until they could ship them.”

  “So Owen found out about it, how?”

  “Apparently, he overheard them talking about milking the place then using his father as the scapegoat.”

  “That must have been why he was hanging around the gallery and Sunny Days so much. Owen was trying to stop the thefts. Poor boy.” Gran was holding Angel’s hand.

  Laura nodded. “True. It’s just a shame he didn’t speak to Ethan or Rob, since he clearly wasn’t very good at playing detective.”

  Maddie agreed with Laura’s sadly accurate statement. “Having recently found his father, Owen wasn’t prepared to lose him. Shocked though he may have been to learn of his father’s activities, he took it upon himself to find out as much as he could about the operation, but like you said, Laura, he was too obvious.”

  “Obvious enough that Mr. Clayton noticed Owen lurking near the Gallery and probably told others.” Laura grimaced.

  “Still, his father stepped in to save Nicholas Brack from being killed. Hopefully, that will help his case.” Angel tapped a pink tipped finger on the counter.

  “He’s suffering with the loss of his only child, even if he never really knew him. I hope the law goes a little easy on him.”

  “But, Gran, he was a thief.”

  “Yes, Suzy, he was. He’ll have to live with all that. Just like Nicholas will have to pay for all the fraud he committed.”

  “How did he get involved?” Suzy asked.

  “Nicholas and Bertram were friends. Perhaps the only true friends each other had. Smith found out that Nicholas had terrible debts which was all he needed to force him into forgery. Aside from paying his debts Nicholas was distraught about having to sell his favorite painting that his late wife had done of the two of them. It was the large one missing from the wall of the gallery. At his request, Cora had taken it down and was holding it for him until he had all the money he needed to buy it back.”

  “Of course. That makes sense. He had been in and out of the gallery for the last few months and had every opportunity to swap his forgeries for the real ones if mom was busy with other clients or she was out the back. I should have thought about him earlier.” Suzy berated herself.

  “None of us picked up on it. You know, I think that’s all I can manage until after I eat this cake.” Maddie took a large bite hoping a bit of sugar would give her the energy to last a little longer before she would have to get in a hot bath or seize up completely.

  “Is Detective Jones going to be okay?” Angel asked casually.

  Maddie wiped her mouth. “Sorry, I meant to say that although he’s concussed, Ethan said he’ll be fine. He also told Ethan to apologize on his behalf for not accepting our help. Apparently, we aren’t so bad at sleuthing as he thought.”

  “I knew he was only acting gruff because that’s how people expect a detective to be. He doesn’t have family here, so perhaps we should visit him?”

  Gran snorted. “He’ll be happy to see you, Angel. No need to have us all there exhausting the poor man.”

  Maddie hid a smile. Angel was never going to be great at keeping secrets, and the fact that she was a little smitten with the tall fair detective was as obvious as the lack of gloss on supposedly tempered chocolate.

  Laura had a dreamy look on her face too. Was Gran working some sort of magic or was it simply time that they all moved on from the band of four? Maddie would hate to see that happen.

  Gran wasn’t done. “Things worked out okay. We don’t need to have a celebration, since not everyone came out of this well, but let’s have a quiet meal and a drink tomorrow night at the cottage?”

  “Just us?” Laura asked.

  “I think so. All your men can come see you another time. Let’s just be the Girlz? You can be an honorary one for the night, Mavis.”

  The women blustered that they had no men in their lives. All except Maddie. Now that they had professed their love, Ethan was a factor, but she would be happy to make time for these women who were so important to her.

  And Maple Falls was safe once more.

  Read Book 4 Now!—Doughnuts and Disaster

  Doughnuts and Disaster

  A killer on the loose makes Angel lose her appetite and because we’re talking a batch of her favourite jelly doughnuts that means war!

  When a man comes to town who was part of Angel’s past, and wants to make amends in theory that sounds like a positive thing, but that’s when things begin a slippery slope into disaster and an ugly murder.

  Maddie, the Sheriff, Big Red - her faithful Maine Coon cat—and the Girlz and are back in action as they try to protect Angel from a mysterious stranger. Or is it her ex-husband?

  There are clue
s a-plenty but they all turn out to be red herrings. Except for one or two!

  Can they solve the murder before it’s too late for Angel?

  Excerpt from Doughnuts and Disaster:

  “Hop in, buddy. You’re staying at Gran's for the night.”

  Big Red gave her a filthy look and climbed on the backseat. He’d watched her pack with his typical sulky expression, and now he was plain cross at her leaving him behind. Lucky he was usually loveable, great company, and a good watch-cat, because sometimes he was really worse than a child.

  Maddie placed her bag into the back of Honey, feeling her usual rush of affection for the old jeep which had been a high-school graduation present from her Grandad. He’d taught her how to maintain the old girl, and she rarely missed a beat.

  The sound of wheels on gravel heralded Angel.

  “Here’s my bag.”

  The ‘bag’ was a trolley case four times the size of Maddie’s bag and bright pink. Even though she’d seen it before, Maddie was shocked.

  “You do know it’s only a weekend stay?”

  Angel raised a delicate eyebrow. “Your point being?”

  Maddie sighed and hefted the bag into the trunk with a grunt. “Why does it look and feel as though you’ve packed for the week?”

  “Sugar, if I were packing for a week, we’d need a bigger car. Hi, Big Red,” she called to him as she got into the passenger seat, with a satisfied smile.

  Maddie shook her head at the memory of a few years ago when her friend came to New York City to visit with three cases, and a frustrated Suzy by her side sporting only a backpack. Clearly, it had been too long since the Girlz, had been on any trips together. Maddie had clean forgotten Angel did not travel light and she hoped Laura, who she’d never traveled with, wasn’t of the same mindset.

  She drove down to Gran’s cottage which sat at the bottom of Plum Place and only a few hundred yards from the back of the bakery. The other Girlz were waiting on the porch, and they came to meet her. She sighed with relief when she saw that Suzy and Laura both carried overnight bags. Gran also came out to fetch Big Red, who was still sulking.

  “Come on, you big baby. I have some treats for you, then we’ll go for a nice walk around the farm.”

  Maddie smiled. “I’m afraid he’s not impressed with his imposed visit.”

  Gran laughed. “He’ll be fine once you’re gone. He thinks he can guilt you into taking him, just like a child.”

  Big Red gave Gran an imperious look as he jumped out, sauntered past her, went up the stairs to sit in the middle of the doorway, glaring at all of them.

  Gran’s hands which had been about to pick up the hefty feline landed on her hips. “That boy is getting too big for his boots.”

  Maddie shrugged. “I know. He’s spoiled. What can I say?”

  “Hah! You all mollycoddle him, so he thinks he’s the boss of everyone.” Suzy grinned.

  Maddie chose not to point out that Suzy’s Pomeranian, Tosco, could give any animal in Maple falls a run for its money in the spoilt pet stakes.

  “It’s true, but he’s so loveable.” Angel blew him a kiss.

  Gran grinned. “Except when he’s not. Away you go before he decides to follow you.”

  Gran couldn’t be cross for any length of time, and even when she scolded friends and family, there was a certain fond inflection that couldn’t be missed. Still, Big Red did find it hard to accept being left behind, so Laura and Suzy stowed their bags, with a kiss for Gran, then waves at the ginger ball of attitude, they quickly got into Honey and Maddie drove down Plum Place.

  You can pick up your copy of Doughnuts and Disaster here!

  Thank you

  Thanks so much for reading Cookies and Chaos, the third book in the Maple Lane Mystery series.

  Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to hear when the next book, is available. There’s a free recipe book waiting for you.

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  C.A. Phipps Author

  By the way, I’d love your review. Your opinion matters to me.

  Recipes

  These recipes are ones I use all the time and have come down the generations from my mum, grandmother, and some I have adapted from other recipes. Also, I now have my husband’s grandmother’s recipe book. Exciting! I’ll be bringing some of them to life very soon.

  Just a wee reminder, that I am a New Zealander. Occasionally I may have missed converting into ounces and pounds for my American readers.

  My apologies for that, and please let me know—if you do try them—how they turn out.

  Cheryl x

  Chocolate Croissants

  Ingredients

  for 8 servings

  4 cups flour (500 g)

  ½ cup water (120 mL)

  ½ cup milk (120 mL)

  ¼ cup sugar (50 g)

  2 teaspoons salt

  1 packet instant dry yeast

  3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

  1 ¼ cups cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) thick slices (285 g)

  1 egg, beaten

  2 bars 70% cocoa chocolate

  Instructions

  1In a large bowl, mix the flour, water, milk, sugar, salt, yeast, and butter.

  2Once the dough starts to clump, turn it out onto a clean counter.

  3Lightly knead the dough and form it into a ball, making sure not to over-knead it.

  4Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

  5Slice the cold butter in thirds and place it onto a sheet of parchment paper..

  6Place another piece of parchment on top of the butter, and beat it with a rolling pin.

  7Keeping the parchment paper on the butter, use a rolling pin to roll the butter into a 7-inch (18 cm) square, ½-inch (1 cm) thick. If necessary, use a knife to trim the edges and place the trimmings back on top of the butter and continue to roll into a square.

  8Transfer the butter layer to the refrigerator.

  10To roll out the dough, lightly flour the counter. Place the dough on the counter, and push the rolling pin once vertically into the dough and once horizontally to form four quadrants.

  11Roll out each corner and form a 10-inch (25 cm) square.

  12Place the butter layer on top of the dough and fold the sides of the dough over the butter, enclosing it completely.

  13Roll the dough with a rolling pin to seal the seams, making sure to lengthen the dough, rather than widening it.

  14Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

  15Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it’s 8x24 inches (20x61 cm).

  16Fold the top half down to the middle, and brush off any excess flour.

  17Fold the bottom half over the top and turn the dough clockwise to the left. This completes the first turn.

  18Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

  19Roll out the dough again two more times, completing three turns in total and refrigerating for 1 hour in between each turn. If at any time the dough or butter begins to soften, stop and transfer back to the fridge.

  20After the final turn, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

  21To form the croissants, cut the dough in half. Place one half in the refrigerator.

  22Flour the surface and roll out the dough into a long narrow strip, about 8x40 inches (20x101 cm).

  23With a knife, trim the edges of the dough.

  24Cut the dough into 4 rectangles.

  25Place the chocolate on the edge of the dough and roll tightly enclosing it in the dough.

  26Place the croissants on a baking sheet, seam side down.

  27Repeat with the other half of the dough.

  28Brush the croissants with the beaten egg. Save the rest of the egg wash in the fridge for later.

  29Place the croissants in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours.

  30Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

  31Once t
he croissants have proofed, brush them with one more layer of egg wash.

  32Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve warm.

  Enjoy!

  If the recipe above gave you the horrors, how about trying this quicker version on the next page?

  Cheats Croissant

  (Just as good!)

  Ingredients

  1 packet of pre-made flaky pastry sheets.

  1 block of dark chocolate – I use a 70% cocoa one.

  A little milk

  Instructions:

  1Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2Cut each sheet of pastry into quarters then halve each quarter to give you 8 triangles.

  3Place the chocolate on the long end of the pastry and roll away from you. Twist the ends to form that horned croissant look.

  4Brush with milk

  5Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve warm.

  Chocolate Truffles

  Ingredients

  3 ½ ounces (100g) unsalted butter

  3 ½ ounces (100g) 70% cocoa chocolate

  1 cup icing sugar

  1 Tbsp rum

  1 tsp cocoa

  fine desiccated or shredded coconut

  chocolate hail

  Instructions

  1Put the butter and chocolate into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until melted.

  2Add ½ cup of the icing sugar and stir until the mixture is thick