“That’s so kind of you to say,” I said, nodding. “We didn’t want a big fancy wedding, and we made the decision on such short notice that we didn’t do a lot for it. I was afraid it was kind of plain.”
She shook her head. “Nonsense. I thought it was lovely. You have a beautiful ballroom that was perfect for it, and the balloon animals were fun.”
I chuckled. “That was Mr. Winters. I had sworn to Alec that I did not want balloon animals at my wedding, but they turned out to be a lot of fun, and the guests really enjoyed it. I was just sorry about what happened to Richard. I still can’t get over the fact that he died.”
She frowned. “I can’t get over it, either. He seemed to be in good health, but then he ends up dying like that?” She shook her head and set the bottle of sugar-free vanilla syrup into her shopping cart. “I don’t understand it. I told Della that he must have been desperate to do something like take that medication.”
“That seems to be the mystery, isn’t it? Why on earth would he take that medication if he wasn’t a diabetic?”
She shrugged. “I think he was trying to get high off of it if you want to know the truth. You know how people are these days. There are all kinds of bizarre challenges going on with social media and people doing stupid things. I think it had to be something like that.”
I couldn’t deny that. It seemed like there was some new craze on the news all the time. And some of those crazes were deadly. “That would be awful if he was just fooling around with those drugs and ended up losing his life over it.”
“That’s exactly what I told Lisa.” She shook her head. “Honestly, when people get involved in drugs, they don’t know what they’re doing. It’s not something you can just pick up and put down whenever you want to.”
“That’s right. I’m so glad that neither of my kids ever got involved with them.”
She picked up a bottle of sugar-free English toffee coffee syrup and put it into her shopping cart. “I’ve got a coffee addiction. The only way that I can allow myself to drink all I want is if I use sugar-free syrups. Otherwise, I gain weight like crazy,” she confided and then laughed. Jodi probably carried an extra thirty pounds. I could see where if I wasn’t a runner, I would also carry an extra thirty pounds because of my love of sweetened coffee.
“I know what you mean. That’s why I’m a runner. I’ve got to run or else I’ll pay the price for using real sugar.”
She chuckled. “I’d take up running, but that’s hard, and I’m not into hard work. Oh, wait a minute. I work for a catering company. Apparently, I am into hard work.”
I chuckled with her. “It is a lot of work catering events, isn’t it?”
She leaned on her shopping cart. “You have no idea. Honestly, when I took this job, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I love it though. I like getting to meet new people, and all the cooking is fun.”
“It does seem like it would be fun. How did Richard like working for the catering company?” I needed to ask her about the rumors about him selling drugs at the back of their shop, but I didn’t want to be too obvious about it.
She shrugged. “He seemed to like it all right. But to be honest, he was a little lazy at times. He was always out back taking a smoke break. Or at least that’s what he said he was doing.” She looked at me knowingly.
Here we were now. I was going to find out what I needed to know. “What do you mean?”
She looked over her shoulder and then turned back to me. “He was doing some dicey things out behind the shop.”
“Dicey? I guess I’m not following you. What do you mean by that?”
“If Richard had a little extra something, and somebody wanted some of that extra something, he would sell it to him. I don’t know what kind of drugs he was doing. Honestly, I’ve never been involved in that sort of thing, and I don’t want to be. But before he would go on his break, he would text somebody, and then in a few minutes, a car would pull up in the back. We knew what he was doing. But he always acted innocent.”
“He was selling drugs? Did Della know he was doing that?”
She hesitated. “At first, she turned a blind eye to it. But it just got to be so obvious after a while. She got mad one day, and she fired him.”
“When was that?”
“About eight or nine months ago, I think. But three weeks later, he was back.”
“How did that happen?” I asked. Why on earth would she let him come back if she knew what he was doing?
She shrugged. “Della would never discuss it with me or Lisa. We talked about it between ourselves, though. We figured that he begged for his job back. He didn’t act the least bit sad about what he had done either. He acted like nothing happened. One day I asked him if he had been on vacation, and he just laughed.”
“Really? And Della wouldn’t even talk about why he’d been gone for three weeks? Were you there when she fired him?”
She nodded. “Sure. Me, Lisa, and a girl named Katie Reynolds who used to work with us were all there. We all knew that she had fired him. And then he just shows backup? It was crazy. We asked Richard about it, and he just shrugged and said he needed some time off for a little while.”
“Then what about the firing? If Della did it in front of everyone, did you ask her about that?” None of this made sense.
She nodded. “Katie asked her about that. And she told her that she needed to mind her own business. That was when Katie got worried about what was going on there at the catering shop. A few weeks later she gave her notice, and she left.”
“Wow,” I said, taking this in. “I guess I wouldn’t blame her for quitting over something like that. Did he go back to selling drugs in the back of the shop?”
She shook her head. “If he did, I never caught him at it. Lisa and I kept an eye on him every time he went out there to take a smoke break. He would take his cell phone with him, but he didn’t do any texting before he went outside. We’d look back there as often as we could without making it obvious, and we listened for cars, but we never heard anything back there. So maybe he quit doing it.”
“I’m stunned. I mean, if Della knew he was selling drugs back there, why on earth would she take him back? And why wouldn’t she call the police and let them know what he was doing?” This didn’t add up, and it made me wonder.
“That’s exactly what Lisa and I said. For a while, we talked about quitting too, but he had been on his best behavior, so we decided we would hang around for a while and see how things went.”
“I don’t think I could have stayed knowing what I knew about him. But I understand that you needed a job, so of course, you stayed as long as he wasn’t selling drugs there.”
“That was it exactly. We needed the job, so we both stayed. But I’ve never felt right about Della since then. She plays favorites, you know. Richard was definitely her favorite.” She shook her head. “I guess a lot of bosses do, though.”
“I suppose they do. I don’t blame you for sticking around though. Jobs are hard to come by.”
“There’s something else, too. Della is a diabetic. I’m not pointing fingers or anything. But I keep thinking about that.”
“Really,” I said. This was interesting. I didn’t blame Jodi and Lisa for continuing to work at the catering business, but it would worry me if I worked for an employer that wasn’t disturbed about an employee selling drugs out behind their shop. It would also worry me if an employee died of a drug overdose and my employer might be taking the same medication he had overdosed on.
Chapter Fourteen
“What are you doing with all of this?” Lucy asked me, looking over the pies and cakes on my countertop.
I smiled at her. “I thought I’d bake up an assortment of desserts and take some of them over to Della.”
Her brow furrowed. “Della? Why on earth would you do that?” Her eyes went back to the carrot cake on the counter.
“Because Della is a caterer. And every time she caters for an event, she needs desserts
. I thought that maybe this was an opportunity to pick up some extra work for myself.”
She looked at me now with one eyebrow raised. “You mean you want to do the desserts for Sandy Harbor Catering? Why?”
I smiled. “To be honest, I don’t care one way or another if I can pick up some extra work through the catering business. But I have a hunch about something, and I want to see if I can get some answers.”
“Oh, that mind of yours is turning,” she said, nodding. “Can I have a piece of that carrot cake?”
I nodded. “Sure. When we get back. I’m going to cut each of these desserts in half, and we’re going to take them over there and see if Della will taste them and see what she thinks about them.”
I had baked a carrot cake, an Apple pie, a vanilla layer cake, and a blackberry torte. I cut each of them in half and placed them in separate containers, and then we put them into a shopping bag to carry them.
“Tell me what it is that you’re going to ask her,” she said as I wrapped up what was left of the carrot cake.
I glanced at her. “I ran into Jodi at the grocery store yesterday, and she happened to mention that Della was diabetic.”
Now both eyebrows shot up. “A diabetic? And are you going to ask her if she takes a sulfonylurea drug?”
I chuckled. “I don’t think I can actually come out and ask her that. I might, if the opportunity arises, but I want to see if she’ll eat my desserts. What if Jodi wasn’t telling me the truth? If she’s not supposed to eat sugar, will she taste them?”
“Some diabetics eat sugar anyway,” she said, crossing her arms in front of herself. “Asked me how I know.”
I chuckled. I already knew how she knew, but I asked anyway. “How do you know, Lucy?”
“Because Ed does it all the time. I get on to him about it, but he ignores me. He just adjusts his insulin.”
I shook my head and clucked. “He’s going to get into trouble doing that.”
“That’s what I told him.”
We gathered everything up and headed out to my car.
***
When we got to the catering company, Della was at the desk behind the counter going over some paperwork. She looked up and smiled when she saw us.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” she said. “How are you today?”
I nodded and set the bag on the counter. “We’re doing great. And I have a business proposition for you.” Before I continued, I took out the containers that I had put the desserts in and set them on the counter.
Her eyes went to them, and she looked up at me. “A business proposition? That sounds interesting. What did you have in mind?” She took a sip from the cup on her desk and then got up and came to the front counter.
“That shake looks good,” I said, when she set the cup down.
“It’s a protein shake. It’s not bad. What did you have in mind?”
I removed the lid from the container that held the carrot cake and pushed it toward her. “You’re a caterer. And I bet every catered affair that you handle has at least one or two desserts. Right?”
Her eyes went to the carrot cake, and she nodded. “Oh yes, we do. We make lots and lots of desserts around here.”
“That’s what I thought. So I brought you a variety of some of my best desserts so that you could taste them. I thought that if you got too busy with your catered affairs, you might need a backup source of desserts.”
“I like how you think,” she said, nodding. “Sometimes we’re so pressed for time that making the desserts is a last-minute thing. It’s a lot of work.” She took a step forward, looking at the cake.
“I should have brought forks and paper plates so you could try this.” I glanced at Lucy.
Jodi and Lisa came out of the kitchen. “Hi, Allie,” Lisa said and came to look at the containers sitting on the counter. “What are you up to?”
“I had a great idea. I thought that since you all work so hard catering so many events around here, that you might like a backup source of desserts. So I brought some samples for you all to taste.”
She grinned. “You make the best desserts. I would love to try some of these. Oh, look, you’ve got that carrot cake that my husband and I tried at Henry’s. It is excellent.” She looked at Della. “Seriously, Allie makes the best carrot cake in the entire world.”
Della nodded. “I’m sure she does. It smells delightful. Why don’t you go back and get some plates and forks, and we’ll try out what she brought?”
Lisa nodded and hurried back to the kitchen.
Jodi frowned and stepped forward to look at the carrot cake. “Oh gosh, that smells so good. I bet it’s wonderful.”
“Well, you’re about to see just how wonderful it is,” I said.
She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m—I’m diabetic. And I don’t eat sugar.”
“Oh?” I asked. She had neglected to tell me that she was also diabetic. “You don’t want even a taste?”
She shook her head. “No, I have such difficulty keeping my blood sugar under control. I sure would love to, though. Have you ever thought about making sugar-free desserts?”
What was on my lips was, heaven forbid, but instead, I said, “you know, I bet there would be a real interest in that. I’ve never made anything sugar-free, but I might look into it.” I would probably never do that. I loved my sugar.
“I bet you could sell a lot of sugar-free desserts,” she said, glancing at Della.
Lisa came back with the plates and forks and set them on the counter. I wasn’t sure what to make of this. Jodi had said it was Della who was a diabetic, but now she was admitting that she was also diabetic. Had she lied?
Lisa had brought a small knife, and she cut a piece of the carrot cake for herself and one for Della and looked at us. “Would you both like a piece?”
I shook my head. “No, we’ve got the rest of the desserts at home. I just want the three of you to take a taste and tell me what you think.”
“Allie makes the best desserts around,” Lucy said, nodding. “Honestly, it would save you all so much work if you farmed out some of the dessert making to her.”
When Lisa handed Della a plate with a piece of the carrot cake on it, she hesitated, her eyes glued to it. Then she took the plate from her and smiled at me. “Jodi’s not the only one that’s diabetic. I’m also diabetic. But unlike Jodi, I will test out your desserts. I usually try to avoid sugar, except when testing new recipes, but sometimes I just can’t avoid it. So, I’m going to try this.” She cut into the cake with the side of her fork and took a bite. She grinned as she chewed and nodded. After she swallowed, she said, “this is excellent. This is the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted.”
“Thank you,” I said, beaming. “I use only the freshest ingredients. They’re more expensive, of course, but they’re worth it.”
I glanced at Jodi, and she looked away. Why hadn’t she mentioned that she was also diabetic?
Della nodded. “I would expect only the best from you, Allie. All I’ve ever heard is how wonderful your desserts are. And honestly, this really takes the cake.” She chuckled. “Get it? It takes the cake.”
Lucy and I laughed. “I do get it. And I’m glad that you appreciate my baking.”
She nodded. “If the rest of your desserts are as good as this cake is, then we might be able to do business. I don’t know how often we would need your services, but we might be able to come to an agreement.”
I nodded. “As long as I’ve got some notice in advance, I can bake anything you want.”
“Are you sure you don’t want just a tiny taste, Jodi?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I really can’t.”
So now we had a dilemma. We had two diabetics. Were they on the same kind of medication that killed Richard? There was no way to find that out, but I sure wondered about it.
I looked at Jodi again. “Jodi, I wish you could have a taste of this.”
“Oh, me too. Honestly, me too.”
If I wasn’t m
istaken, she looked a little worried. Or maybe it was that she was sorry to be missing out on the desserts.
“Say, Della, are you going to be hiring a new employee now that Richard is gone?” Lucy asked.
She nodded. “I sure am. I was planning on hiring one anyway before he died, so now I guess I’ll be hiring two. Were you looking for a job?”
She shook her head. “No, I think I might be retired. Unless Ed tells me that I have to go to work again. It just occurred to me that you might be hiring someone, though. If I hear of anyone that’s looking, I’ll let them know you’re hiring.”
She nodded. “I’d love to retire, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got about twenty-five more years left to work.” She laughed. “But yes, I’ve got to get someone hired. I might need Allie to bake a few desserts for me until I can find someone.”
“That’s no problem. As long as I’m not on my honeymoon, that is.” I chuckled. “It’s a shame that you lost such a good employee.” I glanced at Jodi and her eyes got big.
Della shrugged. “Richard could be a good employee when he wanted to be. But sometimes, not so much. Not that I want to speak ill of the dead.”
“I heard some of the rumors,” I said carefully. “Is it true that he was selling drugs at the back of your shop?”
Her face went pale. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked it, but it was the only way to find out.
“What? No. Who said that?” she asked. “This town is so full of gossips. That’s crazy.”
I did my best not to look at Jodi and Lisa. I didn’t want to give them away. I shrugged. “Well, you know how this town is. People have got to talk.”
Della took another bite of her carrot cake. If she wasn’t supposed to be eating sugar, she didn’t seem to remember it as she shoveled in another large piece. When she swallowed it, she looked at me. “Honestly, it’s all rumors. I wish people would mind their own business.”
I sighed. “Sometimes it’s the price you pay for living in a small town.”
Wedding Bell Blunders: A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery Page 8