The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 1)

by J A Whiting

  Lisa gave off the nervous vibe of a trapped animal. Her lips turned down and her shoulders drooped. Angie put her hand on Lisa’s arm and gently nudged her towards the restaurant. “This will be perfect.”

  Josh walked with them and spoke to the restaurant hostess, and then he turned to leave. “Enjoy dinner,” he told Angie and Lisa.

  The hostess led the women to a small table by the windows. She handed them menus.

  “It’s beautiful here.” Angie opened her menu and looked over the choices. “I bet you’re looking forward to getting back to your old town and relaxing for a while.”

  Lisa sipped from her water glass. “Yeah. I think it’s for the best. I made too many changes too soon.”

  “It was a big adjustment when I moved up here from Boston last year to open the shop,” Angie said. “Even though I was familiar with Sweet Cove from spending so much time here as a little girl, it was hard leaving my sisters, living alone, and running a new business.”

  Lisa didn’t say anything.

  Angie continued, “It can be hard to deal with life stresses. They can take a toll.”

  Lisa was looking out the window at the ocean. “Yes, they can.”

  Sitting across from Lisa put Angie in a state of discomfort. The woman would barely converse and her mood was so morose that it caused Angie’s stomach to tighten from anxiety. Looking at Lisa, a slight sensation of dizziness washed over Angie and she had to fight the urge to get up and get away from the older woman sitting across from her. This is going to be a long meal.

  The waiter came over and took their orders. Angie requested another iced tea.

  Since there wasn’t going to be much conversation coming from Lisa, and even though she was dreading it, Angie thought she may as well bring up the subject she wanted to speak to Lisa about. She had spent hours trying to think of a sensitive way to ease into the discussion, but nothing ever seemed like a good way to do it. She took a deep breath.

  “I wanted to bring something up,” Angie started.

  Lisa’s eyes grew wide and her hand fluttered as she reached for her glass.

  “It’s about the day the professor died.” Angie leaned forward and kept her voice low. “I’ve been thinking about it, going over the day in my head.”

  The older woman stared at Angie.

  “I think I saw something,” Angie said.

  The color drained from Lisa’s face. She gripped her water glass so tightly that Angie was afraid it would shatter in her hand. “Like what?” Lisa’s voice shook.

  “Well, I’m not sure, but I wonder if I saw something….”

  “What do you mean?” Lisa looked like she might jump out of her skin.

  “I could be wrong. It was busy that day. I could be interpreting things wrong.” Angie didn’t want to say too much. She hoped that Lisa might offer some tidbit of information about what she saw that day.

  Lisa shifted in her chair. “What? What do you think you saw?”

  Ugh. Why can’t she say something about that day? This is going nowhere. Angie’s heartbeat was hammering. She wasn’t sure how to proceed since she really didn’t see anything at all that day and she didn’t want to make up something in case it didn’t jibe with what Lisa might have seen.

  “I don’t want to accuse anyone.” Angie thought that comment was safe. “I just wondered.…”

  Lisa rubbed her throat. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse. “What are you saying? What did you see?”

  Angie whispered, “I might have seen someone put something into the professor’s drink.”

  “Who? Who did you see do it?”

  “I’m not ready to accuse anyone. I’d like to hear what you have to say about the day.”

  Lisa jumped up from the table. “I can’t talk about this. I’m getting out of here.” She grabbed her purse and whirled for the exit.

  “Lisa!” Angie stood up, surprised at Lisa’s extreme reaction. The other patrons in the restaurant gawked at Lisa as she stormed away and then they turned their gaze onto Angie.

  Angie sat down, flustered and upset, about to burst into tears. After a few minutes of trying to slow her breathing and looking out the window at the dark ocean, the tension in her body started to ease slightly and she regained her composure. Her hands were still shaking when the waiter approached the table. Angie looked up. “I’m sorry. My friend got some disturbing news,” she lied. “She had to leave. Is it too late to cancel our orders?”

  The waiter said, “That’s completely understandable. The dinners are almost finished. Why don’t I pack them up to take with you?”

  Angie nodded. “Thank you. I apologize.”

  “No need.” The waiter headed to the kitchen.

  Angie took out her phone and texted Jenna. It was a disaster. I’ll call you soon.

  The waiter returned with the dinners in boxes and Angie carried them outside, being sure not to make eye contact with anyone in the restaurant as she hurried to leave. Stepping into the cool night air, Angie shivered but was grateful for the refreshing breeze and was glad to be out of the restaurant. On the way to her car, that internal humming vibrated through her blood again, but this time it didn’t disturb Angie. It almost felt comforting. A sense of power and strength flooded through her muscles.

  Angie did an about-face and headed away from the parking lot. She walked a few feet across the resort’s lawn and stopped. For a full minute, she stared through the darkness to the spot where her grandmother’s cottage once stood, feeling the thrumming moving through her body. Angie closed her eyes for several seconds and an idea fluttered through her mind. When she opened her eyes, the faintest smile played at the edges of her lips, and she raised her face to the yellow sliver of moon in the black sky. I’m on the wrong track, aren’t I?

  Chapter 20

  When Angie returned home and opened the front door of the Victorian, Euclid was sitting on the floor of the foyer waiting for her. Angie bent to pat the orange cat’s cheeks and he turned his head from side to side to be sure that each cheek would receive several rounds of scratching.

  “What a good boy. You were waiting for me to get home?”

  Angie kicked off her shoes, and she and Euclid headed down the hall to the kitchen. She filled the kettle and placed it on the burner, then opened the cabinet and retrieved a kitty treat. Euclid accepted the treat and rubbed around Angie’s legs, purring.

  “It was quite an evening, Euclid. Lisa stormed out of the restaurant when I brought up the day of Professor Linden’s murder.” Euclid stopped purring. “I know I’m thinking about this wrong. I can feel the answer pricking at the back of my mind but I just can’t see it clearly.”

  Angie poured her tea and lifted her cell phone. “I need to call Jenna and Ellie to tell them what happened.” Euclid jumped up to his perch on top of the refrigerator.

  “Hey, Jenna.”

  Jenna put her phone on speaker so Ellie could hear as Angie relayed the whole story of her dinner with Lisa.

  “That’s really disappointing,” Ellie said. “I was sure she’d spill what she saw.”

  “She is super freaked out,” Jenna said. “She must be terrified that killer is going to come after her.”

  Angie said, “Something feels off. I think we’re thinking about this wrong.”

  “How do you mean?” Ellie asked. “Like what?”

  “When I stood outside the resort, I had a funny feeling, and then all of a sudden I knew I was going about this wrong. It was like a split second of clarity, and then it slipped away. I need to keep thinking about it. I feel like the answer is right in front of us.”

  Jenna said, “We need to talk to Chief Martin and tell him our thoughts about Betty and her poisonous plants. We should tell him we think Lisa knows something, or saw something. He better talk to her before she leaves Sweet Cove.”

  “If he doesn’t come in to the bake shop tomorrow, let’s go see him at the police station.” Angie took a sip of her tea.

  “We’re going to do
a little more shopping and then stop for something to eat before we come back. We’ll be home by 11pm,” Ellie said.

  “Okay. Don’t hurry. Have a nice time. I’m going to make a fire and sit with Euclid. I need to give my mind a rest.” They clicked off.

  Angie went to her room and changed into yoga pants, a loose shirt, and slippers. Euclid was sticking to her like glue, following her about the house. “Are you my shadow tonight, Euclid? You’re trying to make me feel better, I think. What a good boy.” Angie scratched his cheeks again which set off another round of purring. “Let’s get a fire going.”

  They went down to the first floor and into the living room where Angie prepared a fire and placed the metal screen in front of the flames. She made more tea and carried it to the coffee table. Euclid was already curled up on the sofa and Angie sat beside him. She pulled a throw blanket over her legs and the orange cat snuggled beside her. In five minutes, they were both snoozing.

  ***

  The ringing of the front doorbell woke Angie and Euclid with a start, and the cat arched its back and growled low in his throat. Angie sat up, blinking, her heart pounding, trying to orient herself to where she was.

  The bell rang again.

  “The girls must have forgotten their keys,” Angie told the cat. She rubbed her eyes to fully wake up. She crossed the foyer with Euclid next to her and opened the door.

  “You forgot your key?” she teased before seeing who was standing there on the porch. “Oh.” Angie’s eyes widened with surprise.

  Lisa Barrows stood on the front porch, her face serious, her brow creased from worry. “Can I come in?”

  Angie stepped back so Lisa could enter. Euclid darted to the bottom stair of the curved staircase and let out a growl.

  “I want to talk. I’m sorry I ran out on you like that earlier.” Lisa’s short salt and pepper hair was mussed like she had just gotten out of bed and dark circles under her eyes stood out prominently against her pale skin.

  “Sure. It’s okay. I know things have been hard for you lately.” Angie lifted her hand and gestured towards the living room. “I was just enjoying the fire. Why don’t we sit?”

  Lisa walked with Angie into the living room. Lisa sat down on the sofa and Angie took a seat next to her. Euclid stood in the entrance of the living room staring at the women. He let out a howl. Angie and Lisa jumped at the cat’s screech.

  “Stop that, Euclid,” Angie told the cat. She looked at Lisa. “He gets like this sometimes.”

  Lisa was wringing her hands in her lap. Her eyes darted about the room. “Where are your sisters? Do they want to sit with us?”

  “Courtney is still in Boston finishing up school. She’ll be done soon and then she’ll move up here with us. Ellie and Jenna are out.” Angie waited to hear why Lisa came to see her and what she wanted to talk about.

  Lisa glanced at Angie’s half full mug.

  “Oh, would you like some tea or coffee?” Angie asked.

  “If you wouldn’t mind?” Lisa said. “I’m feeling a little cold. Tea would be nice.” She tried to smile, but it ended up looking like a slight grimace.

  “I’ll be right back. It’ll only take a minute.” Angie stood up.

  “Can I help?”

  “No. Just sit and enjoy the fire.”

  Euclid sat like a stone at the edge of the living room, his eyes trained on Lisa. In a few minutes, Angie returned carrying a tray. There was a ceramic teapot on it, along with a mug, a small wicker box with different kinds of tea bags in it, a silver bowl of sugar cubes, silver tongs, a spoon, and a porcelain creamer. “Here we are. I wasn’t sure what kind of tea you liked so I brought a few different ones to choose from.”

  “Thank you so much.” Lisa leaned towards the tray.

  Euclid arched his back and hissed. Lisa’s hand froze in mid-air as she was reaching for a tea bag.

  “Euclid, stop, or I’ll put you in the kitchen. He acts fussy sometimes when new people come to the house.” Angie lifted the tea pot and filled Lisa’s mug, then she topped off her own cup.

  “I’m sorry our chat this evening upset you,” Angie told the older woman. Angie didn’t know why, but her heart was pounding and her muscles felt tight. She wished Lisa had called first before just showing up on the doorstep. The beginning of a headache pulsed at Angie’s temples.

  Lisa added cream to her tea and lifted the cup to her lips. “It’s because the murder has me shook up. I haven’t gotten over my mother’s passing, and then all this happens on top of that.”

  “I understand.” Angie had a slight sensation of dizziness again and that darn internal thrumming started moving through her veins. Angie rubbed her forehead. That stupid humming has never happened to me away from the point. What’s going on?

  Lisa said something but Angie didn’t quite hear it. “What?”

  “The tea’s really good.”

  Angie looked at Lisa and a terrible chill ran down her spine. What’s wrong with me? Her hand shaking, she reached for her tea mug and lifted it to her lips.

  Euclid shot off his haunches like a heat seeking missile and launched over the coffee table, smashing into Angie’s hand and knocking the mug of tea to the floor.

  “Euclid!” Angie bolted to standing position about to chastise the cat, but then, the same sense of strength she felt outside the resort earlier in the evening flowed through her body. Her blood turned cold like some evil thing had taken hold of her.

  Angie slowly turned to Lisa and their eyes met.

  “You.” The word fell like a boulder from Angie’s lips. “It was you all along.” Her voice dripped with disgust. She glanced at her mug lying on the carpet. “You put poison in my tea.”

  Lisa lunged at Angie and grabbed her around the throat. The force of the attack knocked both of them to the floor. Euclid leaped onto Lisa’s back, stabbed his claws into her skin and bit at her neck. Euclid’s vicious assault caused Lisa’s grip on Angie’s neck to loosen for a moment, and Angie shoved her hand under the woman’s jaw and snapped her head back. Angie rolled to the side and sprang to her feet. She grabbed the teapot filled with hot water. Euclid hurtled away from Lisa and Angie flung the hot water into her attacker’s face. Lisa’s shrieks assaulted Angie’s eardrums.

  Angie ran to the fireplace and snatched up the fireplace poker. She held it out in front of her like a lance.

  Lisa scrambled to her feet and dashed wildly through the foyer to the front door with Angie and Euclid chasing her. Just as she reached for the knob, the door opened. Lisa crashed past Jenna and nearly knocked her to the floor.

  “Stop her! Angie called to Ellie who was on the walkway carrying shopping bags towards the porch.

  Ellie dropped the bags and tackled Lisa as she tried to run past. Angie and Euclid dashed down the porch steps to where Lisa and Ellie had landed in the grass. Ellie jumped up as Lisa rolled onto her back. Her eyes widened when she saw Angie standing over her brandishing the fireplace poker at her throat.

  “Don’t think I won’t use it,” Angie growled.

  Euclid, right by Angie’s side, hissed menacingly at the woman on the ground.

  Jenna stood on the porch with her hands on her hips gaping at the scene before her. “I guess it’s time to call 911.”

  Chapter 21

  “Euclid knew all along,” Angie said. “I should have paid more attention to him.”

  “I’m not sure the cat knew from the beginning, but he probably sensed something about your tea.” Jenna sat down on the sofa next to Angie, Euclid sitting between them.

  “She was going to poison you,” Ellie’s voice trembled. “Just like she did to the professor.

  “When I went into the kitchen to make tea for Lisa, she slipped the poison into the mug that I left on the coffee table. It was half-full.”

  “Euclid must have watched her do it.” Courtney had come back to Sweet Cove as soon as she heard what happened to Angie. She focused her attention to Euclid. “You are such a good cat.”

 
Euclid puffed himself up at Courtney’s praising tone.

  Jenna asked, “When did you know Lisa was the killer?”

  “I was feeling odd when she showed up at the door. I had that same strange feeling that I always have when I’m on the point.”

  Courtney was on the floor eating a bowl of cereal. She didn’t look up. “Yeah, I know that feeling.”

  Angie’s jaw dropped. The three sisters stared at Courtney as she reached for a napkin on the coffee table. She noticed the girls looking at her. “What?”

  “You have a strange feeling when you’re on the point?” Angie asked.

  Courtney nodded. “It’s not strange. It’s nice.” She wiped a bit of milk off her chin.

  “Why didn’t you ever say anything about it before?” Jenna asked.

  Courtney shrugged. “I thought it was normal. I thought we all felt it.”

  “What do you feel?” Angie’s blue eyes were like lasers on her sister.

  Courtney put another spoonful of cereal into her mouth and answered while she chewed. “You know. Like my body is humming inside, just a little bit.” She put the bowl to her lips and tipped it to pour the milk into her mouth.

  “Nice manners.” Ellie scowled.

  “It’s only you three. I wouldn’t do this in front of anyone else.” Courtney placed her empty bowl on the coffee table. Euclid stepped onto the table and put his face into the bowl to lick up any residual milk.

  “So you feel humming.” Angie wanted more information.

  Courtney pulled her legs in close and hugged them. She placed her chin on one of her knees. Her honey colored hair fell forward over her shoulders. “Yeah. Humming. A warmth inside of me. Like something’s calling to me. It makes me feel like I belong.”

  Angie didn’t know why, but her eyes filled up with tears. She brushed them away and cleared her throat. “Doesn’t it bother you? Doesn’t it make you feel weird?”