by Lyndsey Cole
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright © 2015 Lyndsey Cole
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Behind the scenes with Lyndsey
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY LYNDSEY COLE
StrawBuried in Chocolate
A Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series
by Lyndsey Cole
Copyright © 2015 Lyndsey Cole
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and/or publisher. No part of this publication may be sold or hired, without written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination and/or have been used fictitiously in such a fashion it is not meant to serve the reader as actual fact and should not be considered as actual fact. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Chapter 1
Annie’s black cat, Smokey, stared at her from his perch on the bedside table.
An eerie sensation gripped Annie when she realized today was Friday.
Friday the thirteenth.
The day before Valentine’s Day.
She threw off her covers and tried to bury those jitters. I’m not superstitious, she thought.
***
Lacy McGuire sauntered into the Black Cat Café with her best friend and sister-in-law, Sherry Miller, at exactly eleven on Friday morning.
Her red high heels click-clacked on the hardwood floor as the delicate scent of lavender drifted to Annie’s nose. Annie felt a chill seep into her fingers as she carefully placed chocolate covered strawberries into the pastry case and watched her Aunt Leona’s reaction to Lacy’s entrance. All the coziness that cloaked the café a moment ago disappeared like a snubbed out candle.
“What brings you in here, mixing with us poor working people?” Leona asked, not even trying to hide her dislike for Lacy from her voice.
Lacy smiled sweetly to Annie, ignoring Leona for the moment. “I’d like a dozen of your juiciest chocolate covered strawberries, please.” Lacy looked over the rims of her glasses at Leona. “You haven’t changed one bit since we had the pleasure of sharing a locker about twenty years ago back in high school, have you? Except for those extra twenty pounds on your hips.”
“As I recall, there wasn’t the tiniest bit of pleasure in that adventure. And twenty years ago? Really? Who are you trying to kid about your age? In case you lost the few math skills you had, it was over thirty years ago. By the way, I’m truly sorry to hear about your late husband, Hank. I did like him.”
“Of course you did, Leona. There wasn’t a male within twenty miles of Catfish Cove that you didn’t have the hots for. Except maybe Jason Hunter.”
Annie slid the pink box of chocolate covered strawberries across the counter to Lacy as she grit her teeth. “Don’t eat them all at once. Anything for you, Sherry?”
“No thanks. I just needed a ride to pick up my car at the repair shop.”
Lacy smoothed her tight fitting white coat over her once girlish figure. “Of course not. They aren’t even for me. I never eat chocolate.” She took the box from Annie and her sapphire bracelet clinked on the class top of the pastry display.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Annie asked, trying to be friendly.
“Thank you, Annie. It’s refreshing to know that someone here has manners. You certainly didn’t get them from your aunt.” With that comment, Lacy picked up the box and walked to the cash register, leaving a fifty dollar bill on the counter. “Keep the change. You probably need it more than I do, Leona.” She laughed and tossed her head back as she left the café with Sherry trotting in her wake.
Leona’s face was an angry shade of red as she clenched her jaw and stared at the retreating figure. “She didn’t deserve to be married to Hank McGuire. I wouldn’t be surprised if she partied the day he died, celebrating at the thought of all his money coming her way. She was always trouble of the worst kind when we were kids.”
“People can change, Leona.”
“Not that kind of person, Annie. She’s up to something, I can smell it.”
“Well, if she inherited a ton of money, why is she cleaning Jason’s house while he’s away?”
Leona whirled around. “She’s what?”
“Why is she cleaning houses if she doesn’t need the money?”
“That’s a good question. Maybe she spent it all. Money always did slip through her fingers like water. Or, maybe she signed a pre-nup and can’t get her hands on the loot. At any rate, keep an eye on Jason’s house; it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if a few of his antiques went missing. She was known for having sticky fingers, if you know what I mean.” Leona winked at Annie.
Annie’s mother arrived and threw her bag and coat in the corner behind the counter. “Guess who’s stirring up trouble around town again?”
Annie and Leona both looked at Mia and at the same time said, “Who?”
“Lacy McGuire. I heard her at Curl Up and Dye yesterday. She was bragging about her new job at Jason’s Cobblestones Cottage to her sister-in-law. Have you seen her yet Annie?”
“As a matter of fact, Lacy let herself into my apartment. I need to check with Jason about some boundaries with his hired help. Just because I rent from him, doesn’t give his housecleaner free range to my apartment.”
“I can’t believe she’s still best friends with Sherry Miller. Lacy’s brother, Brad, and Sherry are in the middle of some marital troubles and I would imagine Lacy would be more supportive of her brother than his wife, especially with Brad living off and on at Lacy’s house,” Leona explained as she stuck the fifty dollars into her pocket instead of the cash register.
Martha, from The Fabric Stash across the hall, came in with her mug and helped herself to coffee. “I have another batch of placemats ready for you to sell if you’re ready for more.”
Leona bit into a chocolate covered strawberry and juice ran down her chin. “Annie, these are to die for and they’re flying out of the café a dozen at a time.” She held the rest of the strawberry up for emphasis. “Another of your brilliant ideas and perfect for Valentine’s Day. Here, Martha, you have to try one.”
“Well, if you insist.” Martha stuffed the whole strawberry in her mouth, making her cheeks puff out like a chipmunk. “Mmmmm, delicious,” she mumbled.
“Your placemats and aprons are selling like hot cakes, Martha. Bring them over any time. I need to order more mugs from Jake, too. The tourists are loving all these black cat, locally handmad
e items.” Leona slapped Annie on her back. “You’re awfully quiet. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just daydreaming.” She closed her laptop. “I’ve been thinking we should add something new to the menu. What do you think?”
“I’m all ears. What do you have in mind?”
“Your Fruitie Tootie Smoothie is a big hit. How about a Very Veggie Smoothie and another salad-sandwich option for lunch, maybe Crazy Curried Chicken?”
“Whip up your ideas sometime and we’ll sample them. Now, we better get hopping before the lunch crowd comes in.”
Annie only managed to tie her apron on before Bob and Harry Crowley, two local ice fishermen, strolled in, rubbing their hands together, eyeing the coffee and muffins.
“Catch anything this morning?” Annie asked.
“Nope. Mostly quiet and cold on the lake all morning except for Johnny Robbins driving around on his big new snowmobile. And the noise that thing makes, they should be outlawed. I’m convinced he scared all the fish with his buzzing around,” Bob complained to Annie.
Leona’s eyes were blazing as she jumped into the conversation. “Are you sure it was Johnny? He’s been avoiding me. Stiffed me for a special order for a party when he cancelled at the last minute. Said something about having to leave town for an emergency. That lying piece of garbage.”
“I’m sure about what I saw when we brought our gear back to the parking lot. He was loading that piece of machine onto his trailer and bragging to Lacy McGuire in her fancy red Camaro about how he owned the lake. No one could catch him.”
Harry added, “It was more like flirting, if you ask me. He was all puffed up like a big old rooster.”
“You can call it flirting if you want but I think you need some new glasses,” Bob said. “She was fit to be tied if you ask me.”
Leona leaned across the counter. “They were arguing?”
Harry shook his head no but Bob nodded yes.
“Was too.”
“Was not.”
They argued with each other all the way out the door in between sipping coffee and eating muffins.
“Those two do everything together and never agree on anything. I don’t know how they have managed to live with each other all these years,” Martha said, shaking her head.
“It must have something to do with their twin personalities, and it also may explain why they’ve never been able to find women to put up with them. They are a package deal, and my bet is that a third person will unite them and end up on the outside looking in,” Leona said while she pulled her loaves of chocolate chip banana bread out of the oven.
As she tapped the pans on the counter to loosen the edges, she said to Annie and Mia, “Johnny and Lacy, now, that’s quite the team. This town would be better off if he took his snowmobile and she followed him with her Camaro and they headed for the hills. The faraway hills.” Leona scowled and wiped the counter so hard Annie was afraid she’d rub the varnish right off the wood.
Martha changed the subject back to herself which was where she liked it to be. “I have a date for the Valentine’s Day dance tomorrow night. You’ll never guess who asked me to go.” She had a twinkle in her eye as she waited for the others to make guesses but they just looked at her with their mouths hanging open.
“Ha, why so shocked? You think I can’t get a date anymore? Just for that, I won’t tell you, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow night when I sashay in with my handsome partner.” She laughed, said toodle-loo to her friends, and headed back to The Fabric Stash.
Annie slid another tray of chocolate covered strawberries into the pastry case before sharing her thoughts. “If Martha has a date, you and I better find someone too, Leona, or we’ll be dancing with each other. That’s a sad thought for a Valentine’s Day dance.”
Leona turned the grill on to preheat for the customers starting to come in for lunch. “You should be all set. I heard Jason is coming home tonight, but I’m up the creek without a paddle, so to speak. My online dating hasn’t been turning up any potential prospects for me.”
Mia, who had all the tables ready to go added, “Surprisingly, Roy has agreed to go with me, on the condition that I don’t expect him to dance. What kind of a lame date is that? And be careful with that online stuff, Leona.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve done it before and the only problems I’ve had are that the online profiles are nothing like the real life person. You wouldn’t believe what lies people come up with when they’re lonely and desperate.”
“Who’s lonely and desperate?” Jake, from Clay Design across the hall, asked as he walked in with an armful of mugs for Leona’s sale area.
“Leona’s trying to find a date for the Valentine’s Day dance. Are you going Jake?” Annie nudged him with her elbow before pouring a mug of coffee for him.
“That sounds like fun. I’ll be your date, Leona. I bet you didn’t know that I won a bunch of dance contests before I moved here.”
“Perfect.” Leona said to Jake. “Let’s meet at the Catfish Cove Pub for dinner before the dance.” The lunch crowd began to stream through the doors, ending any chance for more conversation.
By the time two o’clock rolled by, the customers were thinning out giving Annie a chance to get another batch of chili cooking for the next day. Leona had more muffins in the oven and Mia mixed up a new batch of granola.
“Phew,” Annie said, wiping the sweat from her brow. “I’m tired and hungry. When this is all cleaned up and put away, how about we head to my apartment for some late lunch. I’ve got everything to make some of that new Crazy Curried Chicken Salad for you to sample.”
That gave the three women a new burst of energy to be done for the day. Leona was the first to leave, saying she needed to stop at the market for a few items. Annie and Mia were left to put the cooled chili in the fridge, wash the pots and pans and mix up a batch of cinnamon rolls to rise overnight to go in the oven in the morning.
With a last check of the café, Annie took off her apron and hung it on the hook next to the back door. “I think that’s everything. Let’s see what trouble Leona managed to find without us.”
The drive to Annie’s apartment was only about five minutes and she pulled her old Saab in behind Leona’s yellow mustang and Lacy’s red Camaro. “Looks like Lacy is busy in Jason’s house. I hope Leona didn’t go over for more arguing.”
As Annie climbed from her car, Leona flew out the door of Jason’s house, wild eyed and disheveled.
“Someone shot Lacy. Call Tyler Johnson at police headquarters,” Leona screamed.
Chapter 2
Time seemed to stop as Leona’s eyes darted from Annie to Mia. Her hands flew to cover her face and she slumped against the railing.
All of Annie’s senses intensified. She focused on the innocent heart-shaped basket with pussy willows hanging on the door behind Leona’s sagging body, the cool breeze blowing Leona’s messy strawberry blond hair over her face, Roxy barking inside Annie’s apartment, and the distant sound of sirens.
“They’ll think I did it,” Leona sobbed.
Annie rushed past Leona into Jason’s house.
“What are you doing?” she heard Leona shout from outside but Annie ignored her.
The kitchen opened to her right and that’s where Lacy’s red high heels were pointing at odd angles to her legs. A quick survey of the room showed nothing out of the ordinary. Her eyes traveled to the country pine table to her left, which was empty except for a white square plate with chocolate covered strawberries arranged in a perfect square. A perfect square with the middle two strawberries missing. Who ate the strawberries, she wondered.
Annie returned back outside, and with Mia’s help they managed to get Leona into Annie’s cozy apartment above the detached garage. Annie sat with her on the window seat and Mia turned the tea kettle on. Smokey, always waiting for a warm lap to curl up in, made herself comfortable on Leona’s lap. Roxy nosed Annie and her hand absentmindedly stroked the soft fur on Roxy’s head.
&nbs
p; “Pull yourself together, Leona. When Tyler gets here, you’ll have to tell him exactly what happened. You couldn’t have killed Lacy, you were at the café with us.” Annie tried to talk some reason into Leona’s shell-shocked brain.
“But I left before you and Mia, and I heard a door slam at Jason’s house.” She looked at Annie and Mia. “That’s why I went in. Whoever killed her must have left just before I got there.” She clung to Annie’s hand. “We have to figure out who was in the house. I have an awful feeling about this.”
Sirens screamed to a halt outside Annie’s apartment and she went out to talk to Tyler Johnson, the chief of police of Catfish Cove.
“What’s going on, Annie?”
“Lacy McGuire is dead on the kitchen floor in Jason’s house. Leona went in because she heard a noise. She’s in my apartment now, pretty shook up.”
“Is Jason Hunter home?”
“No. He’s supposed to be coming home tonight.”
“Wait in your apartment. I’ll be over after I check in here.” Tyler motioned for his police officers to follow him into Jason’s house. They had their weapons ready.
The tea kettle was whistling when Annie stepped back into her apartment and Annie overheard Mia talking to Leona. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe.”
Mia jumped up to pour tea. “What did Tyler say?” she asked Annie after exchanging a look with Leona.
“We have to stay here until he gets done in Jason’s house. What secret are you two talking about?”
Leona waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing. Did you see anyone leaving when you pulled in?
Annie shook her head.
“Whoever was in the house left by the lakeside door as I entered.” Leona grimaced. “I have to get the image of Lacy out of my brain. There was blood everywhere.”