Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set

by Katherine H Brown

  “I’m one of the owners,” I said slowly as I gave him another look. A tattoo peeking from under his short sleeve caught my eye. Odd. I looked at the man’s face again, confirming he didn’t look at all familiar. Yet, that tattoo…. Oh my gosh, I thought when it clicked. The yellowed-teeth and angular chin visible at the bottom of the tattoo, an evil grimace, resembled the demon mask tattoo the man at the massage parlor had sported. What was his name? Ansil? Asana? No that was a yoga pose. Asnee! That was it.

  “I said, are you Piper,” the man ground out. Evidently, I hadn’t been paying attention. He looked ticked.

  “Yes, I’m Piper. Who are you?” It definitely wasn’t Asnee standing in front of me, but that gave me no feeling of relief. If I were to guess, this guy didn’t come in to buy a cupcake.

  Eyebrow-ring guy took two menacing steps forward and I was happy to have the counter between us. Still, there was nowhere to go and I wouldn’t let him in the back room with Victoria. Why the heck did we never put one of those silent-alarm -button thingies in under the register that called the police or someone to handle problem customers?

  “Listen,” I stood very still. “I’m not sure what it is you need, but if you don’t plan to make a purchase, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Now, if you’re hungry, I personally recommend the Turtle Brownies. They will fill you up in no time.”

  The man growled and lunged, pulling a butterfly knife from his back pocket. I jumped back and the man grunted as he barreled into the counter. I fumbled for my own knife, clipped to a pocket in my pants and moved steadily away from the door to the kitchen.

  The man sneered when I finally got my knife open with sweaty, fumbling fingers. As he stalked around the edge of the counter, I dodged and darted away. Just then, the bell on the door tinkled. My heart sank as I heard Sam’s voice and dared a glance over to see her fiddling in her purse head down.

  “Piper, I’ve got these flyers for you,” she walked halfway into the room before she looked up.

  “Sam, run!” I tried to warn her. Angry guy had turned when the door opened and looked torn between roughing me up or stopping her from leaving. Deciding I was the more pressing matter, the girl holding the small knife, he kept coming toward me.

  I pushed a chair between us which he swept aside. I prayed Sam would go get help but the door remained silent. Scared to take my eyes off the immediate threat, I didn’t see her getting closer.

  “Hey ugly!” Sam yelled. As the man turned to her with a scowl, she doused him with pepper spray. I mean, she must have shot the whole can at him.

  He dropped the knife. I scooped it up as it clattered toward me.

  Sputtering and snarling the man lunged at Sam. I threw my knife at him.

  It probably would have worked better if I actually had real knife throwing skills, though I’m considering acquiring some; still, the knife grazed his shoulder and being assaulted from two sides convinced him to change course; he veered out the exit.

  Sam locked the door and leaned against it, her head tilting back as she took deep breaths.

  I bent to pick up my knife, folding it closed. Victoria came into the café at that moment with a plate full of cookies and a giant smile. “Are you ready to taste these babies?” The grin slipped from her face as she looked at the disheveled room. Tables and chairs were out of place, several desserts in the display case were knocked askew.

  Plus, there was the glare Sam rained down on me, making things awkward.

  “I know, I know. The police,” I held up my hands, each still grasping a knife, in surrender. “You know what Victoria?” I turned away from Sam and walked over to the speechless girl and snagged a cookie from the plate. “I’m definitely ready to try one of these. Maybe two.”

  I bit into the ooey gooey goodness, pastry cream ringing my mouth, and ignored the looks being shot my direction.

  Chapter 5

  “Yes, sir,” I nodded for the hundredth time to Sheriff Kent. The moment I had finished my cookie, and Sam finished hers, she had ushered me to the car and driven me to the sheriff’s department to report the latest happenings.

  Since Sheriff Kent had played a big part in helping rescue me from a psychopathic bride-wanna-be kidnapper not long ago, I felt comfortable talking to him.

  “All that happens by putting yourself in the place of law enforcement is trouble,” he said again.

  I nodded. Again.

  “You say you are the only person who has handled this phone since it was dropped into your purse?”

  “That’s correct. Though I’m afraid as much as I touched it, I probably obliterated any evidence that was on it.”

  “And how long after the incident in the courthouse parking lot, clear in another county may I add, did this man try to attack you in your bakery?” The sheriff leaned back in his black leather chair and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair.

  I took a moment to think about the day. “Several hours,” I shrugged.

  “And do you believe it was the same man?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea. I hadn’t thought of that. I mean why go to all the trouble of dropping me a burner phone if he planned to expose himself out in the open?”

  “I couldn’t tell if it was the same person either,” Sam added. “The guy in the parking lot had on long sleeves and a cap.”

  “And Miss Lowe, when you came back to the bakery this afternoon, did you happen to see the white Mercedes anywhere nearby that you saw picking up the man in the ball cap this morning?”

  “I didn’t notice it, but I wasn’t exactly looking either.”

  Leaning forward in his chair, the sheriff gave us each a long look. When he spoke, he said, “I think that’s it, for now, ladies, but if anything else happens, I need to know. In the meantime, I’m going to have our tech guy take a look at this phone. Maybe, just maybe, there’s still something we can find out from it.”

  “Yes, sir,” I agreed.

  “Thank you for your time Sheriff Kent,” Sam stood and shook his hand.

  Sam and I exited the sheriff’s department and went straight to her car. For a moment, we simply sat.

  “What now?” Sam asked.

  “Are you hungry? I missed lunch today and I could go for some chicken or a burger.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Sam cranked the car and maneuvered out of the tiny lot. “Momma’s Diner here we come,” she said.

  Chapter 6

  We returned to the bakery after a delicious late lunch of burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Momma’s Diner makes the best milkshakes in the South and I’ve had more than my fair share. The Triple Chocolate Quake Shake today did not disappoint.

  “Now, I’m ready to collapse in a nice food coma.” Sam rubbed her stomach as we walked into the bakery from the front. Sam chose to park on the street so she could work out of the box of flyers in her car, posting them up and down the storefronts surrounding us.

  I bobbed my head in agreement. “Maybe splitting that second order of fries was going overboard.”

  “Hello girls,” Gladys greeted as we drew near to the counter.

  “Gladys! Thanks for coming back to cover the register when we had to rush off.” Sam smiled.

  “Think nothing of it. Victoria brought me up to speed on everything and I feel terrible that I wasn’t here when that horrid man accosted Piper.”

  “Has Millie not returned?” I didn’t see the budding artist; she had continued on the mission to post flyers around town while Sam and I took care of business at the sheriff’s department.

  Gladys shook her head. “Not yet. She texted Victoria to say she was almost done not long ago. That reminds me, Flo called and said she needs to talk to you, Piper. She was upset and it sounded urgent.”

  Worried that Flo might be having second thoughts about our ideas to help the flower shop flourish, I hurried next door.

  “Flo?” I called out.

  “In the back.”

  Flo pulled me further into the room when I entered, all the
way to the back door which was propped open a crack with a spool of ribbon.

  “Flo, Gladys told me you called.”

  “Shh…come here.”

  I joined her at the door, tiptoeing over as seemed appropriate given Flo’s furtive peeking out the back door.

  “What are we looking at?” I asked.

  “I think he’s gone now, but you never know if he might come back.”

  “Who?” My eyebrows formed a vee as I tried to puzzle out what Flo was talking about. So far, I was lost as a goose. Do geese get lost often? I frowned further; I’d never understood who invented all the odd sayings we used, but they sure stuck in your head.

  “Are you listening?” Flo interrupted my meandering thoughts. “There was a man out back. He’s gone now, but he was all over your truck.”

  “My truck?” I poked my head out the back door again. Still, nobody to be seen. I knew I kept it locked so I wasn’t worried the man had stolen anything.

  “Yes. I was taking a small bag of trash out – those flower stems start to stink pretty quickly if you don’t dispose of them – and saw him poking around. He was crawling out from under it and I ran back inside as fast as I could. I don’t think he saw me.”

  This didn’t bode well. I knew one thing; the sheriff would want to hear about it.

  ~

  Griff pulled up beside the curb about a minute after the sheriff had arrived and roped off the employee parking lot behind the bakery. Deputies swarmed my truck, going over it with various instruments.

  I wrapped my arms around Griff and he rested his chin on my head. “See,” I tilted my head toward the scene. “I called the sheriff.”

  “Please, tell your girlfriend not to engage in a knife fight with unsavory criminals.” Sam joined us, hands on her hips.

  “I see,” I retorted before Griff responded. “You would prefer they were savory criminals? And would that be in reference to their smell or what exactly? I’ll admit, there was a bit too much menthol cigarette smoke wafting from him for my tastes.”

  “How about no knife fights at all?” Griff squeezed me a little tighter, effectively ending what could have turned into hours of sarcastic banter.

  “You take all the fun out of everything,” I told him.

  A small, lopsided grin broke free of the worried expression on his face.

  “I sent Gladys and the girls home. Locked up the bakery, too.” Sam watched as one deputy called the sheriff over to look at something. They knelt on the ground a minute before the sheriff held out a clear baggy and the deputy dropped something inside.

  “Thanks. Looks like that was probably for the best,” I freed myself from Griff’s grasp and linked arms with the two of them. “Come on. Let’s go see what they’ve found.”

  Flo, after giving her statement and a description of the man, had decided to remain inside her shop. I didn’t blame her. My stomach somersaulted; my nerves were as frayed as the ends of a rough-cut rope, yet curiosity stirred up inside of me as well.

  “Sheriff,” Griff stuck his hand out and shook hands with Sheriff Kent as we met him in the middle of the parking lot. Deputies were beginning to load things back into the trunk of a police car.

  Well, that’s good, right? They finished quickly and nobody looks terribly worried.

  “Miss Rivers, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

  So much for good. Thanks for sugarcoating it, sheriff. I braced myself for the sheriff’s next words.

  Chapter 7

  “A bug?” I jutted my head forward, determined to make sure I had heard the sheriff correctly.

  “Yes, ma’am. Similar in model to the bug my tech guy pulled off the red burner phone planted in your purse. This type is used as a tracking device.”

  “Are you serious? Do people really do that? I thought that was all an exaggeration on tv shows where you see criminals accessing the latest tech and using it to beat the good guys.”

  “It wasn’t exactly high-grade stuff,” the sheriff conceded. “But it probably gave them your location at the bakery today. Since that didn’t work, your perp came back to bug your truck. It seems likely they planned to try another run at you at your home.” Sheriff Kent rubbed one hand along his scruffy jawline.

  “I don’t like this,” Griff took my hand and squeezed. “That could easily have been a bomb planted instead of a bug. Sheriff, can you post a patrol at the bakery and at Piper’s home? We need to make sure nobody is getting near her.”

  “Or she can come to stay with me,” Sam suggested.

  “No. I’m not putting anyone else in danger, I’ll stay at my own place. Thank you,” I told her. “I appreciate it. But the sheriff has the bug, this creep won’t know where to find me now anyway.”

  “Write down the address,” Sheriff Kent said over my head to Griff. “I’ll dispatch a unit to make regular rounds at Miss River’s home this evening.”

  “Thank you,” Griff walked to his truck for paper.

  The sheriff and his deputies finished up in no time. In possession of my address, the sheriff warned me to be aware of my surroundings and to call if there was trouble before they left.

  “Ready to call it an early night?” Sam looked at me and Griff.

  I checked the time on my phone and saw that I had a new text. “Nope. Gladys invited us over for supper. Says she has already cooked it and that there is no point in saying no.”

  “Do you think she’d mind one more?” Griff asked.

  “You’re her favorite,” I smirked. “I doubt she will mind a bit.”

  ~

  Sam pulled her car into the driveway. I parked my truck at the curb of the canary-yellow bungalow and waited for Griff who had to park further down the block.

  “House kind of matches her personality, doesn’t it?” He asked as he strolled up with his hands in his jean pockets.

  “Yep. And Sam’s Juke, too,” I joked.

  “Very funny,” she shouted from up the walkway.

  Griff and I stepped onto the front porch the same time as Gladys opened the door. Following Sam inside, I inhaled deeply. “Something smells incredible,” I said, hugging Gladys.

  “It’s just a little something,” she tisked, waving a hand. Leading us into the kitchen, she asked about the truck and the sheriff and we each filled her in on the findings.

  “And you’re really going to stay at your apartment alone anyway?” Gladys wanted to know.

  “I’ll be fine,” I insisted.

  “Stubborn,” Griff muttered under his breath.

  Once seated at the table, Gladys took the covers off of several dishes. “Grilled Niçoise Tuna Steak, Vegetable Tian, and a Roasted Nut Green Bean Salad.”

  “I’m sorry, knee-shwah what?” I asked in an attempt to copy the strange new word describing our Tuna. “You’re going to have to interpret that for me.” I looked at Gladys expectantly.

  “Niçoise, it’s only a fancy word for French, dear. Now dig in.”

  Sam raised the ever-arcing eyebrow and shot me a knowing look.

  Another French dinner, hmm? I nearly giggled, using my napkin to disguise it as a cough.

  “This looks wonderful, Gladys. Thank you for including me,” Griff started filling his plate, oblivious to our silent conversation.

  “The Vegetable Tian looks especially gorgeous,” I agreed. I heaped a pile of parmesan-covered, sliced eggplant, squash, tomato, and potato onto my plate. “You know, I believe this might be my first experience with tuna steak,” I admitted.

  “Really? How is that possible?” Sam asked as she spread her napkin daintily in her lap. “It’s probably my favorite fish.”

  We munched quietly for several minutes, everyone enjoying the flavors and lost in their own thoughts.

  “Well, I’m sold. The tuna is delicious Gladys.” I cut a few more bites off of my fish.

  “I agree. What did you use to make this great crust on the outside?” Sam asked before popping another piece into her mouth.

  “Dried herbs and
butter.” Gladys scooped more veggies onto her own plate. “I’m glad that you like it. So, what’s the plan?”

  “Plan?” Sam asked.

  “For figuring out who is trying to get to Piper.”

  “Wait a minute,” Griff said. “These guys are dangerous. Nobody needs to do any figuring out. The sheriff was elected to do just that.”

  “Right you are!” Gladys smiled at Griff before sending a very obvious wink at Sam and I, nearly making me choke on my salad. “Griff, why don’t you wait outside while the girls help me clear the table?” she asked not long after that, as the last fork clattered to its empty plate.

  He frowned but wandered through the living room and out onto the back patio.

  After the sliding door clicked shut, Gladys leaned forward and, with a conspiratorial whisper, said, “Okay, now tell me the truth. What are we going to do to get these people away from Piper? What do they want?”

  Shrugging, I leaned my elbows on the table. “It has to be about the trial. That’s the only thing that makes sense, yet at the same time, it makes no sense at all. Multiple people are supposed to testify, it isn’t like things hinge on me alone to make charges stick to Regina.”

  “Plus, they have the voicemail on your phone. Isn’t that going to be admitted into evidence? You shared it with Officer Grumpy over in Pierson County already,” Sam ran her fingers through her long hair, making me wonder again exactly what patriotic hair would look like if the challenge were met and she dyed it for the holiday next month.

  “Yes, I gave them the voicemail. Honestly, I have no idea what they think I can say in a trial that is going to be any different. I’m happy to leave it alone this time. Truly.”

  Sam and Gladys gave me skeptical looks. I shrugged and began picking up dishes, carrying them to the kitchen.

  After cleaning the kitchen, at least partially before Gladys insisted that she could do it tomorrow, we joined Griff on the patio.