by Amber Crewes
RHUBARB PIE AND REVENGE
A Sandy Bay Cozy Mystery
By
Amber Crewes
Published by Pen-n-a-Pad Publishing in 2020
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © Pen-n-a-Pad Publishing
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
About Rhubarb Pie and Revenge
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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14
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18
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23
Thank You!
About Jingle Bells and Deadly Smells
ALSO BY AMBER CREWES
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About Rhubarb Pie and Revenge
Released: March, 2020
Series: Book 18 – Sandy Bay Cozy Mystery Series
Standalone: Yes
Cliff-hanger: No
A murdered celebrity impersonator. A cast of unusual suspects. A bride-to-be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Meghan can't wait to get married to her Prince Charming. She's looking forward to starting life with her long-term boyfriend, handsome Detective Jack Irvin. When her friend proposes throwing a bachelorette party to celebrate her exit from Singleville, she reluctantly agrees.
What her friend didn't tell her was that the bachelorette party would take place out of town... in Las Vegas!
When an Elvis impersonator is found dead on stage after tasting Meghan's rhubarb pie, all eyes focus on her as the main suspect. Meghan is all shook up as she's confronted by suspicious minds who delight in assuming that she killed the 'King.'
With an entourage of friends who are contributing to make this the bachelorette party from hell...
And a law enforcement officer unwilling to extend her any grace...
Meghan knows she has to put aside her personal anguish and find the real killer or she'll be singing the Jailhouse Rock in an orange jumpsuit.
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1
M eghan Truman grinned as the airplane began descending over Sandy Bay, her adopted hometown in the Pacific Northwest. She was exhausted from a long overnight layover in San Francisco; her eyes were red and her long dark hair was tangled, but as she spotted the town from afar as she peeked out the window, her heart pounded with excitement; she had been away from home for nearly a month, and she couldn’t wait to get back to her work, friends, and fiancé.
Her fiancé. Meghan’s heart fluttered as she thought of Jack Irvin, her husband-to-be. Jack had proposed to her before the holidays, and he had even flown to her hometown in Texas to spend Christmas with her family. His job as a detective for the Sandy Bay Police Department required he leave just after New Year’s Day, and Meghan hadn’t seen him in over a week. She looked down at her engagement ring, her eyes crinkling with joy as she remembered Jack’s proposal, and she could hardly wait to see him at the airport arrivals hall.
The small regional jet gently touched down at the Sandy Bay Airport, and Meghan squirmed as the passengers around her slowly packed up their belongings; she wanted nothing more than to dash into the arms of her handsome fiancé, and she was bursting with impatience. Finally, it was her turn to leave, and she leapt into the aisle of the plane and marched into the airport.
Meghan glanced at her reflection in the window of a coffee shop as she made her way to the arrivals hall. “I look horrible,” she lamented as she pulled a scrunchie out of her backpack and tucked her hair into a messy bun. “Thank goodness Jack and I are engaged now, otherwise, if he saw me looking this rough, he’d probably run for the hills!”
She turned a corner, passed the security station, and entered the arrivals hall. Her cheeks flushed as she spotted Jack waving at her. He had a hand behind his back, and as she approached, he pulled the hand free to reveal a bouquet of red roses.
“You shouldn’t have!” Meghan exclaimed as she threw her arms around her fiancé and kissed him on the lips. “Babe, you are already getting me from the airport and taking your personal time to do it! You didn’t have to bring me flowers.”
Jack winked. “Only the best for my beautiful wife-to-be.”
“I’m not feeling so beautiful,” she told him as they turned to walk to the baggage claim. “That overnight layover in San Francisco did a number on me; I wanted to pay for my ticket, but I really should have used my parents’ frequent flier miles and flown directly last night.”
Jack leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I think you look stunning,” he told her earnestly. “I’ve never been happier to see you.”
As they waited for her bags, Meghan recounted everything that happened before she left her parents’ home in Texas. Right before Christmas, her father had gotten into some legal trouble, but her parents had worked out a deal that ensured her father wouldn’t be in prison forever for his white collar crime; the Trumans were incredibly wealthy, and they were able to pull some strings that allowed Henry Truman, her father, to receive a reduced sentence of three days in jail and a year of probation. This news had come the day after Christmas, and all the Trumans were delighted that Henry would be able to have a fresh start in the new year.
“Were your parents sad to see you go?” Jack asked as he lifted Meghan’s suitcase from the luggage carousel. “They sure loved having us in Texas.”
Meghan rolled her dark eyes. “They made such a scene at the airport,” she sighed. “Mom was crying her eyes out, and Daddy was huffing and puffing about me moving to the Pacific Northwest. “Why would you want to live in a dark cloud, Meghan? You and Jack should move to Texas after the wedding. Come join my business; you know that I would love to have you in the family business, and I can put Jack to work as well.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “He said that?”
She nodded. “I know they don’t think my job as the owner and operator of a bakery is glamorous enough; Mama refuses to call it a bakery and keeps referring to it as my ‘business venture’. She is so pretentious sometimes.”
Jack gestured toward the exit. “My car is in the parking garage. Let’s go, babe.”
They left the airport and walked outside. Meghan shuddered as a gust of cold air hit her. “I think the only thing I didn’t miss about Sandy Bay is the weather; it’s so cold there!”
“That winter sea air is the worst,” Jack agreed. He looked down at Meghan. “Babe, do you think your parents really want us to move to Texas? Would your dad really give us both jobs?”
Meghan peered up at her fiancé. “Why do you ask?”
Jack shrugged. “My job is getting more and more difficult each month,” he admitted. “Being a detective is not for the faint of heart. I feel burnt out, to be honest, and living in warm Texas and working for my in-laws doesn’t sound too stressful…”
&nbs
p; Meghan cackled. “Oh honey,” she laughed. “They have you fooled! Living in close proximity to my parents would be the most stressful job of your life!”
Jack’s piercing blue eyes stared down at her. “That’s not very nice to say about your parents,” he chided.
She was taken aback. “Do you forget how many parties they dragged us to at Christmas while you were visiting?” she asked. “Or how many times my daddy demanded you play golf with him? Or the craziness from all of my sisters? Imagine all of that times a thousand if we were to move to Texas. My parents are amazing, but they are also very controlling. They want to be in charge. If we live near them and work for them, they are going to call all the shots in our life together, and that is the last thing I want.”
“Fair enough,” Jack agreed. “I just didn’t want to let a good opportunity slip away from us if you thought it would be a good idea… and clearly, you don’t.”
Meghan glanced up at him and batted her eyelashes. “You know what I think is a great idea?” she asked flirtatiously.
“What?”
“Getting married to you,” she declared. “Mama and I were busy with wedding plans last week, and she almost had a conniption when I told her I don’t think I want my bridesmaids to carry bouquets.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know what that even means,” he laughed. “I’ll let you ladies do the planning.”
“Mama has completely taken over,” Meghan informed him. “We don’t even have a date yet, but she’s already having fabrics sent to the house, holding auditions for a string quartet, and sampling cakes in town.”
“She’s excited we’re getting married at your childhood home, isn’t she?”
“To say the least!”
They reached the car, and Jack opened the passenger door for Meghan. She climbed in and leaned back against the leather seat. She turned to Jack and blew a kiss at him as he sat down beside her. “I have never been happier to see you.”
He reached over and took her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “I’ve never been happier to see you. I missed you, Meghan, and now that you’re home, I have a proposal for you.”
Meghan flashed her engagement ring at him. “Sorry, Mister, but you’ve already given me the best proposal I could ever ask for. It’s too late for another one.”
Jack grinned, pushing back his blonde hair as it fell in his eyes. “How about another proposal? What do you think about getting married sooner rather than later? I know we talked about a wedding in August, but that seems so far away. I don’t want to wait another eight months to make you my wife. What would you say about sneaking away and eloping? We could run off to Mexico or somewhere nice and get married by ourselves on the beach. What do you say?”
Meghan’s stomach churned. “That sounds so romantic,” she admitted. “But what about my parents? I know it’s overwhelming trying to plan a wedding with them, but they are so excited about hosting us in Texas. They would be devastated if we canceled on them and eloped.”
She noticed a twinkle in Jack’s eyes. “I have a solution,” he told her. “We can elope secretly.”
“Secretly?”
He nodded. “The pair of us can steal away for a long weekend and get married. We won’t tell anyone, and we can go through with the Texas wedding as planned! It might be stressful, but we’ll have a private laugh about it because we’ll both know we are already married!”
Meghan bit her lip. “That is tempting,” she told him. “I do want to marry you as soon as possible... maybe we should look into it! What could stop us? If we don’t tell anyone, my parents will never find out, and we could still go through with the big fancy wedding in Texas…”
Jack squeezed her hand again. “Just think about it,” he urged her. “I think we could make some really special memories together…. you and me, on the beach, the sun setting…”
“How romantic,” Meghan giggled. “Let’s talk more about it later when I have gotten some shut-eye! I think it would be a fun idea and I really think we should talk it over.”
They drove in peaceful silence for the rest of the way. When they pulled up in front of Truly Sweet, the bakery Meghan owned and operated, she squealed. “I have never been happier to get back to work!” she exclaimed as she threw off her seatbelt. “I hope Trudy and Pamela have been able to hold down the fort.”
She skipped inside, bursting through the yellow front door. “Pamela? Trudy?”
Pamela, her sixteen-year-old employee, waved from behind the counter. “You’re back!”
Meghan ran to hug her. “It’s so good to see you,” she told her. She stepped back and examined Pamela’s face. “You look older!”
Pamela giggled. “It’s only been three weeks. I can’t possibly look older.”
Meghan narrowed her eyes. “It’s your hair,” she announced. “You cut it and dyed it, didn’t you? What did your mother have to say about that?”
Pamela bit her lip. “She didn’t like it,” she admitted as she ran her hands through her short bob. “She liked my natural color better, but she thinks I’ll grow out of having this dark color.”
Meghan winked. “Mothers are usually right about those things. Where is Trudy?”
“I’m here,” Trudy called out from the kitchen. “Be right there.”
Jack walked inside carrying Meghan’s things. “Here you are, babe,” he told her. “I have to run off to work, but let me give you a kiss.”
He kissed her softly on the lips and she smiled. “Love you, Mr. Irvin,” she breathed happily.
“Love you, Soon-to-be Mrs. Irvin,” he replied as he walked out of the bakery.
“That was too adorable,” Pamela gushed. “How are the wedding plans?”
Meghan thought about Jack’s elopement proposal and blushed. “They’re... fine,” she stammered. “Tell me about you, Pamela. What’s new around here?”
Pamela wrinkled her nose. “Well, Mrs. Sheridan and Frank had a nasty falling out.”
“What?” Meghan cried. Mrs. Sheridan was an elderly local who had a big personality; she was always getting into others’ business, and while many didn’t care for her, Meghan had taken a liking to her. Mrs. Sheridan was engaged to her boyfriend, Frank, a retired doctor, and Meghan was sad to hear that they weren’t getting along.
“Tell me more.”
Pamela nodded. “They got into a huge fight at the skating rink; Mrs. Sheridan wanted to wear her old costume from her figure skating days, and Frank told her the skirt was too short and revealing for someone her age and that the sequins didn’t flatter her. He didn’t want her wearing something like that in public. He said it was tasteless.”
“Yikes.”
“Mrs. Sheridan started hitting him on the bottom with her cane, and the police came out. They issued her a warning, and she stormed off. She’s been acting strange ever since, and word on the street is that they still haven’t reconciled.”
Meghan shook her head. “Oh no. Mrs. Sheridan is something else; there is nothing that woman could do that would surprise me…”
Trudy, her middle-aged employee, marched out of the kitchen holding a hot pie. “Meghan, wait until you try this,” she smiled.
Meghan inhaled. “Is that rhubarb pie?”
Pamela nodded. “When you emailed me during the holidays and mentioned that your mom made it to perfection, I wanted to give it a go. Trudy and I have been working on the recipe, and I think we have it down. Give it a try?”
Meghan nodded and retrieved a small silver fork from behind the counter. She lifted the tiny piece of the pie to her mouth and took a bite. “Pamela! Trudy! This isn’t pie... this is art!”
Pamela grinned. “We put in a lot of work.”
“What did you add to the recipe? It tastes a bit different than my mom’s, but honestly, it’s even better than hers!”
Trudy gestured at Pamela. “Ask her; she was the mastermind behind this.”
Pamela couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. “I used organic brown cane suga
r instead of plain old white sugar,” she began. “And I used apple sauce instead of butter. I tried to make some adjustments so it would be vegan and gluten-free. Can you tell?”
Meghan shook her head. “Not at all; the flavor is perfect, and the rhubarb taste is unmistakable! This is fantastic, Pamela.”
She wanted to continue praising the dessert, but she noticed Trudy was staring out the window.
“Trudy? What’s the matter?”
Trudy’s eyes widened. “Look, ladies,” she pointed out the front window. “Just look at that! I can’t believe my eyes!”
2
M eghan stifled a gasp as Sally Sheridan strutted into the bakery. Mrs. Sheridan, who typically favored cardigans and ankle-length tartan skirts, was dressed in a pink sequin mini skirt, and Meghan could not believe how pale her skinny legs were. She wore a matching long sleeve shirt, barrettes in her hair, and makeup on her face.
“What are you looking at?” Mrs. Sheridan growled as Meghan tried to regain composure.
“You look…. different today,” Pamela chimed in, her eyes wide.
Mrs. Sheridan placed a hand on her hip. “What? You don’t like my makeup?”
Meghan bit her lip. “It’s not just the makeup,” she began. “Your outfit is different than the clothes you usually wear.”
Mrs. Sheridan rolled her eyes. “Different as in ALL OF THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS? Yeah, I know. I look better than I’ve looked in fifteen years after all the Pilates classes I’ve been taking, and I want to show off a little.”
Trudy’s eyes were nearly bulging out of her head, and Pamela could hardly contain her laughter. Meghan took a long breath in through her nose, knowing that she had to be delicate about the way she handled this situation. “Is there a particular reason you feel like showing off?”