The Peridale Cafe Cozy Box Set 2

by Agatha Frost

  Book 7. Macarons and Mayhem

  Published by Pink Tree Publishing Limited in 2017

  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 © Pink Tree Publishing Limited.

  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.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact pinktreepublishing@gmail.com

  www.pinktreepublishing.com

  www.agathafrost.com

  Cover designed by Ashley Mcloughlin.

  Edited by Keri Lierman.

  Proofread by Karen Sellers and Eve Curwen.

  Beta team - Ceri Sell, Sam Callaghan, Tonya Polk, Tee Prinzo Bilgore, Amy Keating Casey and Michelle Saunders.

  About This Book

  Released: July 30th 2017

  Words: 41,400

  Series: Book 7 - Peridale Cozy Café Mystery Series

  Standalone: Yes

  Cliff-hanger: No

  Excitement blossoms through Peridale when a prestigious gardening magazine picks the village as the spotlight for their next issue, but that joy quickly turns to dread when members of the local gardening society, The Peridale Green Fingers, start dying one by one after their obituaries are sent to The Peridale Post the day before their murders.

  Julia is asked to bake macarons for the magazine's unveiling of 'The Best Garden in Peridale' party, but with death striking the village, she has more important things to worry about. Is somebody killing The Green Fingers’ to better their chances of winning the title as well as the cash prize, or is there something more sinister happening? With her old friend and newspaper reporter, Johnny, by her side, Julia must uncover the truth before every member of the club is crushed like an unwanted weed.

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  Chapter One

  “This is hopeless!” Barker exclaimed as he forced a fork through the butter and sugar. “Maybe I should leave the baking to you, Julia?”

  Julia smiled softly as she pried the fork from his firm grip. She added the eggs and then picked up the electric mixer. Barker examined the forming batter, flour on the end of his nose. Julia chuckled as she dusted it off.

  “If I can teach Jessie, I can teach anyone,” Julia said as she passed the mixer to Barker. “It’s all in the wrist action. You need to fluff it up so the air doesn’t escape.”

  Jessie looked up from her tablet and smiled smugly across the kitchen. Julia had not let Barker know there was a five-pound bet relying on her teaching him how to successfully bake a Victoria sponge cake before the end of the day. From the look on Jessie’s face as she tapped on the tablet screen, she was already spending her winnings.

  Barker whizzed the machine around the mixture, a crease forming on his brow, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth. Julia thought he looked adorable.

  Julia's talent and passion had been passed down from her mother, but she was not sure if she could pass it onto Barker. Julia and Barker had been in a relationship for six months, and it had taken nearly all of those months for Barker to agree to the baking lesson. He paused to wipe the sweat from his brow with the edge of his apron, smearing self-raising flour across half of his face.

  “Is this right?” he asked with an arched eyebrow as he performed an unnatural movement with his wrist, sending a blob flying across the kitchen in the process. “I think I’m getting it!”

  “Erm,” Julia mumbled as she tried to adjust Barker’s wrist to no avail. “You’re getting better.”

  “He couldn’t get any worse,” Jessie mumbled, humour clear in her voice. “Even I wasn’t this bad. I can’t believe I’m missing my driving lesson for this.”

  Julia shot a stern look across the kitchen to her seventeen-year-old lodger and apprentice as she gave Barker’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Jessie had not been the easiest student, mainly because she had not liked being told what to do, but even she had picked it up quite easily. Julia looked over at the pile of deflated and burnt cakes with jam and cream seeping out of their middles. She wondered if this was the best use of her Sunday afternoon.

  “Let’s add in the flour,” Julia said, pulling the mixer from his grip to replace it with a metal spoon. “The trick is to fold it in so it doesn’t flatten the cake. We need to keep as much of that air that you just mixed in as possible.”

  Barker began to carefully fold in the flour, a little better than he had the previous times. Julia wondered if this might be the one to succeed and actually rise in the oven.

  “Add a drop of vanilla extract into the mix, and then you can grease the sandwich tins,” Julia said, giving up her hopes of Barker getting the batter any smoother. “Then you’re ready to bake again.”

  Barker unscrewed the vanilla extract bottle with trembling fingers, glancing at Julia for reassurance. She gave him an encouraging nod and watched nervously, hoping he had learned what a ‘drop’ meant after almost pouring a full bottle of the flavouring into his last attempt. To her surprise, Barker added just a splash of the extract. He stepped back as though to restrain himself, then screwed the small bronze lid back onto the bottle. Julia let out a relieved sigh.

  “Imagine if the boys at the station could see me now,” Barker said with a nervous laugh as he brushed down the ill-fitting floral apron. “I don’t think they would ever listen to me as their detective inspector again. Didn’t you have any aprons that weren’t so girly?”

  “Of course,” Julia said.

  “We thought you’d look pretty in the floral one,” Jessie added. “Brings out your eyes.”

  Barker removed the lid from the butter dish with pursed lips and stabbed the greasing brush into the golden butter. He quickly covered the two sandwich tins, seeming to remember what Julia had said about making sure to get every inch evenly coated, so the greaseproof paper had something to stick to.

  Without Julia’s assistance, Barker traced the bottom of the tin onto the paper twice before sloppily cutting out the circles. Julia would have done it as close to the edge of the paper instead of the middle like Barker had, but she bit her tongue, not wanting to hamper his progress. He roughly placed them into the bottoms of the greased tins before cutting out pieces for the sides.

  “Perfect!” Barker exclaimed with a firm nod as he clapped his hands together. “I think this might be good enough to sell in your café, what do you think –”

  Barker’s voice trailed off when Julia’s grey Maine Coon, Mowgli, jumped onto the counter, and with one swift bat of his paw, sent the mixing bowl flying to the kitchen floor. Julia clenched her eyes and sighed as she listened to the batter splattering across her tiles.

  “Mowgli!” Barker cried. “You little sneak! It’s all over my briefcase!”

  Mowgli scurried across the counter, knocking as many things over as he could before diving through the open window and into the bright garden. Jessie chuckled behind her fingers as Barker wiped the mixture off his briefcase. Knowing when to give in, Julia twisted the oven dial to off and pulled off her apron.

  “We’ll try again next weekend,” Julia said, pulling a crisp five-pound note from her purse. She tucked it into Jessie’s hand without Barker seeing. “Clean yourself up. I’ll sort out this mess.”

  Barker tugged his apron over his head, sprinkling flour on his dark brown hair. His defeat tormenting him, he plodded off to the bathroom, looking
as though he wanted to curl up in shame.

  “Lost cause,” Jessie said with an air of authority as she held the shiny note up to the light of the window. “He’ll never learn.”

  “This one wasn’t his fault,” Julia said as she picked up the bowl from the floor before tossing it into the sink. “I only gave in because I couldn’t see any more of my ingredients going to waste. I will teach him.”

  “Put another fiver on it?” Jessie asked as she tucked her winnings into the pocket of her black hoody. “You might make me a very wealthy girl if we keep playing this game.”

  Julia shook her head with a smile, leaving Jessie to get back to her device. She quickly wiped up the mess on the floor, cleared away the ingredients, and put all the utensils into the sink for washing later. She paused and brushed her finger along Sue’s pregnancy scan picture stuck to the fridge. Butterflies fluttered giddily in Julia’s stomach every time she looked at the twins she was soon going to be an auntie to.

  When the counters were sparkling again, she picked up Barker’s briefcase and put it carefully on the side of the counter. She wiped a damp cloth over the glistening leather, making sure to run it along the seam with her fingernail. She crouched down and stared at the pale mixture she had missed. It looked like it had seeped inside. The lock combinations were both set to ‘000’. Julia clicked the two small buttons, and the top popped open.

  She wiped away the tiny slither of batter that had managed to leak inside the case. She had not intended to read the piece of paper on top of the stack, but she was unable to help herself when her eyes wandered over her own name in the mass of black text. Before she could read anymore, Barker returned from the bathroom, swooped in, and snapped the briefcase shut.

  “Some of the mixture got inside,” Julia said defensively as she tucked her curls behind her ears. “You’ve kept your combination as ‘000’?”

  “It’s easy to remember,” Barker said, his cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson. “Were you reading what was in there?”

  “I saw my name.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Nothing with my name on it?” Julia asked, folding her arms across her chest. “What is it?”

  “Nothing,” he mumbled, his cheek colour deepening as he put the briefcase behind his back. “Fancy a cuppa?”

  “Not until you tell me why my name is in your briefcase,” Julia said with a small laugh as she reached around Barker’s back. “Is it police paperwork?”

  “No,” he said, lifting the briefcase above his head and out of Julia’s reach. “Just forget it.”

  “You can keep saying that, Barker old boy, but it won’t wash with her,” Jessie announced without looking up. “Cake Lady is like a dog with a bone when she gets a sniff of something.”

  Before either of them could reply, knuckles rattled against the front door. Barker appeared relieved, but the distraction only irritated Julia. Jessie was right about Julia being a dog with a bone; it bothered her not knowing what Barker was hiding from her. She relented and walked around him, casting a final glance at the leather briefcase before turning into the hall.

  “Alright, alright,” Julia called out as she hurried towards the door, the knuckles continuing to rap on the frosted windowpane. “Where’s the fire?”

  She was surprised to see Emily Burns, her elderly neighbour who lived in the cottage on the other side of the winding country lane. She was sporting an excited grin, with a magazine clutched tightly against her chest.

  “Have you heard?” Emily asked with a small squeak, her teeth biting her bottom lip as she stared expectantly at Julia. “Have you heard the good news?”

  “I’m not religious, Emily.”

  “Not that good news,” Emily said with a chuckle as she turned the magazine around. “This is even better than that! Here, turn to page six.”

  Emily thrust a copy of Cotswold Gardening Magazine into her hands. Julia looked down at the beautiful azaleas on the cover, concealing behind a pleasant smile that she had never heard of the publication. She turned to page six all the same.

  “What am I looking at?” Julia asked as she scanned the page, which was titled ‘Local News’.

  “Right there,” Emily said, jabbing a finger above a small block of text in the margin. “Oh, Julia! It’s marvellous news!”

  Julia squinted at the tiny words under Emily’s finger in the bottom right-hand corner of the magazine, trying to remember the last time she had been to the opticians to have her thirty-seven-year-old eyes tested.

  “‘Cotswold Gardening Magazine is pleased to announce that our next issue’s featured location will be the small picturesque village of Peridale,’” Julia read aloud. “That sounds fun.”

  “It’s more than fun!” Emily exclaimed. “Cotswold Gardening Magazine is coming here! To our little village! They’re going to take pictures of our gardens and interview the villagers, but that’s not the best part!”

  “There’s more?” Julia asked, trying to feign excitement for a topic she did not care much about. She looked around her modest patch of land, which was neat and regularly weeded, but nothing compared to the beauty of Emily’s rose garden across the lane, which she tended to daily.

  “They’re going to be holding a competition, and the best garden in Peridale will win ten thousand pounds!” Emily exclaimed as she took the magazine back and clutched it to her chest once more. “Now that I’m president of the Peridale Green Fingers Club, that money is as good as mine!”

  Emily proudly adjusted a small enamel leaf pin on her blouse, her spine suddenly straightening and her chin poking up in the air.

  “Congratulations!” Julia exclaimed, not wanting to admit she had no idea such a club existed in the village. “That’s great news.”

  “Yes, I suppose it is,” Emily agreed with an uncertain smile, her eyes dropping to the ground as her excitement faded for the first time since knocking on Julia’s door. “Although I wish this pin had been handed to me under better circumstances. Our previous president, Yolanda Turner, crashed her car last month and she didn’t walk away to tell the tale.”

  “Oh, that’s awful,” Julia said, her hand drifting up to her mouth. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Yes,” Emily said with a firm nod. “We can’t dwell on the past though. Our village is about to become famous, Julia! We’re going to be in a magazine! A magazine! It’s going to mean more business for your café. Once the rest of the Cotswolds sees how beautiful our little corner is, they’ll all want to experience it for themselves. Must dash! I need to plant new flowers right this second. The judges are coming this week to decide which locations they are going to shoot.”

  Emily hurried down the garden path with her magazine, scurried across the lane, and burst back into her cottage. Julia laughed to herself as she closed the door behind her. Nothing in Peridale surprised her anymore. She was sure Emily had rushed across to be the first to break the news to Julia before anyone else could. Gossiping and Peridale went hand in hand, and Julia was in no doubt what the conversation in her café tomorrow morning would revolve around.

  “What was that about?” Barker asked as he pushed a fresh cup of peppermint and liquorice tea across the counter to Julia.

  “Nothing important,” Julia said, glancing at the briefcase. “Just something about a gardening magazine coming to Peridale to take some pictures. The way Emily was talking, you would think The Queen herself was paying us a visit.”

  “Doesn’t take much to get this place excited,” Jessie said. “You gonna tell us what’s in the briefcase, Barker?”

  Julia smiled gratefully at Jessie, glad she had been the one to bring up the briefcase. Barker lifted his cup up to his lips, his cheeks blushing again. He took a deep sip before resting the coffee cup against his chest, his eyes darting to the case on the counter. It had not gone unnoticed to Julia that the lock combinations had been scrambled.

  “It’s honestly nothing,” he repeated with a soft smile, his eyes imploring Julia
not to push the subject.

  She blew on the surface of her hot tea, deciding that she would leave it for now. She wanted to believe that she could ignore the urge to find out why her name was written on a piece of paper in Barker’s briefcase, but she knew herself better than that. One way or another, she would find out what he was hiding from her.

  Chapter Two

  Monday mornings in Peridale always felt like an extension of Sunday evening. The village moved slowly, as though not wanting to admit that the weekend was over. It was always the quietest day of the week in Julia’s small café, and even though this Monday morning was no exception, she had noticed a certain buzz in the air.

  She almost felt foolish for not knowing about the Peridale Green Fingers, considering it appeared that half of the village were members. Word of the magazine had travelled quickly, and by the time Julia and Jessie drove to work, half of the villagers were already awake and tending to their gardens.

  “I don’t see the point,” Dot, Julia’s gran, announced as she sipped her tea from the seat nearest the counter in Julia’s café. “It’s all a bit useless. You plant the bulbs in winter, so they bloom in spring. They look pretty through the summer, but they’re shrivelling up and dead by autumn, and then you have to start the whole cycle again in winter. I can find better uses for my time!”

  “Are you sure the real reason you don’t see the point is because you’re hopeless at gardening?” Julia asked as she painted the edges of a marzipan flower with a small brush dipped in pink food colouring.