by Jinty James
Lauren and Zoe stared at each other – were there two Detective Casterns in town? Perhaps he was more polite to older ladies?
“How’s your son holding up?” Zoe probed, ignoring Lauren’s frown.
“He’s beside himself.” Deborah shook her head. “They were married for twenty-three years. He was at work when it happened.”
“What does he do?” Lauren couldn’t help asking.
“He works at a department store in Sacramento. It was his day off yesterday, which was why he was able to pick up Nellie here in the afternoon during the adoption event.”
“Which store?” Zoe asked. “I’ve been thinking of having a shopping day in the city.”
“That new one near the fancy ice-cream store. Everyone raves about the flavors there. I’m sure someone once told me you recommended it, Zoe.” Deborah looked straight at her.
“I probably did,” Zoe admitted with a grin. “Lauren and I love going there. I can’t decide if my fave flavor is coconut and matcha, or pomegranate and cherry.”
“And I love the maple rhubarb,” Lauren added.
“We must visit there again soon,” Zoe informed her cousin.
They took Deborah’s order of a cappuccino and an apricot Danish.
“Don’t you think it’s weird she didn’t tell us what the name of the department store is?” Zoe muttered, plating the Danish.
“Maybe she didn’t want you going down there and interrupting her son while he’s working,” Lauren half-teased. Or perhaps there was another reason why Deborah hadn’t told them the name of the store.
“Or maybe she can’t remember the name of it,” Zoe whispered.
She’d just confirmed Lauren’s thought.
They took over Deborah’s order.
“Thank you.” She looked at the cappuccino with approval. “You do make good coffee, Lauren.”
“Thanks.” Lauren always experienced a little thrill when she was complimented on her coffee or cupcakes.
“Lauren makes the best,” Zoe said loyally.
Deborah stirred her cappuccino. Lauren interpreted that as a signal to leave.
She headed back to the counter, discreetly gesturing to Zoe to do the same.
“She didn’t tell us much, did she?” Zoe muttered in disappointment. She flicked a glance at Deborah.
“Maybe she doesn’t have much to tell,” Lauren replied. “Why would she say anything? She’s not a regular customer – or a friend.”
“Not yet,” Zoe said. “Maybe she hangs out at the senior center. We could ask Martha or Ms. Tobin when they come in.”
“Good idea.” Lauren nodded.
“What are we going to say if Ed asks us about our progress?” Zoe frowned.
“I’m sure he doesn’t expect us to solve Nellie’s murder.” Lauren held up her hand as Zoe began to speak. “I know what he said in the kitchen earlier, but we are not the police. We told him we’d listen to Rebecca, and we have. What more can we do at the moment?”
“We can grill – ask Mitch tomorrow night at Chris’s.” Zoe brightened.
“Okay. But you know if he’s on the case, he mightn’t be able to tell us much.”
“There’s always a first time.”
CHAPTER 4
LAUREN, ANNIE, AND Zoe enjoyed craft club that night, held at Mrs. Finch’s house. Lauren explained to their friend that she wanted to make a second pink cushion cover, but was hoping it wouldn’t be as wonky as her first.
“I think you’ve done a very good job for a beginner,” Mrs. Finch praised. “You just need to take care and use the guide on the machine for your straight seam lines.”
Zoe scrunched her face and shuddered. She’d tried using the sewing machine when Lauren had practiced with it, and had nearly sewed her finger.
“Zoe, how are your pottery mugs coming along?” Mrs. Finch enquired.
Zoe brightened as she told their friend she was glazing them on the weekend.
“Tomorrow afternoon, after we close the café. Then I’ll zip home and get changed, because we’re going to Chris’s place tomorrow night.”
“A double date,” Lauren explained to Mrs. Finch, then glanced at Annie, sitting on the arm of Mrs. Finch’s fawn chair. “Or should that be a double and a half?”
“Chris is going to make his chili, and then we’ll watch a movie. Lauren and I will get to choose – or maybe we should let Annie decide.” Zoe giggled.
“Brrt!” Good idea!
“It sounds like you’ll all have a lovely weekend.” Mrs. Finch beamed.
They made their friend a cup of coffee, using the pod machine her son had bought her.
“Have you heard anything about Nellie’s murder?” Zoe asked, sipping her coffee. “Do you know her mother-in-law, Deborah?”
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Finch admitted. “We used to sing in the church choir.”
“The church has a choir?” Lauren was surprised.
“A long time ago, dear,” Mrs. Finch told her. “Deborah was newly married and moved here from Sacramento with her husband. He passed away a few years ago – he was older than her – but he used to the run the old cheese store in town.”
“Gold Leaf Valley has a cheese store?” Zoe’s eyebrows rose.
“Not anymore,” Mrs. Finch told them. “The new owner ran it into the ground, and then sold the building. The buyers turned it back into a home. It was originally a Victorian house, anyway.”
“Huh.”
“Do you mean the blue house around the corner from us?” Lauren asked. A lot of the buildings in the small town hailed from the Gold-Rush era.
“That’s the one.” Mrs. Finch smiled.
“I never knew that,” Zoe admitted.
“Neither did I,” Lauren told her.
“Brrp.” Nor me.
They explained that Ed had asked for their help in proving Rebecca’s innocence.
“Ed is a good man,” Mrs. Finch observed.
“Yes, he is,” Lauren replied.
“So it really is our duty to help him,” Zoe said.
“As long as the three of you are careful,” Mrs. Finch warned.
“Do you know Rebecca?” Lauren asked.
“No.” Mrs. Finch shook her head.
“Drat.” Zoe sounded disappointed.
“Perhaps Mitch will be put on the case,” Mrs. Finch suggested.
“I hope so,” Lauren replied.
“But I don’t think it’s likely,” Zoe argued. “Because Detective Castern has already questioned Rebecca.”
“And Deborah.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Finch murmured.
They finished their coffee, then the trio said their goodbyes.
“Oops,” Lauren murmured as they walked along Mrs. Finch’s garden path in the dark to the car. Only the light from the porch and the occasional streetlamp lit their way. “I forgot to mention the new cupcake flavor I’ve come up with.”
“Ooh, what is it?” Zoe asked.
“Brrt?”
“Mocha!”
CHAPTER 5
THE NEXT MORNING, LAUREN filled in Annie and Zoe on her new cupcake idea.
“Mocha will be a combination of coffee and chocolate for the actual cake crumb, with mocha flavored frosting, and decorated with coffee beans.”
“Yum. I want to be your first taste tester.” Zoe grinned.
“After me,” Lauren teased.
“Brrt?” Annie asked as they finished getting the café ready. On Saturdays they closed at lunchtime and had the next two and a half days off.
“You can help me make a test batch at home,” Lauren promised her fur baby.
“Brrt!” Good.
It wouldn’t be the first time Annie kept her company while she tried out her baking ideas.
“You could make it this afternoon while I’m at the pottery studio. And bring the mocha cupcakes for dessert tonight.” Zoe made the suggestion sound like an order.
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Chris will be
thrilled. He’s better at main courses than desserts, but he’s got plenty of ice-cream in the freezer.”
“Good to know, in case these cupcakes don’t turn out.”
“Of course they will,” Zoe enthused, anticipation in her brown eyes.
Zoe was her biggest cheerleader. She just hoped she was Zoe’s.
As soon as they opened, the customers started arriving.
“Ooh, there’s Ms. Tobin.” Zoe zoomed over to her. Annie trotted up to her as well.
“Brrt?” she asked.
“Thank you, Annie, she’s settling in very well.” Ms. Tobin smiled, following the Norwegian Forest Cat to a small table. Today she wore a primrose skirt and white blouse, and her eyes sparkled.
“What can we get you?” Zoe followed them to the table.
“My usual large latte please,” Ms. Tobin replied. “I would have come to the counter and ordered.”
“Yes, but I wanted to ask you about—”
“She’s such a sweet girl.” Ms. Tobin’s face softened.
The table was close enough to the counter that Lauren could hear and observe the exchange as she made a cappuccino for another customer. Had that been Annie’s intention?
“Oh, that’s good, but—”
“I’ve named her Miranda.” Ms. Tobin smiled. “After my childhood best friend. You’ll never guess, but it was actually Martha suggesting I call the kitten after her that made me think of Miranda. Both names start with M.”
“That’s wonderful.” Lauren had taken the cappuccino over to a nearby table, and now stopped at Ms. Tobin’s. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Brrt!” Me too!
“I can see that you are,” Ms. Tobin replied, pleasure flickering across her face. “I must thank Martha. She might have made that suggestion in jest, but it was successful, although not in the way she intended.”
Ms. Tobin told them all about Miranda, the kitten. Annie listened intently.
“And that has given me an idea,” she finished. “I think I’ll try to track down the real Miranda and see how she’s doing after all these years.”
“Awesome!” Zoe approved. “It should be easy with online search engines and social media.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought,” Ms. Tobin replied. “She moved to Cincinnati when I was seven, so I thought I’d start there, with her maiden name.”
“Did you go to school with any of the members of the senior center?” Zoe asked. “Maybe they know something.”
“Good idea,” Ms. Tobin said in approval. “Thank you, Zoe.”
“Does Deborah hang out there?” Zoe continued.
“No, not really.” Ms. Tobin looked a little puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“We were just wondering,” Lauren put in.
“Yeah, just wondering,” Zoe added quickly.
“It was terrible about Nellie.” Ms. Tobin shook her head. “But Deborah is a nice lady. Her husband used to manage the cheese store.”
“That’s what Mrs. Finch told us,” Zoe informed her.
“I can’t imagine who would want to kill Nellie,” Ms. Tobin continued.
After another minute of chit chat, Lauren and Zoe returned to the counter. Annie stayed with Ms. Tobin, seeming to approve of how well Miranda had settled in already.
“Did Ms. Tobin actually know Nellie?” Zoe muttered to Lauren as they started making lattes. “Because if that was her usual behavior at the adoption event, I think the whole town would want to murder her!”
THE MORNING PASSED smoothly. Hans came in, suitably shocked at Nellie’s death. He’d heard the news yesterday at the senior center.
Claire and little Molly came in, Molly beaming from rosy cheek to rosy cheek.
“How’s Kitty?” Lauren asked her as they stood at the Please Wait to be Seated sign.
“Love her.” Molly sighed happily.
“So does my husband,” Claire told them. “I do, too.”
“That’s wonderful.” Zoe grinned.
“Annie!” Molly waved to the feline. “Show Kitty?” She turned to her mother.
“I’ve already taken some photos of her.” Claire dug out her phone from her jeans’ pocket and bending down, held the screen out to Annie. “She’s snuggled with Molly on the sofa in this one.”
“Brrt.” Annie peered at the screen, approval on her expression. “Brrt.” Good.
“Cino!” Molly tugged on Claire’s hand.
“Coming right up.” Zoe winked at the little blonde girl.
“Brrt.” Follow me. Annie led them to a four-seater in the middle of the room.
Molly launched into a stream of chatter about Kitty, gently petting Annie as she did so. “Love you too, Annie,” she said at the end.
Lauren’s heart melted at the sight of the two of them sitting together. Would she and Mitch have a little girl one day? Or a boy? Her pulse sped up at the thought. They’d met each other’s parents a while ago, and Mitch had even started leaving bits and pieces in her dresser drawer, but he hadn’t suggested moving in together – or anything else.
“I’ve made Molly’s babycino.” Zoe’s voice brought her back to reality.
“Thanks.” Lauren glanced at the tiny micro foam concoction. Zoe had been liberal with the marshmallows and hot chocolate powder. “Looks good.”
Zoe took over Molly’s treat while Lauren made Claire’s latte and plated a red velvet cupcake.
“Molly have?” The little girl’s eyes widened when she saw her mother’s order. The red cake crumb, flavored with cocoa and a hint of vanilla melted in the mouth, and the cream cheese frosting was piled up high in an artful swirl.
“A little.” Claire smiled, and cut off a small piece for her daughter.
Lauren whipped back to the counter and grabbed another plate and fork.
“Thank you,” Claire said gratefully. “I think Molly loves your cupcakes as much as I do.”
Zoe told them about Ms. Tobin’s new kitten called Miranda, then they left the mother-daughter duo to enjoy their visit with Annie.
Before Lauren realized, it was closing time.
“Woo hoo, pottery this afternoon.” Zoe stretched, then ran to the entrance door and bolted it. Their last customer had just departed.
“Cupcake baking time.” Lauren glanced at the glass case. They’d sold out. Ed didn’t work on Saturdays, so they’d only had her treats to offer their customers that morning.
“I can’t wait to try them!” Zoe grinned.
AFTER LUNCH, LAUREN gathered the ingredients together. Zoe had borrowed her white compact car and whizzed off to Sacramento, saying she’d grab lunch on the way. Now it was just her and Annie in the cottage kitchen, apart from the gentle ticking of the clock on the wall.
“Brrt?” Annie asked.
“We have to mix up flour, baking powder sugar, butter, eggs, cocoa, espresso, and milk.”
Annie watched intently as Lauren combined the ingredients, and spooned the mixture into the cupcake tin.
“Now, we have to bake them for twenty minutes.”
She liked testing out new recipes at home, rather than the café kitchen, and it gave her and Annie a chance to spend time together.
While the mochas were in the oven, Lauren whipped up a buttercream frosting.
The oven timer dinged. Lauren took the golden-brown treats out of the oven, looking at them in approval.
“Now we’ll wait for them to cool and then frost them for tonight.”
“Brrt!”
She curled up with Annie on the pink sofa in the living room, intending to catch up with a chick lit novel, but her thoughts strayed. She hadn’t seen Mitch often that week, and wondered if he’d concluded the paperwork in his bank robbery case.
She hoped he’d be able to stay over tonight. Zoe might have made plans already to stay at Chris’s house.
Annie snuggled in her lap made her think of the adoption event and the kittens that had been adopted. She hoped the others found good homes quickly. Nellie’s behavior that day fl
ashed in her mind. Why did she carry on like that? Did she always speak to her husband in that way?
She seemed like an unpleasant woman, and Lauren was sure there must be at least one person other than Rebecca who had a motive to kill her. Surely Detective Castern didn’t think Rebecca killed Nellie because she was scared Nellie would steal the cute red kitten from her?
CHAPTER 6
DOUBLE DATE AND A HALF chili night was a success, and so were Lauren’s new cupcakes.
Mitch picked her up at seven. Zoe had returned from the pottery studio and whizzed around the house, getting ready.
When the doorbell rang, Lauren’s heart fluttered. She’d put on her plum wrap dress, one of her favorite outfits, and one she knew Mitch liked, and taken extra effort with her light brown hair with natural hints of gold.
“Brrt!” Annie trotted to the front door.
“Hi.” Lauren opened the door and just looked at him. In his early thirties, he wore charcoal slacks and an oyster button-down shirt which suited his tall, muscular frame. His dark hair was worn short, which emphasized his attractive features.
“Hi.” His dark brown eyes crinkled at the corners as he took in her appearance. After a second, he said, “Hi, Annie.”
“Brrt.” Hi, Mitch.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes. I’ll just check on Zoe.” She ushered him in. “Zoe?” she called.
“I’m here!” Zoe skidded into the living room, wearing black leggings and a purple top. “And I’m starving!”
“Brrt!” Me too!
“I’ve packed a bag with Annie’s things in it.” Lauren picked it up.
“I’ll carry it.” Mitch hefted it easily.
“Thanks.” She smiled at him.
“Come on, you two lovebirds.” Zoe took the lead.
They rode in Mitch’s car – Annie and Zoe in the back, the feline in her carrier, and Zoe sitting next to her.
After a couple of minutes, they pulled up outside Chris’s rental. It was a slightly shabby Victorian, with fading green paint. The surrounding cottages looked more spruced up.
“The landlord still hasn’t painted the outside,” Zoe tsked. “He keeps saying he’ll get around to it. Oh, well, it’s nice enough inside, especially with my little touches.”