Lexy felt her heart melt. “I know; I’m sorry. I only wanted to help find the killer so I could get paid.”
Jack put his hands on Lexy’s shoulders. Bending down, he brushed his lips against her forehead, then pulled her in for a hug. “I guess I’m going to have to spend a lot more time with you from now on in order to keep you out of trouble.”
Lexy smiled up at him. “I’ll be looking forward to that, Detective Perillo.”
Epilogue
“To murder!” Jack raised his cut crystal wine glass for a toast, the light from the chandeliers overhead reflecting off the glass in brilliant sparks of light.
“Murder?” John asked from across the table. “That’s a funny thing to toast to.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for murder, we all might not be sitting here together tonight.”
It is true, Lexy thought as she looked around the table. Chastine’s murder had brought Jack and her back together and the investigation had caused John and Cassie to keep bumping into each other in a way that never would have happened otherwise.
“Here, here.” She said, raising her glass. The four wine glasses met in the middle of the table. Wine sloshed as they clinked together, the sound drowned out only by the laughter of the people holding the glasses.
Lexy felt the contented warm glow of happiness that comes when things are going just right. She looked around the table. The fine linen, fancy china and glittering silver were nice to look at, but nothing compared to her four best friends with whom she shared the table.
Jack was to her left, John Darling to her right and Cassie across from her. Behind Cassie, she could see the lights from the restaurant sparkling on the water of the falls. She looked down at her plate of prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans and felt truly blessed.
“Did you guys hear? It looks like there is going to be a wedding after all!” Lexy said excitedly.
Across the table she saw Cassie’s eyes grow wide, darting from Lexy’s face to her left hand.
Lexy laughed, “Not me, silly. Xavier Toliver! He’s going to marry Trixie and, the best part is, he’s hired us to do the catering, so we’ll get all the money we need for the kitchen equipment after all!”
“That’s wonderful!” Cassie said, then turning to Jack she asked, “What’s going to happen to Candice, now?”
“She’ll probably get off with just a slap. She wasn’t actually involved in the murder and Bronson has hired the best lawyers to represent her.”
“Well, I’m just glad we caught the real killer and he’ll be spending a lot of time in jail. It turns out he was always the bad boy—not Bronson like everyone thought. In fact, Bronson took the fall for quite a few of the things Blake did,” John said.
“I’m glad Bronson and Candice ended up together. She’s kind of nice once you get to know her. I hear she moved into the Toliver mansion. There may be a second wedding in the works.” Lexy winked at Cassie “I hope we get the catering job for that one too.”
“I’m glad the whole thing is solved and you girls won’t have to put yourselves in danger by investigating any more murders.” Jack slid a sideways glance at Lexy.
Lexy smiled at him above a forkful of potatoes. She thought about the investigation. Sure, it was a bit dangerous, but she liked putting together the clues and it was fun working with Nans and the Ladies Detective Club. In fact, the ladies had asked her to help them out with a few other mysteries they had on their plate. She was considering it; this investigation stuff was kind of a fun hobby.
“Right, Lexy?” She looked up to see Jack looking at her with his brows raised.
“What?”
“You won’t be getting involved in any more murder investigations, right?” Jack prodded.
“Oh, right,” she said. Focusing her attention on her steak, she deftly avoided eye contact, not that she was lying or anything. She didn’t plan to get involved in any more murder investigations...at least not tonight.
The End.
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Lexy’s Danish Pastry Recipe
Don’t you just love the flaky, buttery taste of Danish pastry? Lexy says one of the keys is to keep the butter ice cold. Here’s her recipe for making Danish pastry from scratch:
Recipe makes 16 Danish pastries
Pastry Dough
Ingredients:
1/2 ounce active dry yeast (this is 2 1/4 ounce packages or 5 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
3 3/4 cups flour
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
Preparation:
Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water for 5 min. Once it is foamy, stir in the salt, sugar, egg yolks, almond extract, vanilla extract and milk. Add 3 1/4 cups of the flour. Stir until the dough is slightly sticky, then cover and put in the fridge for 1 hour.
On a very cold surface (a marble pastry board works best), combine the butter and 1/2 cup of the flour, then roll out into a 6” square. Work quickly so the butter does not get too soft. Wrap the square in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes or long enough so that it is firm but still pliable (not so cold that it breaks when you handle it).
Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and roll it into a 12” square. Place the butter in the middle. Pull in the corners of the dough to the middle so that you are encasing the butter inside the dough (this is what makes it flaky). The entire butter piece should be covered and your dough should look like an envelope. Seal the edges of the dough by pinching them together then flatten gently with a rolling pin. Roll it out gently to an 18” x 18” piece of dough.
Fold the top quarter of the dough into the middle and the bottom quarter to the middle so the two pieces meet. Then fold those over each other so that you have a piece that kind of looks like a book.
Roll it out again into an 18” square and fold again. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling process two more times.
Chill the dough overnight.
To create the Pastries:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll the chilled dough to a 1/4” thickness.
You can cut the dough into squares of 4 inches each. Stretch the corners and put about 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle. Then fold the corners over the filling to form a flap.
OR, you can cut the dough into 1” strips, then twist them and roll into a round spiral. Place the filling in the middle of the spiral.
For filling, you can use any type of fruit preserve, or go with the cheese Danish filling recipe provided below.
Brush the dough with egg wash.
Bake on lightly greased baking sheets for about 30 min. or until they are golden brown.
Drizzle with the glaze.
Glaze
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Preparation:
Slowly add the lemon juice to the confectioners sugar until you have a pourable glaze. You don’t want it to be too thin or it won’t make lines on the danish. Too thick and it won’t pour.
Cheese Danish Filling
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch salt
Preparation:
Cream the cream cheese and sugar together either by hand or using a mixer on low.
&n
bsp; Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined - don’t overmix!
Easy Danish Pastry
Making pastry dough can be a bit difficult. Lexy has a commercial kitchen and years of experience at her disposal, but if you don’t .. and you want to make some quick pastry dough, here’s an easy method:
Ingredients:
1 Box of puff pastry
Filling of your choice
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400(f)
Unfold a sheet of puff pastry onto a floured board.
Roll it out until it is 10” square.
Cut the sheet into 4 equal squares.
Put 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of each square.
Beat the egg together with the tablespoon of water to make an egg wash.
Brush the egg wash on the edges of the pastry.
Pull the two corners of the pastry in and pinch together. Repeat with the other two corners so that the filling is enclosed in the pastry.
Brush the egg wash on the outside of the dough.
Repeat to make as many pastries as you want.
Refrigerate the pastries for 15 minutes.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until they turn golden brown.
This is a work of fiction.
None of it is real. All names, places, and events are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real names, places, or events are purely coincidental, and should not be construed as being real.
Dying For Danish
Copyright © 2012
Leighann Dobbs
http://www.leighanndobbs.com
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner, except as allowable under “fair use,” without the express written permission of the author.
Cover art by: http://www.tina-adams.com
Created with Vellum
Murder, Money & Marzipan
1
“She said the marzipan was atrocious!” Lexy looked down at the miniature fruits she had carefully sculpted the day before with the help of her assistant, Cassie. The tiny candies were made from her own almond paste recipe and had been carefully shaped, painted, and sugared to look like miniature versions of actual fruit. She thought they had come out perfectly.
Cassie wrinkled her forehead. Popping a tiny pear into her mouth, she chewed enthusiastically. "Tastes great to me. Sergeant Saunders is just mean and I'll tell you, she doesn't seem to like us at all."
Lexi nodded in agreement. Amanda Scott-Saunders had been a judge at the national bakers competition, Bakery Battles, for the past ten years. She was known for her harsh criticisms and nasty remarks. She had brought contestants to tears more than once, much to the delight of the sponsors who claimed it was good for ratings.
Lexy thought it fitting that everyone called her “Sergeant Saunders” behind her back. The woman had all the sensitivity and finesse of a drill sergeant and delighted in crushing the hopes of contestants. She had taken a particular dislike to Lexy. No matter how pleased the other judges were with Lexy’s work, Saunders always found something to complain about. It was a miracle Lexy was tied for first place in the competition.
“She said if I kept producing food like the marzipan, I would be out of the competition.” Lexy felt her face flush with anger. “If you ask me, the competition would be much better off if she was out of it.”
Lexy heard a giggle from the booth next to hers. She swung her head towards the sound. Her eyes locked on the ice-blue gaze of Aurea Pearce, her closest competition with whom she was currently tied for first place.
“I guess the Sergeant didn’t like your little fruits,” she said in a sickly-sweet voice. Lexy noticed her lips were curled in a smile that didn’t reach her hard, cold eyes.
Lexy wasn’t fooled by the sweet, Barbie doll appearance of the petite blonde. Aurea was the type that acted nice to your face, but stabbed you in the back as soon as you turned around. She was a ruthless competitor who would stop at nothing to win.
Lexy plastered a smile on her face. “You win some, you lose some,” she said matter-of-factly as if the dressing down she received the afternoon before didn’t faze her in the least. She’d be damned if she’d let Aurea Pearce know it bothered her; the other woman would probably find some way to use it against her.
Lexy turned back to Cassie. “I’m going to put these in the community freezer.” She held up the tray of marzipan.
Cassie nodded, her head bent over a three-tiered wedding cake that was the subject of the day’s competition. Lexy smiled at the contrast of Cassie’s pink spiked hair against the traditional white roses she was applying to the cake.
Lexy took a deep breath. The sting of the previous days judging still hurt, but today was another day and she was determined not to let the harsh words of Amanda Scott-Saunders throw her off course and ruin her chances of realizing her childhood dream.
Lexy looked around the giant stadium hall that housed the set of Bakery Battles, a yearly competition of the best bakers in America. The space consisted of dozens of kitchen areas, one for each baker. She was honored to be chosen and thrilled she had already made it through several rounds. She considered it one of the greatest accomplishments of her culinary career. The exposure for her bakery The Cup and Cake plus the chance of winning a $100,000 prize and a spread in American Baker Magazine didn’t hurt either.
With renewed vigor for the days competition, she hurried off to the giant community freezer to store the marzipan, the echo of her Christian Loboutin stilettos tapping on the concrete as she made her way across the vast stadium.
Lexy reached out for the smooth handle of the freezer, the tray of marzipan balanced in one hand. The door opened easily, welcoming Lexy in a blanket of icy air.
She felt herself shiver. They must have the thermostat turned way down today. Not wanting to spend too much time in the arctic environment, she hurried down the aisle to her designated storage spot. Her heel caught on one of the open holes of the thick rubber mat. Jerking forward, she caught herself from falling but not before a dozen assorted marzipan fruits fell to the floor.
“Damn it!”
Lexy put the tray on the shelf and bent down to retrieve the marzipan. With a surge of annoyance, she noticed a few pieces had bounced under the metal shelving. She almost had to lie on the floor to reach under the shelf to get them.
Her apron dragged through the dirt on the mat. She made a mental note to pick up a new one from the hangers in the back of the freezer.
Stretching her arm under the shelf she felt blindly for the fruit. Her hand encountered something squishy...and big.
“What the heck…”
Lexy put her face down at floor level to peer under the shelf. She felt a jolt run through her body. Her lungs burned, filling with a deep breath of icy-cold air. Her mouth opened to yell, but nothing came out. Her eyes blinked closed as if to erase what she was seeing. Fear squeezed her heart when she opened them again and realized the scene was still the same.
She was staring into the cold, dead eyes of Amanda Scott-Saunders.
2
“Why were you in the freezer?”
“I was dropping off some marzipan…to freeze for later.” Lexy squinted up at the police detective. Feeling a bit light headed, she rubbed her temples.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
“Yes.” Lexy shook herself. “It’s just that I don’t find bodies every day. It’s a bit disturbing.”
The detective- Detective Ryan, it said on his badge- put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You sit here and relax. Detective Stone will have more questions for you.”
“Detective Stone?”
“The detective in charge. Nik will be here shortly, until then just sit tight…and don’t leave the area.”
Detective Nik Stone. The name made her think wistfully of her boyfriend back home, Detective Jack Perillo. They had actually met under
similar circumstances: Lexy’s ex-boyfriend had been poisoned with cupcakes from her bakery and Jack had been the detective in charge. Hopefully Nik Stone would be as easy to work with, and hopefully she could get things to go in her favor with a few well-placed flirtations, just like she had done with Jack.
Lexy heard a commotion to her right. The place was crawling with police who all seemed to stop and look in the direction of the commotion. Suddenly the detective was back at her side.
“This is the woman who found the body. Lexy Baker - Detective Stone.”
Lexy stuck out her hand, then felt her eyes grow wide. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the head detective. Tall. Commanding. Exuding as much authority as any man Lexy had ever met.
Except Nik Stone wasn’t a man. Detective Nik Stone was one of the most beautiful women Lexy had ever seen. So much for getting things to go my way by batting my eyelashes.
Nik grabbed Lexy’s outstretched hand. Even though her hands were delicate and perfectly manicured, her handshake was firm and strong - not a girly handshake at all. Lexy watched the detective pull up a chair opposite her. Her no-nonsense black flats planted on the floor seemed to accentuate her long, thin legs. Lexy noticed her willowy frame had been well equipped in the chest department. Lexy felt a pang of jealousy; the woman had the body of a showgirl.
Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1 - 4) (Lexy Baker Cozy Mysteries Boxed Sets) Page 16