BlueBuried Muffins (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (10 page)

They ate without conversation until the last crumb was cleaned from their plates. “Annie, that was amazing. I think we should add it to our lunch menu,” Leona said, obviously thinking the chickpea sandwich tasted delicious.

“It’s easy enough to make a big batch and it could be served as a salad, sandwich or wrap.”

Leona was busy making a shopping list. “I’ll run to the store and get all the stuff we’ll need. Meet back here in an hour? Can you manage the window alone, Mia?”

“I’ll be fine.” She said as she hurried to the ice cream window to help a family.

Annie patted the bag of drugs in her apron pocket, checking that it was still safe. This would be the perfect chance to take it to Martha’s shop, she thought. She untied the apron from her waist, folded it, and tucked it under her arm. “I’m going to check on my kitty. He’s spent way too much time alone. Do you want any more photographs to hang in the café?”

Both Leona and Mia answered at the same time. “Of course!”

On her way out of Cove’s Corner, she popped into the empty-of-customers Fabric Stash. “Busy today?” she asked Martha.

“Plenty of people are coming through and browsing but not much is selling. How about the café?”

“Busy. We’ll be spending the rest of the afternoon baking for tomorrow’s rush which, I’m guessing, will be bigger than today, being Saturday and all.” Annie leaned close to Martha’s ear and continued, “I found this hidden behind my photograph.” She pulled the bag from her apron pocket letting Martha get a peak of what she had before leaving the apron on Martha’s sewing table. “I think it’s what Vincent is after. Can you make a cover and keep it safe somewhere in here? I’ll explain more later. Just don’t let anyone know it’s here.”

One eyebrow went up. “Sounds mysterious. Of course I will.” Martha rubbed her hands together. “Nothing better than some excitement for this old lady.” She sat at her sewing machine with a piece of dark gray fabric, sewing a small square cover as Annie left.

If she walked briskly, Annie could get back to her apartment in fifteen minutes, visit with Smokey for a bit and be back before the hour was up. The walk gave Annie a chance to clear her mind of the hectic morning and get her thoughts back to the mystery of Max’s murder. He had been insistent on matting and framing her photographs. But it didn’t explain anything about the bag of drugs, only that Detective Jaffrey said the gallery was involved in something illegal and Vincent followed Max to Catfish Cove. Someone else could have put the drugs inside the framed photographs. She refused to believe Max was involved. She decided he must have discovered what Vincent was doing and he needed to warn Annie and get the drugs back.

Annie opened the door to her apartment, smiling at her luck in having this place to live. Smokey rubbed against her legs, mewing and begging for attention. Annie picked up the kitty, cradling him and stroking his soft fur.

As she walked across the room, her foot slipped and she landed on her butt with Smokey clutched to her chest. She let out a gasp. All of her photographs were torn from the frames and they littered the floor of her once tidy living room.

Chapter 14

Smokey mewed loudly. Annie picked herself off the floor, surveying the mess. Her photos were scattered around the room, undamaged but torn from the frames. The sound of the door hinge squeaking made Annie jump and reach for anything that could be used as a weapon.

She raised her arm with one of the frames held above her head as she looked into the dark eyes of the most handsome man she had ever seen.

He quickly put his hands up in a nonthreatening manner. “I hate to tell you this, but the frame you’re holding isn’t the best protection from an intruder.” His mouth twitched as he worked unsuccessfully to suppress a smile.

Annie lowered the frame. “Do you make it a habit of walking in without an invitation?”

He took the frame from Annie and leaned it on the wall. Waving his hand over the mess on the floor, he said, “It appears you won the battle with these photographs. Did they attack you when you came in?”

Anger started to build in the pit of her stomach. Who was this tall, self-controlled man making fun of her, she wondered. “You didn’t answer my question about walking in uninvited.”

He stared out the window at the view of the lake. “I haven’t seen the lake from this view since I built this garage apartment.”

The meaning of his words slammed into Annie’s brain and she felt her face burn with embarrassment. “Jason Hunter?”

“Guilty as charged. No, I don’t normally enter uninvited but I heard a crash as I got to your door. It was cracked open and I wanted to see what was going on in my apartment.” He extended his hand. “You must be Leona’s niece, Annie. Pleased to meet you.” His eyes took Annie in from her strawberry blonde hair down to her comfortable sneakers. “You look a lot like Leona, only more beautiful.”

Annie saw a twinkle in his eyes. The heat from Annie’s face traveled down her neck and she felt her heart do a little flip flop. Was he still making fun of her? She couldn’t figure him out.

Jason bent over to pick up the photographs scattered around the floor. He held the first one up, examining it closely. “Interesting. A face created from bananas. Is it a self-portrait?”

She grabbed the photograph and picked up the others, piling them neatly on the table. “These were for a show called Food for Thought, but they didn’t make it to the art gallery.”

Jason looked through the rest of the photos. “You are extremely talented. These should be hanging somewhere.”

“Someone didn’t think so,” she said as she gathered up the mat boards and frames.

Jason gently held Annie’s arm. “You didn’t do this in a fit of rage? Apparently, I stupidly jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

Annie shook her head. “No.”

“Who? Why?” Jason asked as he stared at Annie, searching her face.

Someone was looking for something, she thought to herself, but didn’t want to say to this person she’d just met. Max’s words echoed in her brain,
don’t trust anyone
. Instead of answering, she stared back trying to hide her true feelings of fear and anger and willed the tears welling in her eyes not to spill over.

Jason nodded. “Okay then, you can tell me when you’re ready.” He leaned over and picked up Smokey. “Who’s this guy? I never told Leona you could have a roommate.” His eyes twinkled again, replacing the stare piercing into her thoughts.

“This is Smokey. He’s a bit shy, but once you’re gone he’ll tell me all about who came in and destroyed my work.” She hoped he got the hint that she wanted him to leave, but in case he didn’t, she made a big show of checking the time on her watch. “I guess Smokey’s story will have to wait, since it’s time for me to get back to the café.”

“Great. I’ll give you a ride. I was heading in that direction anyway.”

Annie didn’t want to be rude to her landlord, and she was running late, so she reluctantly agreed to take the ride.

Jason held the door open for Annie but after they walked out she made an excuse to go back in for a forgotten item. She preferred to walk behind Jason and get a better view of him instead of the other way around.

What was it about this guy, she wondered. He exuded confidence in a casual kind of style. He was taller than Annie, but not over six feet she estimated. His dark hair was a little too neat for her liking. His clothes appeared to be custom made for his perfectly proportioned muscular body. He had a slight limp that she wouldn’t have noticed if she wasn’t studying him so carefully. “So, Jason, what brings you to Catfish Cove?”

He turned around as he opened the passenger door of his SUV, waiting for Annie to climb in. “I like to be here for the beginning of fishing season.” He winked at Annie. “And I thought it would be a smart idea to meet the person living in my apartment. I trust Leona only so far, since she has been known to make some poor choices. I wanted to make sure for myself that she didn’t install a serial killer or decide to hide a terrorist right here under my nose.”

Annie decided to play his game. “How can you be sure I’m not hiding some secret identity from you?”

“I’ll just need to get to know you better to be sure. After all, you do have keys to my house. And you have a cat that appears to be a spy, which does make me suspicious of your background.”

He turned in and parked in the last open spot at the Cove’s Corner lot. “This is a busy weekend.”

Annie hopped out. “Thanks for the ride.” She wasn’t completely disappointed to see Jason get out too.

“I’m fine walking in by myself.”

“One can never be too careful.” He took Annie by the arm and guided her through the doorway. “Something smells good in here. Leona certainly knows how to cook up a storm.”

Martha peered out of her shop as Annie and Jason walked by. “Annie, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Pulling away from Jason, she walked into The Fabric Stash and Jason continued to the café. “Thanks for rescuing me from that guy.”

“Are you kidding? He doesn’t look like someone you need to be rescued from. Just the opposite. I’d let him to do all the rescuing possible. Who is he?”

“My landlord, Jason Hunter.”

“
That’s
Jason Hunter? I haven’t seen him around town for, well, I can’t even remember when he was here last,” Martha said as she raised her eyebrows suggestively. “What’s he doing here?”

“He said he likes to come for fishing season.” Glancing around to be sure they were alone, Annie asked, “Is everything safe?”

“Safe and sound, but someone interesting came in and poked around.”

“Who?”

“That varmint, Vincent. That has a nice ring, doesn’t it? Vinny the varmint; fits his personality too. He certainly wasn’t looking for any quilting fabric, but don’t worry, there’s no way he’d find your item here.”

“When I went home, all my other photographs were torn apart and scattered around. That’s when Jason walked in. I’m glad I found this one before anyone else did.”

“Were there more?”

“I don’t know. I found the one you’re hiding by accident. My guess is, whoever is after it won’t leave until they find everything they’re looking for.”

“Looking for what?” a deep voice asked.

Martha’s eyes moved behind Annie and smiled at Detective Jaffrey, who appeared from thin air. “Just some special fabric with cats on it. I’m making aprons for the café like this one.” She handed the apron back to Annie. “I didn’t want anyone to buy it out from under me. Ya know, if you have a special someone in your life, I could help you find a unique gift for her. Or even make something if you’re going to be in town for a few more days.”

Annie chuckled. She loved how Martha could get information in such a casual manner. Martha certainly was an asset, along with Leona and Mia, in figuring out what happened to Max.

Who was Max referring to when he left that cryptic note about not trusting anyone, she wondered. Vincent was at the top of Annie’s mental list but there were others too—Jake, Danny, Detective Jaffrey, and now Jason.

A crash from across the hallway drowned out the thoughts in her head. The detective was the first out the door, entering the café in just a few strides of his long legs. Annie was hot on his heels.

Mia was staring at the floor near the freebrary, staring at something shiny on the floor.

Chapter 15

“Don’t touch anything,” Detective Jaffrey commanded as he carefully pulled on plastic gloves and picked up a knife. The blade was broken off about an inch or so from the tip. “How did this get here?” He looked at Mia and Leona. Jason was standing off to one side watching the ordeal.

Mia shrugged. “I was straightening the books and it slid off the shelf.”

Annie inched closer to inspect it better. “That is just like the knife I saw Jake using when he was packing his pottery.”

Detective Jaffrey dropped the knife into an evidence bag. “I’ll get it checked to find out if this is the murder weapon. Can I grab a coffee for the road?”

Leona, all starry eyed, walked to the coffee cart. “I’ll fix it for you. Cream and sugar, right?” she asked, fluttering her eyelids.

Mia headed back to the ice cream window where a family of five was lined up. The three young kids were hopping up and down, chanting, “Ice cream please, ice cream please!”

Detective Jaffrey left with his coffee and a wink for Leona. What a flirt he is, thought Annie. He knows how to play the women.

The timer on the oven got Leona hustling to take out five trays of blueberry muffins and she slid in five more trays of raspberry scones. “Annie, can you make more chili and your Chubby Chickpea Salad mixture? I got all the ingredients for a double batch of each. Roy wants me to stay open tomorrow afternoon with the ice cream window and for customers to come in for the drink cart and pastries, so I’m not expecting much sleep tonight.”

“Is he going to help serve?” Annie asked with disgust dripping from her voice.

“Ha! Would you want him to?”

Jason, who had been sitting quietly in a booth by himself, stood up. “I’ll help. I like to see all the tourists coming through town.”

Annie tensed, and at the same time felt her face flush. “What’s your specialty in the kitchen? Making a mess?”