Deadly Pumpkin Slice (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery) (2 page)

That had been another challenge that Sydney had faced with excitement. It wasn’t easy to ship fresh desserts with only natural ingredients. But she and Grace had come up with some ingenious techniques that had really let them grow. By baking their sweets directly in jars that could be sealed, they’d been able to greatly extend the shelf lives.

Sydney lovingly placed a dollop of maple whipped cream on top of a pumpkin pie. She loved it when customers ate their pies in the bakery. She still struggled with getting them out of the ramekins without making them into a pile of mess. Presentation was part of her marketing, and to-go pies did not live up to her standards. When shipping them, she’d use only recyclable containers, and would always ask that if customers were in the area, they return them for a second use.

The familiar tinkling sounded as Sydney placed two coffees and a pie on Jonah’s table. Allison was entering, immersed in conversation with three other familiar faces—Ben, Ella and Levi.

“We can’t raise taxes that much!” Allison protested. It was a common conversation when Ben was around—a town councilman. The library and the school were always hurting for funds and the only solution seemed to be to raise taxes. But what taxes were raised were hotly debated.

Allison abruptly ended the conversation and made her way to Jonah’s table. Ben, Ella and Levi met Sydney back at the counter.

“Morning Sydney. Just the usual for Ella and me today,” Ben ordered, an exasperated look still on his face.

“Coming right up. What about you, Levi?” she asked Leah’s husband.

Levi stared at the ground, completely lost in another world.

“Anything for you, Levi?” Sydney asked again.

“I’ll have. . .” he looked around, exhaustion on his face, “. . .what Jonah has. That looks too good to pass up.”

“Here are your coffees, Ben. Levi, regular or maple whipped cream on top?”

“Huh?” he asked, again lost in thought. “Oh, regular. Thanks. And to-go.”

“No problem.” Sydney turned to fill the order and crossed her fingers the pie would come out of its baking container at least presentable. She heard the door open again and voices fill the bakery.

This was what she lived for. She loved making people’s lives better, and the best way she knew how was to make them good food. She’d toyed with the idea of expanding to include a wholesome lunch menu instead of just desserts, but until she took the leap to hire more help, she was happy to stick to the sweets she offered. And business seemed to be booming, so why fix something that wasn’t broken?

Grace and Sydney tag teamed the morning between filling orders, baking more pies and washing dishes to keep everyone fed and happy. Just as Sydney had predicted, it was busier than usual. While kids were feasting on their haul from Halloween, their parents got the same sugar craving and filled it at Sinful Sweets. Sydney couldn’t complain.

Neither Sydney nor Grace ever felt tired until they sat down after they closed for lunch to fill orders to ship. They both enjoyed the afternoon just as much as the morning. They might not have ever met their customers, but they knew just as much about them and personalized each of their orders as much as possible.

One customer had a standing weekly order. She bought a dozen chocolate chip cookies every Friday, arriving on Mondays, and a couple times a month would add the seasonal special. Over the years that she’d been ordering, Sydney had learned that she was a child therapist and always kept enough cookies in her office to bribe hesitant patients. She would cut the cookies into pieces, and they would all be gone by the end of the week when the next order was placed. Once Sydney learned the customer’s reason for buying so many cookies, she would often place a couple gluten-free treats in, just in case.

Just before Sydney was ready to turn the sign back to closed at one thirty, the bell tinkled and in walked Detective Austin Massey. He was Mia’s neighbor, but Sydney hadn’t gotten to know him as well as some of her other customers.

“Detective Massey, what can I get you?” Grace asked from behind the counter. Sydney was busy cleaning tables.

“What can you recommend, Grace?” he asked, flashing a smile.

“We have fresh cider donuts and just a few pumpkin pies left.”

“I’ll have to stay away from the donuts, don’t want to go living up to the police stereotype. How about a pie?”

“Sure. Whipped cream? We have regular and maple.”

“Just the pie, thanks. And a coffee.”

Grace busied herself with the order and Sydney came back to the counter. “Hi Detective,” she greeted.

“Hi Sydney. I wonder if you might have a few minutes to sit down with me when I get my pie and coffee?” he asked.

“Sure,” she answered, confused about the invitation. She hoped nothing had happened to Mia. “I’ll bring them over to you. Cream or sugar? Grace is getting the pie.”

“Sugar. Thanks.”

Sydney armed herself with the pie and coffee and took a seat opposite Detective Massey at a window booth.

“I have a few questions for you, if that’s OK,” Detective Massey started, putting Sydney on high alert.

“Sure. What’s this about?” Maple came over and lay under the table at Sydney’s feet, making her instantly more relaxed. She leaned down to pet the dog, thankful she was as even tempered as she was so she could spend the day with her in the bakery. She’d have to take her out soon for a walk. They hadn’t had a break since they’d arrived.

“You’re familiar with Aaron Gibbs?”

“Yes.” She hadn’t spoken to him since she’d left him six years ago. He was one of the biggest reasons she was in Twin Peaks today. They’d been living together for over three years when she left. He reached out to Mia once in a while, but never to her.

“His body was found this morning.”

“Oh,” she said, surprise flooding her face. As poorly as their relationship had ended, she never would have wished him dead.

“Here in Twin Peaks.”

“What?” That added another layer to the puzzle that was forming in her mind. Why had he even been in town? Had he been coming for her?

“When was the last time you talked to him?”

“Not since I left him six years ago.”

“And he never tried to contact you?”

“No. A couple times he called Mia, but he never tried to contact me.”

“Are you sure? Nothing in the last few months that would have made him reach out to you, or you to him?”

“No. Why? What’s this about? You don’t think I killed him, do you?”

“I can’t answer that. But two of your pumpkin pies were found in his room. They were poisoned.”

“Sydney, you look like you just saw a ghost,” Grace said after Detective Massey had left and the front door was locked. “He didn’t ask you out, did he?”

Everyone in town knew Detective Massey was an eligible bachelor, but no one could figure out why. He had the looks, the job and personality.

“I think I was just accused of murder,” Sydney said, still in a daze.

“A murder? Who was killed?”

“Aaron.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“And it was our pumpkin pie that killed him. Detective Massey said it was poisoned. And, it was here in Twin Peaks, in a hotel room.”

“Well, we all know that it wasn’t you.”

“I know. But why would someone kill him? Even I wouldn’t want that.”

“And you’d have every right to want that after the way he treated you,” Grace said, patting Sydney on the hand across the counter.

“I just thought he was behind me, and now even when he’s dead, he seems to have power over me.”

“What else did Detective Massey say about how he died?” Grace asked, immediately focusing on getting to the bottom of the puzzle.

“Just that it was my pumpkin pie that was found there. Poisoned. I don’t know what kind of poison, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know enough to clear my name. Maybe Mia knows something. I’m going to meet her out at The Pumpkin Patch. Are you all set here with the orders?”

“I think I’ll be able to manage. Be careful,” Grace warned as Maple jumped up at the sound of Sydney getting her bike.

“Come on, Maple!” she called.

***

The ride to The Pumpkin Patch took longer than expected and Sydney was tired when they got there. She had debated going home to get her car first, but she knew the ride would give her time to get her thoughts in order and make a plan for how to approach these crazy accusations.

Sydney locked her bike to a tree out front and tied Maple up to it. “You stay,” Sydney commanded. Maple lay down and panted. It had been a while since she’d gotten that much exercise and she could feel it. Sydney wasn’t sure she’d make it back with her.

“Sydney! Great to see you!” Jake called as she walked around the barn to the field of pumpkins. There were more left in the field than she’d expected after the Halloween rush.

“Good to see you too, Jake. I heard my sister was coming here this afternoon with her play group. Have you seen her yet?” Sydney asked, skipping the normal formalities of greeting and jumped right into why she was there.

“I have. They’re all out on the hayride right now but should be back in about fifteen minutes. Want to come in for a pumpkin chai?”

“Yeah, I could use one. And a water.” She was still sweating even though it was a comfortable fall day.

“You rode here?” he asked.

“Yup. I left Maple out front with my bike.”

“Bring her in. My wife made all natural dog treats and she’ll need a few if she’s going to run home with you too!”

“Thanks,” Sydney said and walked back around the barn to get Maple. They met Jake in the kitchen. He’d already poured two chais and put three dog treats in a bowl on the floor. He’d put a water bowl down too.

“How are the pumpkins selling?” Sydney asked. She didn’t want to get into Aaron’s death with Jake so kept the conversation light.

“You’re our best customer! What’s on the menu this fall? More pumpkin pies?”

“Yup. I should have brought you one. They’ve been selling like hot cakes for over a month and I could probably sell them through Christmas if I have enough pumpkins! I only ordered enough to last me through November.”

“We might be able to work something out,” Jake said with a wink.

They kept the conversation strictly business until they heard the kids’ laughter and shrieks of joy.

“Sounds like they’re back,” Jake said, standing up and opening the back door.

Kids were jumping off the back of the wagon before it had fully stopped. Sydney was surprised to see Mia as calm as she was amidst such chaos.

“Auntie Sydney!” Ariel shouted. “Come see the pun’kin I made!” Ariel, at three, would definitely not have been allowed to wield the knife.

“Hey Ariel,” Sydney said, letting Ariel drag her off in the direction of all of the Jack-‘o-Lanterns. Ariel’s was the first one in line and was unmistakably a dog.

“This one’s mine,” Ariel told her, pride oozing out of her mouth with each word.

“It’s great. Should we take it and go find Mom?” Sydney asked. In lieu of a response, Ariel picked it up and then shot her arms in the air for Sydney to carry her.

Sydney was always greeted with the same grin, shouts of excitement and hugs, and her heart melted every time. She was thankful she lived so close so she could enjoy the kids as often as possible, but still have her own freedom.