Muffins & Murder (Sweet Bites Book 3) (Sweet Bites Mysteries) (4 page)

Mix the butter, milk and vanilla, add the ginger and powdered sugar and whip until smooth. You may want to use more or less powdered sugar. I like to use fresh ginger. I keep some in a baggie in the freezer so I have it on hand whenever I need it. Wait until the cupcakes have cooled completely before spreading the frosting on them.

The heart of downtown Silver Springs could almost be mistaken for Mayberry. It had mom-and-pop storefronts, old-fashioned signs and light posts, and a quiet, one-way street with most of the store parking around back. My own building was brick with a big picture window sporting a half-circle of glass on top. The second floor was my residence and though the top held a widow’s walk, the roof curved down the sides with a distinct European flare. A semi-walled courtyard around back completed the picture and offered me privacy when I had time to relax outside. The building flowed seamlessly into the neighborhood.

Off the highway, however, was a bustling commerce center with big-box stores, major restaurant chains and more. Most of the residents from surrounding communities came here, and I sometimes take my Outlander, complete with the magnetic signs for my bakery, down to the parking lot to find a spot with good visibility to leave it for a while. Sunday afternoon I decided a quiet walk would help me think, so I positioned my Outlander in the huge parking lot and crossed over to the park.

The weather was cool, and I shivered a little as I put on a light jacket and headed for my regular stroll through the park near the shopping center. The leaves had mostly fallen already, but clumps of yellow and orange still clung to trees here and there, and the tall evergreens pierced the blue sky, releasing their pine or spruce scents. I stopped by the fountain in the middle of the park and tossed in a few coins, making foolish wishes for terrific holiday sales in the next two months, and enjoyed the hour of peace despite the occasional pedestrian passing by me. I always closed on Sundays and stayed out of the kitchen unless I had a major project for Monday delivery—a girl has to have at least one day free to catch up on laundry and otherwise relax.

My Outlander was on the far side of the parking lot and I ambled back to it while I watched people around me. I walked past the office supply and electronics store as a man came out wearing the green and yellow polo shirt indicating he was an employee. I paused to let him in front of me and realized the slightly balding man came into my shop sometimes. “Cole, I didn’t know you worked here.” I gestured to the store.

He turned to me, his eyes red and puffy, and stared for a second before he blinked in recognition. “Hi, Tess. Yes. I’ve worked here for a few years. Just making a living until the pros recognize my talent.” His smile was wan and disappeared much faster than usual.

“Are you okay?” I asked. He was wide-shouldered with narrow hips, muscular arms and the grace of a dancer. I knew from previous encounters that he had been the high school quarterback—he made sure everyone heard about his glory days, when he took the Silver Springs High Falcons to the state title. A decade earlier.

He nodded, but didn’t appear the least convincing. “I just heard about Francine. I didn’t know. I was at the lake and I didn’t know.”

“Were the two of you friends?”

He wiped at his eye and sniffed. “We were dating. I loved her.” The tears started flowing again.

I walked over, patting him on the back. “I’m so sorry, Cole. This must be so hard for you.” I felt useless, watching him cry. He seemed like such a manly-man type that I’d never seen past his macho, slightly chauvinistic attitude before. It surprised me that Francine had gone out with someone like him, but apparently there was more to him than I’d realized. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I just, I thought she didn’t answer my call because she was mad at me again. And then it turned out she was dead.” He buried his face in my shoulder and started sobbing.

I was torn between compassion—wishing I could help—and feeling uncomfortable. I barely knew the guy, after all. A glance around me showed he was drawing attention, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized. “There, there.” Okay, did I actually say that? How placating and obnoxious am I?

He pulled away, straightening up and wiping his face. “I have to go home. I can’t work like this.”

“Of course you can’t. Take care of yourself.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder and let him go, biting my tongue on the automatic offer for him to come talk if he needed to—the last thing I wanted was to encourage him to hang around my shop, weeping, when I had such a busy week. And he had to have closer friends than
me
to commiserate with.

I continued on to my vehicle, thinking maybe if he calmed down by the next day, I could take him a little pick-me-up treat and ask him who else might have wanted Francine dead. My hour of reflection and quiet hadn’t made either Connie Larabee or Mary Ellen any more likely suspects. As far as I knew, Tingey hadn’t actually arrested Mary Ellen, so he had to be looking for better angles.

 “Cole Taylor was
dating
Francine?” Honey asked when we were dishing up the pumpkin dessert I’d brought that night.

“I’d never heard about it either. I wonder how long it’s been going on.” I scooped some whipped topping as she filled each of the bowls with the dessert and Madison ran back and forth, taking them to the table.

“It couldn’t be too long,” she said. “Someone would have mentioned it.”

“They seem like a total mismatch. I’m surprised they went out. But I didn’t know either of them well.” I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. After all, Lenny and Kat seemed like the weirdest couple ever, and they were perfect for each other. Who was I to judge?

“Cole
Taylor
and Francine?” Jerry, Honey’s brother-in-law, asked as he fished a spoon out of a nearby drawer. He snorted a little. “They weren’t dating.”

I turned to study him. “Cole said they were.”

“In his dreams. She didn’t like him. I watched him ask her out one day and she totally blew him off. Seemed to me like he was making a nuisance of himself.” He snatched a bowl and joined the others in the dining room.

“That’s interesting.”

“Yeah,” Honey agreed. “You need to have a chat with him and find out the truth. And talk to one of the other teachers. I heard she was close to Ali Pinkston. Ali might know if Cole and Francine were really dating.”

“I’ll do that.” But I couldn’t stop wondering why Cole would say they were dating and he loved her if there really wasn’t anything between them. Maybe they had been in a fight when Jerry overheard them?

Morning came far too quickly, despite the fact that I stayed awake much later than I had expected thinking of Francine and whether or not Cole could be her killer. When I finally dropped off to sleep, I was left with less than five hours before having to rise to meet the new day.

Tingey came into my shop almost as soon as we opened, and had some news. “Francine is originally from Abilene. She moved here because she had a stalker,” he announced as he walked through the door. “And Clark is actually her mother’s maiden name, not her real last name. She used it when she moved to hide from him.”

“No!” This was juicy goodness as far as gossip went but far more importantly, it opened vast possibilities for my investigation. This might be a good thing, but unless I could get clear details (which he rarely divulged) it wouldn’t help much at all. “How did you find out?”

“The Abilene Police Department had a file about her stalker. She’d been getting letters.” He leaned on the counter. “Apparently he didn’t give up when she moved.”

I perked up. “Any clue about who it is?” It would help if we knew who to look into. “And what was her real last name, anyway?”

“Lawrence, and no, there were no clues about who the guy is, but according to Francine’s sister, she was getting more letters. He must be serious if he followed her all the way here.” His lips formed a frown. “You need to stay out of it.”

“So why did you tell me about the stalker?” I asked. Come to think of it, the fact that he’d volunteered the information was completely out of character for him.

“So you’ll know it’s serious and
leave it alone
.” He pulled out a bill from his pocket. “The usual.”

I held in my irritation that him keeping details to himself wasn’t exactly a surprise, then heard Lenny come in through the back door. “I understand.” I didn’t agree, but I understood. I handled his order and passed it back to him with the change. Lenny shuffled into the room with me as I waved Tingey out the door, pondering the news. “Sleep well?” I asked Lenny.

“As well as can be expected with nightmares running through my head of what’s going to happen when Kat’s family arrives.”

“You’ll be fine. Just settle down.” I paused, considering. “And could you do a little computer work for me later?”

“What kind of work?” He perked up, looking like he knew exactly what I meant and couldn’t wait.

“Not the illegal kind,” I assured him. When his face fell, I smiled. “But I do need you to do a search to see if you can find out anything else about Francine’s stalker from back when she lived in Abilene. There’s got to be some kind of link to him that we can find.”

Lenny brightened. “Just let me finish up the crumb coats on today’s cakes.”

I smiled, knowing answers would soon be at hand, one way or another.

Dozens of cookies, cupcakes and other scrumptious desserts ran through my ovens and filled the display case while Lenny and I bantered, greeting customers and filling orders. His wedding was only five days away, and we squeezed in time to bake the refreshments for his reception among everything else.

People had been asking for details about Francine’s death—the police had released very few particulars to the press. I enjoyed the ringing cash register as I slowly emptied the display cases—packing the food for hungry customers—and made plans for tomorrow’s treats. When Cole came in late in the morning (right on his usual schedule) he gave me a tremulous smile and ordered his cappuccino and cinnamon roll, then took a seat at one of my tables.

I was happy to join him when he offered. I’d already been on my feet for five hours and could use a break. Besides, I’d been dying to hear his alibi and find out more about his relationship with Francine. Jerry’s announcement that the two weren’t really a couple had me anxious to get to the truth.