Sugar and Vice

by Eve Calder

  “I’ll bring him over at lunchtime, if he hasn’t been here before then,” Kate promised.

  As they strolled down the block, Kate glanced across the street and spotted Amos Tully’s market.

  “By the way, what do you know about Amos’s nephew?” she asked Maxi.

  “Teddy? Not much. He came and stayed with Amos earlier this year. He does that from time to time. They’re pretty tight. I sorta thought he might be moving to Coral Cay. But then he didn’t.”

  “Sunny said the same thing. In fact, she said it was like he was living here one minute and vanished the next. I hate to even think this, but could he be Alvin?”

  Maxi paused. “I guess he could be,” the florist conceded. “Teddy’s got to be about twenty-four or twenty-five.”

  “Right in the age bracket Ben gave us,” Kate said.

  “Yeah, but it was a pretty wide range. Although Teddy was here when we left for Miami, and gone when we got back, I never really thought anything of it.”

  “So the timing’s about right, too,” Kate said. “On the other hand, Amos never reported him missing.”

  “Teddy’s always been kind of a wanderer,” Maxi explained. “He never stays in one place long.”

  “Where’s Teddy from? I mean, if he truly went home, where would that be?”

  “Amos never said. You know him. He’s not much with the small talk. I think the rest of the family is from up north somewhere. But I don’t know about Teddy.”

  “Might be nice to find out,” Kate suggested. “Pretty much the only thing I know about Amos is that he has a weakness for oatmeal raisin cookies.”

  “Well, I can’t picture Amos Tully planting Teddy in my yard,” Maxi said grinning. “The guy’s name fits him. He’s built like a Teddy bear. And you’ve seen Amos. Besides, no way Amos would dig down four feet. I have to beg that man to double-bag my groceries.”

  “Seriously, how could a person just disappear and no one notices? What if Amos thought Teddy had just cleared off for home?”

  “But really something happened?” Maxi breathed. “I wouldn’t want to be the one to have to tell Amos. It would break his heart.”

  “Let’s just see if we can find out where Teddy is now,” Kate said. “And confirm that he’s really there. If he is, then we don’t have to say anything.”

  “You know who knows Amos better than anyone? Mi padrino. He might know where Teddy lives.”

  “You think so? Because I can picture the two of them sitting on the front porch for hours watching traffic and not saying a word.”

  “Ay, I think that’s exactly why they’re friends,” Maxi said, grinning.

  “Speaking of which, why didn’t you tell me that Sunny Eisenberg was related to Sir George Bly?”

  “Sunny Eisenberg is related to Gentleman George? Who told you that?”

  “Sunny. She mentioned it this morning after class.”

  “I didn’t know that. She never told me. I don’t think she ever told anybody. Must be your magic cookie powers. Were you waving one of those icebox things in front of her face when she ’fessed up? ’Cause I’d spill my guts for one of those, too.”

  “It’s funny. Barb isn’t related to him, and she can’t get enough of the Gentleman George story. Sunny is an actual descendent, and her attitude is ‘Live for today.’”

  “Sounds just like a pirate. Plus, she knows how to punish people with those classes of hers.”

  “Have you ever met her mother?”

  “Iris? Si, many times. She’s had some get-togethers out at her place. And she gave me a few rosebush cuttings. Muy bonita. Some of the best roses in my yard are from her.”

  “You don’t suppose Ben’s lab got it wrong? What if it wasn’t long-stemmed roses? What if it was just roses?”

  “You think Sunny and Iris popped Alvin and planted him in my garden?”

  “OK, it sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud. Besides, Sunny isn’t the type. She’s more ‘Live and let live.’”

  “More like ‘Live and let me torture you with twisty exercises,’” Maxi countered. “But you got a point. Besides, Iris lives right next to a nature preserve. If Sunny and her mom were gonna bury a body anywhere, they’d put it there.”

  “Which brings us back to the original question,” said Kate. “With miles of deserted beaches and a wilderness preserve on this island, why did someone bury a skeleton downtown in back of a flower shop?”

  Chapter 29

  When Kate walked into the bakery, it was packed with customers.

  “What’s today’s cookie, Sam?” someone called from the back of the shop.

  “Carrot cake morsels,” the baker said.

  “Whose entry is it?” another voice called from across the room.

  “Don’t know,” the baker admitted. “Tasty though.”

  “Those sound good,” Mitzy Allen said, tucking her frizzy blond hair behind her ear. “I’ll take a dozen of those, and a loaf of the rye. Oh, and one of the sourdough, too.”

  “You want that bread sliced?” Sam said, looking up as Kate worked her way through the crowd. “You got a visitor,” he added quietly. “In the back.”

  Kate said a silent prayer it wasn’t Evan.

  Luckily, Manny Stenkowski was drinking coffee at the kitchen table. And John Quincy was sacked out beneath it.

  “Hey, how did it go last night?” Kate asked.

  “Brutal. This town rolls up the sidewalks at nine o’clock. And I gotta tell you, absolutely nothing happened after that.”

  “Isn’t that kind of a good thing?”

  “Not if you’re trying to stay awake. Good news is, cops are running regular crawl cars on the block. And your friend from the hardware store is coming to install those cameras this morning. As soon as he does, I’m going back to my room and catch some shut-eye. I’m beat.”

  “How did you get John Quincy past Sam?” Kate asked.

  While the baker made certain exceptions for Oliver, provided the pup was discreet, he maintained a strict “no dogs” policy for all other canines.

  “You mean this trained police dog? I snuck him in the back door when your partner wasn’t looking.”

  “That works. How about some breakfast? I can scramble a couple of eggs. We’ve got some great challah rolls—fresh out of the oven. And I’m sure I can find some bacon for you-know-who.”

  “That would be swell. Sad thing is, I get a free breakfast with my room at the resort. And they put out a great spread, too. But at this rate, I’m never gonna be there to enjoy it.”

  “Don’t worry,” Kate said. “That’s one thing you don’t have to worry about while you’re here. In Coral Cay, there may not be much of a nightlife. But you can always find a good meal.”

  * * *

  After Manny left to supervise the installation of the security system in Maxi’s yard. Kate slipped on an apron and headed out to the shop to help Sam.

  When the phone rang, she grabbed the receiver off the wall. “The Cookie House, this is Kate.”

  “It’s me,” Maxi said. “The guys are here doing the security stuff in the backyard. And it reminded me of something. I think I might know why whoever it was put Alvin in my yard!”

  Chapter 30

  At the bakery, Kate noticed, customers came in waves. The place stayed packed throughout “local hour.” As soon as there was a lull in the crowd—and before the tourists started trundling in around ten—she grabbed a box of carrot cake morsels and headed next door to Flowers Maximus.

  When she walked in, Maxi was standing by the French doors in the back of her shop, watching Carl Ivers and his men install her new security cameras. Manny was off to the side of the yard. And from the body language, Kate surmised that he and Carl—both ex-cops—were mixing about as well as sugar and cold butter.

  “Today’s winner,” Kate said, holding up the large box. “Carrot cake morsels. Think coconut macaroons with a carrot cake twist. And I brought enough to feed the crew when they’re done.”

>   “A super good idea,” Maxi said over her shoulder. “Thank you.”

  “Maybe we should throw a couple out there now,” Kate said, peering through the glass. The arm motions had gotten more animated. And their voices were getting louder. “It sounds like Carl and Manny aren’t exactly getting along.”

  “Ay, it’s not that bad. They’re having a tiny disagreement on where to put the cameras. To get the most of the yard. Each of them has a slightly different idea. And, of course, each of them is the only one who can be right.”

  “Naturally,” Kate said.

  “Throw in a scheming girlfriend and an evil twin and it could be one of mi mami’s telenovelas,” she said, studying them from behind the glass. “Oh, and you just missed Oliver. He took off when Carl and the crew arrived. Funny thing is, he was heading right up Main Street. You don’t think he’s going to the drugstore?”

  Kate smiled. “With that pup, anything’s possible. So what did you remember?”

  “That’s the weird thing. And I don’t know how I forgot. Remember how I told you that back in February we left for Miami quick, quick, quick?”

  “Of course. It was a family emergency.”

  “Before all of that, Peter gave me his Valentine’s Day present early. Grass for the yard.”

  “He gave you grass? For Valentine’s Day?”

  Maxi grinned. “It’s a lot more romantic than it sounds. The yard behind the shop had become kind of a catchall working area. It wasn’t awful. But I had this dream of what I could do with it. Make it special. Kinda like the front and side yards. Something really beautiful.”

  “You mean, like it is now?”

  “Ay, it wasn’t like that then. But I had a plan. And I was gonna do it in baby bites. A little here, and a little there. And under it all, I wanted this wonderful carpet of grass. This special stuff I heard about. But my plan was taking forever. You know, with the shop and the kids and everything else. So mi amor arranged for a service to come out and put down sod. All over the backyard. My special grass that I’d wanted. It’s this super cool stuff. Short and green and really tough. And it’s not cheap, let me tell you.”

  “But how does that involve Alvin?”

  “The guys who did our yard? I know them. They’re the best. I recommend them to clients all the time. When we left for Miami, they had just started. They were ripping out all of the old grass. Then they were gonna leave the hoses out there for a couple of days. Give the area a good soak. Then they would come in and put down the new stuff.”

  “So when you left town, the yard was bare sand and dirt?” Kate said, finally seeing the full picture in her mind.

  “And when we got home, all beautiful sod grass,” Maxi said, nodding.

  Kate sagged against the wall. “Whoever put Alvin out there—this means they had to be local. And they had to know you guys fairly well.”

  Maxi nodded. “Yup, I thought so, too. Because whoever it was knew their hole-digging would get covered with thick squares of nice green grass. And no one would ever know a thing.”

  Chapter 31

  Later that morning, just after the bell on the shop door tinkled, Kate heard a familiar voice call out, “Yoo-hoo, anybody there?”

  “Hi, Rosie, come on in. I’m back in the kitchen.”

  The antique dealer was wearing a plum-colored suit with a cream silk blouse that set off her café au lait complexion. She looked around the kitchen. “Is anyone else here?”

  “Just me. Sam had to go over to Maxi’s for a few minutes. Sit down and I’ll get us both some coffee. What’s up?”

  “This stays between the two of us?” Rosie said, clearly concerned.

  “Of course,” Kate said. “But you’ve piqued my curiosity.”

  Rosie’s face relaxed into a smile, as she seated herself at the kitchen table. “It’s no big secret. Well, not most of it. Has anybody told you about Pirate Night Dinners?”

  “Not a peep. What is it?”

  “Well, during the festival, this place is crazy. I mean, really crazy. Especially downtown. And you can say goodbye to ‘local hour.’ Tourists come early, and they stay late. Which is wonderful. Especially for all of us shop owners. But it also means we’re spending a lot more time at work. Even more than usual. So we came up with a little tradition of our own. Pirate Night Dinners. Every year, we pick a central location. And every night, a different shop puts on a dinner for any of the downtown business folk who want to show up.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Kate said, grabbing two cup-and-saucer sets from a cupboard and placing them next to Sam’s coffee maker. Then she pulled out a platter and plucked a half dozen still warm shortbread cookies from a cooling rack.

  “It really is,” Rosie agreed. “It’s a lot of fun. And some really good food. I think some of the best dishes I’ve had in my life have been at book club meetings and Pirate Night Dinners. And that’s saying something.”

  “So where’s the centrally located spot this year?” Kate asked, filling the cups.

  “This is the tricky part,” Rosie said, lowering her voice. “It was supposed to be in the backyard of Flowers Maximus.”

  “Oh no,” Kate said, as she lifted the platter and set it in the middle of the table.

  “I know,” Rosie said, fingering the short strand of pearls that lay at her throat. “Maxi had her heart set on it. And frankly, so did the rest of us. Now Barb is scrambling to find another spot.”

  “That explains why Maxi had been working on the yard even more than usual,” Kate said, as she carefully placed the coffee cups on the table.

  Rosie nodded, taking a cookie. “And she would have done a bang-up job. You know how warm she is. And her place is gorgeous. But now…”

  “Now it’s just not feasible this year,” Kate finished.

  “Exactly. And I know it’s breaking her heart. Anyway, I was wondering if you might be open to having it here instead? And letting her host?”

  “Rosie, that’s a brilliant idea! Have you talked with Maxi about it?”

  Rosie shook her head. “Not yet. I wanted to check with you first. I won’t sugarcoat it. It’s a lot of work. The location becomes sort of the unofficial hangout spot for us locals during the festival. I mean, you’re only putting on a dinner, but people will show up with a bag lunch at noon just to chat and gossip and gripe. Or swing by for coffee in the afternoon. So privacy sort of goes out the window. And the dinners themselves go on for hours—because we can’t all take a break at the same time. When Andre and I hosted a couple of years ago, we used the private dining room in the back of Oy and Begorra. Because there really isn’t enough room in our shop. And at the end of the night we practically had to toss people out.”

  “Sounds like a few of the restaurants where I’ve worked,” Kate said smiling.

  Rosie looked around surreptitiously and lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “I also didn’t know how Sam would feel about it. The last time he hosted was with Ginger. And that was about five years ago.”

  Kate nodded. “Well, I can’t speak for Sam. But if it helps Maxi, I think he’d jump at the chance. Me too, for that matter. Plus, hard work or not, it sounds like fun. It’ll be like being back in restaurants again.”

  Rosie beamed. “I’m so glad you like the idea. I feel for Maxi. It’s bad enough what happened with her backyard. But now I’m hearing that some of the resorts are using other florists. You know, just until that whole situation with the remains is resolved.”

  “Oh my gosh, that’s awful!” Kate said. “She never said a word about it.”

  “She wouldn’t. Maxi is a trooper. And she always focuses on the positive. But I was kind of hoping this might help take her mind off of it. And maybe, if we do it right, boost her business, too.”

  “I know exactly what you mean, and I think it’s a great idea. And as far as Sam goes, just leave that to me.”

  Chapter 32

  “So how’s the pirate bread coming?” Kate asked, as she refilled her coffee cup in the k
itchen. The savory scent of rosemary perfumed the kitchen.

  “Not bad,” the baker said, holding out a small platter.

  If Kate didn’t know better, she’d have sworn the old baker was actually pleased.

  “Thought we might put some samples in the shop,” he said. “Go on, have a taste.”

  Kate took a piece from the plate and examined it. Firm with flakey layers. It smelled of pungent rosemary and warm butter. And it melted in her mouth.

  “This is wonderful,” she said, scooping up two more pieces. “Harp is going to want some for his next wine and cheese party. And Andy and Bridget are going to love it.”

  “Took a little engineering,” Sam said proudly. “But I got there. Mighty tasty, if I do say so.”

  “Did you know that Maxi was supposed to host the Pirate Night Dinners this year?” Kate said, as she followed him into the shop.

  “Yup, a real shame,” he said, shaking his head. “Woulda been really good. Don’t guess she’d much care to now, though.”

  “Actually, I think she might,” Kate said. “And if you’re up for it, we could loan her the backyard of the Cookie House.”

  “Not a bad idea,” he said, thoughtfully. “Means we’d have people around to keep an eye on her place. And she’d be over here more, too. Her husband would like that. Ben too, I imagine.”

  “I think she’d really love it,” Kate said.

  “Only one way to find out,” Sam said, with a small smile. “Ask her.”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, while Sam worked the front counter, Kate loaded up a trio of icing bags to finish the gingerbread doghouse for Jack Scanlon’s welcome party that evening at Oy and Begorra.

  She’d slipped the structure onto a fresh sheet of shortbread, so that the entire house and yard would be edible—and big enough to feed an army.

  Kate steadied her hand, drawing big loops on the roof to create the outline of roofing shingles. Then she filled them in, using delicate shades of pale blue for highlights.