Cinnamon Peters & The Rabbit Bandit

by Meg Muldoon

  He smiled sleepily at that.

  “If you insist. But be careful out there. And call me if you need backup, partner.”

  “Will do.”

  I kissed him again and then left the bedroom, grabbing the car keys and Huckleberry’s leash.

  Together, the pooch and I left the house, driving out into the moonlit night.

  Chapter 8

  “Oh, for the love of Wendy and Lisa, you scared the Raspberry Beret right out of me, Cin.”

  For a moment, I stood there looking befuddled on the front porch of Kara’s house, trying to figure out what she had just said.

  “Sorry,” she said, noticing my expression. “I was in the middle of a dream about the time I went to see Prince play at the Rose Garden. The dream was going along great until he went behind a curtain and then came back out as Edna Billings. And let me tell you, you don’t want to see my mother-in-law in a skin-tight sequin ensemble. No sir-ee.”

  Kara had the worst case of bedhead that I’d ever seen and she looked like she could barely hold her eyes open against the dim porchlight.

  I cleared my throat.

  “Sorry – I should have called before coming over,” I said. “But this couldn’t wait.”

  She pulled her bathrobe tighter around her waist. From the back, I heard John yell “Hey, I was gonna get that!”

  “It’s just Cin!” she shouted back.

  She rolled her sleepy eyes.

  “He didn’t want me to answer the door in case it was a thief,” she said. “Normally, I would agree with him. But then I recognized Huckleberry’s barks.”

  She looked down at the pooch next to me and rubbed the dog’s head.

  “Come on in, you guys,” she said, motioning us.

  We stepped inside the foyer of her cozy home.

  “So what couldn’t wait until the morning?” she asked.

  “The life of Henrietta O’Reilly,” I said. “That’s what.”

  She gave me a look like I was crazy.

  But I didn’t say anything more.

  Kara would just have to see it for herself.

  Chapter 9

  I came downstairs, clutching the trembling creature in my arms.

  “Oh my goodness, poor Henrietta!”

  Kara ran over, taking the soft bunny from my hands. Her eyes became waterlogged with emotion.

  She stroked the little rabbit’s ears.

  “Oh you poor, poor dear! You must be so thirsty and hungry.”

  Kara glanced over at me with big eyes.

  “Cin, how did you know—”

  “I can’t explain it – it just came to me,” I said. “I was thinking about it all as I fell asleep, and I remembered what you said about how Henrietta went missing in the first place – how you had gone to look for some receipts upstairs. Well, I remembered how that time I asked for your grandmother’s old recipe for marionberry turnovers, you went upstairs into the attic to find it – in one of your filing cabinets, you said. And I woke up at 4 a.m., realizing that Henrietta must have followed you up there without you knowing, and that she’d probably gotten trapped.”

  I pet Henrietta’s soft ears. The Lagomorph looked scared – but unharmed.

  “And I knew that I had to come over right away and tell you. Otherwise, I don’t know what condition we would have found Henrietta in.”

  Kara looked overcome with emotion. She kissed the rabbit’s head, then looked up at me.

  “Laila’s going to be so thrilled. But I feel like such a fool, Cin. Here I was, inventing a whole story, accusing people of wrongdoing, and wasting everyone’s time when it was my own silliness that got poor Henrietta into this mess.”

  “Aw, this kind of stuff happens to everyone every now and again, Kara. Don’t beat yourself up too bad.”

  I smiled.

  “And hey – at least she’s okay. That’s what really matters, right?”

  Kara nodded, looking at me with a warm, grateful expression.

  “You’re such a good friend, Cin. Seriously. I don’t know who else would have wasted so much time and energy on finding a silly rabbit.”

  I shrugged.

  “What are best friends for?”

  My best friend sniveled a little, staring and me and smiling.

  “Oh, this poor girl must have an appetite the size of Haystack Rock. C’mon, Henrietta. Let’s get you some water and hay.”

  Chapter 10

  The next afternoon, I was in the pie shop kitchen, working on my third cup of coffee and trying to stay awake while I fixed up a batch of Mountain Blueberry Pies when Tobias poked his head in the back.

  “Say, Cinnamon?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You got yourself a couple of visitors. One has two legs. The other has four.”

  I was stumped at first, but it only took me a moment to realize who they were.

  “Right. Thanks, Tobias. Just tell them I’ll meet them out front.”

  For code purposes, I couldn’t have just any dog visiting my kitchen. And given the way that that dog had been the last time I’d seen him, I wasn’t exactly keen on inviting him in.

  Tobias nodded.

  I dusted my hands off on my apron and a moment later, headed through the dining room and out the front door.

  “Hello,” I said, spotting Frank Burke standing off to the side of the building with Oreo on a leash.

  I’d had a feeling that sooner or later, I’d see these two again.

  “Hi, Mrs. Brightman,” Frank said, making an awkward motion and tapping his baseball cap.

  Just then, Oreo took a wild lunge at me.

  I gasped, feeling my heart in my throat.

  A moment later, the dog was upon me and there was nothing anybody could do about it. I shut my eyes tight, waiting for those terribly sharp-looking teeth of his to rip into my flesh.

  But after a moment, the only thing I felt was a couple of big paws on my leg and some wet, furry kisses all over my face and neck.

  “Gosh darnit, Oreo. Get back here,” Frank said, tugging on the leash.

  But the dog was strong and it took a while before he jumped down off of me.

  “My apologies, miss,” Frank said. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, I’m fine,” I said, petting Oreo’s soft head, running my hand over his scarred ears.

  The dog clearly loved the attention. He wagged his tail wildly, and he damn near did a 360-degree spin out of sheer joy.

  The part-Pitbull was completely different than I thought he was, and after a few more moments of him practically dancing on the sidewalk in front of me with glee, I realized that I had gotten this attention-loving pooch all wrong.

  “Oreo’s a rescue dog,” Frank said, clearing his throat. “Some bad people had him before and put him in dog fights. I trained him though, and he’s a lot better these days. He listens to me most of the time, but lately he’s been on a streak of bad behavior.”

  I stood up, rubbing my hands together and dusting them free of fur.

  “You mean like how he got into that package on the Billings’ porch the other day?” I asked.

  For a moment, Frank Burke looked completely flabbergasted. He rubbed his chin and seemed to be struggling to find the words.

  “How did you…? I mean, I didn’t think anybody saw...”

  “I don’t think anybody did,” I said. “Kara didn’t have any idea. But her mother-in-law, Edna, had mentioned that she sent a package of Easter candy that Kara never thanked her for. And I knew that’s just not Kara’s style. Combine that with the way you were when Daniel and I talked to you. I eventually figured it all out.”

  Frank looked down with an expression of shame.

  “I feel so foolish,” he said, shaking his head. “I should have just come clean about it all to you and your husband when you knocked on my door the other day. Oreo got into that package left on the Billings’ porch the afternoon before and took off with a big chocolate bunny that was in it.”

  I almost laughed out
loud.

  Frank didn’t realize that we’d been looking for a real rabbit.

  I looked down at Oreo.

  The dog had a taste for bunnies, all right.

  Chocolate bunnies.

  “Luckily, it was milk chocolate, so the rabbit wasn’t dangerous to old Oreo. But I didn’t know what to do. I supposed you could say that I panicked. I grabbed the remains of the package and hid it in my backyard so Kara and John wouldn’t know what happened.”

  He let out a long sigh.

  “I should have just told you and the Sheriff about it, but I was worried because Oreo here is part Pitbull and I know some people in the neighborhood might have a problem with that.”

  He looked down at the dog.

  “I don’t like lying, though. Doesn’t sit well with me. Or with Oreo. We came by to tell you about this, and to let you know that we’ll do what we need to to make this right. Whether that means fines or a neighborhood association meeting to explain what happened, or anything more serious.”

  I smiled, rubbing the dog’s ears.

  “Aw, I don’t think it needs to go that far,” I said.

  “You don’t?”

  I shook my head.

  “C’mon,” I said. “I’ve got an idea about how to make things right.”

  Chapter 11

  I stood at the edge of the lush meadow, watching as Laila and about two dozen other young children scoured the wispy grasses for the shiny, metallic eggs that I had spent all night filling up with chocolate candy and jelly beans.

  My eyes drifted over to Edna Billings, who was grasping Laila’s little hand and holding a big beautiful basket. She was pointing at an area where the other kids hadn’t searched yet.

  I smiled contentedly.

  It had been a lot of work making brunch for everybody and organizing the Easter egg hunt. But now that I had a moment to see the fruits of my labor, I realized that it had all been worth it.

  Brunch had been a hit – even old Edna would have had to agree. I’d made her the special Egg White Broccoli Casserole she requested, and while she seemed to enjoy it, I knew her rare good mood could be attributed to more than just the health food. I gathered Kara’s gratitude-filled reaction to the box of candy that had appeared on her doorstep yesterday afternoon had helped improve Edna’s usual sour disposition. I had it on good authority that though the box had been badly damaged during its transit, the chocolate bunnies inside had arrived intact.

  I looked across the meadow at Frank Burke, who I had invited to the brunch along with Oreo. Frank was talking with Kara and John, and it appeared that all of them were getting along wonderfully. Kara had even started petting Oreo’s head – attention that the pooch so very clearly loved based on the slap-happy expression on his oafish face.

  “Hey, there, honey bunny.”

  I smiled at the silly remark and glanced back, seeing Daniel standing there with a plate of pie.

  He was looking smart in his crisp green flannel shirt. The long hours he’d been putting in frying up bacon and serving guests their plates of food this morning didn’t show at all. He looked cheerful and rested and happy as ever.

  “I got this for you,” he said, handing me a plate with a slice of my Peanut Butter Easter Candy Pie. “It was the last slice. And I had to fight people for it, too. I was getting all sorts of dirty looks from folks – especially from that chatterbox old timer you call a grandfather—”

  “Hey! Don’t be talking about Warren like that. It’s Easter Sunday, for goodness sakes!”

  Daniel smiled mischievously.

  “You’re right. My bad.”

  I smiled to myself, enjoying our familiar banter.

  “Well, it was sweet of you to fight everyone off for me, anyway,” I said.

  “Anything for you, darlin.’”

  I smiled, digging into the pie, allowing myself the rare indulgence of eating a full slice of pie just for the fun of it.

  “So lay it on me, Cin. How’d you really figure out the Henrietta O’Reilly mystery?” he asked.

  I chewed happily for a long moment, letting the creamy peanut butter flavor and fresh banana slices dance on my taste buds.

  Then I shrugged.

  “I can’t explain it. It just all made sense suddenly that night. Like the pieces came together. You know?”

  I shrugged again.

  “Must have just been something I ate before bed,” I added.

  “Couldn’t have anything to do with those brainy smarts of yours, could it?” he asked.

  I smirked.

  “Nope,” I said. “Just plain ol’ dumb luck.”

  “Mmmhmm,” Daniel mumbled skeptically.

  Laila, who had ran over to a section of the field where I’d hidden a large stash of eggs, began shouting excitedly, her stubby fingers grasping as many eggs as she could and dropping them into the basket that Edna was holding.

  I glanced over, noticing that Daniel was watching them with a big, fat smile on his face.

  “What’s that look about?” I asked.

  He shrugged, putting his arm around me.

  “I was just thinking how that’ll be fun one day soon,” he said. “Don’t you think?”

  He looked down at me, his green eyes sparkling.

  They might have been shining like that because of the strong April sun beating down.

  But I didn’t think so.

  I smiled.

  “I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be my favorite part of Easter,” I said.

  He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.

  I couldn’t remember a more beautiful spring day in Christmas River.

  The End

  Did you enjoy this story? Find more stories just like this one plus so much more on Meg’s Patreon page! If you join Meg’s Cozy Lodge Community Subscription on Patreon, you’ll get heartwarming seasonal stories based on the characters in Meg’s cozy mysteries every month. It’s only $1 a month to join, and in addition to exclusive short cozy mysteries, you also get delicious recipes, exclusive sneak peeks at Meg’s books in progress, and plenty of other fun bonuses. You can cancel your subscription at any time.

  Come on down to the lodge and see what’s cooking!

  Look for Mistake in Christmas River (Book 11) coming out in late spring!

  Continue reading on for the recipe for the Peanut Butter Easter Candy Pie mentioned in the story.

  Cinnamon’s Peanut Butter Easter Candy Pie

  (makes one 12-inch pie)

  From Cinnamon:

  Of all the delicious candy that appears around Easter time, the Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs are my very favorite. Warren always gets me a big pack of them the week of Easter, and it wasn’t long before I got inspired to make a pie with the creamy delicious peanut-buttery treat. This pie has a layer of chocolate, a layer of banana slices, and a thick, delicious layer of creamy peanut butter filling. In short, it’s the kind of pie that would have old Edna Billings shaking her head in abject disapproval, but will have the rest of your guests hopping for joy at your Easter celebration this year. Make this early in the day so that it has plenty of time to cool in the fridge.

  For the crust:

  15 cinnamon graham crackers

  ½ cup of butter, melted

  Dash of salt

  Grind up the graham crackers in the food processor until they become powdery. Add salt, and then melted butter to graham cracker mixture, mixing well with a spoon. Press mixture into a pie dish until crust is formed. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown and fragrant. Set aside and let cool.

  For the filling:

  4-oz. semisweet chocolate

  2 ripe bananas

  2 Reese’s peanut butter eggs

  2 cups whipping cream

  2 tsp vanilla extract

  One 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature

  1 cup creamy peanut butter

  ½ cup brown sugar

  Filling Part 1: In a small saucepan, melt
chocolate and ½ cup of the whipping cream over medium heat, whisking frequently. When chocolate mixture is just melted and smooth, remove from heat. Let cool slightly, then spoon chocolate mixture into the prepared crust.

  Filling Part 2: Cut up bananas into slices and dice the two Reese’s Peanut butter eggs into small bits. Arrange the banana slices and Reese’s bits in a circular fashion on the chocolate layer (see picture below) reserve about five banana slices and a few of the peanut butter chocolate crumbles for the topping later.

  Filling Part 3: Beat vanilla and 1 ¼ cups of the whipping cream at high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of whipping cream together until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the whipped cream from earlier into peanut butter cream cheese mixture until combined. Spread filling over the top of the chocolate/banana layer. Arrange leftover bananas and peanut butter chocolate candy on top, and cover. Let the pie sit in the fridge for at least three hours before serving.

  Happy Easter, Readers!

  About the Author

  Amazon Bestselling Author Meg Muldoon loves writing cozy mysteries. A former small town news reporter, Meg has always had a special place in her heart for lost dogs, homeless cats, and feisty old locals. She enjoys bourbon bread pudding, red cowboy boots and craft glue guns.

  Originally from Central Oregon, Meg lives in Arizona with a cattle dog named Huckleberry.

  For more mysteries, visit her Patreon page, join her on Facebook or visit her Website.

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