Sconed to Death

by Lynn Cahoon

  “My kind of girl. I can’t believe how many people turn their coffee into hot chocolate. If you want hot chocolate, then get one. Don’t fill your coffee with all that junk and think you’re drinking java.” Dee Dee sat on a stool across from Cat. “I’m surprised you came here. I would have thought you would be too busy, what with the group you have in this week. I hope they come in and at least sample my food before leaving for home.”

  “We have a flyer with all the restaurants and eating establishments that we give out in their welcome baskets. That way, they don’t have to worry about where they’re going to eat since we only provide breakfast.” Cat sipped her coffee.

  “Well, at least that’s something.” Dee Dee rolled her shoulders back. “Look, I’ve got a special order I need to get finished before six. What are you really here about?”

  “World peace and popcorn for everyone.” Cat smiled, but Dee Dee didn’t follow suit. “Fine, I want you to stop calling the health department about my retreat. I think you’re being a bully and using other people to do your dirty work.”

  “How do you know it’s me who’s been calling them?” Dee Dee didn’t meet Cat’s gaze.

  Cat tried another tactic. “Look, I don’t want to fight. I want to settle this. We can be good for each other. My writers’ groups love to visit new places to eat. And you could be someplace we strongly encourage people to go to.”

  “You’d do that? Even after all of this?” Dee Dee caught herself. “I mean, if I had done something like you described. I couldn’t be held accountable for what Nate does.”

  “I think you know better than that.” Cat took a five out of her front pocket to pay for her coffee. “Look, just give me a call when you want to really talk. Like you mentioned, I’ve got a house full of guests to take care of.”

  Dee Dee let Cat almost reach the door before she responded. “Thank you for coming by. I’ll curb my less attractive personality traits and try to be more neighborly.”

  Cat turned around but Dee Dee had already disappeared back into the kitchen area. Cat called after her. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

  Cat crossed over Main Street and started to make her way home. She couldn’t help thinking about how the bakery had been empty. Was that because of the day of the week or because of the way people felt about Dee Dee? There was a direct correlation between relationships and the ability to keep a business alive. People bought things from people they liked. Either way, it wasn’t up to Cat to heal the woman, just keep her out of the way.

  The Written Word bookstore was next to the bakery, but Tammy Jones had already closed up for the day. The town seemed quiet and it almost felt spooky being so empty.

  Tammy would be at the retreat on Friday, so they could talk then. Maybe she’d have some insight on her neighbor, Dee Dee. For now, all Cat could do was hope that her talk did some good. She hummed to herself as she strolled back to the house. She might just get a hot bath and some reading time into her day after all.

  The class had disbanded by the time she returned and Shauna was in the kitchen washing the dishes. Cat took her jacket off and hung it on the coatrack. “Let me help you clean up and you can tell me how it went.”

  “Actually, I just want to relax and think. I can clean while I’m doing that. It calms me to have something to do with my hands while I’m thinking. Can we debrief tomorrow morning? I want to implement some changes for next time, but I want to let my thoughts settle before I jump.”

  “If you’re sure.” Cat grabbed a soda out of the fridge. “Are the guests getting ready for dinner?”

  “Molly is showing them where The Diner is so they’ll be able to find the place.” Shauna grinned. “That group is so funny. All they want to talk about is their books. And life. And how life affects their books. You can tell they’ve been friends for a long time.”

  “I love having these types of groups. There’s no drama.” Cat nodded to the kitchen door. “I’ll be in my room soaking and reading if you need me.”

  “Don’t forget dinner will be on the table at six and your uncle will be joining us.” Shauna rinsed off a dish and stuck it in the dishwasher.

  “Works for me.” Cat paused before leaving the kitchen. “You did good today. I’m proud of you.”

  She didn’t wait for a response. Shauna had needed something to get her out of this funk. Between working on the cookbook, riding Snow, and now prepping for the class, her friend hadn’t had time to grieve. Idle hands, her mom had always said when Cat felt blue. Then she’d assign her another chore, and by the time it was over, so was her funk. Cat hoped her mom’s recipe for joy worked on Shauna as well.

  For her, she was going to relax until tomorrow when the retreat started for real. Then she’d have to be friendly and charming. Sometimes Cat wondered if they should do retreats every other month, just so her introverted tendencies could have plenty of time to recuperate after a session. Unfortunately, with the utility costs and the remodel loan she’d taken out to open the retreat, they needed the monthly income.

  Cat was in the tub, her head back and her eyes closed, when a knock came on her door. “If I just ignore them, they’ll go away,” she muttered, not opening her eyes.

  “Cat? Are you in there?” Shauna’s voice called through the closed door. Then Cat heard the key turn in the lock.

  “I should have thrown the dead bolt.” She opened her eyes and checked the level of the bubbles.

  “Cat? Are you in here?” Shauna called out again; this time, Cat knew she was in the bedroom.

  “I’m taking a bath. Alone. And I don’t need anything, so go away,” Cat responded, closing her eyes again.

  “Your uncle is here. And he needs to talk to you.” Shauna’s voice came from near the bathroom door.

  “I’ll see him at dinner.” Then Cat realized the retreat was already in session. She sat up with a start, splashing water out of the tub. “Crap, did something happen to one of the guests? Please tell me they’re all right.”

  “They’re fine. It’s not the guests.” Shauna went silent for a minute. “Cat, Dee Dee Meyer found someone in her kitchen.”

  “How does that affect me? I’m clearly not in the bakery.” Cat didn’t understand what Shauna was saying and why it would be so important to drag her out of a hot bath.

  “Cat, she found some dead guy. And Dee Dee told Pete you were in her shop earlier today.”

  Cat pulled herself out of the bath and wrapped an oversized towel around her. She went over and opened the door. “Yeah, but there wasn’t anyone dead or alive in the shop except for Dee Dee when I left.”

  “Well, your uncle needs to check your timing so he can mark you off the suspect list.” Shauna shook her head. “Why were you over there in the first place?”

  “To try to convince her to stop being a jerk and calling Nate over perceived health code violations.” She waved toward the door. “Go tell Uncle Pete I’ll be right down, but I’m not happy about giving up my relaxation time to talk to him about something that has nothing to do with me.”

  “Bad things seem to happen to that girl,” Shauna said as she made her way toward the door to the hallway. “She comes over here all hot about something stupid and she winds up finding someone dead in her own bakery. She doesn’t have any kind of luck.”

  Cat leaned against the doorway. She’d known better than to get involved in Nate’s secret plan to stop Dee Dee from making false reports. What was the saying? No good deed goes unpunished? She dried off and went to get ready to talk to her uncle.

  Uncle Pete, or Chief Edmond, as the rest of the town residents called him, sat at her kitchen table, a laptop open in front of him and a phone to his ear. He filled out his police uniform a little too well. Cat noticed a few buttons straining. He had a mug of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies sitting nearby. Cat took one of the cookies as she sat, earning her a glare from her uncle.

  “Look, Paul, just wait for the crime scene guys outside the bakery. No one gets inside until aft
er they’ve done their work.” He paused, listening to his deputy, Paul Quinn’s, response. He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure that’s important to Ms. Meyer, but she cannot go back into the bakery until I clear it. Just tell her to go home. I’ll call her later.”

  Shauna handed Cat a cup of hot chocolate as well, along with her own plate of cookies. “You two aren’t going to want dinner after this.”

  “I’m going to have to take a rain check on dinner, Shauna.” Uncle Pete sat his cell down after ending the call. “There’s no way Paul Quinn is going to be able to keep the crime scene undisturbed. That’s the third call I’ve gotten from the kid since I assigned him the task.”

  “Why did you give the responsibility to Quinn?” Cat knew Paul Quinn from school. To say he was a screw-up was being kind.

  “Would you believe all my other deputies were busy or out of town?” Uncle Pete ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I went down to a skeleton staff as the Guns and Hoses charity event is this week in Denver. We have one kid who might just take it all.”

  “All what?” Cat was confused by her uncle’s explanation.

  Shauna laughed as she sat down at the table. “Cat, it’s a boxing match. The police officers against the firefighters, right, Pete?”

  “Exactly.” Uncle Pete rolled his shoulders. “Although with this murder, I might have to call some of the guys back.”

  “Did Dee Dee recognize the dead guy?” Cat sipped her coffee. “Maybe he was a customer who wandered into the kitchen and had a heart attack.”

  “That’s not quite what went down.” Uncle Pete opened a new window. “Besides, I’m the investigator. I ask the questions and you answer them. I know it’s an unusual process for you.”

  “Oh, bite me.”

  “Cat!” Shauna’s reaction was priceless. She couldn’t have been more shocked if Cat had turned purple and started doing the hula in the kitchen. “Show some respect.”

  Uncle Pete held up a hand. “Old family joke.” He grinned at Cat. “She knows better than to push this line or she’ll wind up in one of my cells until she can show better manners.”

  “You don’t scare me.” Cat leaned back in her chair. “Go ahead, let’s get this over with. I might be able to get some reading in before I have to switch over to hostess mode.”

  “You want to tell me why you went to the bakery today?”

  Cat went through the whole thing. How Seth and Nate had asked her to go over and make nice with Dee Dee. Then she repeated almost word for word the actual conversation, at least what she could remember. Finally, she shrugged. “Then I left. There was a guy out at one of the outdoor tables reading a paper. Or wait, maybe he was there when I went in? I’m not sure.”

  “Dee Dee’s security feed doesn’t show anyone sitting outside and reading the paper.”

  Cat folded a cookie in half. “I don’t know what to tell you. The guy was there when I walked up. That’s right, I remember now. But either I didn’t look that way or he was already gone when I came back out.”

  He stared at her. “You’re sure that there was a man sitting at the outdoor table?”

  Cat nodded. “I’m certain.”

  Uncle Pete drummed his fingers on the table. “Then why didn’t her security feed pick him up? Unless I have the wrong discs. I better get back on scene and see if I can find the right ones.”

  “Do you want me to package up some food for tonight?” Shauna started to stand, but Uncle Pete waved her down.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got leftovers from lunch I can warm up at the station.” He turned to Cat. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “I can’t think of anything. Except the next time Seth and Nate ask me for a favor, you can bet I’m going to say no.” Cat sipped her coffee, then set the cup down, noticing the looks Shauna and Uncle Pete were sharing. “What?”

  “There is no way you’d step away from helping anyone. It’s not in your nature.” Uncle Pete closed his laptop and stood. “I just wish your helpfulness wouldn’t lead you into murder scenes.”

  “It wasn’t a murder scene when I went there. Just a local bakery.” Cat held up her hand. “But yeah, I get your point. For the next week, I’m going to be here, playing hostess and talking books. You’ll have to solve this case without me.”

  “You think you’re funny, don’t you?” He kissed her on the head. “I just hope it’s that simple and you don’t get pulled into this. I worry about you when you’re off playing Nancy Drew.”

  “One, I don’t play Nancy Drew. I think of myself more like Miss Marple. I just like to solve puzzles. And two, sometimes things just happen. I don’t go looking for danger.” Cat followed him to the door. She put her hand on her uncle’s arm. “You make sure you eat something.”

  “Leftovers aren’t as nice as one of Shauna’s dinners, but it’s food.” He smiled at her. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a lot of years.”

  Cat went back to the table and sank into the chair. “I wonder who was killed.”

  “You noticed he left that part out of the conversation too?” Shauna stood and walked over to the stove. “I know he doesn’t want you getting involved in the investigation, but I felt like he was holding back something. Usually, he comes out and tells us what’s going on.”

  “Well, maybe he thought it didn’t really concern us.” But as Cat returned to her room to try to read a little before dinner, the thought kept rolling through her mind. Why had her uncle been so secretive?

  Chapter Five

  The local paper sat on the table the next morning when Cat went down to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. She took a long drink and held up the page, reading the headline. When the words sank in, she choked on the coffee. “Seriously? This is who was killed in Dee Dee’s bakery? Greyson Finn? The famous Denver chef?”

  “Apparently.” Shauna sat next to Cat, her own cup in her hands. She pointed to a line in the article. “Your uncle is going to be upset about that. . . .”

  Cat read aloud. “‘According to an undisclosed source in the Aspen Hills’s police force, the investigation is stumped on why Mr. Finn was even in the small Colorado town.’” She glanced at Shauna. “Quinn’s in big trouble.”

  “Since he was the only other officer on scene and we both know your uncle didn’t call up the press to tell them a gossip story.” Shauna pointed to the picture of the Denver restaurant that Finn had opened just last year. “Kevin took me there a lot. The menu was amazing. He had a magic touch with food.”

  “So why would some big-shot chef even be in Dee Dee’s bakery?” Cat sipped on her coffee as she read the rest of the article. “It doesn’t mention how they knew each other at all.”

  “See, that’s the weird piece.” Shauna looked up at the clock. “Seth will be here in about ten minutes. He’s staying over starting tonight, but I guess he wanted to watch the football games yesterday so he stayed at his apartment.”

  “Better there than here.” Cat liked having Seth in the house, but sometimes, his love of sports made it hard to be around the guy. He was always watching one game or another. And she’d tried to sit and read while he watched a game, but he was always pointing out things to her and asking if she saw some move. If they ever made this living situation permanent, she would have to set up a game room for him and explain that even though she loved the guy, she didn’t love his sports.

  “I like football. But yesterday was too hectic for me to even think about watching any type of television. All I wanted to do after dinner was sleep.” Shauna started cutting up fruit on a chopping board. “Of course, when I tried, all I could think of was that poor man who was killed. I would have never guessed it was Greyson Finn.”

  The back door swung open and Seth came into the kitchen carrying a bushelful of apples. “Mr. Henry stopped me on the way here and said he’d promised you apples.”

  “What a sweet man.” Shauna hurried over to direct Seth to a sideboard. “I know just what I’m going to do with these. Apple pie or ap
ple crumble.”

  “Both.” Seth headed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” Cat picked up an apple and took a big whiff and groaned. There was nothing like a freshly picked apple.

  “Oh, you thought that was the extent of his gift? There are four more bushels in the truck. I think you’re going to have to figure out some more ways to cook with apples or to put these up for the winter.” Seth disappeared from the kitchen toward his truck parked at the side of the house.

  “How long will they stay good?” Cat took an apple over to the sink and washed it. Then she used Shauna’s cutting board to slice it up and remove the core.

  “Not long enough for us to eat enough pie.” Shauna paused thoughtfully at the pile of apples. “I’ll put out a basket for the guests. But I’m going to have to make applesauce or freeze some pie filling to get these down to a manageable amount.”

  “What are we having for breakfast?” Seth dropped the last basket on the floor since the sideboard was full. He grinned. “Besides apples.”

  “I’m making ham and cheese omelets, and there’s a pan of hash browns on the stove.” Shauna moved to the fridge. “Give me five minutes and I’ll have a plate ready for you.”

  “Works for me.” He glanced at the clock. “I’m going to take my bag up to my room then. Same accommodations?”

  “Yes.” Cat blushed as he winked at her. “Stop that. We’ve got guests in the house.”

  “Who love teasing you about your boyfriend.” Seth grabbed his bag that he’d left at the door. “I’m thinking next week we should go into Denver for the weekend. We can see a show or just hang out.”

  “Sounds great.” Cat decided to hold back on discussing the plans she’d made with Shauna till after the retreat ended. Besides, she could do both. She just had to plan it out. She touched his arm as he walked by. “Thanks for being part of the retreat crew. I really appreciate your help.”

  “Darling, you’re paying for my help. I donate my charming personality and wit with the guests.” He pulled her into a hug. “I’ve got your back.”