Death by Chocolate Cupcake

by Rose Pressey

  “Now that the food is settled I suppose we should get down to business,” Finn said.

  It was good to see that he didn’t think this was a date. Now I was relieved. But why did he want to talk about business right away? No, that was what we were here for. I needed to get my head together. Stop thinking about him being sexy. Now I had to tell Finn all about the pie I’d discovered at my place. Plus, my thoughts on the case and what we could do to possibly solve it.

  “I think we should work together to solve the case,” Finn said.

  “What? I didn’t Why do you say that?” I asked.

  “What’s the harm? Two heads are better than one, right?”

  The waiter arrived before I had a chance to answer. I was glad for the change of subject since I didn’t know how I felt about Finn’s suggestion. Once the waiter had placed our food down we immediately focused on the food.

  After taking a bite, Finn said, “Tell me more about yourself.”

  “There’s not much to tell,” I said. “I inherited my grandmother’s house. I moved back here from Kentucky where I went to college. Always been interested in cooking because of my grandmother showing me so many things. You tell me more about Finn Fine.”

  “I grew up learning to cook for myself because my mother died when I was very young. It was just me and my father. And, well, let’s face it, he wasn’t very good in the kitchen, so if I wanted anything that tasted halfway decent, I was gonna have to learn on my own.”

  “Well, that certainly is a good reason to learn,” I said. “I’m sorry about your mother.”

  “Thank you. My father tried his best to be mom and dad.”

  As we ate and drank, Finn and I continued discussing everything other than the reason we had come to the restaurant in the first place. Now we had finished with the food and this t seemed more and more like a date. I needed to steer the conversation back to the reason for this dinner in the first place.

  “We’re ordering dessert, just like you said we would,” Finn said with a smile.

  I held my hand up. “I said I would.”

  The thought of chocolate cake really sounded good.

  We laughed, joked, and had a fabulous time. I’d practically forgotten about the strange man who had followed me. When the waiter brought the bill, I reached for it.

  “Oh, it’s on me,” Finn said, reaching for the check.

  “No, I’ll pay. At least let me pay for my own,” I said.

  “Really. I invited you here to discuss everything, so I’ve got it.” He kept his hand on the check.

  “All right, if you’re sure,” I said.

  I would rather that he didn’t pick up the tab because it seemed more like a date. I supposed to everyone around us it certainly looked like a date. Was a date with Finn so bad?

  When I stood from the table, Finn said, “I’ll walk you back to the car.”

  I was glad he suggested that because I wasn’t looking forward to walking down that dark alleyway again. After Finn and I walked out of the restaurant into the warm night air we headed down the sidewalk.

  “I’m glad that we had this discussion tonight. I really think it will help us make the show better,” Finn said.

  “Well, we didn’t discuss much of the show. Plus, if there’s still a show to make better,” I said.

  “Just have faith that everything will work out fine,” he said.

  We turned the corner and that was when it hit me.

  “How did you know I was parked back here?” I asked.

  “I saw your car when I drove past. Remember I saw you in the parking lot the first day we met?” Finn frowned.

  “Oh, right,” I said.

  It was kind of odd that he had picked out my car in the dark, among so many other cars. I supposed his explanation made sense though. We stopped at my car and he opened the door for me.

  “Are you sure that you’ll be all right on the drive home?” he asked.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s not that far.”

  He stared at me for a moment longer. Surely he wasn’t thinking he would get a kiss. This wasn’t a date. I’d told myself that too many times now. I hurried and got behind the wheel and closed the door before he had a chance to make a move. As he stood there waving I thought he looked a bit sad. Nevertheless, I pushed the feeling out of my head and drove away.

  I supposed it had been a great evening. The wonderful night had probably given me a false sense of security. Because halfway home I looked in the mirror and saw that black car following me again. I knew that it wasn’t my imagination. I tried to grab my phone and keep calm at the same time. I had to call the detective right away and let him know what had happened.

  Just as I had the phone in my hand the car turned off. Was it really the same car or was I losing it? This was bizarre. Maybe the person was just trying to scare me. But who would do that and why? I’d never been so glad to pull up to the farmhouse. Though now I had to get out of the car and hurry inside. Out into the dark and not in the safety of the car. I grabbed the bag with the cameras.

  As I got out of the car I pulled out my phone and dialed my mother’s number. At least if anything happened to me I would be on the phone with her. She’d call the cops and get help right away. I supposed maybe it would’ve been better if I just dialed 911 myself. I didn’t know what I was thinking. My thoughts were all over the place.

  I headed for the side door, looking all around. “Hi, Mom. I’m home now.”

  “Thank goodness. I have been worried about you. I thought about texting, but I didn’t want to interrupt your date.”

  “It wasn’t a date,” I said.

  “A romantic dinner with a handsome man? That sounds like a date to me,” she said in a singsong voice.

  I unlocked the door and flipped on the kitchen light. To my relief there was no pie or message left for me.

  “It was just a business meeting,” I said, placing my bag and keys on the counter.

  “If you say so,” she said.

  “Listen, Mom, I’m going to hook up those cameras and I’ll call you when they’re finished and walk you through how you can look at them online.”

  “Well, I’m excited. I can’t wait. Now I can keep track of you.”

  “Just what I need,” I said around a groan.

  I had no plans to give her access to every camera. That would be weird. Only the outside. Though every time I pulled out of the driveway she’d probably call and ask where I was headed. This was a decision I’d probably later regret.

  “I’ll call you soon,” I said.

  No sooner had I ended the call when a knock came at the kitchen door. I jumped and my heart immediately started racing. I hurried over to the door and peeked out the blinds. The detective? What was he doing here?

  I opened the door. “What are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

  He held his hand up. “It’s fine. I just wanted to check on you. I was a bit concerned.”

  At least he hadn’t come to arrest me.

  “Any leads on the pie and note?” I asked.

  “Nothing yet but we’re working on it.”

  A brief moment of silence settled between us. I supposed he wanted me to invite him in.

  “Would you like to come inside?” I said, gesturing over my shoulder.

  “Sure,” he said with a bashful smile.

  Two handsome men in one night? I guessed someone might consider me a lucky girl. He stepped into the kitchen.

  “Looks like you had an eventful evening.” he said, soaking in my appearance.

  I wished I’d had time to get out of the dress and heels before he arrived. He looked at the cameras that I’d laid out on the table.

  “Just a business dinner,” I said.

  “That’s a good idea,” he said, pointing at the cameras.

  “Well, it’ll make my mother feel better too.”

  “I can help you with them if you’d like,” he said.

  “Could you? That would b
e great,” I said. “I planned on spending most of the evening installing them, although I’ve done it before.”

  “Then you probably don’t need my help,” he said with a smile.

  “I can always use help.”

  “Well, let’s get started,” he said.

  We took all the necessary items out of the packages and then went around the house placing the cameras in the spots that he thought were the best locations. Then we set them up on the wi-fi and I got out my laptop so that he could check to make sure everything was hooked up correctly.

  “Let me know if you see me walking into the front room,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen.

  “Everything is great,” I yelled.

  He came back into the room. “Looks like everything is all set up.”

  “I really appreciate the help. Thank you again.”

  “Oh, it’s no problem. I feel much better knowing that you have this out here. This is a dark and secluded place.”

  “Yeah, I hope now I’ll know if anybody sneaks into the house again. Would you like something to drink?” I asked.

  “I really should get going. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

  “Oh, no, you were helping me. I would’ve still been working on this if not for you.” I stepped over to the door.

  I supposed it seemed as if I wanted him to leave since I had moved over to the door.

  Headlights lit up the front of the house, beaming down the long driveway.

  “Are you expecting anyone?” he asked.

  “No, I’m not,” I said.

  A car had parked at the end of the driveway. With the night sky and the headlights limiting our sight, it was impossible to make out any details. What if the black car had returned?

  “I should go check it out,” he said.

  “Be careful,” I said.

  My anxiety spiked when the detective placed his hand on his gun and unholstered it. But I supposed that was better than the alternative. I hadn’t mentioned that I’d seen the car following me again. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell him, but it had slipped my mind with the cameras and all.

  Before he had a chance to get halfway down the driveway the car pulled out and sped away. He ran all the way down to the end of the driveway. I stood at the side door and watched. Looking down the road, I saw no sign of the car returning. I’d worried that they might make a U-turn and come back. Now that it felt a bit safer I headed down the driveway to meet the detective.

  He walked back up to me. “Let’s hope it was just someone turning around, but we might want to check those cameras and see if they caught anything.”

  “Did you get a look at the car?” I asked.

  I wanted to see if it was the same one that had been following me.

  He shook his head. “It was too dark.”

  “Well, thanks for trying,” I said.

  “I’ll walk you back to the door,” he said.

  Warm air surrounded us. A sliver of the moon beamed in the dark star-filled sky. I felt safe with the detective beside me. A warm feeling that wasn’t caused by the weather outside. We stopped at the kitchen door and I stepped inside.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know if I find out anything else,” he said.

  “All right, thank you,” I said.

  I closed the door, making sure it locked, and then peeked out the blinds to watch as he got into his car. Now that he’d gone I was all alone. I had thought it would be great moving out here, but now with all this craziness going on, I wasn’t so thrilled about this.

  Chapter 14

  Since I couldn’t sleep I decided to make a list of suspects. I told myself this was a crazy idea, but nevertheless, I found a pad of paper and a pencil. I started jotting down names. Finn Fine. I hated to add his name. First of all, I had to get to know Finn better. What would he say if he saw his name at the top of this list? However, since I didn’t know him well, I had to add him to the list. He’d had access to the cupcakes.

  As for the victim, I knew she had been having an affair with Ruby’s boyfriend. So that made Ruby a suspect and her boyfriend. Ruby had been sweet to me, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be a killer. I shivered at the thought of sitting in that chair while she stood inches away applying my makeup. Had I been talking to her right before she’d murdered someone?

  Who else had been at the studio when the murder occurred? How long had it been between when I’d found the body and when Corina had been murdered? It certainly didn’t help that there had been a chocolate cupcake sitting there. It made it look like possibly I’d had something to do with the murder. Not to mention the fact that I’d found her. Who would’ve had access to the cupcakes other than Finn and me? Pretty much everyone on set. The cupcake certainly hadn’t been there when I’d been in the makeup chair.

  Finn would’ve had access, of course. Could he have done something like this and what would be his motive? He had been walking behind me at the restaurant. Okay, I didn’t know that for sure, but I certainly thought it had been him. I was jumping to conclusions. He could’ve certainly left the cupcake there though. Maybe he was trying to frame me for the murder.

  Who else would’ve had access to the set? Who would’ve been there? Kristen could’ve taken a cupcake. Ruby could’ve taken it, but why? A reason to get into the dressing room? An offer of a sweet treat? Of course, then there was the boyfriend. He had been there and seemed angry. He could’ve done this for sure. After all the notes, I really didn’t have much of a list.

  Even I was on the list. That wasn’t good. Well, technically I hadn’t written my name down, but I had to remember that other people were probably thinking of me as a possible killer. That thought gave me shivers all over. I thought I seemed like a nice person, so how could they think that? Then again, the people I listed on the paper seemed like nice people too and I was suspicious of them.

  I supposed I could understand why I would be on someone else’s list. Now I just had to focus on getting myself off their list and finding the real killer. Taking notes was getting me nowhere tonight and I really needed to get some sleep so that I could be fresh in the morning. There was a lot on the line for the show and I had to really give it my best shot.

  I left the paper and pencil on the desk and got back in the bed. At least I had the comfort of knowing I had the security cameras in case someone tried to get back into the house. All had been quiet since the initial incident and I was thankful for that.

  I decided that in the morning before heading over to the studio I would try to track down Ruby’s address and maybe see if I could find more information about her. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, but I had to give it a shot.

  Having dinner with Finn had really led to nothing, other than discovering he was even more charming than I’d imagined. We’d had fun, but as far as solving a crime went, it hadn’t led to much. I closed my eyes and tried to drift off to sleep, pushing the thoughts from my head. So many thoughts were in there though that it was almost impossible.

  ***

  The next morning, I got ready in a hurry. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. It was so early that the sun was barely coming up over the horizon. Of course, I didn’t want to be late to the studio. I had searched for Ruby’s address and I thought I had the correct one. I didn’t know what I would do when I got there, but maybe some of the neighbors could give me more insight into her life. Would they tell Ruby I had been snooping around and asking about her? Would Ruby be home and see me? I’d called the studio and asked for her. She was scheduled to arrive an hour before me since she worked with other shows.

  I hopped into the car and pulled out of the driveway. Lucille was on her wide wraparound front porch and I waved. Based on her half wave, I got the impression she might be upset that I hadn’t stopped to talk. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry. I’d have to make it up to her later. Perhaps I would take her baked goods.

  The whole time driving to the city I was on high alert, looking
for the black car to see if the person was following me again. So far there was no sign of it, and luckily I was almost at the address that I’d found for Ruby.

  After maneuvering through a couple more streets I turned down Hughes Avenue. I counted down the houses until I pulled up in front of the white two-story. The surroundings were quiet, not even a car in the driveway. Ruby was probably on her way to the studio or had already arrived. I wasn’t sure if she lived with someone or if she lived alone. And I felt kind of awkward just going up a stranger’s door. How else would I ask neighbors about Ruby? If the police were actually watching this place and they saw me, this probably wouldn’t look good in my defense. I would have a lot of explaining to do to the detective.

  If I was doing this then I needed to make a move. Time was running out and I’d soon be late for the studio. That was the last thing I needed. I stood by my car and looked at the other houses. Maybe it was a bad idea to go to the neighbors. What would I say? I hadn’t planned this out well. That wasn’t exactly my character. I liked to have things organized and all sorted out.

  That was the way I always did my recipes. Always what was specified, and I measured everything exactly. I thought that was what made my food stand out. Even my grandmother was always improvising and adding a pinch of this and a dash of that. Friends told me that I was too precise, but I’d shown them. Now I had the baking show.

  Not wasting another minute, I headed down the sidewalk toward the next-door neighbor’s house. I glanced around to see if there were any cars. Mainly I was looking for an undercover police car. I knew that from the murder investigation shows I watched on TV. Sometimes they watched houses to see if the criminal showed up.

  I supposed the whole point of surveillance was that no one would know they were doing it. The detective would have a field day seeing me out here. That was another thing I hadn’t thought about before making this trip—being arrested.

  As I walked up the path to the front door my heart beat faster, still trying to figure out what I would say. My anxiety was so high that I almost knocked over the large fern by the door. Now that I was on the front porch in front of the door, I had to make a decision because there was no way I was backing out now.