Burned to a Crisp (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 3)

by Catherine Bruns

  "Um, Dad," I said. "Shouldn't you be working on your course?"

  He waved a hand impatiently. "As soon as I get a cookie." He reached his hand out toward the tray, and for a moment I was afraid Josie might slap it away like she had with Mrs. Gavelli. Instead, she moved the tray with her bare hands, forgetting it was still hot.

  Josie yelped. "Damn it!" When she jumped, the entire tray of cookies went crashing to the floor.

  Sarah was standing to my left, working on the cream filling for the cookies I was making. Her hands flew to her face as I set down my mixer and rushed over to pick up the broken cookies off the floor.

  My father whined. "Aw. Now they're all ruined."

  I glanced at Josie, who was holding her hand under the faucet. "You okay?"

  Josie said nothing, but the look she gave caused me to shiver. Stupid question, Sal. Who could be okay having to work here?

  I picked up a still intact fortune cookie and handed it to my father. "Dad, do you think you could take this into the front room?"

  "Let me read it first." He broke the cookie in two. "Hmm. This is a new one. Not sure what it means."

  "What does it say?" I asked, only because I knew he wanted me to.

  He read aloud in a theatrical voice. "Don't go where you're not wanted." He laughed. "Hey, everyone wants me. I don't get this."

  Josie muttered something inaudible under her breath.

  "Uh, Dad, I think Mom was looking for you. She's upstairs."

  He grinned. "Of course she is. Your mother's a playful thing, that one." He put the cookie in his pocket and whistled as he walked out of the kitchen.

  Josie threw up her hands. "I can't do it. There's no way. I love your parents, Sal, and God knows they were wonderful to me when I was growing up. Sometimes they were better to me than my own. But. I. Can't. Do. This."

  I dropped to my knees to clean up the rest of the mess. "It won't be for too long. And I'll talk to him about staying out of the kitchen."

  "It won't do any good." Josie blew on her finger.

  I picked up the last cookie. The paper had come loose from the inside, and the message was staring me right in the face. Something inside me screamed Don't look. Don't look. Too late. Like at a bad car wreck, I couldn't turn away.

  Your lover is keeping a secret.

  Okay, that was it. I'd had enough of these cookies. Enraged, I ripped the small strip into even tinier pieces and threw them into the garbage pail. Then I kicked it for good measure. Josie and Sarah both stared at me in amazement.

  Grandma Rosa entered the kitchen in time to catch my dramatic act. "Whatever is the matter?"

  "Nothing," I lied. "Everything is just dandy."

  Josie folded her arms across her chest. "It's those freaking messages again, isn't it? What did it say? Wait. Let me guess. Something cynical like 'Your business is going up in flames.'"

  I swallowed hard, trying to force the bile back down my throat. I hadn't told Josie about the previous fortune cookie message I'd received, so her teasing remark only succeeded in making me more upset. Chills ran down my spine, and my hands shook as I picked up the rest of the mess.

  I kept telling myself that these messages didn't mean anything, but suddenly they had me doubting everything in my life. Things between Mike and me were wonderful, so why should a stupid piece of paper bother me?

  Because they always seemed to speak the truth.

  "Cara mia." My grandmother patted my arm. "You are upset."

  I exhaled a deep, noisy breath. "No, I'm fine. But I was thinking that maybe we should stop making the fortune cookies for a while."

  Josie grunted. "Fine by me. I never wanted them in the first place. People are always looking for freebies."

  Sarah gasped. "But everyone loves the fortune cookies! I think you'd lose business that way, Sally."

  My grandmother studied my expression. "You are afraid of something. What did the message say?"

  Agitated, I shook my head. "Nothing. We don't have the counter space for them now anyway. Maybe when we get a permanent location, we'll start making them again." Yeah, fat chance.

  "What you say?" A voice bellowed from the other side of the kitchen screen door.

  Sarah froze when she saw Mrs. Gavelli's face pressed up against the mesh, gesturing for her to unlock the door. "Sally, are we using this as the official entrance?"

  "Might as well," I conceded. We couldn't have customers come in through the front door, which led to my parents' living room. My father had a coffin set up in there. Despite my pleading, he refused to remove it. He said it was part of his studying process.

  I unlocked the door. Mrs. Gavelli was standing there, accompanied by Johnny. He gave me a wide grin and smacked his lips together. "How's it going, hot stuff?"

  Mrs. Gavelli turned and smacked him lightly across the cheek. "You stop. She engaged. She already try to ruin you for other women."

  Good grief. As if my patience wasn't being tested enough today. "I was six years old, Mrs. G."

  She ignored the comment and waggled a finger in my face. "What you say? You no make no more fortune cookies? You give me one now."

  "We don't have any right now," I said. "There was a little accident."

  She moved closer toward me. "Let me tell you something, missy. You better keep those cookies, or I not gonna be happy. I need them. They important."

  I glanced at her, puzzled. "Why?"

  Her face reddened. "You ask too many questions. You keep making cookies, or I tell everyone they no come here."

  "Nicoletta," my grandmother growled. "You had better not make trouble for my granddaughter. I know things, remember."

  Mrs. Gavelli's face clouded over. She said something in Italian that sounded way too similar to a swear word, turned on her Birkenstock heel, and flounced out the screen door.

  Grandma Rosa exchanged glances with Johnny. He nodded at something unspoken between the two of them and then held the door open for her.

  "I will go talk to her," Grandma Rosa said. "She is a bit of a fluke sometimes."

  I had to think about that one for a minute. "Do you mean flake?"

  "That is good too." I watched while she made her way across the lawn over to Mrs. Gavelli's house next door.

  "You can't get rid of those cookies, Sal," Johnny said. His voice was almost wistful. "Grandma needs them in her life."

  "Johnny," Josie asked. "What the heck is going on?"

  He stared out the window in the direction of his grandmother's house for a moment before answering. "It's nothing, really." His eyes darted around the kitchen. "So, Gram told me that Gianna and her boyfriend broke up."

  I reached for the kitchen faucet and helped myself to a glass of water. "That's right. He told her he was tired of taking a backseat to her career."

  "Sounds like she's better off without him." Johnny leaned his head on my shoulder and grinned up at me in a teasing manner. He was impossible. I pushed him away, and he laughed.

  "How long are you home for?" I asked.

  A shadow passed over his face, and the mischievous expression in his eyes turned serious. "I've transferred to the high school. I'll be teaching in Colwestern this fall."

  Josie and I exchanged glances. "But your grandmother always said how much you loved Vermont."

  Johnny gave me a rueful smile. "Yeah, well, things change. So, where is your sister?"

  That was the $64,000 question of the day. "She—ah—she took off for a few days."

  "Sal." He nudged me playfully in the ribs. "Don't lie to me. Not your first love."

  "Johnny, I swear. Some days I want to hit you over the head with something."

  He grinned at me saucily. "Hey, I'm used to it. Now, back to the subject at hand. I heard about what happened. Is Gianna okay? Can I help somehow?"

  I looked at Josie, and she wiggled her eyebrows at me in return. I placed my hands on my hips and turned to face Johnny. "You have a crush on my sister, don't you?" It was almost like I was eleven and he thirteen again
, with me teasing him about riding his bike by the new girl's house for the millionth time in one day.

  He winked. "Maybe."

  "I always suspected you had a crush on her." When Johnny used to walk home with us from the bus, he'd carry Gianna's books but toss mine across the street. Gianna was nearly five years younger than him, making any type of relationship inappropriate back then. It looked like dear old Johnny might have been biding his time all these years.

  "Well, I didn't like the way that client of Gianna's was looking at her the other night during your party," Johnny said. "I was afraid she might be in danger—hey, I just want to make sure she's all right after everything that's happened. Will you let her know I was asking about her?"

  The look in his eyes touched me. For once, he wasn't kidding around. He was actually concerned about her. I had no idea what Gianna thought of him—if anything. Despite his constant pranks over the years and how he always managed to get me into trouble, Johnny was a great catch. Handsome, intelligent, and a nice guy. Heck, how many people could put up with Mrs. G all these years and live to tell about it?

  I gave his hand a little squeeze. "Of course I will."

  He gave me a peck on the cheek, nodded to Sarah, and blew Josie a kiss. She stepped forward and shoved him toward the door. "Get out, and go home to your crazy grandmother."

  He laughed and then turned back to me. "If you could keep the fortune cookies around for a while, I think Gram would appreciate it. Trust me on that one, okay?"

  We watched him run across the yard, back to his house. My mind was flooded with happy memories of Josie, Gianna, Johnny, and me playing statues in the backyard and Mrs. Gavelli screaming at him for the tenth time to come home. Life was so much simpler then.

  "Something's going on," Josie murmured.

  Before I could reply, my phone pinged from my jeans pocket. I glanced down to see that I had a new text message from Brian.

  I'm at the bakery if you want to come by to get Gianna's things. Want me to give you a lift?

  My fingers flew across the screen. No thanks. Josie will be with me. We'll be there in about ten minutes.

  He shot back a quick Okay. Looking forward to seeing you.

  Cripes. Josie was right—he was a persistent bug. The mental vision of a mosquito came to mind. Well, might as well get it over with. I grabbed my keys and my purse from one of the kitchen cabinets. "Would you mind making more fortune cookies while we're gone, Sarah?"

  Her face brightened. "Of course not. You two take your time. And I'll help get things organized while you're gone."

  Josie glanced at me, surprised. "I thought you said no more cookies."

  "Well, let's appease our neighbor for a while." As long as I stayed clear of the cookies, there would be no problems, right? "We shouldn't be too long."

  Sarah watched us with a sad smile. "Good luck. I hope the place can be salvaged."

  In my heart I was thinking the very same thing but knew that the odds were not in my favor.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Josie and I didn't say much to each other during the drive to the bakery. Sometimes conversation isn't necessary between best friends. Neither one of us was looking forward to surveying the damage firsthand.

  Brian met us at the front door and ushered us inside. From the front lawn yesterday, things hadn't looked so bad. Upon entering the building, it was an entirely different story. The smell of smoke still hung heavy in the air, and my eyes immediately began to water. The bakery case had been shattered—most likely by one of the firefighter's hoses or the actual heat of the fire. I spotted some remaining fortune cookies through the remnants of glass, mocking me. Stop it, Sal. They don't mean anything.

  We entered the back room for only a brief minute, but what I saw left me heartbroken. The walls were blackened, and the appliances were waterlogged and ruined. The utilities had since been turned off. There was still a good deal of soot remaining on the floor. In short, the place was a disaster. I glanced around, trying to somehow make sense of the entire situation.

  Brian helped us remove items that were salvageable from the front room, but there wasn't much. My Keurig and espresso machine both still appeared to be in working order, although I'd have to test them later. There wasn't room for them on the counters in my parents' kitchen, so I'd store them at my house for now. The artwork on the walls was ruined, and the shelf Rob had made for us with the two porcelain figures having tea and cookies had been smashed. I assumed it might have been in the way of the firefighters.

  Josie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she picked it up off the floor where it lay broken in several pieces. "Rob will make us another one, Sal."

  "No, that would make the third one. He doesn't have to go through all that trouble again." A previous shelf had been shattered last year when someone had trashed my bakery.

  She placed a hand on my shoulder. "He won't mind. You'll see."

  With our arms around each other, we trudged up the stairs to Gianna's apartment, Brian following. There appeared to be some smoke damage in the main room, which was a dining and living room combo. The bedroom door was shut, which Brian said had probably saved the room from having further damage.

  "The investigation is finished," Brian said. "Now we're just waiting on the lab results, which could take quite some time. If you want to do any cleaning, I don't suggest staying in here for prolonged periods until someone like Mike's friend can check on the safety of the building. I saw your insurance guy here earlier. He was leaving when I pulled in."

  I whirled around at the door of the apartment. "Why didn't you call me? What did he say?"

  "He was leaving," Brian said. "He didn't share any details with me. I'm sure he'll want to confer with the arson investigator before a final determination." Brian started to place a hand on my shoulder then must have thought better of it. He took a step back. "I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, Sally."

  My lower lip started to tremble, and Josie wiped at her eyes. No, I wasn't going to cry and carry on again. I'd already had my moment of weakness. Now was the time to deal with the hand fate had dealt me. The problem was I seemed destined to lose this poker game of life.

  A voice came over Brian's radio, and he excused himself to go outside and take the call. "Don't spend any longer up here than you have to."

  Once he had disappeared, Josie turned to me. "Okay, what's the plan?"

  "We'll pack up her clothes and anything else she might need for now. Then I'm going to do a little snooping to see if we can find out where she's gone."

  I noticed only a few pieces of clothing missing from her bedroom closet, which gave me hope that she wasn't planning to be gone for long. Her laptop, much to my disappointment, was nowhere to be found. I went through her dresser drawers but came up with nothing.

  Josie set some personal toiletries inside the suitcase I had brought along. "Any ideas yet?"

  I shook my head. "None." I opened the main drawer to her desk and sifted through papers, doodles, and notes she had made. My sister was not a neat freak when it came to paperwork. I found a postcard from a casino near the Canadian border for a free night's stay.

  "Look at this." I waved it excitedly at Josie.

  She grabbed it between her hands. "Casino Regal. Do you think she could have gone there?"

  I raised an eyebrow at her, and she grinned. We both knew there was a good chance. My beautiful and brilliant sister had a secret. She loved to play the slot machines. I wouldn't call her an addict, but she did tell me once she found them "relaxing." Her former boyfriend had enjoyed the tables, so they'd made a few trips last year, usually when Gianna required a much needed break from studying for the bar. She'd even dragged me along with her on a trip a couple of months back. Personally, I hated that type of environment, and Mike had no use for the places either. They were too smoky and loud for my taste. Plus, why did I want to give away the money I worked so hard for? However, Gianna had just passed the bar and wanted to celebrate, so I hadn't ha
d the heart to refuse her.

  "She needed to relax. Plus no one knows her there, making it all the better. She hates driving long distances by herself, so I'm guessing that's the farthest she'd attempt to go."

  "If she went willingly," Josie chimed in. My face must have looked stricken because she quickly added, "I'm sure that's not the case, Sal. She's fine."

  I took a deep breath, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed the number on the postcard.

  "Thank you for calling Casino Regal," a pleasant female voice on the other end of the line said. "How may I assist you?"

  I clutched the phone tightly to my ear. "Can you connect me with Gianna Muccio's room, please?"

  "Spell the last name, please?"

  I gave her the rundown, letter by letter. There was a brief silence, and I could hear the woman typing something. "One moment."

  Yes. I gave Josie a thumbs-up. The phone rang several times, but there was no answer, so eventually I disconnected. "Well, at least we know she's there."

  "Yes, but for how long?" Josie asked. "Maybe she's planning to take off soon."

  "Are you up for a road trip this evening?" I asked.

  She made a face. "Sal, if Brian finds out you know where she is and didn't say anything, you could be stirring up trouble again."

  "I don't care. I need to find out what's going on with Gianna first. I'd rather go tonight, before we open for business tomorrow. The sooner the better. What about the kids?"

  "Rob's off today, so that's not a problem. What about Mike?"

  "He's on a new job today, and he said he'd be home late." I thought about the fortune cookie earlier that implied he was keeping a secret. Was Mike really working, or was it just my brain putting in overtime again? There was no reason for me not to trust him. At times like this, my past history with Colin crept into my mind and proceeded to haunt me.

  Josie narrowed her eyes. "That's not what I meant. Are you going to tell him?"

  I stared at her pointedly. "Are you going to tell Rob?"

  "Hell no! He'd tell me to stay out of it."