Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker (Death by Cupcake Book 1)

by D. E. Haggerty

  “But how are we going to figure out who that could be? It’s not like the good doctor told us the names of his lovers or anything.” Anna protests.

  “True,” I nod. “We’ll need to talk to everyone on our list of who was at the gym and see if they know the doctor.” But then I realize how much work that is. We only have two days. How are we going to manage to talk to everyone in two days? I let my head fall onto the table. This is impossible. What was I thinking?

  “Maybe we don’t need to ‘talk’ to everyone,” Anna says with a gleam in her eye.

  I immediately sit up. “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe,” she says as she grabs my tablet. “We could virtually talk to them.” I scoot my chair next to Anna’s as she opens Facebook. “Give me the list,” she demands with her eyes glued to the screen. I grab the list, which has been my constant companion for days now, and hand it to her. She quickly goes through the list sending every woman on it a friend request.

  “What now?” I ask as she finishes.

  “Let’s see if any of the women are friends with our lovely doctor.”

  I shake my head in confusion. “How can you do that if you’re not friends with them yet?” I have my Facebook profile set up so that only my friends can see any information about me except for my profile picture, which is public.

  “Not everyone is as private as you,” Anna answers as she clicks on the doctor’s profile. “Okay. Maybe not everyone is as private as you, but the doctor definitely is.” She sighs and grabs the list again. “Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

  Anna spends the next few minutes going through the gym attendee’s profiles, but none of them is friends with Dr. Abrahams or at least not Facebook friends. She finally gives up and sets the tablet down. “This isn’t working.”

  I nod. “I’m not sure what good it would do anyway. I mean, doesn’t everyone know Dolly was poisoned by the cupcake? If you had delivered the cupcake to Dolly that killed her, you would have come forth by now.”

  Anna shrugs. “Not if Dr. Abrahams is your lover. You’d probably want to protect him.” The tablet pings. “Hold on.” Anna grabs the tablet and opens the Facebook app. “Looks like several women have already accepted my friend request.” She starts scrolling through her new ‘friends’. “I hate it when people post like two gazillion pictures of their vacation.”

  I start to respond to how annoying that is when something hits me. “Wait a minute! When did she go on vacation?” I don’t even know what ‘she’ we’re talking about, but I assume it’s one of Anna’s new ‘friends’ from the gym.

  Anna scrolls and then gasps. “The day after Dolly was murdered.”

  I bob my head in excitement. “When did it become public knowledge that Dolly was poisoned by the cupcake?”

  Anna starts typing away. “I don’t know, but I’m going to ask her if she heard about Dolly being poisoned. She’s online now. Fingers crossed, she messages back right away.”

  I’m not crossing my fingers; I’m biting my nails. It feels like forever before I hear the distinctive ping of an incoming Facebook message. It takes all my willpower not to grab the tablet from Anna’s hands. Another two fingernails are lost while I wait for Anna to read her new message.

  Anna gasps and looks at me with big eyes. “She didn’t know that Dolly was poisoned. She left early the morning after the murder and hasn’t been following the local news.” She starts typing again. “I’ll ask her if anyone gave her a cupcake to give to Dolly.”

  I grab the tablet out of her hands. “Don’t do that. Maybe she’s an accomplice! We don’t want to tip her off. I’ll call Ben.” This is no time for our fumbling investigative techniques. We need to pull out the big guns on this one.

  Ben arrives at the bakery within fifteen minutes. He rushes to me. “Is everything all right?”

  I stand, and he crushes me in a hug. I pat his back. “Everything’s fine, but we need your help.”

  He releases me and stands back. “You had me rush over here as if the building was on fire because you need my help?”

  I squirm under his gaze. “I’m sorry, Ben, but we only have two days until classes start and we have a lead. I didn’t want to run off without you.”

  Ben takes a deep, relaxing breathe and nods. “Okay, I can appreciate that, I guess. What’s the lead?”

  “We found out that one of the women who was at the gym when the killer cupcake was placed was on vacation and didn’t know that Dolly was poisoned.”

  “And now you want to go interrogate her?” He raises a brow in question.

  “No,” I shake my head. “Just ask a few questions.”

  “I’ve got her address and she’s at home right now,” Anna speaks up.

  “Let’s go,” Ben says with a shake of his head.

  In less than ten minutes, we’re standing outside the apartment door of Shirley Adams. Ben turns to us and puts on his cop face. “I’ll do all the talking.” I roll my eyes and nod. He knocks, and I’m nearly bowled over when the door opens and the woman who answers the door is the witch from the pole dancing class who always insists on being in the front row and is buddy-buddy with Dolly.

  “Ms. Adams,” Ben begins while holding his badge up for her to see.

  “Shirley, please,” she coos at him and bats her eyelashes. She opens the door and motions for us to enter.

  “Shirley, then,” Ben says with a smile aimed at her after we’re all inside. I try not to growl when I see him smile in her direction, but I’m apparently not entirely successful as Ben winks at me. “We just have a few questions for you.”

  “Of course,” she replies in a low voice, which is probably supposed to be sexy but in reality sounds like she has a pack-a-day habit.

  “You were at the gym on August tenth, the day Dolly died?” Shirley nods. “Did you happen to see anyone deliver anything to Dolly?”

  She shakes her head and flips her hair. It’s all I can do not to throttle her for flirting with my man. Yes, the man may be totally and completely out of my league, but I don’t care. He’s mine until he moves on and that means she needs to keep her hands off.

  “Not even a cupcake?” Anna asks as she glares at Shirley. “From Callie’s Cakes?”

  “Oh that. I delivered that.”

  “What?” The question just slips out of my mouth.

  Shirley shrugs. “What’s the big deal? I saw the box sitting at the receptionist’s desk, and I decided to help out by giving it to Dolly.”

  “You gave the box directly to Dolly?” Ben asks as he takes out his notebook and starts scribbling away.

  “Well, no,” Shirley shakes her head and does another hair flip. “I ran into a friend and chatted for a while. I ended up being late to class, so I just put the box on top of Dolly’s locker.”

  “Did you see who gave the box to the receptionist?”

  “No, like I said, it was just sitting there.” She looks at us and narrows her gaze. “What’s the big deal?”

  Ben answers before Anna or I get the chance. “I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that right now.”

  I jump in before Ben can shut me down again. “Did Dolly have a boyfriend?”

  “Or a girlfriend?” Anna adds and then does a full body shiver; undoubtedly thinking about Dolly’s creepy come on.

  Shirley laughs. “Do you want me to give you a list? Dolly always had tons of boyfriends coming and going out of her life.” She looks at Anna and shrugs. “I don’t know about any girlfriends.

  Ben clamps his notebook closed. “Will you excuse me for a second?” He asks before walking away to make a phone call. Shirley stares at Ben who has turned his back to us to talk, and I try not to let my jealousy get the best of me. Luckily, it doesn’t take long before Ben’s back with us. “We need you to make a statement.”

  Chapter 25

  It doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it’s how you bake the cupcake.

  The car is quiet as Ben drives us back to the bakery. I don’t kno
w what everyone else is thinking, but I’m pretty much freaking out that it’s the Saturday before classes start and we still haven’t found the killer. I’m fairly certain that I can get my defense attorney to make a stink with the University administration, but I was hoping to avoid a controversy. I don’t want to rock any boats before I have a permanent teaching position. It’s not like there are tons of other lecture positions available for a PhD in German literature in the Midwest.

  Ben parks in the alley behind the bakery, and we all climb silently out of the car. I’m following Anna into the bakery, but she turns around and stops me. “I’ll make sure everything’s taken care of. Just get some rest. See you on Monday.”

  The bakery is closed on Sundays during the summer, but instead of looking forward to my last Sunday to sleep in for a few months, I’m nearly coming apart at the seams. Ben grabs my hand and pulls me up the stairs to my apartment. Once he’s checked to make sure the boogeyman isn’t lurking about, I walk to the sofa and collapse on it.

  “Do you have everything ready for Monday?” Ben asks as he sits next to me.

  “Are you out of your mind? Ready for Monday? I don’t even know if I’m going to be teaching ever again, let alone on Monday, which is in two days.” My voice has risen to shrieking levels by the time I finish my tirade.

  Ben pulls me close. “Shhh, beautiful. You’ll be teaching on Monday. Don’t you worry about that.”

  I start to ask how he can possibly believe that, but before I can manage to get the words out, his lips are on mine. After a few minutes, Ben pulls away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take advantage.”

  “Who says you’re taking advantage?” I ask as I pull him back to me. A sexy distraction is just what the doctor ordered.

  ♥♥♥

  I hear Ben humming in the shower the next morning and sigh. I would love to join him in there, but there’s no way I’m ready to show him my body in the bright bathroom lighting. It’s a flipping miracle that I managed to have sex with the hot man during the late afternoon in the living room on the sofa and not on the bed buried under the covers.

  I head to the kitchen to make breakfast instead, but it turns out there’s nearly no food in the refrigerator. Ben has completely cleaned me out. That man sure can eat. I’ll just run down to the bakery and pick up some leftover muffins or something. I debate waiting and asking Ben to walk me to the bakery, but that’s beyond silly. The bakery’s back door is literally five steps away from the entrance to my apartment.

  I leave my pajamas on but pull on some shoes and grab my keys before rushing down the stairs. I sprint from my door to the bakery entrance. I quickly raid the refrigerator filling a bag with any and all kinds of leftover treats. I should be upstairs and back in the kitchen before Ben even realizes I’m gone.

  A car revs its engine as I walk out the back door. I’m fumbling with the keys when I hear the engine rev again. It’s way too early for such theatrics. I turn around to give the driver a dirty look just in time to see the car barreling its way through the alley. The alley is barely wide enough for a car and the driver of this car doesn’t seem to have the control necessary to handle the narrow pathway with such speeds.

  The engine revs again and the car picks up even more speed. I catch a glimpse at the driver and gasp. She looks like the doctor’s wife. No way am I going to stand here and find out. I let go of my keys and run towards my apartment door. I glance back, and the car seems to be aiming right for me. My sticky hands can’t get the door open. Another peek behind me shows the car is even closer. Is she actually aiming for me? I drop the pastry bag and use two hands to pull the door open.

  I just make it inside as the car clips the dumpster on the opposite side of alley. I hear a crunching sound before brakes screech, and something slams into the outside wall. I open the door and peek outside. The car is rammed against the wall just a few feet beyond my door where it apparently crashed. The driver opens her door and stumbles out.

  “You,” she shouts and points at me. She rushes towards me but before I have time to react, Ben comes flying down the stairs dressed only in cut-off sweats and carrying a gun. He grabs my arm and pulls me inside. “Stay here,” he demands, and I can only nod because the tone of his voice leaves no room for arguing.

  Ben runs outside on bare feet, and I hear a scuffle. I’m still following Ben’s order to stay if I open the door a smidge, aren’t I? I peek outside to see the woman face down on the ground with Ben securing her hands with cuffs. Where did he get those handcuffs? He hauls her up and turns to see me staring at him.

  “Bakery open?”

  I have no idea. Did I lock up? I can’t remember what happened after I heard the engine revving and saw the car rushing down the alley. I exit the safety of my apartment door and walk the short steps to the bakery. My keys are still in the lock. I pull the door wide open and wait for Ben to enter. He drags the woman, who I can now see is definitely Beth Abrahams, inside.

  “Can you grab me my cell phone from upstairs?” he asks as he shoves the doctor’s wife into a chair. I nod and run to my apartment. I grab his phone and start to head back to the bakery before shaking my head and going back to grab a shirt and shoes for Ben as well. He may be perfectly happy parading his beautiful body to the rest of the world, but it turns out I’m the jealous type.

  I return to the bakery and Ben smirks when he sees the t-shirt and shoes in my hands. He grabs the shirt and pulls it on before quickly sending a text message. He tucks his shirt in his shorts so that the badge pinned to his shorts is clearly visible. Where did he have that hidden? Finally, he turns to me and asks, “What happened?”

  I point at Beth Abrahams. “I think she just tried to run me over.”

  Beth struggles against the handcuffs. “You ruined everything!” she shrieks.

  Ben raises a hand to Beth to stop her from speaking. “Hold up. Before you speak further, I’m going to read you your rights.” I jump onto one of the counters while Ben reads Beth her rights. I feel my own cell phone in the pocket of my pajamas and get an idea. Maybe if I record what Beth has to say the detectives will finally believe me, and I can get my teaching position back. I pull my phone out and hit the record button before setting it down next to me.

  “Do you understand these rights as I’ve explained them?” Ben asks as he finishes Mirandizing Beth.

  She nods. “Of course, I understand my rights. I’m not an idiot.”

  I snort because I beg to differ. Ben gives me a look which clearly tells me to be quiet. I pretend to zip my lips shut. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me before turning back to Beth. “You want to tell me what you were doing here this morning?”

  Beth rolls her eyes. “Obviously, I was trying to get rid of her.” She points at me with her head and snarls at me.

  I start to respond to her, but Ben holds up his hand. I huff and cross my arms over my chest. “Get rid of her how?”

  Beth snorts. “Get rid of her so she can’t stop butting her head in where it doesn’t belong.”

  Ben crosses his arms over his chest and stares her down. “So you admit you tried to kill Callie Muller?”

  “And I would have been successful too, if it weren’t for you. Who knew the heifer was shacked up with a cop?”

  Ben ignores her nasty remark. “Why do you want to kill Dr. Muller?”

  Beth glares at me. “Because she’s ruining everything. She should have just kept her nose out of my business.”

  I can’t keep quiet at that. “You tried to frame me for murder. I didn’t want anything to do with all of this. You’re the one that involved me.” I try to jump off the counter and go after her, but Ben’s there holding me back.

  “Stay calm and be quiet, or I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I just stare at him. “I shouldn’t be questioning her. It’s not my case, but I know you want answers.” My eyes widen, and I nod. I don’t want him to endanger his career, but I do need answers. Ben stares at me. When he’s sure I’ve settled down,
he nods and moves away.

  “Did you kill Claire Horne?”

  Tears well up in Beth’s eyes, and she nods. “Yes, I killed Dolly.”

  I can’t help the word Why from slipping from my mouth.

  Beth sniffles and stares at the floor. “I loved Dolly. We’ve been together for a year. I took care of her; paid for her apartment, clothes, car. Anything she wanted, I gave her. But it was never enough. She promised…,” her words turn harsh. “She promised she would stop turning tricks. I knew she worked at the strip club, but I really believed her when she said that was all. That I was the only one.” She shakes her head. “I was so stupid.”

  “What happened?” Ben asks in a gentle voice.

  “I found out she slept with my husband. I confronted her, and she just laughed.” Tears are streaming down her cheeks now. “She laughed,” she repeats the words in a strangled voice. She turns a glare on Ben. “She said she didn’t love me, and she preferred dick anyway. She was using me.” She takes a few deep breathes before continuing. “So, she had to go.”

  “Why did you try to frame Callie?”

  Beth shrugs. “It seemed like the easy way out. Dolly was complaining about Callie keying her car. She had no idea it was really me that did it.”

  There’s a knock at the back door, and I look to Ben. “That’ll be the detectives,” he explains before going to the door to open it for Duchamps and Smits. The detectives take in the scene with wide eyes. Ben doesn’t give the men a chance to start an inquisition. “This is Beth Abrahams. She tried to run Callie over with her car this morning and just confessed to the murder of Claire Horne.”

  I stop the recording on my phone. “I’ve got it all on here,” I say as I shake my phone at the group.

  The detectives spring into action. In less than five minutes, the place is swarming with uniforms. Several of the officers are outside taking pictures of Beth’s car while a tow truck backs into the alley. Two officers come into the bakery to escort Beth to the back of their patrol car. I just stand and watch the circus. A half hour later the place is empty once again.