by Lyndsey Cole
“I didn’t know you had his computer.” Her face became serious.
“Right. I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t know your connection.” He smiled at her. “I’m glad you let your defenses down enough to trust me.”
“Fair enough. You had to be sure about me. If I were you last night, I would have assumed I was the murderer, too.” Christy pretended to stab Tyler with an invisible knife. “Watch out.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I could still be fooling you.”
Annie and Tyler both laughed. “Welcome back to our world, Christy. I like you much better this way,” Tyler said. He took a step toward her with his arms spread as if he was planning to hug her. He abruptly stopped.
“I know you have to pretend we’re not on the same team.” Christy scowled. “Come back later and we can pick up where we left off, you know, before I met Eddie last night.”
Annie opened the back door of her car for Roxy to jump in before she slid into the front seat. “I’m out of here since I didn’t agree to chaperone you two, just provide my excellent sleuthing skills.”
Tyler tried to keep a serious expression on his face as he pointed his finger at Christy. “I’ll deal with you later.” He lowered his voice. “If anyone is listening they can take that any way they want to.”
Christy held her hand out to Annie. “You can give me the envelope back. I feel safer now.”
Annie pulled it out, wishing Christy had forgotten. She still wanted to know what it said with her own eyes, in case Christy left anything out. Not that Annie felt Christy was the murderer, but she still might be hiding some information that she wanted to follow on her own. And that would put Christy in danger with no one having her back.
Christy stuck the envelope in her jacket pocket and whistled for her two dogs, telling them, “Come on. Let’s get to work.”
Annie backed out and headed to the Black Cat Café.
Leona had her oldies station on and dozens of caramel apples lined up on the counter. They looked like little soldiers with their wooden handles sticking up. Annie snuck up behind her and poked her fingers into Leona’s sides.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Now look what you’ve done.”
Leona had been piping chocolate over the dipped apples and the last line was all crooked.
“I’ll take that one for Tyler. He wanted me to save one for him.” Annie set the rejected apple on a plate off to one side.
“Tyler? What about Jason? You’d better set two aside.” Leona added a second apple to the plate.
“These are beautiful. Have you thought about adding them to the menu?” Annie asked.
“Good idea. It could be a seasonal offering.” She straightened. “I hope I have enough for tonight. What do you think?”
“There are plenty of pumpkin shaped sugar cookies. You could offer those if the apples disappear too quickly. Do you want me to make some more sugar cookies, just in case?”
Leona threw her an apron. “Yes, please.”
Annie set the apron on the counter. “First, I need to check in with Camilla. She’s going to be chomping at the bit for a break unless Martha showed up.”
Annie popped a pumpkin shaped sugar cookie, with orange frosting and chocolate chip eyes, in her mouth and grabbed a couple more for Camilla.
She pushed into the gallery, happy to see several customers wandering around. Camilla was off to one side, facing Annie, talking to someone. The man turned around to see what distracted Camilla. It was Dusty Reed.
Annie winked at Camilla and thought to herself that it didn’t take Dusty long to make another appearance in the gallery. Was he genuinely interested in Camilla, or was he fishing for information?
Annie stood to one side, listening to the conversations of the customers. She loved to hear feedback about her photographs, and she was especially proud of her late fall display. She had captured beautiful shots of the foliage around Catfish Cove, including colorful reflections on the lake. Reflections always fascinated her. Her favorite in this show was a clump of birch trees dressed in their golden yellow foliage with the stunning reds and oranges of the maples in the background. The whole scene was a mirror image on the perfectly still water of Heron Lake.
“Excuse me, I have a couple of questions,” a young woman said, interrupting Annie’s thoughts.
“Oh, of course.”
“Are you the photographer?”
“Yes.” Annie smiled.
“Your camera takes lovely shots.”
“Excuse me? My camera?” Annie tried to hide her annoyance, but the camera didn’t take the shots without Annie’s expertise behind the lens.
“Yes, well, you take amazing photos, I should have said.” She blushed slightly. “I’m traveling through town, and I want to come back earlier next year during foliage season. I don’t want to miss seeing it for real.”
“Early October is a good time to plan on visiting.”
“Thanks.”
She moved back to her group of friends, leaving a sour taste in Annie’s mouth. She knew the woman didn’t mean anything by her comment, and the camera certainly helped, but Annie spent years working on taking the perfect shot. She considered the lighting, the angle, and most important, the way she composed the subject in the frame. She didn’t use any software to manipulate her shots. She wanted to find the perfect photo with her own talent.
“You look annoyed,” Camilla said.
Annie waved her hand, dismissing the comment and her bad feeling. “It’s nothing.”
“Can I take a break now?”
“Yes.” She leaned close to Camilla. “What’s up with your new Romeo?”
Camilla’s eyes twinkled. “Dusty is handsome, isn’t he? He wants to take me out for dinner tonight. Should I go with him?”
Annie hesitated. “Sure, but stay around people and see if you can pump him for any information about Eddie.”
“Are you serious? Could he be the killer?”
Annie shrugged. “He could be, so be careful.”
Chapter 10
When Camilla returned from her break, Annie told her to check in if she found out anything interesting on her date with Dusty. “Do your flirty thing tonight, it always works.”
Camilla stuck her chest out and wiggled her shoulders. “Like this?” she asked with her head dipped down and her eyes peeking through her long lashes.
Annie laughed. “You’ve got it down to a science, my dear. Stop at the café after your dinner if you want to sample one of Leona’s caramel apples. Or her pumpkin ice cream.”
By the time Annie returned to the café, Mia was hard at work wrapping the finished caramel apples in clear bags and tying them with orange ribbons.
“Beautiful,” Annie said, picking up one of the wrapped treats. “The kids are getting quite the delicacy tonight. You’ll have to do this every year, you know.”
Leona looked up. “I like traditions. Are you going to stay and help hand them out?”
“Of course. That’s what I enjoy the most about Halloween; seeing all the kids dressed in their costumes. I’m hoping to take some photos, too. Kids are one of my favorite subjects.” Annie got out a mixing bowl to start the cookies.
“Huh, kids keep popping up into the conversation around here,” Leona teased with a twinkle in her eye. “What costume are you going to surprise the kids with tonight? You have to get dressed up if you want to help,” Leona told Annie.
“Really?” She thought for a moment. “I’ll dress as a farmer—overalls, mud boots, and a straw hat. That goes with the apple theme.”
“All right. I have a witch costume complete with a black wig and a green wart on my nose.”
“Geez Leona, you’ll scare the little kids half to death.”
“You think so? I’m a kind witch. I made all these yummy caramel covered apples for them,” Leona said, looking puzzled.
“We’ll see, but be prepared for some tears,” Annie warned. She measured all the ingredients into the bowl and turned the mixer on
. The twirling beaters calmed her. Once the dough was perfect, she popped the bowl in the refrigerator to cool for a half hour. “These are going to be the best cookies ever!” Annie announced.
“Did you taste the batter?”
“Ah. Don’t tell anyone.” They laughed.
While the dough chilled, Annie texted Tyler. Your caramel apple is waiting for you. If you have time, stop in at the café.
The café door opened and Tyler walked in checking his phone. “Great timing. Can you sit with me for a few minutes?”
“Yup. The sugar cookie dough is chilling. I’ll bring the caramel apple over.” Annie picked up the apple with the squiggly chocolate, saving the perfect one to take to Jason later.
“Here you go,” she said as she set the plate in front of Tyler. Annie slid into the seat opposite.
Tyler picked up the apple and studied the chocolate decoration. “What happened here? Was Leona drunk when she decorated this one?”
“No. I scared her and she nearly jumped out of her skin.”
Tyler took a big bite. Apple juice sprayed across the table. “These are kind of messy. You better have some wipes available for the kids.”
Annie filed the suggestion away for later. “So, Tyler, what do you think about Christy’s story?”
One eyebrow arched up as Tyler looked at Annie over his apple. “Story? You don’t believe her?”
“Do you?”
“Yes and no. I think she knows more than she’s sharing.”
Annie leaned forward. “I agree. And that envelope she gave me but took back? I wish there had been time for me to look at what was inside.”
“I dropped Eddie’s laptop off at Christy’s house.” Another bite, and the apple was three quarters gone.
“I hope you looked at it first. There could be something really important to your investigation on it.”
He nodded his head. “I copied the hard drive so I can check up on anything Christy tells me about.”
“You don’t trust her?” Annie’s eyes widened.
He set the last bit of apple on the plate. “Here’s the thing. I like Christy. I want to believe her and trust her, but the cop in me is sending up red flags. I’ve learned to pay attention to those warnings even when I prefer to ignore them.”
“It must be hard to balance those two views.”
Tyler nodded and finished the apple. “I’m going to her house when I’m off duty tonight, after the kids are done trick-or-treating.” He tried to wipe some caramel off the edge of his mouth but the napkin stuck and made a bigger mess.
Annie laughed. “You’re right about these apples being a big mess. The kids can walk to the lake and rinse off there.”
“Are you serving anything else later?”
“Pumpkin shaped sugar cookies and pumpkin ice cream.” Annie slid from the booth. “I need to get the cookies cut out. The dough should be chilled by now. Tyler?” She waited until she had his attention. “Keep me up to date with the information from Eddie’s laptop, okay?”
Tyler nodded. “I’ll share what I can.” He stood up, ready to leave.
“I like Christy, too, and there’s something going on that makes me nervous. I can’t get what Samantha told me about Christy stealing from Eddie out of my head. We have to find out first if it’s true, and if it is, what did she steal?”
“I’m digging into a couple of leads from his computer but I’m not sharing that with Christy. Not yet, at least.”
Annie took the dirty plate to the sink and got her bowl of dough from the refrigerator. Since no one was watching her, she broke off a small chunk of dough and popped it in her mouth. She preferred the cookie dough to the final product and could never resist a taste. It was perfect.
With some flour on the counter top, she rolled her dough and cut out dozens of pumpkin shaped cookies. When those were all on the cooking trays, she found her cat cookie cutter and used that one for the second batch. After all, the Black Cat Café should have cat sugar cookies.
She slid the trays in the oven and set the timer. She had just enough time to mix up the frosting—orange frosting and chocolate chip eyes for the pumpkins; black frosting and orange collars and green eyes for the cats. Decorating was always Annie’s favorite part. It got her creative juices flowing, just like when she had her camera in her hands.
All the caramel apples were packed and arranged on serving trays for the trick-or-treaters, so Leona and Mia helped frost the cookies when they were cool enough.
Leona wiped her hands on her apron. “There. That should do it. I picked up some bags of candy too, just in case. Now, I’m heading home to change. Be back at five thirty. The parade down Main Street is first, so I don’t expect any kids here until six at the earliest.”
Annie got a text from Christy. I found something weird. Can you stop by?
She answered, just finished at the café, will be there ASAP.
What now, Annie wondered. Something on Eddie’s computer? She threw a few cookies in a bag for Christy and left with Roxy.
Christy was waiting outside when Annie pulled into her driveway. “This way.” She headed away from her house to the yard across the street.
“Blue disappeared earlier and I heard him barking from over here. This house has been deserted ever since I moved in. Look how completely overgrown the yard is.” Christy led Annie through a gate swinging on one hinge. “He kept barking, but I couldn’t find him until I got down on my hands and knees and crawled through this tunnel in the weeds.”
Annie followed Christy, hoping she wouldn’t put her hand down on a snake or some other slimy object. The tunnel opened into a space about three feet in diameter.
Christy leaned against a tree as she gazed across the street with a direct view of her house. “What do you think?” She pulled her legs up, making room for Annie.
“This is where you found Blue?” Annie asked as she swiveled her head around taking in the complete view.
“Yup.”
“Do you think Blue followed someone’s scent?”
“That’s exactly what I think. I think Eddie was spying on me.”
“Why?” Annie felt the hairs on her neck rise. Being spied on was about the creepiest thing she could imagine. Well, besides someone actually invading her space inside her home.
“That’s what I have to figure out, and I’m hoping his computer gives me some clues.”
Annie brushed the dirt and grass off her hands. Something else was stuck there. “Ick. I put my hand in someone’s chewed gum. Gross.”
Christy pulled it off Annie’s hand and smelled it. “Mint. Eddie always chewed mint gum.”
Annie backed out of the tunnel, following Roxy and being extra careful where she placed her hands. She straightened and cracked her back. “That’s really strange if you ask me.”
“Uh huh. I’m going to keep an eye on this spot to see if any other scumbag crawls in.”
Chapter 11
The drive back to her apartment didn’t take Annie long. The bag of cookies for Christy was still on her car seat. Absentmindedly, she munched on one. She hoped Jason had some overalls she could borrow. Her own mud boots would work and she was pretty sure she had an old straw hat somewhere in a closet. If she couldn’t find it, she’d call her mother to bring one to the café.
Annie brought the caramel apple she saved for Jason and headed to his house first. She was starting to be quite comfortable there and spent less and less time in her own apartment. Jason was happy about that development.
“I brought you a treat,” Annie called when she stepped inside.
Jason clumped down the stairs, rewarding Annie with a beaming smile. “You’re all the treat I need.” He hugged her and gave Roxy a dog bone. “Do you have time to sit down or are you on another mission of madness?”
“I can sit for a bit.” She handed Jason the caramel apple. “You can save it for later if you want to. It’s pretty messy to eat.”
“I’ll save it.” He set it on his counte
r and walked with Annie to the couch. “What have you been up to?”
“Well, baking sugar cookies for the trick-or-treaters tonight.” She left out her visit to Christy’s house with the odd tunnel and viewing spot across the street from her house. No need for Jason to worry about her more than normal. “Leona insists I wear a costume. Do you have overalls I could borrow?”
“Overalls? What kind of costume is that?”
“I’m going to be an apple farmer. You know, the girl that grew the apples for the caramel apples Leona slaved over all day.” She tilted her head, waiting for his reaction.
“What should I dress as? An apple tree?” The corners of Jason’s eyes crinkled as he tried to keep his mouth in a serious expression.
“Are you going to help at the café tonight?”
“Sure. That sounds like fun. I need to keep an eye on you so I can make sure you come back here with me for dinner.” He grinned. “I don’t want you to slip away from the promise you made to me in exchange for my surprise.”
Annie settled deeper into Jason’s comfy couch, leaning inside his warm arm. Thinking about what his surprise could be made her want to skip the parade on Main Street and handing out caramel apples to the trick-or-treaters. She wanted to jump right to dinner. And the rest of the evening.
He tightened his arm around Annie. “You’re smiling. Care to share your thoughts?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. You’ll need a costume or Leona won’t let you help.”
“Hmmm. How about I wear my chef’s hat and apron?”
“That’s funny. You don’t even know how to cook.”
He pouted. “I make a mean salad, and I’m sure I’ll be a super duper ice cream scooper.” Jason stood up and checked the time. “Let’s get this show on the road, it’s already five o’clock.”
He returned with denim-striped overalls that two of Annie could fit in, but, whatever, it was a costume. She rolled up the legs, stuck her feet into her polka dot mud boots and pulled the straw hat she found in the top of Jason’s coat closet over her curls.
