Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries

by J. D. Shaw

  She nodded back. “I’m taking the plunge and opening tomorrow morning. Unless, God help me, someone else ends up dead in my dumpster tomorrow morning.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” He reassured her.

  “I’m going to hold you that promise.”

  He released her hand. “I’d like to be your first customer.”

  “I don’t think there will be a line at the door. If you’re here at eight you’ve got an excellent chance.”

  The bell jingled as Stephanie returned with a paper bag from the Monarch Grocery in her arms. “Oh, you have company.”

  “Stephanie, you remember Deputy Arkins.” Vivienne spoke up.

  Stephanie set the bag down on the counter. “I almost didn’t recognize you out of uniform. Nice to see you again.”

  “And you as well.” Joshua replied.

  “We were just having lunch and catching up.” Vivienne batted her eyes at Joshua.

  “I was telling Vivienne how great this place smells from the outside.”

  Stephanie unloaded the apples from the bag and grabbed a peeler from the utility drawer. “She’s going to have the whole town beating down the door to buy things every day.”

  “You both are too much.” Vivienne protested as she closed up her Chinese container. “I’ll save this for dinner later.”

  Joshua handed her a fortune cookie. “Don’t forget this.”

  She accepted the treat and cracked it open. “Fortune favors the bold.” She read aloud.

  Joshua mouthed the words ‘in bed’ to her with a grin.

  She laughed. “Now it’s your turn.”

  He cracked the fragile yellow shell open with his hands and pulled the slip of paper out. “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

  Vivienne mouthed the words ‘in bed’ at him and winked. “Good advice.”

  He winked back and started to gather up the contents into the bag. “The cookies never lie.”

  “I better finish those whoopie pies.” Stephanie went to work giving them some privacy.

  Vivienne kissed him and took a moment to tuck in a small tuft of his chest hair that poked out of his neckline. “You almost make me want to play hooky with my own store.”

  “I understand.” He gestured to the space around them. “You have this to keep you occupied today. I’ll try to think of something nice to do on the weekend.”

  “It’s a date.”

  After Joshua left, Vivienne returned to the work area behind the counter where Stephanie was busily piping cream cheese filling onto pumpkin flavored whoopie pies. “How are things going over here?”

  “I just had the most unpleasant encounter with Mary Ellen Bryce.” Stephanie said as she took the tops of the whoopie pies and sandwiched them to the lower frosted halves.

  “I didn’t know you two were friends.” Vivienne grabbed the orange frosting to start another pumpkin cake.

  “We aren’t.” Stephanie continued. “But she used to come into Clara’s all the time and sit in my section. After a while, I didn’t even have to ask what she was going to order. Every time it was the same old thing. A bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich on toasted wheat with no mayonnaise cut into quarters and she wanted it served with the bread and butter chips instead of the dill spear.”

  Working in the schools, Mary Ellen was all about routines, Vivienne thought to herself. It was no surprise she ordered her own life much the same. “So you obviously saw a great deal of each other at the diner.” Vivienne dipped a small spatula into the icing and smoothed it over the rounded cake.

  “Yes, and she was friendly enough. She even tipped me a little more than usual whenever she’d ask about when I was going to start college. She always told me how important it was to get a good education.”

  “Mary Ellen does take pride in her school and her former students.” Vivienne agreed. “So what happened?”

  Stephanie slid the tray of whoopie pies onto a slotted holding cart and pulled out another dozen ready for filling. “She was ahead of me in line, so I decide to say hello and let her know that I’m working for you now.”

  Vivienne slowly rotated the cake pedestal and began to sculpt ridges for the pumpkin décor. “She was probably on her lunch hour from the school.”

  “She kind of just nodded back. So then I tell her how sorry I was to hear of Mrs. Clarke’s passing.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with expressing condolences. They did serve together on the historic commission.” Vivienne replied as she evened out a patch of frosting on the cake.

  “Well, she turns around and she looks really mad. Like, her face was kind of red and it looked like she might start crying at any moment.” Stephanie recalled. “She then gets this funny look on her face and says that I change jobs more often than some people do underwear.”

  Vivienne stopped decorating the cake. “She did?”

  “Oh, it gets better.” Stephanie nodded. “She then told me that Mona Clarke and Victoria Clemens were both a bunch of hypocrites who only served their own interests.”

  “That’s odd.” Vivienne wondered. “They didn’t seem mad at each other during the historic commission meeting.”

  “Well, she certainly had a gripe about them today.” Stephanie finished. “I thought she was going to bite my head off before she paid for her groceries and stormed off.”

  “The more I hear about this historic commission, the less I find I know about how it really worked.” Vivienne confessed. “Perhaps it’s better to not know these things?”

  “Just don’t bring up the subject around Mary Ellen anytime soon.” Stephanie sighed. “I know I sure won’t.”

  By six in the evening, Vivienne and Stephanie had done the impossible. Every bakery case, every pedestal, every tray and shelf was lined with a selection of delectable baked goods to tempt the most finicky of customers.

  “It looks stunning.” Stephanie remarked as she and Vivienne stood at the front door looking in.

  “It wouldn’t have happened without you.” Vivienne gave her helper a hug and wiped her brow. “We’re all set.”

  “Do you want me to come in early?” Stephanie asked.

  “Would you mind coming in at seven?”

  “I’ll be here.” Stephanie untied the strings from her apron. “Finally, we have something good for the news to report.”

  “No media or big hoopla tomorrow morning here. We’re keeping things nice and simple and quiet for the first day.” Vivienne agreed. “We’re overdue for that.” She untied her apron. “Let’s clean up the kitchen and go home.”

  Having the evening free, Vivienne stopped on her way home at the Monarch Grocery to pick up some wet cat food for Tom Cat. She had heard that the moisture helped to keep the animals hydrated and their kidneys healthy. Having lacked a proper diet for some time, she wanted to make sure her new companion would be with her for many years.

  Pushing her cart along the pet aisle, she admired a little display of cat toys. There were plastic busy balls, catnip filled mice, and even strips of cardboard that were supposed to attract cats for sharpening their claws. She decided on the cardboard, hoping Tom hadn’t made a mess of her sofa arms during her absence.

  Moving down the aisle toward the canned food, she was surprised to find Cassandra Pembroke adding several cans of cat food to her cart. She had never had much contact with her in town, but the chance to speak to another Historic Commission member was something she wasn’t about to throw away. She pretended to reach for a can of food and accidently bump her. “Oh, I’m sorry…”

  Cassandra turned around. “It’s all right.”

  “Cassandra, how are you?” Vivienne feigned surprise.

  Cassandra took a moment to respond. Her eyes widened as recognition occurred. “Vivienne, it’s nice to see you too. I’m fine.”

  “Much the same on my end.” Vivienne smiled. “I’m just picking up some food for my new cat.” She reached for some cans, not caring what brand they were.

  Cassandra took notic
e of what she was grabbing and put her hands out. “Oh, no. You don’t want that brand.”

  Vivienne retracted her arm. “Why not?”

  Cassandra shook her head. “It’s crammed with fillers and ash. It’s incredibly unhealthy for your animals.”

  Vivienne was sure that it had to be healthier than eating garbage out of dumpsters like Tom Cat had been doing, but she smiled politely and cocked her head to the side. “I had no idea. What do you recommend?”

  Cassandra scanned the shelves and reached for a line of golden colored cans at eye level. “This one is all natural. It’s the only kind I ever feed my own babies.”

  Vivienne eyed the price on the shelf and gulped. Almost two dollars a can, she couldn’t believe it. “Well, a Mother always wants nothing but the best for her babies.”

  Cassandra nodded. “I wish my children were as easy to please.”

  “How are they?” Vivienne grabbed a few cans of the expensive food, vowing to ditch them in another aisle after the conversation. She knew Cassandra had four children and none lived at home.

  She counted each of them off on the fingers of her right hand. “Colton is married and living in the Hamptons. Caroline is a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. Christopher is working at a brokerage firm on Wall Street, and Caleb is in his second year of law school at William and Mary.”

  “My goodness, they sure are keeping busy.” Vivienne, like many in the town, had often seen Cassandra’s children frolicking on the lake with speed boats and jet skis during the warm summer months. “But I’d expect nothing less from your children.”

  “I hardly ever see them anymore.” Cassandra spoke softly. “They’ve come to resent my choice to leave Manhattan behind.”

  “It’s not like you moved across the country.” Vivienne reassured her.

  “Well, Peter still lives in New York, so they just gravitate to him more.” She sighed. “Their father is the one who opened most of the doors, so I can’t really blame them for being closer to him.”

  “Speaking of New York, I had the pleasure of meeting one of Mona’s friends from there.” Vivienne eased the change of conversation quite expertly. “Do you know Samantha Charles”

  “I know of her.” Cassandra clarified. “She was in the group that came with Fiona Meadows, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes. She’s such a sweet young woman.” Vivienne spoke.

  “Hard to believe she’s associated with Fiona Meadows.” Cassandra sniffed.

  “Why do you say that?”

  Cassandra leaned closer to Vivienne. “You know that online magazine that was brought up at the historic meeting, A Byte of the Finger Lakes?”

  “Yes.” Vivienne nodded.

  “It’s run by a publishing house in New York that’s headed by none other than Fiona Meadows.” Cassandra folded her arms across her chest. “Can you believe the nerve of her to show up for the memorial after running a scathing piece like that?”

  “Mona said she was misquoted in the article.” Vivienne recalled from the night of the meeting. “Do you think Fiona changed it on purpose?”

  “I don’t know.” Cassandra rolled her eyes. “But I’m telling you something isn’t right about this whole murder business. Suzette Powell and Mona had their share of disagreements over the years, but they never came to blows.”

  Vivienne thought for a moment. “But she was having an affair with Richard under Mona’s nose.”

  Cassandra shook her head. “Peter had a mistress in New York but I never told the children about it. I’ll admit some days I did fantasize about pushing that little hussy right off that penthouse balcony, but it never went beyond that.”

  “I’m sorry.” Vivienne put her hand on Cassandra’s arm.

  “It’s ancient history now.” Cassandra patted her hand. “What on Earth would push Suzette to the breaking point to lose control like that?”

  “We may never know.” Vivienne reasoned.

  “So you think she did it?”

  “I know things look that way, but I can’t say that I’m entirely convinced.” Vivienne clarified. “Now this business with Fiona Meadows and the magazine has me wondering even more.”

  “My phone has been ringing off the hook.” Cassandra went on to explain. “First it was all about Victoria taking over as Mayor and then Mary Ellen kept me on the phone for over an hour going on and on about her problem.”

  “Has she been getting angry calls about the cost of the new school uniforms again?” Vivienne opened the door for Cassandra to spill the goods.

  Cassandra looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot and she waved her closer. “You didn’t hear this from me, but she told me that Richard had earmarked some grant money for new playground equipment that Mary Ellen was going to use as damage control for the uniform fiasco last month. Well, out of the blue, Richard called up Mary Ellen and told her that he’s had a change of heart and the money was going be used to fund a small park memorial in honor of Mona.”

  “No wonder she was mad.” Vivienne remarked.

  “That’s not all.” Cassandra continued. “Mary Ellen had gone out of her way to convince her associates on the school board to support Richard’s campaign last fall and he won in a landslide thanks to the Educator’s Union supporting him. So naturally, she felt stabbed in the back and rightly so if you ask me.”

  “Whatever happened to our sleepy little town?” Vivienne asked.

  “This has been going on for years.” Cassandra remarked. “Small towns look peaceful and quiet. The sad truth is we are just better at cloaking deception from outsiders.”

  Vivienne tapped her foot against her shopping cart. “I’m not at all convinced that Suzette Powell killed Mona. People need to know about all these other things.”

  “What can we do?” Cassandra asked. “We’re not exactly in a position to change anything that’s happened.”

  “I think I’m going to see if I can talk to Suzette.” Vivienne replied.

  “She’s locked up in jail. I doubt they’ll let you see her, much less talk to her.”

  “Well, I have a connection that might be able to make that happen.” Vivienne replied. “What can it hurt?”

  Chapter 23

  “That’s insane.” Joshua’s voice raised a notch. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “What about Fiona Meadows and this magazine business?” Vivienne pressed on. “Suzette might have some information about that and it could change things.”

  “Why are you so concerned about Suzette Powell now?” Joshua asked.

  “Because the more we find out about this situation, the more things start to fall apart.” Vivienne reached out and stroked the back of his neck with her hand. “Mary Ellen Bryce has been stabbed in the back by Richard Clarke, who it turns out was having an affair with Suzette Powell. Victoria Clemens is now Mayor, thanks to his confession on the news. There’s so much more to the story.”

  “Vivienne, this could be dangerous. You’ve already been attacked once this week.”

  She leaned back against the loveseat in Joshua’s apartment. “That probably had more to do with the grimoire than Mona’s murder.”

  “You don’t know that.” Joshua reasoned. “I think you should leave the investigation to the professionals.”

  “But they’re on the wrong track.” Vivienne pleaded. “They’re focusing everything on Suzette and maybe that’s exactly what the real killer wants.”

  Joshua took a sip of the lemon-lime soda that was in his hand. “Even if I could get you in there, Sheriff Rigsbee would rake me over the coals if he found out.”

  “What if he insists that I go talk to her tonight?” Vivienne battered her eyes.

  “How do you propose we make that happen?” He asked.

  She reached into her purse and pulled out the little purple bag of powder that she had used on Nora. “With a little help from some good old-fashioned magic.”

  Joshua’s eyes widened. “You’re going to drug him?”

  “Not dr
ug him.” Vivienne explained. “Just use a little magic powder to make him see things our way It’s kind of like truth serum, only it makes the other person believe whatever you say.”

  Joshua shook his head. “Magic powder, magic books, I’m starting to miss the simple life back in Indian Lake. All we had to deal with was rogue werewolf attacks.”

  “So you’ll help me?” She asked hopefully.

  “We’re even after this?” He asked.

  “Absolutely.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Now let’s get this into his coffee.

  * * *

  It was nearly dark as Joshua led her into the Sheriff’s office. Vivienne had brought one of her apple blossoms from the bakery and a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

  Joshua waited in the hall outside the office where Sheriff Rigsbee was tipped back in his chair reading a file with this boots propped up on the desk. He gestured for Vivienne to go in.

  She knocked on the open door and smiled. “Sheriff Rigsbee, I just wanted to apologize to you in person for that whole business about Nana Mary.”

  Zeke Rigsbee looked up from the paperwork on his desk. He resumed his usual rigid stance, setting the file down. “Apology accepted Miss Finch.”

  Vivienne set the apple blossom and coffee down on the desk. “I’m having my opening tomorrow for the bakery and I thought you deserved a little treat for being so nice about everything.”

  “You didn’t have to go to any trouble, Miss Finch.” He eyed the apple blossom with interest. “But since you came all this way…”

  She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a plastic fork and a napkin. “Please enjoy the sample and by all means stop by when you get a chance. I’ve got my famous raspberry-lemon cake too.”

  He speared a bite of the apple blossom and smiled. “You sure know how to bake.” He reached for the coffee and downed some. “Deputy Arkins is a lucky man.”

  “You’re too kind.” She took a seat in front of him. “The coffee is a special blend I’ll be selling at the shop. There’s a hint of vanilla in it.”

  Zeke picked it up and swallowed another gulp. “It really hits the spot.”