by Ann S. Marie
The words melted off her tongue when she spoke it, just as the creamy buttery frosting on the cupcakes and the treats.
“They’re all here.” A voice surprised Dana and she spun around. A woman in a Victorian-styled black and white floor-length maid’s uniform with a maid’s white cap, large white apron with a bib and shoulder straps stood at the door, arms folded across her chest.
The woman looked as if she were cast in Downtown Abbey, though that show was more post-Edwardian era rather than a Victorian-era, but still, Dana couldn’t believe her eyes. The woman was a heavy-set woman with dark grey hair and glasses. She eyed Dana up and down suspiciously and if Dana wasn’t mistaken, she glared at her leggings and curves hugging top. Dana felt so out of place there.
“And what are you doing here?” The woman asked.
“I’m Dana Sweet from Cozy Cupcakes.” Dana couldn’t help but observe her antique-looking outfit.
As if the woman noticed Dana’s astonishment. “Oh, this. Master Renaldo likes to live in the past. The good old days, he calls it. He likes to believe it’s the late 1800s.”
“I see.”
“I’m Molly, head maid.” Her voice was sharp and authoritative. “Weren’t you here before?” She eyed Dana with more suspicion. “We already got an order of those chocolate cupcakes. Not to mention that big chocolate Boston cream cake. I mean, whose idea was it to order so much chocolate cream cakes for an engagement party involving a diabetic bride-to-be? ”
“Oh dear. I’m sorry about that. But Mr. Renaldo requested more chocolate cupcakes for the engagement party.”
“How so? We haven’t even started yet. We’re about to start. Looks like we already have more than we need. Most of the bride’s friends won’t eat anything more than a lettuce leaf to keep their precious toothpick figures.”
“I see,” Dana said, incredulously.
Dana then cleared her throat. For some reason her throat was beginning to feel a bit of a scratch. Was it chilly in there? Aside from the cool chill she was getting from the lovely maid.
“Oh, no!” The maid’s voice raised a notch. “Do you have a cold? Are you bringing in some sort of virus with those cakes of yours?” She had her hands placed on her lips and her eyes narrowed at Dana.
“Oh, no. It’s just that my throat feels a bit scratchy. That’s all. It feels a bit...” dry in here, but Dana wasn’t about to criticize the air quality of the mansion right now.
But Dana did notice that the thermostat was turned down to zero.
On a cold day like today?
“Well, you can get a bottle of water out back there. We have another kitchen and fridge over there.” She pointed to the far side.
She then froze from some reason. She glared at the other section then drew in a deep breath. She shifted on the spot, looking hesitant.
“Is something wrong?” Dana asked gently.
“Oh, um…no. Nothing’s wrong.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “Just help yourself and you can let yourself out. Leave the invoice on the kitchen island with the rest of invoices. The head cook will take a look at them and give them to the house mistress.”
“The house mistress?” Dana hadn’t realized how formal and structural running a mansion for a mega billionaire was. Well, now she knew.
“Yes, the house mistress.”
“No problem.” Dana began placing her cakes down. The boxes were all closed so she wasn’t worried about “spreading any viruses” or germs on anything. Not that she had any cold or flu. She made it a point to never show up at work if she had anything spreadable. It would just be a careless and inconsiderate thing to do, unless she had absolutely no choice, of course.
Mind you, Dana was mostly the management brain of the café since her late grandmother, Grandma Rae or Ma Rae as the town’s folk would call her, passed away unexpectedly. Dana had driven to the small coastal town of Berry Cove in Ontario to settle in, leaving the city of New York behind her, across the border. That was all good and fine, of course. Since her ex-fiancé had jilted her for her best friend and taken her money in the process. Well, he owed her money that she’d given him when she borrowed off her mortgage. But right now, she was switching her focus from romance to business.
She’d used up the last of her savings to help save her nana’s café from bankruptcy and changed the name and style, while adding her nana’s warm touch to the café and after a grand re-opening, the Cozy Cupcakes Café was now on its way to a new change.
One of the changes includes catering to the community. Last month they’d done Bea’s Salon and Nail Spa in downtown Berry Cove. And then the mayor had a party that required their pastries. And now the Berry Cove Gazette received Cozy Cupcakes catering for their weekly staff meetings.
Dana felt a lump climb in her throat. That one was awful because the critic who’d slammed the café’s re-opening turned up dead with a cupcake in his mouth.
Yeah, and she’d been questioned about it. Though she wasn’t a formal suspect.
Okay, positive thoughts, Dana. That was in the past. Focus on the present. The present is a gift to be opened, enjoyed and cherished. She recited one of the Cozy Cupcakes Saying of the Day, which often came with their treats. Something new Dana had thought of. Incorporating her nana’s wise sayings and using her former skills as a copywriter when she worked for a New York ad agency.
“By the way, is Mr. Renaldo here?”
“Well, of course he is. Somewhere. Can’t seem to find him. Just set those cakes down here. I’ll figure out what to do with them later. Make sure you let security know when you leave.”
“Sure will.”
The woman turned around to leave and left Dana alone, disillusioned.
Dana sighed deeply. She was glad she was only delivering there and didn’t live there. It was true, a house did not make a home. She certainly didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy and invited there.
She didn’t want the frosting to melt so she wandered around looking for the fridge. She was just told that they had more than one fridge. The kitchen had another adjacent area and she wondered over there with the tray of cupcakes.
Before she could get further, she tripped and fell smack hard on the ground. The cupcakes went splat right into her face. She had whipped cream and tasty fruity-filled cupcakes on her face. Great!
She was toast.
She was done for.
What the heck was in her way?
She got up, rubbing her aching shin and took a better look.
When she stood up and brushed herself off, she tried to wipe the frosting off her face along with the embarrassment she felt but it didn’t work quite well. She needed a mirror. She turned her gaze south to look down to see what she had tripped over.
What she saw was a long pair of black dress pants and shoes sticking out from beside the gigantic stainless steel fridge.
Oh, no.
Dana felt her stomach turn over.
Her heart stopped.
She gasped.
“Oh, my God!” Her heart pounded hard and galloped in her chest. She thought it was going to leap out of her body.
If she was not mistaken, it was Mr. Renaldo!
The rich elder groom-to-be. Or the rich elder groom-that-was!
Her customer.
This was terrible!
Dana’s eyes swept across his lifeless-looking body. Mr. Renaldo’s eyes were closed and his lips and skin looked as blue as the blueberries in the kitchen. She didn’t need to check his pulse or anything to realize one thing...
He was caput, all right.
Who on earth did this? How did he die?
Why, oh, why was it that she was always stumbling upon dead bodies?
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Thank you for reading Blueberry Cream Cupcake & Murder (A Dana Sweet Cozy Mystery, Book # 2)
Coming soon…
More delightful stories set in the cozy small town of Berry Cove in the Dana Sweet Cozy Mystery series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ann S. Marie enjoys reading and writing cozy mysteries and solving mind-boggling puzzles with intriguing suspects. Join her email list for updates on more cozy mysteries that will make your toes curl and your heart smile. You can send her an email at [email protected] with the subject line: Email Sign-Up.
She loves to hear from readers.
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***RECIPE ON THE NEXT PAGE***
Recipe
Dana Sweet’s BLUEBERRY CREAM CUPCAKE RECIPE
Fresh Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Whipped Cream Frosting
Prep Time: Approximately 30 minutes
Total Time: Approximately 60 minutes
Yields: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 cup of fresh (or frozen blueberries) ***should yield approx. 1 cup of pureed blueberries when blended (use ¾ cup for the cake mixture, then ¼ cup for the frosting)
1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of softened butter or margarine
1 ¼ cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
½ cup of almond milk (vanilla flavor)
Frosting:
1 ½ cups of heavy whipped cream
¼ cup of blueberries pureed ***(see above and use from the left over pureed blueberries from the cake mixture).
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners
Set aside
In a high-powered blender, place sliced blueberries and chop and mix into a puree
Set blueberry puree aside
In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter or margarine and beat at medium speed
Then gradually add sugar and continue to beat well for approximately 2 minutes
Add eggs to the mixture and beat well
Add vanilla extract to the mixture and beat well
Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture gradually to the mixing bowl
Add Almond Milk and continue beating well in mixer
Add in blueberry puree (approximately ¾ cup, then leave the rest for frosting later)
Divide cake batter evenly among the 12 cupcake cups and fill each to approximately 2/3 full
Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until cake is golden brown
Remove cupcakes from baking pan and cool
Set aside
In a large mixing bowl, add whipped cream, sugar, vanilla extract and mix on high speed for approximately 4 minutes
Slowly add the remaining blueberry puree (1/4 cup) to the mixture and continue to blend for another 30 seconds
Once cupcakes have been completely cooled, place frosting in cake decorator with star-tip and pipe frosting around the top of the cupcake swirling it up high and then decorate with a blueberry on top (if desired).
Cupcakes may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
