by Holly Plum
“Namaste,” she exhaled, barely making a sound with her lips pressed against her kneecaps.
“So flexible,” Sara Beth whispered. "You must be so proud."
Joy nudged her.
Crystal stood quickly, jewelry jangling. She smiled and put a hand on Joy's shoulder.
“So glad to see you here, Joy. Yoga is a perfect hobby for someone like you who is so stressed all of the time.”
“Yoga?” Joy coughed gently. “Actually we're here to talk about the chocolate tart we gave you.”
“Oh, of course. Well, then I guess you've heard. Thank the stars Tony got to that tart first before I did." Crystal let out a soft laugh.
Joy and Sara Beth exchanged curious glances.
“You know Tony Florentine?” Joy asked.
“Yes.” Crystal brought two fingers to the third-eye point of her brow. “Tony and I had a deep psychic connection at one point in time. We were-”
“Oh my gosh, you were lovers?” Sara Beth gasped, putting a hand on her heart.
“You must be devastated," Joy responded. "There's no worse time for things like this to happen than right before your wedding day."
“I'm fine. We hadn't seen each other for years. I was shocked when I sensed Tony's death, but his spirit helped me come to terms with it.”
“Crystal,” Sara Beth whispered, “you sensed his death?”
“Yes, I did.” Crystal held her head proudly. “Also that handsome Detective Sugar came to question me this morning and told me all about Tony's death. It's horrible, but it's also the circle of life.”
“Oh.” Sara Beth frowned. "So Detective Sugar told you all about the death." She, more than Joy, wanted to believe that Crystal had psychic abilities.
“Have you heard any rumors going through town about the incident?” Joy changed the subject.
“Oh Joy, you must be so stressed out,” Crystal replied. “I heard your shop might be closing." Crystal began breathing rapidly, and her hands began to shake. “You are still able to do my wedding, right? Please, say you can. Please, don't close your bakery before my wedding. You have no idea how long it'll take me to find someone else. The Sugar Room has such a long waiting list, not that I want to do business with them. I just thought I should check since I heard you're closing and –,” Crystal was on the brink of a full-fledged panic attack.
“We're not closing,” Joy assured her, cutting her off.
“Do you promise?” Crystal took some deep breaths, exhaling through pursed lips. “Okay. Alright. I'm fine. Just fine.” Crystal nodded between breaths to show that she was in control.
“I promise we're not closing,” Joy explained. “That's just a rumor started by a desperate woman at The Sugar Room. We came here to ask you for any information you might have that could help us figure out who killed Tony Florentine. I mean, your ex-boyfriend.”
Crystal nodded again and took hold of the front desk to steady herself through her deep breathing. Joy and Sara Beth looked at each other, cautious about whether they should keep asking questions. Crystal noticed and motioned with her hands to continue. Sara Beth took a notepad from her purse where they'd brainstormed questions on the drive over.
“I take it the detective asked you all kinds of questions about your relationship with Tony?” Joy asked.
Crystal paused, and then nodded. Sara Beth jotted down the response on her notepad.
"He seemed a little strange too if you ask me," Crystal informed them.
“What do you mean by that?” Joy waited for her to answer.
"He didn't try and flirt with me," she said quietly. "Not even once."
“Very strange,” Sara Beth agreed, holding back an eye roll.
Joy continued with the questioning, “You said you hadn't seen Tony for years, and the detective said he died in his home. Do you have any idea how Tony could have gotten the chocolate tart?”
Crystal shook her head and exhaled a long sigh.
“Do you have any idea how the chocolate tart was poisoned?” Joy went on.
Crystal shook her head again.
“Do you know anyone who would have wanted to harm Tony?” Joy waited patiently, hoping that Crystal would have a solid answer to at least one of her questions.
“Crystal, who's this?” A woman approached the group and put an arm around Crystal's shoulders. Crystal immediately perked up, smiled and introduced her roommate, Kendra.
“Oh, you're the bakers,” Kendra said. “So sorry to hear about the scandal. What a horrible thing to happen in our sleepy little town, even if Tony was a major creep.”
Joy and Sara Beth pushed Kendra for more information.
“Tony was stalking Crystal,” Kendra said bluntly. "But I doubt she mentioned that. She failed to mention that to the police too."
“Kendra,” Crystal groaned.
“You said you hadn't seen Tony for years?” Joy repeated to Crystal.
“Oh, she never saw him,” Kendra interrupted. “But I figured out it was him making all the weird phone calls and leaving weird gifts on our doorstep ever since Crystal got engaged."
"So, he left a gift or two," Crystal admitted. "It's a phase all of my ex-boyfriends eventually goes through."
“Look,” Kendra said bluntly to Joy and Sara Beth. “Tony was a jerk with a temper. He got worked up when Crystal first started dating Lucas. I'm sure the news of their engagement crushed him.”
“He probably was.” Crystal sighed.
“Tony must have broken into the apartment, and for some reason took the chocolate tart in the process,” Kendra suggested.
"I did leave a cute little note to Lucas on the box," Crystal confessed. "Maybe he saw it, and got angry."
“Were either of you home last night?” Joy asked.
“I dropped the chocolate tart off at home before coming to work. Kendra and I were both here teaching evening classes, and the chocolate tart was missing by the time we got back home.” Crystal cleared her throat. “I was so annoyed that my darling Lucas wouldn't get to try any of that incredible chocolate, but now I know it was the will of the universe.”
“That chocolate tart looked incredible,” Kendra agreed. "And it was dairy-free too. It's such a shame."
A gong sounded suddenly.
“Oh, we need to get ready for our next classes.” Crystal began untying and retying her hair into a higher bun. “Joy and Sara Beth, please stay for a class.”
“Oh no –,” Joy began.
“It's not really our thing,” Sara Beth cut in, shaking her head.
“Please, it would mean so much to me,” Crystal implored. “Today has been so hard. It will be such a comfort to have familiar faces in my class.”
“You must try Crystal's class.” Kendra echoed. “It's life-changing, I swear.”
Joy and Sara Beth gave a few more excuses before finally giving in.
“I'll need a sweet tea after this,” Sara Beth whispered.
“I'll need an entire cake,” Joy replied.
CHAPTER FIVE
The yoga class began with everyone humming together. Crystal was at the front of the class on a slightly raised stage, sitting in a full lotus pose with her legs woven together. She led the humming by groaning into her headset. Joy and Sara Beth tiptoed their way through the lines of aspiring yogis sitting cross-legged and humming. The bakers were wearing sweats, and Sara Beth had ill-advisedly brought her handbag with her which jingled and clanked with every step. Joy shot her a look.
“Sorry,” Sara Beth whispered. “I brought sweet tea just in case.”
“Just in case of what?” Joy asked as they found two spare mats and settled themselves down.
“In case this class stresses me out even more," Sara Beth replied as she easily, and smugly, crossed her legs in front of her. Joy struggled to get her legs into a pretzel shape, and instead sat slouching until the humming was over.
“And breathe,” Crystal instructed the class.
The beginning of the class was easy enough for Jo
y and Sara Beth. It consisted of rotating their heads from side to side and stretching their backs. Sara Beth felt herself relaxing into the stretches, and started to smile.
“And now let's relax into a downward dog position,” Crystal instructed.
Joy and Sara Beth looked up to see what everyone else was doing and then looked at each other concerned.
“Form a sharp triangle shape with your body,” Crystal breathed into the mic.
Joy and Sara Beth got the triangular shape for a moment, arms long and buttocks high, but quickly began to break a sweat. Their arms started to shake.
“Another thirty seconds,” Crystal crooned. “Just breathe.”
“Oh my gosh,” Sara Beth whispered.
“This isn't so bad,” Joy whispered back. “We can do this.”
But the class escalated from a downward dog position, and into a standing sequence that highlighted how inflexible Joy and Sara Beth were. While the yogis around them were effortlessly lunging deeply into their warrior two poses, the women were practically upright with the stretch across their hamstrings burning.
“Now rest back into downward dog position and breathe,” Crystal calmly announced. It was the most ridiculous thing Joy had ever heard in her life. There was no resting in this pose, but Crystal kept saying it in between the other poses that were admittedly even harder. All of them were back-breakers and leg-burners.
Joy's limbs were shaking, and Sara Beth was sweating so much that her mat became slippery. They were a hazard to their classmates. In dancer's pose, Sara Beth accidentally kicked the man behind her in the face. In tree pose, Joy toppled over into the woman next to her.
“I'm so –,” Joy huffed, “I'm a hot mess of cake.”
“If you get tired, or find these poses challenging...” Crystal began to tell the class in a soothing voice.
“Is she looking at us?” Sara Beth hissed to Joy.
“Who else would she be talking to?” Joy replied.
“Just move down into child's pose. And breathe.” Crystal spoke deeply into the mic.
Joy and Sara Beth quickly followed her instructions, curling into balls on the floor and struggling to catch their breaths.
“All this oxygen is making me have crazy thoughts,” Sara Beth wheezed.
“It's good for us,” Joy agreed.
“What if,” Sara Beth muttered quietly, turning her head to face Joy. “What if Crystal's fiancé Lucas is the killer?”
“Lucas?”
“Shhh, not so loud.” Sara Beth glanced around. "Someone else here might know him."
Joy looked up and saw that the rest of the class was standing upright, and everyone seemed completely occupied with tying themselves into human knots.
“I suppose he would have a good motive if Tony were stalking Crystal,” Joy admitted.
“Or if stalking means, you know,” Sara Beth wiggled her eyebrows.
“I don't know.” Joy frowned.
“Crystal says she and Lucas are on and off all the time. What if Crystal lied and she has seen Tony recently?"
“Oh," Joy replied. "Let's hope not."
“So what if Crystal was on with Tony, and Lucas found out about it?” Sara Beth raised her eyebrows.
“Or what if Tony was stalking Crystal, and Lucas wanted to protect her?” Joy added.
Crystal spoke loudly into the mic, “Everyone move down onto your mats for our final sequence.”
“Finally, thank you,” Joy said a little too loudly and rolled over onto her back. She stretched out, feeling every muscle in her body crying out for a warm bath or a dip in the ocean.
“Joy, we can't stay.” Sara Beth was already packing up her things.
“Shoot. I completely forgot.” Joy sat up in a hurry, remembering an important meeting she had with a brand new client.
A bottle of sweet tea dropped out of Sara Beth's bag and hit the floor with a CLANG.
“Shhh,” a neighboring yogi hissed.
Joy peeled her tired body off of the sweaty mat. She tiptoed out of the studio with Sara Beth, giving Crystal an apologetic smile.
But Crystal was busy breathing.
CHAPTER SIX
Joy had hoped that Crystal's yoga class would have helped her to sleep soundly that night, but it wasn't in the cards. She'd woken up several times during the night with strange sounds echoing through her head. Joy got up twice to investigate and, having found nothing, returned to bed only to be awakened shortly again soon after.
The next morning Joy woke up groggy and sore. Cheesecake trotted into her room and sat in a ray of sunlight, looking at Joy and purring. He looked sleepy too.
“I feel hungover, Cheesecake,” Joy groaned.
Cheesecake purred in response.
“I have a huge wedding cake order to fill today.” she sat up and grunted in pain as she felt how stiff her limbs were. “Mixing batters today will be a chore.”
Cheesecake meowed, plopping down and curling up into the shape of a long bun.
“Sorry, I haven't brought you any fish lately, Cheesecake. It's been such a hard week.” Joy gave the white cat scratches under his chin, and he began to purr. “Look at you. Not a care in the world. I bet you slept like a baby all night.”
Cheesecake blinked at her sleepily.
Joy dragged herself out of bed and got ready for the day. She could barely get dressed. Her muscles were so tired and sore that she had to choose a dress that buttoned at the front and had no zip at the back. She made a silent promise to herself to stretch more and work on her flexibility once all of this wedding and murder investigation stuff was over and out of her life.
Making her way into town, Joy stopped off at the local market to stock up on snacks for the big baking day. She was loading a slab of sweet tea into her cart for Sara Beth when she suddenly saw a flash of tangerine orange in her peripheral vision. Oh no, she thought. The only person she knew who dared to wear such a flashy color was her nemesis, Maple McWayne.
Sure enough, Maple was making her way down the drinks aisle, inspecting each carbonated fruit juice she passed. Joy quickly dropped the sweet tea into her cart and sped around the corner. Joy moved quickly towards the registers, and repeated silently to herself, please don't see me. Up ahead at the end of the aisle, Maple stepped out in front of her.
“Joy!” Maple squealed. A fake smile graced her face. “What a joy it is to see you.”
Joy's heart stopped, and she forced a broad smile.
“What a beautiful dress, Maple,” Joy said, pushing her cart forward. She had to say something to keep herself from making a scene.
Maple did not step aside. Instead, she took hold of the end of Joy's cart and stopped it in its tracks. She leaned over it and locked her eyes onto Joy's.
“What terrible news,” Maple breathed. “It was such a pity to hear about your little bake shop.”
“Now Maple, we both know how that rumor got started.” Joy spotted a regular customer coming down the aisle. “Patty Cakes Bake Shop is still very much open, and business is going well. Better than ever actually.”
“Surely the murder investigation isn't good for business,” Maple responded.
“Patty Cakes Bake Shop isn't to blame for what happened,” Joy announced loudly down the aisle. “You can ask the detective on the case yourself. Like I said, business is booming.”
“But your chocolate tart killed a man," Maple stated. "Your business is booming? I don't think so, dear.” Maple fluctuated her tone wildly from whispering to near-shouting. “We've served many of your regular customers over at The Sugar Room since the scandal started. I can't imagine you're doing all that well. But perhaps you're right. Perhaps it has nothing to do with the poisoned chocolate tart you baked."
"It's funny to me how you take such an interest in my bakery," Joy commented snidely. "It's almost as if you're jealous or something."
"Why would I be jealous?" Maple barked back. "After all, my frosting was voted the #1 best frosting in town."
“Y
ou know very well that contest of yours was a scam." Joy narrowed her eyes. "Giving free cupcakes out at the senior center, and then asking them what they think doesn't count? Besides, you were the only bakery present. Please, what a joke.”
“Oh, my goodness," Maple replied. "Are you alright, Joy? Your cheeks look like two slices of red velvet cake. Relax, dear. There's no need to get worked up over silly things.”
If Joy's cheeks weren't red before then, they were now. Joy felt as if her blood was about to boil. She saw more customers lingering around the aisle, but she could barely keep herself together. Joy couldn't stand being in the same room as Maple.
“I'm fine.” Joy casually laughed. “No need to worry, Maple.”
“You should think about taking some time off," Maple suggested. "You know, take some time to relax. I mean I couldn't possibly with how many orders I've got to fill, but I'm sure it would do wonders for you skin."
“I'd be more relaxed if you stopped telling people that my bake shop is closing down when it most definitely is not,” Joy responded. "Who would've thought that someone as busy as you would even have the time to run her mouth through town?"
The aisle was quiet.
“Excuse me?” Maple gasped.
“Oh don't act coy, Maple. I saw your car parked outside my shop that night, and you almost ran me over. I know you were involved somehow. You've been out to get me since day one.” Joy clenched her fists. It was unlikely that Maple McWayne would ever dare throw a punch at her in public, but Joy was ready if she did.
“My car has been in the garage for over a week," Maple answered. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."
CONTINUE READING …
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