Frying The Knot (Patty Cakes Bake Shop Cozy Mystery Series Book 4)

by Holly Plum

  CHAPTER THREE

  Joy's drive near the shoreline soothed her nerves and reminded her why she chose to stay in Florida in the little beachside town where she grew up. Every red light was an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the rolling waves that washed the white sanded beaches. From far away, the coast was so soft and white. The sand looked a lot like the powdered sugar Joy needed from the grocery store. She wondered if Sara Beth would be able to tell the difference at first glance.

  Joy drove past The Sugar Room, noticing the bright yellow sign in the window that advertised free coffee with the purchase of a donut. It hung directly below the now-worn sign that claimed her frosting had been voted the best in town. That Maple. Doing whatever cheap tactic she could to steal away customers. Joy thought back to Sara Beth’s comments that the coffee must be crappy and wondered what the donuts tasted like. Her curiosity was so intense that she briefly entertained the idea of stopping for a sample, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. If Maple were there, she would never hear the end of it. And Joy couldn’t stand the thought of seeing the satisfaction on Maple’s face at the victory of ruffling Joy’s feathers.

  Joy drove on, again looking out at the ocean, wishing she could be out in the surf fishing with that silky, wet sand between her toes. One of her favorite things to do was to sit in a lawn chair in the gentle waves, fishing pole in one hand, and a book in the other. It was pure bliss. How long had it been since she took the day off and stocked her freezer with fresh catches from the sea? Sometimes she managed to get an hour in after work. Joy lived right on the beach, so that made it easy to walk out with a rod and reel and fish. But it had been forever since she’d spent a day relaxing and unwinding in the salty spray of the surf. Sara Beth was right. They needed help, and maybe not temporarily. Joy wondered where she was going to come up with the money to hire someone, but she had to do something. Finances were tight, but their schedules were even tighter.

  Joy slowed the car as she passed by Nickle and Dime Antiques. One lane of traffic was blocked in front of the store, and yellow caution tape surrounded the small shop. Police cars overwhelmed the parking lot. Though nothing about the exterior had changed, the worn slate gray building looked empty and lifeless even amidst the bustle of the ongoing investigation. Eventually, Joy saw Randy standing near the door of the shop. He was talking with another officer but seemed to sense her gaze and looked up as she passed. Joy made the split second decision to pull over to the side of the road so she could stop in and say hi to him. Randy made his way over to Joy as she rolled down her window.

  Randy rested his hands on the edge of the window as he peered into her car, the breeze from the nearby shore ruffling his hair.

  “How are the donuts coming?” Randy asked.

  Despite her tiredness, Joy smiled. “Really great.”

  Randy smiled too, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He finally addressed the caution tape. “It looks like a homicide.” He pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. He unfolded it and held it up so Joy could see it. “Does he look familiar to you?”

  It was a police sketch of a man with dark hair and dark eyes. Stubble covered his chin and square jaw. He definitely looked like a murder suspect.

  Joy studied the sketch but shook her head. “Haven’t seen him.”

  “Well if you do, make sure you give us a call.” Randy nodded.

  “I’ll do that.” Joy glanced again at the picture in front of her, a chill seeping down her spine. There was a murderer in her town. Or at least there had been. Joy thought of Sunny and his cozy, little antique shop. And then there was his wife Phyllis, who was now left alone. How could someone do such a thing? “I better get going.”

  “Alright, you be careful now,” Randy said with a wave as he stepped away from the car.

  ***

  Flimsy plastic straps dug into Joy’s fingers as she carried her load of powdered sugar to the car. The cashier had rung up her purchase without question, even smiling and asking her if she was trying a new recipe. They knew her well at the little grocery store.

  Joy loaded the bags into her trunk and then wiped at the moisture that clung to her brow. Lugging powdered sugar around under the hot Florida sun was a workout. Her thoughts razor-focused on the to-do list that awaited her back at the bakery, the first thing Joy did when she started the car was glance at the clock. She’d spent twelve minutes in the grocery store. It had taken her fifteen minutes to get there instead of the usual ten since she’d stopped to chat with Randy. Still, she would make it in plenty of time to get back in her apron with freshly washed hands to fry up the donuts that were currently rising under their warm towels. The list of specialty cakes was bound to suffer, though. She was pretty sure she and Sara Beth were going to have to stay late to finish everything.

  Joy sped out of the parking lot. As she glanced right to look for oncoming traffic, an animated couple caught her attention. She did a double take as she took in the woman’s face. Wait. Is that… Daisy?

  She squinted, wondering if she was seeing clearly. The woman was definitely Daisy, and she was talking to a man. Daisy's hands gestured wildly, her eyes wide. She was clearly upset. Where was Randy? The man’s response was just as lively, and then he swiped a hand in the air as if to dismiss her and spun around.

  Joy’s hand flew to her chest when she saw the man’s face. She recognized his face too. He was the man in the sketch Randy had shown her. Daisy was talking to a murder suspect.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Joy flung open the bakery door, her mind still a whirlwind of thoughts about what she’d just witnessed. There were a few customers in line that Sara Beth was waiting on and all heads swung to look at Joy as she came in. She gave a flippant wave of her hand and rushed off to the back, not wanting to get stuck talking. She needed a moment to think.

  What on earth could Daisy be doing with that man? And just how well did Randy know her?

  Pans clanged together as Joy rummaged through her collection to find a few to fry the donuts in. She set up a few pans, and then filled them with oil and turned on the burners. She stood with a hand on her hip, looking at the oil that swirled in slow coils as it heated.

  Maybe it had been a chance exchange? Maybe Daisy didn’t know the man was wanted for murder? Maybe they’d gotten in a quarrel over a traffic incident?

  Still, Joy wasn’t so sure. Something about the way they had been talking seemed to suggest to her that the pair knew each other.

  Randy had said their engagement had been fast. How fast was fast? And where had he met her?

  Joy thought back to the exchange she had seen between Daisy and the man and wondered what to do. Seeing the man’s face had thrown her so much that she’d left in a rush. As she was pondering that, Sara Beth burst into the back, startling Joy.

  “What’s up with you?” Sara Beth asked, her eyes wide with concern. She knew something was wrong with Joy the second she had come into the bakery.

  Joy took a breath to try to calm her mind as she pulled the towel off of the first pan of donuts. Regardless of what was going on around her, she had to get back to work. “I saw Daisy at the grocery store.” Joy carefully dropped in her first donut.

  Sara Beth leaned forward. “And?”

  Joy concentrated on the task at hand as she placed more donuts into the oil until all the frying pans were full of doughy rings that danced about on the hot bubbles.

  “What?” Sara Beth prodded with impatience. “She was with another man?”

  “Yes,” Joy answered as she flipped the first batch of donuts.

  Sara Beth gasped.

  “Not like that,” Joy said quickly.

  Sara Beth’s features relaxed some until Joy added quickly, “It’s worse.”

  “Worse?” Sara Beth responded as if she couldn’t imagine how something could be worse.

  “I went by Nickle and Dime this morning…”

  “Isn’t it closed?” Sara Beth looked confused.

  “Yes,” Joy said. S
he pulled a hot donut from the oil and tested it. The batch was close to being done. “It was taped off, but Randy was out front. So I stopped to say hello.”

  Sara Beth took a long sip of sweet tea, her eyes never leaving Joy’s face and she scarcely blinked.

  "Why do I get the feeling you've found yourself another distraction?" Sara Beth muttered.

  “Randy showed me this sketch of a suspect.” Joy ignored her assistant's comment. “I saw that same man in the grocery store parking lot talking to Daisy. Well, it looked more like they were arguing."

  Sara Beth just stared, the straw of her sweet tea paused just below her lower lip. “You saw the murder suspect?”

  “With Daisy," Joy added. "Yes. At least, I think so." Joy rubbed her forehead. "Yes, it was definitely the man from the police sketch."

  Sara Beth gasped again and put a hand over her chest. “What did you do?”

  “I kept driving,” Joy replied. She pulled out her first batch of donuts. “I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t.” Joy put another batch of donuts in the oil. She paused just long enough to swipe some hair out of her face. “You know, I knew there was something off about that woman.” She turned to catch Sara Beth’s expression. “Did you think there was something off about Daisy?”

  Sara Beth eased back some from Joy, and her eyes darted away for the first time since they’d started talking. “I don’t know. She seemed…” She leaned her head from shoulder to shoulder as she thought about her word choice. “She seemed like she was trying real hard to be nice.”

  Joy was quiet for a moment as she recalled Daisy’s behavior that morning. She had been overly nice. Was that what had rubbed her the wrong way? Or had she just been thrown for a loop at the revelation that Randy was marrying her this weekend?

  The bell on the front door made both of the women look to the front.

  Sara Beth headed in that direction, but just before she passed through the door, she leaned back and said, “I think you should call the police…and tell Randy what you saw.”

  Joy moved onto powdering the first round of donuts, her thoughts in turmoil. Sara Beth was right again. Joy had to call Randy. What on earth would she say?

  Joy finished off the next batch of donuts, and then wiped the powdered sugar from her fingertips onto her apron. Without wasting another moment, she went to the back office. She dug her cell phone out of her disorganized purse and searched for Randy’s name in her contacts. When she found it, Joy called him.

  It went to Randy's voicemail. “You know what to do,” Randy's voice said cheerfully.

  Joy tilted her head sideways to get the hair out of her face and cleared her throat. “Randy, this is Joy. Call me back when you get this. It’s important.”

  She tucked the phone back into her purse. Turning around to go back to the kitchen and pick up where she left off, she nearly collided with Sara Beth.

  “What did he say?” Sara Beth was practically breathless with anticipation.

  “He didn’t answer.” Joy moved quickly past Sara Beth to fry the next batch of donuts, a plan forming in her mind. “I think we should do a little investigating.”

  Sara Beth was quiet for a moment as she followed Joy. “What do you mean?”

  “I think we should check Daisy out,” Joy explained.

  Sara Beth crossed the room when a timer went off. “I don’t know,” she said as she took freshly baked cupcakes from the oven.

  Joy stopped what she was doing to look at Sara Beth. “Randy has the right to know the sort of woman he's marrying. Besides, I would want to know what my fiancé was up to, wouldn't you?"

  Sara Beth avoided Joy’s eyes as she popped the cupcakes from their tins and put them on a cooling rack. “Randy is a big boy. He can handle himself. And haven't gotten ourselves into enough trouble already this year? It seems foolish to go looking for more."

  “I think I’ll pay a little visit to the Senior Center. I'll take Cheesecake with me. I'm sure he would love to roam around the garden.” Joy kept a watchful eye on her donuts.

  Sara Beth shook her head slightly, but she knew better than to try to persuade Joy to change her mind. When she got it in her mind to do something, she did it. The donuts in front of her were evidence of that.

  “Oh by the way,” Sara Beth said as she placed the last of the cupcakes out to cool. “Have you seen a pearl bracelet? Susan lost it this morning.”

  "Sorry, no." Joy shrugged.

  “I looked everywhere,” Sara Beth continued. "I can’t find it.”

  “I’ll keep my eye out for it.” Joy powdered one of her donuts and broke it in half to check that the inside was cooked. She gave one to Sara Beth. “Here's our most basic recipe. What do you think?”

  Joy and Sara Beth bit into their donuts at the same time.

  Sara Beth closed her eyes as she chewed. “Mmm.”

  “They’re perfect,” Joy agreed, savoring the moist pastry that melted in her mouth, the taste reminding her of her mother.

  “Beat that, Maple,” Sara Beth muttered with a sly grin.

  ***

  A cat obscured Joy’s view out the back window. Cheesecake lay stretched out across the top of the backseat, sun drenching his cheesecake colored fur, his lips turned up in a feline smile. He looked like a king.

  “Are you ready to put on the charm so we can get some good information?” Joy asked the cat.

  Cheesecake yawned and stretched in response.

  Joy sighed. What a life, she thought. If only she had the life of a cat, only worrying about which patch of sunlight she’d curl up in next to take a good nap.

  They had made it to the Senior Center, Joy catching a glimpse of the clock as she slid from the car. She was on her lunch break and could only stay for a half hour.

  “Let’s go Cheesecake,” Joy said as she held open the door.

  The cat’s big blue eyes looked at her with mild disinterest.

  Joy rolled her eyes and picked him up. Once Cheesecake was in her arms, he snuggled against her and began to purr. Joy smiled. The cat had seen her through many hard times and was a deep source of comfort. She knew he would bring comfort to the residents at the Senior Center too.

  Joy walked through the automatic doors and made her way to the rec room.

  As soon as she stepped into the lobby, a resident named Mary said, “Cheesecake, my dear!”

  That was all it took. Soon, a small crowd had gathered around the two of them. Cheesecake purred happily as he surveyed his loyal fans. Joy crouched to let the cat down and quickly produced a piece of string from her purse that she handed to Mary.

  A bright, toothless smile spread across Mary’s face as she waved the string back and forth. Cheesecake responded immediately, his ears craning forward, tail twitching while he watched the string. Then he pounced to the sounds of laughter, his claws splayed out over the carpet where they pinned the string to the ground.

  Another resident tapped Joy on the shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in a while, dear.”

  Joy’s face lit with recognition as she hugged her old friend. “I was just about to come find you, Edith.”

  Edith’s lips trembled as the corners turned up. “It’s good to see you. You’re looking more and more like your mother. I’m sure you’ve been told that a few times.”

  Joy gave a polite smile and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.” She followed Edith to a vacant sofa and sat down. The two of them settled in to watch the residents play with Cheesecake while they chatted.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard about Sunny Rogers,” Joy said in a soft voice.

  Edith’s face turned serious. “Yes. That kind of news travels fast around here. I hear channel eight is going to talk about it at five tonight.”

  A round of delighted laughter filled the room as Cheesecake flipped into the air to try and get the string.

  “Do you know much about the Nickel and Dime Antique shop?” Joy asked Edith, knowing that if anyone knew, she would.

  Edi
th folded her hands in her lap, her eyes looking to the side for a moment. “It has been around for a very long time."

  “I can’t believe there’s a murderer loose in the town. Who could’ve done such a thing to Sunny?” Joy couldn't stop thinking about seeing Daisy in the grocery store parking lot.

  "I know who." Edith lifted her chin, though she kept her eyes on Cheesecake in front of her.

  "Who?" Joy’s eyebrows rose as she studied the old woman’s face for clues.

  Edith’s eyes leveled on Joy’s. “I’d bet you anything it was his silent partner, Vincent Fox. He owns half of Nickle and Dime.” She looked back to the frisky cat who sat in the middle of the room glaring at the string. The small crowd of residents had grown slightly, and they all waited in hushed anticipation for Cheesecake to pounce.

  “Why would he kill Sunny?” Joy asked.

  Edith paused a moment as if she wasn’t sure she should admit what she was about to say. She lowered her voice. “I heard Sunny was in possession of a very expensive artifact. He tried to sell it without Vincent knowing about it.” Her eyes fixated on Joy’s through her thick-framed glasses. “But Vincent found out.”

  Joy sank back in her seat at the news. “Oh, dear.”

  “Yes,” Edith agreed. “From what I understand, Sunny still had it in his possession, which is even more of a motive.”

  Joy thought back to the man’s face from the police sketch. She’d never seen Vincent Fox before. “What does Vincent look like?”

  More laughter rang out, punctuated with a cough or two, as Cheesecake did another flip for the string.

  “What’s left of his hair is white. He has incredibly blue eyes and wears glasses.” Edith studied Joy’s face carefully. “Why?”

  The man from the sketch, who had been relatively young, or at least middle-aged, with dark hair and eyes was definitely not Vincent Fox. “Randy showed me a picture of the suspect. It wasn’t Vincent, but maybe they don’t know about the artifact yet.”