Strawberry Cream Cupcake & Murder (A Dana Sweet Cozy Mystery Book 1)

by Ann S. Marie

  Still, spending some money from her savings to add the new fancy cupcake wrappers with designs and a lovely message written on them and then adding the cutlery so customers could eat their fresh whipped cream frosting topped cupcake with a spoon which was more like digging into a sundae or rich tasty yogurt, was beginning to pay off.

  The “crazy idea” became the talk of town and even the local news picked it up. The whole idea even went viral on YouTube and Dana couldn’t wait to rush back into town to start full time, focusing on bringing the business up to speed. Who knew her idea would take off like that? In her former job, her boss at the ad agency always told her she thought out of the box.

  The whole situation seemed so surreal, Dana thought as she finished paying with her credit card at the gas pump by sliding her card in.

  Her heart flipped over in her chest. For once in her life, something was going right. She was about to save her Nana’s business and she really appreciated the help of Katie and her Auntie Nia, whose real name was Aunt Petunia, but no one was allowed to call her that. After all, Katie and Aunt Nia and her husband Uncle Merv were all from her father’s side of the family. Ma Rae was her mom’s mom. So technically, they were not related to Grandma Rae. Grandma Rae had left the café to Dana in her will and left some items for Aunt Nia and her family, too, since she took them in as her family, her in-laws.

  Katie was all too happy to find a job working at the café with the rest of the staff in many different roles from barista, to part time baker whenever anyone called in sick, to server. It was a good thing, she knew all aspects of the business.

  Though Dana hadn’t had a chance to work in the café as a serving staff, she was managing the business side and was lucky that the baker and other staff stayed on after Grandma Rae’s passing. She was glad they had her back while she took care of the bills back in New York.

  Dana got back into the car and was about to head to the Victorian and drop off some more boxes in the trunk of her car then drop by the café to see how things were going.

  “Oh, hey there,” a voice called out from behind her. “It was Mike, the mail guy. Well, not quite, his uncle Stephen was the head mailman but took Mike under his wings to deliver mail with him in the district.

  “Hey there,” Dana said. “It must be nice to have Sundays off,” she teased him. He looked so different in his jeans and blue T-shirt. Not his mail carrier shorts. Mike had short curly blond hair and piercing blue eyes and always seemed to blush.

  “Thanks.” He had a cupcake piled high with whipped cream frosting and the familiar decorative wrapping with a fun saying on the side.

  “Let me guess. You were at the CCC, right?” Dana smiled. CCC had been the common acronym for Cozy Cupcake Café for the past few weeks now.

  She felt a pang of guilt for not stopping at the café first. But after a long journey, driving in from New York State across the border, she really wanted to head home first and shower then go to the café later to see how everybody was doing.

  She believed in good managerial practice and a close personal touch and always taking good care of her staff. She only prayed things would continue going in the right direction and sales would pick up so she could afford to keep them and pay them not to mention take care of all the supplier debts, and overdue utility bills the café owes.

  “Mmm. This is delicious. Your grandma would be so proud of you, Dana. Good on you.”

  “Thanks, but I haven’t really changed any of her wonderful recipes. It’s still Grandma Rae’s famous recipes. Though I’ll be adding some new ones to the menu soon.”

  “Good for you. Can’t wait. You know everyone’s talking good about the new changes. And look at this,” he said, reading the saying on his shiny blue wrapper: “A smile is like the icing on a cupcake.”

  Dana gushed.

  “You know this is the second one I had this morning. The other one read, what was it again?”

  “In the buffet of life, friends are the dessert,” Dana added for him.

  “That’s right. Where do you come up with them? You know before, I used to just toss the wrappers, now they’re like fortune cookies. And I like the touch with a spoon to eat them with so they’re not messy. Cool.”

  Dana smiled. A warm feeling crept inside her. This made it all worth it. God, she hoped she could really save the café, which was so deep in debt, it wasn’t even funny.

  She quite often rotated the sayings depending on the day of the week. Some would read:

  HAVE A SWEET DAY

  TASTE THE BEAUTY OF LIFE.

  KEEP CALM, HAVE A CUPCAKE

  A SMILE IS LIKE THE ICING ON A CUPCAKE

  BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY WITH A SWEET TASTE

  FRIENDSHIP IS THE SWEETEST BLESSING

  IN THE BUFFET OF LIFE, FRIENDS ARE THE DESSERT

  And her favorite new saying was:

  A CUPCAKE AND A SMOOTHIE CAN SOLVE ANYTHING...

  Especially since CCC were serving nutritious, delicious smoothies now. The added motivational messages had really taken off.

  * * *

  Later, Dana pulled up at the Victorian at 123-A Berry Lane.

  A warm smile touched her lips again. This was it, wasn’t it? Her final move back to Berry Cove. She’d given up the lease on her apartment in New York and she’d moved in a few of her stuff slowly over the past couple of months, so this was now officially her new residence.

  There was no turning back now.

  Or was there?

  Aunt Nia was supposed to meet her here soon. She hadn’t seen her in over a month since she’d been in Florida looking after some of her rental properties and non-paying tenants. She hoped her auntie was all right. Aunt Nia was always the wealthy extravagant lady. Always had the latest designer duds and tricked out manicures and pedicures. Looked half her age even at sixty. One would never know by her taut skin, auburn-dyed hair and youthful makeup and attire. Her auntie was also a Yoga fanatic and loved to go out on the town with her girlfriends, too. Her accountant husband, Uncle Merv, who worked for a Fortune 500 company was nearing retirement now and was more down-to-earth and watched every penny.

  Dana grabbed her luggage and some boxes out of her trunk and slugged them to the front door of the Victorian. She then opened the door and dragged her stuff into the foyer plopping them down on the hard wood floor of the narrow hallway. She was greeted by the soft purring of her favorite little four-legged friend, Truffles, Grandma Rae’s loving ginger hair Persian cat she left to Dana and Katie in her will.

  Truffles meant the world to Dana. She was a very special kitty. Grandma Rae had rescued her from the Berry Cove Pet Rescue. She’d been abandoned by her previous owners. Luckily Dana’s nana had nursed her back to good health. She was a feisty little fur-legged feline who was deservedly pampered.

  “Hey, Sweetie! Good to see you again. Guess who’s here to stay?”

  Truffles immediately hurried to her and wrapped herself around Dana’s leg. Her tail wagging animatedly. Dana couldn’t wait to scoop her up in her arms and hug her to her chin, stroking her behind her ears as the kitty purred her approval. There was nothing like being greeted by the best friend a girl could ever have. Even though it had been a few weeks since she’d seen Truffles. But there was a cool connection between them.

  The scent of fresh pine filled the air. She smiled thinking of how sweet it was for Katie to clean up before she arrived.

  As Dana walked further into the home, she felt as if she was walking into a house in 1890 the way her grandmother kept only vintage stuff in the home. It was kind of cool though.

  Her nana’s house had so much character. She was very sentimental. She once told Dana that growing up in the early days was so much fun and simpler than nowadays. She longed for the other life. People lived elegantly and leisurely back then. Life seemed so much cozier, she couldn’t blame her nan. Nana even had an old vintage phone, a Victorian era design of oak wood and brass. It was so cool. It was like stepping back into history. None of that digital
or cordless stuff. Dana decided to cherish that and keep it as is, even after Nans passed away.

  Victorian style furniture inspired by the Tudor, Gothic, and Elizabethan filled the home. Most of the furniture were made from Mahogany and rosewood and oak wood which were popular materials for furniture with decorated curves and style back in the old days.

  Dana glanced around the gorgeous historic-themed family room. Truffles climbed down off Dana and roamed to her favorite spot by the fireplace in her own basket.

  The family room had side boards, small lamp tables and a display cabinet. A Victorian couch sat in the corner with wide and high backed oak wood trim on the back and arms .

  There was a couch and side chairs by the fireplace. The side tables were covered with fabric and had a plant and arranged books. Vintage cushions made the chairs cozy. There was Grandma Rae’s favorite rocking chair sitting by the fireplace, which Dana wanted to keep and cherish her memory. It was almost as if she were there watching over her girls in the home. Dana just wasn’t ready to make any drastic changes to the home yet. It had only been a few months now since Nana’s passing. That was way too soon and Katie agreed with her.

  Emotion filled Dana as she remembered the days cozying up with her nana in the rocking chair while nana read her a book –first edition classic from her library of books just before bedtime with a mug of hot chocolate and whipped cream topping sprinkled with cinnamon.

  She noticed the upholstered backs of the chairs were beginning to show wear. She would have to get them professionally cleaned. She plumped herself down on the thick and soft cushions, hugging one to her chest. She noticed the cushion seemed more worn down than before. Attention to detail had always Dana’s thing. It was as if someone had been there sitting on them. Still, she felt her nana’s warm and protective presence there more than anything else.

  Dana heard the key turn in the lock and the clunking sound of heels on the oak wood floor.

  “Dana! Dana, is that you?” Aunt Petunia came in with her bags.

  “Aunt Nia!” Dana got up off the couch.

  Dana and her auntie hugged for a moment.

  “I’m so thrilled you’re finally staying here. No more going away to New York. Welcome back, darling. I just got back in town myself. Katie said you’d be coming straight here first.”

  “It’s great to be back, auntie. How was Florida?”

  She observed her auntie, noting her long nails and red hair and her lovely tan.

  But... something was different. Something was definitely off about her auntie. She observed the woman closely.

  Lovely bright red hair. Check.

  Manicured nails. Check.

  Real Jewels. Check.

  But her handbag didn't match what she was wearing. It had loose strings on the seams for one thing. Her bags used to be the flashiest thing she wore. Always a name brand. Chanel, Kors or Vuitton. Her auntie always told her that a bag was the one attire a woman wore all the time and status was everything. Every woman wanted to look great and feel great. Their hair, nails, shoes and handbag had to be epic. Especially their bag since they logged half their life and forms of identification and all their important personal and private stuff in their bags. It was almost an extension of them. Everything else was optional. Just as clothes could make a man, so could a bag make a lady, Aunt Nia would always say. Not that Dana always agreed with her, but she always loved looking at her latest bag from her collection. Dana would never catch her auntie in a fanny pack. She was one of those uber stylish fashionistas.

  Today, she was sporting a cheap knockoff. That was so unlike her auntie who was used to finer quality things.

  “Aunt Nia, I’m sorry to tell you this but you Louis Vuitton bag is... Well, it's fake. I hope you didn't pay too much for it. You know it's one of the most counterfeited designer bags.”

  “My, my, my, you have always been the observant child haven't you? Nothing gets past you, does it? That's what I always love about you. Your attention to detail.”

  “My attention to detail?” Dana echoed.

  “No one else could tell. And I guess that website you’re running is rubbing off on you, too. You’ve got to always keep your eyes sharp.”

  “Oh, that.” Dana felt sheepish. “It’s more a hobby than a business. Something I’d developed a while back to help me relieve stress when I was working at my former day-job in advertising.”

  “Oh, don’t downplay it, child. I think it’s wonderful. What is it? Some sort of mystery blog, right? I read a story on it once and did one of them puzzles there.”

  “Thanks, auntie. It’s an online mystery riddles blog.”

  “Oh, right. The Fox, right?”

  Dana grinned. “It’s called The Mystery Fox riddles blog. You remember how Grandma Rae loved to solve mystery riddles to keep her mind active and all?”

  “Oh, that’s right.”

  Dana almost choked with emotion. “Grandma Rae had encouraged me to publish the mystery stories and riddles I’d created. She told a few friends in her bridge club who got interested and that’s how it all began really. It’s only been a year and I publish a few riddles a month. I don’t get too many blog hits though. But as long I get a few visitors to the blog, that makes it all worth it really.”

  “Child, I think it’s wonderful. Keeping busy keeps you alive and kicking as they say.”

  Dana smiled. She enjoyed creating fun riddles on her blog when she had the chance. She would often begin with a little mystery short story or riddle with a whodunit type of vibe and the hidden answer at the end. A few readers have asked if she would publish more frequently in the past. But now that she was helping to run her Nan’s old café, she didn’t know if she’d even have the time now.

  “Okay, now are you going to tell me what’s going on here, auntie? That’s so not like you to wear imitations of anything. You always talked down on people who wear fakes. Not that I could ever afford a bag like that. A real one, that is.”

  “Well you know Merv has been going through a pretty rough time now. He bought me this lovely designer bag and paid a fortune for it, but since he got laid off, well I couldn't tell him that I sold it to help make ends meet. I’m not used to not having money flowing in. I gave up my career to raise the kids and he was the one working. Now, he’s lost it all.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. But you did what?”

  “You know a man's pride means the world to him, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “Well, I sold some of my designer stuff and then I went and got some fakes for a small fraction of the cost. But of course he can't tell the difference. Thank goodness I'm not married to you.”

  Dana laughed nervously.

  What was going on? Everybody she knew seemed to be falling on tough times.

  Well, Dana wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse that she paid close attention to details. That was always her thing, wasn't it? That's how she knew that her ex had cheated on her. The tell tale signs.

  People were creatures of habit. They did the same things in a routine that was comfortable to them unless something drastic happened to them.

  It wasn't like her auntie to buy cheap handbags. She used to be a fashion designer back in her day. She had a fetish for handbags. Designer bags. So seeing her with a cheap knockoff didn't cut it for Dana.

  Louis Vuitton uses a specific stitch pattern. A certain number of stitches at the top. And the patterns are always evened up. This bag did not have those same trademark qualities for one thing.

  “I can’t believe Aunt Nia and Uncle Merv are going through tough times,” Dana said to Katie later that evening in the kitchen. “What’s been going on here? First, my grandma’s café might sink into bankruptcy unless we can make a huge success with the grand re-opening, now Uncle Merv lost his job and Aunt Nia is selling her prized handbag collection to make ends meet.”

  “Well, she has to pay the mortgage on her Florida rentals, you know. Her tenants have lost their jobs and can’
t pay the rent. Not to mention their home here, too.” Katie said chowing down the last of her spaghetti and meatballs.

  Dana was making Grandma Rae’s favorite recipe. A warm apple pie smoothie for dessert for them to chow down. They were planning to have it by the fireplace while catching up with business at the café. But right now, Dana had to talk about the family personal business.

  Dana chopped up two apples and placed them in the blender along with a cup of distilled water. She then added a quarter tablespoon of vanilla extract, a quarter tablespoon of cinnamon and a tablespoon of maple syrup then closed the blender.

  “Well, I’m sure glad you’re holding the fort at the café. What would Grandma Rae have done without you. It was good that you’ve worked with her over the years in the business.”

  “Hey, it’s nothing, cuz. She was like a real grandmother to me. If it weren’t for her giving me the job after my divorce, I don’t know what I would have done when I moved back to Berry Cove. She was a real gem. Showed me how to run the café business in every area from serving customers, to making treats and everything. I only wish I had the good business management sense that you have to handle the financial stuff. I’m just glad that between you and me, we can keep Grandma Rae’s legacy alive and keep her faithful customers happy.”

  Dana smiled warmly. “Thanks, Cuz. Yes, let’s hope we can do this.”

  After Dana blended the ingredients into a smooth mixture. She then poured it out into two microwavable mugs then propped one cup at a time in the microwave for a couple minutes.

  The girls then treated themselves by the fireplace with their warm apple pie smoothie topped with a bit of whipped cream and a spoon to scoop it all up. It was just like having an apple pie with the same cozy taste without all the long work and baking. The girls talked about introducing it on their menu officially, too and all the plans they had for the CCC. After all, Dana had suggested Katie serve it as a special when the first day of fall hit and they had a cold spell with the wind. Customers loved it and requested more of it.