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

by Ann S. Marie

  She only hoped that things would continue to go as smoothly. But there was a nudging feeling that something was just not right around her. What was it? What was that sinking feeling about?

  Chapter 2

  The following morning, Dana woke up to the soft purring of her kitty, Truffles.

  “Aww, you miss Grandma Rae, don’t you, sweetie. So do I, you know.” Dana pulled the quilted duvet off her and climbed out of bed, slipping her recently pedicured feet into the cozy pink slippers. “Yes, today would have been her birthday if she were still here with us, right?” Dana swallowed hard. Her heart skipped a beat thinking about it. She then scooped up her furry four-legged friend and cuddled her to her cheek. There was nothing like being greeted by a furry family member first thing in the morning.

  Truffles purred again indicating that she somehow understood what Dana was saying and agreed with her. Just then, Dana felt a slight chill come over her and the sweet scent of perfume. If she was not mistaken it smelled like Grandma Rae’s favorite perfume.

  “Nah, that’s just my imagination,” she said to herself, stroking Truffles soft fur around her ears. Truffles leaned into her, enjoying the affection.

  Heavens, she felt alone in the big old Victorian sometimes. It was a good thing Katie had moved in after Grandma Rae passed away. Katie was already at the Café before opening to get the cakes and pies going with the morning staff. Dana would join them soon.

  And well, it was a big home, too much space for one person alone.

  Perhaps, she could turn it into some sort of rooming house.

  No, she couldn’t do that.

  She wondered how Grandma Rae managed to live in it alone after her husband or husbands passed away and her kids grew up and left home. But Dana guessed that back in the day, people loved lots of space. Unlike today where everyone was downsizing and the furniture wasn’t as grand and luxurious as it had been in the past. TV’s back in the day were huge and space occupying, unlike the flat screens you put up on the wall today. Telephones were grand too. Buffets were all too common to place your finer dishes in and there was a room for everything. A grand study. A piano room. A family room. A dining room. And of course, a maid and butlers quarters. Dana grinned to herself thinking of how life had changed for everyone these days. Most people had electronic books these days. Very few kept grand libraries or had grand parties they threw everyone now and then. Perhaps it was also because today most people were just too busy.

  A little later, Dana arrived at the Cozy Cupcake Café admiring the new signs. She drew in a deep breath. The grand opening was later in the week. She hoped that it would all go well, according to plan.

  “Morning, everyone,” Dana said cheerfully. She noticed they were wearing the new orange aprons she had designed with the new logo on them. CCC. Sweet Treats with Happy Thoughts.

  Inga, the baker had just placed a tray of cupcakes out at the counter behind the cashier. She then stopped and gave Dana a dark look. There was certainly nothing happy going on with her this morning.

  What was that all about? Did I say good morning the wrong way?

  “What?” Dana swallowed hard. “What is it?”

  “Did you read the Gazette this morning?” Inga said sharply in her thick Russian accent, rolling her Rs.

  “No. Why?” Dana’s heart galloped like a race horse. Oh, no. Now what?

  Inga handed Dana the newspaper over the counter. It was seven o’clock in the morning and the café had just opened in time for the early Monday morning crowd. Katie was in the back in the kitchen with the other staff.

  Dana’s eyes widened in shock. She was reading the words but nothing was making any sense. It all seemed like gibberish for all she knew.

  “What is this?”

  THE BERRY COVE GAZETTE

  FOOD AND WINE/ RESTAURANT REVIEWS by Brad F. Jackson

  The Cozy Cupcake Café is an embarrassing joke, a pitiful attempt to sell cupcakes with tacky gimmicks...unlike the Baxters Café...It looks as if the café goodness died with its original owner, Ma Rae. RIP....Skip this one!

  Dana couldn’t read any further. Heat rushed to her chest. She felt as if she was going to faint.

  “What?” She barely squeezed the words out of her throat.

  “Never mind that scum. He should have made a disclosure that he’s engaged to Bianca Baxter—our competitor.” Katie offered emotional support as she stepped out into the front with a tray of warm strawberry cream cupcakes. “And what really sucks is that we delivered some of our specials to their team this morning at the Gazette. Hypocrites!”

  “That scum. It’s not true,” Inga added with her thick Russian accent rolling her R, yet again.

  “But it’s all in print now. People might think it’s true. How could he? That two-face. I thought he enjoyed our cupcakes. They request that we deliver to his team every morning, right?”

  “Well, yes. They also get muffins from the Baxters. But the team loves our cupcakes.”

  “That’s what you call sour grapes.” A patron added as she plumped her bag on the counter. “I’ll have the strawberry cream cupcake please and a double double.” She placed her order and Katie rang it up and grabbed her treats.

  Dana stood there with her jaw still open, still clutching the newspaper and glancing at the review page. Her mind was in a turbulent spin.

  She felt heart sick that Brad was tarnishing her grandmother’s memory like that.

  “Well, I’m supposed to speak with the Ad team this morning about our campaign this week,” Dana added, trying to sound brave as the customers filed into the café. “I’m going over there to deliver some original artwork for the poster. I really hope I don’t bump into Brad.”

  “I hope you do,” Inga said. “And when you get there, make sure to serve him with a piece of your mind along with a piece of his morning cake.” Inga waved the spatula in the air at Dana. Her eyes were narrowed like daggers.

  She glanced down at the poster she held in her hand. The motto was clear in dripping chocolate fonts. “Tasty treats with warm words to jump start your day.” Well, she wasn’t expecting any warm words from the Gazette this morning.

  Later in the morning, at nine o’clock, Dana hurried along the quiet road toward the Town Square which was pretty much the heart of Berry Cove, filled with stores and Victorian converted houses and lofts. The street seemed quiet except for the rustling of the leaves. So unlike the busy city. She thought she saw the bushes near the monument rustle. But that must’ve been her imagination.

  She passed the center monument in the middle and bumped into Mike, the mail guy. She didn’t even see him coming.

  “Hey there, you all right?” Mike said picking up something that Dana had inadvertently bumped out of his hand.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry Mike. I wasn’t concentrating.” Dana felt even worse now. Great! Now she would be known as the bumbling baker, too.

  “Looks like you were in a daze there.”

  “I know. I’ve just got...” a lot on my mind. “Some business to take care of at the Gazette. I’m placing an ad for the grand opening this week.”

  “Oh right. Nice. Nice.” Mike looked nervously at his watch. “Well, I’d better get going now. I’m going to be late starting my rounds.”

  “Your rounds?” Dana noticed he was in uniform but didn’t have any of his delivery mail bags with him. Perhaps he had delivered a special parcel to the Gazette since it looked as if that building was where he was coming from.

  Mike then hurried off and got into his car that was parked on the cobbled road side and started his engine and pulled out.

  Dana shrugged and proceeded toward the old building in the center of the Town Square which housed the Gazette among other offices.

  The Gazette, like many of the businesses in the town square, was situated in a grand old Victorian built row house. She opened the gate and entered the terrace and rang the door bell to be buzzed inside.

  Once inside the building, she could smell the scent
of pine on the polished oak wood floors in the grand foyer. The reception area was empty. The team was no doubt in their Monday morning team meeting. She walked on the floor as it made a slight creaking sound that made her realized how much she loved the character of old houses and buildings, her shoes made a clunking sound as she made her way over to the reception desk to ring the bell. So different from those modern corporate offices in New York with their marble floors. The tall ceiling to floor, multi-paned window let in a lot of sunshine through the lobby area and reception.

  “Help!” Someone called out before she could reach the bell. “He’s dead! He’s dead!”

  Dana’s heart thumped hard in her chest. She looked ahead and saw a woman dressed in a blue cleaning uniform on the landing of the second level wave her hands about, trying to get attention.

  She hurried toward her. “Is everything all right?”

  “Come quickly.” The woman was frantic.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s senor Brad. He’s—-he’s...”

  “Oh, no!” Dave, the manager of the Editorial department, and the rest of the team who were in the boardroom came flying out of the room at the same time. “What the hell happened here?”

  “He’s...” Dana’s tongue felt heavy all of a sudden. So did her heart and her breathing. She felt her pulse stop. “Dead,” she finally finished her sentence.

  Her eyes were wide and her jaw fell open as she looked at Brad slumped over on his desk, a cup of coffee turned over, spilling on the side of the desk, and a half-eaten strawberry cream cupcake topped with a high frosting with a spoon dug into it from the Cozy Cupcakes Café right there by his left hand. There was a strange scent that filled the air. Brad wore a sweet yet strong cologne scent. And then there was a wrapper that was clear as day in front of her with a message from the café, only it was not one of their usual messages, Dana noticed as she glared closely. Someone had altered it with a black marker.

  Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest. There it was as clear as the morning sun:

  HERE’S A COZY CUPCAKE MESSAGE FOR YOU: REVENGE IS SWEET!

  Chapter 3

  Before long, the police were on the scene at the Gazette. Luckily, the police station was also located in the Town Square so it didn’t take long for officers to get there.

  Soon enough crowds had formed and began to gather outside the old Victorian-converted office building in the Town Square. This was not looking good. The whole situation wasn’t looking good at all.

  Dana stood to the side as the officers observed the area. They were speaking with the senior editor of the Berry Cove Gazette and the rest of the staff about what happened.

  “Dana! Oh, thank heavens. Are you all right?” Aunt Nia rushed in through the front doors of the building.

  “Okay, Ma’am. I’m afraid you’re going to have to step aside. This is a homicide investigation.” One of the detectives spoke sternly to Aunt Nia.

  “But my niece is here.”

  “Who’s your niece, ma’am?” The tall handsome detective asked. He looked tired and weary as if he’d just finished the end of his night shift which had now been extended since this unexpected case. He had dark blond hair, blue-green eyes from what Dana could tell and what looked like an old surgical scar on the side of his face. But, oh, was he handsome.

  “Dana.”

  “Hi, Aunt Nia. I’m fine, really.”

  “You don’t look so fine, sweetie. What happened?”

  “I just got here and...”

  “We’re going to be speaking with you, too.” The officer took out his notepad and sighed heavily. I’m Detective Evan Markson from Homicide. He flashed his badge before proceeding. “All right. Let’s begin. First of all, name?”

  “Dana Sweet.”

  “Address?”

  “I live at...” Dana paused for a moment. She had to get used to not having a zip code any longer. She was no longer a city girl from Brooklyn, New York. She was now a small town resident of Berry Cove. “123-A Berry Lane.”

  “123-A Berry Lane?”

  Uh-oh. Dana guessed her grandmother’s address was a famous and popular place this part of town.

  “Wait a minute. Are you Ma Rae’s granddaughter?” Another detective asked. Probably the guy’s partner. “I’m Detective Troy Anders. You’re grandmother was a good citizen here.” He was also handsome, Dana noted. He was just as tall as the other detective, if not a bit taller. She guessed they were both over six feet tall. But Detective Troy had darker hair. Brunette. Short cropped with ocean-blue eyes that sparkled and high chiseled cheekbones. Still, his expression did not seem as friendly as Detective Evan’s.

  “Yes. Yes, I am, as a matter of fact.”

  “So, it was your cupcake that Bradley Farmer Jackson was eating this morning?” Detective Evan interjected. “From the café. You’re the new owner, right?”

  Dana watched in horror as a team of forensic specialists observed the cupcake, took snapshots for evidence before placing it into a plastic bag. Probably for analysis.

  She swallowed hard.

  Dang, those nerves.

  Dana hated to swallow hard when nervous. It made her look, well, probably guilty or showed lack of confidence.

  She noticed the detective glancing at her neck when she swallowed. He probably thought she was guilty of sin. Which, of course, she wasn’t. No where even close.

  “Well, I....I’m not sure.”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Detective Troy said to forensics as they were passing by with the cupcake in a bag. He observed it and saw the logo on the purple wrapper. “That’ll be all. Take it to the lab.” He then gave Dana a cynical look. He went back to his notepad.

  “We have our cupcakes delivered to many businesses in the area. That’s nothing unusual.” Dana finally added.

  “You aren’t possibly saying she had anything to do with this, are you?” Aunt Nia said. Her hands on her hips, ready to fight for Dana.

  “We’re just asking questions right now, Ma’am.”

  Dana tried to regain her composure. A cup of resilience, that’s one of the ingredients in her grandmother’s recipe for a good day. Resilience. Boy, did she need it now and more than a cup full. She could also do with a cup of coffee, strong and black, too!

  “Where were you between the hours of seven and nine this morning?” Detective Troy asked her pointedly. His voice was smooth and silky like warm honey, yet strong and deep. She was almost mesmerized by him but she had to shift her focus off his deliciously ocean blue eyes. God, the man probably thought she was a murderer for goodness sake, why was she even thinking he was remotely good looking. Besides, she was so sworn off men—for now.

  “Between the hours of seven and nine?” Dana scrambled her brain, trying to think. Her mind was an empty bowl of nerves right now.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he sighed heavily, clearly impatient with her long pauses. But she was still in shock. Her mind was numb.

  Goodness gracious!

  A man was just killed!

  In Berry Cove!

  Talk about major drama. She would have never expected this from a cozy small town like the one her Grandmother grew up in. The very same small town where she visited often and spent memorable times with her grandparents during her early days. This was only supposed to happen on the big screen or in big cities. Certainly not small town Berry Cove, famously known as the land of fresh berries and produce and friendly warm welcomes.

  “Well, I was...I was actually at home at seven o’clock.”

  Detective Troy scribbled down notes on his pad.

  “Then,” she continued. “I got ready and came into the café to check on things.”

  “The café opens at seven,” Aunt Nia added.

  “I know.” Detective Troy’s voice was void of emotion.

  Uh-oh!

  Did he think Dana had something to do with this murder? And that she was possibly trying to cover her tracks? But then why in Sam’s name would she return to the scen
e, if she did? Right. Because sometimes suspects do that. Duh! She was the writer of a mystery riddles blog, she should know that by now.

  Of course, he probably knew. Half the town probably got their morning pick me up at the CCC before heading into work. It was known for that. Even long before Dana took it over and renamed it the Cozy Cupcakes Café.

  Dana had a thought pop into her mind, just then. Should she mention that she bumped into Mike the mail guy, earlier and he seemed to be rushing away from the Gazette?

  Just what was he doing there anyway? She couldn’t wait to tell her Aunt Nia after she spoke with the cops, of course. But then again, probably Mike being in the area meant nothing. After all, it was a free country, right? He was probably just seeing an old friend of his, right?

  Just then, Detective Evan walked back over to them. He, too, had a notepad in his hand and had been interviewing other witnesses. Dana looked around and saw Mike the mail guy leaving. Did he just finished speaking with the cops? When did he get back to the Gazette? Dana’s mind was spinning.

  Her thoughts raced back to her brief encounter with the town gossip, Gerdie-Sue, saying that folks don’t like different in this small town.

  Were people trying to push her out by pinning this on her?

  She really had to give her mind a break from thinking. Dana was beginning to get a tension headache.

  Maybe she was being too dramatic here. There was no reason to be so harsh with her assessment of them.

  Wait a minute! Oh, yes there was. There was a very good reason for her to be suspicious.

  It looked as if she might be framed for murder!

  Chapter 4

  Detective Troy looked at Dana suspiciously. “Are you all right, ma’am?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” she lied. She was feeling anything but fine right now, but she wasn’t about to let that on to Mr. Detective guy here.