A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery Box Set

by Kate Bell

  "I'm sorry, Alec," Lucy said.

  "Thanks," Alec said, still not looking up.

  "There wasn't anything else you could do," Ed said. "If anyone knew what to do to save her life, it was you."

  "I know," Alec repeated. "I just can't stand that it happened to someone so young."

  I looked up as a man in a suit approached. He had a crew cut, and he moved with an air of authority, very much like Alec moved when he was in charge and investigating a case. He stopped at the booth and looked at Alec, still with his head in his hands, and then at me. Finally, his eyes rested on Ed and Lucy.

  "Excuse me, I'm Detective Calvin Black with the Sanford police department. I'd like to ask you folks a few questions."

  Alec's head popped up. "Cal, I haven't seen you in years. What are you doing in this area?"

  The detective's face broke out into a grin. "Alec Blanchard. I haven't seen you in what, ten years? How are you? I moved to this neck of the woods about eight years ago."

  "I'm living over in Sandy Harbor. I'm here for the marathon and the Strawberry Festival. This is my girlfriend Allie McSwain, and these are our friends Lucy and Ed Gray."

  "Pleased to meet you all," he said, nodding at the three of us. "Alec, were you the one that administered CPR?"

  Alec nodded. "I did. But she didn't respond." His mouth formed a hard line.

  The detective whipped out his notebook and pen. I thought detectives probably all bought their pens and notebooks at the same place. Detective Supplies 'R Us. Alec may have retired from the police force, but he still kept a supply of notebooks for his private investigation agency.

  "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.

  "We were at a booth not far away from where the victim was and we heard someone scream that she had fallen. I ran over and saw her on the ground. She was still breathing when I checked her, so I dialed 911. I doubt it was over two minutes from the time she fell to when she stopped breathing and I began CPR."

  Cal made notes and looked back at him. "Did you notice anything else?"

  Alec shook his head. "Just that there was foam as well as a pink substance around her mouth, and her body was twitching a bit. A crowd gathered pretty quickly, but I didn't see anything unusual."

  Cal made more notes, and then looked up at him. "If you think of anything, you'll call me, right?" he said and handed him a business card.

  "You know it," Alec said, taking the card from him.

  "So how's life been treating you? You still on the force?"

  Alec shook his head. "No, I retired the end of last year and started a private investigation business. Not much goes on in Sandy Harbor, but I've gotten a little work from the police department. They've cut back on personnel and don't have a detective now, so they still ask me to work with them from time to time."

  "That's a good deal. I heard Sam Bailey is chief of police there. I'd hate to work for him. He was always a little difficult, if you know what I mean."

  "I did work for him and I did hate it," Alec said, with a smile. "Anything new with you?"

  "Nope. Not really," Cal said. "Just putting my time in so I can retire in a few years."

  Someone cried out, and we all turned to look toward the booth where we had found the girl. Alec jumped to his feet, and we all headed in that direction.

  When we got to the booth, a young man was inside, walking back and forth with the back of his hand across his forehead. He was shirtless and wore a pair of white cutoffs. His medium length blond hair was sweat-damp around the edges and worry creased his forehead.

  "What happened?" he cried to the blond woman near the booth.

  The woman shrugged and whispered something, then glanced in Alec's direction.

  "Excuse me," Cal said and introduced himself. "You knew the victim?"

  "Yeah, she's my girlfriend. Where is she? Someone said Tessa fainted."

  "She was transported to the hospital. Can you tell me where you've been?" Cal asked.

  "What?" the man asked, looking puzzled. "I was looking at the other booths."

  Cal wrote in his notebook. I wondered why the young man hadn't heard the earlier commotion and sirens. When Tessa had been put into the ambulance, I would have sworn the entire festival crowd had gathered near to watch.

  "I need to go to her," he said. "What happened to her? Do you know?"

  Cal shook his head. "She stopped breathing and Detective Blanchard here performed CPR on her. Can I get your name?"

  He looked at Cal. "Rich McGinty. Why are you asking me these questions? I need to get to Tessa."

  "Why don't we talk in private?" Calvin suggested.

  "Why? What's going on?" Rich asked. His voice quivered as Calvin led him away toward the parking lot.

  "Wow," I said. I felt like crying, but I didn't want to break down in front of all the people milling about.

  "What about the booth?" Lucy asked, looking at the booth with jars of strawberry jam.

  "I've been watching it since the ambulance took the young lady away," the blond woman at the booth next door said. "I'm sure someone will come to pack up her things at some point."

  "That's a good idea," Alec said. "If someone doesn't come by, we can have Cal contact her family."

  The woman nodded. "It's no problem."

  I went back to my booth and sat down, people watching those that walked by. I couldn't believe the woman had died. She was just too young.

  Ed and Lucy returned after a few minutes. We were all shaken by what had happened and we sat in silence. A few people stopped by for samples, but not many were buying my cupcakes.

  I had only sold a dozen cupcakes by the end of the day, and it was a little disappointing. People were shaken by the girl's death and weren't in the mood to buy. I hoped the next day would be better. We had the booth for the whole week and a carnival would be in town for two days. I thought the carnival might lighten the mood of the festival.

  Alec came back and handed me the bag of salsa and soaps he had bought for me. "You thought I lost these, didn't you?"

  "It had crossed my mind," I said, taking the bags from him.

  "I did misplace them for a bit," he admitted.

  I smiled. "We aren't selling much." I didn't blame anyone for not being in the mood to buy. I wasn't in the mood to sell and I wondered if I should cancel for the rest of the festival.

  "There's been a lot of excitement," he said. "People have other things on their minds."

  "I know. It's so sad."

  "It's a bad start to what's supposed to be a fun week," Lucy said, frowning.

  I nodded. "I might be too tired to come down here tomorrow."

  "Ed and I can handle it," Lucy said. "What we don't sell, Ed will finish up."

  Ed had a cupcake halfway to his mouth, and he stopped with his mouth still open. "Hey. I'm just making sure they're fresh. Nothing wrong with that."

  "Help yourself. I will have a lot left over," I said. "I guess I can hand them out before we get ready to leave. If I'm going to come back tomorrow I'll need to pick up more strawberries before we go." I was undecided about coming back. Part of me really wanted to, but the other part of me wanted to stay home in bed.

  "What are you going to make for tomorrow?" Lucy asked.

  I shrugged. "Maybe strawberry tarts. Speaking of tarts," I said when I spotted a familiar figure approaching.

  A familiar looking petite woman with dark hair and black-framed glasses strode toward the booth. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she frowned at my cupcakes sitting on the table. I had put them under glass so people could see them. She stopped and looked me up and down, scowling.

  "You foolish woman. You think these will sell?" she said in a thick French accent and motioned to my cupcakes.

  "Suzanna. What are you doing here?" I sneered. The last person I expected to see at the festival was my newly acquired archrival.

  "That's something I could ask you," she said. "You do not have even a basic grasp on baking. Why do you waste your tim
e?"

  Lucy gasped. "You mean little woman. I'd put Allie's cupcakes up against your whatever-it-is you make, any day. Allie is an expert baker."

  Suzanna tossed her head back and laughed. "You two are something else. You know nothing of baking. You waste my time! And what is that pink hair for?" Suzanna narrowed her eyes at Lucy's hair and frowned.

  Lucy gasped and scowled at her. "Duh! Strawberry Festival. People love my strawberry pink hair."

  "You're the one that came over here," I pointed out to Suzanna. "What do you want?"

  "I came to see what other people are selling. Just like everyone else. You obviously are not selling anything. If you get hungry, come and taste my strawberry crème cake. Oh, wait, on second thought. Don't. I banned you from eating my food." She laughed again and people turned to look in our direction.

  I glanced at Alec sitting on the chair. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Suzanna. I wondered when he would step in and tell the little creep to hit the road.

  "Who is this?" he asked, turning to me.

  "That little French tart from La Chemise," I said. "I told you about her. Can't you see how arrogant she is?"

  He nodded. "Indeed I do."

  Suzanna and I had had a run-in several months earlier. She had opened an authentic French restaurant in Sandy Harbor, stealing customers from Henry's Home Cooking Restaurant, and in turn, from me. I slipped in to buy some of her French desserts, just as research, you understand, and she confronted me, banning me from her restaurant. I'm still not sure who ratted me out and blew my cover, but if I ever find out, there will be trouble. Suzanna was a pompous little Frenchwoman and I couldn't stand her.

  "La Chemise? I like that restaurant," Ed said, brightening.

  "See? Even your friend likes my food. That's why he's chubby. He can't stay away from my food because it is the best!"

  I gasped. "Ed isn’t chubby. But if he was chubby, it would be because of my desserts, not yours!"

  "Lucy, am I chubby?" Ed asked, frowning and looking at his wife.

  "Hush, Ed," Lucy said. "You're perfect and I wouldn't change you for anything."

  "What are you doing here, anyway?" I asked Suzanna. "No one will drive from Sanford to Sandy Harbor to go to your restaurant."

  "Of course they will. I have people travel from all over the state to taste my cuisine."

  The little imp looked so pleased with herself. The sad thing was, she had a reason to be. Her desserts were some of the best I had ever eaten. They might have been better than mine, and since she had moved to town and opened her restaurant, my business was suffering.

  "Why don't you find someone else to torment and go darken their day?" Lucy suggested.

  "Fine. I have no interest in any of you, anyway," she said and spun around and walked away.

  I would like to say I made a snappy retort as she left, but I didn't. It had been a long hard day, and I was ready to go to the motel and go to bed.

  Chapter Five

  The shower I took at the motel was the best thing I have ever experienced. My muscles begged for more hot water, but when my skin turned pruney, I forced myself to get out. My muscles ached as I moved around the room and I wondered once again why I had put myself through the marathon. Next time, I would watch it on TV.

  I got dressed, putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. If Alec wanted fancy, he would be disappointed. I was exhausted. What I didn't understand was why wasn't Alec exhausted? Alec wanted to go out to eat, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. I'd have been fine with a taco from the drive-thru at this point.

  When I was dressed, I sat on the edge of the bed and lay back. My eyes closed, and I was asleep before I knew it.

  A sharp knock at the door woke me. I jumped and suppressed a scream. I sat up and stared at the door, trying to remember where I was.

  The knock came again, and I forced myself to my feet. I peered through the peephole and then opened the door.

  "Hey," I said. Alec was standing there with his hand poised to knock again.

  "Hey," he said, stepping inside and giving me a kiss. "You look beautiful."

  I snickered. "Right. I look like I was dragged behind a wagon pulled by six horses with their tails on fire. Can't we get McDonald's and go to bed?"

  "Lucy and Ed want to eat out. We need to eat too, so let's go out," he said. "Ready?"

  I nodded reluctantly, and let him lead me out of the room.

  We chose a casual 1950s style diner, and I was glad. I wasn't wearing makeup, and I thought someone might think I was sick. In a casual diner I wouldn't have to pretend to be pretty.

  "I want a cheeseburger. With fries. And a chocolate shake," I said and laid my menu on the table.

  Alec looked at me.

  "What? I burned a million calories today."

  "I didn't say anything," Alec murmured. "Although your nutrition is questionable these days. If you would eat more fresh greens, you might not feel as bad as you do now."

  I elbowed him, and stuck my tongue out. Alec would never reform my eating habits and he knew it.

  The waitress took our orders, and I leaned back in the booth. I was sitting next to the wall, so I laid my head against it and closed my eyes.

  "Hello, fancy meeting you all here," I heard a voice say.

  My eyes popped open, and I sat up. Had I dozed off? I had the feeling a lot of time had somehow passed in the few moments I had my eyes closed. Cal stood in front of our table.

  "What's up, Cal?" Alec asked him.

  "It looks like foul play may be involved in the death of the young woman at the festival. I know you saw she was foaming at the mouth, but she also had blisters in her mouth and down her throat."

  "Oh no," I said. "How awful."

  "Do they have any idea what might have happened to her?" Lucy asked.

  He shook his head. "No, they haven't done the autopsy, but when they do, they'll have to send samples to toxicology. On the plus side, I think we might get the reports back sooner than we normally would."

  "Why is that?" Alec asked, picking up his glass of water.

  "The woman's name was Tessa Brady. She's the mayor's daughter."

  "And the mayor's office is putting pressure on the police department to get answers," Alec said.

  Cal nodded. "That they are."

  "If you need any help on the case, I'll be glad to do what I can. We're staying at a motel tonight, and going home the remaining days. But Sandy Harbor isn't far away," Alec offered.

  Cal nodded. "I appreciate that and I may take you up on that offer. I had a question for Allie though." He looked at me with a smile.

  "What? A question?" My mind was still foggy with sleep.

  He nodded. "There was something pink on Tessa's face and residue in her mouth. It looks exactly like the frosting on those strawberry cupcakes you made."

  I gasped. "What do you mean? What are you saying?"

  Cal shrugged. "We need to wait for the toxicology reports, but it does look like the frosting on those cupcakes."

  "Cal, I assure you, Allie is not responsible for the girl's death," Alec said.

  "I'm not saying she is. I'm just pointing it out and I'm wondering if you remember seeing her come to your booth to buy cupcakes?" he asked.

  I shook my head. "I ran the marathon and I've been pretty worn out ever since. I can't remember much of anything. But there had to be someone else selling something pink she might have eaten. It's the Strawberry Festival, after all."

  "Absolutely true," he said, nodding. "I'm not saying anything else. I'm just trying to piece things together. If we can get a timeline on her, it might tell us something important and if she was at your booth, I'd like to know."

  "I don't remember seeing her either," Alec offered. "We both ran the race. Allie was running until around an hour before we found the girl."

  Cal looked at Lucy and Ed. "Do either of you remember her?"

  "I didn't get a look at her," Lucy said. "Maybe if you had a picture of her, I might remember."


  "I have one here," he said, removing a picture from his notebook. He handed it to Lucy, and she looked it over.

  The girl was young and pretty. I didn't think she could be much over twenty-one. It made me sad to think someone so young had died before getting a chance to live her life.

  Lucy studied the picture, and shook her head. "I don't remember her."

  Ed shook his head after looking at it. "Me either."

  Lucy handed the picture back and Cal put it into his notebook. "If any of you can think of anything else, you'll let me know, right?"

  "We certainly will," Alec said. "Was her boyfriend able to give you any information?"

  "Not a lot. He was having a hard time processing that she had died, but I'm on my way over to talk to him again. I just stopped in to get something to carry out for dinner."

  "What kind of girl was she?" I asked him. "Being the mayor's daughter, I would think she was pretty straitlaced, but you never know."

  "You never know how people live in their private lives," Alec agreed. "I'm sure you've seen that before." He looked at Cal when he said that last part.

  "I have," Cal agreed. "It's hard to say what kind of person Tessa was at this point. I'll interview the Mayor and his family tomorrow to find out more about Tessa. Hopefully they can shed some light on things. Well, I'll let you enjoy your dinner."

  The waitress came up behind Cal with a tray carrying our food and he went to the front register to place his order.

  The waitress put our food on the table and left. I looked at Alec.

  "What do you think it means? Why would he think it's my cupcake on her face?" I asked. "Do I seem suspicious?"

  Alec shrugged. "You gave him cupcakes to take home to his family. I'm sure it was on his mind when the hospital said there was something pink on her face and in her mouth."

  It was true. I hadn't sold many cupcakes and when he walked by my booth on his way out of the festival, I gave him a dozen cupcakes to take home to his family. That was the last time I'd be nice to him.

  "Well, my cupcakes did not kill her," I insisted. "I am not a killer."

  "Of course you're not," Alec said with a chuckle. "Don't jump to conclusions."