Muffins & Murder (Sweet Bites Book 3) (Sweet Bites Mysteries)

by Heather Justesen

  “Violin? I thought it was piano?” I said. “Is there someone in town who teaches violin?”

  “It’s piano, violin and harp, actually. I take her to a woman over by the Prescott Gateway Mall.”

  “I wanted to play the saxophone instead of the harp, but she says it’s not ladylike.” Jasmin looked disgruntled.

  “And it’s not,” her mother said with a nod.

  “I’m not a lady, I’m a girl,” Jasmin shot back at her.

  I bit back a smile. “The harp is so refined.” I really liked the harp, and if I were at all musically inclined, I think that’s what I would have tried. Sheet music is a language I’ve never learned, however. I looked at the little girl, who appeared disgruntled. “And there’s time to play around with saxophones later if you still want to when you get older.”

  Her lips quirked, as if she would hold onto that possibility. Connie didn’t seem nearly as okay with the suggestion.

  I looked back at the studio in time to see the girls inside turn and walk to the door. Madison was talking with one of her friends and gesturing with her hands. I caught the end of her words as they exited the room. “And then she called the cops and Mom made me leave the school. It was so unfair. I’m the one who really found her.”

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about her wishing she’d seen Miss Clark lying there dead. I sure wished I hadn’t seen it.

  “It was good talking to you, Mrs. Larabee, Jasmin. Have fun.” I looked back over to see Madison pick up her bag.

  She smiled up at me. “Are you ready to go, Auntie Tess? I think I need a treat after dancing.”

  “Do you?” I took her offered hand and gave it a squeeze. “I might know somewhere that a busy dancer could get a treat.”

  “Did you see me? Didn’t I do good? It was fun.” She grinned up at me.

  “I’m glad you had fun, it sure looked like it.” I avoided answering the question about how good she was. I was sure with more practice she wouldn’t look so much like a galloping turkey.

  As we headed for my Outlander, I wondered how long the drive was to Jasmin’s violin lessons. Had there been enough time for Connie to take her daughter to the lesson and return before Francine was killed? I decided I might need to make a drive out to the mall to see for myself.

  Cupcakes

  1 cup butter, softened

  2 eggs

  1 cup granulated sugar

  3 oz package of lemon gelatin

  1/2 tsp salt

  1 1/4 tsp baking soda

  1 cup buttermilk (or one cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar that’s been allowed to sit on the counter for a few minutes)

  3 cups flour

  1 to 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (according to your preference)

  ¼ cup brown sugar

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  Cream the butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in gelatin and then the buttermilk. In another bowl mix the salt, baking soda and flour, then add slowly to the wet ingredients, mixing as you go. In a separate bowl, a food processor or a blender, mush up the blueberries and brown sugar, then add to the other batter. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners so they are about 2/3 full.

  Bake for 22-25 minutes or until just starting to turn brown around the edges. Makes 2-dozen cupcakes.

  Frosting

  1/3 cup butter or shortening

  1/4 cup milk

  1 Tbsp lemon juice

  3 cups powdered sugar

  Blend the ingredients until well mixed. You may need to add more powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency depending on your current weather conditions. Spread on the cupcakes when they have cooled completely.

  “Whoa, what’s with you in the normal clothes?” Jack asked when I came down the rear stairs from my apartment half an hour later. “You look great. I’d forgotten what you look like in civvies.”

  “Really? So my chef’s jacket doesn’t look great?” I arched a brow at him. I stepped into the courtyard, folded my zippered red hoody over my arm and clung to a bag of leftovers from the previous day. It wasn’t cold enough to need extra layers yet, but with the short-sleeved red blouse I wore, chances were I’d want it before too much time passed. It felt good to dress in something nice, even if it was casual.

  “Okay, women only ask questions like that when they want to trap a guy.” He held up his hands to ward off any objections. “But the truth is, you always look great. Maybe even when you’ve got blood pouring from your shoulder and are whining about the IV I’m about to put in.”

  I studied him for a moment, trying to decide if he was joking. He opened the car door for me and I slid into the passenger seat of his green sedan.

  When he came around and climbed in beside me, I nodded. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad in your uniform, either.” Actually, he looked terrific in his EMT shirt, with all its crisp lines accentuating his broad shoulders and the navy blue color somehow making his pale eyes even bluer.

  “Thanks.” He seemed unsure what to do with my compliment. “Do you have any idea where we start with the rangers?”

  “I was told the ranger station has someone on duty in and around the Keystone Campground until nightfall. They should be able to help us out with who was on the clock Friday night, so we can see if anyone remembers Cole.”

  I produced a picture I’d downloaded of him from the Net. I also knew the make, model and color of his truck, which I’d gotten through the grapevine, aka Honey. “I’m hoping if I show this to the ranger, he might be able to confirm or deny seeing Cole fishing Friday night.”

  “If not, it doesn’t mean that he wasn’t there, does it?” Jack asked. “It just means the ranger didn’t see him.”

  “Right, but getting a definite response is something. Right now I’m running on almost nothing.”

  “So do you like him for the murder?” Jack asked.

  “You’ve been watching too many cop shows. ‘Like him for the murder?’” I teased.

  “Maybe, but you still got the point. So?”

  “I don’t know. All we can do is find out. He seems unlikely, but he was stalking Francine and apparently he had this whole made-up relationship with her in his mind. Weirder things have happened.”

  “What’s that bag of cookies for?” Jack asked a moment later.

  “Wait and see.”

  We arrived at the ranger station to find a tall Asian man flipping through paperwork. He glanced up, a look of annoyance on his face, when we approached. “What can I do for you?”

  “Hi, I was wondering if you were the ranger on duty Friday night,” I said.

  “I was here.”

  “How late?”

  He set his hands on the pile of papers, looking exasperated. “Do you have a problem? Something I can help you with?”

  I could see I was pushing my luck, so I decided to cut to the chase. “My brother said he was down here fishing Friday night and he lost his lantern out by Iguana Point. I wondered if you saw him. The lantern belonged to my grandpa before he died, so it was kind of special. He was in a fishing boat.”

  He stared at me. “I haven’t heard about a lantern being found. Sorry, I can’t help you.”

  “But did you see him there? I mean, maybe instead of Iguana he was on the north side, sometimes he can’t remember. He drives a blue Ford Ranger. It’s about twelve years old. Do you drive past there?”

  “You expect me to remember a random truck I might have seen five days ago?” he asked.

  “I hoped maybe you would.” I lifted the bag of cookies that I’d brought. “I’m sure you worked a long day today. I thought you might like a snack.” Seeing his disbelieving look, I explained. “Sweet Bites is my bakery, and I had some leftovers.” They were from the day before, but they’d still be good.

  He gave me a suspicious look but dug into the bag and took a cookie. After his first bite, his demeanor got slightly less frosty. “What kind of truck was it that he drives again?”

  I let myself
smile inside and repeated the info, then showed him Cole’s picture. “He said he was fishing near the dock, but you know how it goes; he could have put in almost anywhere.”

  “Not on that side of the lake, he couldn’t,” the ranger said, reaching for another cookie. “The reeds are really thick in that area everywhere except for where they put in the boats so if his truck wasn’t nearby, he wasn’t there. If his boat is on a trailer, it’s more likely that he unloaded at Yucca Cove.”

  He studied the picture for a minute. “Seems I remember an older guy and his grandson in the area that night. He’s a regular; He’s been coming here since I was a kid, so I know him. Over on the other side, we had a couple of teens I had to send home when things got too hot and heavy, you know? But I don’t think I saw this guy. He looks familiar, though. I’ve seen him a time or two. He might’ve ended up somewhere else.”

  “Maybe. I guess I’ll have to bug him for better details about where he was that night. I’d really like to get that lantern back.” I made my voice wistful.

  “Good luck.” The ranger tried to return the bag of cookies—or what was left of them.

  “You keep them. I’ve got plenty back at the bakery,” I said and Jack and I headed off.

  Jack took my hand, pulling me close, and spoke low in my ear. “So he has no verifiable alibi?”

  “Why didn’t Tingey figure that out?” I asked.

  “Maybe he did,” Jack suggested.

  “Then why didn’t the ranger recognize the picture or get suspicious when we asked about someone—the same someone, the same night as the detective was asking about?”

  “Good question. Maybe Tingey’s been focusing on other suspects. Maybe he has a lead he hasn’t told you about.”

  “Well, he wouldn’t tell me about it, if he has a lead. He always wants me to share stuff, but he never does.” I felt more than a little disgruntled about this fact, despite the news about Francine’s real last name and the existence of a possible stalker.

  Jack chuckled and gave my hand a squeeze. “That’s kind of his job, you know?”

  “Yeah. Whatever. I wonder if Cole is at work tonight. I’ve been thinking about getting a new laptop. We could swing by and check some out.” I smiled up at him, widening my eyes and all but batting my lashes at him in invitation.

  “You don’t need a new computer. You upgraded to a new system when you opened business last spring. Isn’t the desktop brand new?”

  “Mine is working just fine,” I admitted. “And if I needed something new, I’d send Lenny, not go myself. He’s way smarter about computers than I am. But that doesn’t mean I can’t check.” I gave him a big grin. “Can you spare another half an hour or so?”

  “To keep you out of trouble? You bet.” He opened the car door for me and waited until I was seated to close it.

  I loved that he was old fashioned enough to get my door for me. My hand was still warm and tingly from being in his. Or was that my imagination? Either way, I was glad for an excuse to stretch out our time together.

  Cole wasn’t at work when we stopped into the electronics store. Jack bought me a turkey sandwich at a nearby deli and after we ate, we went for a walk in the park. It was getting chilly, but I shrugged into my hoody, glad I’d remembered it so we didn’t have to go home yet.

  “Thanks for coming with me,” I said as we turned back toward the car a while later.

  “I’m glad I could. It was nice having an evening just to talk.”

  “Without you trying to poke needles in me,” I teased.

  “Or you pretending gunshot wounds are just scratches,” he returned.

  I shifted my shoulder a little where I’d taken a bullet earlier that year. The wound had healed but I felt stiff sometimes. I wasn’t sure if the sensation was all in my mind or not. “So I’m not a wimp.”

  “You’re the opposite of a wimp,” he said carefully. “Sometimes I think maybe you’re too brave.”

  I wondered what that was supposed to mean. “You think I’m reckless?”

  It took him a long moment before he answered. “Not reckless, exactly. Well, maybe a little,” he corrected. “But mostly I think you need to take a few extra precautions. This amateur detective stuff has turned dangerous several times. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  The sincere concern was so strong in his voice that I couldn’t help but accept the words at face value despite the implied criticism. “I’ll try to be more careful. Getting shot’s no good at all. I’d really rather not have to go through that again.”

  We stopped when we reached his car and he turned me to face him. “If you need someone to go with you when you investigate and I’m not at work, I’ll do my best to be available. You’re kinda growing on me, Tess.”

  I smiled, embarrassed but very pleased. “I like you too, Jack. You’ve become a really good friend.”

  He looked disappointed. “Just a friend?”

  His insecurity had a burst of happiness soaring in my chest. My lips tugged upward despite my desire to act unruffled. “Maybe more than that.”

  “Good.” The word was barely more than a whisper as we watched each other, mesmerized for a long moment. I felt myself swaying toward him as his cologne swirled around us. His head lowered and he set a hand on my shoulder. For a few seconds I thought he was going to kiss me and for the first time in a long time, I wanted it, desperately. But he looked away, reaching around to unlock the door for me instead.

  On the way home, I tried to decide whether I was more relieved or disappointed that he was taking things with us so slowly. Then I decided to go with the flow. That approach seemed to be working fine at the moment and would leave me far less confused.

  I was only upstairs in my apartment for a few minutes after Jack dropped me off before I pulled out my phone to call Tingey. It went straight to voice mail, and I considered leaving him a message about Cole, but decided instead that it would be easier to pump him for information if we were face to face. “Hey, this is Tess. I had an interesting chat with someone about Cole’s alibi this afternoon. I’ll be at the bakery until late this evening, or all day tomorrow if you want to drop in to talk about it.”

  I ended the call feeling a little smug. He would be on my doorstep within five minutes of getting the message. He’d probably be irritated, but I could live with that. I changed back into my chef’s jacket and comfy shoes, then headed down to join Lenny. We had wedding cakes and cookies to make.

  “So you did come back,” Lenny said in greeting when he looked up from the cakes he was frosting.

  “Of course I did. You really think I’m going to leave you to flounder on your wedding cake? Besides, I have cookie dough to mix for tomorrow’s baking.”

  “Flounder? Like I can’t handle it alone. I’m not a newbie anymore, you know.”

  We settled into a comfortable silence for several minutes while I creamed sugar, butter and eggs. I knew the quiet wouldn’t last long, and I was right.

  “So, did you have a nice date with Jack?” Lenny asked.

  “It wasn’t a date,” I said, even as I smiled at the memory of that almost-kiss. “We just checked out Cole’s non-existent alibi and then tried to track him down at work. But he wasn’t there.”

  “You didn’t get dinner?” His brows lifted.

  I started measuring out milk. “We grabbed some sandwiches, but it wasn’t a big deal. Not really.”

  Lenny shook his head. “I don’t know why you’re dragging your feet when it’s obvious you like each other. You and Bronson moved way faster than this and he was a jerk.”

  Bronson was my former fiancé, whom Lenny had known when we lived in Chicago. “We didn’t move fast, it just seemed like it to you. And he didn’t act like a jerk to me. Not until the end. We knew each other a long time before either of us made a move. I guess I’m the cautious type.”

  He snorted. “You couldn’t prove that by your relationship with Shawn. Compared to you and Jack, you and Shawn moved at lightning speed.”
>
  I shifted to put my back to Lenny so he wouldn’t see my smile at the mention of the gorgeous border patrol officer I’d gone out with a few times. I hadn’t heard from him for a couple of weeks—he lived in Nogales, four hours away—but we were still in touch now and then. We’d definitely had our moments on the two previous times he’d been in town, but he wasn’t a serious option, and I didn’t see that changing without one of us moving.

  The fire didn’t burn as hot between Jack and me, but something about him was steadier, more comfortable and familiar. After our conversation earlier, I could no longer deny that the attraction was reciprocal. Maybe it was finally time to see if whatever this was between us would be enough to turn into more than friendship.

  “Fine. Ignore me,” he said. “This is coming along. I’m going to work on the modeling chocolate pieces for my cake in a bit. I might use up most of the copper dust. Do you have more on order?”

  “I figured you’d run through my metallic colors. Refills will arrive Wednesday.”

  There was a knock at the front glass door and I shifted to look through the customer area to see who it was. “Tingey. I knew he’d show up tonight.” I added the last of the flour and spices to my bowl and turned the stand mixer on before I let him in.

  “Hello, Detective. I’m so surprised to see you here,” I greeted him.

  “You’re really funny.” He adjusted his cowboy hat as he walked through the door, locking it behind him. “You called? What’s the news?”

  “I’m fine, and you? I’m glad you could stop in for this friendly hello.” I led him toward the back of the store.

  He grunted—his only acknowledgment that he’d been abrupt with me. I decided to accept that as close enough to an apology to count.

  I turned off the mixer and pulled out a bowl for the dough.

  “You’re baking at this time of night?” Tingey asked from the window that was cut in the wall between the customer area and the kitchen.