Dead on Doughnuts: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (Coffee Shop Mysteries Book 1)

by Sarah Jane Weldon

  “Sophia? Is everything OK?” I asked. She looked as if she were about to cry. Emilio was quick to come to her aid, and waved her in the direction of a chair by the fireplace as we gathered around her. Something seemed terribly amiss. Emilio disappeared into the kitchen to rustle up some cakes and hot chocolate, and pointed Eloise and myself to take a chair next to our friend so we could comfort her.

  “Sophia, what’s going on. You look ever so pale?”. Eloise patted Sophia’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but she seemed to be in shock as she began to cry.

  Sophia sniffed, trying hard to keep the tears back, but it was no use. “I just went to the restaurant to see about my new job, and they don’t want me anymore?”.

  “But why? The letter? Have you still got it, show it to me again”. Sophia pulled the crumpled letter from her coat pocket and we passed it around us all just to be sure that we hadn’t missed anything. It was clear enough. She had been offered a job as Head Pastry Chef and was to show up for her first shift today.

  Théo looked at it closely and thought for a second. “You know what” he said “I’ve heard about this Stefan guy and he doesn’t sound like a very nice person at all. I heard he was a bit of a womaniser, he’s had several wives already and he’s only in his late thirties. Sounds like you dodged a bullet if you ask me”. Théo passed the letter to Emilio who had since returned from the kitchen with a tray of goodies for all of us to enjoy by the fire.

  “Wait. Are you a pastry chef? For real?”. Emilio looked stunned.

  “Yes. I just qualified from St Joseph’s Culinary School, in Paris. I came top of my cohort as well. I worked so hard to get a place there and for the money for my fees and expenses. Now I’m unemployed and I’ve spent everything I have on the chalet rent for the season”.

  The name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t think why. “Eloise, does the St Joseph’s Culinary School sound familiar to you?”. Eloise nodded in agreement.

  “What an absolute idiot, to let someone like you go. It makes no sense at all. St Joseph’s Culinary School is one of the best in the world, and if you say that you came top of your year, then you really must be something special. I can’t believe that anyone in their right mind would not hire you. It’s just crazy”. Emilio seemed horrified at such a thought.

  “Hey, wait! Didn’t you say that you wanted to employ a pot washer Emilio, you know, for when Maddy and I bring in all these new customers for you?”. Eloise had clearly come up with an idea. I could tell by the glint in her eye.

  Emilio seemed confused but interested to hear more. “Well, yes, I certainly would like to employ a pot washer, but I don’t see how that would help Sophia? A person with her qualifications should be earning a lot of money?”.

  Eloise looked in the direction of Sophia who was now wiping her nose with a napkin that Théo had found for her. “Look, I know it’s not the kind of job that you should be doing or wanted to be doing, but didn’t you tell us that you worked as a kitchen porter during your holidays?”.

  “Umm, yes”. Sophia replied.

  “Well then. Since Emilio needs a pot washer and you need a job, why don’t you come and work here, at least it would be something, a start, take the pressure off for a while, until you can find a Pastry Chef job somewhere”. Eloise was gentle with Sophia.

  Emilio looked sad. “ Eloise is right. At least it would be something, even if it was just to tide you over. I’m just sorry that I can’t pay you more, the money isn’t much, we simply don’t have enough customers for that, but I could at least give you the freedom of the kitchen so that you could bake whenever and whatever you wanted with the supplies I have in the store room”.

  “No. No. That would be AMAZING. It would be a life line, and I think I’d much rather work here anyway, having seen how horrid the conditions were at the restaurant”. Sophia smiled through her tears, touched at the kindness of her new friends.

  “Seriously? You would really wash pots for us, at our little cafe?”. Emilio couldn’t believe his luck. He had always dreamed of the cafe one day offering the best cakes and pastries, but he didn’t think in a million years that he would have a properly trained pastry chef in his kitchen. “Actually, I tell you what. If the four of us can get the cafe bringing in more customers and enough money to cover the wages of a Pastry Chef over the winter season, then I will promote you to the Head Pastry Chef of the Snow Mountain Cafe. How about that!”.

  It sounded like a wonderful plan, and a nice challenge as far as I was concerned. Eloise had come up with an idea that would work for all of us, and Emilio even said that if we brought in more business, he would give Eloise and I a pay increase too, which would mean more money for our detective agency in the longer term. “Well I’ll raise my mug of hot chocolate to that!”. I said as my mug connected with the other raised mugs. But the mood was not yet improved.

  “There’s something else”. Sophia looked hesitant, like she had a horrid, deep dark secret that could ruin everything in a split second. “The thing is, what I don’t understand, is that the job was mine, I applied for it, did the interview over Skype, sent references, and everything, and the reason I didn’t get the job, was because someone else had since been offered it. A girl who was on the course with me. I told her about my new job when we were at our graduation ceremony and she didn’t once mention that she had plans to work here. Which is really weird. She was supposed to be going to St Tropez for the summer, and then her dad was going to buy her a restaurant in Paris. So I just don’t get why she is even here at all?”.

  Eloise and I spat out our hot chocolates at the same moment. “Wait. Did you say St Tropez?”. I asked.

  “Yes. Her dad is a billionaire but she never once showed any interest in actually working as a pastry chef”. Sophia was clearly trying to fathom things as Eloise and I suddenly looked each other in the eyes.

  “Well, well, this does seem odd. Maddy, what was the name of that horrible girl your mother introduced us to at that summer party? Amanda? Amelia? Aud….” Eloise did not need to finish her sentence, we both suddenly recalled the girl’s name and why the name of the culinary school sounded so familiar. “Audrey Flandin” we said in unison as Sophia fainted on the spot.

  Théo rushed to Sophia’s side and held her up in her chair, as Emilio wafted Théo’s newspaper to create some air around her. Sophia was very pale and it took a few moments for her to come to. Emilio got her a glass of tap water from the kitchen and Théo helped her to take small sips as she recovered herself. “I’m so sorry”, she said. “But you just gave me quite a fright”.

  Sophia told us everything, about how Audrey used to borrow the culinary kit that she had worked and saved so hard for, and how she had bullied her in class, and made the other students do all the work for her. It all seemed to fit with the Audrey that Eloise and I had met at that summer party in August.

  “So you girls know this Audrey too, then?” Théo asked us.

  “Yes” Eloise replied, moving her leg away from the fire which was getting quite hot against her winter boots. “Well, I think ‘know her’ might be a bit strong, but we met her once at a party and she was the most ghastly person we’ve ever met, don’t you agree Maddy?”

  “Absolutely. And the weirdest thing is, I distinctly remember how she scoffed at us when we told her that we were coming to Val D’Isera for the ski season. I’m pretty sure that she said we wouldn’t catch her dead coming to a place like this”. I added.

  Eloise added more as she remembered fragments of our only encounter with Audrey. “‘Full of commoners and nouveau rich’ was how she described this place if I remember rightly?”.

  “She sounds like a not very nice person at all if you ask me” . Théo somehow seemed to lift Sophia’s spirits. Helped further by some words of encouragement from Emilio. “Well, it seems to me that fate did not destine for you to waste your youth in that hell hole, and instead you will be very welcomed into our little family here at the Snow Mountain cafe, and if that Aud
rey ever shows her face here, then we’ll be only too happy to sort her out for you”.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ski Chalet, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 29th November 2018

  “Hey ladies. So how did your first day go? Was it all that you hoped it would be?”. Nicklas Rehn poured them small shots to toast their first day on the resort. He was a rather handsome, blonde haired, blue eyed ski instructor from Sweden, who was, luckily for Madeleine, Eloise, and Sophia, their housemate, along with his non identical twin brother Karl Rehn.

  “Oh my God! You wouldn’t believe the day we’ve had”. I said, taking one of the small glasses, and knocking it back in one. I wasn’t one for drinking alcohol, but since it was a special occasion, I decided to enjoy the purple coloured kirsch liquor. It was very warming as it ran down my throat and into my belly. It seemed like a very long time ago that we had been stood here eating crepes with Sophia for breakfast.

  “Really? I always thought Emilio seemed like a lovely guy to work for?”. Nicklas seemed very surprised.

  “Oh no” I replied. “Emilio is really lovely, and the cafe is amazing. Eloise and I had a brilliant day, but poor Sophia had quite a day of surprises”.

  “Why? What happened?”. Nicklas looked at Sophia with genuine concern. She had already been very supportive, even helping him to start his car this morning with the jump leads before breakfast.

  Sophia was quiet, clearly too traumatised to talk about the events of the day, so she let Eloise do the talking for her. “Yes, poor Sophia. Turns out that her boss Stefan had only gone and given her job to someone else. So now Sophia is working with us in the coffee shop, Emilio gave her the coolest job, and now she’ll be the cafe’s head baker and she can bake anything at all that she wants. And Emilio says that if we all bring in extra customers and money, then we’ll all get a pay rise. So it all worked out in the end”.

  “That’s awful”. Nicklas looked at Sophia as she averted her gaze, she was obviously distressed by the whole turn of events.

  “Now you mention it, I did hear something about a new girl starting there. I just assumed that the boss was hiring more chef’s this year. My girlfriend Violetta works there as a kitchen porter, but we hardly ever get to hang out since the new girl started. She sounds like a right cow from what Violetta has told me. Violetta was supposed to get a promotion, so that she could start baking more and work up to one day being Head Chef, but when the new girl arrived, she didn’t get the promotion she was promised”.

  I punched Nicklas in a friendly way on his arm. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier? At least Sophia would have been prepared before her first shift”.

  Nicklas shrugged his shoulders “I don’t know. I suppose I just didn’t want you all to be disappointed. You were all so excited this morning, and maybe it would have been different for you as a pastry chef, having a bit more status than a kitchen porter? Did you meet Violetta at all?”.

  Sophia looked embarrassed. Not exactly the way that she wanted to start off her new life in a new place, being made to look stupid in front of everyone. “Yes, I did meet Violetta and she was lovely. I just felt bad for her, as they didn’t seem like very nice people to work for. If it wasn’t for Violetta than I wouldn’t have got my coat or purse back, because Audrey threw me out of the restaurant and locked the door behind me. Thankfully Violetta handed it to me afterwards and my purse was still in the pocket. But I did lose my scarf, hat, and gloves. Maybe if you see Violetta you could ask her to give them to you so I can get them back?”.

  “Yeah, no problem at all. I’m seeing her later, so I’ll ask her to bring them along”.

  Chapter Twelve

  Disco Diva Bar and Club, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 29th November 2018

  “Hey you”. Nicklas kissed Violetta on the cheek and pulled out a bar stool for her. She looked exhausted. “Drink?”.

  Violetta stared at the optics on the wall behind the bar. All she really wanted was a cup of hot camomile tea and an early night, but since she was in the bar of the club, the options were nowhere near her drink of choice. “Just a lime and soda thanks. I can’t stay for long, I’ve got an early start in the morning. Audrey has me prepping for her, again. Honestly I’ve never met anyone so lazy. I swear she thinks I’m actually her servant”.

  A ginger headed young man with freckles tidied away some glasses on a shelf. “Alright bro’?. What can I get you”. It was Nicklas’s non identical twin brother Karl, the club’s bar tender. He was not at all sporty, unlike his brother Nicklas, and he wasn’t really a fan of the great outdoors.

  “Lime and soda for Violetta, and a beer for me, thanks Karl” Nicklas and Karl grabbed each others arms, like two gangsta rappers with a secret handshake.

  “So how’s life with the devil lady then?”. Karl asked Violetta, an air of cheekiness about him.

  Violetta tensed, pounding her fist into the palm of her other hand. “Oh… don’t get me started. It’s Violetta this, and Violetta that, and she goes on and on about her rich father. I don’t think she’s ever done a days work in her life”.

  Karl popped the lid on the bottle of beer and poured it into a glass. “I don’t suppose there’s much point in talking to Stefan about things is there? I mean, things seemed to be OK last season, before this Audrey arrived. It’s not fair the way she has you running around after her, it’s not like you get paid a fraction of what she does? Yet it seems like you are the one doing all the work”. Karl shook his head from side to side.

  “I know right?”. Violetta took a sip from her glass. “I thought I’d at least get a little bit of time off to go skiing, but when I do get any time off, I’m too exhausted to even eat. It’s crazy. I swear I’ll end up killing her before the season is out”. Violetta laughed at herself and how animated she had become at the mere mention of Audrey’s name.

  “Well babe, if you don’t kill her, then I certainly will. I can’t have her stealing my girl and making her so exhausted all the time”. Nicklas kissed Violetta on the hand, and gave her a loving look.

  Karl pretended to vomit. “Aww. Get a room you guys”.

  “No but seriously. Today she was doubly weird. I had a really bad feeling, but I can’t explain why. This girl called Sophia was supposed to have got a job as the Head Pastry Chef, and she turned up today, with this letter, saying that she should come to start her shift. But when Stefan and Audrey got there, they denied it. Stefan didn’t seem to know anything about her being offered a job, and Audrey said that the job was already hers. I mean, she literally threw Sophia out the door, onto the cold street, wouldn’t even let me open the door to give the girl her coat back”.

  Karl and Nicklas listened closely. It certainly sounded very strange, and from having met their new housemate Sophia, they were surprised why anyone would want to be nasty to her, she seemed like a lovely person. Happy go lucky, wouldn’t harm a fly. Nicklas suddenly remembered about Sophia’s scarf. “That reminds me, Sophia left her hat, gloves, and scarf behind at the restaurant. Any chance you can get them for me? I don’t think Sophia’s got a lot of money, especially now she’s had to get a job as a pot washer at the Snow Mountain Cafe, I’m sure it’ll cheer her up to get them back”.

  Violetta picked some fluff from Nicklas’s fleecy top and leant her hand on his shoulder. “Sure. I would have given them to her earlier, but it was hard enough sneaking out her coat with Stefan and Audrey hanging around. I thought they might fire me if they caught me helping her. But I only saw a hat and scarf, unless the gloves had fallen somewhere. I’ll have a proper look tomorrow”.

  “Thanks babe”. Nicklas smiled at Violetta, clearly smitten.

  “Anyway bro’?. What’s new with you? I’ve hardly seen you what with you working nights and me working days”. Nicklas turned his attention to Karl, who was now busy slicing up lemons.

  “Yeah. All good with me. I got a letter from Miryam this morning. She sends you her love”. Karl looked up momentarily as the juice from a lemon irritated a sm
all cut on his finger.

  “Oh yeah. How’s she getting on? Has she got herself a job yet or is she still wheeling and dealing? Honestly I don’t know why you bother keeping in touch with her, she’s a slippery one”. Nicklas seemed a bit rattled by the conversation. He was not a fan of his cousin Miryam Löfgren, but at least she was in Sweden and far enough away from Karl to not lead him astray. Nicklas wouldn’t trust her within an inch of his life. She’d never actually done anything to harm either of them, and they rubbed along fine, but something about her rang alarm bells with Nicklas, and he was concerned at how trusting Karl seemed to be when it came to Miryam.

  “So I take it you are not a fan of this Miryam then Nicklas?” Violetta asked.

  “No I’m not”. Nicklas replied. “I mean, she’s nice enough, don’t get me wrong, but I just think she’s too focused on earning an easy buck, and I doubt she would stop at anything to make it happen. I just don’t trust her. I don’t know? I can’t explain it, it’s just a feeling I have”.

  Violetta nodded. It was surprising for Nicklas not to be keen on anyone. He was one of the few people she knew who always saw the good in everyone.

  Violetta knocked back her lime and soda water, and declared it a night. “I’m sorry guys, but I really, really need my bed. I’ve got to be up again at 4am and I don’t want to give Audrey any reason at all to shout at me. No, no, you stay here Nicklas, no need to come with me, I’ll be fine to get home. See you later Karl”.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Snow Mountain Cafe, Val D’Isera Ski Resort, Austria: 30th November 2018