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

by Sarah Jane Weldon

  Eloise could sense that this trek wasn’t going to end well, if we all stood around arguing, and the first of the tourists would be arriving soon. She needed to get us all back to some sense of normality and fast. “OK, OK, let’s just calm things down for a minute. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting chilly, and we’ve got guests arriving soon. I think we should start heading back now”.

  I knew that I would need to back Eloise up, otherwise we’d be stuck on the glacier for the rest of the season, bickering with one another. “I agree. I’m sure there are perfectly reasonable explanations for everything. We all just need to calm down. We’ve a long ski season ahead of us, so let’s just try and enjoy it shall we?”.

  The rest of the group nodded their heads, and picked up their things, the mood was ruined now, and what should have been a fun day had almost ended in disaster. Audrey suddenly let out a scream.

  My heart stopped for a moment, wondering what on earth had happened now. Audrey was fumbling around in the ice, and looking through her pockets. “My watch. Where is it? I can’t find my watch. It was a gift from my father. I was definitely wearing it earlier”.

  Sophia stood with her hands on her hips, shaking her head. “Yeah right. Pull the other one. Is this another one of your schemes to blame me for something that I have nothing to do with?”.

  Audrey did look panicked, and she was throwing the blocks of ice like crazy. “Not now Sophia. I’ve really genuinely lost my watch. Why would I lie about something like that?. I need to find it. Please. It’s important”. Audrey was starting to cry again and nothing would console her.

  Sophia refused to move, even after the other group members began to join in the search. “OK. Prove it. Prove that you really were wearing a watch. I bet you’re just getting us to go on a wild goose chase for your own sick amusement?”.

  I was cross with Sophia now. I had seen a very different side to her, and I didn’t like it at all. “Don’t be silly Sophia. How can Audrey possibly prove that she has lost her watch?”

  “Actually I think I can prove it”. Audrey remarked, as she pulled out her iPhone. She flicked through the photos on the screen with a swipe of her finger. “There, you see. I took this photo less than an hour ago at the back of the cave. I’m wearing the exact same clothes in the photo as I am here, and so is Stefan. You can clearly see the watch on my wrist”.

  Audrey showed the selfie to everyone in the group. There was certainly no denying it, and to have set up the photos in advanced would have required an awful lot of effort. But it made no difference to the search. The watch was not to be found anywhere and eventually we had to leave the glacier, defeated in our search.

  “Well that was an eventful excursion”. I linked my arm through Eloise’s, the events of the day starting to take their toll on me. I felt a little bit homesick all of a sudden, but was glad to have Eloise here by my side. The only thing I could depend on in life. I relayed my conversation with Audrey to her, Eloise nodding at regular intervals, taking it all in.

  “If you’d told me this before Sophia’s reaction to Audrey’s lost watch, then I don’t think I would have believed Audrey’s version of things at all, but having seen Sophia flip out like that I’m now starting to wonder. Eloise was processing events as she spoke.

  “But if the cave collapse was deliberate, then who do you think could have caused it? I mean, everyone was accounted for, and it couldn’t have been me or Audrey because we were the victims, and I don’t imagine for a moment that it would be you. Who was with you in the cave when it happened Eloise?”.

  Eloise thought long and hard. “Well, if my memory is correct, then everyone was accounted for, apart from Sophia, Rose, Margot, and depending on when Violetta arrived, then Violetta too”.

  I reflected on our suspects some more. “OK, so if we rule me out as a target, and focus on Audrey, then who out of those people has a motive for wanting to kill her? Is there anyone we can eliminate from our enquiry?”.

  Eloise rubbed her nose. “Violetta seems like a likely suspect to me. She had the motive and the opportunity. We know that she doesn’t like working with Audrey at the restaurant, that Audrey treats her as a skivvy, and we know that she could easily have caused the collapse because no one knew that she was even here. She also had access to Sophia’s gloves, and could have planted the glove so that suspicion would be cast on Audrey stealing it”.

  “And what about Rose?”. I enquired. “What do we know about her?”.

  Eloise thought about it for a moment. “We don’t know a lot about Rose, but we do know that she is secretary to Audrey’s father, and that she doesn’t want Audrey to sign those legal documents. She certainly had the time and the opportunity to cause the collapse, but we’ve no idea what the incentive would be for killing Audrey, or what her motive might be? She seems to have a very neutral relationship with Audrey”.

  “Right”. I added. “Now what about Margot, Audrey’s stepmother? What do we know about her?”.

  “That’s a tricky one”. Eloise stopped for a moment to adjust her snow boots. “We know that her name is Margot, she is married to Audrey’s father, but she is not Audrey’s mother, and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of a relationship between her and Audrey, they seem to get along OK, but I wouldn’t say they are close. She does want Audrey to sign the papers and I don’t think she is best pleased that the secretary is here mucking up her plans. She had opportunity, but what is her motive?”.

  I knew that we would need a lot more concrete evidence before we could speculate further, and now might be our only chance to get hold of the details. “There’s only one thing for it Eloise, we’ll just have to try and gather information from Rose and Margot, get to the bottom of what exactly those papers are, and why Rose doesn’t want them signed, but Margot does”.

  “Are you sure you feel well enough for this Maddy? You have just had a big fright”. I was indeed shaken up after getting caught in the collapsed cave, but I knew that the best cure for my nerves, was to get stuck in and to solve our case. Besides, we worked best as a team, and if we split up and worked alone on this, we could get twice the amount of information in half the time. “I’ll try and strike up a conversation with Rose, whilst you try and talk with Margot”.

  I hung back for a moment, letting some of the group walk past me as I pretended to adjust my winter boot and sock. Eloise pretended to wait for me. Rose and Margot were at the back of the group so we dived in behind them as soon as they passed us, hoping to catch wind of their conversation. But the two ladies didn’t speak to each other. We needed to try something else. I signalled to Eloise to go around the side of Rose in an attempt to strike up a conversation with her, and in time, I would try and speak with Margot.

  “Excuse me ladies”, Eloise announced. “Maddy and I were just having an argument about which was better, coffee doughnuts or chocolate doughnuts, and we could really use your opinion”. The ladies looked annoyed at being disturbed by two young things and we had to be careful not to give away my knowledge of French, for now I wanted to keep that to myself so I could eavesdrop. It was a terrible way to start a conversation but it was all we could think of on the spot.

  Rose was the easier of the two to engage in conversation and we managed to find out that she hadn’t actually met Audrey in person before, and that her boss Felix - Audrey’s dad had sent her here on business. It wasn’t a lot to go on, but she really didn’t seem to have any reason for wanting to kill Audrey.

  I turned my attention to Margot. “Have you been to Austria before?”. I asked.

  Margot’s face was stern. “We used to come to Austria quite often for skiing holidays, but we don’t travel much at all these days, not since…”. Margot stopped mid conversation, realising that she had already said too much. “….since we decided that we’re too old to ski anymore. It just doesn’t appeal these days”.

  I eyed her inquisitively. “That’s a shame. I bet you go on other lovely holidays instead though don’t y
ou?”.

  Margot faltered and I got the impression that she didn’t go on holiday anywhere any more. But it didn’t seem to be for lack of wanting to travel as much as she tried to convince me that it no longer interested them. “But you must go to St Tropez surely, what with having the chateau there?”.

  Margot gritted her teeth. “Chateau? Oh no, we sold that. No one is going to St Tropez these days”. This was strange information given that Audrey had once told me she was going to stay there for the summer. Something didn’t quite add up. Something was telling me that Margot was in financial difficulty and from the sounds of it, her relationship with Audrey’s father was soon to be over. Out of the two ladies, Margot seemed to have the bigger motive, so that just left her and Violetta as likely suspects.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sébastien Paris Pâtisserie, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 1st December 2018

  “I really can’t believe that we are going for dinner at the Sébastien Paris Pâtisserie, remind me again how this happened and why we agreed to accept?”. Eloise asked me, a large hint of sarcasm in her voice. I was just as surprised as she was.

  “She said that her and Stefan wanted to say thank you for saving her life at the glacier, that it was the least they could do. So they have booked us a free dinner at the restaurant for their opening night tonight”.

  Eloise looked down at her clothes. “I just feel like we’re going to be the worst dressed of all the guests. I didn’t expect to be dining out at fancy restaurants, so I didn’t bring anything to wear”.

  I looked down at my own clothes and agreed. “What I don’t get is how Audrey could be so nasty in the cave one moment, and then suddenly full of remorse and saying that Sophia had been harassing her. I mean, I could maybe understand it if she had changed her attitude after nearly getting killed by the icicle, but she didn’t, she was like that as soon as we stepped outside. Unless of course, it really was all bravado and she did genuinely get fed up of trying to be tough?”.

  Eloise was as confused about the whole thing as I was. “The thing is. Whichever way you look at it, both sides seem to make sense. If Audrey really was a cow bag to Sophia and really did steal her job from her, then Sophia’s behaviour would make sense. But equally, if what Audrey says is true, then it would also explain how sheer exasperation would drive Audrey over the edge”.

  I knew what we needed to do. “I think we need to try and find a letterhead, something that proves or disproves Sophia’s letter. It looked genuine enough to me when I saw it, but it could have been faked?”.

  Eloise wasn’t so sure. “I’m not certain that the letter would help us Maddy? I mean, if Sophia was telling the truth and she did actually receive it in the post like she says she did, then it still could have been posted to her by Audrey? The stamps on the envelope and postal marks looked genuine enough for it to be real. And even if the branded paper is wrong, we still don’t know that Audrey didn’t make it look fake on purpose?”.

  Eloise was right. Even if we could get hold of the branded paper from the restaurant, it wouldn’t prove things either way. “I just don’t understand why Stefan would send the letter by snail mail when he could just as easily have sent it by email? Didn’t we both get our job offers by email? Wouldn’t it be quicker and cheaper? He doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would go to all the effort of going to the post office to buy stamps and to get the letter weighed when he could just reply by email in a fraction of the time, especially as a busy chef”.

  Eloise thought some more. “Perhaps he isn’t very computer savvy?”.

  I didn’t believe this for a second. “He must have a computer and he must be at least a little computer literate. Sophia said that her interview was done over Skype, and that would explain how she recognised him when she first saw him in the restaurant. But it’s weird how he never really acknowledges or speaks to her”.

  “That’s true enough”. Eloise remarked. “But if the Skype interview was a lie from Sophia, then that might explain why he didn’t seem to acknowledge her”.

  I opened the door to the restaurant. It was filled with diners and everyone looked incredibly well dressed. We were going to stick out like a sore thumb for sure. Stefan rushed over, greeting us with several kisses, alternating cheeks in the way that only French people do, except that Stefan was actually Austrian. But he’d lived in France long enough to pick up the custom and the guests seemed to like it, so it was good for business, part of the brand. People just assumed that he was French, especially now that he had a fiancee from Paris.

  “Welcome, Welcome. Please. Follow me”. Stefan shooed away the waiter at the desk and personally led us to a table. It was quite something to see the crystal glasses and many silver utensils on the table. Had we been on a date it would have been quite romantic in the candle light. Stefan helped us into our seats and presented us with menus, clicking his fingers at one of the waitresses whom now had orders to bring us a bottle of Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2009, Pauillac.

  Eloise kicked me hard under the table as Stefan hurried back into the kitchen. “Have you seen these prices Maddy? Just look. This wine is listed at 200 Euros per bottle, but that’s nothing. Some of the wines on this list are in the thousands of Euros range. The wine alone must be worth more than all of the cash in the resort ATM”.

  I had to check the menu for myself. “Well I hope it tastes nice at that price. We’d better make sure that we drink up every drop”.

  It was a lovely meal, and the food really was superb, that or the wine had gone to our heads. The restaurant was still busy and we were now on our seventh course, as a new bottle of wine appeared at our table. Something sweeter to match our dessert, at the request of Stefan who had chosen the food for us so that we could really sample the restaurant’s finest. There was no denying that it was a lovely restaurant, no wonder Violetta was always busy cleaning and prepping food for the chefs. Stefan and Audrey must be incredibly busy and stressed out in the kitchen if this was the norm, no wonder they wanted to make the most of any downtime. It made sense for them to pass work on to Violetta to do during the day when the restaurant was closed.

  I somehow couldn’t quite picture Sophia working here. She was a great pastry chef for sure, but she did seem to get angry quite easily and her pastry was no where on the same level as these. “You don’t suppose Sophia might be lying about getting the highest grades in her year do you?”. I asked Eloise.

  “You know I was just wondering the same thing. These pastries are perfection and as amazing as Sophia’s baking is, I just can’t imagine her baking anything on a par with these”.

  I looked at Eloise’s cake fork as it cut through the delicate layers of her pastry selection. “I’m also thinking that the chances of both Audrey and Sophia getting the highest grades of the cohort are slim. Surely they couldn’t both score the exact same results?”.

  Eloise chomped through her pastry. “We need to get in touch with the culinary school I reckon. Try and get their grades and any references, at least then we will know if either of them is lying”.

  I tucked into my own layered cake slice. “Good thinking. In fact, I think we need to speak with Emilio, maybe ask him to contact the school since he’s Sophia’s boss. But whatever we do, we mustn’t let Sophia catch on”.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Snow Mountain Cafe, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 2nd December 2018

  “Yes chef”. Emilio joked as Sophia ordered him about his own kitchen. Sophia threw a cherry at him as Emilio ducked. The coffee shop was already a lot busier and word had soon gotten around about the cakes and array of coffees on offer. Sophia really had worked her magic at the Snow Mountain Cafe.

  Emilio came out to the counter looking very pleased with himself. “You know girls, I think you might be my lucky charms. It’s only the second day of the ski season and already the coffee shop has taken more money than it had in the whole of December last year. You really did me a favour finding Sophia like that. You’
ll definitely be in for a pay rise if things continue like this”.

  I didn’t want to bring up the subject of Sophia with Emilio yet, not when he was so happy with the way things were going. But I felt a huge burden of responsibility thinking that we had been responsible for bringing Sophia into his coffee shop. What if she did turn out to be crazy? Who knew what she might be capable of? The thought of what could come sat uneasily in my stomach. But I didn’t get a lot of time to think, we were rushed off our feet and Eloise was throwing order after order at me for different coffees. If I wasn’t careful the whole production line would collapse and the customers would be in uproar. Thankfully, Eloise and I had several years of Oxford tourists behind us at Mrs Tiggywinkle’s and at least here, we were able to communicate with the majority of the European tourists between us, with our A’Levels in French and German.

  “Here, let’s switch over for a bit. I think we could both use a change of scenery”. Eloise took my place by the coffee machine, and instead of making up the orders, I rang them up on the till and wrote them down for Eloise instead. It certainly was a nice change and I soon got back in the flow of things.

  “Yes, can I help you?”. I repeated for the thousandth time that day, pretty much on auto pilot.

  “Oh hey, Maddy. Just a macchiato please”. It was Karl, enjoying some down time after a busy first night at the bar.

  “Eat in or take away Karl?”.

  “I’ll eat in thanks”. Karl glanced around the coffee shop and spotted a table in the corner.