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

by Sarah Jane Weldon

  Stefan looked at her blankly. Wondering if this was another of her games or her trying to catch him out. “Flowers? Card? I’m afraid they’re nothing to do with me. I’ve been out all day”. He wondered if he had walked right into a trap, and perhaps should have bought her flowers and was now in for an ear bashing. But he hadn’t considered that he needed to buy her anything. He had nothing to apologise for and there was no special occasion.

  “The flowers in the office? Look. I’ll show you. If they’re not from you then who else would they be from?”. Audrey led Stefan into the office and handed him the card.

  “Well they’re nothing to do with me. Perhaps they’re from one of your other boyfriends?”. Stefan’s comment could have been taken as a joke, but Audrey took it as an accusation. Even her own fiancee was suddenly against her and she had no idea why.

  Stefan turned the card over. There was no message, no writing on it at all. He doubted that Violetta would get them for Audrey, but Violetta had said that she would do anything for him, and she had known how much of a headache the tensions between her and Audrey were affecting Stefan. “Well, they must be from Violetta then. She did say she was sorry that you’d fallen out this morning”. Stefan lied. He knew full well that Violetta would never apologise to Audrey and as far as he was concerned it was Audrey who had been bullying Violetta.

  Audrey suddenly felt bad for thinking so badly of Violetta. It was certainly nice of her to apologise like that. It couldn’t have been easy, probably why she didn’t do it in person.

  “What happened to you?” Audrey asked Stefan as he took off his jacket and threw it on the back of the office chair. The light was better in the office than in the restaurant, and she could now see the coffee stains on his crisp white shirt’.

  Stefan did not want Audrey to find out about what had happened. It would only cause even more friction between her and Sophia and that would be bad for business. “Oh, it’s a long and very dull story. Nothing to write home about. I just spilled coffee down myself. Complete accident”.

  Audrey sensed that there was more to this story than Stefan was letting on. He was lying to her, but she would leave it for now. Things were already feeling very fractious between them. Best not to push things further. “Well I’d better go and get scrubbed up and into my cheffing gear, we’ll be open soon and I want to get a grip on things before the customers arrive”.

  “OK babe”. Stefan said as he shuffled around the papers on his desk.

  There was a sound at the back door as Violetta arrived for the start of her shift and she popped her head around the office door. “Evening boss”.

  Stefan turned to see Violetta and burst into hysterics as he saw her in a false wig and sunglasses. She was doing her best to cheer him up and begin the shift on a high. “Haha. You should wear that when you’re working. Suits you”.

  Violetta dipped her imaginary cap. “Certainly boss”. She was about to turn around and begin work in the kitchen but Stefan called her back.

  “Oh, I wanted to say thanks Violetta”.

  Violetta looked at him blankly from behind her wig and sunglasses. “What for?”.

  Stefan tipped his head to the side. “You know what for. The flowers and card. It really cheered Audrey up. I don’t think you’ll be getting any grief from her tonight”. Stefan pointed at the the card and flowers on the table”.

  Violetta snorted. “That’ll be a first. I’ll believe it when I see it. a shift with no fallouts with Audrey. Is that even possible?”. Violetta smiled and went off to do her prep work before the guests arrived. She had no idea who the flowers and card were from, but as long as Stefan and Audrey believed they were from her, it made no sense to deny it, especially if it made the shift a little more friendly. She’d take the credit. What harm could come of it?

  Stefan tidied up his desk and went upstairs to the apartment to change. He bumped into Audrey in the bedroom as she put on her chef whites. “You look awfully pale Audrey. Are you alright?”.

  “Yes, I’m absolutely fine”. Audrey lied. She was suddenly feeling tired and off colour but she assumed it was because she had barely eaten all day and had been under a lot of stress recently.

  “There’s one doughnut left in the office if you fancy it. I’m pretty sure its got your name on it. Sugar might do you good?”. Stefan pushed past her and pulled out his own uniform as Audrey headed back downstairs to the kitchen. Stopping in at the office to devour one more of the tasty doughnuts. She probably should have saved it for Violetta but it was a bit late now as she’d already gobbled it down.

  Audrey switched on the gas rings in the kitchen as the first of the evening’s customers began to arrive, and it wasn’t long before the orders for dishes were flooding in. Violetta was remarkably cheery this evening and for once they seemed to be getting on. Maybe Audrey had been wrong about Violetta all along? Maybe she just needed encouragement rather than tough love?

  “Is it just me, or is it really hot in here tonight?”. Audrey asked Violetta as she grabbed the front of her chef top and wafted the air around her. She really must remember to eat regular meals in future, not eating all day was doing nothing to help her and they were in for a long night on their feet.

  Violetta gave Audrey a worried look. “Are you feeling OK Audrey? You do look a bit peaky. I can take over for a bit if you want to go and grab some air or something to eat?”.

  Audrey’s stomach suddenly did a somersault. “Yeah, you know what, that would be great. I’ll be back in a bit”. Audrey ran as fast as she could to the bathroom, suddenly aware that she needed the toilet. She got there just in time, but there was someone already in the locked bathroom. “Oh come on”. Audrey muttered under her breath as she clenched her butt cheeks together.

  Finally, Audrey heard the latch on the door move, and out came her step mother Margot looking quite anxious as she spoke on her phone. Margot looked surprised to see Audrey and didn’t stick around. Audrey rushed into the toilet and bolted the door behind her, rushing to sit on the toilet. She had awful diarrhoea and crippling stomach pains. She’d never had anything like this after eating doughnuts, but then again it was unlike her not to eat for a whole day either. She doubled over, suddenly feeling very nauseous. It must be food poisoning she thought as she held her fingers to her neck to check her pulse. Or maybe she was just being hysterical? Audrey could feel her heart beating against her chest and it seemed to be slowing down. She suddenly felt very scared but she couldn’t leave the toilet, nor could she call anyone since her phone was in the office by the kitchen. She would just have to hope that one of the customers came to the use the toilet soon, so that she could call out to them to get their attention. She summoned all of her strength and managed to unbolt the door, opening it before feeling as if she might just pass out. Her head was starting to throb. Something was very, very wrong indeed.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Sébastien Paris Pâtisserie, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 4th December 2018

  Stefan changed as quickly as he could, and arrived in the kitchen, impressed to see Violetta taking over much of the cooking responsibility. “Well, look at you being all helpful”. He said, smiling at Violetta’s efforts.

  Violetta seemed to be a bit cross. “Well I thought I would do my best to be helpful, and I offered to mind the pots for a bit, but Audrey’s disappeared like she always does, leaving me trying to do everything alone as always. She’s been gone for ages”.

  Stefan looked perplexed. Sure Audrey pushed Violetta to work hard, but no more than in any other kitchen of this ilk. Audrey took great pride in her cooking and demanded perfection, so if she was taking a break, he knew there would be a very good reason for it. “Well, how long has she been gone exactly? Did she says where she was going?”.

  Violetta shrugged. “I dunno? Twenty or thirty minutes maybe? Said she was going for some fresh air”.

  “Well that’s weird”. Stefan looked at the long line of white papers pinned to the shelf. This was a disast
er. They were already behind on the orders and the customers would not be happy at all. This was the last thing he needed.

  There was a knock on the kitchen door and Margot appeared with a bunch of papers in her hand, closely followed by Rose, secretary to Audrey’s father Felix. They both looked very determined. ‘Where’s Audrey?”. Margot demanded as she glanced around the kitchen. I simply can’t wait anymore, she just has to sign these papers, no more avoiding me.

  “No she does not have to sign them”. Added Rose. “Stefan you need to get Audrey to make a decision once and for all”.

  Stefan lost his cool with the two ladies. “Well if I could flippin'' find Audrey then I’d tell her, but right now she’s gone awol”.

  “What do you mean ‘gone awol’?”. Rose asked “I saw her about half an hour ago going towards the toilet, just as Margot was coming out”.

  “Is that true? Did you see her in the toilet?”. Stefan asked Margot.

  “No, it’s not true at all. There was someone waiting to go in after I came out, but they were in a hurry and I was distracted so I didn’t pay any attention. I suppose it could have been Audrey now you mention it?”.

  Rose waved her finger at Margot, suddenly cross. “If you’ve done anything to harm Audrey, you’ll be ever so sorry”. Rose threatened.

  Margot looked horrified “Done anything? Done anything? What do you think I am? Some kind of serial killer? My own step-daughter?”.

  Stefan was suddenly unsure about Margot. “Well its no secret that the two of you have been arguing a lot recently is it. You don’t exactly seem maternal towards her”.

  It hadn’t taken Camilla and Emilio long to figure out that they quite liked each other, and they soon started to spend time together, much to Francesca’s disgust. Emilio had invited them both to join him at the restaurant for dinner, a kind of date - with the daughter in tow -but also a way to show Stefan that he was sorry about what had happened in the coffee shop and that he wanted his business to thrive. If people saw Emilio dining at the restaurant, they would be less likely to think that the two business owners had fallen out, which would result in better outcomes for both men.

  Emilio poured them a glass of wine and finished off his course. They were already feeling quite full. Camilla was keen for Francesca to get to know Emilio too, so she made the excuse of going to powder her nose, so that her daughter and new boyfriend could have a moment to get to know each other without her being around to make either of them feel awkward.

  It didn’t take Camilla long to realise that all was not well as she pushed open the toilet door and saw Audrey’s body lying there lifeless. She let out a loud scream, suddenly feeling overcome and rather faint, just as Stefan, Violetta, Rose, and Margot raced along the corridor and saw the body for themselves.

  Rose escorted Camilla back to her table with Francesca and Emilio and poured her a large glass of whisky, giving her orders to stay put and drink until the doctor arrived. Emilio was shocked at the news, but not really surprised when he heard rumours from the other guests that Audrey had been murdered. He was only glad that he had sent Sophia home early from work, so at least she wouldn’t get accused of harming Audrey. She was sure to be the number one suspect after her little outburst in his coffee shop today.

  “Emilio, Stefan’s asked if you can give Dr Sim a call, do you have his number?”. Rose asked, clearly running on adrenalin. She was fairly certain that if it was murder, Margot was behind it, and she didn’t want to leave Margot anywhere near the body for fear that Margot might destroy the evidence and get away with the murder.

  Emilio pulled out his phone. He had stored the doctor’s number in case it was ever needed for one of his customers after a slip or fall on ice in the street, or a sprained ankle on a skier. Not in a million years did he imagine he’d be calling the doctor to the scene of a suspected murder. Sim was a regular customer at the coffee shop, liked to order the iced drinks, no matter what the weather. Nice guy. Irish and a bit of a scruff, spoke a million miles an hour. Emilio tapped in the number and let it ring.

  “Hullo, Dr Sim MacDiar speaking. Is that you Emilio? Saw your name pop up on the screen there. What can I do you for?”.

  “Hey Sim. Not sure how to tell you this, but we need you to come to Stefan’s restaurant as soon as you can. Audrey’s been found dead in the toilet. There’s talk of murder, but I’ve not seen the body myself”.

  “Are you sure she’s dead and not just passed out like?”. Sim enquired.

  Emilio had no reason to doubt the witnesses when they said that Audrey was dead, but he didn’t want to look like an idiot either. “As I say, I’ve not seen the body myself, but there’s 4 witnesses with her in the toilet and as far as I know they are in agreement about her being dead, so chances are she is”.

  “No bother. I’ll be there in two ticks alright?”. Sim hung up the phone, leaving Stefan’s mind now racing and trying to piece events together.

  “Doesn’t it seem a bit odd that everyone says it’s a murder?”. Francesca asked to no one in particular. “I mean, surely the most likely thing would be that she died of natural causes, I don’t know, like a heart attack or a sub arachnoid haemorrhage? How does everyone know that it was murder and not natural causes that killed her?”.

  “You know what, that’s a very good point that you make there Francesca”. Emilio agreed.

  It wasn’t long until Bastian Rainer the local police officer arrived at the restaurant and was busy with his two assistants, making notes and looking around the scene of the crime. He interviewed all of the guests, took down their details, and allowed them to leave, focusing on only the main suspects, of which there seemed to be many. It was going to be a very long night.

  Chapter Thirty

  Sébastien Paris Pâtisserie, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 4th December 2018

  “And you are….?”. Bastian asked his first suspect, taking out a small notebook and pencil, and scribbling details as he went about his questioning.

  “Violetta. I’m the kitchen porter here”.

  “And how was your relationship with the deceased?”. Bastian glanced over the top of his bifocal glasses, trying to determine whether Violetta was indeed his killer, as Stefan had hinted at.

  Violetta knew she was in a great deal of trouble, even though she had actually done nothing wrong. She just hoped that if she told the officer the truth, everything would get sorted out sooner or later. “We had a bit of a love-hate relationship I suppose. We had a falling out this morning, but then we made up this evening and were getting along better than we’ve ever done before”.

  “Would you say that’s correct?”. Bastian asked Stefan?

  “Yes, I’d say that was a pretty accurate summary. They did fall out this morning, but then they made up as far as I’m aware. Violetta left a card, flowers, and some doughnuts for Audrey by way of an apology and Audrey was chuffed to bits with them”.

  Bastian scribbled some more. “And what exactly did you fall out about?”.

  Violetta sighed. “To be honest it all feels a bit silly now, but we were both angry at the time. We fell out because I cut up the pineapple wrongly, and Audrey threw it all in the bin. It was petty really”.

  Stefan felt he needed to justify Violetta’s actions. “I’d say it was fairly usual for staff to fall out over such seemingly trivial things when working in top rated restaurants. Especially with chefs being perfectionists. Though I was surprised that Violetta sent gifts as a an apology”.

  Violetta’s heart suddenly felt heavy, like it might just stop completely. It had seemed like a good idea to take credit for sending those flowers and card, but her lies could now get her in a lot of serious trouble. She tried hard to avert her gaze from the police officer’s eyes, suddenly feeling like a criminal. “You see the thing is, well, OK, I lied about sending the flowers and card, and I didn’t know anything about there being doughnuts. I just saw how happy the idea of me sending them to Audrey made you Stefan, so I went along with it, it was
a stupid white lie, but I truly didn’t realise I’d be getting in this much trouble because of it. I…I…I just wanted to make you happy”.

  “Well it certainly wasn’t me that sent them, so one of us must by lying”. Stefan pointed out to the police officer.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Disco Diva Bar and Club, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 4th December 2018

  “This is great”. Eloise shouted at me across the dance floor of the resort’s nightclub and bar. We were both hot from dancing, and I was quite looking forward to a rest after my early start of baking at the coffee shop. Eloise on the other hand, was full of energy and very hyperactive. I leant towards her, shouting so she could hear me above the music. “I need a break. I’m going to sit down for a bit”.

  “OK”. Eloise followed me as I walked towards the bar where Nicklas was sat sulking. It was a shame Violetta was never able to join him at the club. As always she was working at the restaurant, and it would be several hours before she got to go home. It was rare that her and Nicklas found time to spend together, especially since Nicklas was up early preparing for his day on the slopes. It must have been hard for them both.

  Karl would usually have been able to cheer Nicklas up, but tonight he was rushed off his feet, serving the latest trend in ski bar cocktails. He heated up a large saucepan of liquid, and poured the boiling liquor into several small, ceramic cups on the bar as a group of Italians watched on expectantly. He was quite the showman, and he worked quickly. Karl pulled out a box of matches and struck one on the side as it caught alight. Karl wafted the flame above the cups and they quickly sprang to life, burning brightly with their blue flames. The Italian ski party cheered and reached in for a cup each as Karl tidied up the mess.