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

by Sarah Jane Weldon

  Emilio already had his arms behind him as the two officers fought over who would get to handcuff him. It was rare that they got to acually use them and both wanted in on the action. “Of course I denied it. You asked me if I had any poisons. Which I don’t. You never asked me if I had any coffee beans or cocoa beans or baking supplies”.

  “But what about this here, this is poison”. Bastian waved the jar in front of him.

  “Look. I’m not being funny, but even water is poisonous if you drink too much of it”. Emilio was getting annoyed now.

  Théo did his best to try and help Emilio. “And so is coffee if you drink too much of it…and wine….and nicotine. Even daddy longlegs are poisonous but you don’t go around arresting them do you?.”

  Bastian was not listening. He was only interested in arresting Emilio. He turned to Sophia. “Thank you miss, you have been most helpful. It’s just a shame that I can’t say the same for your boss”.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Police Cell, Val D’Isera Police Station, Austria: 5th December 2018

  It was after lunch by the time that Bastian pushed Emilio into our police cell, and though I was of course upset to think that Emilio too was now a suspect in Audrey’s murder, I was also pleased to get the chance to talk with him and to see if we could come up with a plan together, to prove our innocence.

  “Emilio”. I said, not entirely sure how he would react on seeing us after all that had happened in the last 24 hours. For all I knew, he might think we dobbed him in, or he might still think that it was us who murdered Audrey with a doughnut made in his shop. But he was as easy going as ever.

  “Are you both OK?”. Emilio asked us. “Did they feed you?”.

  An officer entered the room and unstacked three small trays of something unrecognisable. “They did now”. I replied. “If you can call this food”.

  “I don’t care what it is, I’m starving”. Eloise announced, scoffing the tray of mush, before her taste buds even had time to try and work out what it was supposed to be.

  We were now under no illusion that the murderer had to be Sophia, all we had to do was to prove it and get Bastian to see sense.

  “OK, let’s compare notes on everything that happened through the day, see if we can’t come up with some clues that might help us”. Eloise suggested.

  I went back over my day, from the moment I had woken up, arrived at the coffee shop, opened up, and baked my first doughnuts of the day. Had my burnt tongue from the hot coffee dulled my taste buds when I tried the mixture? Had I got the wrong ingredients somehow?

  “Why did you decide to bake the red velvet doughnuts?”. Emilio asked me. “Was it a spur of the moment thing, or something that was planned?”.

  I thought about it for a moment, remembering the note that Emilio had left for me on the coffee counter, and Sophia’s recipe and sticky note on the kitchen table. I suddenly had a feeling that I had been set up. “Well, normally I just bake whatever I fancy, but Sophia had suggested that I bake the red velvet doughnuts, and she had given me very precise instructions”.

  “Go on”. Emilio encouraged.

  “I was going to bake more of the breakfast doughnuts since you left me that note to say that the chalets had placed extra orders”.

  Emilio looked at me blankly. “Note? What note?”. It suddenly occurred to me that the writing on the two notes was written in the same pen and similar but not exactly the same handwriting, but it was not like Emilio’s usual writing. At the time I had just assumed he had written it in a hurry.

  “Oh heck”. I gasped. “You don’t suppose I really did bake poisonous doughnuts do you? Maybe Sophia switched the jars around or poisoned the ingredients?”.

  Eloise shook her head. “Not possible. I’m afraid that I have a little confession to make myself. I stole one of those doughnuts and ate it in secret. I knew they would go fast, and they just looked so good”.

  I kissed Eloise. Normally I might have been a little bit cross with her for stealing my bakes, but if Eloise had eaten the doughnut and not died, then I was in the clear.

  Emilio looked glum. “I have to confess to stealing one of the doughnuts as well, and I’m still alive. I gave one to Théo when no one was looking, and to Camilla, and Francesca, to cheer them up after the coffee incident with Stefan.

  The three of us smiled. “Well then. I think that proves that my doughnuts were in fact not poisoned. And if Sophia really did write both of those notes then that’s evidence surely”.

  “Only if you still have them”. Emilio added.

  I smiled. “I do as it happens. You see, I’m putting together a scrap book of recipes for when we get back to Mrs Tiggywinkle’s, and I tucked the pages in my recipe book. They should still be there”.

  Eloise was mulling things over. “But if your doughnuts weren’t poisoned, then where did the doughnuts come from, and how did Audrey get her hands on them? We can’t prove anything unless we can solve that elephant in the room”.

  Emilio retraced his own steps. “Well now, I left Sophia baking in the kitchen when I went to talk to Camilla and Francesca. It was when it was really busy, but I didn’t want to get in the way in the kitchen so I thought it was best to leave you all to it. There’s only so much room out on the front counter and I’d have only got in the way if I’d tried to take orders or made coffees, but Sophia said she wanted to bake something special as a treat for Théo’s birthday. It was cooking in the oven when I left, but she wouldn’t let me see it in case I ruined it as it cooked. That sounds awful doesn’t it, imagine that, a man who owns a coffee shop but can’t bake or make decent coffee to save his life! That’s why I leave that to you experts”.

  I had a moment of inspiration as things began to fall into place. “That would explain why Sophia went so crazy at us when we cleared the tables and brought all the washing up in for her. In fact, now I think about it. I was surprised to see some of the red food colouring on the chopping board in the dishwasher. I’m always careful to tidy up after myself when I bake, and I know I cleaned away my things before we opened shop this morning, so why was there red colouring on a chopping board, unless Sophia had made up a new batch of doughnuts, poisoned ones?”.

  Emilio had an epiphany too. “And why the doughnuts were still a bit warm when I bagged them up and gave them to Stefan as an apology for Sophia’s outburst - it was Sophia who suggested it I give them to him as an apology”.

  “There’s one problem”. Eloise pointed out. “If Sophia poisoned the doughnuts and told you to give them to Stefan as an apology, then how come Stefan wasn’t poisoned, only Audrey?”.

  “You don’t think that she meant to poison Stefan do you?”. I asked. “Maybe Audrey wasn’t the target at all?”.

  “But how do we prove our innocence, especially when we’re stuck in here, and Sophia is out there. You don’t think she’ll poison anyone else do you?”. Emilio asked.

  I decided that it was time for Eloise and I to let Emilio in on our secret research work with Théo, I just hoped that he wouldn’t be upset with us for not letting him in on our plans. “There’s something we need to tell you. We were worried that Sophia might not have been telling us the truth about her time at culinary school, so we asked Théo to help us find out whether what Audrey said about Sophia not coming top of the cohort was true”.

  “And? What was the result? Was she telling the truth?”. Emilio asked, keen to know the answer.

  “We don’t know yet, Théo was about to find out but we’ve not been able to speak to him since we got locked up”. I was suddenly concerned that Emilio’s arrest would leave Sophia and Théo alone in the coffee shop together and I hoped that Théo would not confront her directly if he did know the answer. There was no accounting for what Sophia might do to him or whether he might be her next victim.

  Emilio put his hand on his head. “So basically, it’s up to Théo to save us now? Let’s just hope that he’s as good at solving murders as he is at doing crosswords, otherwise we’re doo
med”.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Snow Mountain Cafe, Val D’Isera ski resort, Austria: 5th December 2018

  Théo wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of being left alone in the coffee shop with Sophia, but Emilio was his friend and he knew that Emilio was depending on him to look after the coffee shop whilst he was at the police station. The problem was, Théo knew that he was now in danger of being murdered himself after witnessing Sophia turn Emilio into the police. Part of him wanted to stay at the coffee shop and lock up and make sure that the building was secure, but to do so would mean putting himself at risk from Sophia. He had to act fast, even if it did put the coffee shop at risk of the cash register being robbed with the shop unstaffed.

  Thankfully, escape came when he least expected it. He knew exactly who was phoning him, and he knew that this was not a conversation that he could have right here, in front of the very person the call was about, regardless of what the findings were.

  Théo hurriedly put on his coat, and tried to act as calmly and normally as he could. The caller’s number stopped flashing as he missed picking it up in time, but he would call them back in a moment, once he knew he was safe.

  He walked as quickly as he could towards the ski shop. It was public enough to be seen in case Sophia followed him and tried to kill him, but private enough that he could have his phone call without it being overheard by anyone that mattered. He hurried into the shop and headed for where Daan was busy sorting out some ski equipment.

  “ I can’t explain right now Daan, but I really need to make a phone call and I’m worried that Sophia might have followed me. If you happen to see her, can you do what you can to distract her. It’s a matter of life and death and I mean that in the literal not the figurative sense”.

  “Sure thing buddy”. Daan reassured him, a little nervously.

  Théo called the culinary school back, and spoke to the dean.

  “Hi this is Théo, I’m just returning your call about the culinary competition. I believe I have two of your former students as finalists and I just need to confirm a few things before we announce the winner. I’d hate to get any of the facts wrong, and I’m a little embarrassed to admit to the two finalists that I’ve lost their original entry forms. Honestly I’m such an idiot”.

  “Certainly”. Replied the dean. “What exactly do you need to know?”.

  Théo was surprised that his plan was working so well, especially in this era of data protection and GDPR. “Now I’m not sure which way around it was, did Sophia Saner get the highest grade in the cohort, or was it Audrey Flandin? I’d hate to embarrass myself by getting it wrong”.

  “No problem at all, yes I completely understand. Actually it was Audrey Flandin, quite an exceptional student by all accounts. Dedicated and hard working, we presented her with a special award at the graduation ceremony as it happens. Our highest achiever ever, and youngest to win the accolades she has. She’s going to make any restaurant that employs her very famous indeed. Mind you, Sophia Saner’s an excellent pastry chef too. I think she was a bit disappointed not to come first, but she came a very close second. Always competing those two, right from day one”.

  Théo had got his answer. Sophia had indeed lied about coming first, and Audrey had been telling the truth all along, at least in part.

  “Pssst”. Came a noise from Daan. Sophia’s just come into the shop if you still need to avoid her. There’s something very odd going on today but I’ve no clue why”. Daan pointed to the stock room out back and Théo crept in as quickly and quietly as he could. He knew he was in great danger, and whilst the stockroom would be the last place that Sophia would think to search to find him, it was also a terrible spot to hide, given that it had no exits other than the door he had come in.

  “Ouch”. A voice screamed, scaring Théo half to death. It was coming from the floor and was closely followed by a “shhhh” sound.

  Théo looked around the dark room, and vaguely made out the shapes of Margot and Karl. “What are you two doing here?”. He asked.

  “We’re hiding from Sophia”. Karl whispered.

  “But why?”. Théo was thoroughly confused now.

  Margot asked the same question of Théo, to which he also answered “hiding from Sophia”.

  Théo started tapping in the numbers on his phone. “I think it’s time we called the police”. Margot and Karl looked terrified, but reluctantly agreed.

  Bastian hurried Emilio, Eloise, and Madeleine into the police car and set off in the direction of the ski shop, as fast as he could. He was desperate to put the police lights and sirens on, but he was concerned that it might alert the murderer to his arrival. He’d never had the opportunity to use the sirens or lights before and he was bitterly disappointed.

  “What’s going on?”. I asked, but Bastian ignored me.

  He pulled up outside the ski shop and ordered us to get out as quickly and quietly as we could. “I’ll explain everything later. Just make sure that Sophia doesn’t leave the shop, even if you have to bop her on the nose to stop her”.

  “Umm OK”. I replied, finding the whole thing a bit unconventional. It wasn’t every day that a police officer gave you permission to punch someone.

  We followed Bastian into the shop, just as two more police officers arrived with Stefan, Nick, Violetta, and Rose. Bastian locked the door behind us. Sophia was already in the shop, and she seemed to be fixated on the stock room behind the counter where Daan was busy working. She was definitely up to something.

  Bastian snuck up behind Sophia and was quick off the mark in grabbing her and putting her in handcuffs. “Sophia Saner. I’m arresting you for the murder of Audrey Flandin”.

  The two officers walked up to the stock room and shouted loudly as they pushed the door open. “You can come out now. The coast is clear”.

  Three rather wobbly looking coffee shop customers came out, not entirely sure whether to believe that they were safe, but as they spotted Sophia in handcuffs next to two police officers, they relaxed and looked hugely relieved.

  “What do you mean, you’re arresting me for the murder of Audrey? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard”. Audrey wriggled and pulled against Bastian.

  “Keep still Miss Saner”. Bastian reprimanded her. “Right then, perhaps Madeleine and Eloise would care to explain things just so that everyone is clear once and for all”.

  I was still amazed that Bastian had finally acknowledged that Sophia was the murderer. He had taken a lot of persuading, but between the three of us, we had produced enough evidence to make a strong case. I did my best to recount everything in detail. What I hadn’t realised was that Théo had uncovered more evidence of his own whilst trapped in the store room with Karl and Margot.

  “Tell them, Karl”. Théo encouraged. “I promise you’ll feel better for it”.

  “Um OK”. Karl was petrified and looking rather guilty. “Well, the thing is…well, it was me that stole Audrey’s watch up at the glacier. Well, I maybe didn’t steal it exactly, but I saw it on the floor, and I knew that it was covered in diamonds, so I decided to keep it, and send it to my cousin Miryam in Sweden. She reckoned she could sell it and share the money. But, I felt really bad about taking it, especially with Audrey being so upset at losing it. I didn’t know it was a gift from her father for passing her exams. I thought she wouldn’t miss it. So I put it in my pocket and went to the restaurant, to return it. I wanted to explain to Audrey that I’d taken it, and to say I was sorry, but she wasn’t there, so I left it on the side with some flowers and a card. But I swear I didn’t leave any doughnuts”.

  “And did you see anyone when you were there?”. I asked, curious as to how Sophia might fit in to all this.

  Karl nodded “Yes. Sophia was just leaving as I arrived but I didn’t think she had seen me. Not until after Audrey died, and then Sophia said that she had seen me and that everyone would know I killed Audrey if I didn’t keep quiet about seeing her there. I’ve been trying to avoid her
ever since. But I promise I didn’t kill Audrey. Why would I? She was always so nice to me”.

  It all made sense now and I knew that Bastian couldn’t charge Karl for stealing the watch. “But what about the watch? You said you you had it in your pocket when you went to Audrey’s? How come it was in your drawer at the bar?”.

  Karl looked remorseful. “Well the thing is, I left it with the flowers, and I thought hat was the end of it, but then it turned up in my drawer, and that made me scared, because I knew that Sophia had planted it there. If she could do that, then she could do anything and I knew I was in big trouble. I was too scared to even sleep in my bed at night”.

  “You’re a liar Karl”. Sophia shouted.

  “I think you’ll find that the only liar here is you Sophia”. Margot shouted across the room.

  Sophia pulled against Bastian again, but he was having none of it. “And what about you Margot? You tried to murder your own step daughter. You’re not exactly an innocent”.

  “That was an accident”. Margot screamed, visibly upset.

  This was certainly news to me, but suddenly everything was unravelling before my very eyes.

  Margot pulled herself together. “I admit, that I didn’t take the whole divorce thing very well, and yes I did think that if I killed Audrey that I would then inherit her trust fund if I could get her to sign it over to me before she married. And I admit that I was hoping to kill her at the glacier. But then I had a change of heart. I regretted it immediately”.

  “So what happened?”. I asked, confused as to how Sophia seemed to know so much about Margot’s actions up at the glacier.