by Lyndsey Cole
“Maybe Buddy’s happy to be out of Connie’s clutches for ten minutes.” They both watched as Buddy leaped through the snow, disappearing for a second before reappearing nose-first and then diving in again. “Don’t strain your back with all that shoveling,” Alex said before he disappeared inside.
Alone in the dark, Annie had time to think while she shoveled toward the cars. The chef had annoyed everyone in the short time they’d all been together at the Blackbird and any one of the guests could have slipped into his room unnoticed. But who?
With the last shovelful of snow thrown off the walkway, Annie leaned on her shovel and waited for her breathing to return to normal. Randy, Leona’s neighbor, swung into the driveway with his big plow truck, followed by a black Dodge Charger. After Randy cleared what he could, Detective Christy Crank pulled her Dodge Charger forward and shut the engine off.
Annie waited with mixed emotions. Detective Crank stepped from her car.
“Nice evening for a murder,” Christy said. Her knitted hat was pulled low over her forehead ending just above her dark rimmed glasses. She pushed her glasses up on her nose. Her heavy winter boots squeaked as she walked on the cold snow. “How many people are inside?”
“Seven. Leona and six guests. And one body,” she added.
Buddy charged at Christy and barked at her ankles.
“This sounds like a feisty one.” Christy kneeled on one knee and let the dachshund sniff her glove. That’s all it took for Buddy to leap at Christy’s face and lick her from chin to glasses.
Christy threw her head back. “Eww. I never kiss on the first date.”
Annie couldn’t help but chuckle. Detective Christy Crank had a soft spot for animals even while she held a hard line with their two-legged humans.
7
Give me a little information on what I’ll be dealing with inside.” Detective Crank folded her arms as she stood with Annie on the narrow path leading to the Blackbird’s front door. Her stance screamed business but she couldn’t take her eyes off the small dog’s antics.
In stark contrast, the lights along the path leading to the front door, which suddenly broke through the darkness, sparkled warmly and gave no hint of the tragedy inside.
“Don’t you think your first impression, not clouded by my comments, is important?” Annie was far too familiar with Christy’s method of twisting her statements to sound like something other than what Annie had meant. She refused to end up in Christy’s web.
“What I think is that you need to answer my questions, Ms. Hunter. Did you forget why I’m here?”
Annie crossed her arms, mirroring Christy’s aggressive stance. “Of course I haven’t forgotten.”
“I met the dog. What about the six guests? Male? Female? Do you have a gut feeling about any of them?”
Annie bristled at the mention of a gut feeling. She did, and Detective Crank managed to ridicule it every time. “Do you mean do I have information as to who killed the chef? If that’s your question then, no, I have no information.”
Christy dropped her arms. “Clever answer. We’ll leave it at that. For now.” With no further attempts at uncovering information, she trudged up the narrow path to the door and followed Buddy inside.
Annie sucked in a big lungful of cold air. She needed this quiet moment for calm reflection while her brain swirled with possibilities of what could be a motive behind killing Chef Marcel—anger, theft, an unfortunate accident? He certainly didn’t endear himself to his workshop participants, which was odd in itself for someone who relied on his reputation to further his business.
Before her thoughts traveled any further, an SUV turned into the Blackbird’s driveway. A load of worry fell away from Annie. She should have known Jason would come as soon as the roads were cleared but with so much going on, she’d forgotten to even update him on the events.
Her smile was greeted first by her terrier mix, Roxy, who bounded from the car and danced around Annie’s legs. Her limitless energy and affection marked by several woofs lifted Annie’s spirit. By the time Jason reached her side and wrapped her in his strong arms, Roxy had moved on to sniffing around all the smells Buddy left on the path.
“We couldn’t wait for a phone call to find out how everything was going here. Wondering and waiting made these last few hours drag like I was walking through a pot of Leona’s fudge. And, speaking of Leona, is she managing everything with her usual organized chaos?”
“I don’t even know where to begin,” Annie said. “If time dragged for you, it leaped along like a cheetah chasing its dinner around here. Did you notice who else is parked here?”
Jason looked at the cars behind them. “Detective Crank? What’s that about?”
“I guess the grape vine in town was off along with the power.” Annie put her arm through Jason’s and they walked slowly toward the house. “Before we go inside, I’ll give you the short version. Leona had the pastry workshop this weekend with Chef Marcel.”
“Yeah. She explained that when she called to tell me you were coming here to help.”
“Well, he was murdered . . . in his room. Christy told Leona to lock the room until she could get here.”
Jason stopped walking. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish.” Annie shook her head and let out a deep sigh. “In hindsight, I wish I never answered Leona’s phone call and went straight home to enjoy being snowed in with you. This has been a horrible few hours.”
Jason hugged Annie again. “I would have preferred that too, but I’m glad you were here to help Leona. You’re her rock when things start to crumble. You know that, right?”
“Of course I do, but still. If my phone had been in my coat pocket and I didn’t hear it ring—”
“You’d be feeling terribly guilty when you saw the missed call.”
Annie tilted her head and looked into Jason’s eyes. “You know what Leona said to me when I told her to call you about my change of plans?”
Jason grinned. “She’d never cook for me again if I didn’t say yes?”
“Well, she might have thought of that later. No, she said, ‘He’ll understand.’ Thanks for that. I guess.” Annie put her cheek against Jason’s chest and said a silent thank you for having him in her life. “How about we make a mad dash for the car and escape to our cozy house away from this craziness?”
Jason kissed the top of Annie’s head. “As wonderful as that sounds, I’m afraid it’s too late for any kind of escape. Unless, of course, you don’t care that Leona just opened the door and is waving frantically for us to come inside. Roxy already accepted the invitation. What do you think? Abandon Roxy and run to my car or head inside and help to dilute the situation?”
“Annie! Jason!” Leona’s voice boomed through the air. “What are you waiting for? Detective Crank is eating leftovers while all the guests pace around in the living room waiting for her to question them. I’m afraid there could be another murder.”
Annie and Jason exchanged a look that said they both hoped this was just Leona being overly dramatic but they did hustle inside.
“Is this Christy’s strategy to make all the suspects sweat?” Annie asked as she shrugged out of her parka and slid her feet out of her boots.
“I don’t know. She said she was hungry. Can you talk to her? George threatened to leave. Connie is swooning every five minutes. Robin keeps tapping away on her phone. I don’t know where Jared went.”
“What about Alex? He’s been more than helpful but there’s something about him that makes me suspicious,” Annie whispered.
“Alex? He’s the only sane one here, if you want my opinion. Me included.” Leona ran her fingers through her hair. “Should I make coffee and offer dessert as if there’s nothing wrong?”
Jason gave Leona a quick hug. “Calm down. Christy’s just in her make-‘em-sweat-till-they-squeal mode. I’d love coffee and dessert even if everyone else has lost their appetite.”
“He’s right, Leona.” Annie put her arm around h
er aunt’s waist. “What did you find for dessert anyway? I’m sure that will bring Connie back to life.”
“Well, I’ve been saving this for a special occasion. It’s a pecan pie cheesecake. There are probably five hundred calories in one bite and I’m dying to see how it came out.”
Annie chuckled. Getting Leona to talk about food got her mind off of murder quicker than melting a snowball in front of the fire. “I’ll get out the plates and forks, Jason can check on the fire, and you can get the coffee going.”
A blur of white terrier and brown dachshund streamed by Annie’s legs, almost tripping her as she turned toward the dining room table to find plates for dessert. At least the dogs were enjoying themselves. It must be nice to be so unaffected by the tension at the Blackbird.
“Leona said she’s getting a pot of coffee ready.” Detective Crank, sitting alone at the big table, set her fork down on a well-cleaned plate of leftovers. Her comment sounded innocent enough but her words scratched down Annie’s spine like nails on a chalkboard. There was always something behind her words.
“Yes. And she’s sharing one of her latest desserts.” Annie returned to the buffet for one more plate. Christy had a sweet tooth a mile long and was sure to want a piece of the creamy cheesecake with her coffee.
“Perfect. That will give us a chance for a friendly chat before I get to the, ah . . .”
“Suspects?” Annie raised one eyebrow as she directed her question Christy’s way.
“Well, that’s exactly why I want to talk to you. Your insight about each guest could prove to be helpful.” Christy pushed her plate away, leaned back in her chair, and sighed satisfactorily. Annie doubted that Christy cared at all what she thought and was tempted to drop a fork on her head as she walked by, but forced her hand to hold the silverware tightly.
“How about you bring back coffee and dessert for the two of us while Leona serves her guests in the living room. I’m sure they won’t mind having a snack before I chat with them.”
“A chat? Is that what you call interrogating witnesses?”
“Whatever puts them at ease.” Christy flicked her fingers toward the kitchen. “Coffee?”
Annie slammed through the door into the kitchen. How dare Christy order her around like a servant? Leona had the coffee pot, cups, sugar, and cream on a tray. Another tray held two-inch slices of cheesecake.
“Did Christy even go upstairs into Chef Marcel’s’ room when she got her?” Annie found a smaller tray and added two cups of coffee along with two plates of the pecan pie cheesecake.
“Christy confirmed what I already told her and put crime tape over the door. She said she has to wait for the forensic team to arrive. They’re on their way. Apparently, the storm caused a big delay for the rest of the team.” Leona rolled her eyes. “Great for me. Now I’ve got a mutinous bunch of guests to try to placate.”
As Annie picked up the tray, her thumb slipped and jammed into one piece of cheesecake. She set the tray down and licked the cheesecake off before jamming it in again. “Oh, this is heavenly, Leona.” She made a mental note to give that piece to Christy. “I might need seconds.”
“You tasted it already?”
“Just the bit of Christy’s cheesecake that ended up on my thumb.”
Leona looked at Annie. She snorted before they both burst out laughing. “I’m sure you won’t tell her that.”
The door swung open. Both Leona and Annie spun around to see who it was. “Thank goodness it’s only you, Jason.” Annie’s hand hovered over her chest. “If Christy caught us talking about her, we’d be sent in to sweat with the suspects.”
“I could hear the two of you yukking it up in here. You’re lucky though, since Christy’s on her phone and she was probably too distracted to hear you. What’s going on?”
Annie picked up the tray. “I’d better deliver this to her highness before she does come in here looking for her coffee and dessert.” She turned around, using her backside to push through the door to the dining room.
“It’s about time. Were you waiting for Leona to finish baking?” Christy set her phone on the table.
“The coffee wasn’t quite ready,” Annie lied. She put the tray on the table. One cup of coffee and a piece of cheesecake was set in front of Christy. Annie took her piece and stood near the window. “You’d better eat fast, it sounds like the rest of your team just pulled in.” Annie hoped this bit of news would get her off the hook with having to chat with Christy.
“Go let them in. That will give me enough time to enjoy this creamy sweetness. You and I can chat later.”
Annie smiled to herself at her lucky break before she shoved a big forkful of pecan pie cheesecake into her mouth and watched as Christy scooped from the spot where Annie’s finger had been. She managed to keep from laughing until she was out of the room and headed toward the front door.
Annie bumped into George, suitcase in hand. “Making an escape?” she asked.
“I can’t stand to be here for one more minute while that detective makes us sit and wait while she does who knows what.” He set his suitcase down and reached for his coat. “Sarah better hurry up or I’ll leave her here.”
Annie watched with amusement. Obviously, George had no clue that even if Christy allowed anyone to leave, all the cars were blocked in by at least half a dozen vehicles. She opened the door to the new arrivals. “Right this way.” She held her arm out. “You’ll figure it out once you get to the top of the stairs.”
After the trail of men, women, and equipment disappeared upstairs, George scowled. “Someone needs to move those vehicles so I can get out.”
“Well, tell that to Detective Crank. She’s standing right behind you,” Annie said to George.
“Running off already?” Detective Crank stood with her hands on her hips, staring at George as he huffed and puffed his frustration. “Didn’t I tell all of you to sit tight?” She stepped right up close to George. “What’s the hurry?”
“I, uh, you can’t keep me here.”
Christy’s eyebrows raised so high it made her glasses slide to the end of her nose. “Now that’s where you’re wrong, George. It is George, isn’t it?”
George nodded.
Sarah, with her suitcase bumping behind her on each and every stair, stopped at the bottom. “Oh, hello Detective Crank. George told me you said we could leave.”
Annie moved back a couple of steps but she wasn’t going to miss this show.
“Oh really?” Christy said. “I’m not sure where he got that idea from but since I’m such a nice person, I’ll give you three minutes to put your suitcases over by the stairs and get yourselves into the living room before I decide to question you at the station instead.” She looked at her watch. “You’ve already wasted half a minute.”
George shoved his suitcase next to Sarah’s and pushed them both out of the way. He grabbed Sarah’s arm and they disappeared.
Christy paused next to the suitcases. “I can’t wait to get a look inside these matching leather suitcases. They certainly spent a pretty penny on them.” She turned to look at Annie. “Why do you suppose George was so anxious to get out of here?”
Annie stared at the suitcases. Wasn’t that only one of the million-dollar questions settling at the Blackbird Bed and Breakfast after Chef Marcel’s sudden murder?
8
After arriving home late the night before, Annie tossed and turned before she finally fell asleep. Waking up in her own bed Saturday morning had been an unexpected surprise after the snowstorm, power outage, and murder at Leona’s bed and breakfast the night before. A shudder passed through her body with the memory. She slowly uncurled her legs and let her feet inch into the cold corner of her sheets.
Roxy jumped on the bed and licked Annie’s cheek. “Really? You can’t let me have two minutes to actually wake up completely?” She laughed and pulled the down comforter over her head.
Roxy whined.
“Okay. You win. I hope coffee is ready when I get d
ownstairs.”
As if she understood, Roxy jumped off the bed and her nails clicked on each step as she descended. “Ha. Has she learned how to operate the coffee machine now?”
“No. But you know that’s one of my specialties,” Jason said from the doorway. “Roxy and I are a tag team—her job is to get you out of bed after I tell her the coffee is ready.”
Annie’s nose crinkled. “Ah. The rich aroma is almost enough to give me the jolt I’ll need today.” She let her toes dance on the floor until they slid into her sheepskin lined scuffs. With a fleece over her PJs, she followed Jason downstairs.
“A crackling fire, hot coffee, and,” she walked to the door leading to the porch on the lake side of the house, “what appears to be the beginning of a clear day; what more could I ask for?”
Jason slid a plate next to her mug of coffee.
“What’s this?” Annie touched the pastry that surrounded something.
“A pastry-wrapped, caramel-stuffed baked apple.”
Annie puffed her lips out and gave Jason a skeptical look. “From where?”
“What? You don’t think I can ever manage to make anything delicious?” Jason busied himself with wiping an already clean counter instead of meeting Annie’s eyes.
“Jason? You are also the worst liar in all of Catfish Cove.” She carefully pushed her fork into the puff pastry and a thick gooey caramel filling oozed out. She felt her mouth water with anticipation.
“It’s something new Leona is working on. She thought it might impress Chef Marcel when she served something elegant like this for breakfast during the workshop.”
“Ha! Nothing would impress that man unless it was a creation of his own and he could claim credit for it.”
Now it was Jason’s turn to look shocked. “You were barely there long enough to have a decent chat with the man.”
“True, but with a personality as, um, wretched as his, it only took a short amount of time for his true colors to shine . . . with a dark glow. He criticized Leona every chance he got, turning her into a Nervous Nellie.” Annie blew on the steaming apple and speared a portion with her fork.
