Pastries and Pilfering

by Danielle Collins

  Now Noah looked confused, his gaze going between Margot and Brice. “What is this? Some kind of setup?”

  “No,” Margot said.

  She looked back to Brice, who now looked appropriately angry and she thanked the Lord she was working with an actor.

  “Dude, I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

  “Drugs,” Margot said, putting her hands on her hips. “Plain and simple. I mean we are talking about Mexico. If you aren’t dealing, you should be, because as nice and clean as gems are, they won’t make half the money you could get through dealing. Am I right?” She shot a hardened look at Noah.

  She waited, knowing silence was her friend right now. He looked from her to Brice then back to her. He broke into a smile, his gun lowering. “You’re kidding. How did you know?”

  “What?” Brice exploded from behind Margot. “You’re joking, right? You are not bringing drugs in. Tell me you aren’t, Noah.”

  She did all she could not to admire Brice’s masterful acting job and kept her gaze on the man in front of her.

  “You had everything worked out, didn’t you, Brice?” Noah said, his laugh cynical. “But you didn’t get it. You still don’t. So what, your sister overdosed. That’s sad, but grow up. Gems do well, but I couldn’t live on that. No one could—unless they were some world famous actor.” He shook his head.

  “What are you talking about?” Brice asked.

  “I’m talking about being sick and tired of being your peon. I mean, seriously? Did you think I was going to work for you forever? I started importing drugs almost a year ago and have made double what we made last year.”

  “Noah—”

  “Stop it,” Noah yelled, the gun going back up but this time pointed at Brice. “You have no idea what it’s like. Day in, day out, saying yes to all these customers demanding things. Working at a job I hate. All of it just so you could have access to Mexico and José. Well, forget that. I have my own network now.”

  “The missing gems, you took them, didn’t you?”

  Noah grinned again. “Ah, I see someone has started to pay attention. I told you that José wasn’t able to deliver as much so that I could keep some back for startup money. Worked like a charm—until you came on this cruise to check up on me. I knew my gig was up.”

  “Wait a second,” Margot said. “You’re done? Just like that?”

  He looked at her with boredom. “For this cruise line, but I’ve already got new people lined up on another while I retire. But don’t worry, I’ve got a place for you.” She hated the way he said it, but was glad to see he was still talking. Now she needed him to admit to what happened on board the ship. To the murders.

  “What about me?” Brice asserted.

  “I took care of everyone else, I’ll take care of you.”

  Margot backed up, as if afraid. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t worry,” Noah said, “I usually take very good care of my partners—as long as they aren’t double-crossing me. I found out Kirsten was planted by a rival gang.” Margot recognized the undercover story Gabe had told her they’d created. “And I couldn’t leave any loose ends so Michael had to go too, thanks to a few gang members in Ensenada that respond well to cash. You see…” He looked back at Margot. “I take care of my own business. I don’t force others to do it.” Now he looked back at Brice, who looked appropriately shocked.

  “But, what about our deal?” Brice stammered.

  “Speaking of my own business, there is one more thing I need to take care of.” He lifted the gun at Brice and pulled the trigger.

  Margot screamed, covering her head with her hands and cowering in front of Noah. She looked back at Brice, but he lay on the ground.

  “Get down!” a voice screamed into her earpiece.

  She obeyed and dropped to the floor just as a barrage of men in swat uniforms flooded the area. Shaking on the floor, Margot cowered on the other side of where Brice had fallen.

  “Put the gun down!” a burly officer shouted at Noah. He looked around him, at the officers who all had guns trained on him, and finally moved to put the gun on the floor.

  One officer moved forward and secured the weapon and then two more came in and took hold of him as Adam raced into the small kitchen directly toward Margot.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, looking down at her with his hands on both sides of her face.

  She nodded. “B-Brice,” she managed.

  “I’m okay,” came a voice from the other side of the island.

  As Adam helped her to stand, she saw two officers helping him stand as well. One had pulled away his shirt to reveal the sturdy Kevlar vest that had caught the deadly bullet. She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded at him even as one officer put the handcuffs back on him. His negotiation to help them tonight would help him with his sentence, but he’d still need to do some jail time. She hoped that it would give him some time to think about what he’d done and to make his sister proud in his future decisions.

  Adam wrapped his arm around Margot and pulled her toward the door just as Gabe came in.

  “Great job, Margot,” he said, nodding at her. He now wore a jacket with the initials DEA on the front. She narrowed her eyes at it and he shrugged. “So maybe I’m not FBI, but I used to be.” He winked at Adam then took her hand in both of his. “Thank you again for what you were willing to do. You gave us the time we needed to gain the evidence to put Noah away.”

  “I’m glad. I also have a feeling you’ll find all the other evidence you need in the flour sacks.”

  “What?” Gabe looked over his shoulder to where Margot was pointing.

  “When I came on board here in Long Beach, Addie had it out with Michael Bowers about the fact that her flour hadn’t been delivered. He said he took care of it, but then when we were in Ensenada, I came in to find more flour being loaded. I have a feeling it’s either not flour or the drugs and gems are hidden in the flour.”

  “We’ll check it out,” he said with a nod. “Thanks for the tip. Now you guys go enjoy Long Beach. I hope it’s restful and you can put this whole thing behind you.”

  Margot laughed. If only she and Adam could have a normal vacation experience, but she had a feeling that would never be the case.

  They walked down the gangplank to the waiting Mustang convertible.

  “You still have this?” she said, incredulous.

  “Of course,” he said with a grin. “I may have come down to Mexico for a few days but I wasn’t about to give this beauty up just for that.”

  “By the way,” she said, looking at him when they were seated, “how did you manage to get to Mexico, and on such short notice?”

  Adam looked at her for a moment then turned his gaze back to the road. “It’s a long story.”

  “Does it have something to do with how you know Gabe?”

  “Um hum,” was all he said.

  She knew he was holding something back, the same thing he’d been holding back when she asked him what Gabe had meant at the restaurant. What was it about Adam’s past that he didn’t want her to know?

  “Adam,” she began, trying to find the right words, “I understand there are things you don’t exactly want to share with me, but sometimes…” How could she put it? “Sometimes I feel like there is a whole part of you that I just don’t know.”

  They drove in silence for a long time, the blare of an occasional horn the only disruption to the windswept quiet, but when they pulled up in front of her sister’s house, he turned off the engine and turned toward her.

  “Margie,” he took her hand, holding it between both of his, “I care for you a lot. I hope you know that. I hope that you can see that. But…” He pressed his lips together in thought for a moment. “But there are some things I can’t tell you. At least not yet. I hate that—I really do—but you have to trust me that I’ll tell you when I can.”

  She nodded slowly. She understood, and yet she didn’t. What was so important that he couldn’t
tell her about it? Was he working undercover? Was it something to do with his job? His past? His present? What was so important that Adam Eastwood had to keep it secret? He hadn’t said it was classified, so aside from that, she didn’t know what else it could be that he couldn’t share.

  Letting out a sigh, she gently pulled her hand from him. “I’m just disappointed you feel like you can’t share this with me, that I’m not trustworthy enough. Good night, Adam.”

  He watched her go, his hazel eyes following her all the way up to the front of the house. When she turned around, she saw that he hadn’t moved, his eyes still on hers. Then she stepped inside the house, closing the door on him.

  Chapter 13

  They all sat at a large table on the patio of the La Playa restaurant. Margot, Adam, her sister Renee, her husband Dillon, and Taylor. Even Addie and Grayson had come for the farewell brunch. After a week of shopping, visiting Disneyland, going to the beach and trying to surf with Taylor and her friends, Margot was ready to head back to the East Coast.

  She missed her shop and, though she was kept in the loop from Dexter and assured that everything was going well, she wanted to be back to her regular schedule. Vacations were good, but they weren’t real.

  She thought back on the debriefing meetings she’d had with Gabe and Adam as well. Noah was being charged with two counts of murder along with his drug and gem smuggling, and she felt better knowing that his contacts on the other ships had been found and removed. Brice had also been sentenced to five years in prison with hopes of getting out earlier on bail for good behavior. She hoped he would turn his life around.

  The notion that the gem and drug smuggling had ended, along with cooperation with the Mexican officials in Ensenada, filled Margot with contentment, but the fact that lives had been lost saddened her. There was no end to crime and destruction in this world, but she was glad she could have played a small part in ending some of it—even while on vacation.

  Renee had just told a joke but Margot didn’t laugh. She hadn’t heard it and she could tell that Adam knew she was lost in another world.

  “Hey,” he said, leaning close, “let’s take a walk.”

  Margot was torn. Looking around the circle of friends and family, she didn’t want to leave them alone, but she desperately wanted to clear up the stuffiness that had descended between her and Adam.

  At the same moment, Addie looked her way. “I’m sorry,” she said, leaning forward, “but Grayson and I need to head out. We’re meeting his mom tonight in Oxnard and we want to leave ourselves enough time to get out of the city.”

  “Of course! It was so good to see you.” Margot embraced her friend as Adam shook Grayson’s hand.

  “He’s a good guy,” Addie whispered into her ear, “whatever it is that’s going on, talk to him about it.”

  She leaned back and looked at her friend. “How—?”

  “It takes one to know one,” Addie said with a laugh. “All relationships are rocky, but I think you guys are suited for one another. I hope things work out.”

  Margot found herself hoping they would as well. She said good-bye to Grayson and then told Renee that they would meet her back at her house later. Then, slipping off their shoes, she and Adam set off on the beach.

  They walked for a short time before he spoke up. “I was worried sick when I got that email from you.”

  “How did you know something was going on?” In the back of her mind, she was suspicious. She hadn’t said anything particular to tip him off—or at least she hadn’t thought she had—but now she was wondering if he’d known more about the situation. If he’d known Gabe—

  She stopped herself. She knew Adam. Knew he was a good guy. Knew that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. And yet here she was questioning his every move. She huffed out a breath and turned to look at him as they walked along the water’s edge.

  “I just had a feeling. Honestly…” He gave a humorless laugh. “Any time you ask me questions about things, I get the sense you’re trying to pry information from me without coming out and telling me the truth.” He eyed her with a look and she dropped her gaze.

  He was right. Here she was, demanding that he be honest with her—which was a good thing—and yet she hadn’t come out and told him the truth either.

  Sighing, she reached over and took his hand in hers as they walked. “I’m sorry, Adam. At the time, I only had suspicions. I didn’t know for sure that anything was going on.”

  “I know. And I didn’t think too much about it until I found out what Gabe was doing.”

  “What?”

  “I just had a feeling.” He shook his head with a faint smile. “Gabe’s always been a slippery one.”

  Margot laughed. “What does that mean?”

  “He’s a good guy, but he dips into a lot of different things and sometimes that’s gotten him in trouble in the past. I should have known he was working on something undercover. It just fits.”

  Margot pressed her lips together, knowing what she needed to say, but fighting against saying it. She cared so much for Adam, but her own independence, something that had grown in the wake of Julian’s death, was sometimes stronger than she knew what do to do with. When they reached a set of swings looking out toward the ocean, Adam led them over and they sat, swaying back and forth.

  “Margot,” he began, but she cut him off.

  “I'm sorry, Adam.” He looked surprised. “You’ve done nothing but help me and believe me in all situations. I…I know I ask too much of you sometimes. I know you don't mean to keep me in the dark about things. I suppose I just need to have more patience. If you say you’ll tell me when you can, then I need to believe you. Will you accept my apology?”

  He smiled back at her, reaching out and clasping her hand in between the swings. “Of course. Just know that I care—very deeply—about you. There are things I want to share, but…I just can’t yet. I will when I can. I promise.”

  Despite the desire to demand answers and her tendency to grow frustrated, she took a deep breath and nodded back at him. The look on his face was genuine and filled with care—for her.

  She turned her gaze back to the ocean as they swung in tandem, hands held between the seats. She felt like a school girl again, if only for a moment, and she relished the innocent nature of what life looked like from the simple viewpoint of sand, sea, and sky.

  Thanks for reading Pastries and Pilfering. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, it would be awesome if you left a review for me on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

  If you would like to know about future cozy mysteries by me and the other authors at Fairfield Publishing, make sure to sign up for our Cozy Mystery Newsletter. We will send you our FREE Cozy Mystery Starter Library just for signing up. All the details are on the next page.

  At the very end of the book, I have included a couple previews of books by friends and fellow authors at Fairfield Publishing. First is a preview of Up in Smoke by Shannon VanBergen - it’s the first book in the Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery series. Second is a preview of A Pie to Die For by Stacey Alabaster - it’s part of the popular Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery series. I really hope you like the samples. If you do, both books are available on Amazon.

  Get Up in Smoke here: amazon.com/dp/B06XHKYRRX

  Get A Pie to Die For here: amazon.com/dp/B01D6ZVT78

  FAIRFIELD COZY MYSTERY NEWSLETTER

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  After you sign up to get your Free Starter Library, turn the page and check out the free previews :)

  Part I

  Book Previews

  Preview: Up in Smoke

  I could feel my hair puffing up like cotton candy in the humidity as I stepped outside the Miami airport. I pushed a sticky strand from my face, and I wishe
d for a minute that it were a cheerful pink instead of dirty blond, just to complete the illusion.

  “Thank you so much for picking me up from the airport.” I smiled at the sprightly old lady I was struggling to keep up with. “But why did you say my grandmother couldn’t pick me up?”

  “I didn’t say.” She turned and gave me a toothy grin—clearly none of them original—and winked. “I parked over here.”

  When we got to her car, she opened the trunk and threw in the sign she had been holding when she met me in baggage claim. The letters were done in gold glitter glue and she had drawn flowers with markers all around the edges. My name “Nikki Rae Parker” flashed when the sun reflected off of them, temporarily blinding me.

  “I can tell you put a lot of work into that sign.” I carefully put my luggage to the side of it, making sure not to touch her sign—partially because I didn’t want to crush it and partially because it didn’t look like the glue had dried yet.

  “Well, your grandmother didn’t give me much time to make it. I only had about ten minutes.” She glanced at the sign proudly before closing the trunk. She looked me in the eyes. “Let’s get on the road. We can chit chat in the car.”

  With that, she climbed in and clicked on her seat belt. As I got in, she was applying a thick coat of bright red lipstick while looking in the rearview mirror. “Gotta look sharp in case we get pulled over.” She winked again, her heavily wrinkled eyelid looking like it thought about staying closed before it sprung back up again.

  I thought about her words for a moment. She must get pulled over a lot, I thought. Poor old lady. I could picture her going ten miles an hour while the rest of Miami flew by her.

  “Better buckle up.” She pinched her lips together before blotting them slightly on a tissue. She smiled at me and for a moment, I was jealous of her pouty lips, every line filled in by layers and layers of red.