Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
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Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 1
“What do you think?” Amy asked as she made a grand gesture and waved her hands towards the house.
“Well,” Heather said slowly, trying to put a positive spin on her thoughts.
She loved the location of the house, as it was close to one of her already established routes when walking her dog Dave and kitten Cupcake. Yes, she walked her kitten too. However, Cupcake practically thought she was a dog, especially on a walk. She would wear a leash, sniff what her canine companion found interesting, and was even known to investigate fire hydrants.
The location was wonderful, and if Amy and her boyfriend Jamie decided this was the house to move into, then Heather would live even closer to her bestie. However, she couldn’t honestly say that she appreciated the beauty of this particular house. In fact, she found its façade intimidating.
“It does look a bit austere,” Heather said, finally.
“Thank you!” Amy agreed. “The way the windows are there and the dark roof on top and the line from the drain pipe at an angle. To me, it looks like and angry face.”
“Now that you said that, I can’t un-see it,” Heather laughed.
“And why would I want to move into a house that doesn’t look happy to see me?”
Heather nodded. Great location or not, it didn’t look like Amy was interested in this house. Though if Heather was honest it wasn’t like there was a shortage of time for the two friends to spend time together. They already worked together by baking donuts and solving crimes together. Throw in their regular movie night together, and they were set.
Even though the humans had decided against the house, Dave decided to claim it as his own by marking the mailbox.
“You know that interfering with the post is a federal crime, don’t you?” Heather asked her canine companion with mock severity. Dave just looked pleased with himself, and she smiled.
“Come on,” she said to the animals, and they started walking again.
Amy’s thoughts were wandering about her housing search as they wandered down the street.
“We’ve been visiting houses, but nothing has been right so far. One place was too small. One was too expensive. One smelled like cat pee.”
Cupcake looked up at Amy with a look of indignation.
“Sorry,” Amy said before continuing. “One had a ventilation system that made funny noises and would have made me thought I was hearing ghosts all night. One was still living in the seventies and had shag carpets in every single room. And one only had a bathroom outside.”
“Outside?”
“Like an outhouse. And then yet another house looks like an angry face. Real estate in Hillside is weird.”
“Sounds like it. Could you make any changes to the houses? Turn it into something you like? Maybe you could turn the angry façade into a smile?”
“I don’t think we can,” Amy said. “We’re renting, not buying. I don’t think we’d buy a house unless – well, bigger steps. But this is a big step already. Moving in together. That’s big. And one step at a time, please. Okay?”
Heather smiled at her bestie’s rambling. She knew that Amy loved Jamie very much, but that she also didn’t want to rush anything. Moving in together would be a good move for them.
“I’m sure you’ll find something that will be perfect for the both of you,” Heather said. “You know how they say you’ve got to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince?”
“I just need to walk across a few shag carpets before I find my dream home?” Amy asked with a chuckle.
“Something like that.”
“I’m sure we will find the prince house too,” Amy said. “Just now that we’ve hit the ground running, we’d really like to find the finish line. But with Fourth of July festivities, schedules have been a bit weird. Some people have more availability to show the space, and some only have a few times.”
“Speaking of festivities, we’re really going to miss you at the fireworks.”
“I know. But Jamie and I really want to see this house, and the only time we could see it is the night of. We don’t want to miss it. Maybe this house is the one.”
Heather nodded. She understood how tricky balancing schedules could be. Hearing Amy’s descriptions of some houses she saw, also made her think that she was encountering some pretty eccentric landlords.
“Maybe it’s for the best, though,” Amy said. “The landlord is fine with us bringing Dave and Cupcake to the meeting. And it’s on the other side of town from where they set off the fireworks, so it will keep our furry friends calm.”
“That is the bright side,” Heather said. She gave the grateful Dave a scratch behind the ears. She was happy that her pets would be far away from the scary noise. She hated to think what it must be like for them to hear explosive sounds all night and not understand that they were supposed to be festive and fun.
“Is Lilly excited for the bonfire?”
“She is. But I think I’m more excited to make the holiday exciting for her,” Heather admitted.
Last Fourth of July had been far from fun for Heather. She was normally content to investigate crimes, but solving the murder of a friend from high school had hit close to home. This year Heather was pushing the unhappy memories away and was focusing on making happy memories with her daughter.
She smiled as she thought about how this was the first of many fireworks displays with her adopted daughter. She was happy to think about how wonderful these first holidays spent together would be, but also about all the wonderful holidays they would have through the years.
“What are you smiling about?” Amy asked.
“Motherhood,” said Heather as she admitted it to herself.
“Nope,” Amy said. “I can’t think about that now. One step a
t a time.”
“You say that, but I do have a suspicion about another step.”
“You’re normally a great investigator and have smart suspicions, but I’m really set on this one step at a time thing.”
“But if you can bring Dave and Cupcake to the house viewing, then it means that you’re looking at a place that allows animals. Not all rentals do. Are you looking at getting a pet?”
Amy grumbled. “Not right now. But eventually.”
“One step at a time?”
“Exactly,” Amy said. “Right now I’m going to focus on celebrating Independence Day by trying to become independent of my old place.”
“And I’ll focus on celebrating it by making it the best Independence Day possible for Lilly.”
“As long as your family is together, it will be happy for her. Especially if you bring some festive donuts. And if I know Heather Shepherd, she’ll have donuts.”
Chapter 2
“What do you call them, dear?” Eva asked.
“Blueberry Firecracker Donuts,” Heather said with a smile.
“I feel like we’re VIPs,” Leila said. “We didn’t even have to travel to Donut Delights for this flavor unveiling. It came right to us.”
“It helps that you live with the creator,” Heather laughed.
The two older ladies were her favorite customers at her donut shop and had also become her close friends. They were also staying in her living room until their home was fixed after it had been a victim of arson. Repairs had begun and the home would soon be returned to its former glory. However, she had to admit that she liked seeing the ladies excited about her donuts at her kitchen table as much as she enjoyed them sitting at their favorite usual table at her shop. They had long since moved from feeling like customers to feeling like family.
“I can see the blueberry part of the name,” Eva said. “With that beautiful deep blue color.”
“We won’t feel blue eating these treats,” Leila joked.
“But where does the firecracker part come in?” asked Eva.
“I’m glad you asked,” Heather said with a mischievous smile. “I think I’ve made some pretty successful patriotic donuts in the past for holidays, but I wanted to try something a little more exotic this time around.”
“You didn’t put a real firecracker in there, did you, dear?” Eva joked.
“No, but something else with a fiery kick,” said Heather. “Jalapeno.”
The two ladies exchanged a look and then turned to Heather with wide eyes.
“I’ve never said no to trying one of your donuts before,” Eva said. “But there might be a first time for everything.”
“We’ll have to make sure to get large glasses of water instead of our coffee drinks,” Leila said, looking a little sure herself.
“I’m not sure how spicy I like my desserts,” Eva continued.
“Before I work you both into a frenzy thinking you’ve lost out on a new flavor, let me describe it a little more. There is jalapeno in it, but it’s not overpowering. It’s part of the jelly center. The blue donut base is a neutral cake, and then it's filled with a blueberry jalapeno jelly.”
“Blueberry and jalapeno? If it’s combined that doesn’t sound as intimidating,” Eva said.
“The two flavors really do balance each other out, so it only has a little bit of a spicy kick. The blueberry keeps it grounded with a recognizable fruit taste. The creamy icing also keeps it tasting sweet. And the sprinkles on top are for more firecracker decoration.”
“All right. You’ve convinced me,” Eva said. “I’ll try one.”
“I’ll be brave too,” Leila agreed.
“I’ll tell you what I told my assistants to say if a customer is still unsure in the shop. If you’re just not sure about spice in your dessert, we also have some vanilla donuts that are decked out for the Fourth of July with red, white and blue icing and sprinkles. I have some right here as well.”
“Let’s not be ninnies,” Eva said. “We’ve faced our fair share of danger and hardship. I’m sure we can handle trying a delicious albeit adventurous donut prepared by our favorite baker.”
With those words of determination, the two ladies each took a bite of a Blueberry Firecracker Donut. Their looks of concern changed to looks of joy.
“I would never have considered this flavor before, but it works,” Eva said. “It’s both sweet and spicy.”
“Firecracker is the right name,” Leila said. “It’s like a flavor explosion on my tongue.”
Heather smiled. She was happy that her creations had won over some new taste buds, even if she had to admit that it wasn’t difficult to win over these donut-loving ladies. She decided that she deserved one of the treats as well.
“I’m surprised that I like it as much as I do,” Eva said.
“I’d be happy to have more of this flavor,” Leila agreed. “Though if you also have the festive vanilla ones, I’ll take some of those too. I’m a glutton for all your yummy donuts.”
“Donuts all around,” Heather said as she opened up a box of the other flavor. “But we can’t be too noisy about it or Dave will figure out what we’re up to and I want him to be calm for when Amy arrives.”
However, their discussion about donuts must have reached Dave’s furry ears. He came bounding into the room followed by his feline friend. Dave loved donuts almost as much as Heather did. She had been trying to limit his donut intake because his love was showing around his waist, but she admitted she had trouble saying no to his puppy dog face.
“It is a holiday,” Heather said. “I guess you’re entitled to a treat.”
She gave the happy animals a donut. They were quickly devoured, but the timing worked out perfectly. Instead of begging for more, they welcomed Amy and Jamie who had just arrived.
“Are you ready to do some house hunting?” Amy asked the pets. “Remember you need to sniff things out for me. If there’s a pest problem in the house, I need to know about.”
Dave and Cupcake seemed to agree with what they said, but they might have just been on the lookout for more donuts.
“I hope it’s a good house,” Heather said to Jamie. “And I do appreciate you taking the animals away from the noise tonight.”
“The timing is unfortunate for a get-together ,” Jamie said. “But I’m happy to help out with the animals. I love animals, and especially these guys.”
“He hasn’t peed on your carpet yet,” Amy teased.
“We’ll have to try our best and make sure he doesn’t christen the house we’re looking at.”
Amy agreed and joined Heather in putting leashes on Dave and Cupcake.
“I’m just sorry you can’t join us for the bonfire and fireworks,” Heather said as she handed the leash to Jamie.
“Me too,” he said. “But I think Amy and I will be together for many more Fourth of July celebrations. Next time we’ll make sure we have time for fun with friends.”
“You better have found a house by then,” Heather joked.
Amy was starting at her boyfriend with a sweet expression.
“What?” He asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “Just if you keep mentioning nice things about us being together for a long time, I’m going to be forced to talk about how I see fireworks when we kiss. And that is just too cheesy to say today.”
Heather laughed as her lovey-dovey friends walked the pets out the door. Leila knew that they were waiting for Ryan to return with Lilly from picking up Lilly’s best friend Nicolas, but she still made the joke. “More donuts for us now, right?”
“I thought I was glad that I convinced you to try the Blueberry Firecracker Donut, but now I’m afraid there won’t be any left for Lilly.”
“Of course we’ll leave some for that sweet girl,” Eva said.
“But if we did eat a few too many, I’m sure you know how to combat a donut shortage,” Leila joked.
“That is true,” Heather said. “I hope that needing donuts would be the only probl
em we encounter.”
She didn’t want to bring up the possibility that a murder could occur that she might have to investigate. She hoped that Hillside would remain peaceful and quiet that night, except of course for the sound of fireworks.
Chapter 3
“Is everything okay?” Ryan asked.
Heather looked at her husband who approached her driver’s window. They had taken two cars to the fireworks so that everyone would fit. Heather hadn’t realized that she was being slow about leaving her vehicle, but Lilly and Nicolas were already scrambling out of the car to meet Eva and Leila. They were beginning to divvy up who would carry lawn chairs and who would carry the snacks. There would be a bit of a walk from the parking to the bonfire.
“I’m fine,” Heather said. “I want tonight to be wonderful for Lilly, but I think my thoughts were wandering to last year. There’s no way anyone could have tampered with the bonfire, right?”
“It’s been under a very watchful eye this year,” Ryan said. “All aspects of the festivities have been. Nothing criminal is going to happen with the festivities. And Lilly is already having a great time.”
Heather smiled and exited her car. Then she joined the others separating what needed to be carried.
“I don’t know about this,” Heather said. “Who can I trust to carry the donuts and not eat them on the way?”
Everyone ended up with a silly guilty look on their face.
***
“Are we there yet?”
Heather rolled her eyes at her husband. “You’re worse than the kids.”
“I know I am. They’re having a grand time. Racing with lawn chairs on their backs.”
She smiled at the sight. Heather had decided that she had to be the one who carried the donuts and snacks, while Eva and Leila carried the cool drinks. Lilly and Nicolas both had one lawn chair apiece, while Ryan carried the rest of the stack. Lilly and Nicolas had turned their chore into a game. They held the chairs as if they were turtle shells on their backs and alternated between moving as slowly as possible and racing.
“The distance between the suggested parking area and the bonfire seemed a lot closer when I was patrolling in a police car,” Ryan grumbled.
Blueberry Stars & Stripes Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 51 Page 1
