by Ginny Gold
Could there be someone else, too? She didn’t even want to consider all of the possible overlooked suspects. That would keep her up all night.
Finally, with Ibis snoring beside her, Kori fell asleep, only to be woken by her alarm what felt like seconds later. Her eyes were heavy and she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed.
“Tomorrow you can sleep all day,” she said out loud to herself but it didn’t possess quite the motivating factor she hoped for.
To her surprise, Kori was still thinking about each of the suspects as she woke up in her bed. She knew she shouldn’t get involved, but might talk to Addie again. Talking to Chip Gordon, her new delivery driver she hadn’t met yet, could also be helpful. Maybe she wouldn’t have to talk to any of her suspects to get information.
Finally, Kori rolled out of bed and Ibis followed her slowly. Bundled up, Kori took Ibis for a quick walk and headed to the kitchen. She immediately made herself a hot coffee to take the morning chill out of her bones and got to work.
Today’s menu was way out of the ordinary. She was offering eggnog—with rum or without—and the hot buttered rum that Zach had served her earlier in the week. She hardly ever offered alcohol, but her liquor license came in handy on days like today.
Kori regretfully put her hot coffee down and headed into the walk-in fridge. That would do nothing to help her warm up but it was a necessity of the job. She brought out plenty of eggnog, which would also be used in the French toast batter, and the caramel pecan rolls she’d prepped yesterday afternoon. They were nicely risen and looked delicious without even being cooked. It took all of her self control to keep from sticking her finger into the syrupy sauce and tasting the cinnamony goodness.
Kori turned on the oven to preheat and then headed back into the fridge for the spiral ham. That cooked the longest so she wanted to get it in right away. She was offering ham and eggs as her last menu option.
By five, Kori was ready for a hot buttered rum but thought better of it. Instead, Kiera arrived and got to work on the menus on the wall while Kori finished making the French toast batter.
The pecan rolls were ready to come out of the oven and they looked deliciously gooey and smelled even better. She put the next pan in so they’d be ready as the first one emptied. The ham still needed to cook for a while, but there was another half hour before the café opened so she didn’t worry.
Working alone still, Kori started thinking about what Zach told her last night. Thomas Worth’s name kept running through her head and she finally hatched a plan to try to learn something about him. She would call Addie during a free moment this morning and ask her. Simple.
Addie seemed to know enough about Donnie and wanted to find his killer, so Kori was confident that she’d be able to at least point her in the right direction to learn more. And she’d still be keeping her distance, like Zach wanted. Sure, she might not be following his advice to a tee, but she wasn’t getting so involved that she would be unsafe. She hoped.
“Any word on your car?” Kori asked Kiera after she finished up the menus. She’d drawn Christmas trees in the corner of each and Kori smiled. The café had completely transformed over the last few days.
Each table was covered with a holiday table cloth, a sheet of glass over them so she didn’t need to change them between each customer. The napkins were decorated with reindeer and wreaths in the corners, and the small decorative Christmas trees all around the café really brought the holiday feel home. The menu options helped encourage all the senses to enjoy this time of year. Cinnamon, eggnog, pumpkin and gingerbread smells and tastes all week had stimulated senses that had been hibernating since last year’s holiday season.
Kiera shook her head. “Not yet. But it’s Christmas Eve, so I might not get it back until next week. And that’s fine. I’m driving the rental, and I’m only going to my parents’ house for the weekend, so it should work out perfectly.”
Kori nodded, then walked Kiera through each of the menu items before she turned the sign around and they were open for business for the day.
Kori wasn’t surprised when her mother and Lucas were the first customers for the second day in a row. Jay’s entrance right behind them threw her off slightly.
“Good morning,” Gale sing-songed as she came in and made her way straight to a booth rather than the kitchen as she would have a month ago. “Merry Christmas Eve.” Gale loved holidays and her enthusiasm always shined through. Today, it came across even in her outfit—she donned a red sweater with a big green Christmas tree on the front, small silver ornaments even tied on for decorations. It could have easily won a prize at an ugly sweater party.
“Merry Christmas Eve,” Kori called back, coming out from the kitchen to bring them each an eggnog with rum before they ordered. She knew her mother would use the holiday excuse to have a drink this early in the morning.
Gale’s eyes grew wide in appreciative surprise when Kori put them on the table. “On the house.”
“Oh, I can’t do that,” Gale protested, but Kori knew it was all an act and she would happily accept the gift, leaving an extra large tip instead.
“Can I get you anything else to drink?”
Lucas’ eyes traveled to the menu on the wall before he ordered. “Just coffee.”
“Make it two,” Gale ordered.
Jay held up three fingers, indicating he wanted one too.
“Take your time ordering,” Kori told them and then left to make the coffee. Before she made it back to the dining area Zach entered with flowers. Kori was learning that this was a habit of his during holidays and she wasn’t about to protest.
He came into the kitchen with the flowers, Kori smiling before he even got there, and handed them to her, wrapping her in a hug and kissing her. Kori felt herself blush and hoped they were hidden from her family. Not that Gale would care, she’d probably be thrilled, and Jay would look away in silent embarrassment.
“Merry Christmas Eve,” Zach whispered in her ear as he pulled away.
Kori was momentarily speechless and put the roses in a jar on the counter and let herself make her mother and Lucas’ coffee to fill the silence until she regained her voice. Then she filled a second French press with enough coffee for herself and Zach.
“Go sit down,” Kiera told her quietly and gently pushed Kori out of the kitchen. “I’ll bring you plenty of French toast.”
Kori led Zach to the booth furthest from her mother and avoided glancing in her direction. She didn’t want to see Gale staring after her. She sat down on one side on the booth, and to her surprise Zach slid in right next to her.
“I wish I stayed over last night,” he admitted, cozying up to her.
Kori nodded. “But you must have gotten at least an extra hour of sleep.” She looked up suddenly. “Why are you here so early? I figured if you were up early you’d be heading to the office to track down Donnie’s murderer.”
“I couldn’t stay away,” he said as he placed a hand on her leg under the table.
Kiera quickly and quietly dropped off the French press full of their coffee and two mugs. Kori could get used to being waited on. She was realizing why so many customers became regulars.
“Are you just here to keep tabs on me and make sure I’m not getting involved?” Kori teased, pushing a few stray strands of her long blond hair back behind her ear. They must have gotten caught on something on Zach’s uniform when he hugged her.
Zach winked. “A little. But do I ever need an excuse to come see you? We didn’t get breakfast together yesterday, so I made a point of coming today. There weren’t any new developments overnight, so I thought I could spare a half hour anyway.”
The front door opened and more customers came in. Kori made a move to get out of the booth but Zach blocked her exit. Kori knew Kiera still had everything under control but she felt bad leaving all the work to her. She had to remind herself to relax and enjoy this time with Zach.
Kiera brought over two plates of hot eggnog French toast and pl
aced one in front of each of them. To Kori’s utter shock, there was a side of diamond ring on a bed of red rose petals.
CHAPTER 12
Kori’s eyes didn’t move from her plate. She stared at the beautiful, elegant ring shimmering in the soft lights of the café. Her mouth hung open and her hands covered her heart, a completely unconscious move she didn’t remember making.
When she finally turned to face Zach, she realized Kiera, Gale, Jay and Lucas were all staring at them. That was why her family had come for breakfast so early. This had all been a setup.
“Kori, nothing would make me happier than to share the rest of my life with you,” Zach said, ignoring the stares around them. She suddenly became aware of how close he was and how quietly he was talking, the touch of his arm on her shoulders sending goosebumps down her spine. While his proposal had quickly become a somewhat public event, he managed to keep it private and intimate. “Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”
Kori nodded, the smile on her face hurting her cheeks but she couldn’t shrink it no matter how hard she tried. “Yes,” she whispered, finding her voice for the first time since their food arrived.
Zach picked up the ring and placed it on her finger; a perfect fit. She admired it for a moment—three small diamonds inlaid into a white gold band—and kissed Zach. Her family and Kiera erupted in applause and the other family of diners looked their way, realizing that something big was happening.
“I’m so happy for both of you,” Gale said, coming to their table and wrapping them both in an awkward hug because she stood while they remained seated. “I knew this day would come eventually and I’m so happy you told us to come to breakfast today.”
She released them and stood back up. To Kori’s surprise, tears were brimming over her mother’s eyes and threatening to stream down her cheek. Jay and Lucas both gave her silent smiles before the three of them returned to their booth.
“Now, as my first act as an engaged man, I have to request again that you stay out of Donnie’s murder investigation,” Zach said, a little bit of humor in his voice but Kori understood his words to be dead serious.
She nodded, knowing that the plan she’d already concocted didn’t put her directly into the middle of the investigation and would keep her safe.
“Great, let’s eat.”
Zach dug into his French toast but Kori was still too surprised to eat. She kept staring at her hand, wondering how he got the size of her finger correct and managed to pick out a ring she actually liked. No, that she loved. She didn’t usually wear any jewelry, so he didn’t know what her preferences might be. But he’d hit a home run. And she could even wear it at work in the café because there was no gaudy diamond sticking up.
Finally, when Zach was almost finished and everyone else had turned away, Kori started eating slowly.
“Sorry I can’t spend all day with you, but I’ve gotta go. If we get a breakthrough I’ll let you know and I should be able to come to the cookie exchange.”
Zach kissed Kori on the cheek and she smiled again before he left. She took another bite but realized she wasn’t hungry. She was only eating because the food was in front of her, and tasted delicious. She brought her plate back to the kitchen, stared at her left hand again and tried to get to work.
“I can’t believe you were all in on this,” she said to Kiera, whose smile grew almost as large as Kori’s.
“Clever, wasn’t it?”
Kori nodded, still slightly speechless. “What can I do?” she asked Kiera, who was usually the one asking Kori that question.
“Nothing. Everything’s under control. Just enjoy your breakfast.”
Kori did as instructed and stayed out of Kiera’s way. She pretended to be hungry and took small bites of her French toast, planning what she would say to Addie when she called. Finally, at seven thirty the café was still quiet and Kori went into her office to make the call.
After three rings, Addie picked up. “Hi Addie, it’s Kori. Sorry to be calling you on Christmas Eve. I’m actually kind of surprised you’re in the office.”
“Hi Kori. Yeah, I am too. With all that’s happened this week, I wanted to wrap up a few things this morning so I came in early so I could leave early. What can I help you with?” Addie sounded relaxed and Kori suspected that she was in the office alone.
“I just had a question for you about someone. Do you know Thomas Worth?”
Kori heard Addie take a quick breath.
“I do. Why? What’s going on?” she asked, concern lacing the edges of her voice that had been calm just moments ago.
“I wondered if he could be involved at all in Donnie’s murder.”
Addie paused before asking, “What makes you ask that?”
“The gun used to kill Donnie belonged to Thomas,” Kori explained. “Would he have wanted Donnie dead?”
Another pause. “He could have. But he certainly waited long enough to get his revenge if he did kill Donnie.”
Kori swallowed. “What do you mean?”
Addie explained without any emotion in her voice. “Thomas used to work for me. He was my accountant. Donnie found out he was stealing from the company and reported him. Donnie got him fired.”
CHAPTER 13
Minutes later, Kori hung up the phone in another bout of shock. The past few days were starting to catch up with her, starting with finding Donnie’s body. Zach’s surprise was at least a good one, but it felt like Kori’s life was spinning out of control.
Kiera gently placed her hand on Kori’s back. “Is everything okay?”
Kori blinked twice and looked at Kiera. “Yeah. Um. Yeah. Can you handle breakfast for a little while? I have to make cookies for the cookie exchange this afternoon.”
“Of course. It seems like everyone is staying home for breakfast anyway. We’re still almost completely empty.”
Kori nodded, unable to respond. She needed to think about the information Addie had just given her, and getting lost in baking would help her do just that.
She started by making the gingerbread dough. Once the cookies were baked, she planned to decorate them and that would take some time. There would be fewer gingerbread men than either of the other cookies because they were bigger, but she would still make at least three dozen.
Once in the oven, she took the cookie dough for the truffles out of the fridge. It was nearly rock solid, a perfect temperature to dip into hot melted chocolate. She used a tablespoon to measure out balls of dough and heated up semisweet chocolate chips for the chocolate coating.
As she placed each ball of dough on a cookie sheet, she thought about everything she knew about Donnie. There were far too many suspects and not nearly enough clues to rule any of them out. And with Christmas tomorrow, she wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone. She only hoped that Zach would be more forthcoming with information. Maybe she could convince him that she would be fresh eyes on the case to help him find new clues and he would tell her what he knew.
It was a long shot, but if he wanted to enjoy his holiday, solving the case was the surest way to make that happen.
The oven dinged and she pulled two trays of gingerbread men out and stuck two more in. Even if she only had time to decorate half of them, she’d consider it a success.
Then she got back to the cookie dough truffles and started dipping the balls of dough into the melted chocolate and sprinkling on a coating of cocoa powder.
Kori’s mind took her back to Wednesday morning’s events. Did she miss an important clue that might narrow down her list? What about her first thought that Donnie hadn’t been the main target, but the killer was going after Red Barn Foods or Addie Winter herself? And where was the truck? Did the truck contain more clues she didn’t know about? How did the drug smuggling Zach told her about fit into everything? Could Donnie have been killed over that and she hadn’t even gone down that path yet?
The oven dinged again and she brought out the final two trays of gingerbread men and had to aban
don all of her questions for the time being.
The truffles were all chocolate coated and the gingerbread men were cooling, so Kori moved on to the chocolate peppermint pinwheels, taking both cold doughs from the fridge. She rolled them out as thin as possible and then layered one on top of the other and rolled them up, then sliced them thin and placed them on cookie sheets. She slid them into the already warm oven and set the timer.
Kori bought out all of her gingerbread decorating tools including plenty of colored frostings and candies and set to work. This really should have been where she let Kiera take over with her ultra creative skills, but Kori found her rhythm and wanted to keep going.
She made the gingerbread men as unique as possible. Some got bow ties, others had mittens, boots or scarves, and some even wore Santa hats coming low over their eyes. She added buttons, faces with different expressions and turned some into girls—gingerbread women. She even made some formal and put suits, tuxes and vests on them.
When she put the last embellishment on the final cookie—and the pinwheels were cooling on the counter—she was surprised to learn that it was one o’clock and Kiera had already closed up and cleaned up.
“I didn’t even pay attention to how busy you were today,” Kori admitted.
“Good, because it looks like you finished everything for this afternoon.”
“But was it busy?”
Kiera shook her head. “Slowest day since I started here.”
“Good thing we’re closed for the weekend. I guess Christmas is a time of year to take days off.”
Kiera nodded in agreement.
“I’ll see you at the library at four?” Kori asked as Kiera started putting on her layers of clothes.
“Yup. My mom’s bringing cookies too,” Kiera said. “See you there.”
Kori gave a quick wave and started packing up the cookies. With the next three hours unexpectedly free, she wanted to get some of her many questions answered and she knew just the person she wanted to talk to.
