The Dana Potter Cozy Mystery Collection

by Liz Turner

  “Hold on, we may be getting ahead of ourselves a bit,” Dana cautioned. “Have you even asked your mother if she’s willing to fund half of all the assets for this bake sale?”

  “If she won’t, I will. I know the recipes too.”

  “Yes, but she’ll have to buy all the ingredients for possibly a dozen trays of brownies,” Dana said.

  “I’ll promise to pay it back with the proceeds then,” Maya reasoned. “Mom knows how good our brownies are. I doubt she’ll be worried.”

  “Okay, but do we know my goodies will sell half as well?”

  Maya smirked. “I guess we’ll have to find out. Anyway, it looks like a round trip would cost just short of 150 in gas money. I don’t know what kind of car he drives, so I just picked the one with the worst mileage to be safe. Then the cheapest motels around here cost between 45 and 80 dollars a night. So to be safe, we’ll go with the higher range and give him four days and three nights–ya know, for the sake of nostalgia. Add that together with gas prices and we’d need to shoot for 390 dollars… Wow, that’s way less than I was expecting, honestly.”

  “Well, I’d say we shoot for double that and plan to make enough food to bring in 800, at least. We don’t want him to reject our efforts by making excuses about having nothing left over to take her out to dinner or buy her flowers—or to justify taking days off work for the trip. Any extra cash that actually goes to his mother would be nice. We did front this as a fundraiser to benefit her, so let’s not be dishonest.”

  “Yeah, yeah, and I know we’ve still got to factor in the cost of ingredient reimbursement,” Maya said, writing a note and some numbers on her notepad.

  “Wow, you got Maya doing math on the weekend?” Mrs. Williams said, entering the family room. “What did you have to do to motivate that, Miss Potter?”

  “It was actually her idea,” Dana said. “You got yourself a smart kid.”

  “And what’s all this for?” Mrs. Williams asked.

  “We’re planning a bake sale. I’m just trying to figure out the cost of ingredients so I can reimburse you and dad after it’s over,” Maya explained.

  “Ah, a bake sale! What are we raising money for?”

  “There’s a woman suffering stage four cancer, and no thanks to a deadbeat dad, her son’s trying to pay all the bills himself,” Maya said.

  “Hmm.” Mrs. Williams furrowed her eyebrows. “Well if that’s the case, cost of ingredients is on me–within reason. You can consider that my donation. The last thing our community needs these days is more families being destroyed and lives ripped apart over greed and irresponsibility. Besides, it’s nice to see you putting in this much work for a good cause. I’m proud of you, honey.”

  Maya grinned. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Now, just be sure to get me an estimate for how much you’ll be baking of what, and I’ll pick it up from the store tomorrow while I’m running errands,” Mrs. Williams said.

  “Okay,” Maya said to her mother and then turned to Miss Potter. “What day should we do this bake sale?”

  “I’d say Saturday midday is prime bake sale time,” Dana said, “but it’s really up to you.”

  “Well, I agree with Saturday,” Mrs. Williams chimed in.

  “Okay, Saturday it is,” Maya said.

  Mrs. Williams chuckled, but was summoned back to the kitchen by the sound of her oven-timer going off.

  Dana turned to Maya with a smirk. “That was an impressive delivery on that story. Very compelling,” Dana said. “There may be hope for this bake sale yet! Keep up the good work.”

  “Why, thank you,” she said, bowing her head.

  “Oh dear, would you look at the time!” Dana said, glancing at her watch. “I’m about to be late to church if I don’t get home and all fixed up!”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know more details later today,” Maya said. “And I’ll work on advertising all week, so be sure to let me know what your big dish is gonna be!”

  “Okay, dear,” Dana said. “See y’all at church!”

  It took Dana quite some time to get ready for church, but she was surprised when she miraculously made it on time. Throughout services, the teenagers were just as distracted on their phones as usual, but Dana noticed Maya’s was a different kind of distraction; it warmed Dana’s heart to see a young person so invested in helping another, even if she was ignoring the word of the Lord in this instant.

  Well, it’s just as important to live God’s word as to hear it, Dana thought.

  After church, Maya ran to catch up to Dana on the road to their homes. Panting but still smiling, Maya flipped her phone around to show Dana the screen which was open to her Instagram page. “Already got over a hundred likes,” she said proudly.

  “Haven’t got a clue what that means, but great!” Dana laughed. “What’re they liking?”

  “I posted about the bake sale while we were at church. Terrible, I know. But I made it sound all prestigious and long-awaited and stuff, so that people would actually get excited for it. People can like your posts on Instagram based on different things. Most of my posts get about twenty or thirty likes in the first hour, but this one’s already at 106!”

  Dana’s eyes widened. “By random strangers?”

  “Well, some of them. Most of the people who follow me on Insta are people I’ve gone to school with and from the neighborhood and stuff. Who knows, maybe this’ll be a big deal and will make over a thousand.”

  “Something tells me a like on the internet is not much of a commitment,” Dana muttered.

  “Okay, fine, be like that. But I’m trying to have hope that we can accomplish our goal,” Maya said.

  “Well, either way, the money will go to William and his mother–it’s just a matter of if we reach our goal and offer him the trip along with it. If we don’t reach our goal, we’ll just send the money to the hospital as an anonymous donation for her medical care.”

  “Wait, if we don’t reach our goal, we can’t offer him the trip?” Maya said. “But our goal is more than twice as much as we need!”

  “Like I said, we aren’t offering him the financial capacity to make the trip unless we’re sure it’s actually going to be enough,” Dana said. “But not to worry—while you were going to work on social media, I was going to work in worship, and the feelings I got assured me that the Lord’s hand is in this decision. Whatever the outcome, it will be the best outcome for everyone involved.”

  That evening, Dana went through her favorite and most frequently complimented recipes to choose those she would use for the bake sale. Maya sent Dana several text messages asking what she would be making and updating her on the plans for advertising the event. Not being much of a texter, Dana called her back when she’d finally made her choice.

  “Miss Potter, did you decide yet?” Maya asked.

  “I sure have. My snickerdoodles have been a hit at most social events, as has my apple pie. Then I figured if we have cookies, we better have the basics, so I’ll make chocolate chip as well.”

  “Hmm. Now you got me wondering if I should make more than just brownies.”

  “Well, diversity increases your chance of hitting everyone’s taste,” Dana said. “We’ll sell more if we have more options to choose from.”

  “True. I guess I’ll make some coffee cake as well then,” Maya said.

  “Sounds like a plan. Well, keep me updated on the advertising. I’m planning to make three dozen of each cookie, and four pies sold by the slice. And maybe two or three extra, in case someone wants to buy one whole.”

  “Wow—sounds like a lot when you look at it like that. But I’ll probably make one coffee cake and like, six of my mom’s famous brownies,” Maya said.

  “All right. I’ll do the math to figure out our pricing for everything. I know you’ve still got school and such, so I have the time.”

  “Yeah. Mom will kill me if I slack on my homework over this.”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing. And let me know if you’re getti
ng overwhelmed with any of it. I’ll pick up some of the load and make it up for you.”

  “Sure,” Maya said. “Thanks, Miss Potter.”

  To her surprise, Dana didn’t hear much from Maya over the next few days. She had already bought and prepped all the dough by Thursday, figured out how much to charge for each item, and was beginning to bake her first pie on Friday afternoon by the time Maya finally knocked on her door.

  “Sorry I’m late, Miss Potter,” she said. “It’s been a crazy week trying to keep up with everything, but I’m about to start baking!”

  “I can imagine,” Dana said. “How’d the advertising go?”

  “Not as great as I’d hoped, but good enough to get us to our goal, at least. I’ve already gotten a bunch of my friends to pre-order brownies, and I got a few people who promised they’ll be there and bring friends.”

  “Well, as it happens, I’ve done a bit of advertising myself,” Dana said. “I spoke with the public library on Monday, and they were willing to put up a poster advertising the bake sale, and they’re gonna let us set up a couple tables in front of the building and use their space for the event! I think that should bring in a lot of foot traffic from strangers and acquaintances.

  “While I was there, I also printed out a few fliers of my own, and I put them up at the diner and a few other places with heavy foot traffic around town. I might not be great with the social media stuff like you, but I’ve been around long enough to know a thing or two about advertising in this town”

  “Great! So when and where are we meeting up tomorrow? And do you already have tables? Do we need something to collect the money in?”

  “Whoa, one question at a time!” Dana laughed.

  “Sorry. Just stressing.”

  “I can tell. Anyway, we should meet at the library around ten to set everything up by eleven. The library attendant said they have a couple tables they can set up, and I’ll be bringing table cloths and a lock box I used to use when I worked with charity events and things.

  “But we also need to be clear on what and how much we tell Celeste should she show up. Believe it or not, most people have a keen nose for deception. If either of us behave like we are hiding something, she’s bound to ask more questions and may end up suspecting something. And considering the only real conversation we’ve had recently was at your home and about William–in which I offered to help her find him–it won’t take a genius to put two and two together.”

  “Okay. So what do we tell her?”

  “Easy enough,” Dana said. “The same thing we’re telling everyone else. If she asks why it’s just us two—well, we just happen to be next-door-neighbors, and it was me who offered to help you with this project. Got it? And if she asks how we met this woman, you don’t know her personally, but you heard the story from the woman’s son and wanted to help them. Telling the truth as much as possible is the easiest way to avoid suspicion.”

  “You know, sometimes I wonder if you think you’re teaching me how to be a detective or just how to be a really good criminal,” Maya said.

  “Girl, don’t even joke about that. I know you ain’t fixing to be no criminal!”

  “Hey, circumstances can change people. Have you never seen a villain in a superhero movie before?”

  “I know you think you’re being funny, but you’ve seen how deeply rooted and long-term the circumstances are that get people to that point in real life! They’ve been abused, neglected, and made choices that drew them away from love and God. You, on the other hand, are a smart girl from a good home. Your parents are still together and love you and each other deeply, you do right by people for no benefit of your own, and most of all, you’ve got me as your mentor. All the fixings of a very successful young lady!”

  “Well, thank you for making me regret my taste in jokes—but also, thanks in general. That’s really nice of you to say.” Maya smiled at Dana, a glimmer forming in her eyes.

  “Right. Well, I got treats in the oven and more to go,” Dana said, “so I’ll see you at ten in the morning!”

  After completing all the prepping, baking, separating, and wrapping of the treats, Dana went to bed with her joints aching and her heart full. As much work as this was, she couldn’t help feeling an overwhelming peace, as if God was assuring her everything was falling into place for Celeste and William.

  Sleep came easy to Dana that night. At first light, she packed all the food into her little old car and drove to the library. She knew she was early, but there was something special about basking in the light of the morning in the place were something she put so much effort into was about to take place.

  Just after ten, a minivan pulled up beside her. The door slid open and Maya appeared, anxiety and exhaustion written all over her face.

  Dana chuckled to herself, thinking how Maya must be feeling the exact opposite of her right now. Dana popped her car door open and stepped out beside Maya. “Now what’s that look for? This is the moment we’ve been waiting for!”

  “No, William getting here and meeting Celeste is the moment we’ve been waiting for. This is just a means to an end–and a rather stressful one at that!”

  “What, you didn’t have fun?”

  “No, it’s not that. I’m just tired. I was up all night cooking, and after seeing how much food we brought, I’m starting to think we have too much to be able to sell it all and not enough people to sell it to…”

  “Like I said, it’s in God’s hands now,” Dana reassured. “If it’s meant to be, the Lord will provide. If it’s not, at least we had a good time. And we have at least a month’s worth of tasty treats, and some cash to send to that poor woman in the hospital.”

  “Well then, let’s see how this goes,” Maya said.

  Chapter 7

  Celeste’s Surprise

  During the first hour of the bake sale, only seven people stopped at the table, and only five of them bought something. Dana could see the panic building in Maya’s composure as the eighth person came to the table and decided not to make a donation.

  “How you feeling?” Dana asked.

  “I didn’t think it was possible to be more nervous than I was when I got here, but it is.”

  “Yeah, well, this is always how these things go. The first hour is always slow. Then around lunch time, things start to pick up because the early risers are done with morning errands and have begun wandering around hungry. Then after that, it picks up even more because people are finally deciding to change out of their pjs and leave the house. Then there’s another slow hour, and then late afternoon is always iffy.”

  “Yeah… I’ve never done anything like this before, so I just want it to go well. Last night while I was cooking, I was worried about hitting our 800-dollar goal. But this morning when I woke up, I had it in my head that we were gonna pay for his entire trip, plus pay off his mom’s doctor bills…

  “I was so pumped, I wasn’t even worried about the lack of sleep! And before you say anything, I already knew it was an unrealistic goal. I know chemo and stuff is super expensive, but it made me feel better about possibly failing if the goal was ridiculous. Then as soon as I got here, the doubt and exhaustion kinda took over.”

  “I’m not here to judge your goals or to set an expectation for either of us. I’m here to do my best, sell some goodies, and think about the rest once I’ve jumped the first hurdle. And even if I wasn’t totally at peace with leaving this in God’s hands, I would know it’s not gonna sell cookies to make myself sick wondering how things will go. I’m just here to work.”

  Just as Maya was about to respond, they both noticed a father with his three children, eyeing their table. The youngest, a little girl with big brown eyes, tugged her father’s pant leg and whined, pointing at the table. The eldest, a preteen boy, seemed to have a more persuasive approach and stood in front of his father, gesturing as if preaching a sermon. Finally, the father sighed, nodded, and chuckled as all three children dashed toward the table.

  “Ooh, how
much for the giant brownies?” the third of the children, a young boy missing his two front teeth, asked.

  “Just five dollars,” Maya said. “You all want one?”

  “Hold on a minute,” the father said. “These better be some brownies to be selling ‘em for five dollars! Wait—you look familiar. Aren’t you Isaiah’s kid?”

  “Yeah. How do you know my dad?” Maya asked.

  “We went to high school together. Same with your mom, I guess, but Isaiah and I were pretty tight back in the day. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m a stranger to her cooking. Your family is a bit of an urban legend when it comes to that. Is this her recipe?”

  “Sure is,” Maya said proudly. “And you’re in luck, because this is our family’s most famous seven-layered brownies. If any one recipe was to be credited with that legend, it would be this one. We’ve started legitimate addictions with this recipe. Like seriously—there have been people who would come over to our house just to sneak bits of brownie out of our kitchen.”

  “Well kids, I guess you can each have one. And Tay, grab one for your mama as well. I’ll probably have to justify the purchase later–and what better justification than proof?”

  “So that’ll be five brownies?” Maya said.

  “Uh… Yeah, sure. I guess I better take one too.”

  While Maya exchanged the brownies for cash, Dana withheld a smirk. She saw the moment as a sign that the Lord was watching and readily working to calm Maya’s fears, making her more certain they were doing the right thing.

  As soon as the family walked away, Dana turned to Maya and grinned. “Five sales in one,” she whispered excitedly. “Look at you, pitching those brownies like a salesman!”

  “You were right about all the timing stuff you said earlier. They had to have gotten here before us, and now they’re wandering around hungry–just like you said would. Like this father and his kids—”

  Before Maya could continue, a woman approached the table and Dana sold her a chocolate chip cookie. Shortly thereafter, another customer approached, and then another. Pretty soon, two short lines had formed in front of Dana and Maya. By one o’clock, half of the brownies were gone, along with about a third of everything else.