Easter Buried Eggs (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 10)

by Lyndsey Cole

  Jason snuck his hand in the shower, turned the faucet to cold, and gave Annie a shock of icy water. That woke her up with a shriek. “Just trying to help. Coffee will be ready by the time you’re downstairs.”

  Annie pulled her comb through her wet hair, knowing it would do exactly what it wanted as it dried despite her best efforts to tame it. She pulled on her comfy jeans and favorite green t-shirt with a big black cat sitting with its tail wrapped around its feet. Her nose led her downstairs and straight to the source of the delicious coffee aroma.

  “This new coffee-maker is fool-proof,” Jason said as he handed Annie a mug of steaming-hot dark roast. “Even I can manage.” He smiled. “All ready for today?”

  “I’m ready to stock up the pastry display with carrot cupcakes, éclairs, cheesecakes covered with strawberries, and whatever else is on Leona’s list. What I’m not ready for are the unknown disasters. Yesterday was a huge lesson for me in what it takes to run a business where so much can go wrong. My art gallery runs itself at the moment, but with the café, there’s always the possibility of a food allergy, special request, not getting delivery of what you need when you need it—so much can go wrong.”

  “And a body doesn’t help.”

  “That didn’t have anything to do with the food, at least.”

  “But you were there because of the food,” Jason said.

  Annie finished her coffee, grabbed her bag and sweatshirt and plopped a kiss on Jason’s cheek. “I’d better run. It doesn’t look good if the boss isn’t the first to arrive.”

  “Uh-oh.” The space between Jason’s eyebrows wrinkled. “You might be starting to enjoy this new position of power.”

  Annie laughed as she closed the door.

  As she drove to the Black Cat Café, she had a lot to think about. Did she like being in charge? There certainly was satisfaction for a job well done, but dealing with all the rest was stressful at best and scary if she let herself dwell on what happened at the Golden Living retirement home.

  Annie pulled into the deserted parking lot just before her mother’s car parked right next to her.

  “I figured I’d get here early, too, so we can get a good start before the customers start arriving. This will be another long day if we plan to get ahead of the busy weekend.”

  Annie turned the radio on as soon as she stowed her bag behind the counter. Leona’s oldies station had become such a habit to start the day, she knew it would be a good motivator. She chose a lime green apron covered with jumping black cats, thinking the energy on the apron was a good sign, and threw a red apron with cats stalking each other to her mother.

  “Any more news about the murder?” Mia asked Annie.

  “Nope, just the way I like it. Christy is in charge and I plan to stay as far away as possible.”

  “Until someone needs your help,” Mia muttered under her breath but loud enough for Annie to hear.

  “Like who?” Annie got out the food processor and several pounds of carrots.

  “Well, while you were being questioned by Christy last night, Martha promised Sylvia that you would help her.”

  “She what? How could she do that without asking first? What can I do?”

  “You do have a special knack for asking questions and finding important clues. That’s probably what Martha was thinking.” Mia leaned against the counter. “Sylvia is worried.”

  “I’m not surprised.” She peeled carrots aggressively. How was she supposed to keep the Black Cat Café going properly and search for clues to help Sylvia? “Do you think she told us everything that happened last night?”

  “What are you thinking she may have left out?”

  Annie turned on the food processor, making conversation impossible but giving her time to think. She set the shredded carrots aside and started on the batter for the cupcakes. “Where did the money go? What I’m wondering is, why did Sylvia really go into Dawn’s office twice—once to talk to Dawn, but then why did she go back?”

  “You probably have a theory.”

  Annie stirred while she explained what she was thinking. “Here’s another possibility. What if Sylvia followed Dawn to her office to ask for an extension to pay her monthly expenses, or something like that, and Dawn said no? Sylvia might have decided to go back a second time to steal the money from the safe to have money to make her payment, and that’s when Forrest showed up and she hid in the closet.”

  “Sylvia just doesn’t strike me as the type to steal,” Mia argued.

  Annie wagged her finger at her mother. “Great point. The bottom line is—if it wasn’t Sylvia, who did steal the money and where is it?”

  With cupcakes going in and out of the oven and the pastry display getting filled with all the Easter offerings, Annie got lost in her own thoughts. There was something about working through all the possibilities connected to Forrest’s murder that felt like solving a puzzle, but getting in Christy’s way was not something she relished. Their hot and cold relationship always iced over if Annie ended up anywhere near Christy’s investigation.

  Thinking of the devil, Christy pushed through the door just as the café opened for business. “All that talk of your dessert last night made me crave some carrot cake. Got any?” she asked Mia.

  “Of course. But take a look at everything else before you decide. Annie added some awesome desserts to the display this morning besides the carrot cupcakes.”

  Christy gazed at the pastry display and her eyes lit up at the sight of the carrot cupcakes covered with cream cheese frosting and decorated with an orange piped-on carrot. On one side of the cupcakes, Mia pointed out some individual raspberry custard tarts and on the other side, she had mini éclairs with strawberries and cream.

  “And don’t forget these coconut chick cupcakes or a ricotta cheesecake.” Mia worked her way around the case, naming all the different desserts. “And chocolate covered strawberries.”

  “Stop! Now you’ve given me too many choices when I thought I knew exactly what I wanted,” Christy complained while laughing. “You choose. Just give me a half dozen assorted and a dozen carrot cupcakes. That should keep everyone at the police station happy after their late night.”

  Annie’s ears perked up. “Did you get to the bottom of your investigation?” She tried to make her voice sound casual.

  “Nice try.” Christy snatched one of the carrot cupcakes before Mia closed the box and took a big bite. “Mmm. These should be illegal,” she mumbled, spraying crumbs on the counter. “Oops. Sorry.” She chewed and swallowed before turning to Annie. “I do have one question for you, Annie. Did you happen to meet someone at the dinner last night by the name of Marvin Yates?”

  Annie nodded. “I did have the pleasure.”

  “Pleasure? You must be thinking of someone else. There was nothing pleasurable about the Marvin I met. One of the policemen on duty caught this guy sneaking along the hallway, eavesdropping on my conversations.”

  “That sounds like Marvin. I was told that Dawn wrote him up for snooping around at night when everyone was supposed to be in their apartment. Gloria, the secretary, called him a creeper.”

  “That’s a good description.” Christy finished the cupcake.

  “Is he a suspect?” Annie arranged several colorful marshmallow Easter critters on a tray.

  “Of course. Everyone who was in the building is a suspect, although we’ve eliminated many that had verifiable alibis.”

  “Dawn was pretty uncomfortable when you were questioning her while I was still there with you.” Annie wanted to get as much information from Christy as possible but she couldn’t be direct or the detective would clam up.

  “Yeah, she has some holes in her story. I can’t verify the time she said she left or the time she said she got home.”

  That was an interesting tidbit of information. Annie wondered if Marvin had those details—or at least when she left Golden Living. From what she gathered, it didn’t sound like he missed much.

  Not long after Christy left
with her two boxes of goodies, Martha walked into the café with two unexpected customers.

  8

  “Go ahead and sit over at that booth and I’ll bring you both some coffee.” Annie watched silently as Martha pointed to an empty booth with a view overlooking Heron Lake.

  “I’ll get my own coffee. I don’t want anyone touching something I put in my mouth,” Marvin said as he moved away from Martha and picked up a mug from the drink cart. He inspected the mug carefully, rejected it, and took another that was all the way in the back. He leaned close to each label describing the different types of coffees and chose the hazelnut blend. “Is this real whipped cream? Golden Living never gives us real whipped cream. I should just cook my own food instead of paying for their mushy meals.”

  “Yes, Marvin. I whipped it this morning,” Mia assured him.

  He added an extra-large helping of whipped cream, stuck a cinnamon stick in his coffee, and carried it to the booth. He slid on the opposite side from Sylvia who waited patiently for Martha to deliver her coffee.

  “Just regular for me, please,” Sylvia said after she took a look at Marvin’s mug.

  Martha carried two coffees to the booth and slid in next to Sylvia. Annie followed closely behind her with a tray of pastries. “On the house,” Annie assured them.

  Marvin quickly snatched a raspberry custard tart before the tray even hit the table or Sylvia had a chance to see what was on the tray. She sat staring out the window instead of enjoying her coffee or a pastry.

  “Come on now, Sylvia, you’ve got to eat something. I thought if I got you away from that building with those bad memories you’d be able to relax a little.” Martha pushed Sylvia’s coffee closer and placed a mini éclair with strawberries and cream on a napkin next to the mug. “Try this. One bite and you won’t be able to resist eating the whole thing.”

  Annie wanted to stay and listen to the conversation. She knew it wasn’t luck that brought Sylvia and Marvin in this morning. Martha planned to get as much information from them as possible, Annie suspected, and she wouldn’t mind if she crashed their party.

  Martha helped herself to a carrot cupcake. “My favorite. Annie,” she said. “Don’t tell Leona I said this, but these are better than anything she ever made.”

  Annie felt a glowing bit of pride but knew Martha was exaggerating. “Don’t worry. I definitely won’t tell her, especially after she burned her cake and I had to start over from scratch.”

  Martha raised her eyebrows. “I bet Leona doesn’t want that bit of news to get around. Do you have time to sit with us for a minute?” She asked before Annie could turn and go back to the kitchen.

  The sweets wouldn’t bake themselves. They were perilously low on the Black Cat Café’s signature sweet—blueberry muffins. Annie glanced at the clock and decided she could spare a few minutes for a break before whipping up a batch. She fixed herself a cup of coffee and sat next to Marvin. He slid closer to the window, pulling his napkin with the rest of his tart along with him.

  “How are you doing today, Sylvia?” Annie asked, trying her best to ignore Marvin’s weirdness.

  Sylvia’s shoulders rose and fell with a big intake and exhale of air. “I just don’t know what to do. That detective was so nice, but I’m afraid I may have told her more than I should have.”

  “Nice? I wouldn’t use that word to describe her,” Marvin said. “She kept trying to trick me. Just like everyone else. Dawn, my kids, and now that detective.” Marvin carefully folded the napkin out of the way and nibbled a corner of the tart.

  Annie added paranoid to her list of descriptions for Marvin. “How did Detective Crank try to trick you?”

  “She wanted to know where I went after I left the dining room. I told her it was none of her business.”

  “I bet that went over well.” Annie chuckled. “If you didn’t give her an alibi, she’ll have you on the suspect list. Did you think of that?”

  Marvin considered what Annie said, then took another bite. “That’s ridiculous. Dawn lied to the detective. She’s the one who killed Forrest. You know what I think? Dawn hired him to be the Easter bunny so she could get rid of him before he had a chance to rat her out about the money.”

  “The money. The money in the safe?” Annie asked Marvin. He spoke with such certainty but, of course, he might just be making everything up.

  Marvin finished the tart and licked the cream off his cinnamon stick before he drank a little. “Is this your place?” he asked Annie.

  “No. It belongs to my aunt but she took a few days off. Is your coffee okay?”

  “Better than the coffee at Golden Living, but that doesn’t mean much.” He drank a little more, then returned to his earlier thoughts. “Dawn steals the money from all of us. You,” he pointed to Sylvia. “Why do you think you might have to move?”

  “You mean she’s taking more than she should?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean. She’s doing the same thing to me. I told my kids I wanted to go back to my house and my little dog. Get out of the joke called Golden Living, but they said Golden Living owns my house now. I call that stealing. I saw all that cash in her safe but she keeps a tight watch over it.”

  Annie actually felt a twinge of sorrow listening to Marvin. She thought his kids might have sold the house so he could stay at Golden Living, but did they do it behind his back? “Where is your dog now?”

  “Scout? He’s with my son. I petitioned to have him move in with me, and Dawn said okay until I actually moved in, then it was ‘sorry, we’ve changed the policy and no animals are allowed,’” he said in a sicky-sweet-sing-song voice.

  Martha reached across the table and covered Marvin’s hand with her own. “That’s terrible. Let’s just break the rule.”

  Marvin’s eyes lit up like an excited kid. “How? My son will never bring Scout over. He doesn’t want me to get kicked out. And, believe me, I’ve been trying.”

  “Annie? How about bringing Roxy over for a little visit?” Martha suggested.

  Marvin twisted on the seat. “You have a dog? You could bring her in through my window. That’s what I tried to get my son to do, but he’s not a rule breaker. Will you do it?”

  Annie was startled by Marvin’s faded blue eyes with such a passionate plea. She hadn’t really looked beyond his quirks, but now she saw his neatly pressed button-down shirt, carefully combed thick white hair, and his unwavering gaze.

  What was Annie getting herself involved in? She should be spending the afternoon baking to get farther ahead for the weekend. But, on the other hand, it might be the only way to get Marvin to open up about his discoveries from all his snooping. That money had to be somewhere. And what about Sylvia’s gun? Christy didn’t want Annie to get in the way of her investigation but she couldn’t say Annie wasn’t allowed to visit her new friends at Golden Living.

  Three sets of eyes were focused on her face, waiting for an answer. Martha, who had helped Annie in so many ways since she returned to Catfish Cove. Sylvia and Marvin who had no one else watching out for their interests and now seemed to be putting all their hopes on Annie.

  “Okay. I’ll bring Roxy over for a quick visit later this afternoon; after I close up for the day. It will be the perfect outing for her with her newly completed therapy dog training.”

  Marvin’s eyes blinked and Annie was sure she saw tears about to spill out. She started to slide out of the seat but Marvin touched her arm.

  “I can’t wait. Thank you.”

  One thing about Marvin, Annie decided, was that he had a huge heart for animals and that made him a decent person in her book. Maybe his gruffness toward the people in his life at the moment was warranted, she would hold off judgement on that for now. “I need to get back to work.”

  From behind the counter, Annie’s eyes followed the three elderly people as they left the café. She couldn’t help but wonder if both Sylvia and Marvin had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time after the Easter dinner, or were they hiding secrets t
hat could be Annie’s undoing?

  The rest of the day flew by between serving customers, baking, and trying not to think too much about what she had agreed to do. If only she could be in two places at the same time, she could keep her obligation to Leona and help Sylvia and Marvin. That would be the answer to her problem.

  At four, Annie locked up the café. She walked outside with her mother and they both stopped to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine.

  “Leona will be proud of how hard you’re working while she’s gone,” Mia said as she gave her daughter a quick hug.

  “Working hard isn’t the problem, it’s juggling all the unexpected problems that pop up all day.” Annie sighed. At least the peaceful view helped settle her adrenaline-charged body. Mixing, baking, making pleasant chit chat with customers, all while letting the events of the night before run in the background kept her brain buzzing.

  “You had a conversation with Martha, Sylvia, and Marvin,” Mia said, not as a question, but Annie could tell she hoped to hear the details.

  “Marvin thinks Dawn Cross is stealing money from all the seniors renting at Golden Living.”

  “He is an odd duck. What do you think?”

  “I think I need to find out more about what’s going on.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that. Even with all the extra responsibility here, you have time to get involved with the murder?” Annie felt Mia’s eyes on her but she kept her focus on the lake. The gentle repetitive lapping at the water’s edge was soothing.

  Annie thought through her answer before responding. “It’s not a question of having the time, it’s more about doing what I feel in my heart is the right thing to do. When Marvin actually looked at me with a sad desperation in his eyes, I knew I couldn’t say no to at least try to help get to the bottom of what Dawn might be up to.” She suddenly turned and looked at her mother. “What if she is stealing from those people? Someone needs to consider that possibility. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything heroic, just make a visit with Roxy.”

  “You think Roxy will sniff out the missing money?” Mia said with definite sarcasm in her tone.