by Lyndsey Cole
“And someone killed both of them,” Jason added. “A disgruntled customer who happened to know they were working together?”
“A someone or someones?” Annie emphasized the possibility of more than one person. “Whoever murdered the chef had to be someone staying at the Blackbird and if they were at the Blackbird they couldn’t have killed Phil, too. Unless,” Annie looked at Alex, “that person hadn’t arrived at the Blackbird until later.”
“And since I didn’t kill Phil,” Alex said, “I have to assume that there are two murderers.”
Annie shivered. “Unless we have Phil’s time of death wrong?” She shook her head. “That’s something for the police to figure out. We can come up with all kinds of theories, but it’s just a big guessing game on our part.”
Mia stacked the empty dinner plates and carried them to the kitchen. She returned with her dessert. “Maybe something sweet will help the old brain cells see everything differently. You said you have ice cream, Annie?”
“I do.” She made no move to get it.
Jason jumped up from the table. “I’ll get it, along with plates and forks. What did you bring, Mia?”
“Apple crumb cake, a perfect comfort dessert for cold weather.” She scooped out big portions onto four plates while Jason added a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
Just as Annie slid a spoonful of ice cream and apple crumb cake into her mouth, the door opened, letting a gust of cold air in along with her aunt.
“Thanks for waiting for me,” Leona said, not even trying to hide her sarcastic tone. She dumped her coat and boots at the door. “Did you save some dessert for me at least?”
“Make yourself comfortable.” Jason got a fifth plate for Leona. He let her add her own amount of dessert while he poured her a glass of wine. It wasn’t a stretch to assume she’d want the wine after all the drama at the Blackbird.
“I wasn’t sure you’d manage to get away,” Annie said. “How are your guests doing tonight?”
Leona rolled her eyes. “I had Buddy all day while Connie played tourist. He’s sweet but wants to be cuddled constantly and I had cleaning and cooking to do. I suppose it was a small price to pay to have her out of my hair, though. She’s one high maintenance woman. Sarah isn’t any bother. She just frets and wrings her hands and George stayed in their room. I was thankful I didn’t have to look at his grumpy face all afternoon. Robin comes and goes like a ghost and I suppose you know that her loser boyfriend flew the coop.” She glared at Alex. “The only helpful guest bailed on me.” She had a healthy sip of wine.
“That’s not fair. I filled the woodbin before I came over here,” Alex said. “You insisted that you had everything under control before I left.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You had those sad puppy dog eyes and I felt sorry for you. I knew I couldn’t leave and I didn’t have the heart to ask you to stick around to help with my problems when it was obvious that you had somewhere so much more inviting to escape to.”
Annie laughed at Leona and Alex’s banter. The more she was around the guy, the more her attitude toward him softened. “Did you leave Danny in charge tonight?”
“Uh-huh.” Leona wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “As soon as dinner was served, he told me to take a break and he’d do the clean-up. I think he could tell I was at the end of my rope. Plus, he won’t be around tomorrow to help.”
Annie hid her laugh behind a fake cough. Of course Danny could read Leona’s mood like a cheap novel.
“So, here I am.” She dove into the apple crumb cake like she hadn’t eaten all day. “This is pretty good,” Leona said between bites. “Did you make it, Annie?”
“No. You did and you know it.”
Leona grinned. “After hearing that my quiche wasn’t warm enough and the pot roast was too dry, I have to get my compliments where I can. Even if I have to give them to myself.” She patted her stomach and finally let a smile spread across her face. “I’m so glad to be away from those people for a while. Fill me in on what you’ve heard about the chef?”
“Just a few rumors floating around town. Oh,” Annie said, “and guess who Camilla is making flirty eyes at now?”
Leona looked around the table. “I was wondering why she wasn’t here. Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Police Chief Johnson.”
Leona choked and sputtered on the wine she had just attempted to swallow. “Tyler? That’s great. She’ll be able to fill us in on anything she hears about the investigation. Right?”
Everyone sitting at the table laughed at Leona’s assumption.
“Not on purpose,” Annie said. “She couldn’t get out of here fast enough after she accidentally said a couple of things she wished she had kept to herself. Unfortunately, what she said wasn’t anything I hadn’t already heard elsewhere.”
“Camilla is going to keep a low profile with us so she doesn’t create waves with Tyler? Good luck with that,” Leona said. “He can’t expect her to give up all her friends. That’s not a relationship worth anything. By the way, he came to the Blackbird today looking for the stow-away.”
“Jared? What for?” Alex asked.
Leona crunched her eyebrows at Alex. “You seem awfully interested for a random bystander.”
“He’s not exactly a random bystander, Leona.”
Puckered lips joined the crunched eyebrows on Leona’s face as she stared at Alex.
“We haven’t had time to get into all the details yet, but Alex is a private investigator working, or, more accurately, he was working for Chef Marcel,” Annie explained. “I guess that detail got overlooked when you arrived.”
Leona’s jaw dropped and her eyebrows shot up. Then she grinned. “Well, doesn’t that just take the cake . . . and maybe the ice cream, too. I’ll bet hearing about Alex’s career made Detective Crank’s already bad day a bit worse. She wouldn’t like the idea of anyone overlapping into her territory.” She rubbed her hands together. “What a shame.” The sarcasm and glee in her voice was unmistakable. “So, are you ready to hear my plan for tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Annie pushed the apple crumb cake closer to Leona. “Have some more.”
Leona didn’t hesitate. “I don’t eat much when there are guests staying at the Blackbird—my stomach gets tied in knots.” She added ice cream to the crumb cake on her plate—two scoops. “Okay. I know I’ll go crazy with everyone just hanging around the Blackbird until Detective Crank says they can leave; and, they’ve paid through Monday morning; plus, the chef has all his ingredients in my kitchen for his pastry lessons.”
“You’re going to do some teaching?” Annie asked. She knew her aunt too well.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled around her mouthful of dessert, then swallowed. “Why not? What’s to lose at this point? It will be good practice for me. If all goes well, I can run workshops myself instead of depending on some annoying chef that just gets himself killed anyway.” She looked around the table. “I’ll need some help, of course.” That comment was directed at Annie.
Annie forced her face to remain neutral.
“Could I take Phil’s spot?” Alex asked. “I’ll call it my new plan—a way to watch and listen to all the guests and hopefully gather some clues.”
Leona grinned. “That would be perfect.” She pushed herself back from the table and patted her stomach. “Delicious, if I don’t say so myself. See you tomorrow, Annie. Mia and Greta can handle the Black Cat Café by themselves.”
Leona bundled herself up. “I told Danny I wouldn’t be gone for long. He’s not crazy about being in charge of the guests all by himself.” She opened the door and left as quickly as she had arrived.
“Don’t worry about anything, Annie,” Mia said. “Leona is right, Greta and I will be fine on our own tomorrow.”
Alex stood. “I can’t wait to hang out with all the suspects while I attempt to learn some baking techniques. This is turning out to be one of my more interesting jobs.”
“Except you might not get paid,” Annie ad
ded.
“Actually, Chef Marcel deposited a nice retainer in my bank account. I guess I owe him to find his killer.”
“My advice?” Annie said to Alex. “Stay out of Detective Crank’s way. She doesn’t take kindly to anyone treading in her territory.”
Alex nodded. “No problem with that while I’m rolling out pastry dough and drizzling chocolate with the suspects. I couldn’t ask for a better cover.”
With that comment, Alex slipped into his warm clothes, saluted to the others, and let himself out.
“He’s right, you know,” Jason said to Annie. “What better way to watch all the suspects and listen for motives? Leona just handed you a gift and you didn’t even realize it.”
Annie let herself relax. With Alex working undercover, she’d be another set of eyes and ears listening to what everyone had to say. “I guess so. Leona came up with a great plan . . . even if she sees it as a way to keep her sanity.”
They laughed.
16
At least when Annie rolled out of bed Sunday morning, the temperature was heading into the low forties with no breeze and a clear sky on the horizon. With sunshine and rising mercury, Annie decided it was a February heat wave.
“I think I’ll bring Roxy to the Blackbird. She can keep Buddy occupied so he doesn’t get underfoot during Leona’s baking class,” Annie told Jason as they sat at the kitchen counter with their morning coffees. “The less distractions for Leona, the better.”
“I suppose Danny will be outside or in his workshop with his new project so he can keep an eye on the dogs.”
“Actually, he’s only around for the morning. What new project?” She wrapped her hands around her warm coffee cup.
“He’s making a cherry framed mirror for Leona. Don’t spoil the secret.”
“Not me.” Annie drained her coffee cup. “I’m not sure if I’ll be home for dinner tonight. I might just stay and help Leona with the meal at the Blackbird. You could come too if you want. Maybe hang out with Connie and the other guests.”
Jason chuckled. “Connie? Didn’t Leona say she’s high maintenance? Are you looking for someone handsome to keep her attention away from what you and Alex are doing?”
Annie jabbed Jason in the side with her elbow. “You know me too well. You have to admit that it’s a solid plan, though, right? You talk to Connie, Alex and I chit chat with the other guests and try to find out what we can.”
“You had me at come to the Blackbird for dinner. I don’t mind being Connie’s babysitter. I’ll just ask her about herself and sit back and let her talk.”
“Perfect.” Annie swung her legs off the kitchen stool. “I’m off then. To what, I’m not sure so wish me luck.”
Jason put his hand on Annie’s arm. “Seriously, be careful. Someone there is a killer.”
“Unless it’s Robin’s boyfriend, Jared, who is not there anymore. He went home. He’s the only one who was upstairs the whole time, but what would be his motive?”
Jason shrugged. “Drugs? Money? In the wrong place at the wrong time? It might not be something premeditated.”
“But Alex said the chef had a problem with someone. That certainly sounds like at least one person had it in for him. It seems highly unlikely that it would be Jared.” Annie zipped her coat and grabbed her bag.
“What if Jared got caught in the chef’s room, killed him, maybe accidentally, he panicked, and was afraid to admit what happened? That would mean that someone else was really after the chef in the first place. And don’t forget, Annie, someone killed the other guy who was supposed to be at the Blackbird. Maybe that person was planning to kill the chef, too, but didn’t have to since someone else got to him first. That means the killer could be relaxing and waiting for the opportunity to disappear from Catfish Cove.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that anything is possible. With two potential killers out there, finding the chef’s murderer won’t solve both crimes.”
“Exactly.” He blew her a kiss. “See you later.”
“Come on, Roxy. Time to do something, not sure what, but one thing I can count on is that today will probably be filled with unexpected surprises.”
As Annie drove to the Blackbird, she wondered about Alex and if he’d told her the whole truth. She assumed it was true that he was a private investigator because Jason checked on that. What she wouldn’t be able to verify was whether Chef Marcel had in fact hired him or if Alex was investigating for someone else. He could have a partner who took care of Phil while his part of the scheme was to finish off the chef. But why?
The why was always the tricky part to figure out. If Phil and the chef were partners like Alex suggested, but Phil was pretending to be a workshop participant, it made sense to assume that they had some kind of scheme going. Or why else the deception? It would be easy to do some searches on the internet to find out what the chef’s background was, what other workshops he ran, and maybe even find out who had gone to those other workshops. Did the chef not deliver what he promised?
Annie turned into the Blackbird’s driveway and was disappointed to see the police chief’s cruiser parked right up close. Bumping into Tyler first thing was not what she’d hoped for. She parked out of the way. Maybe she and Roxy could make a dash into Danny’s workshop and avoid Tyler all together.
It was a good idea until the front door opened and Tyler walked briskly off the front porch. Right into Annie’s escape route.
“Good morning, Tyler,” Annie said pleasantly. She kept walking in the hopes that Tyler would do the same right past her to his cruiser.
He didn’t.
“Annie.” His tone made her stop. “I should have told you about Camilla and me.”
“Listen, Tyler, it’s okay. Camilla’s great.” She fiddled with the scarf around her neck. “It was just a shock at first. I only hope she will still hang out with me sometimes.” Annie smiled.
“Why wouldn’t she?”
Annie looked down while she dug the toe of her boot into the snow. “She’s afraid she might spill something to me that she’s not supposed to. You know, some police business.”
“That’s ridiculous. I don’t talk about anything that hasn’t been released already. That would be completely unprofessional.”
“Good. Tell her so she doesn’t turn into a jumpy mess whenever she sees me.”
Tyler grinned. “She is kind of high strung, isn’t she? Always bubbly and chatty; refreshing like the first bite into a lemon square. I love her spontaneity.”
“Camilla is one of a kind,” Annie said. “I truly hope this works out for both of you.”
“You don’t think it will?”
Annie didn’t miss the concern in Tyler’s voice. She should have kept her last comment to herself. “I didn’t say that, Tyler. Don’t be such a worrywart. Relax. Have some fun. You deserve it.” She started to walk toward the front door.
“Before you go inside, Annie—” Tyler’s voice changed to his no-nonsense police tone.
She stopped and turned back toward him, waiting . . . dreading what might be coming next.
“I know how you always manage to get involved when there’s a murder here in Catfish Cove.”
She held her breath, wondering where this was going.
“Don’t do anything stupid. With one, or possibly two, killers on the loose, I don’t want to be investigating any more deaths. Understand?” He lowered his head so he was looking at her over the top of his sunglasses.
And there it was, Tyler’s condescending attitude that always scraped across Annie’s skin like a knife grating on a plate. She cringed. “What are you suggesting, Tyler? That I shouldn’t help Leona get her bed and breakfast back on a normal footing? That I shouldn’t even talk to any of the guests because one of them could be a killer? If you do your job I won’t be able to get involved.” She turned and stomped inside, slamming the door for good measure. Why did he always feel the need to say the obvious? And just when she thought they’d moved onto a new level
with their friendship, he had to ruin it with his bossy attitude.
Buddy dashed toward Roxy and Annie on his short legs. That forced all frustration about Tyler from her mind as the two dogs sniffed, wagged, and said their doggy hellos. If only it was so easy with people. Annie sighed and followed the delicious smells into the kitchen.
Leona had her radio on her favorite oldies station but the volume was turned low. At the Black Cat Café she would blast it until opening time, but here she must have felt she had to keep the sound down out of respect for her guests.
“I’m looking forward to today,” Leona said. “The sun is shining, I’ll be baking all day,” she turned away from the stove to look at Annie, “nothing more could possibly go wrong, right?”
Wrong, Annie said to herself. “Sure,” she said to Leona. “What’s the plan for today?”
Connie pushed through the door before Leona had a chance to answer. “Can I bother you for some more coffee?”
“A fresh pot is brewing, it will be ready before you can eat one of these fresh-from-the-oven blueberry muffins,” Leona said as she handed a plate to Connie.
“Oh my.” Connie patted her not-too-slim middle. “I’ll need a whole new wardrobe when I get home with all the amazing baked goods you always have on hand.” She took the plate. “You aren’t working at the Black Cat Café today, Annie?”
“No, I’ll be here as Leona’s assistant for whatever she has planned.” Annie helped herself to a warm muffin.
“I can’t wait to get started. Will we be making éclairs still, like Chef Marcel had planned?”
“No, I’d rather stick with what I know best.” She handed Connie a clean cup. “The coffee’s ready.”
“Oh, thanks. I guess you want me out of the way.” Connie laughed. “One other question,” she added as she filled her cup. “I can’t find Buddy’s favorite leash—it’s blue, decorated with dog bones. I know this sounds silly but he doesn’t like the one I have for a backup.”
“We’ll keep our eyes open for it. I’m sure it will turn up.” Annie opened the kitchen door, hoping Connie got the message to leave.
