“I would never do that,” Lilah gasped. “Margie’s my friend. I didn’t even ask her for the money, she offered.”
“Now, Eliza, I know you’re just speaking out of concern for me, but I think that was going a little too far. I trust Lilah completely. Even if she had come to me and asked for the money, I would have been happy to give it. As it is, I was the one that offered it to her because I believe that she’s going to make a marvelous baker, and I know that she would do the same for me if our positions were reversed.”
Lilah was touched. She hadn’t realized what a good friend Margie was until recently, but now she was firmly convinced that she had gotten very lucky that day she had decided to move into the yellow house.
“What’s going on over here?” Robby asked, turning around to face his wife. He seemed to have succeeded in convincing his daughter to eat the beans; she was making slow but steady headway through the small pile on her plate. “Are you ladies arguing?”
“No, I was just concerned about your mother, that’s all,” Eliza said. “Did you know she’s going into business with Lilah here?”
“I think she might have mentioned something about that over the phone.” He shifted his attention to Margie and Lilah. “Congratulations, you two. You’re opening some sort of bakery, right? Have you thought of any names?”
“We’re going to sell cookies, mainly,” Lilah told him. “And I’ve been completely stumped when it comes to names. It should be something original and cute but easy for the customers to remember. Do you have any ideas?”
“I don’t know,” he mused. “The Cute Cookie? The Cookie Emporium? Carefree Cookies?”
“Those are all pretty good ideas,” Lilah said.
“Cookies ‘R’ Us?” Lexi suggested. “Or Gram’s Gooey Cookies?”
“Does the name have to have the word ‘cookie’ in it?” Eliza asked. “Chocolate Creations, Margie’s Bakery, Bite-Sized Baked Goods…” She trailed off with a sniff. “Though I suppose you have more important things to be thinking of than names if you’re going to go through with this.”
“I think it’s a fun idea,” Robby said. “Who doesn’t like cookies? If Ma says you’re good, I trust her judgment.”
Lilah gave him a quick smile of thanks, and the conversation turned to the children’s classes and grades. She was glad that the topic had moved away from the cookie shop; Eliza had unknowingly touched upon a subject that she was already concerned about. Was she taking advantage of Margie’s friendship and good heart by accepting her loan to help start up the cookie shop?
CHAPTER THREE
* * *
Despite the fact that Lilah usually avoided seeing Reid when she could—she had determined long ago that the business world and all those associated with it just weren’t good for her—she was practically bubbling over with excitement for their meeting that Tuesday to look at the building that Reid’s acquaintance was selling. She knew that the chances of her finding the right store front for the cookie shop the first time she went out to look at a place were slim, but it still felt like a monumental step. The cautious part of her warned that it might be smarter to find a place to lease until the cookie shop got on its feet, but she’d never been very good about listening to her cautious side. She was the type of person that went all in when she made up her mind, and this was no exception.
Reid pulled into her driveway early Tuesday afternoon, in spite of her insistence that she would be perfectly happy to meet him at the store. She had just finished her morning shift at the diner, and her hair was still wet from her hurried shower—there were a lot of things that she liked about working at the diner, but the clinging onion-and-fried-meat smell was not one of them—when he knocked at her door. She let him in and left him in the kitchen to be entertained by Winnie, who was more than happy to accept the responsibility, while she finished getting ready.
“Okay,” she said when she re-emerged a few minutes later with her hair partially dried and pulled back into a messy bun. “Where exactly is this store?”
“Right along Main Street,” he told her. “I’m sure you’ve passed it a hundred times. I think it would be the perfect place for a cookie shop.”
Lilah couldn’t help but agree with him on that. Vista wasn’t a big town, and nearly every noteworthy store was situated along Main Street. It was prime real estate property for any retail shop or restaurant. The little Alabama town was set along a highway that went down to the coast, so shops along the center street saw not only local shoppers, but a large amount of tourist traffic as well.
Reid’s car was black, sleek, and expensive looking, and couldn’t have been more different than her beat-up blue rust bucket. She felt self-conscious about her slightly damp hair, and made an effort to sit up straight so it didn’t touch his leather seats. The interior of his car smelled new, and she wondered fleetingly how much it had cost him. Even she could admit sometimes that there was something to be said for a nice, comfortable corporate job at a successful business.
“Do you want to stop anywhere on the way?” he asked her as he started up the engine, which was so quiet that she could hardly hear it.
“No, not unless you wanted to stop somewhere,” she said. “I’m just excited to see the store.”
“All right, straight there,” he promised. He put the car into gear and pulled out of the driveway, turning right, toward town, and giving the car a generous amount of gas as they sped off.
Lilah fell in love with the store the instant that she saw it. It was nestled between a dry cleaner’s and a small used book shop. Directly across the street was a gym, which she found a bit ironic, and it just made her love the place all the more. In its current incarnation, the store was a sandwich shop. A handwritten sign reading Permanently Closed hung in the window, though the lights were on and she could see people inside.
“Reid, it’s perfect,” she said as he effortlessly parallel parked on the opposite side of the road.
“You haven’t even gone in yet,” he said, but he was smiling.
They got out of the car and walked across the road, Lilah’s eyes taking in every aspect of the building while trying to imagine it done up with the cookie shop’s name and colors. She reached for the door, which currently read Talbot’s Sandwiches, but it opened before she could touch it. A burly man with messy, greying brown hair strode out, knocking her back.
“Sorry,” she said, as Reid steadied her stumble. The man ignored her. He turned to look back inside the store, and his bloodshot eyes narrowed to a glare.
“I know where you live, Talbot,” he said. “And I’m not going to rest until I get what’s coming to me.”
“Oh, go home, Andrew. You’re drunk. Come back when you actually know what you’re saying, and maybe we can make a deal,” said a voice from inside.
Andrew made a rude hand gesture, then stormed off down the sidewalk. Timidly, Lilah reached for the door again. Again, it opened without her touching it. This time the man behind it looked much friendlier, even if he did have bags under his eyes and a stain on his shirt.
“Sorry about that,” he said to her and Reid. “That was an old friend of mine who drinks too much. I asked him not to come around anymore, but I doubt he remembers. Are you the two that wanted to take a look at the building?”
Lilah nodded. “That would be me. I’m Lilah Fallon.”
“Pete Talbot.” He shook her hand, then gestured her inside. “It’s not huge, but it’s in pretty good shape. What business are you in?”
“I’d be opening a cookie shop,” she told him. Reid was hanging back and letting her do most of the talking, for which she was grateful.
“Well, this place would be perfect for that,” Pete said. “There’s a full set up in back, and I’ve got a glass display refrigerator that I’d be happy to sell with the place if you think it’d be useful. As a matter of fact, pretty much anything you see here can be sold along with the store. The cash register, refrigerated glass counter, the racks in the back…
I use them for bread, but you could use them for cookies. I don’t need any of this stuff anymore.”
Her happiness as she looked around the store was tempered by the knowledge that the only reason that all of this was available was due to the fact that Pete’s dream had failed. She felt terrible for him, and also scared for herself. If he hadn’t been able to succeed, then what made her think that she would be able to?
Still, she adored the little shop. It was small, but perfect. The fact he was also selling a lot of the equipment that she would need was a huge bonus in her eyes. Sure, some of it was older equipment, but if he was willing to sell all of it at a good price, not having to go out and buy new appliances would save her hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Just like Reid had said, it was the perfect location for a cookie shop. It was walking distance from pretty much anywhere in town, and it had a wonderful display window out front to catch the eyes of pedestrians. The front room was cozy, with room for a display, the register and counter, and just enough room leftover for her to put a little table and chairs without making it feel crowded.
The kitchen was a bit bigger, with ample counter space on which she could roll out cookie dough, and two large, stainless-steel sinks. There was a small bathroom as well, and a room that could be used as a storage area or in a pinch, an office. The second door opened out back to the parking lot that the shop shared with two other nearby businesses.
“What do you think?” Pete asked her when he was done with the tour. “I know it’s not huge, but it might work out okay for a new business…”
“It’s perfect,” Lilah said firmly. “Thank you so much for taking the time to show it to me.” She hesitated, not sure what the next step would be. Should she show it to Margie first? The older woman was her investor, and she deserved a say in what happened with the money.
“I’ll give you a few days to think it over and talk to whoever’s going into this with you before you make a decision,” he told her. “My sister keeps bugging me about this place—I’ve got a meeting with her tomorrow, in fact—but I’ve already made up my mind that I’m not going to put it on the market until next week, so you should have a little bit of time to mull it over without worrying about someone snatching it out from under you. Here’s my asking price…” he scribbled it down on a napkin and handed it to her. “But I’m willing to negotiate. My main goal is to get it sold, and fast. I’ve, ah, run into some financial issues of late that I need to solve as soon as possible.” He looked embarrassed. “Anyway, I’ll give you my number too, in case you want to look at it again before deciding. It really is a nice place, and I know it might sound sentimental, but I really hope it ends up going to a nice person like you, Lilah.”
Reid dropped her off half an hour later at her house. She was lost in thought, imagining how the store would look when it was set up the way that she wanted, and his voice jolted her back to reality.
“I’m glad you liked the store, Lilah. I thought it might be just what you were looking for. I think this cookie shop of yours is going to be wonderful,” he told her, smiling. “Say, how are the cookies for the company party coming?”
“Um, great,” she prevaricated. In truth, she hadn’t done more than print off the recipes and make sure she had all of the ingredients for the three different types of cookies that she was planning on making. “I’m planning on doing some more work on them tomorrow morning.” That part was true, at least. She didn’t have to go in to work at the diner at all tomorrow, and she had already laid out the first recipe on the counter, spending a few minutes pouring over it before heading off to work that morning.
CHAPTER FOUR
* * *
The next morning she got up, showered, and instead of changing into one of her usual outfits, put on clothes she wouldn’t mind getting dirty: a loose shirt and a pair of old shorts. It got every bit as hot in her kitchen as it did in Margie’s when she cooked, so without any air conditioning, shorts were a necessity.
She began by microwaving a substantial amount of butter until it was completely melted. With a slight twinge of guilt at how unhealthy these were going to be, she added in three tightly packed cups of brown sugar and half that amount of maple syrup. These definitely wouldn’t be a good choice for anyone on a diet, but, well, who dieted around Thanksgiving, anyway? And everyone knew calories didn’t count at holiday parties.
After the first three ingredients were combined into a gooey, sugary mess, she added the vanilla extract and eggs. The mix was really beginning to smell good. Lilah smiled as she imagined the people at Reid’s work party biting into them and exclaiming over how good they were. If she managed to pull this off and make the hundreds of cookies for his event on her own, then it would just go to show that she could do this, despite the doubts that other people had about her… despite the doubts that she had about herself.
She mixed the dry ingredients next, then slowly added it to the bowl of melted butter, sugar, and syrup. After adding just a touch more flour to firm up the dough, she wrapped it in plastic and put it in the freezer. The waiting was the hard part; there was no way she could make the dough chill faster, so she’d have to wait at least an hour before putting the cookies in the oven.
“I guess this is the perfect time to clean,” she said halfheartedly, looking around at the kitchen. It looked like a tornado had come through at some point. How had she managed to get flour on Oscar? “At least if I clean now, I’ll be able to relax once the cookies are done.”
Tidying up the kitchen wasn’t as bad as she expected. After she turned on music and made herself a cup of coffee, it was almost fun. Still, she resolved to get better at cleaning up after herself as she cooked. Margie seemed to do it without thinking; her kitchen was almost always spotless when she finished whipping up a batch of something tasty.
By the time her kitchen was back to its pre-cookie state, it was time for her to preheat the oven and prepare the cookie sheets. She’d never even owned parchment paper prior to the beginning of her cookies adventures a few months ago, but now she had a few rolls stashed away in her pantry. It was amazing, really, how much more use she got out of her kitchen these days.
After lining the cookie sheets with the parchment paper, Lilah scooped out rounded spoonfuls of dough and laid them a couple of inches apart. Before she knew it, two trays were in the oven, and the other two were ready to go. One thing that she loved about cookies was how quickly they baked. In just a few minutes, her whole house smelled like maple syrup. The warm scent reminded her of Margie’s kitchen. She glanced out the window, wishing that her friend could come over and taste one of the first cookies with her. She didn’t begrudge the older woman her time with her family, but she did miss her.
A few minutes later, the oven beeped, signaling that the first batch of cookies was ready to come out. Lilah slid her hands into her new set of oven mitts—a gift that she had bought for herself after deciding to open the cookie shop—and pulled the trays out. She set them on racks to cool and put the second set of trays into the oven. Too impatient to wait, she poured herself a glass of milk, pulled a small plate down from the cupboard, then took a spatula and carefully scooped up one of the still hot cookies from the tray.
She sat down at her small kitchen table and broke off a chunk of the cookie with her fingers. After blowing on it to make sure it was cool enough, she popped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she chewed blissfully. The test cookie tasted as wonderful as it smelled; it seemed to melt on her tongue, and had a strong but not overpowering, maple flavor. The maple brown sugar cookies instantly made it onto her mental list of favorite recipes.
Just as she was standing up to get a second cookie, her cellphone rang. She experienced a moment of mental panic, wondering if she had been scheduled to work after all and had somehow forgotten. When she saw that it was just Reid calling, she felt a rush of relief, tinged with a hint of annoyance. She was sure he was calling to check up on how the cookies were doing. If he didn’t trust her, then why ha
d he placed such a big order with her? With a sigh, she wiped a cookie crumb off her hand and answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Lilah,” he said. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
“What is it?” she asked, glancing toward the oven. Her annoyance from a moment ago was replaced by cold dread. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good. Was he going to cancel the order?
“Pete’s dead,” he said.
It took her a moment to understand what he had said. “Wait, Pete? The guy who showed us the shop? He’s dead? What happened?”
“From what I’ve heard, suicide.”
Silence fell between them. Lilah didn’t know what to say. She could hardly grasp what he was saying. Suicide? Pete had looked tired when she’d seen him the day before, maybe a bit worn down, but suicide?
“That’s terrible,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” Another moment of silence, then, “I just thought you should know. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to his store now. It might be a while before things get figured out.”
“Of course. I feel so bad for him.” She sat down at the little kitchen table. “Thanks for calling me, Reid.”
He ended the call and she put the phone down. She stared at it, stunned. Then she stood with a jolt; there was the distinctive smell of something burning, and smoke was rising from the oven. She must have forgotten to set the timer for the second batch of cookies. When she pulled the tray out of the oven, she was crushed to see the cookies burnt to a crisp.
CHAPTER FIVE
* * *
Lilah tossed the entire second batch of the maple brown sugar cookies in the trash, then turned her attention to the perfectly done first batch. They were cool enough now for her to remove them from the parchment paper and begin putting them in plastic containers, which she did. Once the containers were full, she secured the lids on them and stacked them neatly in the freezer. She would just have to make more cookies a different day to make up for the ones that she had burnt. She couldn’t face the thought of pulling everything out to make another batch again. After the news she had just heard, she was likely to burn those cookies, too.
Killer Maple Cookies: Book 3 in Killer Cookie Cozy Mysteries Page 2
