One Last Bite_A Darling Bakery Cozy Mystery

by Brenda De Witt

  “Nope, not a cent,” Dani replied. “But it’s okay. I’m just trying to get people used to the idea of gluten-free desserts and I figured what better way to do it than letting them try some for free.”

  “Yeah, I understand the strategy,” Gretchen said as she licked lemon frosting from her fingers. “But how are you going to keep your business running if you don’t make any money?”

  “The coupon is only good for this week and I’m hoping that people will like what they try enough to come back and actually buy something after that. Plus, Riley Community College is sponsoring a career fair next Saturday. They’re expecting more than 400 job seekers so I have no doubt that I’ll make a nice amount selling sweets especially to the students in attendance. Most millennials are already familiar with gluten-free products and college students rarely pass up the opportunity to eat sugar.”

  Gretchen handed the coupon back to Dani. “Well, I sure hope the marketing works! In the meantime, can I have another one of those lemon meringue cupcakes to go? They’re incredible!”

  Dani packed half a dozen assorted cupcakes into a box. “Maybe your staff would like to try some. It always helps to be on good terms with the press,” she said with a grin as she handed the box to Gretchen.

  “Thanks! The Saturday staff are always complaining about missing fun weekend activities because they have to work. This will really cheer them up!” Gretchen said as she lifted the box to her nose and inhaled. “I’ll talk to you later. Good luck with the grand opening!”

  Dani waived goodbye to her friend and watched her walk down the street towards the newspaper office. Before she disappeared from view she saw Gretchen lift the cupcake box to her nose again. Dani laughed wondering how many of the cupcakes would make the three-block journey to the Riley Star News office.

  Once Gretchen was out of sight, Dani looked up at the clock. 10 a.m. Time for business. She flipped the store sign to the OPEN side and crossed her fingers. “Alright Riley, Come get your gluten-free goodies!”

  Chapter 2

  “These almost look real,” a short heavy-set woman said Wednesday morning as she peered through the glass at the various cupcakes on display in the front of the store.

  “They are real,” Dani said, masking a laugh. Even though there had been a steady stream of customers coming into the bakery since Saturday’s Grand Opening, it was hard to get some people to understand that gluten-free didn’t mean it was fake food? “What flavor would you like to try, Ma’am?”

  “Hmm, I can’t decide,” the woman answered as she peered into the display case. She was leaning so close that her breath was fogging up the glass. “Why don’t I get one German Chocolate cupcake for free and I’ll buy a Red Velvet one and two lemon meringue.”

  A big grin spread across Dani’s face. Her plan was working, she thought as she placed the woman’s order in a small box made for four cupcakes. That had also been part of her marketing plan. Somehow the box of four seemed to get people’s attention. For those watching their weight, buying four cupcakes — instead of a dozen or even a half dozen —made them feel better about their purchase.

  Dani moved on to the next customer in line and before she knew it it was almost two o’clock. She’d been on her feet since 5am and hadn’t stopped for lunch. Dani rolled her shoulders and arched her back in an unsuccessful attempt to loosen her sore muscles. She’d been working sixteen hour days since they opened, getting to the bakery at 5am to help Matt and Rhonda frost the cupcakes and then staying until at least 9pm to bake the cupcakes for the morning rush.

  “Hey Matt,” she called out as she swung the kitchen door open. “Would you mind watching the counter for a few minutes while I grab a bite to eat?”

  “Sure thing, Boss.” Matt stepped over to the sink to wash the almond flour off of his hands.

  “It looks like you’re really getting the hang of this,” Dani said as she peered into the industrial oven. “This batch of Almond Spice cupcakes look great.” Dani let out a sigh of relief. Matt and Rhonda were catching on so fast that Dani thought she would be able to sleep in a little and let Matt and Rhonda open the store on their own tomorrow morning.

  “You were right, Dani. Gluten-free baking really isn’t that hard once you put your mind to it.” Matt smiled confidently.

  As soon as Matt went out front, Dani went into her office and settled into the comfy leather desk chair she’d brought from her grandfather’s old office at the house. She inhaled as she sat down and the familiar musky smell of aged leather wafted around her. If she held her head just right she could still smell her grandfather’s favorite cologne.

  The thought of her grandparents made Dani smile. She certainly hoped they’d be proud of what she was doing — although she suspected her grandfather would have been a late convert to trying her gluten-free cupcakes. Nana’s German Chocolate cake had been his favorite. That’s why Dani decided to make that the first cupcake the bakery sold.

  Dani pushed aside one of the piles of papers cluttering her desk and pulled the turkey sandwich — on homemade gluten-free bread — out of her lunch bag. Dani hadn’t received as much money from the bank as she’d hoped for when she refinanced the building so she was still being very careful about how she spent money until the bakery was back in full swing. Bringing her lunch from home was the best thing for her budget. Plus, it wasn’t like she could find a plethora of gluten-free bread choices in Riley.

  As she bit into her sandwich Dani daydreamed about a time when she could expand the business and sell other gluten-free items like bread, cake, and even pies, but right now funds were too tight to experiment with anything other than cupcakes.

  Dani was still munching on her sandwich and feeling pretty good about all the work she’d accomplished on the bakery when she heard a knock on her office door.

  “Come in,” Dani mumbled, putting her hand over her full mouth.

  “Hey, Boss,” Matt said peeking around the door. “There’s someone here to see you.” He stuck his head further into the room and whispered. “It’s a detective from the police department.”

  The police department? Dani thought. What on earth did the police want with her?

  “Go ahead and show him back, Matt,” Dani said, puzzled by the unusual visitor.

  As she put the uneaten half of her sandwich back into the plastic baggie, wiped her mouth and checked her shirt for crumbs, Dani tried to figure out why in the world she might be getting a visit from a police detective. Maybe word of her cupcakes had reached the Riley Police Department and the officers wanted to place a special order. Sure, the old adage was that police officers loved donuts, but maybe her cupcakes were so great that it swayed the Riley P.D. to try a new dessert.

  Dani was contemplating which flavors might go over best at the police department when her office door swung open. Dani blinked as she took in the person standing in the doorway. He was a tall, rather well built, sandy-blond haired man wearing a sports jacket, blue shirt and tie and khaki pants.

  Even though she’d sworn off men since her breakup with Brad, Dani couldn’t help but notice that something about this man’s attire didn’t quite fit. He looked more like he should be wearing a nice snug baseball uniform or maybe some speedos while he was splayed across the sand at a beach.

  “Ms. Darling?” the man asked as he stepped into the office.

  Dani had to shake herself to dislodge the thoughts of him with fewer clothes on. “Yes, I’m Dani Darling.”

  “Ms. Darling, my name is Detective Johnson. Do you have a moment to answer a few questions?”

  The way he said Ms. Darling sounded so official and the thoughts Dani was having about this man were way more informal than that.

  “Of course. Please, have a seat Detective.” Dani motioned toward one of the chairs in front of her desk — the one that wasn’t piled with papers.

  As he sat down, Dani realized the view up close was even more pleasant than the one in the doorway. She peered into the detective’s deep blue eyes.
There was something familiar about those eyes, but before Dani could put her finger on it the detective began asking her questions.

  “So, you re-opened The Darling Bakery on Saturday, June 9th, is that correct?” The detective asked looking down at a little notepad in his hand.

  “Yes. That’s correct,” Dani said, still proud of her accomplishment.

  “I didn’t see your business license posted out front. May I ask why?” The detective’s voice sounded slightly threatening and it made Dani immediately defensive.

  “I’m sorry Detective.” Dani stood up from her desk and hurried over to her file cabinet. “I have it right here.” She thumbed through a tall stack of papers silently praying that this was the pile where she’d last seen the business license. “Here it is!” she said, relieved that she’d been able to put her hands on it so quickly.

  Dani wasn’t the most organized person when it came to paperwork as evidenced by the clutter on top of the file cabinet, her desk and the small table behind where she was sitting.

  “I’ve been looking for a nice frame for it.” Dani smiled hoping to ease the growing tension she was feeling.

  “You should probably do what most businesses do and just tape it in the front window before the health department stops by and shuts you down,” he said sternly.

  Dani felt a lump in her throat. She didn’t know if the detective was threatening to call the health department himself, but there was definitely something in his tone that made her think he might do just that. Dani didn’t know what she’d done to deserve such hostility, but she certainly didn’t like it.

  “I’ll handle it right away, Detective,” Dani said suddenly wanting the conversation with the handsome stranger to be over. No such luck. The detective leaned back in his chair and pulled out a small notepad and pen.

  “So,” he continued still not smiling. “Have you sold German Chocolate cupcakes every day since you opened?”

  This was a strange line of questioning, Dani thought before she answered. This man was sounding much more like a health inspector than a detective.

  “Yes, we had German Chocolate, Lemon Meringue, and Red Velvet for our first three days and now we’ve added two new flavors, Apple Spice and Banana Nut. I’m trying to show our customers some variety.”

  Dani tried to smile as she talked about her business success, but the detective’s expression didn’t change. He simply scribbled something in his notepad. Dani attempted to lean forward inconspicuously and stretch her neck out enough to see what he was writing. As soon as she shifted in her seat the detective looked up from his notepad. When his steel-blue eyes met hers she froze, feeling like she’d been caught doing something illegal.

  “Ms. Darling, do you know a man named Guy Mason?” the detective asked in a tone that made it clear he already knew the answer to the question.

  “Yes, I know Mr. Mason.”

  In spite of the detective’s stern demeanor, the mention of that name brought a smile to Dani’s face. Guy Mason was the appraiser who’d calculated the value of the building the bakery was in so she could get the remodeling loan. It hadn’t been a smooth process, convincing a lender that there was a market for gluten-free baked goods hadn’t been easy — but Mr. Mason had stuck with her every step of the way. He even helped her find some of the used kitchen equipment she needed to get started.

  Dani stared at the detective, totally confused about why he would be asking her about her real estate appraiser.

  “And when was the last time you saw Mr. Mason?” Detective Johnson continued.

  Dani didn’t have to think hard to answer the question. Guy Mason had stopped by the bakery every morning since she’d opened. He had a wicked sweet tooth, plus he’d known Dani’s grandmother and he wanted to be supportive.

  “I just saw him yesterday,” Dani answered.

  “You saw him here at the bakery yesterday?” the detective repeated.

  Dani nodded.

  “But you didn’t see him today?”

  Dani’s brow furrowed. This line of questioning was becoming very unsexy.

  “No, I didn’t see him today. Matt was handling the counter this morning while I took care of some business in the kitchen.”

  The detective nodded and wrote something else on his notepad.

  “Detective Johnson, maybe if you just tell me why you’re here I can be of more assistance,” Dani said trying to remain calm. All of these strange questions about her business were beginning to annoy her.

  The detective put his notepad down and stared at Dani for a moment. When he finally spoke Dani could hardly believe the words that came out of his mouth.

  “Ms. Darling, I regret to inform you that Guy Mason is dead.”

  Chapter 3

  Dead. Dead! Dead? The word was running round and round in Dani’s mind, but her mouth just hung open silently in disbelief.

  “Dead?” she finally stuttered.

  “Yes, ma’am. Dead,” Detective Johnson repeated flatly.

  Something about the word ma’am crawled up Dani’s spine and unnerved her almost as much as the word dead. Being called ma’am made her think of the way kids used to address her grandmother. Was there something about her appearance that made the detective think she was old enough to be called ma’am?

  Dani peered back at his face. He didn’t look like he was any older — or younger— than she was. Dani shook the age offending comment out of her mind and focused back on the situation at hand.

  “What happened? How did Mr. Mason…?” Dani’s voice trailed off. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word again.

  “We’re not sure of the cause of death yet,” Detective Johnson said without even flinching.

  “A real estate agent found him laying on the floor of a house for sale over on Reynolds Ave. a few hours ago. Apparently, he’d fallen and hit his head on the edge of the island in the middle of the kitchen. The head wound is what the Coroner suspects as the final cause of death, but we’re just trying to determine what might have caused him to fall in the first place.”

  Detective Johnson looked straight into Dani’s eyes. She couldn’t read what he was thinking, but his gaze was making her very uncomfortable.

  “It could have been a heart attack,” he continued. “Or maybe he slipped on something. Or…” The detective paused and pulled his cell phone out of a leather case attached to his belt. He swiped the face of the phone and then held it out for Dani to see. “Ms. Darling, do you recognize this container?”

  Dani leaned forward to get a closer look and then pulled back in surprise when she saw the photo clearly. It was a picture of one of the small single serving white cupcake boxes she used to give out the free cupcakes advertised on the Grand Opening coupon. On the outside of the box there was a star-shaped sticker that said Gluten-Free and inside Dani could still see a few brown crumbs.

  “German Chocolate,” Dani mumbled to herself.

  The detective leaned back in his chair and stared at Dani. “Ms. Darling, can you please tell me what ingredients you use in your gluten-free cupcakes?” He spit out the words gluten-free as if he was talking about some kind of poisonous substance.

  Dani’s eyes grew wide and she slumped back in her chair like someone had punched her in the stomach. Suddenly she realized what all of the detective’s questions had been leading up to.

  “Detective, are you insinuating that you think there was something in my cupcakes that caused Guy Mason to lose consciousness?”

  The detective’s eyebrow lifted. He shrugged one shoulder and tucked his cell phone back in its case. “We won’t be sure of the cause of death until we send the body to the medical examiner in Atlanta to do the autopsy. We only have a coroner here in Riley and he’s just an elected official, not a doctor.”