One Last Bite_A Darling Bakery Cozy Mystery

by Brenda De Witt

  “Is everything okay here?” A woman, with the word MANAGER permanently etched on her badge, asked as she approached Ingrid behind the counter.

  “Everything is just fine,” Ingrid said faking a more genuine smile.

  “Yeah, Everything is just fine,” Dani said and quickly scurried out of the bank.

  ***

  By the time Dani got to the bakery she was still feeling a little creeped out by her encounter with Ingrid, but her spirits lifted quickly when she told her two assistants about the cupcake order they received from Sarah.

  “Wow! Two big orders to fill in one week,” Rhonda said sounding as relieved as Dani felt. “So, how many cupcakes do we need to make for the career fair tomorrow?”

  “I planned to take 300,” Dani said. “I’m still pretty confident that we can sell that many. Especially since we’ll have the booth up during the lunch hour.”

  “And 500 cupcakes for the gala on Friday!” Matt said excitedly. The Daughters of Riley is a big deal kind of club,” he continued. “All the rich, hoity-toity folks attend their annual gala. That should definitely bring some customers back into the bakery.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Dani said smiling at her assistants. “Rhonda, do you think you can design a six-tiered stand to put the cupcakes on? They want it to look like a multi-layered cake with alternating flavors on each layer.”

  “Sure thing, Boss. That will be pretty easy and we can get the supplies we need at the home improvement store right down the street.”

  “Great! Why don’t you two start mapping out a plan for Friday’s cupcakes? Then later today we can make the cupcakes for the career fair. We can frost them tomorrow morning. That will give us plenty of time for us to pack them up and get them over to the school”

  ***

  “This is the last one,” Rhonda said on Tuesday morning as she swirled cinnamon flavored frosting on top of the Apple Spice cupcake in her hand.

  Matt and Dani were already boxing up the other cupcakes and loading the boxes into the back of The Darling Bakery delivery van.

  “Alright, Rhonda. Hold down the fort while we’re gone,” Dani encouraged before walking out the door. “If you need anything just give me a call on my cell.”

  Dani had decided to take Matt with her to the career fair because she thought it would look good to the school to see that she was employing one of their own students in her business. When the two of them arrived, the Riley Community College gymnasium was already a bustle of activity. Long tables were set up all around the perimeter of the gym as well as in a maze of rows snaking back and forth from one end of the basketball court to the other. There must have been more than fifty businesses represented and all of them had staff setting up their materials and getting ready to talk to the students about the benefits of working at each of their companies.

  Dani and Matt wheeled the first cart-load of cupcakes through the doors and headed down a row of tables looking for the tent card with The Darling Bakery on it. Before they reached the end of the first row something on one of the tent cards caught Dani’s eye. It read Campbell Landscaping Services.

  Ben Campbell had a table for his business at the job fair, but the person sitting at the table wasn’t Ben. He was a younger man, probably about Matt’s age.

  “Hey Matt, go find our table. We’re supposed to be somewhere near the Star-News table.” Dani and Gretchen had purposely signed up to be at tables close to each other so they could talk if things got boring during the day. “I’ll catch up to you in a minute,” Dani said. “I need to check something out.”

  “Sure thing, Boss.”

  Dani waited until Matt had wheeled the cart several feet away before she approached the table she’d been eyeing.

  “Hi, there. Is this your business?” Dani asked already knowing the answer. She figured starting with flattery might put the young man in a mood to answer some questions about Ben.

  “Naw,” he said with a shrug. “I just work for Mr. Campbell.”

  “Oh. I was just wondering because I’ve seen that Campbell Landscaping truck all over town. Mr. Campbell must stay pretty busy.”

  “Yeah, business is booming. Mr. Campbell can hardly keep up with the customers we have and we need some dependable staff to help us out. That’s why I’m here at the career fair today representing the company. I’m hoping to find some good workers to add to our team.”

  Ben must have finally given up on hiring cheap high school labor and decided to employ some full-time help.

  “I think I saw the Campbell truck over on Reynolds Ave. last week,” Dani said steering the conversation in her intended direction. “Those yards over there look absolutely fabulous.”

  The young man’s shoulders suddenly straightened with pride. “Thanks, Lady! I handled that whole block by myself last week. The boss got called to the senior center. Something about his mother and I took care of the whole street.”

  “Wow, Mr. Campbell let you work alone like that. He must really trust you.”

  The young man’s smile got even bigger. “I sure hope so. I really like working outside and there’s so much to learn about landscaping.”

  Dani had to admit that she was actually relieved to find out that Ben Campbell wasn’t at the Reynolds Ave. house last week. His alibi may have meant one of Dani’s primary suspects had now been cleared, but it also meant she could use Campbell Landscaping to get her yard back in order.

  Of course, it still didn’t explain who Mr. Jones heard arguing next door, but it definitely wasn’t Ben.

  “Well, I’d better go get my table set up,” Dani said. “Good luck today.”

  As Dani headed off to find her table, she went over the latest things she’d learned.

  Ingrid Mason may have been rude, and a little creepy, but she was out of town the day Guy died. Ben Campbell had been visiting his mother in the senior center across town so he couldn’t have been the one to hurt Guy.

  Dani was still sure the two coffee cups held the key to solving this whole mystery. Sadly, after finding out Guy was a regular at the Gambler’s Anonymous meetings, it was looking more and more like he may have been the victim of a gambling-related crime.

  Of course, there was still Clint’s theory that Guy had accidentally encountered some peanut-based substance in the filthy house, but Dani’s gut kept telling her that Guy’s death wasn’t an accident.

  “Hey, Dani! Over here,” a voice called out breaking Dani’s train of thought.

  Dani looked to her right and saw Gretchen waving at her from a table near the center of the room. She slid between a couple of tables and wove her way to where Gretchen was. When she got close enough she could see that Matt was standing nearby, but he hadn’t started unloading the cupcakes yet.

  “I hope you brought some extra cupcakes for me,” Gretchen joked once Dani was in earshot.

  “Well, these are supposed to be for the job seekers, but you know I won’t let my best friend go hungry,” Dani said with a laugh. “Matt, where’s our table?”

  “I don’t know, Boss,” he said with a frustrated look on his face. “I rolled the cart up and down all the aisles, but I didn’t see a table for The Darling Bakery anywhere. I figured I’d just wait here near Gretchen’s table until you got here.”

  Gretchen turned around in a circle and scanned the nearby tables as well. “That’s weird,” she said. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen your table anywhere. Weren’t we supposed to be somewhere near each other?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I requested when I signed up and the person I talked to said that wouldn’t be a problem.” Dani looked around perplexed.

  “There was an information booth over there near the entrance. You want me to go get some help?” Matt offered.

  Dani was about to say yes when she spotted Jennifer, the administrative assistant for the career center, a few rows away. Jennifer was the one who sent Dani the email confirming today’s load-in time. If anyone knew what was going on around there Jennifer certa
inly would.

  “Jennifer!” Dani shouted across two rows of tables and waving at the woman.

  Jennifer glanced in Dani’s direction and then quickly turned as if she was about to walk away.

  “Jennifer!” Dani called out again even louder than before.

  This time the woman couldn’t help but acknowledge Dani’s voice. Dani watched as Jennifer wove through the maze of tables. Her face was stiff until she got closer to where Dani was standing and then plastered a broad smile across her face.

  “Oh, hi Dani,” she said. “It’s so loud in here I almost didn’t hear you call my name. How can I help you?”

  “Well,” Dani said. “The diagram you sent me showed my table somewhere around here,” Dani spun in a circle pointing at the surrounding tables. “But I can’t seem to find it.”

  Jennifer bit her bottom lip before she spoke. “Uh. Well.” She avoided looking Dani in the eye and turned her attention to her clipboard. “Let’s see we had to make some changes to the table arrangements last Thursday.” Jennifer nervously flipped through the pages in her hand. “Oh. Here you are. Table 47.” Jennifer lifted her gaze and then pointed to the far corner of the gym. There, almost completely hidden behind the gymnasium bleachers was a lone, empty table.

  Dani felt her heart sink in her chest. “I don’t understand, Dani said trying to hold it together. “Who’s going to see my table way over there in the corner?”

  “I’m sorry Ms. Darling, but my supervisor changed the floor plan because, Um. She thought table 47 would be a better spot for The Darling Bakery cupcakes,” Jennifer said in a sad voice. Finally, she raised her eyes to meet Dani’s. “Look, I’m sorry, Dani. But it’s out of my hands. My boss read something online about your cupcakes and the next thing I knew she moved your table way over there. There really isn’t anything I can do to help you.” With that, Jennifer hurried away and left Dani standing there with her mouth hanging open.

  “I can’t believe this!” Matt said. “The police have already said that your cupcakes didn’t cause Guy’s death.

  “Yeah, but the police don’t have a blog to make that announcement,” Dani said feeling utterly defeated. “There are probably still people just now seeing Eunice’s post and thinking they should stay away from the bakery.”

  “So, what do you want to do, Boss?” Matt asked as he reached out and patted Dani on the shoulder.

  Dani let out a long sigh. “I guess we have no choice but to go to table 47 and try to make the best of it,” she said with a shrug. Dani grabbed the cart of cupcakes and began pushing it toward the far-off table wondering when The Darling Bakery was going to get the kind of good publicity that it deserved.

  Chapter 16

  “Matt, you might as well go back to the bakery,” Dani said as she stared at the table filled with cupcakes. Other than Connie Wilson, who’d appeared with a now-expired coupon for a free cupcake, hardly anyone had ventured to the Darling Bakery table at the far corner of the gym. “I’ll just catch a ride home with Gretchen when the job fair is over.”

  “Ok, if you’re sure, Boss. But what are you going to do with all these cupcakes if you don’t sell them by the end of the day?”

  Dani looked at the stacks of untouched boxes. “Well, if I don’t sell them I’ll just leave them here. The maintenance crew will have to clear all of these tables out of the gym once the business owners are gone. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind a treat at the end of the day,” Dani said with a weak smile.

  After Matt left Dani fiddled with the decorative sign she’d brought from the store that read “Cupcakes $2 each”. She was considering pulling out a Sharpie and crossing out the $2 and writing the word FREE at the top when a deep baritone voice interrupted her thoughts.

  “Hey!” Clint said. “What are you doing way over here in the corner?”

  The look on Dani’s face must have said it all.

  Clint let out a long sigh. “Look, Dani. I feel bad about this,” he said. I’m not sure who leaked the suspicions to Eunice Bradshaw, but it must have come from inside the police department or the coroner’s office.” Clint ran his fingers through his sandy blond hair. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  “Well, unless you’re going to sit here and eat 24 dozen cupcakes by yourself, I don’t see that there’s much you can do.” Dani let her shoulders fall into a slouch. She’d given up.

  Suddenly a bright smile erupted on Clint’s face. Dani felt her toes curl involuntarily at the sight.

  “I know how I can help,” he said confidently. “And it won’t require me going into a sugar coma either.”

  Clint pulled his cell phone off his belt and dialed a number.

  “Hey, Barry, Clint Johnson here. Are you on duty today? Great. How many of your officers are on site right now. Okay, put out an all call and tell them to stop by…” Clint looked down at the number on the table. “Tell them to stop by table number 47 at the career fair. I’m treating everyone to a little snack today.”

  Clint hung up the phone. “Do you take credit cards?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Dani said, still not quite sure what Clint was up to.

  “Great. I’ll be right back.”

  Dani watched Clint walk away, trying to keep her eyes above his waist. A few minutes later he came back with a thick stack of papers and a box of pens.

  “Okay,” Clint said as he handed Dani a credit card. “Charge me for 35 cupcakes. You can pick the flavors.”

  “Oh, Clint. I can’t let you do that.” Dani reached out and pushed his hand away. It was hard for her to ignore the little surge of energy she felt when they touched.

  “Of course you can, Dani. This is just business. Most of the campus security officers are interested in someday being police officers. These are the applications we’re giving out over at the Riley P.D. table. Just consider the cupcakes a little incentive for the applicants.”

  Dani swiped the credit card and gave it back to Clint. Then she pulled three boxes of cupcakes from the ones piled on her cart, one box in each of the three flavors she’d brought for the day.

  “Now what?” Dani asked

  “Wait just a minute,” Clint said with a wink.

  A few minutes later three uniformed security officers approached The Darling Bakery table.

  “Hey, our Sargent told us to stop by this table,” one of them said while eyeing the cupcakes.

  “Great. Are any of you interested in trying out for the police academy?”

  “We sure are,” the female officer in the group replied.

  “Alright, here’s an application. And here’s a little thank you from the Riley Police Department. Good luck! Maybe one day we’ll be working together.”

  “Wow! Thanks, man. Uh, I mean, Sir,” one of the young men in the group corrected.

  Each of them took a cupcake, a pen, and an application. For the next twenty minutes or so a stream of campus security guards came up and did the same. Then after about half an hour into Clint’s little experiment, other students in the gym began making their way over to the table.

  “Hey, is this where those security guards have been getting those great looking cupcakes?” an approaching student asked.

  “It sure is,” Dani said.

  “Cool. I’ll take one of those Red Velvet ones. Actually, make it two. I’m not going to want to share mine with my roommate.”