Kitty Cats and Crime

by Jinty James

  “I want you to be prepared for this coming week,” he told her. Zoe had gone outside to enjoy the April sun. Annie had stayed behind and was now perched on the back of the sofa, looking at them inquisitively.

  “Why? What’s wrong?” Lauren crinkled her brow.

  “The detective in charge of the case says he’s determined to solve it quickly. So he might re-interview you and Zoe.”

  “Okay.” Lauren nodded. “What about Jessica, Jason’s ex-girlfriend? And Scott, his friend? Is he going to re-interview them?”

  “I’m sure he’ll be talking to them as well,” Mitch replied, his expression serious. “But he seems to be interested in you and Zoe – being right on the scene, and losing business because of the cupcake truck.”

  “But Jessica was right on the scene, too!” Lauren was indignant. “She found Jason – not me or Zoe.”

  “I know,” he soothed her. “But he can’t find any evidence that Jessica was there earlier to kill Jason – unless she drove a totally different car so no one would realize she was in town. Then she could have murdered Jason, left the scene, then return later driving her red car and pretended to find the vic – Jason.”

  “Is he looking into that theory?” Lauren asked.

  “I hope so.” Mitch grimaced. “I’ve already spoken to him about the case, and vouched for you and Zoe, but he says of course I would say my girlfriend is innocent.”

  “If he questions me again, I’ll definitely tell him we’re innocent,” Lauren said determinedly.

  “He also thinks it’s convenient that Jason was killed right outside your cottage. It would be easy for you or Zoe to slip out in the early morning and kill him, without anyone seeing.”

  “But why would Jason be out there at that time?” Lauren frowned. “Are you talking about four or five a.m., something like that?”

  “Yes. It’s possible.” Mitch nodded. “I know it doesn’t make much sense that Jason would arrive so early, but we don’t even know when he showed up in Gold Leaf Valley that morning. We’ve only got an approximate time of death from the autopsy. It could have been later, like seven or eight o’clock. What time did you notice his truck there that morning?”

  “Around eight. I did think it was a bit strange,” Lauren mused. “Jason usually showed up around nine-thirty, when we were already in the café. But that day, we saw his van when we started to get the café ready.”

  “Maybe he thought he’d grab some customers before you opened,” Mitch suggested. “Especially since you told me business had been down for him the last couple of days.”

  They spoke about more pleasant topics for a while, then Mitch suggested they get something to eat from Gary’s Burger Diner.

  “That sounds great.” Lauren smiled. “Let me check if Zoe wants me to bring something back for her.”

  Zoe put in an order for a smoky barbecue special and fries. “It’s a shame Chris isn’t here, otherwise we could double date!”

  “That’s certainly an idea.” Mitch sounded a little dubious.

  “I think it could be fun,” Lauren said. Maybe it would be.

  “Why don’t you leave it to me and Lauren?” Zoe proposed. “We’ll handle the details.”

  “Okay,” Mitch hesitated. “As long as Chris agrees.”

  “I’m sure he will.” Zoe grinned.

  Lauren enjoyed her early dinner with Mitch. The weather was sunny with a cool breeze that gently ruffled her shoulder-length hair as they left the diner and walked back to the cottage, carrying Zoe’s take-out order, and a plain burger patty for Annie.

  “Brrt!” Annie ran to greet them when they stepped inside the cottage.

  “Yes, it’s for you.” Lauren smiled at the cat. The tantalizing aroma of the beef had been hard to ignore on the stroll home, although she’d already enjoyed her burger at the diner.

  She broke up the patty for Annie and placed it in her dish in the kitchen.

  “Brrp.” Annie sniffed at the meat, then her pink tongue darted out, tasting the meat. Soon the bowl was empty.

  “Yum, smoky barbecue!” Zoe dived into her burger and fries.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Lauren asked Mitch.

  “Thanks, but I’ve got an early start tomorrow. I’d better head home.”

  Lauren walked him out to the porch.

  “Good night,” she said softly.

  “Good night.” He kissed her tenderly. “Let me know how it goes with the detective if he re-interviews you.”

  “I will.” She touched her gold L letter necklace.

  Lauren waved goodbye to him as she watched him get into his car and start the engine. Zoe came up behind her.

  “I’ve spoken to Chris and he thinks a double-date will work. Now all we have to do is find a time that will suit all four of us!”

  THE NEXT DAY, LAUREN and Zoe talked about their plans for the upcoming double date.

  “What are we going to do on this date?” Lauren asked as they left for the grocery store.

  “Bowling.” Zoe grinned. “Or ice skating. Or mini-golf.”

  “I didn’t know you skated,” Lauren said.

  “I don’t. But I think it could be fun.”

  “And I think we could fall over a bunch of times.” Lauren remembered the one time she’d tried ice skating – and the number of times she’d fallen over. It wasn’t something she wished to repeat.

  “Then Chris could help me up.” Zoe’s eyes sparkled. “And Mitch could help you up.”

  “True.” Lauren couldn’t help smiling at her cousin’s enthusiasm.

  “Ooh, I know! We could go to a farmers’ market in Sacramento!”

  “I like that idea.” Lauren’s eyes lit up.

  “Okay, so that’s what we’ll do.” Zoe pulled out her phone and started texting. “Chris,” she explained as Lauren parked in front of the small grocery store. “What about next weekend?” She turned to Lauren.

  “Works for me,” Lauren replied. “I’ll have to check with Mitch.”

  “You could text him right now.” Zoe was on a roll.

  Lauren preferred talking to texting, but she followed her cousin’s advice and sent a brief message to Mitch.

  A few seconds later, her phone buzzed.

  “Mitch says it’s fine with him.”

  “Good. And it’s okay with Chris – he said he can meet us there, since he lives in Sacramento, and he’ll send us the details.” Zoe high-fived Lauren.

  They did their grocery shopping, Lauren planning the cupcake menu for the next week.

  She would definitely make more salted caramel cupcakes, as well as lavender, and white chocolate cherry.

  “Hans!” Lauren stopped the cart before she barged into the dapper gentleman standing in the next aisle.

  “Hello, Lauren and Zoe,” Hans replied.

  “We haven’t seen you in the café lately,” Zoe said. “Are you okay?”

  “Ach, yes. Just a little cold this last week. But I am better now.” He smiled. “I’m sure I will be at the café tomorrow.”

  “Good,” Lauren replied. “I know Annie missed you this last week.”

  “And I her.” He indicated his cart containing fruit and a few cans of soup. “I’m just picking up some things.”

  “So are we.” Zoe grinned.

  After a few minutes of small talk, they said goodbye to Hans and continued with their shopping.

  “Annie will be glad when he comes in tomorrow,” Lauren mused.

  “Ooh, we must update him on the murder.”

  “I wonder if he heard about the altercation between Betty’s angry husband and Jason – before Jason died,” Lauren remarked.

  “We’ll have to ask him tomorrow!”

  CHAPTER 10

  The next morning, Hans came in shortly after they opened the café.

  “Brrt!” Annie ran to greet him.

  “Hello, Liebchen.” Hans bent stiffly to stroke the silver-gray tabby.

  “Brrt.” This way. Annie slowly led him to a f
our-seater near the counter.

  Hans sank down into the pine chair. Annie hopped up on the opposite one.

  “What can we get you?” Lauren headed toward them, Zoe by her side. They didn’t provide table service as a rule, unless the customer was elderly, infirm, or harried. But Hans was one of their special customers, and besides, they wanted to catch him up on what had happened last week.

  Zoe launched into the news about Jason’s murder.

  “But that is horrible.” Hans paled. “What he did, to set up shop outside the café was not nice, but I do not think he should have died.”

  “That’s true.” Lauren nodded.

  “We didn’t do it,” Zoe protested.

  “Of course not.” Hans smiled gently at them. “It was just a shock to hear such a thing.”

  They informed him about the angry man complaining about his cupcakes to Jason and making a scene.

  “Ja, I know who this might be.” Hans nodded. “It is Betty’s husband. He certainly likes his sweets.” He patted his slight paunch. “I must be careful I do not get carried away with sugar, but your cupcakes, Lauren, and Ed’s pastries, are hard to resist.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Lauren said ruefully, thinking of the Danishes and cupcakes she’d enjoyed last week.

  They took his order of a cappuccino and an apricot Danish.

  As Lauren dusted the chocolate powder on top of the microfoam, she paused. “Do you think we should change to a darker chocolate for our beverages?” she asked Zoe. “Lately, a few people have been mentioning the dangers of too much sugar.”

  She prided herself on ordering the best quality ingredients she could find, and the hot chocolate powder was no exception. It consisted of fifty percent cocoa, whereas she knew many other cafes used a weaker ratio, such as thirty percent or less of cocoa, the rest of the volume made up of sugar and milk solids.

  Zoe gave her a shocked gaze. “But I love this chocolate powder!”

  “I do, too,” Lauren replied. “But what if we could find a darker one, such as sixty or even seventy percent cocoa?”

  “What if we gave customers a choice?” Zoe proposed. “This one, or the new one?”

  “Good idea.” Lauren smiled. “After work, I’ll see if I can find one online.”

  “Or we could make our own!”

  Lauren’s eyes widened. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She high-fived Zoe. “If I can’t find a good quality one, that’s definitely what we’ll do.”

  Ms. Tobin swept into the café a few minutes later, striding up to the counter.

  “Are you okay, Ms. Tobin?” Zoe asked, apprehension on her face.

  “No, I am not, Zoe.” Ms. Tobin glowered at them.

  “What’s wrong?” Lauren’s heart sank. She’d been enjoying the mellower Ms. Tobin for the last few months – she hoped the older woman hadn’t reverted back to her prickly former self.

  “I have been interviewed by the detective!”

  “You have?” Lauren and Zoe spoke together.

  “Brrt?” Annie turned her head to look at Ms. Tobin. The tabby still sat at Hans’ table.

  “I can’t believe he had the audacity to think I murdered the cupcake man!”

  Lauren’s eyes widened.

  “Oh dear. I think you should have a hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows to cheer yourself up.” Zoe lifted a large mug.

  “I don’t know, Zoe.” Wrinkles appeared on Ms. Tobin’s brow. “I do enjoy my large latte here, and hot chocolate has a lot of sugar in it, especially if you add marshmallows.”

  Lauren gave her cousin a sideways glance – maybe seeking a chocolate powder with a higher cocoa content was a good idea.

  “What about only two marshmallows?” Zoe suggested.

  “I’m sure two won’t hurt,” Lauren said.

  “Very well.” Ms. Tobin inclined her head.

  “And our chocolate powder has fifty percent cocoa content,” Lauren added.

  “I didn’t know that.” Ms. Tobin almost smiled. “It sounds very nice.”

  Phew. Ms. Tobin sounded like she was almost back to her mellower self.

  Zoe steamed the milk.

  “Would you like a cupcake or a Danish?” Lauren asked.

  “I think I’m too upset to eat,” Ms. Tobin replied. “I do have a bone to pick with you two – did you say anything to the detective about me?”

  “Of course not!” Lauren stared at her in shock, the memory of Zoe writing down Ms. Tobin’s name on her suspect list flashing guiltily through her mind.

  “Nope.” Zoe paused, the milk wand stationary. “Why would we do something like that?”

  “He asked me a lot of questions,” Ms. Tobin answered. “Did I like the cupcake man – Jason. Did I like his cupcakes? I never even bought cupcakes from him! Why would the detective question me? I had nothing to do with the man.”

  “But I thought you said you ate one and didn’t like it,” Zoe said slowly.

  “That’s true.” Ms. Tobin nodded. “My friend bought some and gave me one to sample. And I told her, just as I told you girls, that I didn’t care for it.”

  “Do you think that’s why the detective interviewed you?” Lauren asked delicately. “Because he found out you didn’t like Jason’s cupcakes?”

  “But how would he know a thing like that?” Ms. Tobin demanded. “I didn’t tell many people apart from my friend who gave me the one to taste. I’m afraid I told her I didn’t care for it – far too sugary sweet.”

  “Do you think ...” Lauren paused. Perhaps she shouldn’t suggest it.

  “Do I think what, Lauren? Spit it out.”

  “Do you think it was your friend who mentioned it to the detective?” she rushed out.

  “Why would my friend do such a thing?” Ms. Tobin frowned again. “How could she think I would murder the cupcake man over something like this?”

  “My mother told me never to trust a smirking man.” Had Ms. Tobin said that to her friend as well?

  “I have no idea,” Lauren said truthfully.

  Slightly mollified, Ms. Tobin turned from the counter.

  “Brrt?” Annie jumped off the chair and trotted over to her.

  “Annie, dear, please tell me where I should sit.”

  “Brrt.” This way. Annie led her to a table in the middle of the room. She hopped up on the chair opposite Ms. Tobin.

  By the time Lauren brought her hot chocolate over, Ms. Tobin was smiling at the cat.

  “Thank you, Lauren.” Ms. Tobin studied the surface of the beverage. “You’ve made a swan and you have the two marshmallows as eyes – how clever.”

  “It was Zoe’s idea.”

  “Thank her for me.” Ms. Tobin glanced up. “I’m sorry about what I said at the counter – I’m sure you two girls wouldn’t have told the detective I killed the cupcake man.”

  “Of course we wouldn’t have – we didn’t,” Lauren assured her, but she couldn’t help thinking of Ms. Tobin’s name on Zoe’s suspect list. Should she tell Zoe to strike it out?

  “It must have been my friend.” Ms. Tobin sighed.

  “Perhaps the detective questioned her as well,” Lauren suggested.

  “Brrt,” Annie seemed to agree.

  “Now, there’s a thought.” Ms. Tobin picked up the teaspoon and swirled it around in the cocoa-colored foam. “I think I’ll call her later this morning.”

  Annie stayed with Ms. Tobin for a while, then scampered back to Hans, “talking” to him for a few minutes before he left.

  “I wonder what Annie’s saying to him,” Lauren mused as she watched the two of them.

  “Maybe she’s filling him in on AJ’s unsuccessful training session,” Zoe suggested.

  More customers trickled in, until Detective Castern strode in.

  “Uh-oh.” Zoe nudged Lauren. “Look who’s here.”

  “Oh, no.” Lauren’s stomach spun. Mitch had warned her that they might be re-questioned and it seemed that he’d been correct.

  “Lauren Crensh
aw?” The detective flipped open a small notebook.

  “Yes?” Lauren replied.

  “I spoke to you last week regarding the murder of Jason Ronford,” the detective said.

  “That’s right.”

  “I need to ask you some more questions.”

  “Perhaps we could do it somewhere more privately?” Lauren glanced around the room, aware of the customers taking note of her conversation.

  “Why don’t you go out to the herb garden?” Zoe suggested. “I can handle things in here.”

  “And you’re Zoe Crenshaw.” The detective thumbed through his notes. “I remember you from last week.”

  “That’s me.” Zoe tried for a bright smile.

  “I’ll talk to you next.”

  “Okay.” Zoe nodded.

  Lauren led the way through the back door to the small herb garden outside, dotted with thyme and rosemary.

  The detective asked her similar questions to the ones she’d answered last week: how well did she know Jason, why had he been parked outside her café, and had she been upset that he’d tried to steal her customers?

  Once again, she answered each question patiently, explaining she and Zoe had gone to the town council and how the permit officer had arrived too late to speak to Jason about his illegal trading.

  “Now, what about the morning of his death?” Detective Castern flipped a page of his notebook. “Apparently he parked his cupcake truck outside your cottage early Wednesday morning.”

  “I don’t know for sure what time he got here that day.” Lauren crinkled her brow. “All I know is Zoe and I noticed his truck parked outside when we started getting the café ready, which was about eight o’clock. He usually arrived around nine-thirty.”

  “And you didn’t see or hear anything unusual outside that morning?” the detective probed.

  “No.” Lauren shook her head. “Not until Jessica, his ex-girlfriend, banged on the café door asking for help.”

  “Had you seen the murder weapon before?” he asked. “It was a tire wrench.”

  “No.” She hadn’t even noticed it when she and Zoe had seen Jason’s dead body, lying inside his cupcake truck.

  “That will be all for now,” he eventually said, eyeing her with a grim look on his face. “But don’t leave town. And don’t think just because you’re dating one of our detectives that you’re above the law. Because you’re not.”