The Sweet Baked Mystery Series - Books 1-6

by Katherine Hayton

  “Oh, Holly,” a tear-stained voice said. “It’s Mary from the dressmakers. I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”

  Holly turned her back on her sister so Crystal couldn’t read the horror in her expression. “What’s that?”

  “I’ve dropped the dress on my way out to the car. I’m so sorry. It’s far too late to get it dry-cleaned, and I’m not sure that would work anyway. It’s literally caked with mud!”

  Holly closed her eyes and wondered how many adverse events it took before you realized that an occasion was cursed and really shouldn’t go ahead. Three. Four. One hundred. She exhaled slowly in an attempt to keep her voice calm.

  “I’m sure that we can fix that. We’ve got more than twelve hours up our sleeves until we need the dress. Why don’t you bring it over here and we’ll take a look?”

  “Okay,” Mary said through tears. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how it happened. I’ve never been this clumsy before.”

  “Accidents happen,” Holly said in a light voice. “Nothing we can do about stopping it now, we just need to deal with it as best we can.”

  “What’s happened?” Crystal asked as Holly hung up the phone.

  When Holly turned to look at her sister, Crystal was staring back at her through parted fingers, her shoulder hunched over in a protective cage. The feigned expression of terror on her face soon had Holly laughing.

  “Poor Mary dropped your beautiful wedding dress into the mud,” she said bluntly. “She’s bringing it over now, so we can inspect the damage.”

  “Oh,” Crystal said and straightened up. “From the sound of your voice, I thought it would be worse than that.”

  So much for trying to sound calm. “Given the direction things are going,” Holly said in a teasing tone, “I’m sure we can still expect that she’ll be attacked by wolves on the way over and will use the dress to fend them off.”

  “All before it’s carried off by a bear who makes it into bedding for its little one,” Crystal agreed. “I’m quite happy to walk down the aisle naked if it comes to that.”

  Holly didn’t know where her sister’s level of acceptance had come from, but she found it immensely reassuring all the same. “I’m sure the township will appreciate it if you chose another way to get down the aisle,” Holly said. “There’s nothing like a naked bride to make the rest of the congregation feel overdressed.”

  A knock came on the door, and Holly scurried through to the front entrance. She smoothed down her hair, scolding herself as she did so. Who cared if Simon was standing on the other side? It shouldn’t matter to her any longer.

  “Alec,” she called out as she opened the door. “What are you doing knocking? You know you can walk straight in!”

  “I didn’t want to catch the bride in her wedding dress,” Alec said. “Or whatever other customs bring bad luck and a lifetime of despair to a marriage. Anything like that.”

  “I think to earn a lifetime of despair, you’ll really have to search for someone a bit nastier than my sister. I’m not sure she’s capable of inflicting a lifetime of misery on anyone.”

  Crystal pushed her way past Holly to give the groom a kiss. “Don’t you underestimate me,” she teased back. “I’m as likely to inflict misery as the next girl.”

  “If the next girl is Pollyanna.” Holly jumped as the doorbell rang again. “What is it with the formality, today?”

  She opened the door, this time revealing Brian Masters, with Derek a few steps behind him.

  “Come in,” Holly said, opening the door wide. She took the bottle of wine that Brian pressed into her hand and surreptitiously checked the label. Non-alcoholic. Good man.

  “How about you all move through to the lounge?” Holly suggested as the hallway filled to capacity. “Dinner will be ready soon, so there’s just time to have a nice chat.”

  “Or a nasty one,” Crystal said. “I want everyone to be fully aware that if they feel the need for recriminations and insults, they’re to get them out of their system tonight. If you bottle something up and come out with it tomorrow instead, I’ll have your guts for garters.”

  “I’m sure nobody has—”

  Crystal pecked Holly on the cheek, effectively silencing her. “It’s a joke,” she said, but there was a small gleam in her eye that suggested she wasn’t entirely kidding.

  Holly walked back through into the kitchen, musing that the idea wasn’t a bad one. If you were going to have a knock-down drag-out fight—something you could really only have with your nearest and dearest loved ones, because who else was close enough to know exactly what buttons to push—then getting it out of the way before the reception was a great suggestion.

  Not that anybody seemed in the mood to fight. If anything, the guests seemed to be heaping on far too much politeness. Holly hoped they relaxed as the evening progressed, otherwise it would be a stilted conversation around the dinner table for sure.

  “Knock, knock,” Mary called out as she arrived. “The door was open, so I came right in.”

  Holly was just sticking a thermometer up a part of the chicken where the sun doesn’t shine, so nodded to her by way of greeting. “I’ll just be a moment.”

  “Oh, dear,” Mary said as she peeked through into the lounge. “I’ve caught you at a bad time, haven’t I?”

  “No, you’ve caught us while we have lots of helping hands all ready to get stuck in and fix up whatever we need,” Holly corrected. “Now, let’s see the dress. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”

  Unfortunately, Holly’s optimism was a tad misplaced. As Mary unzipped the cover, it revealed a dress with more in common with a flower bed than clothing.

  “I’m so stupid,” Mary chided herself as the full extent of the damage was shown. “I usually zip my dresses up in something like this before I even think about transporting them, but I didn’t want to crumple up the lovely layers when it had taken so long to get them just right.”

  Having experience with her own dress, Holly could sympathize. “Don’t worry. If mud is the worst extent of it, then I’m sure we can make it look presentable by morning. First things first, let’s get it into the bathtub to wash the worst of the dirt off.”

  The laundry tub seemed far too small to accommodate the volume of the dress. Once it was inside the bath, with the water compacting all the bouffant layers down, it started to seem more possible.

  “Goodness,” Crystal exclaimed from the doorway. “You’ve done a lovely job.”

  Mary blushed and shook her head as Crystal joined them. “I haven’t. I’ve ruined everything.”

  “Don’t be silly, it’s just a little mud,” Crystal said. “Besides, if the weather report goes the way it seems to be headed, then I’ll be washed clean by the rain as I go up the aisle anyway.”

  Brian Masters had been generous enough to offer Crystal the full use of his house and grounds for the ceremony tomorrow. When the sisters were first planning the event, an outdoor wedding with a marquee for the reception had seemed a lovely idea. Now, Holly could have cursed their poor decision making.

  “I’m sure it won’t come to that,” she said as she gently massaged the dress in the water. “This stuff is coming right out. As long as the material doesn’t shrink, you should be fine.”

  At that suggestion, Crystal laughed and patted her stomach. “If I have gained any weight since the last fitting—” she nudged Mary “—and I’m pretty sure I have, I’m using this as the excuse. I didn’t read the label, and it shrunk when I washed it! Perfect.”

  Mary relaxed enough to form a small smile. “I’m afraid that the excuse might not work,” she said, then hastily added, “Not that I’ll tell anyone. The material should be fine, so long as we keep washing it in cold water.”

  “Good.” Holly drained out the dirty bathwater and filled it with a new supply. This time, the water didn’t discolor nearly so dark as it had the first time. “Why don’t we let it soak for a while, then, and sit down to a nice meal? The roa
st should be ready by now.”

  “I’ll be on my way, then,” Mary said. “You give me a call if you need me.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Crystal said as she placed her arm around the woman’s waist. “You’re invited to our final supper as free agents.”

  “Oh, I don’t—”

  “Unless you have somewhere else you’d rather be,” Holly said. “In which case, you’re free to go.”

  “I don’t have anywhere to be,” Mary said shyly, “if you’re sure I won’t be an imposition.”

  “Believe me,” Crystal said, “I wouldn’t have invited you if I didn’t want you here. I’m far too selfish to waste my time doing things like that.”

  While they’d been occupied in the bathroom, more guests had turned up for dinner. Holly rushed over to hug Meggie and Wendy, her best friends in town and made sure that they were seated around the back of the table—a position from which it was more difficult to escape. “I’ve been so rushed these past few weeks, I feel like I’ve lost touch with everybody,” she said as an excuse. “You’ll have to catch me up with all the news that isn’t about Crystal’s wedding.”

  Wendy gave a small laugh. “I don’t think there is much news in town that isn’t about that.”

  “Well, apart from my salon bursting from the seams tomorrow,” Meggie said with a smile.

  “Oh, and I’ve got an enormous order in the morning for flowers. Some kind of ceremony, I think.”

  “Haha. Very funny.” Holly settled back in her chair for a second, then sprang to her feet. “I need to take the meat out of the oven to rest. I suppose I’d better sharpen a carving knife, too, since I’m the one hosting.”

  “Hear, hear,” said Alec. “The sharper the knife, the better. My parents should be here shortly. They were due in a few hours back, but I think nerves got the best of them, so they decided to leave it until the last minute to arrive back in town.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting them,” Holly said. She’d already heard about his parents via Crystal, who’d met them up in Christchurch a while back. The couple didn’t like to make the drive into Hanmer Springs, preferring instead that visitors traveled to their new home base.

  Apparently, Alec’s parents had run a building business in Hanmer Springs that had gone under a few years ago, taking a lot of clients dreams and money with it. The couple had moved to Christchurch the moment the liquidator wound the business up, and the wedding would mark the first time they’d returned to the township.

  From what Alec had just said, they weren’t looking forward to this visit either, but that just made Holly more determined to make them feel welcome. “I only hope there’ll be enough room,” she remarked, frowning at the scarcity of chairs.

  “They’ll squeeze in,” Alec said good-naturedly. “They’re nowhere near as big as me. We can sit them out on the back porch, if necessary. That’ll teach them to turn up late.”

  Holly flapped her hand at him as she walked past, headed into the kitchen to prepare the meal for serving. Just as she took the roasting pan out of the oven, averting her face from the rising steam, the phone rang yet again. “I swear,” she muttered under her breath, “If it’s another helping of bad news, you can keep it to yourself!”

  After a breath to compose herself, Holly picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

  “Holly?” Simon was on the other end, sounding so distraught that it took a second for her to place the voice.

  “Simon? What’s going on?”

  Her voice must have held a sharp edge because Crystal popped her head through to check on her. Holly flapped a hand. “I’m fine,” she mouthed, but her sister walked through and sat on a kitchen stool, a frown on her face.

  “Holly, I’m at the Motor Inn just around the corner. I don’t understand what’s going on, but the entire place is on fire!”

  Chapter Three

  “How on earth did this happen?” Holly asked. The sight of the burning building in front of her was both horrific and fascinating. Although the destruction made her chest ache, she also couldn’t look away.

  “I have no idea,” Simon said as he ran a hand through his hair. “I was in the bathroom when the alarm went off, and I only had time to jump into my jeans before the manager came screaming past to knock on every door, shouting that it wasn’t a drill.”

  “It’s terrible,” Crystal said and wrapped her arms around her middle. “I hope their insurance is up to date.”

  The manager, Phil Clifford, walked over. His face was blank with shock, and he had soot smeared down one cheek. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Simon said. “Did all the other guests get out safely?”

  Phil nodded. “We only had four rooms full so far. I think most of the guests booked in were turning up a bit later in the evening.”

  “How many guests do you need to rehouse?” Brian Masters asked. “I have rooms available if you need somewhere to put them for a few nights.”

  “Thanks,” Phil said, “but we’ve already worked out an arrangement with another hotel in town.” He looked back at the fire as it sputtered underneath the water from a fireman’s hose. “I just can’t believe how quickly it spread.”

  A fireman walked past and motioned them back. “Careful. Sparks can carry quite a way in this breeze.”

  “Pity that rain forecast wasn’t for tonight,” Crystal said. “I’m so sorry that this happened.”

  “I don’t understand it at all,” Phil said, his voice cracking. “I was just in my office like normal, then the alarm went off, and the sprinkler system went off. I don’t understand how the rooms could just go up like that.”

  “Are you the manager?” a fireman asked, walking over. When Phil nodded, he said, “We’ll need you to stick around and answer some questions. The police will have a few to ask too.”

  The officer nodded over to the corner of the street where Sergeant Matthewson was talking to another member of the fire brigade.

  “Do you know how it started?” Phil asked. “Or is it too early to tell?”

  The officer cast a cautious glance over the small group, and Phil hastened to add, “It’s okay to talk in front of them.”

  “Right. Well, we’ve found traces of an accelerant along the alley out the back of your motel, so our assumption at the moment is that it was started deliberately.”

  “An arson attack?” Holly’s mouth fell open and she jerked her head back. The destructive fire was bad enough if it had been as the result of an accident, but to hear that it was a deliberate act struck her as being ten times worse.

  “I’m afraid so. Were you guests at the motel?”

  “I am,” Simon said. “Or rather, I was.” He looked over the scene of devastation again, shaking his head.

  “Did you hear or see anything amiss?”

  “No. I’d only just stopped in to drop off my bag, then decided to have a shower. I’d only just stepped out when the alarms went off.”

  “What about you?” the fireman asked, turning to Holly and Crystal.

  “We arrived after the fire started,” Holly said. She nodded to Simon. “We got a call to say that the place was ablaze.”

  “Right. Well, if you could follow me, sir?” The fireman nodded to Phil. “We’ll have a few more questions for you.”

  Phil followed after him as the officer walked over to talk to Matthewson. His face was stunned and bleak and broke Holly’s heart. How would she feel if the bakery went up in flames?

  “Do you want to stay with me tonight?” Brian Masters asked Simon. “There’s plenty of room.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Crystal said as Simon seemed to consider the offer. “You’ll stay with us, of course.”

  “There won’t be room back home,” Alec warned. “My parents were booked in here, as well, and they’ll need somewhere to go.”

  “I meant with Holly and me, silly,” Crystal chided her fiancé. “I’m not staying with you tonight, remember? No seeing the bride all dressed up before
the ceremony.”

  Simon shot a cautious glance in Holly’s direction, and she hoped that her face didn’t look as surprised as she felt. Brian’s offer seemed a lot better to her than Crystal’s alternative, but she could hardly say that now. She nodded, and Simon’s expression changed to one of relief.

  “I’d love to stay with you two, thank you,’ he said, accepting Crystal’s offer. “Now, I just need to work out how to get a suit for tomorrow, since I think the one I brought with me will be a bit charred.”

  “I can lend a hand there,” Mary said. She sounded ecstatic at the opportunity to help. “I’ve got a line of rentals in my store. Come with me.”

  Simon appeared surprised at the suddenness of the offer, but since Mary was only pointing to her shop a couple of yards away, he acceded to her request.

  “You’re okay with him staying, aren’t you?” Crystal asked, turning to Holly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think before I asked.”

  “It’s fine. I’ve spent enough nights with Simon in my life that one more won’t kill me.” As she said the words, some of Holly’s nervousness at the situation disappeared. She was just silly. Sure, being around her ex was awkward, but that was nothing in the bigger scheme of things. Holly looked back at the smoldering motel. After all, it wasn’t like her house or business had just burned to the ground.

  “Once Mary has sorted out Simon’s suit, how about I shout us all to an Indian takeaway?” Alec suggested. “I’m not sure that the roast will have survived our hour-long detour.”

  Holly glanced down at her watch in shock at how much time had passed. It only seemed a minute since they’d arrived at the motel, but she saw that Alec was right. Over an hour had passed.

  “An Indian meal sounds lovely,” she said. “I’ll just pop home and put the roast in the fridge, then we can help ourselves to cold meat sandwiches tomorrow.”

  “That sounds divine,” Alec said. “If our reception service doesn’t cut the mustard, I’m definitely dropping the house tomorrow for a snack.”

  “You’re not leaving my wedding reception to grab a sandwich,” Crystal said in a stern voice.