Carrot Cake & Murder: A Sweet Treats Cozy Mystery

by Woods, Lori

  Molly could tell that this put Jeffrey in an uncomfortable predicament, so she spoke calmly to Isaac. “Isaac, you’re absolutely right,” Molly said, and he glanced over to look at her. “We shouldn’t have gone snooping through your bag. We’re just concerned because the police have been questioning me about my fudge, and I had these two kids helping me with looking around for evidence that could get them off my back. I’m very sorry that we dug through your bag. That was none of our business.”

  “That’s right!” Isaac declared. “Now, if you all will excuse me, I’m going home. Based off the way my stomach feels right now, your nasty fudge is probably gearing up for round two!”

  Dazzle cringed. “Seriously. Ew.”

  Isaac stormed off, hurrying past Jeffrey. Once he was gone, Jeffrey turned to them. “He really had two grand in his case?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we counted it like three times to be sure,” Whip said. “Two thousand dollars in tips? I don’t think so. Not even at something fancy like this.”

  “Especially after everyone saw what he did to George’s dog,” Dazzle said. “They probably wouldn’t let him near their dogs after that.”

  “I agree,” Jeffrey said. “There is no way he brought home exactly two thousand dollars in tip money.”

  “Well then, what do you think the money was for?” Whip asked. “And why lie about it if it wasn’t tip money?”

  “Isaac is a pretty decent sized guy,” Molly said. “You think he could have taken on Oscar?”

  “What are you saying?” Jeffrey questioned.

  “What if someone paid him to hurt Oscar?” Molly suggested.

  “I suppose that’s possible, but two thousand dollars?” Jeffrey asked. “That doesn’t seem like enough to convince someone to murder… I mean, I suppose it could be if Isaac was in desperate enough of a financial situation. And why hire a dog groomer of all people to take someone out?”

  “I don’t know,” Dazzle said. “Our dad had this German shepherd when we were growing up that hated to get groomed. The groomer had to wrestle him down a lot to clip his nails. And that’s not really a small dog. You got to be strong to hold down big dogs like that when they’re not in the mood for a good nail clipping.”

  “Most of these are high-end show dogs, though,” Whip argued. “They’re probably really used to being pricked and prodded for shows.”

  “I don’t know,” Jeffrey said with a slight shrug. “But I’m definitely going to be looking into Isaac. You really saw two thousand dollars in his bag?”

  “That’s right,” Molly said. “Though I wasn’t over here when they counted it, but it was a lot of hundred-dollar bills.”

  “I’m going to take Whip and Dazzle’s word for it,” Jeffrey said. “You did say you counted it several times to be sure?”

  “Yeah. It was two thousand dollars,” Whip said confidently. “All in one hundred-dollar bills. I really doubt everyone who tipped him would have each given him tips in the form of hundred-dollar bills.”

  Jeffrey laughed. “Yeah, that doesn’t really seem probable at all now, does it? Listen, I think you all should probably get out of here. The other cops are starting to whisper about you all poking your noses around the prep stations. Some of them are already wanting to look into Molly, so let’s not give them any more grievance, okay?”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Molly said, thanking Jeffrey for the heads-up as she led Whip and Dazzle out of the hotel. “Let’s get you two home. I really think Whip could probably use some rest after a day like today. And I need to get back to my apartment. I left Whammy in his birdcage this morning so he wouldn’t wreak havoc while I was gone. I imagine he is getting pretty antsy at this point.”

  “Poor Whammy!” Dazzle said with a laugh. “He gets so moody when he’s put up for too long!”

  “That he does,” Molly said, and she escorted the siblings back home. “I’ll see you two first thing in the morning! Feel better, Whip!” she called as she watched the young siblings head up the apartment they shared. She waited to make sure they got inside okay before driving across town to her own home.

  Sure enough, she could hear Whammy shouting and screeching the moment she put her key into the door lock. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” Molly called, and she hurried to close the door and then rush to Whammy’s birdcage. She opened up the little door and he flew right out at her face, grabbing a bit of her hair in his beak and pulling at it. “Geez! Okay, okay! I’m sorry! But the last time I gave you free range of my apartment all day you broke one of my measuring cups!”

  Whammy tweeted loudly as though he was arguing with her. “I know I shouldn’t have left it sitting out on the counter,” Molly said. “But you didn’t have to go and push it onto the tile floor.”

  Whammy tweeted again, this time a bit softer, and then landed on her shoulder. “Good boy,” Molly said, smiling and stroking the top of the bird’s head before he fluttered off again, stretching his wings as he flew about the room excitedly. Molly flopped down in front of the couch, sighing heavily. She knew that after everything that happened at the dog show, it was going to be a busy next few days.

  Chapter 7

  It seemed like Molly’s Dessert Emporium was a bit busier than usual that following Monday. Molly, Whip, and Dazzle had to refill three different ice cream containers in the display case before lunch, and Molly felt like she had to spend most of her time in the kitchen, getting new batches of fudge ready for her customers. Not to mention that they got three large pickup orders, so she had to work carefully at putting together some of the new fancy boxes she had designed online. The new boxes had the shops logo in the center—a giant ice cream cone with a bright pink strawberry flavored ice cream on top.

  Once all the phone orders were completed, Molly felt as though she could finally breathe. By then, it was nearly three in the afternoon, which meant Bonnie and Braxton would be arriving before too long. While she hated to not be there to greet them and oversee the shift change, she had finally heard back from Lilith. Early that morning, Molly had messaged the woman on social media, hoping to convince her to sit down for a chat, and she had finally responded.

  Molly exited onto the main floor, and Whammy zipped by her head. Since the floor was finally empty for the first time that day, it seemed that Whip had decided to let Whammy fly around for a bit. “Hey, buddy!” Molly said as the bird fluttered about. “Want to come with me? I’m about to head out.”

  The bird tweeted loudly and flew up as high as he could, as though to hint to her he’d much rather fly around than be stuck in the tiny little carrier that was really just an old, soft phone pouch that hung over Molly’s shoulder. “Okay, fine. But you better listen to Whip and Dazzle when they want you to go back in your cage!”

  Molly turned to Dazzle, who was standing behind the counter. “I’m headed out for a bit. You guys going to be okay until Bonnie and Braxton get here?” she asked.

  “We will be fine,” Dazzle assured her.

  Whip was currently sweeping up in a corner, and Molly nodded approvingly. She loved that she had four employees she never had to remind to do things like keep the place tidy. She headed out, hopped into her personal vehicle, and headed through the city of Savannah. She passed several of the city’s parks before finally finding her way to a small neighborhood just outside of downtown.

  After pulling into the neighborhood, she double-checked the address, and at last found a small little house in the cul-de-sac. Molly pulled into the driveway and spied Lilith sitting outside on a rocking chair with her nose in a book. She peered up over the book and glanced up at Molly parked. She waved half-heartedly and sat her book down in the rocking chair, standing to go greet her. “Good timing,” Lilith said. “I just finished making some sweet tea.”

  “Ooh, yum,” Molly said, and willingly accepted Lilith’s invitation inside.

  Lilith poured each of them a glass of the freshly made pitcher of tea as they sat down at the round kitchen table. Glancing around, Molly cou
ld see boxes in just about every corner of the house. “Moving?” she asked.

  “This is George’s place,” Lilith explained. “We’re engaged, you know? We decided we’re going to live here after the wedding, so I’ve been slowly bringing boxes of my things here from my apartment. It’s working out pretty well. The lease on my apartment is up at the end of the month, and the wedding is in just two months. So I’m going to get myself moved in about a month before the wedding. Well, I doubt I’ll actually have the boxes unpacked come then, but I’ll at least have all my stuff here and out of the apartment.”

  “Must be a very exciting time,” Molly said.

  “Very much so,” she said, taking a sip of her sweet tea. “So, what is it you’re wanting to talk to me about?”

  Before Molly could say much, she spied two dogs come scurrying around the corner. Reggie, the top of his head still an absolute mess after Isaac’s mishap with the trimmer, and Jojo came hurrying over, sniffing at Molly curiously. She pat Jojo on top of his head. “What’s up, you little super star?” Molly said. “Congratulations on taking first prize at the dog show.”

  “Sort of a hollow victory,” Lilith said. “I’m a little worried that we only won because of… well… all the other dogs getting a little sick… not to mention poor Reggie.” She reached out and touched Reggie’s bald spot, and the dog wagged his tail at her. “You’re still handsome as ever, Reggie,” she assured the dog.

  “Still, I heard there was a pretty good cash prize at this particular show?” Molly asked.

  “Ten grand,” Lilith said with a smile. “Most dog shows don’t have monetary prizes like that. Sometimes they’re around a thousand. But the city was hoping to get some attention with this one. Which, you know, they did. Just not the kind of attention they were hoping for.”

  “I’ve heard it’s really expensive to compete in dog shows,” Molly said.

  “You have no idea,” Lilith exclaimed. “I think George spends around three or four thousand on Reggie, on average, each year. Poodles take a lot more maintenance than Jojo, but even I fork out a good bit to keep him show ready. Now, I’m pretty sure you didn’t come here to talk about how much money we throw away on our show dogs, am I right?”

  Molly nodded. “No, not at all. I wanted to ask you about Oscar.”

  Lilith sighed. “Yes, the police have already been knocking on my door a good bit. I was the ex-girlfriend, after all. But even they admitted there was no way I would have been able to one-up Oscar.”

  Molly had to agree with that sentiment. Lilith wasn’t a particularly large woman. “No, I wouldn’t think so. But I’m still trying to get a picture of who Oscar was. Doing whatever I can to help the police, you know? And I’m pretty sure someone poisoned my fudge at the show, so like the police, I’m wondering if the two things are connected. So, could you tell me more about you and Oscar?”

  “Not much to tell,” Lilith said. “We dated pretty seriously for about a year. But there was never that romantic connection. He was also super competitive with me at the dog shows—that’s how we met was at a dog show. He got so annoyed with me once when Jojo scored higher than his dog. It was ridiculous. Then, during one of the shows, he snapped at me when I tried helping him get his German shepherd ready, told me I didn’t know what I was doing. We got into it, and we wound up breaking up right then and there. This was a little over two years ago, and I happened to have a prep station right next to George. He had seen me around, of course, because we had performed in the same shows together. But he and I started talking that very day, and the rest is history.”

  “I imagine Oscar didn’t like you getting together with someone so quickly?” Molly questioned.

  “No, he wasn’t particularly thrilled,” Lilith admitted. “George and Oscar have never cared too much for each other. They had always been competitive… honestly, at first, that’s probably why I flirted with George a bit at that dog show. Because I knew it would get under Oscar’s skin, but George and I really wound up hitting it off.”

  “Tell me more about the day of the show,” Molly said. “Did you speak to Oscar any?”

  “Only that one time you and your fellow bakers were standing there,” Lilith said. “We’ve gotten a little friendlier with each other, I’m sure you noticed.”

  “Yes, Oscar seemed willing to joke around with you two a bit,” Molly agreed.

  Lilith nodded. “I’m honestly really shaken up by what happened to him. I mean, I know we broke up and he’s not really a part of my life anymore, but it is still rather upsetting. He didn’t deserve to be hurt like that. Between that, the sick dogs, and what happened to poor Reggie here… honestly! I ought to smack Isaac for this. Next time I see him—”

  “Speaking of Isaac,” Molly interrupted. “How much do you usually tip him at the shows? I imagine you and George didn’t tip him this time around with Reggie’s unfortunate shave, but at a typical dog show, how much do you usually tip your groomers?”

  Lilith raised a brow. “Tip? We don’t tip our groomers. It’s against the rules.”

  “Really?” Molly asked.

  “Why?” Lilith questioned.

  Molly decided not to reveal too much just yet. “I just assumed you would tip your groomer,” Molly said.

  “No, that could result in unfair treatment of the dogs,” Lilith explained. “Imagine if someone usually just gave you a dollar for a tip and then someone else handed out twenties. I imagine the person handing out twenties would earn their dog a much nicer trip, right?”

  “Makes perfect sense,” Molly said.

  “Hold on, I’m going to get some more sweet tea,” Lilith said. “Would you like some more?”

  “Oh, I’m good,” Molly said. “But it’s a great batch.”

  “Thanks,” Lilith said, standing up and heading towards the refrigerator where she had stored the pitcher. “I think I might try to unpack some of these boxes today,” she said. “Is there anything else you wanted to ask me? Because as you can see, I have a lot of stuff to go through.”

  Molly smiled. “I’ll get out of your hair. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.” Molly stood, shook Lilith’s hand, and let herself out. She saw Lilith’s book sitting on the rocking chair outside. She picked it up for her, realizing she had probably forgotten it. The book was simply titled Texas Living. Molly opened it up to where the bookmark was, and she saw that the slip of paper wasn’t a bookmark at all, but a confirmation page for a flight booked to Austin, Texas. She knocked on the door and returned the book to Lilith, and the woman thanked her.

  Molly headed back to her car, and once she was inside, she pulled out her phone and decided to do a little bit of snooping before she pulled off. It didn’t take long for her to discover that Lilith’s parents lived in Austin, Texas. She wasn’t sure what this meant, but she stored the bit of information away in her head for the time being.

  Chapter 8

  As Molly pulled out of the neighborhood, she received a phone call from Jeffrey. She answered perkily. “Hey, Jeffrey! Any news for me?”

  “Um… yeah, sort of,” he said. “I need you to come to the station, please. I’m sorry to say they want to do a follow-up… interview with you.”

  Molly frowned. “Interview or interrogation?”

  “I’m going to say interview,” he said. “Though it is likely going to take place in the interrogation room, with a recording device turned on.”

  “Lovely,” Molly said. “Okay, sure. I’m just down the road from the station. I’ll be there soon.”

  “Sorry, Molly,” Jeffrey said.

  “It’s fine,” Molly said. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who served the fudge, right?”

  Molly found herself a parking spot at the station, and she smiled to see that Jeffrey had come outside to greet her. He walked her into the station and escorted her straight to the interrogation room, where another officer, a man named Officer Kris, was waiting. “Jeffrey, you can sit in here if you want. This is really just a formality.
”

  Jeffrey smiled and sat down across from Molly. Molly frowned. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

  “First of all, sorry about all this, Molly,” Officer Kris said. “We like you around here, you know? You’ve helped us out quite a few times. But we got to follow our due diligence.”

  Molly smiled. “Thanks for saying that, Kris.”

  “So, let’s start by talking about what our lab fellows found in your fudge,” he said. “It took her some time to identify what it was exactly, but turns out it was a bunch of makeup.”

  “Makeup?” Molly questioned.

  “Lipstick, we think,” he said.

  “There was lipstick in my fudge?” she asked.

  “That’s right. Quite a bit of it, actually. Our lab team actually believe the lipstick was cooked into the fudge. So, that would mean—”

  “That it was in the fudge before it left my shop,” Molly said, turning a bit red. “Okay, but… I don’t know how to respond to that, honestly. I wouldn’t have put makeup in my own fudge.”

  “What about your employees? Could one of the girls who work for you accidentally dropped some into the batch?” Kris asked.

  “You just said it was a lot of makeup. Enough to where it probably wasn’t an accident,” Jeffrey said.

  “But none of us would have done that,” Molly insisted. “I mean, how would it have benefited me to have a bunch of dogs, not to mention people, getting sick off of food I served them during a televised event?”

  “You make a good point, Jenn,” Kris said. “What about your employees? Is there any tension at the workplace to where they would want to sabotage you?”

  “None at all!” Molly insisted. “I get along great with my employees. They’re very mature children.”

  “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t two of the kids who work for you high school dropouts who grew out of the foster care system?” Kris asked.