The Cupcake Conspiracy

by Sara Bourgeois

  "Hey, Cathy!" he said cheerfully like we were old friends. Like I hadn't caught him cheating on me with his secretary in his office...

  He and Marcy, the secretary, had married right after our divorce was final. Last I had heard, Marcy was very pregnant with their first child. I was about to get an update. I didn't want an update, but I was getting one.

  "What can I do for you, Bruce?" I tried to sound as disengaged and professional as possible. I could feel my staff behind me watching from the kitchen doorway.

  "I want to order two dozen cupcakes for my office."

  "Okay,” I said calmly. It was cool. He just wanted some cupcakes for work, right?

  "Marcy is in labor right now,” he said. "I want the cupcakes to pass around the office on Monday."

  "Marcy is in labor right now? And you're here ordering cupcakes?" I asked. I tried to keep the disbelief out of my voice, but it was hard to do. Why was he at my bakery when his wife, the woman he cheated on me with, was having their baby? I could only guess that he wanted to make sure I knew. What a jerk.

  "I'm going right back to the hospital. Can you do the order?" All of the cheerfulness dropped from his voice, and he took on the irritated tone he got when people didn't respond to his demands fast enough.

  "Yeah, sure. Two dozen cupcakes. Not a problem, Bruce. How would you like them decorated?"

  "Can you do yellow icing with little pink flowers?"

  "I can. There's a specialty decorating fee for something like that." There really was a fee, and I intended to double it for him.

  "Not a problem, Cath. Nothing is too much for my girls."

  I almost gagged, but I managed to hold back. I even forced myself to smile and congratulate him as I rang up his order.

  When he was gone, I decided that I deserved to take my afternoon break. I sat down at the table where Hannah was working. She gave me a reassuring smile and a hug, but she didn't mention the episode with Bruce. She was old enough to know how badly he'd hurt me, and I was thankful she didn't make me talk about it.

  A minute later, Crystal came into the shop looking for Ginny. It was time for Ginny's break too, so they grabbed some coffee and muffins. I invited them both to sit down with me if they wanted, and the girls took me up on the offer.

  "Hey, Ginny, do you want to go to a cookout tomorrow?" Crystal asked in between bites of her cranberry orange muffin. "It's going to be my whole neighborhood again. There will be a ton of different foods, and I think they're getting a band."

  "No thanks, Crystal. I've sworn off neighborhood barbecues after the last one in your neighborhood went so badly. Don't you remember?"

  "What happened?" I asked.

  "There was this guy named Alex. He had bought a lot of supplies from Doug Ramon. He didn't know that all of the rakes, wheelbarrows, and clippers were super low quality,” Ginny said. "It got super scary. They were screaming at each other and they almost started fighting physically. Some of the other men finally separated them, but it almost got really violent."

  "Why didn't you tell us about this before?" I asked.

  "I guess I'd forgotten it until Crystal brought up the cookout. Why, do you think it could have something to do with Doug's death? You think Alex might have killed him over gardening supplies?"

  "I think it's possible,” I said.

  When my break was almost over, I went into the back to call Tom. I didn't want to wait until he called me that night to tell him about the Alex thing. It was related to the case, so I thought he needed to know.

  "Hey, gorgeous. Couldn't wait to talk to me?" he asked when he picked up.

  "I probably could have waited,” I said with a chuckle. "But I have information on the case."

  "Oh, really? What is it?" Tom asked.

  "Well, Crystal just invited Ginny to a neighborhood cookout, and Ginny said no because last year's went so bad. She'd completely forgotten about this, but I guess at the last one, some guy named Alex almost got into a fight with Doug Ramon. They were screaming at each other all because Doug sold Alex a bunch of faulty landscaping equipment."

  "Did you get a last name on this Alex guy?" Tom asked.

  "I don't think so. She didn't mention it. I can go ask again,” I said.

  "No, if she knew, she'd have said it. It won't be hard to find out which landscaping service is owned by someone named Alex. Thank you for the heads-up. Mack and I will want to interview him."

  "How did your interview with Randy go?" I asked.

  "He's a really shy and introverted guy. It was hard to get a read on him,” Tom said. "But you know what they say about the quiet ones."

  Chapter Nine

  It was finally Saturday, and Gracie woke both Hannah and I up at four. She stuck her wet nose into my eye and then ran into the guest room to get Hannah. I heard my niece let out a surprised sound, and then she started laughing and baby talking to Gracie.

  We got to the shop early and got everything going. It hit me how much I was going to miss Hannah when she went home. It had been so fun having her around, and I really enjoyed having someone to open the shop with me every morning. It could be lonely when I did it on my own.

  Ginny and Camille came in a little early as well. I guessed that everyone was up and ready to go that morning, and I was glad. Saturdays could be really busy since most people were off work.

  Tom and Carl came into the shop right after we opened. They were stopping in to have breakfast and coffee before they went hunting together. The pair were hoping to bag some pheasants. If they did, Camille and I had promised to cook them on Sunday for a special dinner. The guys got large coffees and two cinnamon rolls each. They also brought in their Thermoses, so I filled them up with the soup of the day. At least I knew they'd have a hot and satisfying lunch even if they were out in the forest.

  A while after the guys were gone, one of my old neighbors came in to get donuts. Alison Greyson had lived down the street from me when I was still married to Bruce.

  "I suppose you heard that Bruce's new wife is having their baby,” she said curtly.

  Alison and I had been friendly, and I assumed she didn't approve of what Bruce had done. Still, I wasn't going to say anything negative about them. I had moved on with my life, after all.

  "Yes, I heard. He came in here yesterday to buy cupcakes for his office to celebrate,” I said.

  "That man..,” she shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Well, anyway, apparently, Marcy is still in labor. It's been complicated."

  "That's too bad,” I said. "I genuinely do hope that she and the baby are okay."

  "You're such a good woman,” she said. "He was an idiot to let you go."

  "Thank you for saying that," I responded.

  I boxed up her donuts after that and let Camille ring her up. I really did hope Marcy and the baby would be okay. I didn't exactly like Bruce anymore, but I didn't want anything bad to happen to him or his family.

  My next customer was Crystal. She got a bear claw and a large latte. I noticed she had some of her school stuff with her, and that meant she'd be hanging around for a while. I didn't mind, and it turned out to be a boon when Susan Ramon and a man walked into the bakery.

  They both ordered mochas and breakfast croissant sandwiches with bacon and Havarti. After Camille rang them up, the pair went over and sat down at a table close to Crystal. I hoped that Crystal was ready to listen. She gave me a wink and then turned back around to pay attention to Susan and the man's conversation.

  As soon as Susan and the man were gone, Crystal ran up to the counter. I took her back into the kitchen so we could talk where the other customers couldn't hear.

  "That is the man I kept seeing at Susan and Doug's house,” she said. "His name is Mitch. That's what Susan was calling him, but I didn't get his last name."

  "That's okay,” I said. "I know I can find out his last name. That looks just like the guy that sold Tom his truck. I'm going to call him."

  Crystal stayed in the kitchen while I called Tom. He answere
d the phone after a couple of rings. I was glad Carl was driving and Tom could pick up.

  "Hey, gorgeous, we haven't bagged those birds yet, but we will,” he said.

  "I know you will. I'm actually calling because Susan and her boyfriend were just in the shop. Crystal was here too, and she recognized him from when he'd come over to Susan and Doug's place. Anyway, she heard their conversation, and his name is Mitch. Tom, he was the guy who sold you your truck. I just know it. Wasn't that guy named Mitch?"

  "He was indeed," Tom said. "His name was Mitch Dean. This is good, Cathy. That means we've got a new lead and a new suspect. Thank you so much."

  "You're welcome, handsome. You guys have fun and be safe. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

  "You sure will."

  The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash. I decided to let Hannah choose what we had for dinner. I asked her before we left the shop for the day, and she chose Mexican. Since everyone was still around, I invited Camille, Ginny, and Crystal to go too.

  "That sounds like fun. Girls’ night out it is,” Camille said.

  "Yeah, I'm in,” Ginny said.

  "If Ginny is in, then count me in too," Crystal said. "Thank you for inviting us."

  "Hey, I'm going to call my neighbor Mark and see if he can walk Gracie. That way we can go now. I'm actually starving. Is that okay with you guys?"

  Everyone agreed, so I dialed Mark's number.

  "Hey, lady. How are you?" he asked when he picked up.

  "I'm good, thank you. How about you?"

  "I'm having a good afternoon. To what do I owe the honor of this call?" Mark asked.

  "I was hoping you could walk Gracie for me and if you have time, hang out with her for a bit this evening?" I asked hopefully.

  "I would love to spend some time with Miss Gracie. Do you have big plans tonight?"

  "Actually, my friends and I want to go out for Mexican food and just hang out and have a girls' night out,” I said.

  "You know what, if that's your plan, how about I drive you? That way everyone but the lovely Hannah can have a margarita or two, if you like. I'll pick you up and take you home when you're all ready,” he said.

  "You'd do that?" I asked.

  "You're a great friend, Cathy. That birthday cake made my day. Of course, I'll do it."

  "Thank you. We'll just wait here for you then?"'

  "Yeah, let me pop Gracie out for a quick walk, and then I'll be there ASAP."

  When I got off the phone, the girls were all looking at me. They'd only heard half of the conversation, so they had no idea that Mark had offered to drive us.

  "What's up?" Camille asked.

  "Mark's going to come pick us all up and take us to the Mexican place. He said he'd pick us up after too so that we can have margaritas," I said.

  "We're all going to fit?" Ginny asked.

  "Yeah, Mark's SUV seats seven,” I said.

  Hannah had a huge smile plastered on her face. Her dreamboat crush was going to play chauffeur for us, and I could tell she was excited. I hoped that when she got home, she could find a boy her own age who made her as excited as Mark did, but for the time being, I decided just to let her be happy.

  Since we all got up early, and we wanted to be able to stay up later than eight in the evening, each of us had a shot of espresso while we waited for Mark. Crystal also insisted that we have a glass of water so we stayed hydrated. While we were sipping our ice water and watching out the window, she handed out vitamin C wafers.

  "The vitamin C helps counteract the effects of the tequila on your liver,” she said. "If you have more than one or two margaritas, make sure you get another wafer from me. It's important."

  "I don't think any of us are going to have more than two,” I said. "But thank you so much." I popped the orange-flavored wafer into my mouth and chewed it up. It was super tangy, so I took a big swig of water.

  Eventually, Mark arrived. I locked up the shop after everyone was out. He got out of the driver's seat and opened all of the SUV's doors for us. Once we were in, he closed them.

  Hannah had practically run to the SUV to secure shotgun. I was a little shocked she didn't actually yell "shotgun" when Mark arrived, but I guess she was trying to look more mature.

  She dominated the conversation with him on the way to the Mexican restaurant. Mark kept asking her about school and her plans for college. A couple of times she tried to awkwardly flirt with him, but he handled it like a champion.

  "You're a funny kid,” he said with a light-hearted chuckle on her second attempt.

  I saw her deflate when he called her a kid, but I was glad for it.

  "I'm not a kid,” she protested.

  "Hey, don't grow up to fast,” he said and smiled.

  And there it was. He let her down as gently as anyone could. Mark was a good guy, and I was glad he was my friend.

  As soon as he dropped us off and we were inside, she bounced back. There was probably some boy at home that she had a massive crush on too, and soon enough, she'd be back mooning over him.

  We got a big corner booth and ordered appetizers. Ginny and Crystal wanted chips and queso, and Camille and I had a craving for corn cakes and potato skins. I had no idea how we were going to eat all that plus dinner, but we were determined.

  As soon as we had a little food in our stomachs, everyone except Hannah ordered a margarita. She got some sort of blended pineapple drink, and the waitress put a little pink umbrella in it for her.

  We polished off our appetizers completely around the time the waitress brought out our orders. Ginny and Crystal had ordered the steak and chicken fajitas for two. Camille got the taco trio, and I couldn't resist the chimichanga. It was my absolute favorite Mexican meal. The restaurant let you choose between chicken, beef, or seafood. That evening, I got the seafood chimichanga that was drowned in a delicious white sauce. It was so good, and it gave me ideas for a Mexican seafood soup. I thought that perhaps I could even write the evening off a business expense since I was technically using the experience to develop a whole new soup for my shop.

  A good time was had by all, and by the time Mark came to pick us up, I thought he was going to have to roll us to the SUV.

  Chapter Ten

  Hannah and I were able to sleep late the next morning. Well, we would have been if not for Gracie. She’d spent the night at Mark’s place, but he was at my door at five saying that she wouldn’t wait another second.

  “I’m sorry, I tried to distract her, but I’m so tired,” he said and yawned.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Sorry she got you up so early.”

  “Not a problem, but now I’m going to go crash for at least a couple more hours.”

  “Thank you again,” I said. “You want to go for a walk, girl?”

  She chuffed, and I knew that meant yes. So, I went into my room, took off my fluffy bathrobe I’d worn to answer the door, and threw on my sweats.

  At least I’d gotten to sleep in for an hour. Gracie and I made our way downstairs and took our time walking around the block. Every day there were new smells for her to explore. I didn’t have anywhere to be, and Hannah was still asleep, so I let Gracie take her time.

  Once Gracie had plenty of time to do her business, I went back up to the apartment to make breakfast. I decided on maple bacon pancakes with a bourbon syrup. I figured it was a good send-off breakfast for Hannah, and she’d be able to have the syrup since the alcohol would cook off.

  I was stirring the batter when my phone rang. It was still pretty early, and my heart jumped in my chest. Calls late at night and early in the morning always gave me anxiety. It seemed as though it was never anything good at those hours.

  When I looked at my phone and saw it was Bruce, I almost didn’t pick up. I didn’t like him calling me, but ultimately, I decided to answer. Him phoning me that early meant that something could be wrong with his wife or the baby. Why he would call me about that, I didn’t know, but I didn’t want to be a jerk.

  “Hello,
Bruce,” I said cautiously and braced for bad news.

  “Hi, Cathy!” he said cheerfully.

  I went through a range of emotions from relief to annoyance when I heard how chipper he sounded. Instantly, I regretted answering the phone and wanted to hang up. That would have been beyond the pale rude for me, though, so I didn’t.

  “What’s up, Bruce?”

  “I just called to tell you, I have a son!” he said. “We had the baby, and it’s a boy! The sonograms were wrong.”

  “Congratulations,” I said reluctantly.

  “Anyway, I was calling because I need to change my cupcake order. I can’t have pink flowers now. Can you do blue icing with little firetrucks or something manly?”

  “I do have some little sugar firetrucks that are premade,” I said.

  “Perfect. Thanks, Cath.”

  I was about to say you’re welcome, but he’d already hung up. I just shook my head and set the phone down. Hannah was leaving, and I was not going to spend my day stewing over Bruce and his ego.

  I went back to making the pancakes, and the scent of the bacon cooking must have roused Hannah from her sleep.

  “That smells so good,” she said. “Is there coffee?”

  “There is,” I said.

  She poured herself a splash of coffee and filled the rest of the mug with milk. Hannah gulped about half of it down before coming up for air.

  “Do you want me to help you with breakfast, or should I pack?”

  “You should pack,” I said. “I’ll let you know when it’s done and you can come eat.”

  “I don’t want to leave,” Hannah said.

  “I’ve really loved having you here,” I said. “I’ll talk to your mom about you staying with me more often.”

  “That would be amazing,” she said. “You could teach me more cooking and more about running the bakery.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” I said.

  She finished the rest of her coffee and then headed back to the guest room to pack up her things. Hannah was nearly done by the time I finished cooking breakfast, and after we ate, I helped her with the rest.