For Butter Or For Worse (Patty Cakes Bake Shop Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Read online

  FOR BUTTER OR FOR WORSE

  A Patty Cakes Bake Shop Cozy Mystery

  Holly Plum

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Also by Holly Plum

  A Special Thank You!

  Copyright © 2016 by Holly Plum

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Main Street was filled with the delicious scent of pastries whenever the ovens were on at Patty Cakes Bake Shop. Tourists often crossed the road to get closer to the mouth-watering smell and children pressed their noses against the front windows, trying to sneak a peek at the sugary morsels inside. The glossy pink doors of the bake shop swung open letting in the warm Florida air.

  The owner of the shop, Joy Cooke, was in the kitchen nervously gripping her oven mitts. Since inheriting the bake shop from her mother, Patty, she had gained a lot of experience in baking wedding cakes. But this particular wedding cake was rather tricky. It was for a client named Delilah Moore, a dog-lover who spoke to animals as if they were humans. Delilah also sometimes spoke to humans as if they were animals. Joy had met her when she took her cat Cheesecake to be groomed. Despite her odd behavior, Delilah was the best groomer in town.

  Delilah Moore was engaged to her veterinarian, Hunter Woods, and had expressed to Joy that she must bake the cake. Delilah's wedding was to be a beachside ceremony with a huge list of canine guests. Delilah's wedding cake would have to be delicious, elegant, and dog-friendly.

  Joy was a cat person and didn't know the first thing about canine nutrition, but her assistant Sara Beth had grown up in Mississippi with a huge hoard of hounds, as she had put it. Sara Beth had written a list of foods that dogs could and couldn't eat, as well as which flavors they were most likely to enjoy. Sugar, salt, nuts, and chocolate were off the menu.

  Joy and Sara Beth had spent days experimenting and trying different combinations of dog-safe ingredients. The first few combinations were so bad that Sara Beth had to chug an entire gallon of sweet tea after taking one bite. But it only took a couple of disasters until they finally nailed the perfect recipe. The bride-to-be, Delilah, loved the flavor as did her mother, Paisley Moore, and the two dogs that had come to the cake tastings with them.

  Joy stood at the oven as the scent of peanut butter, banana, and honey wafted from the final layers of Delilah's wedding cake. Sara Beth manned the register as a line of early customers moved steadily toward her.

  “Got anything that tastes as good as it smells in here?” a man called Old Joe asked. He was Sara Beth's favorite regular, and she suspected he was not as hard of hearing as he often pretended to be.

  “Of course, I do." Sara Beth smiled and grabbed him one of Joy's special chocolate peanut butter cups. They were the size of a small tart with a thick chocolate shell and gooey peanut butter filling that had been blended with maple syrup. As Sara Beth packaged the peanut butter cup, a loud thump sounded through the bakery.

  “Dang,” Sara Beth whispered to herself.

  “What was that?” Old Joe asked.

  “Hopefully not what I think it is," Sara Beth answered. "Or Joy will have a nervous breakdown."

  “It's your air conditioner." Old Joe immediately wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "I can feel the heat already."

  “It's been on the fritz for weeks,” Sara Beth explained. “Joe, here's your peanut butter cup. Everyone else, let's move this along before it gets hotter than a goat's bum in a pepper patch in here.”

  Joy appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. Flecks of wheat flour were in her tightly curled hair, and a small smear of honey glistened on her cheek. Sara Beth shrugged and pointed to the silent air conditioning vent.

  “Oh, not again,” Joy sighed. “Delilah's wedding cake needs to be cooled and decorated by this afternoon.”

  The wedding was happening on the beach that evening. Joy usually prepared orders the day before the event. Unfortunately, the dog-friendly ingredients meant that Delilah's cake would get firm, hard, and stale much quicker. Joy had no choice this time but to bake the cake the day of the wedding.

  “Call Sam Sparks," Sara Beth suggested. "He did a good job fixing the air conditioning last time."

  “It's his waiting list that worries me,” Joy replied, considering her options. "Last time we had to go a couple of days with nothing but fans that blew hot air everywhere."

  “Maybe you need a new unit?” Old Joe chimed in. “We all gotta go sometime. Get one of those big fancy ones that makes the place as cold a mini fridge like the one they have at The Sugar Room. That thing makes the Florida panhandle feel like Antartica.”

  Sara Beth scowled at Old Joe for mentioning the shop's number one competition, The Sugar Room. Sara Beth finished Joe's order and shooed him out of the shop.

  Joy took Sara Beth's advice and went into her small office to find Sam's phone number. She stood in the doorway and huffed. Her office was a mess. There were papers everywhere, and Joy could barely see the desk. The inspiration board on her wall had three small clippings of beautiful cakes and about twenty overdue bills pinned on top of them. A new air conditioner wasn't in the budget right now.

  I'll never be able to replace the air conditioner at this rate, Joy thought. She had no idea how her mother Patty had done it all. Patty had opened the cake shop while raising Joy, handled the books herself, the ordering, the baking, and the customers. Joy had been hesitant when she first hired Sara Beth as her assistant, but the Southern Belle had proved to be irreplaceable. Joy had worked hard on improving her baking since she had inherited the business, and she just didn't understand how she could have so many customers, plenty of special orders, turn over so many baked goods each day, but still be struggling to pay suppliers on time.

  As Joy looked through her desk drawers, she thought about the gift her mother had given her that kept her going through tough times – a golden butter knife. Patty had given it to Joy before she died. It should have been there somewhere in the drawer. Joy shuffled papers around and then emptied her drawer onto the desk. No knife. And no number for Sam either.

  “Sara Beth,” Joy called as she walked out into the shop. “Have you seen Sam Sparks' business card anywhere? I also can't find my mother's golden butter knife.”

  “No, I haven't.” Sara Beth finished giving change to a customer.

  Joy served the next customer a slice of key lime p
ie and cut herself a piece as well. She slumped against the counter and took a bite of the lime filling and cream. It lifted her spirits a little, but she couldn't help but be disappointed about the way her morning was going.

  “I'm going to have to refrigerate the cakes and hope that they don't get too stiff. Why does our luck always change like this right before a special order is due?" Joy took another bite of her pie.

  “Miracles happen every day, Joy. Besides, dogs will eat anything. You know that.”

  “What on earth happened to Sam's phone number?" Joy added.

  “Howdy, ladies.” Sam Sparks stepped up to the counter. “Now tell me, what smells so good in here today?”

  Joy gasped.

  “Well, I take that all back." Joy beamed. “Sam Sparks, I've never been happier to see you.”

  After a quick explanation of the morning's events, Sam Sparks fixed the air conditioner for no charge. Joy forced a cherry tart into his hand before he left, and Sara Beth stuck his business card next to the register. She claimed it was free advertising for him, but secretly it was so his phone number wouldn't get lost in the black hole that Joy called an office.

  The cakes for Delilah's wedding cooled within an hour under the air conditioning vents in the kitchen, and Joy closed the shop at noon to get the elaborate decorating done in time. The cake was gigantic. According to Delilah, the canine guests would want bigger slices than normal. The cake had five tiers of differing sizes. Between each layer was a wad of dog-friendly cream. To avoid using dairy, Joy had beaten silken tofu with a small amount of honey and some starch to create a consistency like whipped cream.

  The wedding cake was almost finished. Sara Beth stood in the doorway sipping sweet tea. She watched her boss carefully adorn the custom cake toppers – a statue of the bride, groom, and their two dogs. Sara Beth gave a round of applause and Joy bowed. It looked flawless. Frosting and decorating was truly Joy's greatest strength. Her cakes always looked perfect.

  “It's so beautiful that no one would suspect it's made for dogs,” Sara Beth insisted.

  “I hope Delilah still likes the way it tastes,” Joy replied.

  There was just enough time to box up the cake, change out of their messy work clothes, and get to the beach in time for the wedding.

  Sara Beth hung her arm out of the van window and watched the coastline come into view as they drove to the wedding. The humid air smelled like salt and Sara Beth noticed that Joy always seemed happier as she got closer to the ocean.

  “Nothing like a beach wedding,” Sara Beth said, taking a sip of sweet tea.

  “Why would anyone get married inside a building when we have this right here?” Joy motioned to the rolling waves. Bright blue water and white sand stretched for miles.

  They found the wedding easily enough.

  “Just follow those dogs,” Sara Beth suggested as they drove alongside a pack of dogs racing down the shoreline.

  Sara Beth was right. The dogs led Joy right to the ceremony. A small collection of white chairs were arranged on the beach. Beside each chair was a small cushion with a paw print embroidered on top – dog seating. Guests and their pets were beginning to take their seats as Joy and Sara Beth unloaded the cake. Sara Beth grunted as she lifted it. They collided with a rogue Dalmatian that sped through the crowd, almost knocking the cake out of their hands. Joy and Sara Beth breathed a sigh of relief as they made it to the catering table where appetizers were displayed alongside dog biscuits and bacon bits. As Joy and Sara Beth got the cake in place, the bride and groom appeared beside them.

  “Wonderful.” Hunter Woods, the groom, slapped Sara Beth on the back, sending her toppling forwards. He was tall with broad shoulders. Under his arm was a fluffy Pomeranian wearing a flower crown. “Isn't that beautiful, Jacques?” Hunter looked at his dog.

  The dog panted and stared at the cake.

  “It looks incredible. Good job. Good girl.” Delilah smiled as she handed Joy a dog biscuit. Delilah then fed a small appetizer to the Great Dane that sat by her side. She looked at her dog. “Isn't the cake just so beautiful, Petunia?”

  “Thanks?” Joy looked at the dog biscuit and took a bite. It was a little dry.

  Petunia, the Great Dane, smacked her lips.

  “Mom, come look. The cake is here.” Delilah called to her mother across the crowd.

  Joy and Sara Beth had met Delilah's mother Paisley at the cake tastings, and they knew she was just as dog crazy as Delilah. Paisley was wearing a dress with a print of Maltese terriers running around and a choker studded with diamonds.

  “Joy, you've done a beautiful job,” Paisley sang. “I wish Dumpling was here to see it. She would have loved it.”

  “Dumpling?” Sara Beth asked, reaching for a cracker that was shaped like a dog bone.

  Paisley began to answer but started getting teary eyed.

  Delilah explained, “Dumpling recently passed away. Terrible timing. Dumpling was going to be the flower girl. That dog was like my child. My Maltese Terrier baby.”

  “I'm so sorry for your loss,” Joy said.

  “That's awful,” Sara Beth agreed. “Losing someone dear is the worst.” She placed a hand on her heart.

  “Oh my gosh,” Delilah exclaimed, distracted by Sara Beth's hands. “Your nails are amazing.”

  Delilah fawned over Sara Beth's manicure and shared her own – a strange pattern of dogs and leashes. Joy considered for a moment that she might be the only cat person left on the planet, and how grateful she was that Cheesecake didn't even like to go outside let alone be involved in any formal events.

  Joy's thoughts were cut short by a high pitched scream. Dogs barked and raced towards the shoreline. The wedding party followed, and the crowd clustered around a spot on the beach. Someone was crying. Owners struggled to keep their dogs at their sides.

  “Oh, no. Sean!” Hunter placed Jacques the Pomeranian on the sand, and the two of them walked toward the shore. Joy and Sara Beth pushed through the crowd in time to see Hunter kneel down and place his jacket over the face of a body.

  The crowd was silent as the waves lapped softly against the sand.

  “My best man, Sean Fisher,” Hunter said sadly. “He's gone. Someone has killed my best man.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Detective Sugar arrived at the scene. He was an eccentric man who took his job too seriously and wore a long navy blue overcoat even in the Florida humidity. He had developed a soft spot for Joy and Sara Beth after trying one of their cherry tarts once. The detective approached the two of them as soon as he arrived. Joy and Sara Beth sat by the catering table where most of the guests were waiting.

  “Hello, Joy.” The detective nodded in greeting. “Do you want to fill me in on what is going on here?”

  “Well, a body washed up on the beach and –,” Joy began.

  “Yes, I know. I mean, did you cater this event?”

  “I made the cake," Joy replied.

  “Just the cake,” Detective Sugar said, sounding deeply disappointed. “No pastries?”

  “No.” Joy shrugged.

  “No tarts?”

  “Just the cake,” Joy repeated. "It's what my client wanted."

  “Would you like an appetizer,” Sara Beth offered him a dog-shaped cracker, unsure if it was meant for dogs or humans.

  “Thank you.” The detective reluctantly took the cracker. “Alright, stay put. I'll be back to question you once I've made my rounds.”

  Joy and Sara Beth watched as the detective walked away. He took a bite of the cracker and made an odd face – like he had bitten into something rotten.

  "That was a dog biscuit, wasn't it?" Joy commented.

  "I guess it was."

  For an hour, Joy and Sara Beth sat near the catering table waiting for their turn to be questioned by the detective. A procession of dogs made their way over to Sara Beth who was feeding them biscuits and treats. Delilah and her Great Dane Petunia finished speaking with Detective Sugar and trotted over to the display of food.<
br />
  “So sorry this happened on your wedding day,” Joy said to Delilah.

  Sara Beth offered Petunia a piece of bacon. The Great Dane sniffed it curiously and then turned her nose up. Sara Beth shrugged and ate the salty slice herself.

  “Feel sorry for Hunter. Sean wasn't my favorite person in the world, but he was one of Hunter's oldest friends. Hunter is just devastated.” Delilah scanned the table for something more to Petunia's tastes.

  “I take it you didn't know Sean very well?" Joy guessed.

  “That's right.” Delilah sighed. "We never really got along. He didn't like dogs."

  Joy and Sara Beth glanced at each other.

  Joy gasped as Delilah grabbed a serving knife and cut into the wedding cake without hesitation. Sara Beth grabbed Joy's hand and squeezed it to stop her from saying something she would regret. Instead of picking up a fork, the bride-to-be held the plate at hip height, and Petunia began eating the first slice of cake. The cake Joy had stressed over all morning was going to be gone in an instant. And a dog had taken the first bite.

  “Good girl.” Delilah praised Petunia as she scooped up the crumbs.

  Joy dug her nails into Sara Beth's hand. Sara Beth made a small yip that startled the Chihuahua that had been sniffing around her feet.

  “Of course, I would never do anything to hurt anyone," Delilah explained. “Not even a guy like Sean Fisher.”

  Joy nodded and smiled through her clenched jaw as Petunia finishing licking the plate clean.

  “You're serving the cake?" Detective Sugar walked over.

  "Please, have some, detective." Delilah served him a piece of cake while Sara Beth gently peeled her hand out of Joy's death grip.

  “My compliments to the chefs," the detective said through a mouthful. "What's in this anyway?"

  “Is this your way of questioning us?” Joy asked.

  “I suppose.” Detective Sugar took another bite. “Tell me what you saw after you arrived today."