Wedding Bells and a Body (A Patty Cakes Bake Shop Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) Read online

  “Wait a minute. Dorothy was murdered? But who would want to kill her? Oh, Detective, you don't think that I…” Joy pressed her palm to her forehead, working hard to gather the strength to deal with the news. “What happened?”

  Detective Sugar went on, choosing his words carefully. “It looks as if she took too much of her heart medication.”

  “Like an overdose?” Sara Beth chimed in again. “Dorothy Wallace? Surely not on purpose."

  “Sara Beth, please,” Joy said, never taking her eyes off the detective. “Go on.”

  Detective Sugar looked as if he was enjoying this conversation every bit as much as Joy was—not at all. “How did you know Dorothy?”

  “She knew my mother,” Joy answered. “She always loved our brownies, and when she started having knee trouble, I started delivering them to her every Friday.”

  Detective Sugar’s face held understanding, but it did little to reassure Joy. “Were you two close?”

  Joy nodded. “She was a wonderful woman, and extremely kind. Still, I never expected her to leave me anything. I don’t understand why she did.”

  The detective thought for a moment. “Well, you won’t be able to claim any of that inheritance until the investigation is completed.”

  His words served as a welcome relief. At least then none of the Wallace’s would be able to accuse her of stealing for a while.

  “That’s fine with me,” Joy said. “The push back from the Wallace family has been difficult."

  Detective Sugar nodded. “This isn't the worst of the news, I'm afraid.”

  Joy had a hard time focusing and laughed in near hysteria. “What could be worse than a murder investigation?”

  Detective Sugar’s hesitation to continue made Joy nervous. “What’s worse, Detective?”

  “The fact that Dorothy left you so much money makes you a suspect in the investigation,” he continued.

  "I know. You mentioned that already." Joy gulped.

  "Our number one suspect," the detective finished.

  "Oh, sweet baby cupcakes," Sara Beth muttered.

  “I’m sorry, Joy,” Detective Sugar said.

  Joy shook her head. “Don't tell me you've come here to arrest me.”

  "No, of course not," he answered quickly. "But if I don't come up with any other leads, things could get uncomfortable."

  A few moments of silence followed.

  “Would you like to take your key lime pie to go?” Joy asked, forcing a smile.

  “That would be great,” Detective Sugar said.

  The excuse to go and get a box gave Joy a moment to herself as Sara Beth continued to converse with the detective. When she arrived back up front, she found that another customer had joined them. The young woman had brought in her golden retriever who wore a sunflower headdress that could draw a smile out of anyone.

  “Who do we have here?” Joy asked, chuckling at the way the retriever’s mile-long tongue wagged from his mouth. Though they were technically closed for the day, Joy went straight to the cabinet for a baked dog treat.

  “This is Rex,” the young woman said as she urged the excited dog to sit.

  “I like your costume, Rex,” Joy said as she handed a dog-shaped cookie over to the owner. “What are you all dressed up for?”

  “We’re headed to The Sugar Room to audition for the cutest pet contest.”

  It wasn’t what Joy wanted to hear, but the distraction was better than the news Detective Sugar had just told her.

  “A contest, you say?” Joy responded. “Well, just remember who made the very best dog and cat treats first.”

  The owner scratched Rex behind the ears as he gobbled up the treat. “Yes, we remember. Can I buy a bag of the peanut butter treats to take with me?”

  “Is a dozen okay?” Joy asked, grabbing a brightly colored bag.

  The Rex's owner said that would be perfect, praised Joy’s ability to concoct the best canine friendly desserts, and escorted her excitable pup back outside.

  “Maple is always trying to one-up you,” Sara Beth said when the door had shut. “She can hold whatever kind of contest she wants, but it’ll never replace what you have going here.”

  "So I keep telling myself." Joy smiled, telling herself to be brave. She was used to road blocks. Unfortunately, she had seemed to hit a bunch all at once.

  “Her plans will crash and burn like that always do,” Sara Beth stated.

  “I hope you're right,” Joy responded, turning the open sign around and locking the door behind the detective. "I really hope you are right."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Joy was grateful to be home, but the house felt empty without Cheesecake. She found herself regretting the fact that the murder investigation, wrath of the Wallace family, and Maple’s cutest pet contest had all coincided with her little white cat’s absence. If there were a time that she wished for the comfort of Cheesecake’s purring, it was now.

  Joy boiled water for some tea and settled on the ultimate comfort food for dinner - mac and cheese. She was just about to curl up with her food and a movie when there was a knock on the door. Joy rolled her eyes. She’d had far too many hostile visitors at her home and the bakery during the past couple of days. She strode to the door, clutching her hot cup of tea and vowing that if she found Ross Wallace on her doorstep that she would threaten him with a face full of Earl Grey. Ross had no right to intimidate her even if he was unhappy about the will.

  Joy’s brow furrowed when there was no one on her doorstep. She glanced up and down the street, but she saw no one. As she was about to go back inside, she noticed a note taped to her door. Thinking it must be from one of her neighbors, she opened it, but her insides froze when she read the words on the page.

  Confess or else.

  Joy slammed the front door, leaning up against the wall and nearly spilling hot tea on herself. She locked her door immediately. This had to be Ross Wallace’s doing. Him or some other jealous relative. Joy wondered how on earth this had happened. One day she’d been just an ordinary citizen running a friendly little bake shop, and now her world was topsy-turvy. Confess or else, Joy repeated in her head. But Joy had done nothing to confess to.

  Someone wanted to frame her for murder.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Joy was impressed with her ability to remain calm throughout the day. Even after telling Sara Beth her frightening story about the note that had been taped to her front door.

  “I still can't believe it,” Sara Beth said, holding up her latest cup of sweet tea. “You should call Detective Sugar." Sara Beth shuddered. “I know I would be frozen for weeks if a note like that showed up on my doorstep.”

  “I am trying not to think about it," Joy said. “Thinking about it makes me anxious.” Joy took a deep breath. "I mean…who would want to frame me for murder? What have I done to deserve that?"

  “Well, there's the inheritance,” Sara Beth commented. “Lots of people do horrible things for money."

  "So you think it was one of the Wallace's?" Joy scratched the side of her chin. "You don't think one of them killed Dorothy for her money, do you?"

  "If one of them did then you are in big trouble, honey," Sara Beth replied.

  A customer walked in, and Joy immediately dropped the subject and smiled. She was tired of sitting around and waiting for Detective Sugar to figure things out while more and more problems showed up on her doorstep. What if the killer left that note? What if the killer had a plan to make Joy look guilty? What would Joy do then?

  The shop's constant business for the rest of the day was a blessing in disguise. It kept Joy’s thoughts occupied and also made Sara Beth too busy to spout conspiracy theories.

  Joy reheated some macaroni and cheese when she arrived home from work, but she didn’t eat much of it. She was too busy hatching a plan. When the sun went down, Joy grabbed a jacket and headed for the door. She had to stop herself from turning around to tell Cheesecake that she would be back soon. Not having her kitty with her durin
g this ordeal was becoming more and more difficult with each passing day. Joy only hoped that Sara Beth appreciated his company.

  Joy's heart raced as she made the journey to Dorothy Wallace's house. It was a drive she had made several times before but tonight was different. Tonight, Joy was determined to clear her name and figure out what happened to her loyal customer. She had second thoughts as she parked near Dorothy's driveway.

  Joy glanced around the neighborhood as if she expected someone to pop out from behind a nearby palm tree. She wondered if any nosey neighbors would report her if she snooped around. Joy quickly realized that though her intentions were in the right place, breaking into Dorothy's house to look for clues was risky. But she didn't know where else to start. She had to do something before another note showed up at her doorstep. Or worse.

  Joy debated whether or not she should go home when a shadow near the front door of Dorothy's house caught her eye. She squinted into the darkness, her gaze trying hard to study the figure as it crept toward the backyard. Without giving herself much time to think, Joy opened the car door and made her way toward the dark, deserted house. Joy quietly followed the intruder, her eyes scanning the dimness even as she wondered what she would do when she found the prowler. Call the police? Why hadn’t she just done that first instead of putting herself in danger? Joy tried not to panic as she swiftly turned around.

  Joy screamed when she nearly smacked faces with someone. The intruder screamed back, brushing wayward locks from her face. When Joy managed to get her breath back, she stared in surprise at the woman across from her.

  “Violet?” Joy tilted her head.

  Dorothy’s granddaughter still resembled a deer in the headlights.

  Joy figured that their run-in had awoken a neighbor or two. The police would be coming for both she and Violet in no time. They could go to jail together—how quaint. Still, Joy hoped that a reasonable explanation would solve everything. She crossed her fingers that nobody on Dorothy's street had resorted to dialing 9-1-1.

  "Joy?" Violet whispered, touching her chest.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Violet’s chin lifted slightly as she regained herself. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “Yes, you could,” Joy admitted.

  A few moments of silence followed before Violet glanced around, pursing her lips. “Well, we’ll only look suspicious if we stand around out here in the dark. Let’s go inside and talk."

  Joy nodded in agreement and in a few moments, both women had entered Dorothy’s house through the back door to which Violet had a spare key.

  CHAPTER NINE

  It was surreal entering Dorothy’s home after all that had transpired in the past few days. How many dozens of times had Joy come here to deliver brownies, always receiving the warmest welcome from the big-hearted, elderly woman? If she wasn’t careful, she could have let the realization that she never had the chance to say goodbye overwhelm her. Joy couldn’t succumb to that now though, not before she and Violet got to the bottom of why they were both there.

  “You go first,” Violet said the moment a light had been turned on and they were both seated at the kitchen table.

  Fair enough, Joy thought. She supposed Violet did have more of a right to be here than she.

  “I want to know what happened to Dorothy,” she said. “I’m being framed for your grandmother’s untimely death, and I want answers.”

  Sadness flashed across Violet’s face at the mention of her grandmother, but confusion quickly followed. “You're being framed? Wait. Is this about her medications? The police seriously think that someone drugged her on purpose?”

  Joy rested her elbows on the table. “Yes. I even received a threatening note on my doorstep telling me to confess to it or else.”

  “What did it say?” Violet asked curiously.

  “Confess or else,” Joy repeated. "That's it."

  Violet’s brow raised in bewilderment. “Sounds like something out of an old murder mystery movie.”

  “We are dealing with a possible killer here, Violet, so I guess that makes sense,” Joy said.

  “I guess the note wasn’t all that bad because it prompted you to come snooping around here in the middle of the night looking for answers, didn’t it?”

  Joy shook her head. “That's easy for you to say. You're not the one with a target stamped on her forehead. I just want to get to the bottom of this. And why are you here?"

  Violet’s eyes shifted around the room for a couple of moments before she answered. "I have a key."

  "So?" Joy paused, waiting for an explanation. Whether or not it would be an honest one, she wasn't sure.

  "Fine." Violet sighed. “I’ve come to get something I left here.”

  “Then why tiptoe around in the middle of the night?" Joy questioned her. "You could have walked through the front door during the day."

  "It's not that simple. The police have been popping in and out." Violet glanced over her shoulder. "There is something here that I don't want them to find."

  "I see," Joy responded.

  Violet looked uncomfortable. "Listen, Joy. You seem alright. You've got to promise me you won't tell anyone that I was here. Tonight is my last chance to grab my stuff before Dorothy's things are cleared out. Do you promise?”

  "Well…" Joy was at a loss for words.

  "If you snitch on me, I'll snitch on you," Violet added, holding out her hand.

  "I don't even know what I'm agreeing to." Joy crossed her arms. "What does it matter if you left some of your old clothes here?"

  "They're not clothes."

  "Shoes?" Joy guessed.

  "Pills," Violet blurted out. "Strong ones. Not the kind of thing you would want a policeman to find."

  Joy couldn't help but picture Violet seeking in and tampering with Dorothy's medications. Was Violet the culprit? If she was then why was sharing her secrets with Joy? Maybe Dorothy's death was an accident?

  “I suppose keeping my mouth shut is my only option,” Joy stated, keeping her voice even. She did have one other option. She could admit to sneaking around Dorothy's place and turn Violet in. But if Violet turned out to be innocent, Joy would look guilty.

  “The pills aren’t exactly…” Violet searched for the right word for a moment before making quotation marks with her fingers. “Legal.”

  “I see,” Joy responded, cautiously. The silence that followed was awkward. “So, you don't know anything about the note on my doorstep?”

  “Of course not,” Violet said, defensively. She threw her hands up in surrender. "If I had something to say to you, I would say it to your face."

  “It was just a question," Joy reminded her. "Remember that your entire family is angry with me for something I had no part of. I’ll be completely honest with you. I don’t know why your grandmother changed her will. She was a generous woman, but I’m not her flesh and blood. I want to know why she did it just as much as I want to find out who’s responsible for her death. Detective Sugar said her heart medication had been tampered with.” Joy’s mention of the heart medication didn’t bring forth the clarification from Violet that she’d hoped for.

  “That is very sad news,” Violet finally said. "I hope the police figure out who did it." She nodded and stood, showing no intention of leaving before Joy did. "Well, if you don't mind, I have some things to take care of."

  "I'll see myself out."

  "And keep your mouth shut?" Violet smiled, raising her eyebrows as she studied Joy's expression.

  "Yes," Joy muttered, unsure if it were true or not.

  Joy left Dorothy's house, wondering all the way home what had just happened. After running into Violet, she was even more confused than before. In her mind, Joy wasn’t completely convinced that Violet had nothing to do with Dorothy’s death. Saying she hadn’t written the note didn’t prove or disprove anything. Still, Joy couldn’t think of any of the Wallace’s she’d become acquainted with so far committing murder. Violet had nearly passed out
in fear when she and Joy had bumped into each other at the house and Joy couldn’t exactly picture her brother Zinny concocting some elaborate scheme.

  Joy crawled into bed with her mind still spinning. She wished that she had her trusty cat Cheesecake by her side.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was the day before Fern and Ivan’s vow renewal ceremony, and a pit of dread sat like a boulder in Joy’s stomach. Though the process of baking and decorating mouth-watering pastries was always a good distraction from the real world, preparing the delicate wedding cookies for the rehearsal dinner kept the Wallace family at the forefront of Joy’s mind. What if there was an uprising and the Wallace’s chased her from the premises? In reality, she already didn’t want to risk being in the midst of the kind of hostility she’d already received from the clan’s various members.

  “So, what are you going to wear tonight?” Sara Beth asked, brushing powdered sugar from her hands.

  Joy shrugged.

  Sara Beth’s mouth gaped open as if her boss had just announced that she intended to take an entire day off. “This is an important event. Love is being renewed, and you don’t know what you’re going to wear? You need to be prepared.”

  Joy forced a chuckle. “You're right. I'll be wearing something that I can run for my life in."

  Sara Beth pursed her lips. “You are going to represent Patty Cakes Bake Shop by wearing sweats?"

  Joy didn’t pause in her dusting of powdered sugar donuts for a moment. She was grateful to be working on something that wasn’t headed for the Wallace’s dinner party.

  "I'm joking," Joy responded. "Sort of."

  “Never mind that, doll. Everything will be sorted out by that big wig lawyer who came to see you. Don’t think of anything but presenting the best dessert display.”

  Joy wished it were that simple. There was so much baggage attached to this job that she didn’t know how she would manage to enjoy the meal at all. She had never backed out of a job or turned a customer down, but today she was seriously considering it.