A Cupcake Cruelty Read online

  A Cupcake Cruelty

  by

  Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter One

  “We should get back,” I said and took another sip of the hot mulled cider. “Mmm. This is so good. I think I’m going to try and recreate the flavors in a muffin.”

  “That’s a great idea. I think it would go well with beef stew,,” Camille said. “The customers love your stew.”

  “We should head back to the booth,” I said again.

  “I’m sure Ginny and Crystal are doing fine running things. We haven’t finished choosing decorations for the shop yet. Don’t you want to get the best stuff before it’s picked over by everyone else?”

  “You’re right,” I said. “We can keep looking for a few minutes.”

  We were at the holiday craft fair the town held every year at the East High School gymnasium. Camille and I were wandering around hoping to get first pick of the best decorations for Cathy’s Cupcakes while Crystal and Ginny ran our booth selling candles, cupcakes, and holiday cookies.

  The scent of evergreen, mulled cider, and cookies filled the gymnasium with holiday cheer. The crisp smell of pine perked up my senses as we walked up to a booth run by Will Painter and my dog walker, Hailey Reacher.

  “These swags are beautiful,” I said to Will and Hailey. I turned to Camille. “We could use them over the windows. Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

  “Yes, I think these are perfect. You should buy them all,” Camille said.

  “Really?” Hailey asked excitedly.

  “Yes, I think I will take them all,” I said. “Will, how’s your dad doing? How’s the ranch?”

  “Dad’s doing good. Everything on the ranch is great too. I’m just glad that this time of year, he lets me take some time away to make these swags. You’re really making my holiday by buying them all. Thank you so much.”

  “I’m just glad I finally found something for my shop, so the thanks is all yours,” I said.

  “So, it’s just the two of you on a Saturday night?” Will asked. “Where are the guys?”

  “Tom and Carl are both on duty tonight. They are so sad about having to miss all the holiday shopping,” I said teasingly.

  “I bet,” Hailey said with a laugh. “If Will didn’t have a booth here, I’d never be able to drag him to something like this.”

  “I guess men just don’t get it,” Camille said. “Oh, well. More fun for us.”

  “How’s Gracie?” Hailey asked.

  “She’s doing great. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you soon,” I said.

  “Gracie is one of my favorite dogs. You’ve done an amazing job training her,” Hailey said. “It’s just remarkable how her personality has developed.”

  “That’s right, you walked her back when she was still at the rescue, right?” Will asked.

  “As much as I could. It was hard to take her out because she was wild and so fearful then. Cathy has really turned things around for her,” Hailey answered.

  “There’s a good dog in every dog,” I said. “It’s just takes the right person to work with them.”

  “That’s awesome,” Will said. “Okay, I’ve got your swags bagged up for you. Did you want to pay cash, check, or charge?” he asked, getting down to business.

  “I’ve got my company card, if that’s okay?” I asked.

  “Sure thing.”

  I paid for the swags and we chatted for a few more minutes. Even though I’d purchased all of the pine swags, Will still have several handmade wreathes available at his booth. When some more customers walked up to shop, Camille and I made our way to the next booth.

  A couple of minutes later, Tom called. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said when I picked up.

  “Hey, yourself,” I answered.

  “I just thought I’d let you know that Carl and I will be stopping by the fair on our break to grab some coffee. Do you ladies want to meet us?”

  “Sure,” I said. “We’ll head in that direction and see you when you get here.”

  “Sounds great, beautiful.”

  I hung up the phone and walked back over to the booth where Camille was waiting for me. I’d wandered off while I was on the phone. I tended to pace while I was talking, and I’d meandered a few booths away.

  “Everything okay?” Camille asked.

  “Yeah. Sorry I wandered off. It was Tom. He and Carl are coming to the fair to grab coffee on their break. We should start moving in that direction so we can meet them when they get here,” I said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Camille answered.

  We made it about halfway to the coffee booth, and I hadn’t seen the guys come in yet. Since it seemed like we had a few minutes, I stopped at a booth offering European cheeses and cookies. I made a mental note to myself to stop by their shop and buy a cheese sampler.

  I saw Tom and Carl come in, so Camille and I made our way the rest of the way to the coffee booth. I threw my cup from the mulled cider away and studied their menu board.

  When it was my turn to order, I decided to go with the double peppermint mocha. That sounded delicious and festive.

  “I’ll have the double peppermint mocha. Large, please,” I said to the girl behind the counter.

  “Whipped cream?” she asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  “Do you want the candy cane and peppermint sprinkles?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes. The mintier the better.” I smiled.

  Tom and Carl both got dark roasts. Camille decided on the Christmas cookie cappuccino with whole milk.

  “You’ll have to let me know if that’s any good,” I said. “It sounds delightful.”

  “If you’re up on your shots, I’ll let you have a taste,” she said.

  “Well, if you’re up on yours, you can try mine too,” I said and poked her playfully in the arm.

  We chatted for a few minutes about the various booths, and when our coffees were ready, the four of us moved to one of the plastic tables set up near the coffee booth. Tom and Carl seemed to be in good spirits.

  “How is your shift going?” I asked the guys.

  “Everything seems great,” Tom said.

  “Yeah, it’s a quiet night,” Carl agreed. “And we got to have coffee with you ladies, so that makes it doubly good.”

  “It’s still early, though,” Tom said. “There’s still time for mayhem.”

  We all chuckled, but deep down inside, I hoped that he hadn’t jinxed himself.

  “Welp, even though it’s a quiet night, duty calls,” Tom said as we finished our drinks. “Carl and I had better get back out there.”

  We kissed the guys goodbye, and then Camille and I went back to our booth to check on Ginny and Crystal. They were both smiling, and our stock was starting to look low. The two women had done an excellent job selling the shop’s wares.

  Since the fair was due to close at eight, I started going over what items we’d sold out and also what special orders they’d taken while Camille and I were away from the booth. All in all, the little fair had been great for business.

  “Hey, Cathy, have you been over to Giles Antique Jewelry yet?” Camille asked as I closed my laptop.

  “The store a few blocks over?” I asked.

  “Yeah, they’ve been open for a bit and I wondered if you’d dropped in yet.”

  “Have you?” I asked.

  “Nope, but I want to. I love that old jewelry as much as you. I was excited when they moved in,” Camille said.

  “We’re doing fine here,” Ginny said. “Crystal and I don’t mind finishing everything up and closing down the booth. Why don’t the two of you go over to the antique place before they close? Maybe you can treat yourselves for the holidays.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “Camille and I don’t mind working until the fair closes.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Crystal said. “We’ve got it all under control.”

  “Well, then let’s go,” Camille said. “I’d love to check it out.”

  Even bundled up, it was a chilly night for a walk, but there was a full moon out. The entire town was decorated with holiday wreaths and lights. It was a beautiful, magic walk to the antique jewelry store.

  When we got to the shop, it was still open. Camille opened the door and held it for me. I froze in place when I saw that some of the cases were broken into.

  Most of the jewelry was missing from the main case, and there was glass sparkling like ice all over the floor. Someone had smashed them to bits.

  “The owner’s name is Jim, right?” I asked Camille. “Jim Giles?”

  “That’s right,” Camille said.

  “Jim!” I called out. “Jim, are you in here?”

  No one answered.

  “That’s not good,” Camille said.

  “Maybe they were robbed while the people working were in the back or something,” I said.

  “Then where are they now?” Camille asked. “Why didn’t they call the police?”

  “I’m going to go check the back,” I said. “There’s got to be an explanation for this.”

  “Be careful,” Camille said. “I’m going to call the guys now.”

  I continued to walk to the back, but anxiety gripped my gut. What if the robber was still there? I could have been walking into a dangerous situation.

  But I couldn’t stop myself from walking. It was like something else had taken over my feet, and no matter how much I told them to stop, they kept going.

  It was so quiet that I reasoned no one could possibly be back there. If the robber w
as hiding, they were completely silent.

  As soon as I pushed the door open, my heart sank. Two people lay on the floor. Both of them were face down, and I couldn’t see them breathing.

  Still, I hoped that there was a chance they were alive. I rushed over and checked their pulse. I didn’t have to look for a heartbeat, though. Both of them were cold and had been dead for a long time.

  I quickly walked back out to the front of the store. “Tell them they’re dead,” I said to Camille.

  Her face went pale as a sheet, but she told them what I’d said. “Yes, we will.” She took the phone away from her face and looked at me. “They said to go outside.”

  We went back out through the front doors and waited on the sidewalk for Tom and Carl to arrive. Camille stayed on the phone with Carl since Tom was driving. He didn’t want to hang up until they arrived just to be sure we were safe.

  It didn’t make me feel safe.

  Chapter Two

  They arrived a few minutes later but standing out in the cold while we were terrified made it feel like an hour. I was relieved to see them, though, but all that did was take away the feeling of panic and replace it with a heavy feeling of sadness.

  “They’re in the back,” I said as Tom and Carl got out of the cruiser.

  “You wait here and make sure they are safe,” Carl said. “I’ll clear the building.”

  Carl went inside and cleared the jewelry store. He came back out and told Tom it was clear before calling the paramedics.

  “We’ll interview you after the paramedics arrive,” Tom said. “Unfortunately, we’ll need you to wait. I know it’s cold, but you can wait in the back of the cruiser.”

  “Everyone will think we’re under arrest,” I said. “It’s okay. I’ll wait out here. Camille?”

  “Yeah, I don’t want to have to deal with the rumors that we’re murderers,” Camille said. “We’re bundled up enough. We’ll be fine for a little while.”

  The paramedics only took a few minutes to arrive, but by the time they got there, I’d kinda started to wish we’d gotten in the cruiser.

  They went inside and came back out quickly. “There’s nothing we can do,” one of them said.

  I already knew that, but there was procedure. They officially called the medical examiner and began putting crime scene tape up to keep people out of the scene.

  Carl took me off to one side and Tom took Camille off to another. “Did you see anything suspicious?” he asked.

  “Well, you know we were at the craft fair, and we walked over here. Camille said we should check the place out since we both love antique jewelry. I agreed. When we got here, there was nothing odd. The lights were on and the door was unlocked. It wasn’t until we stepped inside that I noticed there was a problem,” I said.

  “You didn’t see anyone leaving the store?” Carl asked.

  “No, I didn’t see anyone,” I said. “It was really quiet when we went in too. There couldn’t have been anyone alive in the building.”

  “Well, since you guys didn’t see anything, we’re going to let you go on and get out of the cold. We know where to find you if we need to talk to you again.”

  Camille joined me as the guys went inside the jewelry store. “We’ve still got time to help them close up the fair. Maybe we should go,” she said.

  “Yeah, I don’t feel like going home just yet. Let’s do that,” I said.

  We walked fast back to the high school. The whole time I felt like there might be a murderer in the dark waiting to jump out at us.

  “Their names were Jim and Andrea,” Camille said.

  “So, that was Jim, the owner?” I asked.

  “Yes, and Andrea Bacon. She worked there as their accountant. She’s Hailey’s best friend,” Camille added.

  “Oh, no,” I said. “That’s horrible. I mean, it’s horrible that they died anyway, but Hailey is going to be devastated.”

  We got back to the craft fair, and Ginny and Crystal were surprised to see us. “I thought you guys were going to the jewelry store,” Ginny said.

  “We did,” I said and took a deep breath. “But when we got there, we found Jim and Andrea dead in the back.”

  “That’s not funny,” Ginny said. “That’s not funny at all.”

  “She’s not joking,” Camille said gravely.

  “I’m not,” I said. “I would never joke around like that. It looked like they were killed during a robbery.”

  After that, everyone just quietly packed up the booth. No one really knew what to say, but I had the feeling we all hoped we didn’t see Hailey. None of us wanted to be the one to tell her. I figured it was better for Andrea’s family to do that anyway. At least that way, it would be certain that they found out first. Finding out they’d lost Andrea from the rumor mill would be awful.

  One thing was for sure, I was starting to feel as though I was cursed. But since I’d found the bodies, I felt like I was already involved in the case. While I probably should have stayed out of it, there was little chance that was going to happen.

  When I got back to my apartment, my next-door neighbor Mark, was on his way out the door to go to his bartending job. “Hey, Cathy,” he said cheerfully as he put his key in the deadbolt and locked his door.

  “Hey, Mark,” I said and tried to sound upbeat. I failed.

  “You all right, Cathy?”

  I told him about the robbery and murders. His face fell when I was done telling the story.

  “It seems like dangerous times we live in,” he said.

  “Yeah, but living in a small town is supposed to be safe,” I said.

  “A jewelry store robbery isn’t something you expect around here. I’ll give you that,” Mark said. “I’m sure the police can handle it. They’re good guys. I’ve got to go to work. Unless you need me. I could call and tell them I’ll be late.”

  “No, it’s all right. I’ll be okay,” I said. “Thank you for offering.”

  “Any time you need anything, Cathy. Just let me know.”

  “Thanks, Mark.”

  When I went inside my apartment, Gracie bounded off the sofa to greet me. She did her “happy to see you” butt-wiggle dance, and instantly brightened my mood.

  “Thanks, baby,” I said as I knelt and let her give me kisses. “I’m happy to see you too. Happier than you know.”

  I knew with the murders, I wouldn’t be seeing Tom at all that night. I didn’t really feel like cooking either, so I quickly placed an online order for some sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls.

  Once my order was in, I grabbed Gracie’s leash. We walked around the block while I waited for my food delivery. The whole time I felt exposed, like someone could jump out at any moment and murder me. I hated that there was a killer on the loose again. At least I had Gracie with me. She was a sweet girl, but she was a big girl too. Her presence made me feel a little more secure.

  We were walking back up to the building at the same time the delivery driver arrived. He followed me upstairs and handed the food over once I got to my apartment. Food in hand, Gracie and I retired to the sofa to watch a movie.

  I’d only gotten a few minutes into it when my phone rang. It was Camille, and she was still shaken up from the murder.

  “We could have walked in on them being killed.” Camille’s voice was quaking. “We could have been killed too. If we’d been maybe a few minutes earlier,” she said before starting to cry. “It’s just so awful and scary.”

  “I’m having a hard time getting it out of my head too,” I said. “If you want, you could come over and spend the night. Maybe we’ll feel safer if we’re not alone.”

  “I was hoping you’d ask,” Camille said. “So much so that I’m already packed. I can be there in, like, ten minutes.”

  “You didn’t have to wait for me to ask, Camille. You’re always welcome here. You could have just come over,” I said. “I’ve got enough Chinese food for both of us.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Camille said.

  She arrived almost exactly ten minutes later. The Chinese place had been generous with their portions, so there was enough sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and egg rolls for both of us.

  I split the food up on plates, and we both plopped onto the couch. Gracie curled up next to me. I think she could sense that I felt better with Camille around.

  Once we’d devoured the Chinese food, I paused the movie so I could go into the kitchen and make us some hot cocoa. Camille’s face brightened.