Pound Cake Predator

  Pound Cake Predator

  by

  Constance Barker

  Copyright © 2020 Constance Barker

  All rights reserved.

  Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  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

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Thanks for Reading

  Catalog of Books

  Chapter 1

  Pink and red paper hearts filled the interior of The Mad Batter. It was nearly Valentine’s Day, and I was by myself icing and decorating dozens of heart-shaped cookies at my most breakneck yet attentive to detail speed. My heart shaped mini pound cakes were baking in the oven. Soon I'd have to fix the red icing that would adorn them.

  Normally, this would have been the perfect task for Scooter, but he'd been whisked away to compete on the set of Game of Scones, a reality competition show featuring the best bakery decorators. Truthfully, I couldn’t be more proud. He was not only being featured on my favorite type of television, but he was also getting the recognition he deserved. Scooter had been doing really well lately, even going so far as to bring in and execute projects for local clients.

  But Masie was supposed to be here, and I couldn’t figure out where she was. I kept looking to the door expecting to see her frizzy blonde hair and bright red lipstick, but she was nowhere to be found.

  I desperately needed her help if I was going to get all of this work done before the holiday. I was already running through the lecture I was going to give her when my cell phone rang and her name popped up on the screen.

  “Masie, where are you?” I asked. “I’m up to my elbows in sugar cookies here and you know Scooter isn’t in right now.”

  “I know, but I have the best news,” Masie practically shouted into the phone. “I’m getting married.”

  I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she let out an excited screech.

  “You’re getting married? To whom? When?” I figured that these shouldn’t be questions you need to ask when one of your best friends gets engaged, but Masie was always the spontaneous type so while she might be looking to cross the finish line, I had to start at the beginning.

  “Right now. I’m in Vegas.” She was filled with giggles.

  “Masie, it’s almost Valentine’s Day,” I said. “I need you here.”

  “I know. Isn’t it romantic?” She said, sighing into the phone and apparently ignoring that it was one of our busiest times.

  “When are you going to be back?” I asked.

  “No more than a few days,” she said. “I have to go though, Coco. It’s almost time.”

  “Okay, Masie. Best of luck,” I said before hanging up.

  I heard the little bell that signaled when someone came into the bakery. I left my sugar cookies to go help the new customer.

  Thankfully, instead of another large group with complicated orders, I found Vivian and Stella.

  “Coco, are you here all by yourself?” Stella asked. Her blonde hair was in a braid that rested over her coat.

  “I am,” I admitted. “I’m glad it’s just you two. I’ve been getting slammed today, and I still have cookies to ice.”

  “Masie isn’t back there?”

  “She’s off getting married.”

  Vivian’s eyebrows nearly shot up to her hairline. Her bright red bob was covered by a cap to protect against the cold weather.

  “Married?” She exclaimed. “To who?”

  I thought about it for a moment. “Honestly, I didn’t ask. The last I knew she was still single.”

  Vivian and Stella exchanged a look. Being two unabashed gossips, I knew that this was going to spread like wildfire.

  “I guess love is in the air,” Vivian said.

  “Yeah. It must be Franklin’s doing. I think every woman over the age of fifty besides you two have come in here to get him some sort of treat.”

  Stella scoffed. “The people here are far too sentimental. They do know he isn’t really Elvis right?”

  “Even if they do, they’re going to buy off my supply before I have a chance to refill it,” I said with a sigh.

  “Why don’t we help you, Coco dear,” Stella offered. “You focus on your cookies. We’ll take care of the front up here.”

  I thought about protesting, but then I saw through the front window a large group of older women making their way towards The Mad Batter.

  “I’ll be in the back,” I said. I rushed off to work on icing more cookies. I could hear Stella and Vivian whispering about Franklin’s groupies as they approached the shop.

  From the back, I could hear Stella and Vivian interacting with customers.

  “You want two dozen cookies?” Stella asked a customer. “Do they happen to be for Franklin? Well, I heard he’s already accepted Beatrice’s cookies, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

  “Beatrice?” Vivian interjected. “Did you hear that from her? I know for a fact that she’s been at home knitting every night this week. She’s hardly gone on any dates.”

  Suddenly, I heard shrieks coming from the front of the store. I rushed out from the back to see what was happening.

  At the front of the store, I saw none other than The King, Elvis Presley.

  Really, it was Franklin, but I had to admit it was a good impression. Everyone in the shop except Stella, Vivian and me was cheering and fanning themselves. They clamored to the front of the store to get closer to him.

  Franklin struck a pose and began to sing. Again, I had to admit he was pretty good, but it was not the time nor the place.

  Before, when customers came in, they were unruly in their excitement. Now, with him right in front of them, they were turning into teenage girls seeing the latest heartthrob.

  Stella shook her head. “You would think they had never seen a man before.”

  “This is truly turning out to be the worst Valentine’s day since my divorce,” I said.

  “Really? Even with Logan to take you on a romantic date?” Vivian asked.

  “It’s too much pressure,” I said. “I just want him to feel like he can relax.”

  Franklin started up a second song. A bra flew through the air towards him. My jaw dropped open.

  “Holy spice balls! We need to shut this down before any granny panties are displayed in my front window,” I said.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t speak soon enough. Women started throwing their freshly made orders as well. Soon, it seemed like half of my cakes were flying through the air.

  “Alright, folk
s. The show is over,” Stella yelled. She started corralling the mob of Elvis fans towards the door. Vivian worked on getting Franklin out.

  As soon as Vivian got Franklin outside, the crowd followed. I was left with a completely trashed bakery.

  I really hated Valentine’s day.

  Chapter 2

  I wiped my forehead. Finally, The Mad Batter was back to its usual state.

  “Thanks again for your help,” I said to Vivian and Stella. “I really couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Oh it’s no trouble, dear,” Stella said as she dumped the last bit of cake in the dustpan into the garbage. “This would have been quite the mess to clean up by yourself.”

  “I know,” I said. “Without you two I would have been well and truly sunk.”

  “Well, in that case, I think it’s time for these old ladies to go home,” Stella said, linking her arm with Vivian’s. “Good night, Coco.”

  “Good night,” I said.

  Vivian and Stella left and went back to the retirement village. However, my work was not quite done.

  I walked to the back and prepped as many cookies and cakes as I could for tomorrow. I made chocolate covered strawberries and heart-shaped sugar cookies until my storage was overflowing. Then, I finally decided to call it a day.

  I got into my car and made my way over to Rose’s house. I knocked on the door, and Rose promptly answered it.

  Rose was a raven-haired bombshell who could never stand to see a mess. I could see that her home was meticulous as always, even when she was in the middle of taking up a new hobby.

  “Coco, you finally made it,” she said. “Come in. Logan is already here.”

  Logan stepped into my line of sight and raised a mug. “Hi, Coco. Long day at work?”

  I stepped inside. Rose took my coat and hung it up in the entryway closet.

  I traded warm smiles with Logan. He made me all warm and fuzzy inside, much less grumpy than before, with those charming dimples of his.

  “I think that was the longest day of my life,” I said. “Franklin Briars came into the bakery and his granny groupies totally trashed the place. There was cake everywhere. And a few bras.”

  Rose cringed. “They were throwing...undergarments? Don’t they have any shame?”

  “Not when Franklin is around,” Logan said. “The other night I was on duty and heard a woman scream and clutch her chest. I was about to perform CPR when I realized that it was just her reaction to Franklin.”

  We all laughed at that. It seemed that Franklin was having a strong effect on everyone.

  “How is the cheese making going, Rose?” I asked.

  “Oh, the brie is still aging, but I have fresh mozzarella. Let me go get it.”

  She went off to the kitchen and returned with a perfectly arranged charcuterie board and a box of chocolates.

  “I thought we could snack a bit while we talked,” she said, setting everything down on the coffee table.

  We continued to talk and laugh for the next hour. Before we knew it, we had cleared the charcuterie board and eaten all of the chocolates.

  I was surprised to see Logan reach for way more chocolate than he normally did, but I took it as a sign that not only was it good, but he was comfortable. More relaxed with me and my friends.

  I looked at my phone. “I should get going. I still need to feed your cat.”

  “I’ll take her back soon,” Rose said. “I just need to finish making this batch. I don’t want her getting into the cheese.”

  “Here, Coco. Let me walk you out,” Logan said. He stood up and took my hand to help me up.

  His hand continued to linger around mine even after I stood.

  “Good night, Rose,” I said.

  “Good night, Coco.”

  Logan walked me out to my car, keeping close to me.

  “I’m glad I was able to see you tonight,” he said.

  “Me too. It was a nice reprieve from the Franklin chaos.”

  “Don’t let him occupy too much of your mind,” he said. “If I have to learn a few Elvis ballads to stay at the front of your mind, I’ll do it.”

  I laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me forgetting about you, but if you’d like to serenade me anyway, I’d like to see that.”

  I got in my car and drove off. When I got home, I found Rose’s cat asleep on the couch. I filled up her bowl and got settled in next to her.

  However, before I could really relax, I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket. Stella was calling.

  “Hey Stella,” I greeted.

  “Coco, you have to come quick,” Stella said. “It’s urgent. Franklin has been killed. They’re saying Vivian did it.”

  The room began to spin as I felt my heart race.

  “What? What happened?” I said, standing up.

  “He’s been murdered. He was dumped on Vivian’s porch. Everyone here is calling the police to say that Vivian hated him and that she has to be guilty. Oh, and I just know Agnes and her weasely little secretary are half way down here with the intent of harassing poor Vivian.”

  “I’m on my way. Just stay there,” I said, grabbing my car keys.

  “Please hurry, Coco. I think Vivian is on the verge of having a fit.”

  I rushed down to the retirement village. When I got there, the police had strung up tape all around Vivian’s porch. Everyone else had come out of their homes and were watching the police do their investigation as close as they could get. Stella and Vivian were off to the side.

  I rushed over to talk to them.

  “Vivian, are you alright?” I asked.

  “It was all so sudden,” she said, clearly shaken. “He was just there on my porch. I don’t know how or why.”

  I saw Logan’s car pull up, and he stepped out of it. Even though I had just seen him, his demeanor had changed entirely. He stopped to talk with the other officers for a moment before coming over to us. He pulled out a notepad and pen.

  “Alright, Vivian. Can you tell me what happened?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I just opened the door to the porch and there he was,” she said.

  “I bet this has to do with his former life in Las Vegas,” Stella interrupted. “You know, he was involved in all sorts of shady business over there.”

  “We don’t know what happened yet,” Logan said. “It could have just as easily been something that went on here.”

  I saw him eye up Vivian for a second before looking back down at his notes. He was looking at her like she was a suspect.

  Stella noticed this too. “Yes, but maybe you should start with one of his girlfriends. I hear he was dating half of the village.”

  “I’ll be getting to them too, I’m sure,” Logan responded. “But for now, we need to focus on Vivian.”

  Chapter 3

  My tired limbs couldn’t help but protest as we moved several tattered suitcases and even some furniture from Vivian’s modest home into Stella’s.

  “I still don’t understand why I can’t be in my house,” Vivian pouted. “It’s not like there’s any evidence in there.”

  “You heard Logan,” Stella said as she opened up a closet door for me. “They have to be sure. So until they’re sure, you’re moving in with me. No arguments!”

  “I won’t argue but I don’t have to like it.”

  “You’d better like it with as much stuff that you packed.”

  It was true. The woman packed as though going on vacation for a couple of weeks, rather than moving next door for what was hopefully to be only a few days. But it was the least I could do, especially after the ladies had helped me in the café earlier in the day. Had it really only been one day? It seemed ages ago.

  I gave each of the women a hug, “It’ll be alright, Viv, you’ll see. Just try to get some rest.” A yawn cut me off and Stella smiled fondly at her. I held up a hand to stop the words, “Ah, don’t worry, I’m headed home to do the same. Another busy day tomorrow.” Busier now.

  “You’r
e a sweetheart, dear. Thank you so much for coming over in my dire hour.” Vivian waved me goodbye, the color coming back to her cheeks after the scare as she prepared to dive into the part.

  I climbed into my car, Daisy, and took off for home with more enthusiasm than I could muster at the early hour. Once in bed, after feeding Rose’s cat, I looked to the clock and calculated maybe another three hours of sleep before it was time to head back into the bakery.

  But my time to sleep ticked down as I considered the bizarre events of the evening. Who would kill a weird old Elvis impersonator? And why? It wasn’t as though there was an overabundance of senior King acts in town. And he had certainly seemed popular, among a certain demographic at least.

  And that wasn’t even the strangest part; why dump the body on Vivian’s porch? What could she have to do with it? Or...why did someone want her involved? Sure, the Stella-Vivian duo could be a bit...caustic on occasion. Well...often. But that didn’t exactly lend itself to framing either of them for murder. Did it?

  I ROLLED OVER AND CHECKED the time again. I groaned. Three hours had turned to one while I pondered. And at that point, it was hardly worth it. The cat, of course, was sleeping soundly at my feet and didn’t bother to look up as I got out of bed and headed for the shower.

  For what seemed like the first time in a while, I made it to the bakery before anyone else. From the front it looked clean and organized but as I started to fill the case with cakes and other treats, Valentine’s Day was looming large. There were dozens of orders already, several of custom difficulty. Plus the specials...

  I took a breath and started on a batch of dark chocolate port truffles. I could frost some cakes while the pan cooled and then once the front of the store was taken care of I could come back to scoop and roll them. I really wished Masie would come back soon, but I understood that love was unpredictable. The repetitive familiar work helped to settle my mind and the quiet of the shop let the problems of the world fade away for a short while.

  Then the small bell above the door jingled and I was startled out of my decorative daze. Looking to the front, I felt a smile break across my face as Rose gave me a wave.