Deadly desserts a small.., p.1
Deadly Desserts: A Small Town Culinary Cozy Mystery, page 1
Deadly Desserts
A Small Town Culinary Cozy Mystery
The Cozy Café Mysteries
Book 5
C. A. Phipps
Dedication
For my husband, who makes my life better every day.
Cheryl 💜
Deadly Desserts is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by C. A. Phipps Deadly Desserts
All rights reserved.
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.
Cover by StunningBookCovers Copyright © 2023
Contents
Deadly Desserts
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
Epilogue
Beagles Love Cupcake Crimes
Recipes
Pumpkin Pie
Also by C. A. Phipps
Books by Cheryl Phipps
About the author
Deadly Desserts
A plea from the past cannot be ignored!
While her sisters fought hard to keep the cafe alive, Ruby Finch had her eye on becoming the town librarian. It took a death for that to come about which wasn’t ideal.
Now she's helping her fiancé with his new diner, the site of a murder and then arson, and wondering why bad things keep happening.
When she finds a note with a plea for help, Ruby can’t agree with the sheriff that it is a hoax or a joke. Thankfully her sisters trust her intuition. The three of them dig deep into a rich family’s history knowing it isn’t welcome.
Knowing it could be very dangerous.
The Cozy Café mysteries are light, cozy mysteries featuring a family-focused café owner, a librarian, and an antiques dealer who discover they are talented amateur sleuths—and magnets for animals.
Other books in the series:
Book 1 Sweet Saboteur
Book 2 Candy Corruption
Book 3 Mocha Mayhem
Book 4 Berry Betrayal
Book 5 Deadly Desserts
Enjoy a FREE recipe or two in every book!
Join my new release mailing list and pick up a free recipe book!
Chapter One
Ruby smiled wistfully as she stood at the library window sharing the view of Main Street with George, the Finch family’s large tabby cat. The hustle and bustle in and around the Cozy Café up the street tugged at her heart—some days more than others. As much as she loved her job as the town’s librarian, she missed baking with her two sisters in the café their mother had owned. Now that the three of them had their lives more or less sorted, that naturally meant spending less time together.
Perhaps sensing her nostalgia, a wet nose nudged her hand and she absently scratched Bob the chocolate Labrador's ears. The dog had been asleep under her desk and now he whined. She crouched to hug him. “What’s the matter boy?”
“He knows I am here.” A big hand touched her shoulder, accompanying the gruff voice. Gruff, yet also filled with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Sheesh!” Ruby stood clutching her throat. A giant of a man, Alexander moved with the grace of a cat. “You scared me half to death, but yeah I’m fine. Just being silly. I miss my sisters.”
His blue eyes blinked in astonishment. “I am sorry that I frightened you, I did not sneak, but you were deep in thought. Tell me how it is possible to miss Scarlett and Violet when you live in the same house and see them every day?”
“See?” She raised both hands. “Feeling blue about it is ridiculous.”
“You could never be ridiculous,” the big Russian said, clearly upset that she would take his words to heart.
She patted one of his bulging biceps. “Thank you. My weird mood is obviously due to all the recent changes in our lives. While we do live in the same house, it feels like we’re drifting apart. I don’t like it.”
Alex gently lifted her chin with a finger. “Then you must prevent it from getting worse,” he told her matter-of-factly, as if this were the easiest thing in the world to do. “Or reverse it.”
“Reverse it? How can I do that?”
His brows knitted and then he smiled. “You like to bake together. Why not spend an hour every morning at your mother’s bakery making your favorite cakes before you open the library and Violet’s antique store?”
She gasped at the simplicity of it. “And that answer is one more reason why I love you.”
He kissed her nose. “Tell me more of these reasons.”
Though she loved his attention, Ruby placed a palm against his shirt, feeling the hard lines of his chest beneath. “Oh no you don’t. I have work to do and your diner is due to open in a few days. I’m pretty sure you have plenty to keep you occupied as well.”
He gave a slight bow. “You are right as always. I have been ticking off the list you made for all the little things you say I must organize.”
“Trust me, you’ll be glad when you open and everything is at your fingertips. You’re going to be so busy that if you don’t do it now, you’ll be at sixes and sevens.”
He frowned so hard that she almost laughed. He didn’t always understand her Americanisms and it frustrated him. Born near the Ukraine border, Alex desperately wanted to be considered one of them and she wanted him to believe he was. No one could look at Alexander and think he had confidence issues, but they were there alright.
“It means that you will be in a mess,” she explained.
“I do not wish that,” he said fervently.
“No you don’t, my love.” She tapped his nose. “Not if you want repeat customers.”
The frown did not leave and she stood on tiptoe to smooth his forehead with her fingertips. “Are you still worried about the menu?”
He nodded sadly. “I want the people in Cozy Hollow to like my food.”
“They will. I promise.”
The look on his face was a mixture of doubt and hope. He wanted to believe her, but having had many promises broken in the past, mainly from his father, he was wary of them. “How can you know this for sure?”
“Because me and my sisters know food, and we say so. Everything you make is delicious. Honestly, the fusion of Russian and American cuisine is a winner,” she gushed, knowing it was the truth.
He considered this and his eventual smile lit the slightly dim library like no light ever could.
“Like you and me?”
“Exactly.” Happy now that they were both reassured, Ruby kissed his cheek before walking him to the front door. “Thanks again for picking up those boxes from Gail Norman yesterday afternoon.”
He shrugged and flexed his muscles. “It was nothing. I hope you have a good day and I will have lunch ready for you at 12 o’clock.”
Ruby tried not to plead. “Just a salad will be fine.”
He shook his head firmly. “I think not. I need to practice as much as I can.”
“So, I’m your guinea pig again?” she teased.
He grimaced. “You are a flower, not some pig.”
A snort escaped her. He’d get the hang of the language a lot better now that he wasn’t hiding away in a woodcutter's hut as he had done since his father, a rich businessman, brought him into the country several years ago. Now that everyone knew his parentage there were no secrets and Alex could be whoever he wanted to be. Which just happened to be a chef in his own diner.
He kissed her goodbye and Ruby’s toes curled. She could never imagine getting tired of her giant and his unique personality. He was so focused and determined and yet in his mind he wasn’t convinced he was good enough. Her mission was to make him see that he was better than good. He was talented and truly cared about people.
She sighed as she watched him stroll down the street, his movements fluid and graceful. The large black dog who had been waiting outside, and was disdainful of being inside anywhere, nudged Alex’s hand until it rested on the football sized head. They were a good pair. Crossing the road they disappeared around the back of the diner.
Ruby shook herself back to reality and returned to her desk and the boxes waiting there. Using one of the old cloths she kept for this purpose, she wiped the top of the first one. Though covered in dust, inside were treasures and she opened it with excitement building.
George came to sit on the desk, looking decidedly annoyed that he had such little space.
“Stop glaring at me. You have the whole library to stret
He gave her a disdainful glance and made his way back to a patch of sunshine coming in the front window. Bob stayed with her and curled around a desk leg. It seemed like she spent half her day trying not to trip over the big goofball, but somehow she didn’t mind at all.
She grinned and reached into the box. The first book was an early edition of Jane Austen and the others on this layer looked to be of the same era. Her heart fluttered. Not in the way Alex made it flutter, but this was another kind of love. Books made her heart sing. As many as she could get her hands on would never be enough and putting them into the hands of other people who loved them too was a passion that would never wane.
Ruby did have a huge issue. A part of her wanted to personally keep special books like this. Unfortunately, it warred with her desire to have them available to all customers. However a book from the 1800’s wouldn’t be suitable for lending to multiple people at a library.
She held the book reverently and opened it carefully, prepared to worry about the logistics later. It was so well kept, despite the appearance of the boxes, and she felt sure the others would be in just as good a condition. Flicking the pages slowly, she smiled at the smell and old-fashioned typeset.
A piece of paper slipped to the floor.
She replaced the book and bent to pick it up. Her eyes widening as the first words stood out from all the rest.
Help me.
I am an unworthy embarrassment to the family.
Someone to be hidden away.
I just want to be free.
Ruby’s breath came quickly as she turned the note over in her hand. There was no signature and nothing else. Who wrote it? And, more importantly, when?
Chapter Two
The front door opened and the sudden breeze made the note flutter in Ruby’s hand.
“Hey, Rubes. I saw Alex leave and thought I’d pop over before anyone else arrives and check if you opened ...” Violet Finch stopped as she reached the desk and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
It was annoying that she wore her feelings so openly, but Ruby was glad to see her middle sister. “I just found this.” She handed Violet the note.
“Wow! That’s intense. Where was it?”
“In this book.” Ruby pulled it back out of the box and gave it to her sister.
“Can I assume that these are the books from the Swanson estate?”
Ruby waved her hand at the four boxes on the desk. “They all are.”
“To think that I only stopped by to see if there were any suitable books you would part with for my store.” Violet snorted. “I wasn’t expecting a mystery.”
There was a moment's silence as they swapped a look of disbelief. Since their mom’s death they had been embroiled in one mystery after another and while it was no longer shocking, it was always a surprise.
“It wasn’t on my radar either,” Ruby told her.
Violet nodded. “She did mention it but remind me how Gail Norman got these books to donate to the library.”
“When her cousin Agatha Swanson passed away, Agatha’s son Edgar wanted everything out of the house. He let the family come and choose from things he didn’t want. Gail said most of the good stuff was gone by the time she got there and was scared all the remaining books would get dumped. Then she thought of me and the library.”
“There must be quite a few in these boxes. Are they all this good?”
“I won’t know until I open them. To be honest, when Gail said that they were old, it occurred to me that some might suit your store better than the library. I want to have as wide a range as I can fit in, but people keep giving me their cast-offs.” Ruby sighed. “Which is lovely when they’re in decent condition and others might be interested, but often they aren’t either of those things and the donors are merely getting rid of junk—a word I hate to use in connection with books.” She touched the box reverently. “Unlike these beauties.”
It made Ruby sad to discard any book no matter the condition. What she couldn’t use, if they had some life left in them, she sent to the school in an even smaller town where Alex had lived before he moved here. Harmony Beach was a poor community; despite the wealth of the wood industry it had grown from. That industry was represented in the area by the Carver Corporation—owned by Alex’s father, who was not her favorite person due to how he had treated his illegitimate son.
Violet turned the book over in her hand. “Well, if they are all like this, they’ll definitely be worth something.”
Pushing down the residual anger over thinking of how Alex had been hurt by a man who should have done better, Ruby smiled. “If you help me pull them all out, we can look through them together and speed up the process.”
“Quit the over-sweet expression. You are so good at getting people to do stuff for you, but I think you forget that I’m your sister and I know your games.”
Ruby sniffed. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Sure you don’t,” Violet scoffed and proceeded to pull the books out and carefully lay them on a small table Ruby had set up behind the desk for this purpose. “You’re in luck I can spare an hour or two now. Gail’s in the shop early this morning and I told her I might be a while.”
“It’s really working out for the two of you sharing the premises. And you’re the best,” Ruby simpered, earning her a rolling of eyes and she laughed. It never failed to give her a warm buzz that she and Violet had found their passion and were living their dreams in their home town. She considered that a librarian and an antique dealer were also somewhat alike. They both loved to take care of the items in their possession and understood the value of them, which was not always monetary. Although, that did cause a slight conundrum for Ruby.
“If you take and sell some of the books, will you give Gail something?”
Violet nodded. “Definitely. I was thinking 50/50.”
Ruby smiled. “I never really doubted it, but it’s good to know for sure.”
Violet shook her head. “You and Scarlett always have to have everything in black and white.”
Scarlett the oldest of the sisters struggled with OCD and took charge of their mom’s bakery when Lilac Finch got sick and then passed away a few years ago.
Ruby shrugged. “It leaves nothing up in the air and causes less confusion that way. And I’m willing to bet that this is exactly how you treat your business when people ask the price of something and then want to beat you down.”
“Hmm. I never thought of it like that. I guess you’re right.”
Ruby shrugged. “I usually am according to Alex.”
Violet chuckled. “That man is so wrapped around your finger he’d say anything to make you happy.”
“And your point is?” Ruby feigned annoyance.
“That you are one lucky woman.”
“Now, that is the truth.” Ruby grinned. “Although, to be fair, he is also one lucky man.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “If only people heard the real Ruby, they wouldn’t have you pinned firmly as the sweet and innocent that you portray.”
“And yet you never deny it, except to the family.”
“Because we both know it wouldn’t do me a lick of good.”
They were still laughing when Scarlett came through the door with a covered plate. The smell was heavenly and they raced to her side to see what goodies she had brought them.
