A Catered Christmas Killer (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery) (2 page)

“Good morning,” Sydney said as she walked through the door.

“My wife will be with you shortly. If you just want to start getting setup in the kitchen, I’ll let her know you’re here.”

“Thanks.” Sydney followed Marcus to the kitchen and was even more surprised than she’d been when he’d first opened the door.

He left her alone and Sydney got to take stock of the space she had to work with. The Durans’ kitchen was at least as big as Sinful Sweets’ kitchen. But much brighter. And cleaner.

There was an entire row of south facing windows overlooking a patio. There were dead vines hanging from the pergola over the patio furniture, Sydney thought it could be clematis—or some other flower that was popular as a decorative piece. If Sydney had her way, she’d grow squash, pumpkins and gourds there. But this wasn’t her house.

In front of the row of windows was a shelf, overflowing with plants, including numerous fresh herbs—cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, sage, tarragon, and some that Sydney didn’t even know by sight. She was surprised that they were growing as well as they were in December. She could smell the freshness of the room and her excitement grew to be working in such a space.

Below the shelf of herbs was an immaculate granite countertop, stretching the length of the windows. It was at least ten feet long, a double sink in the middle.

Below the counter were more cupboards of storage space than Sydney had seen in any house. The wooden cupboard doors had windows in them—maybe refurbished—so she could easily evaluate what she’d be working with. She could tell that this kitchen was well stocked and she’d have everything she’d need at her fingertips.

She hadn’t unloaded what she’d brought, and she likely wouldn’t have to. The only thing she might bring in with her was her knife set. Years ago, before she’d taken over Sinful Sweets from Mia, she’d taken a knife skills class and completely fallen in love with the set of knives she’d learned on. She’d bought them on the spot, her only true impulse buy for her kitchen. She kept them sharpened, sending them in for service twice a year, and had one of them engraved as an extra indulgence for herself.

The kitchen was decorated for the holidays. There were jars of festive colored M&Ms, multiple poinsettia plants and she could smell scented candles burning. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it was the Christmas Cookie scent. The decorations gave the otherwise sterile house a false sense of coziness.

In the center of the huge kitchen was an island, complete with a raised area for dining, plugs to give power to cooking tools, and another double sink. She took a seat on one of the bar stools along the dining area of the island and waited for Julia to join her. She toyed with the edge of the festive placemat in front of her, lace trimmed to give the impression of snow.

She didn’t have to wait long. Julia walked confidently into the kitchen, a woman on a mission. Two cats trailed their way into the kitchen behind her. “Hi Sydney. Thanks for coming today. I know most hosts probably don’t ask their caterer to come on Thursday, but I’m just so anxious to get underway I couldn’t wait until Friday. Can I get you some tea?” Julia asked, friendlier than Sydney remembered her from the multiple interviews she’d attended.

To get this job, Sydney had met Julia three times—but never at her home. The first had been at an all natural grocery store. They’d walked the aisles together, Julia grilling Sydney on the kinds of ingredients she used at her bakery. Sydney had aced that interview, since she used only all natural products and enough organic items to know her way around the store. Julia had been impressed that Sydney even custom ordered produce from local farms where she knew the farmer and exactly what was used on the crops.

The second interview had been at Sinful Sweets. Julia had asked Sydney to make a variety of her signature desserts, including something specific for Christmas. Sydney had made her gluten free pumpkin pie, gingerbread cookies, and gevulde koeken—an almond paste cookie that was a Dutch tradition her grandparents had brought over from The Netherlands when they’d emigrated from there in the late 1930s. Sydney had hoped that the uniqueness of the final treat would leave Julia with a memorable experience.

The final interview had again been at Sinful Sweets. But this time, Julia just sat back and watched. She wanted to see how Sydney interacted with her customers. That was easy for Sydney. She had so many regulars from the small town of Twin Peaks, that she hadn’t even prepared for this final part of the interview process. She knew the families of all of her regulars and could easily ask them about the current happenings of their lives. And Maple was an added bonus. She was everybody’s best friend and made for an easy ice breaker for any new customers.

Julia had hired Sydney on the spot as soon as Sinful Sweets had closed after watching her for two hours with her customers. She could see that she was a people person, was truly invested in making delicious desserts for her customers, and had a gut feeling that professionalism would carry over to the Durans’ Christmas party.

Sydney had been over the moon, and being in the kitchen now, she was soaring even higher.

“Tea would be nice,” Sydney said. “Herbal, no caffeine, please.”

“Mint?” Julia asked, opening a cupboard above the counter to the left of all the windows, the cats still following her. She didn’t seem to notice their presence.

“Perfect.”

Julia put water on to boil in the kettle, took out two teacups and filled two loose leaf tea holders with dried mint leaves.

“I make it myself,” Julia said, pride in her voice, finally picking up one of the cats. “These are Cocoa and Mocha.” Julia was clearly smitten with the two calico cats who had eyes for no one else.

The two women made small talk until they each had a cup of homemade mint tea to sip from.

“I’d love to go over your menu,” Julia said, getting down to business.

“The party starts at five, and you’re expecting up to 100 guests. So I’ve planned for the full amount,” Sydney explained. She placed the menu in front of Julia:

5-8pm—Hors d'oeuvres

Deviled Eggs

Ham Quiches

Spinach Quiches

Cheese Quiches

Shrimp Scampi

Kale Chips

Artisan Bread

Black Bean Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Rosemary Dipping Oil

Balsamic Dipping Oil

7-10pm—Desserts

Gevulde Koeken (Almond Paste Cookies)

Gingerbread Cookies

Almond Snowballs

Pomegranate Parfaits

Eggnog

“I’ve left off drinks, as you had mentioned there would be a fully stocked bar and a bartender hired separately,” Sydney said, as Julia inspected the menu and made various faces that Sydney couldn’t interpret.

“No problem,” Julia said, finally looking up. Sydney still couldn’t read her expression. “Do you think this will be enough food?”

“What do you want to increase?”

“The hors d'oeuvres. Let’s add two more things. How about bacon wrapped stuffed mushrooms and cheese plates?”

“Great. I’ll add those to the list.”

“I think that’ll be enough then,” Julia agreed. “I set aside the afternoon so I can go shopping with you. Do you have a list already?”

“I’ll just have to add a few things so we can add these last two items. If you’re happy with the menu, let’s get going now.”

“Great. I have a supplier I’d like to use. I used him last year for our party and gave him a heads up that I’d be coming today with you.”

Sydney could tell that Julia was not going to be a hands-off host. She’d have to get used to that since she would be at her house for the next four nights and didn’t want any personal feelings getting in the way of her professionalism.

This job was especially big for Sydney and Sinful Sweets. Not only was she running her first catering event, but the Duran family was well known within Newhall.

Marcus Duran’s great-grandfather had founded a manufacturing company at the start of the 20
th
century in Newhall. It had grown over time, but they still produced the same item—pencils. Now, Marcus and his business partner, Howard, employed nearly every individual in Newhall, as well as people from the surrounding towns. There wasn’t a soul who didn’t know them. And anyone who was anyone would be coming tonight—even some of their employees. It would be a great opportunity for Sydney to get her name out there and get more catering jobs. If she wanted to expand in the area—even with their mail order options—she would need this to go well.

Sydney and Julia arrived at Natural Wonders—the upscale grocery store in Newhall where the first interview had taken place. Julia led the way to the back and asked for the store manager, Ryan Jacobson. He came out of the back and greeted Julia like an old friend.

“I’ve been expecting you all morning!” he said as they embraced and exchanged light kisses on the cheek.

“Ryan, this is Sydney. She’ll be catering the party on Saturday, I hope that you’ll be able to make it.”

“Nice to meet you, Sydney. Yes, I’ll be there. We’ve been looking forward to it all year. Last year’s was such a success. Sydney, you have your hands full living up to the expectations that were set last year with the food.”

Sydney wasn’t worried. She was excited for the challenge.

“My wife, Stacey, must have talked about it every day since last year!” Ryan finished.

“Stacey is on my husband’s board,” Julia explained, turning to Sydney.

“This is the social event of the year!” Ryan gushed. “So, what can I get you today so you can wow everyone with the food?”

Sydney produced her list, worried that they wouldn’t be able to find enough of everything in one place. But Ryan didn’t even look fazed as he scanned it.

“I’ll call a couple guys to help get everything from the back. Just hang tight,” he said, turning back to where he’d come from.

“I gave him plenty of notice that we’d be coming in today,” Julia said, seeing the worry on Sydney’s face. They needed well over 300 eggs alone! How could he fill the entire order with no real notice of what would be on it? “He’s never let me down before.”

“I’m just going to have a look around,” Sydney said, needing a break from Julia already.

“Great, I’ll come with you. They have amazing samples—cheeses, homemade chips, nuts, anything you could possibly want to try before buying! Even sushi!” Julia exclaimed as she made a beeline for the fish counter.

Sydney didn’t want to follow, but she couldn’t deny herself a free sushi sample from an upscale place like Natural Wonders.

She was even more surprised when she saw that there were three different options to choose from—spicy tuna, smoked salmon and the go-to California roll. She picked the spicy tuna and was delighted at the richness of the flavor.

“Good, isn’t it?” Julia asked before Sydney could swallow hers.

She nodded in agreement.

“Julia,” Ryan called. “All set. Come meet us out back with your car.”

Sydney and Julia went back out front, got into Julia’s oversized SUV towing a trailer and met Ryan out back. They saw a pile of crates full of their food. “I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Julia said, seeing the awe once again on Sydney’s face.

“Can’t wait to see you on Saturday,” Ryan told Julia, with another kiss on the cheek.

“It’ll be another one to remember,” she said, a look of passion in her eyes. Sydney wasn’t sure if she was high about the upcoming party, or just being around Ryan. Was there something going on that Sydney didn’t want to know about?

***

Back at the Durans’ house, in time for a late lunch before getting to work, Sydney knew she had to snap out of her surprise at everything. She was suddenly in a world that was new to her—the wealth, the lavishness, the socialites—and she had to at least make it appear that she was used to it.