Tastes Like Murder (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 1) (10 page)

BOOK: Tastes Like Murder (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 1)
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"Grandma," I called after her. "What choice?"

She smiled, but didn't answer.

CHAPTER TEN

 

Josie tied a silver, curly ribbon around the pink plastic wrap that adorned the cookie tray. She stepped back to survey her masterpiece one last time. "What do you think?"

I looked over her shoulder. "They look great, as always. And I adore the baby carriages. They're my favorite."

"Thanks. Where the heck is Vido? These cookies have to be delivered by noon sharp."

I glanced at the clock. Eleven thirty. "Stay calm. He'll be here."

"There's a ton of that strawberry frosting left. Do you want me to freeze it?"

I thought for a moment. "No, leave it in the fridge. If we don't use it by Monday, we'll freeze it then." The bells announced we had a customer, and I patted Josie's arm. "You relax. I'll see who it is."

Josie snorted and leaned against the prep table. "I don't know who could be left. We've had everyone in here this morning except a reporter from the
National Enquirer.
"

I actually wouldn't have minded a reporter if he ended up buying something. I couldn't run a business like this, selling a cookie here and there. These people were more interested in Amanda than my products. I had to get to the bottom of this before my business suffered any further.

Gianna was seated by the window, texting. Two black, leather-bound law books the size of massive dictionaries were perched on the table in front of her. She put her phone down and got to her feet when she saw me.

"I need chocolate.
Bad
. Have you got any of the Chocolate Glazed Donut coffees? And I want Dutch cocoa cookies, too."

Josie appeared from the back room. "Thank God it's you. I never thought I'd say this, but I don't want to see any more customers today."

Gianna made a face and sat back down. "I know. Frank just texted me and said plenty of customers have been coming into the sub shop, asking him what he knows about Amanda."

"Don't they have anything better to do?" Josie grumbled as she grabbed a paper plate and placed three chocolate cookies on it.

"It's crazy." Gianna shot me a worried look. "People keep asking Frank if she was murdered."

I heaved a huge sigh. "Perfect. Another rumor that will be great for business." I hunted through the wicker basket filled with K-cups to distract myself. "Let's see, Hot Cocoa, Breakfast Blend, Caramel, aha! Found one." I waved the cup triumphantly in the air while Gianna clapped her hands.

"PMS or parents?" Josie asked.

"Both," Gianna and I replied in unison.

"Well, people do say we're like twins." I placed the K-cup in my Keurig machine.

Gianna leaned her head back as she munched on a cookie. "Oh, this is delish. So what are you guys having done at the spa?"

"I booked a massage for me and a facial for your sister." Josie turned to me. "Hope that's okay. I know how much you love them."

I closed my eyes for a second, imagining the steam on my face with waterfall music playing in the background. "Sounds like heaven. I haven't had one of those in ages. I may curl up and fall asleep."

"There won't be time for that." Josie shook her finger at me in an admonishing way. "We're going there on business, remember? Plus, I asked for their special double room, so we can be in there together. The two of us will be able to observe the techs' behaviors more closely."

I placed the coffee in front of Gianna. "Well, it'll still feel good, no matter what."

A rap sounded on the back door.

"Thank goodness. He's got a twenty minute drive ahead of him." Josie grumbled as she headed toward the back room, with me at her heels.

Josie opened the door. Vido leaned against the doorjamb, a cigarette dangling out of the side of his mouth. He was dressed in his usual outfit of hole-riddled jeans and a dirty, white T-shirt.

"Hello, ladies." He bowed from the waist.

Josie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Do you think you could wear a jacket when you get there? It doesn't look professional to have a man with a stained T-shirt delivering cookies to a baby shower."

"Josie," I warned. I didn't want to make him angry.

Vido glanced at both of us, his smirk becoming an evil-looking smile. "Whatever you say, my lovely." He tossed his cigarette butt into the alley.

Josie moved aside to let him enter. We each picked up a tray and placed them in the trunk of Vido's car.

"Do I gotta collect money from them?" He lit another cigarette.

"No, they paid when they placed the order, so you're all set." I handed him two twenty-dollar bills, which he stuffed into his back pocket.

"I've been meaning to tell you girls something." Vido exhaled a cloud of smoke in my direction as he leaned against his car.

I coughed and rubbed my eyes. "What?"

"My rate is gonna have to go up." Vido spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Fifty dollars a delivery now."

My jaw dropped. "Fifty. That's a lot."

"Too bad, so sad." He laughed. "I got bills to pay like everybody else."

"Okay," I nodded. "We'll agree to it, on one condition."

He shook his head. "Vido don't like no conditions."

I held my thumb and forefinger together. "It's a teeny little condition."

"It's about you and Amanda," Josie said.

The smile left Vido's face, and his eyes glittered. Josie and I each took a step back.

"What're you saying?" He took another drag of his cigarette.

Josie turned to me for help, and I sighed in resignation. "Um, we kind of heard that you and Amanda, well, you know. You liked to spend time together."

Vido grinned maliciously. "Is that so?" He folded his arms across his chest. "Why do you wanna know?"

Josie gave a nervous laugh. "We're fond of you, and you're a great delivery guy. We're afraid the police might think you had something to do with Amanda's—"

"Murder?" he asked.

"What makes you think it was murder?" I feigned innocence.

"Amanda and I had—what you might call, an arrangement. We knew each other pretty well." Vido winked at me. "You know what I mean?"

Boy, did I ever.

"It's all over the town. Everybody knows she was killed. And Amanda was afraid someone was out to get her."

My jaw dropped. "You mean, she thought her life might be in jeopardy?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" Vido snapped. "What's in it for me?"

"What do you want?" Josie asked. When he leered at her, she shook her head. "No way. Almost anything but that."

Vido licked his lips and turned in my direction. "Forget about it," I said.

He rubbed his hands together thoughtfully. "Well then, I think I'd like to learn how to make cookies."

I blinked, not sure I'd heard him right. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah." Vido ran his hands carefully over the pink wrap of the tray. "Yeah, that'd be good. I really like cookies."

Who would have thought? "That's it? No cash?"

"Of course I want cash." He laughed. "What kind of an idiot do you think I am?"

Josie held up a hand. "I refuse to answer that. How will we know you're not making something up?"

"Vido don't operate like that. Look at this face. Honest as your mother's."

I sincerely doubted it. "Look, if you know anything about who really killed her, you should go straight to the police."

Vido slammed the hatchback of his car down with such a vengeance that Josie and I both jumped about ten feet in the air. The entire vehicle shook. "I don't lie about this stuff—you know what I mean? And I hate dealing with those pigs. I think I know who it was."

I tried to conceal the excitement in my voice. "The killer?"

"Yeah. Amanda liked to confide in me. There were these times when we'd be at her place and she'd hug me and—"

"Ew, no." Josie made a face.

I coughed when he blew smoke at me again. "Josie will give you personalized baking lessons for two hours one day next week."

Vido took the cigarette butt out of his mouth and extinguished it on the ground right in front of Josie. "That gets me excited."

I hate you
, Josie mouthed.

"And I'll get you some cash. How much do you want?"

Vido didn't hesitate. "I need a thousand."

My eyes opened wide in astonishment. He might as well have asked for a million. This would definitely put me a few steps closer to bunking at my mom and dad's on a permanent basis. No way was I giving him that much.

"I can get you five hundred. I don't have much cash handy."

Vido scoffed. "You're a liar. You can get the money out of your business."

I gritted my teeth. "Five hundred. Take it or leave it. My business isn't exactly booming right now."

"Fine." Vido nodded in agreement. "That's still enough to get me a forty-two inch. Maybe a new DVR and some pornos too."

Josie rolled her eyes at me in disgust.

"When can you get it?" Vido asked.

The banks closed at noon on Saturday. "Well, I guess it's going to have to be Monday now."

"Okay."

Darn. I hated to wait that long. My shop would continue to suffer in the meantime. More customers asking questions. If only I could get him the money sooner.

Josie must have guessed what I was thinking. "Can't you take it out on a debit card?"

"Yes, but I have a three hundred dollar limit withdrawal for each day. I suppose I could do a withdrawal today and one on Sunday. Can we meet tomorrow?"

"The wake's at one," Vido said.

"Well, maybe you could meet us here beforehand, say at noon?" I asked. "I'll give you the money then."

Vido tugged at his beard. "Yeah. I guess that'll be okay." He sauntered back into the shop, and we followed him, mystified. "I'll take a dozen of those cookies with the jelly. On the house, of course." He pointed at the glass. "And I gotta have some fortune cookies. Give me a dozen of those too."

I clenched my fists at my sides and, without another word, grabbed a piece of waxed paper and placed the cookies into one of my little, pink boxes. I handed the box to Vido, but it took every effort of my being to keep from throwing it at him. I didn't like being blackmailed. If Brian knew what I was up to, he'd read me the riot act and probably never speak to me again. Still, there was no time to waste. I had to find Amanda's killer so that my shop could return to normal.

Vido sauntered over to Gianna's side. She glanced up from her book with apprehension. He nodded and reached into the box, cracking a fortune cookie open with his teeth. He pulled the strip of paper from his mouth while she continued to watch in horror.

He held the other half out to her. "Fortune cookie, babe?"

Gianna wrinkled her nose. "Um, no thanks. I think I lost my appetite…forever."

Vido stared at the piece of paper. "What's this mean?"

"Why, Vido," Josie grinned. "I always thought you knew how to read."

He shot her a dirty look. "You ain't funny, Josie. No, I don't get this." He read aloud. "
Your problem just got bigger. What have you done?
"

Josie snorted. "Extortion. How fitting."

The tinkling of bells sounded, and Ellen walked in.

"Hey, girlfriend." Josie leaned against the counter. "What's going on?"

Ellen looked like she needed a good night's sleep. "Not much. Dad was craving something sweet." She stared at Vido, her eyes full of wonder.

"I'll see you ladies tomorrow." Vido winked at Josie, then gave Ellen, in her jeans and sweater, an appraising look.

She stepped away from him, disgust written all over her face.

He reached into the box again and produced a jelly-filled cookie. He bit into it and smacked his lips, eyes lingering on my chest. I crossed my arms in defense and glared back at him.

"Don't worry. I'm going. Wouldn't want to keep your customers from coming in." He laughed. "Until tomorrow, girls."

Josie watched him leave then turned to me. "I swear to God, if I had the money, you'd be the one making cookies while he slobbers all over you."

"You're the one who said he was harmless." I reached under the counter to get a box ready for Ellen's order.

"He's getting worse with age." Josie shook her head. "Maybe he misses all those things he and Amanda used to do together."

The picture in my mind was unsettling. "Okay, I think I just threw up a little."

"What's going on?" Ellen's face was puzzled.

Josie turned her attention back to her friend. "I'm sorry, hun, what kind of cookies would you like?"

Ellen turned her attention back to the display case. "Let's see. How about two of the fudgy delights, two biscotti, six of the jelly, and two raspberry cheesecake."

"Twelve dollars," Josie said. "Nice to have someone buying more than one cookie for a change."

Ellen handed Josie the money. "Is it really that bad?"

BOOK: Tastes Like Murder (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 1)
7.77Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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