Champagne Cream & Murder Read online

  Want a FREE short story?

  Click here to grab the free cozy short story

  “Eva's Delicious Mystery: A Donut Hole Spin-Off”

  Champagne Cream & Murder

  An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 14

  Susan Gillard

  Copyright 2017 by Guardian Publishing Group

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication or the information in it may be quoted from or reproduced in any form by means such as printing, scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Champagne Cream & Murder

  1. Donut Resolutions

  2. Station Samples

  3. Dressing for Impressing

  4. Arriving at the Party

  5. Mingling

  6. Minutes to Midnight

  7. New Year’s Victim

  8. The Station

  9. The Prime Suspect

  10. Shellingsworth’s Opinion

  11. Another Suspect

  12. Home

  13. Picture This

  14. Sabrina’s Story

  15. Checking Coat Check

  16. Champagne Cream Questions

  17. Throw the Book at Her!

  18. Resolutions

  About the Author

  Also by Susan Gillard

  Champagne Cream & Murder

  Donut Resolutions

  “I am resolved to try these donuts,” Amy joked.

  Heather laughed at her bestie. “If deciding to eat donuts counts as a New Year’s Resolution, then it ought to be easy to keep.”

  “They do look like a delicious flavor that we could eat all year,” her maternal assistant Luz said.

  They were preparing to open Donut Delights for the day and were placing the new flavor in the display case.

  "What's this new one called?" her other assistant Nina asked.

  “This is the Champagne Cream Donut,” Heather said.

  “Maybe it’s not the flavor to eat every single day then,” Luz mused.

  “I don’t know,” Amy said. “If it means I get to have these donuts, I’m sure that I can find a reason to celebrate every day.”

  “If anyone asks, should I tell them it’s non-alcoholic?” Nina asked.

  "That's right. It’s only Champagne flavored. So, this is a treat that you can have and still drive home after,” Heather said. “I hope everyone at the Key West Town Hall Party likes them tonight.”

  “I’m sure they will,” Nina started to say.

  However, then Luz cut in and said, “Perhaps we better have a taste to make sure?”

  “It is a holiday,” Heather agreed. “Everyone sample a donut.”

  They each picked one up and stared at Heather. She realized they were waiting for her grand introduction to the donut before taking a bite. Heather had to admit that she enjoyed talking about her treats, but eating them was even better. She didn't want to keep her staff waiting, so she cleared her throat with just a touch of theatricality and began.

  "The Champagne Cream Donut is perfect for celebrations. Its taste is not overwhelming, but it is sweet and enjoyable. The donut cake base is vanilla, and it filled with a champagne flavored cream. The icing is also vanilla, but you can see that I added some pizzazz to the décor. There are gold swirls in the icing to make it shimmer, and the small bubbles in the design are made to look like the bubbles in a champagne flute." Heather finished, “And, of course, I topped it off with a raspberry to give it another touch of class.”

  “Bravo,” Amy said. “My mouth is watering from that description alone.”

  “Should we have a countdown to the eating?” Luz asked. “Like we’re going to countdown at midnight for the New Year.”

  “As long as the count doesn’t start too high,” Amy said. “I’m not sure I can wait ten more seconds.”

  Luz started at five and counted backward with the others joining in.

  “Three, two, one!”

  They all took a bite of the donut and smiled.

  “What a lovely way to break in the new year,” Luz agreed.

  “The party will definitely enjoy these,” Nina said. “Will there be some at your house tonight?”

  “Yes,” Heather assured her. “I’ll make sure there are many donuts there tonight while you’re babysitting. I want it to feel like a party for Lilly and Nicolas. I feel bad about leaving them on New Year’s Eve. But this Town Hall Party is really important to Ryan’s boss. Chief Chet wants all police officers not on duty to be there and mingle with the town. It doesn’t sound like a party that would be fun for pre-teens, but I still feel bad abandoning Lilly and her friend on a holiday.”

  “You’re not abandoning them,” Amy said. “Nina is going to be a great babysitter. And Lilly already told me how excited she is to stay home, wear her comfy PJs, stay up until midnight and eat donuts with Nina.”

  "Are you sure you don't mind babysitting?" Heather checked for what was probably the hundredth time. “If you had other plans, Nina.”

  “No,” Nina said. “My New Year’s Eves are never that exciting. I just watch the ball drop at midnight on TV, and I’m happy to do that with Lilly and Nicolas. I know this party is important.”

  “And not just because of the police chief,” Luz said. “Serving the donuts at an event that everyone in town will be at is sure to be good for business.”

  “Everyone that tastes one will become a lifelong customer,” Amy agreed.

  “I hope so,” Heather said. “I need to bring some over to the police station for Chief Chet to sample. I’m not sure if this is because he’s stressing over his part in the party plans or because he just wanted some free donuts.”

  “He’ll love them,” Luz said. “And we’ll make sure we bake them exactly like this, so everyone else will love them too.”

  "Just remember to use the protocol I’ve been discussing. I know we’re normally pretty good about this, but we need to make certain that none of the supplies come into contact with nuts while we’re preparing this. Apparently, some important people at the party are allergic to nuts. We want to make sure that everyone is safe at the party.”

  “Right,” Amy said. “It would stink to have to start the New Year in the hospital.”

  "Don't worry," Nina said. "I've been studying all the precautions to take, and we've been following through."

  Nina had a bit of a nervous temperament, but Heather knew that she was truthful and reliable. She was confident that the donuts and her daughter would be taken care of properly.

  "Are you sure that you’ll be okay tonight?” Heather asked.

  "I am fine with babysitting," Nina said. "I just hope I won't let you down. I wouldn't want the kids not to have fun and for it to be my fault."

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” Heather said. “Lilly and Nicolas are excited for you to come over. They have some games that they think would be fun to play and would like to watch the ball drop like you had planned. They should be easy to keep an eye on. No, the only one you have to worry about is Dave.”

  “Your dog?” Nina asked. “Does he not like babysitters? Does he bite?”

  “He loves babysitters,” Heather said. “But it’s because he thinks that he might be able to con some donuts out of you. He might be a shameless beggar all night.”

  "If all I have to worry about is a cute dog giving me attenti
on, then I should be okay,” Nina said.

  “Do you have any plans for tonight?” Heather asked, giving her other assistant some attention.

  “My children are coming home for the night. I think they were happy to get out on their own, but being home for Christmas made them want to come back for New Year’s Eve. I don’t mind at all,” Luz said.

  Heather smiled. She knew that Luz had been feeling the "empty-nest" syndrome. It had been one of the reasons why Luz had applied to become a baker at the shop. Now she would be able to see her whole family for the holiday again and to provide them with tasty donuts.

  "We're going to make paper hats and bang pots and pans at midnight,” Luz said with a huge grin on her face.

  “Maybe I should make paper hats with Lilly and Nicolas,” Nina said.

  “And we’re going to figure out what our New Year’s Resolutions should be,” said Luz. “I’m thinking that mine will be to do more with my husband. We see each other every day, but we don’t really spend too much quality time together. Maybe we should join an exercise class. Or maybe we should just go out to dinner together more.”

  "That's nice," Nina said. "I'm going to try and be a little less nervous about things maybe. At least, I’m going to try and not fret as much.”

  “I’ve got a great resolution,” Amy said. “Besides eating all these donuts.”

  “What’s that?” asked Heather.

  “I’m going to work on not screaming when I see a dead body,” Amy said.

  Heather wasn’t sure whether to laugh or sigh. Since she and Amy had become private investigators, they had stumbled upon their fair share of crime scenes.

  “I think it will be a useful skill and make me seem more professional about it all,” Amy said. “And what’s your resolution?”

  “I don’t know,” Heather said. “I still have to figure mine out.”

  “Maybe you don’t need one?” Amy suggested. “Maybe you’re perfect.”

  That did make Heather laugh. “I don’t think so. And I want to come up with a good New Year’s Resolution. I just want it to be something meaningful.”

  “Like my not screaming?”

  “Sure,” Heather said.

  “Well, you don’t have much time to figure it out,” Luz teased. “The New Year comes at midnight.”

  “We don’t have much time at all,” Heather said. “We need to bake those donuts for the party. Janae and Digby should be in soon to help. And Amy and I should bring the samples to Chief Chet now.”

  “Before you run off,” Luz said. “Perhaps we should have a toast.”

  “I second it,” Amy said, quickly.

  They all picked up another donut and Heather relented. They lifted their donuts as if they were glasses of Champagne.

  “To Donut Delights,” Luz said.

  “To the New Year,” said Nina.

  “And may nothing ruin the party tonight,” Amy said.

  “Cheers,” Heather said, as they clinked donuts and then ate them.

  Station Samples

  “You look like you could use a donut,” Heather said when she saw her husband.

  Ryan smiled as he saw Heather and Amy approach.

  “Thank you,” he said. “For not having an open murder case, things have sure been hectic around here.”

  “Is Chief Chet really stressing out about the party?” Heather asked.

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Ryan said. “I don’t remember New Year’s parties being this big a deal anywhere else, but it’s apparently very important around here. The mayor and other town officials and influential citizens have all been involved in it.”

  “I guess we ought to be flattered that Donut Delights was asked to provide some desserts,” Heather said.

  “It’s going to be a huge party,” Ryan said. “I probably would be excited about it if I wasn’t having to track down caterers instead of criminals and comparing decorations instead of DNA evidence.”

  “It’s almost over,” Heather said.

  “Yeah.” Ryan frowned. “But then it’s going to happen again next year.”

  “Let’s just deal with one year at a time,” Heather smiled.

  “I just can’t imagine Chief Chet getting stressed and uptight about anything,” Amy said. “He goes by the name Chief Chet so you can call him by his first name. And isn’t this the same guy that wears flipflops to work? And didn’t he install basketball hoops over the trashcans?”

  Ryan shrugged. “I’ve never seen him so stressed before. He’s normally confident in our abilities to catch killers, but seems to second-guess our ability to help others hang lights.”

  "Why is Chief Chet in charge of the party?” Heather asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ryan said. “But if he asks me anymore about which tablecloth to use, or which band to hire, or which centerpieces to make, I'll go crazy."

  “Hey, which tie should I wear?”

  Ryan took a deep breath and turned. However, he wasn't facing the chief but his partner instead. Detective Peters was a young detective who at the moment looked completely perplexed by his choice of wardrobe.

  Ryan laughed.

  “Are they both bad choices?” Peters asked worriedly.

  “No,” Amy said. “You just walked into the middle of something.”

  “The Chief is so obsessed over everything going right at the party that I don’t want to embarrass him by wearing the wrong thing. Does the Happy New Year tie look too juvenile or is it festive? Should I just wear blue? Is that too formal? I don't want to look too stuffy either," Peters rambled. "I want to impress the chief, but I also want to look like I'm someone who's willing to dance with someone who might happen to be there and wants to dance as well."

  “If that’s your roundabout way of asking if Janae will be at the party tonight,” Heather said. “She will be.”

  “Oh really?” Peters said. “That’s a very nice and interesting thing to hear. But who said anything about Janae? I never said anything about Janae. But if I were to say anything about Janae, then I might wonder whether she officially had a date tonight.”

  “She said that no one asked her,” Heather said.

  “I guess neither you or Fire Frank worked up the nerve to ask her out,” Amy said.

  “This has nothing to do with nerve,” Peters said. “It all has to do with timing.”

  “Timing?” Chief Chet said, joining the conversation. “No time like the present, I always say.”

  “When do you say that?” Amy asked.

  Chief Chet was already dressed up for the party. It was the first time that Heather had ever seen him in a suit, though he was wearing comfortable black sneakers with the ensemble.

  “Ryan was just telling me about the party preparations,” Heather said. “You must be very excited about it.”

  Chief Chet groaned. “I love going to parties. But planning them? Especially the biggest one of the year? Not so much.”

  “Why are you planning it?” Amy asked.

  “The responsibilities alternate between town departments every year. And we’ve been so effective at solving cases this year that they thought I could take a larger role in planning. If only we hadn’t caught the yoga instructor’s killer!” Chief Chet said. “Then we could have pushed the preparations on to somebody else.”

  Heather made a face. Chief Chet must be very stressed about the party to be wishing that a murderer was still on the loose.

  “This year’s party matters more than others too because the Shellingworths are going to be there,” Chief Chet said. “No. I couldn’t just take the lead on a normal big holiday event. It had to be a big big one.”

  "Shellingsworth?" Heather said. "That name sounds familiar."

  “Some wealthy residents on the island. Apparently, they’re going to make a large donation to the town in the new year. The mayor wants to impress them,” Chief Chet said. “They’re also why I called you here.”

  “Do they have something to do with the donuts?” asked He
ather.

  “They’re the family with the peanut allergy,” Chief Chet said. “The son is very allergic. Any trace of the nut could send him into shock.”

  “We’ve been very careful with all our preparation,” Heather assured him.

  The Chief still looked stressed.

  “Do you want to try one?” Heather asked, offering the box to him

  He took a bite. She could tell he liked the taste. He seemed to relax for a moment.

  “This is wonderful, Heather,” Chief Chet said. “Maybe this all will work out.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Heather said. “We’ll leave these Champagne Cream Donuts with you and head to shop to make sure everything else is in order. Then we’ll get ready for the party ourselves.”

  Chief Chet nodded and seemed at ease. Then he saw Detective Peters’s tie.

  “You’re not going to wear one of them, are you?”

  Dressing for Impressing

  “I’m afraid I told you so,” Heather said.

  Dave, her furry white dog, was already following Nina around in the hopes of gaining donut snacks. He wagged his tail, completely un-phased by Heather calling him out on his behavior.

  "It's okay," Nina said. She pet the dog on the head. “You’re very handsome, but you’re not going to have any donuts. Understand?”

  Dave kept wagging his tail as if to say, “That’s what you think.”

  Their kitten Cupcake was calmer, but she was also eyeing the babysitter for signs of snacks.

  Lilly and Nicolas entered the room in their pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

  “You two look so comfortable, I’m jealous,” Heather said.