Donuts, Delights & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 1 Read online

  Donuts, Delights & Murder

  An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 1

  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

  1. Could This Be Paradise?

  2. Getting Settled In

  3. The New Shop

  4. A Rose By Any Other Name

  5. Meet The Chief

  6. Old Habits Die Hard

  7. Spoiled Rotten

  8. What Will The Neighbors Think?

  9. Out In the Cold

  10. Help!

  11. Can I Ask You A Few Questions?

  12. Such Helpful Neighbors!

  13. Say It Ain’t So?

  14. No Funny Business

  15. Good News All Around

  16. Who Could It Be?

  17. Tough Love

  18. Sand Under Her Feet

  Thanks For Reading

  Collect Your Free Gift!

  About the Author

  Also by Susan Gillard

  1

  Could This Be Paradise?

  “Welcome to paradise,” Ryan said, smiling at his wife.

  "I'm not so sure about paradise yet," Heather said. "Once all our boxes are unpacked, and this new house starts to feel like a home, and once the chaos from opening a new shop abates, and when I can find time to relax a little on one of the beaches here, then I think it might become a paradise."

  “Anywhere I am with you is paradise,” he countered.

  Heather answered with a kiss. Though there were still many things to do, the move already seemed to be agreeing with the Shepherd family. They had recently relocated from Hillside, Texas to Key West, Florida where Heather was going to open up a second Donut Delights.

  She was certainly going to miss Hillside. It was the place where she had opened her first store, met the love of her life, adopted the daughter that made their family complete, and where she had caught her fair share of murderers with her sleuthing skills.

  However, Key West was going to offer its own set of challenges and adventures, and she was eager to face them. As their flight had brought them closer to their new home and Heather saw the clear waters and sunny beaches, she couldn't help but become excited (and hoped that she packed sunscreen.) The move had finally felt real.

  As she saw the boxes from their move scattered throughout their new house, the reality set in even more. This was their new home.

  As they had traveled to the house, she had enjoyed seeing all the pastel-colored Conch style houses that were so different from her Texas neighborhood. Her house was directly on the beach, but no house on the island was really too far away from the sandy shore. The reason that she had chosen this house instead of one of the beachfront properties was also for the happiest of reasons. They had moved into a three-family house because their best friends had decided to follow them to Key West.

  “Tell me again why we’re on the top floor,” Amy asked as she joined them. She huffed and puffed jokingly to show her aversion to her new stairs.

  Heather laughed at her bestie’s antics while Amy’s boyfriend Jamie joined in by pretending to wipe the sweat from his brow.

  “You graciously agreed to the top floor so that my pets wouldn’t have to race down a flight of stairs whenever they have to take care of business, and so that our senior friends wouldn’t have to make the climb daily,” Heather said.

  “That does ring a bell,” Amy said. “I am such a nice person.”

  Jamie was about to agree, and Heather was about to tease when they were both cut off by a new voice.

  “Heather is nice too for referring to us as her senior friends and not as old farts,” Leila said.

  “We are ladies,” Eva said with a twinkle in her eye. “And farts would never be associated with us. Never.”

  Heather couldn’t help but smile. Eva and Leila were good friends of hers that felt like second-grandmothers to her family. They had made the move to Key West for some new tropical scenery, to stay by their friends, and to follow their favorite donut maker’s recipes.

  Eva and Leila were in the adjoining apartment to them, while Amy and Jamie were living above them all. They had already all made the joke that Amy and Jamie better not take up tap dancing, and the couple had responded that they were instead joining the cast of "Stomp."

  Heather was so happy that they were all together. She just needed one more person to complete the party, and it sounded like she was on her way to the room. Her daughter Lilly joined them with their two pets that she had been leading around the new backyard area. Dave, the dog, was Heather's loyal companion and was a huge fan of her donuts as was evident by his canine waistline. The kitten, Cupcake, followed Dave's lead and basically thought she was a dog herself.

  “I think they’ve sniffed every inch of the new yard,” Lilly reported. “And claimed a good deal of it as their own too.”

  They all laughed. Dave’s tail started wagging. Whenever this group got together, there were usually donuts soon to follow. Heather started petting her dog to tide his affections over until she could do some baking.

  “How does everyone like the new house?” Heather asked.

  "Besides the stairs?" Amy asked. Then she smiled, "I like the location a lot."

  “Our faucet does need a little work,” Jamie added. “It’s stiff and only gives out cold water.”

  “That’s funny,” said Eva. “Right now, ours only gives out hot water.”

  “I’m sure these can all be fixed easily,” Ryan said.

  As if on cue, right after he said that, a wall lamp fell from its mooring to the ground. They all jumped.

  “Paradise,” Heather muttered.

  Before they had a chance to clean up the mess, there was a knock at the door. Heather hadn't realized that the morning had slipped away from them so quickly but gladly opened the door to admit Rudolph Rodney.

  “Hello, all,” he said, with a tip of his hat. The hat paused as he saw the lamp on the floor. “Oh, dear. I was told this building was up to code when I bought it, but I never did a personal inspection of it myself. Is there anything else wrong?”

  They mentioned the other issues with the house and Rudolph Rodney said glumly, “I had wanted this place to be a perk for agreeing to open up the new shop with me.”

  “It’s all right,” Ryan said. “I bet I can do a lot of these improvements myself.”

  “You want to be the handyman?” Heather asked.

  He shrugged. “I’ll need some projects on my vacation until I take up my new detective duties. And I was planning on installing a security system anyway. I know we’re away from the dangers we faced in Hillside.”

  “We did make a lot of people unhappy when we proved they were killers and sent them to jail,” Amy said happily.

  "But it's better to be safe than sorry," Ryan said.

  Heather nodded. She had gotten used to having a security system and was in no hurry to be poisoned or have a gun pointed at her in her own home.

  “If you’d like to take on the home repairs, by
all means, do,” Rudolph Rodney said. “And I can reimburse you.”

  Ryan nodded. “How hard can it be?”

  Heather felt that those were famous last words, but decided to let things run their course. She had something else that she wanted to discuss with Rudolph Rodney.

  “So,” she said, changing the subject. “Is it ready?”

  “It’s almost there. That’s what I was coming to tell you,” Rudolph Rodney said. “Do you want to see it?”

  Heather nodded excitedly. She was out the door before Rudolph Rodney could respond.

  2

  Getting Settled In

  “This kitchen is even bigger than my last one,” Heather said, admiring the baking set up in her new shop.

  “I know that you’re going to have online orders to fill as well as donuts to sell in the shop,” said Rudolph Rodney. “I wanted to make sure that you had ample space.”

  “Think of how many donuts she can make for us here,” Eva whispered to her friend. Leila licked her lips at the thought of it.

  Heather looked around the room. All of her friends, and now next-door/upstairs neighbors, fit comfortably in the kitchen. The appliances were all new and shiny. She felt a ripple of excitement pass through her and couldn’t wait to get cooking. Well, maybe she could wait until after she saw the rest of the shop.

  “This kitchen is perfect,” Heather assured him.

  “Yeah, no lamps falling off the wall here,” said Amy.

  Heather elbowed her friend, and then said, “Can we see the front now?”

  "The fact that you had us come in through the back door," Amy said. "Makes me think the front is either so amazing that's it's going to knock our socks off, or you're trying to hide it from us."

  Heather did admire that Amy was using her deduction skills. After all, they were private investigator partners. However, Heather just wanted to see it for herself.

  "I'm afraid it's the latter to an extent," said Rudolph Rodney. "The kitchen is all finished, and permits are all set up. However, the front of the shop it still being finished."

  He led the way to the front of the shop. There were still some projects that needed to be finished. The floorboards were in the process of being replaced. However, it was close to being complete. Heather admired the large display case for the donuts.

  “It’s going to be a little more beach themed than your last shop,” Rudolph Rodney said.

  “I understand,” said Heather. “Even if we tried to make it identical to my original shop, it would never be exactly the same. I think it’s better to let this shop be its own version. Customers will probably expect a beachy theme here too.”

  “We’re going to finish putting the beach-wood floorboards in and keep light colors on the walls. The tables will be coming in as soon as the floor is done. They’ll be reminiscent of driftwood too.”

  Heather nodded. It was certainly different than her Hillside shop with its golden floorboards and glass top wrought iron tables. It felt strange that it would be “Donut Delights” and yet be so different.

  “However,” Rudolph continued. “We do have some touches to tie it back to the original. I know you have some photos that you want to hang.”

  Heather nodded. “I have a picture of my whole Hillside staff in front of the shop, and I have a picture of a detective donut that they created for me to look like a magnifying glass.”

  “We can hang them up here,” Rudolph Rodney. “And I have something else for you too. If one of the gentlemen could help me?”

  He walked around the counter, followed by Ryan and Jamie.

  “This is so exciting, Mom,” Lilly said.

  Then, with a little help, Rudolph unveiled his gift for Heather and the shop. It was a bronze cash register with a clunky handle.

  “It’s just like my old one,” Heather beamed.

  “I thought you’d like it,” he said. “It’s my equivalent of a housewarming gift.”

  “A shop-warming gift,” Amy offered.

  “Thank you,” Heather said. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to open shop.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you to get settled,” Rudolph Rodney said. He shook their hands and departed.

  “I think I’d like to get settled on the beach,” Ryan said. “Maybe we should take a beach break.”

  “Not so fast,” said Heather. “I need everyone’s help in the kitchen today.”

  “But you’re not open yet,” said Jamie.

  “That doesn’t mean I can abandon my new flavor of the week,” Heather said. “Hillside is counting on the new recipe, and since I need to test it out anyway, I thought we could hand out some free samples today.”

  “That’s a smart idea,” said Eva. “You’ll get everyone excited about the opening.”

  “And get them hooked on your donuts like we are,” said Leila.

  "I suppose we can postpone going to the beach if it means sampling donuts," said Ryan. "The beach will always be there."

  “And the donuts might all be gone if you leave me alone with them,” Amy joked.

  “What flavor is it this week?” asked Eva.

  “Something just a touch decadent,” said Heather with a smile. “A Chocolate Hazelnut Donut.”

  “I bet I’m going to be nuts about it,” joked Leila.

  “I love chocolate donuts,” Lilly said. “Though I guess I do love them all.”

  "This one has a chocolate cake base and is filled with a chocolate hazelnut spread inside,” said Heather. “Then there’s some chocolate frosting on top, and it's sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts."

  “It sounds so delicious, I can’t wait to eat them,” said Eva.

  “There is just one problem with that,” said Heather. “We need to bake them first!”

  They laughed and headed to test out the new kitchen.

  3

  The New Shop

  Duval Street was full of shops and restaurants, and Heather was proud to be joining them. It was a busy street full of both tourists and residents. What they saw was a popular place for shopping and dining during the day, and they were told it turned into a party at nighttime. Her shop was next to a seafood restaurant and was close to a bookshop, novelty store, and bathing suit boutique.

  After handing out free samples to grateful passersby (and enjoying some Chocolate Hazelnut Donuts of their own), Heather and her friends were in high spirits.

  “Everyone seemed to enjoy them,” Heather smiled.

  “How could they not?” Eva asked.

  “Yeah. They’re delicious,” said Amy. “And who doesn’t like free dessert?”

  “But Heather’s donuts are priceless,” Leila declared.

  “And they’re gone,” Ryan said. “I think we gave out everything we baked.”

  “Almost,” Heather agreed. “I have one more batch in the kitchen.”

  “Are they for us?” Eva asked with a mischievous smile.

  “If we bring them home, I’m sure Dave and Cupcake would enjoy them,” said Lilly.

  “They’ll have to fight us for them,” said Leila. “And we’d fight like cats and dogs.”

  “Actually,” Heather said. “I thought I’d hand them out to my new neighbors at the shops on the street.”

  “That’s a lovely thought,” said Eva.

  Leila agreed, “Even if it means that we don’t get extra donuts, it is a good idea.”

  “Many of the people we gave samples to were excited about the opening and promised to come back, but some of them are tourists and won’t be here long enough to visit,” said Heather. “I thought it would be nice to visit potential regulars.”

  “It’s always good to foster goodwill in the neighborhood,” said Eva.

  "And I will foster goodwill with you all by thanking you for helping me today and by letting you go free now. I can hand out the final donuts on my own," said Heather.

  “I’ll still come with you,” Amy said. “I’d like to meet everybody. And I think it’ll be a better introduction with donut
s.”

  “I think I will still head out,” Ryan said. “I promised Lils I’d take her to the beach soon after we arrived, and I wouldn’t mind seeing the waves myself.”

  “I want to do some more unpacking,” said Jamie.

  “And I think we’ll do some window shopping,” said Eva.

  “Speak for yourself,” said Leila. “With all these fun things to buy for our new house, I’m shopping-shopping.”

  Heather thanked her friends and family again and told them she hoped they had fun. Then, she and Amy collected the rest of the donuts and set out deliver donut greetings. The seafood restaurant next door was closed on Mondays, so they walked over to the next shop. It was called Bernadette’s Beachy Books.

  The bell above the door announced their arrival and they were soon greeted by Bernadette herself. She was a young woman with big glasses and a big smile.

  “Donuts along with a good book on the beach?” she asked. “Sounds perfect.”

  “It does,” Heather agreed. “But I’m afraid we’re probably not making it to the beach today.”

  “Unfortunately,” Amy agreed.

  “We’re too busy setting up the new donut shop that is about to open, but part of our opening plans includes handing out samples,” said Heather. She opened the box and let the sweet smell waft towards the bookseller’s nose.

  "You brought some for me?" Bernadette asked. "That is so charming."

  “They’re Chocolate Hazelnut Donuts,” Heather started to explain as Bernadette took a bite. “And they’re—“

  “Perfect,” Bernadette said, before enjoying another bite. “Thank you so much for this. It’s as sweet as your donut.”