Chocolate Peppermint & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 13 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”

  Chocolate Pepperment & Murder

  An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 13

  Susan Gillard

  Contents

  Also by Susan Gillard

  Chocolate Pepperment & Murder

  1. Kitchen Catch Up

  2. The Promise of Bike Tours

  3. Harmony’s Yoga Studio

  4. The Missing Instructor

  5. Stone House

  6. Missing and Found

  7. Breaking the News

  8. Brain Exercise

  9. The Instructor and her Incense

  10. Yoga Poses

  11. Dawn’s Denial

  12. Another Stinky Interview

  13. Bike Break

  14. Traveling and Talks

  15. The Final Student

  16. Sand

  17. Figuring it Out

  18. The Interrogation Room

  About the Author

  Also by Susan Gillard

  Also by Susan Gillard

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  Click to buy on Amazon now!

  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

  Chocolate Pepperment & Murder

  Kitchen Catch Up

  “It still smells like the holidays,” Digby said as he entered the kitchen in Donut Delights.

  Heather smiled at her assistant. “That’s what I was going for. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to them. And it's not New Year's yet, so I think we have an excuse.”

  Another baking assistant, Nina, joined them, saying, “It smells like candy canes in here.”

  “It smells great,” Amy agreed. “But let’s stop sniffing and start tasting.”

  “Just a minute,’ Heather told her bestie. “I just need to put the finishing touches on this batch, and then we can try some.”

  She sprinkled some crushed candy cane pieces on top of the pastries and tried to keep the conversation going while everyone’s mouths began to water.

  “How was your Christmas?” Heather asked Nina.

  They were very busy at Donut Delights – Key West leading up to the holiday but were closed on Christmas itself. This was the first chance Heather had to speak to her employees about their festivities since they returned to work.

  "I visited my parents. It's always great to see them, and they had a very lovely tree," Nina said, starting to fidget. "But they started in again on why I decided to become a baker instead of a lawyer. They don't understand that law school wasn't for me."

  "You think that's bad?" Digby asked. "My entire extended family gathered together, and we had this crazy idea to all knit sweaters for one another as gifts this year."

  “How did that go?” Heather asked.

  “Yeah,” Amy said. “You were worried about your final project ending up with three arms.”

  Digby shook his head at the memory of the day. “Let’s just say that things started unraveling quickly.”

  “Well, it sounds like you could both use a donut after some stressful family reunions,” Heather said.

  “You think that sounds stressful?” Amy asked. “I spent my holidays tracking down a killer playing Santa who delivered a deadly gift.”

  Heather scoffed at her friend. She knew all about that murder case because they had investigated it together.

  "I know. I was there," Heather said. "And this isn't a competition of who had the craziest Christmas."

  “I’m just saying that no one else here had to see my Great-Uncle Jim-Bob try to fit into a pink sweater two sizes too small,” said Digby.

  “Everyone can have a donut,” said Heather. “They’re ready now.”

  They gathered closer to the finished donuts and each selected one.

  “What are they called?” asked Nina.

  “These are Chocolate Peppermint Donuts,” Heather said. “The cake base is chocolate with a touch of mint extract added for flavor. It’s covered with a white chocolate icing and topped with crushed candy cane pieces.”

  “This is incredible,” Digby said after tasting it.

  “I’m glad I didn’t try these before Christmas,” Amy said. “They’d be all I would have asked for this year.”

  Heather laughed, and then she heard her cell phone ringing.

  “It always happens when you have sticky fingers,” Amy commented.

  “To be fair, I do work in a bakery. My hands get sticky pretty often,” Heather said.

  She did her best not to get chocolate on her phone as she looked at the screen.

  “It’s Mona,” Heather told Amy before answering it.

  She did her best to tune out the others in the kitchen as she had her conversation. Digby had asked who Mona was, and Amy was explaining that she was their friend. Heather and Amy were actually co-Maids of Honor in Mona's upcoming wedding.

  “You’re not going to believe it,” Heather said to Amy after she finished the phone call.

  “Something I’m not going to believe,” Amy said, thinking about it. "There's a circus setting up outside the shop, and the elephants are stealing our donuts."

  "It's wedding related," said Heather.

  “It can’t be that Mona and Col are breaking up because that’s way too unbelievable,” Amy said. “They're having a destination wedding in the Caribbean, and they're going to pay for me to come with them?"

  “No,” Heather said with a laugh. “But it is something exciting. Hillside Hovel is opening up.”

  “No way,” Amy said. “I think the elephant idea was more believable.”

  “What’s Hillside Hovel?” Nina asked.

  “Hillside Hovel is this mysterious building that no one had been able to enter for decades,” Amy said. “But it’s rumored to be gorgeous.”

  “It’s not really a hovel at all,” said Heather. “It’s a huge mansion that used that name to discourage people from coming to it.”

  “It’s full of history,” said Amy. “And there are all these crazy stories that surround it. Supposedly an eccentric millionaire built it for his bride over a hundred years ago.”

  “And the new owner is finally going to open it up to the public,” said Heather.

  “That sounds great,” said Nina.

  “Yeah,” agreed Digby. “When can we go?”

  “Well,” Heather said. “It’s in Texas.”

  “Texas?” asked Digby. “Then why are we excited about this?”

  “Because it’s where we used to live,” Amy said. “And we always want
ed to visit it.”

  “And,” Heather said. “The big news. They’re going to hold weddings there. Mona decided to change her venue.”

  "I would too if I had that opportunity," said Amy. "I mean if I were getting married. Which I'm not. Which I'm totally fine with. Because I like the way things are right now. Because marriage is a huge, big commitment. And Jamie and I are great right now."

  Heather decided to ignore her friend’s rambling and said, “Mona’s wedding is going to be the first one there.”

  “That’s amazing,” said Amy.

  “Yes,” Heather said after a beat.

  “Why did you hesitate?” asked Amy. “Where’s the but in this wonderful happening?”

  “The only issue is that they have to move up the date in order to be the first wedding at Hillside Hovel.”

  “By how much?” asked Amy.

  “It’s going to be in three weeks,” Heather said.

  “What?” said Amy. “Mona is crazy.”

  “It’s going to be okay,” Heather said. “The vendors all love Mona and seem all right with switching the date. We’ll go down there before the wedding and throw her a great bachelorette party. It’s going to be fine.”

  “I think I need another donut,” Amy said, grabbing one.

  "There is a lot to do, but we'll make it work. We did a lot of the planning already," said Heather. "The one thing I'm worried about is the bridesmaid dresses."

  “Right. Finding those dresses was killer,” said Amy, meaning it literally.

  “What’s wrong with the dresses?” Nina asked. “Are they hideous?”

  “No. They’re actually very pretty,” Heather said. “It’s just that I’ve been indulging in more sweets than usual around the holidays. I thought we had plenty of time until the wedding. I hope the dress will still fit.”

  “Oh,” Amy said, looking at the donut that she was stuffing into her mouth. “Stupid wedding ruining all my fun.”

  The Promise of Bike Tours

  After doing some phone call errands for Mona that included checking in with the florist and making sure the updated invitations were being sent out to guests. They still needed to finalize a special donut recipe for the event and plan a fun bachelorette party, but rationalized that they had some time to do so.

  After finishing the wedding errands and making sure the staff knew how to create the Chocolate Peppermint Donuts perfectly, they decided that they might as well do some exercise for the benefit of the bridesmaid dresses that they were going to wear. It was easy to decide what exercise to try. Another one of Heather’s Donut Delights assistants, Janae, was also a bike tour guide on the island.

  Heather and Amy headed over to where her bike tours began to see if they could join a group. However, as they approached the area, they realized that there might already be too many people for some biker's wishes.

  Janae wheeled her bike over and greeted Fire Frank and Detective Peters.

  “Maybe we should leave,” Heather suggested.

  “You were the one who convinced me that we should do some exercise before the wedding,” Amy protested.

  “You’re not interested in the biking,” Heather responded. “You just want to see what drama unfolds.”

  “If we happen to kill two birds with one stone, so be it. I’d throw a boulder,” said Amy.

  “Are you all here for a bike tour?” Janae asked. “It’s normally slow this time of day.”

  Detective Peters and Fire Frank eyed each other. It was clear that they both had the same plan.

  Heather knew both of the men to be honest, dependable, and good at helping with cases. (Detective Peters was her husband’s partner on the Key West Police Force and had helped her and Amy with many cases, while the firefighter Fire Frank had helped with a tricky arson case before.) They were both smart but were behaving ridiculously when it came to the pretty bike instructor. They each wanted to prove that they were the most rugged and most helpful man in town.

  “Well,” Detective Peters said. “I was wandering around, protecting the town from crime, when I started thinking about how you promised me a private bike tour as a Christmas present.”

  “You promised one for me as well. I’ve been really looking forward to it,” said Fire Frank.

  “I’m excited to show you both my favorite parts of the island,” said Janae. She looked at them a tad confused. “Do you want to do the tour together?”

  “No!” They both said quickly.

  Janae saw Heather and Amy and waved them over. “Were you two looking for a tour as well?”

  “We were, but right now,” Heather said, thinking that Janae was already going to have her hands full. “We were thinking about scheduling one though. When it’s less crowded.”

  “We’re supposed to be getting in shape for a wedding,” Amy said.

  "Let me grab some brochures," Janae said. "Our usual tours are made for anyone to be able to follow along on and enjoy the sights, but we do have some other bike trips that are a little more intense for those that want a workout. I'll be right back."

  Heather thanked her while Amy groaned at the prospect of intense biking. She much preferred driving around in fast cars than getting sweaty pedaling.

  As soon as Janae had left, Fire Frank turned to Peters. “I was here first.”

  “By a few minutes,” said Peters. “And I thought of coming here first.”

  “I doubt that,” said Fire Frank. “When did you think of coming?”

  “Why should I answer that? If I go first, whatever time I say, you’ll just say that you thought of it before that,” Peters said.

  "Why don't you both write down the exact moment you thought of coming here and then show them to each other at the same time?" suggested Amy. "I could do a countdown."

  “Why don’t we all act like adults?” Heather suggested instead. “If it was a Christmas present to both of you, then you’ll both be able to go on a bike tour with Janae. And you’ll both have the opportunity to tell her how you feel.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Fire Frank.

  “Yeah,” said Peters. “I just like biking.”

  “Fine,” said Heather. “But I’m sure Janae would like it if you were both gentlemen. One of you should graciously agree to come back tomorrow.”

  Fire Frank frowned. “Today is the day I’m not on call with the fire station.”

  “I suppose I could be the one to graciously agree to return later,” Peters said. “If that would be easier on Janae.”

  “Are you talking about me?” Janae asked as she returned with the brochures. She handed them to Amy who made a face as she looked at an uphill bike route.

  “We were just discussing schedules for the private tours,” said Fire Frank.

  "I graciously agreed to come back tomorrow," Peters informed her.

  “I have to work at the fire station tomorrow,” Fire Frank said.

  “But I will be back to ride with you,” said Peters. “And I will return to my investigations and solving crime today.”

  “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Janae smiled. Then, she led Fire Frank away to pick out a bicycle.

  Heather and Amy wandered away from the bikes.

  “That didn’t go as expected,” Heather admitted.

  “When does it ever?” asked Amy. “Half the time we go to do something we’re interrupted by a murder case.”

  Heather nodded. They started walking closer to the beach. One perk of living on Key West was that they were never far from the beach. She looked up and saw something else unexpected.

  "Look, there are Eva and Leila!"

  Heather waved at her friends, and the two senior ladies came over to join them.

  “You finally found some time to enjoy the beach?” Eva asked. “You certainly deserve it, dear. You do so much all the time.”

  “We’ve been enjoying those Chocolate Peppermint Donuts,” Leila said. “You deserve an award for creating them.”

  “Thank you,” Heath
er said. “But the best reward for me is seeing people’s happy faces when they try the donuts.”

  “We were surprised that we didn’t see you in the shop when we stopped by earlier,” Eva said. “Is everything all right? You’re not on another case, are you?”

  “No,” Heather said. “We were running some errands for Mona. Her wedding date is getting pushed up. You should receive the official invitation shortly, but I can tell you now. She’s going to get married at Hillside Hovel.”

  “How exciting,” Eva said.

  "That building is even older than we are," Leila joked. "And if the rumors are true, almost as glamorous."

  “But the wedding is now going to be right after New Year’s,” said Heather. “We were trying to take a bike tour to start getting some exercise before the wedding, but some romantic rivals stopped us.”

  “Suitors for you two?” Eva asked. “Don’t they know you’re married?”

  “I’m not married,” Amy pointed out. “Jamie and I just live together. And I’m very happy with the way things are right now.”

  “And they’re not suitors for us. Detective Peters and Fire Frank are both trying to woo Janae,” Heather explained. “With them preoccupying her time, I’m not sure what we should do for exercise. I’d do better in a class than trying to work out on my own.”

  “You don’t have any classes at the senior center that we could crash, do you?” Amy asked.