A Killer Cake (2 page)

“Honestly, I keep hoping that either the food
or the service will improve, but neither one has managed to do it
yet.”

“That’s it,” I said as I picked up his check,
ignoring his careful stack of ones and the change sitting right
beside it, and tore the bill in two. “Don’t worry about your check.
This meal’s on the house.”

Before I could finish, Roy smiled brightly at
me. “It’s about time you admitted your mistakes and actually felt
guilty about what you do here.”

I smiled right back at him, but there was not
an ounce of warmth in it. “You don’t get it, Roy. The reason this
meal is free is because it’s the last time you’re ever going to eat
here. As of right now, you are no longer welcome at The Charming
Moose, at least not until your manners improve. Do you understand
what I’m telling you?”

“You can’t keep me out just because I’m
honest!” he said, stammering in anger. Not many folks were willing
to stand up to the rich man, but I was. If he didn’t like it, what
could he do, refuse to come back? I’d already taken care of that.
As much as I hated banning a paying customer, this man needed it if
anyone ever had.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Read the sign
under the register,” I said as I pointed toward it. Moose had put
up the declaration before he’d first opened the diner’s front door,
and it gave us the right to refuse service to anyone, for any
reason. It was a rare day that we enforced it, but I was always
glad that it was there, just in case.

“I’m afraid that you are the one who is
mistaken. We’ll see about the legality of your sign. You can trust
that my lawyers will be here first thing tomorrow morning,” Roy
said as he stood.

“You can send a judge on your behalf if you’d
like, but my decision stands. I’ll serve them all as long as
they’re polite, but I won’t change my mind.” I shouldn’t have added
the next bit, and I knew it as soon as the words left my lips, but
I couldn’t help myself. “Now, are you going to go peacefully, or do
I have to get my husband and his meat cleaver out here to persuade
you to leave a place where you’re not welcome?”

Roy clearly didn’t like that, but he got up
and headed for the door anyway.

I couldn’t let it go at that, though. I had
to add, “Hey, Roy. You forgot your money.”

“Keep it,” he growled, and then he left.

I watched him go, and then I was startled to
hear a burst of applause coming from the dining room as well as the
kitchen, where the door stood open as Greg and Jenny joined in. I
was a little embarrassed by the display as I made my way back into
the kitchen.

“I suppose you two saw all of that,” I said
to my staff.

“I just wish I had it on tape,” Greg
said.

Jenny stepped forward and hugged me.
“Nobody’s ever defended me like that before. You rock,
Victoria.”

I didn’t want her to know that I’d actually
done it for the diner, but then again, she was just as much a part
of The Charming Moose as anyone else on staff, including me and my
family, so in a way, it was true enough.

Moose came by as we were closing. He had an
odd expression on his face. “Can we have a word, Victoria?” he
asked me.

“Sure, fire away,” I said as I locked the
door behind him and flipped the sign from Open to Closed. “What’s
up?”

“I understand you had some words with Roy
Thompson earlier.”

“As a matter of fact, I threw him out,” I
said adamantly. “Do you have a problem with that, Moose?”

He couldn’t hold back his smile any longer.
“Are you kidding?” my grandfather said with a hearty laugh. “I’m
proud of you. Victoria, I’d give you a medal if I had one.
Thompson’s been asking for that for years, and I for one am glad
that you finally pulled the trigger.”

I wasn’t as confident in my decision as I had
been, so it was good to hear that Moose approved. During the hour
since I’d booted Roy Thompson from the diner, I’d had time to mull
things over, and I was more than a little worried about the barrage
of attorneys I was certain Roy had at his disposal. In hindsight,
it was almost as though I’d gone out of my way to alienate the man,
practically daring him to sue us. “Aren’t you worried about the
ramifications?” I asked him.

“I heard his threat of bringing a thousand
lawyers after us, but we’ve got Rebecca, so why should we
worry?”

“Is that what folks are saying? He never
mentioned a specific number.”

“You know how folks are around here,” Moose
said with a laugh. “By tomorrow morning, it will be up to ten
thousand, and by tomorrow night, I’m willing to bet that it will
top a million.”

“Well, we all know that he has money enough
to afford whatever he wants to do to us.”

Moose put his arm around my shoulder. “Don’t
worry so much. Tonight, you did more for The Charming Moose’s
goodwill than us baking a thousand cakes. Speaking of which, has
Greg gotten started yet?”

“He’s about to put the first batch in the
oven,” I said.

“How many is he making?”

“We figure half a dozen sheet cakes should do
the trick,” I said. “He’ll be up half the night baking, and I’m
going to stay here with him.”

“Care to make it a party?” Moose suggested.
“We can call your mother, and with two of them working, they can
cut that time in half.”

“She’s already on her way,” I said. Mom
worked the grill during the morning shift, and she was nearly as
good as my husband, but when it came to baking, I had to give Greg
the edge.

“I’ll call Martha, and if we can get your dad
to come down, too, we’ll make it a family reunion. There’s no
reason in the world that we shouldn’t have a little party of our
own.”

“You’re truly not upset about the way I
treated Roy Thompson?” I asked him.

“Not even the slightest little bit,” he said
with a grin. “Worst case scenario, if we go down for it, we’ll all
go down together.”

“Somehow I don’t find that all that
comforting,” I said.

“Well, you should. Together, we’re all much
more than what the diner is; you should know that.”

“Thanks,” I said. I loved my grandfather
dearly. He had a habit of tweaking me in all the right places at
times, but I also knew that, short of my husband and my parents, I
had no bigger supporter in the world.

“You’re most welcome,” he said. “Now, let’s
play something festive on the juke box. I feel like having a
party.”

As Moose perused our latest titles, I felt my
spirits start to buoy. Chances were that Roy would forget all about
us by morning, but even if he did bring his lawyers down on us,
we’d face them all, together.

Besides, what good was it to have an attorney
as a best friend if I didn’t utilize her skills every now and
then?

Chapter 2

“I can’t believe how many people are here,
considering how chilly it is,” I told Greg the next day as we
wandered around the town square together, bundled up and holding
hands as we made our way through the crowds. It was a rare treat
for us to be able to close the diner at noon for two hours, but it
was a long-standing tradition to lock our doors every year during
the height of the celebration on March 11
^th
, from the
first year my grandfather opened The Charming Moose, and I fully
endorsed the arrangement. The residents of Jasper Fork held a
massive birthday party for our city every year, and for the
bicentennial, we were all really getting into the spirit of things.
The road leading into the main square was closed off to cars with
bright yellow sawhorses, and a police officer was stationed at each
point as well, just in case. Vendors were set up everywhere,
offering everything from baked goods to sunglasses to homemade
candles, and the food! It was a delightful walk full of guilty
pleasures everywhere in sight, offering funnel cakes, caramel
apples, and massive turkey legs. Greg was wrestling with one of
those as we walked, and I was honestly surprised that he didn’t
need both hands to handle it.

“Want a bite?” he asked as he offered it to
me.

“No, I’d better not.”

He grinned at my refusal. “Are you saving
room for another ear of corn?” That was my favorite offering,
roasted corn on the cob drizzled with melted butter. Where they got
fresh corn this time of year, I had no idea, nor did I care. All I
knew was that it was delicious.

“Actually, if you ever get finished with that
giant leg of yours, I thought we might split a funnel cake.”

“Victoria, you never finish one of these, you
just decide to abandon it.” He took one last bite, and then
discarded the remains in a nearby trashcan. They were placed every
ten feet throughout the square, and I still wondered if there would
be enough. “Besides, I thought you were going to have some of the
cake I made for dessert.”

“Absolutely,” I said, “but I can have that
whenever I want. A funnel cake, on the other hand, is something I
allow myself just once a year.”

“Hey, I’m honored that you’re willing to
share it with me, then.”

“I never promised that it would be an even
split, did I?” I asked with a grin.

“No, if I get two bites, I’ll be a happy
man.”

“I believe I can sacrifice that much,” I said
with a grin, though it instantly disappeared as Roy Thompson
approached us displaying a plate of his own.

“Thanks for the cake,” Roy said as he waved a
piece of Greg’s offering right under my nose. “It looks
delicious.”

“You’re not allowed to eat that,” I said as I
jerked the plate right out of his hands.

“You don’t have any right to keep me from
it!” Roy said as he snatched the cake right back.

Sheriff Croft must have been standing nearby,
though I hadn’t realized it until he stepped in between us. “What’s
going on here, folks?”

“He can’t have that cake,” I said a little
shrilly. I knew the moment I said it how petty it sounded, but I
couldn’t help myself. I’d banned Roy for good reason, and I didn’t
like seeing him circumventing my position so easily.

“That cake is there for the public,” Roy
said, shielding the slice from me as he spoke. “Anybody can have a
piece.”

“I’m sorry, but he’s right, Victoria,” the
sheriff said.

“I know that,” I said in disgust. “I don’t
have to like it, though, do I? Come on, Greg. Let’s go.”

The sheriff nodded, and he most likely
assumed that the confrontation was over.

It would have been, too, if Roy had kept his
mouth shut.

He didn’t, though. “My, this cake is
delicious,” Roy said as he took a bite.

“Keep walking,” Greg said softly as he tugged
at my hand. I hadn’t even realized that I had stopped until he did
that. “It’s just not worth it.”

“I hate that he’s eating your cake,” I
whispered.

“I know, but let’s not let it spoil our
fun.”

I resolved to do as Greg suggested, and as we
made our way around the booths, I tried my best to forget all about
Roy Thompson.

Half an hour later, Mayor Simon Murphy got
onto the stage and tapped the microphone. As he did at every public
event, he asked the crowd, “Is this thing on?”

Everybody roared, “Yes,” and the mayor
smiled. The mayor’s job was part-time, and paid just a small annual
stipend. For his livelihood, the mayor made beautiful,
museum-quality furniture that offered rich wood and simple lines.
Greg and I had a mahogany nightstand that Simon had made, and it
was by far the nicest piece we owned. We wouldn’t have been able to
afford even that if Simon hadn’t drastically reduced its price
based on a flaw in it he perceived that we still couldn’t find.

“Thanks for coming to the Jasper Fork
Bicentennial Celebration,” he said, and the crowd applauded and
hooted their response. “Everyone, I’ve got quite a surprise that
I’m honored to finally be able to share with you all. We’ve made it
a point to keep this quiet, but it’s finally time to announce it.
As a special treat, I’d now like to ask the VFW to fire the Civil
War cannon in tribute to our fair city, so cover your ears and
duck, everybody. I’ve been told that it’s going to be quite a big
bang.”

I turned to look around, and as I scanned the
crowds, I noticed that sitting at a long table directly in the line
of fire was Roy Thompson. He was grinning at me as he happily
savored every bite of the cake that he didn’t deserve to be eating.
I decided not to give him the satisfaction of reacting, so I turned
to the cannon as several older men in Civil War uniforms prepared
to fire it. I was amazed that they were able to get the thing to
work, especially since they couldn’t have test fired it without
giving the surprise away.

I saw Rooster Hicks lower the lit taper to
the fuse, and I covered my ears. It seemed to take forever for the
light to reach the powder, and I nearly lowered my hands a time or
two. When the cannon finally exploded into life, the ground shook,
and a great plume of white smoke raced from the barrel.

In the deafening silence that followed, I was
just lowering my hands from my ears when I heard someone scream,
“Roy Thompson’s been shot!”

I looked over at Roy, and sure enough, his
body was slumped down in front of him, his face buried squarely in
the center of what was left of our cake.

The paramedics on hand nearby rushed to Roy’s
body even as the sheriff and his deputies leapt into action. A few
folks who’d been nearby were trying to get away from the action,
but Sheriff Croft was too quick to let anyone escape.

“Did that cannon really just kill him?” I
asked Greg.

“I can’t imagine they would have been crazy
enough to load the thing,” my husband said. We all milled around
waiting for some kind of official announcement. No one was in the
mood for a party anymore; that was for sure.

Four minutes later, Sheriff Croft mounted the
steps and took the microphone. “Folks, I’m sorry to announce that
the celebration is now officially over. If any of you saw or spoke
to Roy Thompson within the last few hours, I’d appreciate it if
you’d come forward so I could have a chat with you.” As he said it,
the sheriff looked directly at me. Did he think I’d killed the man
just for taking a piece of cake? I knew it didn’t look good that
I’d argued with Roy so recently, but no one could believe that I’d
take it in my mind to load that cannon with something that would
hit Roy.