Pistols & Pies (Sweet Bites Book 2) (Sweet Bites Mysteries) (12 page)

2 Tbsp melted margarine

1 Tbsp sugar

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

Mix butter, sugar, eggs and milk, then add baking powder, salt and vanilla until well mixed. Add the flour and mix. Should make a thin batter. Preheat a frying pan on medium or medium-low. Use a dab of butter, or spray oil between each batch to prevent sticking. Pour a thin layer of batter (about 2 tablespoons) into the bottom of the hot pan and swirl it around. When the sides begin to curl away, turn it over and lightly fry on the other side for only a few seconds, then place on a plate. Repeat until all of the batter is used up.

Put a few tablespoons of your favorite pudding, some pie filling or a little jam into the crepe and roll it up. Add a dab of whipped topping on it for garnish and serve.

I’m not sure I knew what to expect the next day. Maybe an empty store with everyone shunning the place, though I didn’t know how everyone would know so quickly. Instead, I seemed to have a lot of new visitors and repeat customers whom I hadn’t seen in weeks. I didn’t know what to think until one woman asked, “So did you really get arrested last night after you found the murder weapon?” She stumbled over her words. “I mean, you found the murder weapon. You didn’t deserve to be arrested for that.”

 “Is that the story going around?” I smiled in relief. “We got a ticket ordering us to appear instead of being arrested, but it’s possible it’s the murder weapon. It sure appeared to be. Detective Tingey is having ballistics check it now.” I wondered if that meant taking it to Phoenix or somewhere big where they had the equipment to determine ballistics. I was fairly sure our department here wouldn’t have all of the researching capabilities needed for a murder case.

“Of course it’s the right gun. If Tingey took it, it has to be.” She requested a dozen cookies and I boxed them up for her.

The steady flow of traffic through the shop continued all morning and I kept Lenny busy in the back refilling the racks as the food flew out the door. He’d talked me into letting him help out in the morning at least before starting his apartment search and I was glad that he had. I also whipped up dozens of lattes and cappuccinos and took some orders for the coming weeks. 

Shortly before two, the door closed behind a couple of women as they exited. The shop was empty for the first time since I’d opened. We usually got another rush mid-afternoon, but in the meantime, I was ready for some real food and to get off my feet.

I walked back into the kitchen to find Lenny sitting on a stool by the counter, leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed.

“Rough day?” I asked.

“I never thought cookies and cupcakes could wear me out like this. That was insane. Don’t you have a big wedding cake coming up?”

“Yeah.” I smiled at him. “Are you too tired to work on some sugar lilies?”

His eyes opened and he stood at attention. “Of course not.”

“It’s still ten days off, so I thought I’d give you a couple of days to work on them for practice. If they’re good enough—which I’m sure they will be—we’ll use them.”

He was ridiculously easy to please. That light of excitement returned to his eyes. He’d complained that he hadn’t been allowed to do any real cake decorating in Chicago since I’d left the hotel restaurant, as the new pastry chef was a total control freak.

Not that I
wasn’t
a control freak, but Lenny and I had history. I wasn’t sure if he was quite ready to work on his own, but he wouldn’t be ready if I didn’t let him practice, and my life would get infinitely easier if I had someone here who could step up in an emergency. Lilies were easy.

He stood and moved around the kitchen, sanitizing the surfaces and getting out the tools he’d need. Pleased, I returned to the front as the bell over the door rang again.

Lunch would wait.

Detective Tingey came in later that day. I was surprised to see him, wondering if he was going to arrest me for real, for something worse than trespassing—not that I could think of anything I’d done wrong.

“Hey,” I greeted him.

“Could I get a couple of your rocky road brownies and a cup of coffee?” He stood much more alert today than the previous night, wearing his sheriff’s office pullover. His badge hung prominently from a lanyard around his neck.

“Of course.” I moved to comply, not sure what to say, but wanting to ask a dozen questions. “How are things going today?” I finally asked.

“Fine. I guess.” His expression said otherwise. “We checked the gun for prints, even the bullets in the cylinder. No prints to be found.”

“Really?” I was surprised he was telling me this, as he was usually so closed-mouthed about his investigations. I tried to act casual, as if I didn’t know he was breaking protocol. Maybe he was so exhausted he just didn’t realize what he was saying. I didn’t want to call attention to it, though or he might stop.

“Sent it to Phoenix for ballistics. We should hear back fairly soon—considering
soon
is a completely inaccurate description when we’re talking about how long it usually takes. But I have a friend in the office there who owes me a favor. He promised to expedite it for us.”

“Good. Good. It will be nice to know if it’s the one.” I turned back to him with his drink. I pulled out a plate and set a couple of brownies on it, then rang him up. “How do you feel about how things are going?” I knew better than to ask him for specifics.

“They’d be better if I had all of the available information. Starting with the email you got. I’d like to see it, if you don’t mind.” He took a big bite of brownie.

“Of course not. I figured you would.” I motioned for him to come behind the counter and I sat at the computer, pulling up the page for him.

He leaned over my shoulder to read. “I’d like a copy, and could you forward it to me, along with the header details. I’ll need to contact the email provider too.”

“Do you think you can trace it with IP addresses or whatever?” I asked.

“I’m sure going to try.” His voice had turned grim. “Whether that ends up being the gun or not, someone wants to stir things up, and I’d like to know who and why.”

I passed the keyboard to Lenny—I didn’t know what a header was, but Lenny would. “Honey’s hosting the website through her company,” I said. “You’ll have to contact her to find out who the provider is.”

Lenny printed it out and sent the email to the address Tingey gave him.

I swiveled my chair and looked up at Tingey. “I know what we did last night was stupid. Are you going to give me a hard time about it?”

“Not more than I already have,” he said, but he leaned one hip against the counter. “I’d like to know what else you’ve heard, though, since you seem to be aware of a few things I didn’t know were public knowledge. It would make it easier to do my job.” His comments were pointed.

I studied him for a long moment. He might be taking me seriously, or he might just be pumping me for information. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him coming to me for hearsay and rumors, but decided to give him what I could. What I was
sure
of.  “Let me pour myself some coffee and join you at the table.”

When we were seated, I filled him in on my conversation with Mrs. Hogan, and the one with her son later. “I’ve also listened to Marty Grizzle say that he hated Eric and thought he got what he deserved. Apparently there were some issues about the building of the fitness center.”

Tingey nodded. “I’d heard the complaints Eric made about inferior materials. I’d be surprised if a lot of people haven’t heard it by now. I don’t know if it’s true, though.”

“And a few nights ago someone said that Eric was auditing Nova Cosmetics and apparently their CEO was none too happy about it.” Okay, so that
was
hearsay, rather than known fact, but it wasn’t a scandal to be unhappy about getting audited (really, who likes an audit?), so I didn’t feel like I was spreading gossip.

His brows lifted. “Now that’s a new one I hadn’t heard. I checked the list of audits, but nothing stood out. I haven’t had a chance to dig deeper.”

“I bet.”

Tingey finished off his brownies, slugged back the end of his coffee and stood. “I’d really appreciate it if you kept me in the loop if you hear more,” he said. “But don’t go looking for trouble. I don’t want to be the one having to pull you out of it again.”

“You call last night trouble?” I asked. “Because it seemed to me you weren’t exactly there to save me, even when I called you for help.”

He was unfazed. “No, but he could have shot you two, you know. Trespassers tend to find themselves in a heap of trouble when they ignore things like good sense around here. I knew he wouldn’t, but he could have.”

“Terrific. Thanks.” I wondered if the words sounded as sarcastic to him as they did to me.

He left with a smile curling the edges of his mouth.

Lenny came out shortly after the door closed. “That was
cozy
. Don’t tell me he’s the one who ticketed you last night. It must have broken his heart.”

“Oh, please. Don’t even go there.” I stood and collected our empty dishes, moving back toward the kitchen to wash them. “How are your flowers coming along?”

“Check it out.” He pointed to the tray of drying gumpaste and I grinned, more than pleased by the progress he’d made.

I set the dishes in the sink and moved to the tray, walking all around the counter, studying them from every angle. They weren’t finished, but the parts he’d done looked good. Excellent, even. “You’ve been practicing at home.”

“Yeah.” He sounded extremely pleased with himself, as he should be.

“They look terrific so far. Go ahead and do the rest.” I walked over to the paperwork, which he had on the front of the clipboard where I kept upcoming cake orders. “It looks like we need fifty.”

“Will do.” Yet despite his pleased reaction to my praise that the flowers were perfect, he still seemed down to me, way too quiet and subdued for the man I knew.

What could I do for him and Kat? Nothing at the moment. “Tomorrow once we get things moving in here, unless it’s insane out front, I’ll take over the other baking so you can finish these up. Then take the rest of the day off.”

“All right, I need to get in some apartment hunting.”

“For sure.” It was great having him here, and I didn’t mind putting him up for a few days, but I wanted my space back.

I had just seen the back end of Lenny for the day—or so I thought—when I heard his cell phone ringing. I followed the sound to the kitchen and found it sitting on the counter near the sink.

I planned to let it go to voice mail, but Kat’s name flashed across the screen. My hand rose and hovered above the phone for a moment, my palms itching to pick it up. I grabbed it and hit accept. “Hi, Kat, this is Tess.”

“Tess? Is Lenny around?” Kat asked.

“He’s gone out looking at apartments. How are you doing?” I didn’t want to pry (well, yes, I did very much want to pry), but she sounded upset.