Sugar and Iced (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) (22 page)

“You heard me?” she asked. She cringed, as her throat felt scraped raw.

Joe reached out and grabbed her hand. He laced his fingers with hers and then said, “Yeah, and then I saw some nut chasing my girl so I took him out.”

“It was a good hit, too,” Manny said. “I guess we know why you’re number one.”

Joe grinned and Mel rolled her eyes.

“You can’t hold me,” Brandon thrashed in his handcuffs. “You have no proof of anything.”

“Except for the small detail that you admitted to me that you killed Mariel and tried to kill me the same way,” Mel said.

Steve joined them with another bar rag, but this one had ice in it. “For your neck.”

Mel glanced down and realized she’d clawed her own skin bloody, just like Mariel. She shuddered. She had come so close to losing everything. She tightened her hold on Joe’s hand. As if he understood, he squeezed her fingers back.

“Can you tell me what happened, Mel, from the beginning?” Manny asked.

She nodded. She began by telling them about her conversation with Olivia about the free eye tuck, and Anka’s confirmation that Mariel had a deal with Brandon for surgery. She said she had wanted to tell Uncle Stan about the free plastic surgery, and had been looking for him, when she found Brandon instead. She disclosed their horrifying conversation.

When she got to the part about Lupe’s black roses, Manny put on a glove and searched Brandon’s pockets until he found the crushed black velvet. Mel ended the story with Joe’s tackle. Brandon argued and objected and called her a liar but Mel ignored him. The roses were evidence enough.

“One thing I can’t figure out,” Mel said. “What about the brick?”

“What brick?” Brandon asked.

“The one that sailed through my bakery window,” Mel said. “Were you trying to hit Lupe?”

Brandon gave a harsh laugh devoid of humor. “Someone else gets the credit for that. My money would be on the mean redhead in need of a nose job. She’s crazy.”

Mel thought of Sarah Hendricks and thought Brandon might be on to something. After all, it took one to know one.

“Mel, I’ll want you down at the station to give a statement as soon as you have Joe’s head looked at,” Manny said.

She nodded. She would do whatever it took to put Brandon Richards behind bars.

As Manny led Brandon Richards away, Steve fell into step behind them.

“Where are you going?” Joe asked.

“I’m number three, remember?” Steve asked. “I’m pretty sure my presence isn’t needed unless Mel wants to reconsider the arrangement of the Order of Mel?”

Joe looked at Mel to see if she was interested but she just shook her head. Steve heaved a sigh and followed Manny out of the building.

Joe looked her over. His finger brushed the scratches on her neck and gently fingered the bruises. “I should have punched him harder when I had the chance.”

“How’s your head?” she asked. She pulled his hand away and noted that the bleeding had slowed.

“It’s fine,” he said. Big fat lie.

“Let’s get you to the ER,” she said.

“No, they’re about to announce the winner,” Joe said. “Let’s go see if our girl nailed it.”

They ducked into the back of the ballroom. The lights were low but the stage sparkled with all of the glamorous contestants, not to mention the huge glittery tiara suspended from the ceiling.

Mel scanned the crowd until she spotted her mother with Lupe’s family, Marty, Oz, Ginny, and Joe’s brothers, Paulie and Al. Tate and Angie were with them, but they were still lost in each other’s eyes.

Joyce, Ginny, and Gloria looked tense as did Marty, Paulie, and Al, but Oz . . . Strangely enough, Oz looked perfectly relaxed and composed. His eyes were fixed on Lupe and Mel noted that their gazes met several times and when they did, Oz gave her a small nod of encouragement and she beamed.

“I think Oz is convinced that she’s won it,” Joe said.

“I think no matter what happens, she’s his Miss Sweet Tiara,” Mel said.

Cici Hastings strolled across the stage. She looked as glamorous as an old Hollywood movie star with her pile of platinum curls and her rose-colored gown that was beaded from her neckline to the floor-length hem, and sparkled with every move she made. She clutched three envelopes in her hand and Mel tightened her grip on Joe’s arm as she realized this was it.

Cici paused by the microphone, and in a breathy voice, she said, “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for.” She tore open the first envelope and said, “The second runner-up for Miss Sweet Tiara is Jordan Hooper.”

There was applause, and a cute brunette strode forward with a big smile and got her flowers and sash.

Cici returned to the microphone. “Our first runner-up for Miss Sweet Tiara is Destiny Richards.”

Destiny was standing next to Lupe, and Mel watched as she turned and squeezed Lupe’s hand before striding forward with a big smile to accept her sash and flowers. Mel saw a commotion near the stage and she wasn’t at all surprised when Brittany looked as if she was going to storm the stage.

Destiny smiled and waved to the crowd, then she stepped forward and hissed, “Sit down, Mother, you’re making an ass of yourself.”

Like a real beauty queen, she then turned and walked with her head held high and stood next to Jordan.

“I like that girl,” Joe said to Mel. “Her parents are awful, but I like her.”

“Me, too,” she agreed.

Brittany sat down with a sob, but the crowd grew quiet. Cici looked at the third envelope and then she looked at the crowd. “Are you ready to greet your new Miss Sweet Tiara?”

The cheer was deafening.

Cici began to open the envelope. “Ladies and gentleman, our seventy-fifth Miss Sweet Tiara is Guadalupe Guzman.”

“Yes!” Oz shouted and punched a fist in the air. Joyce and Ginny hugged each other while Gloria and her girls jumped up and down. Paulie and Al hugged each other, although they broke apart immediately and then knuckle-bumped each other.

On stage, the girls nearest Lupe hugged her and pushed her forward. Mel watched Sarah Hendricks stalk off the stage. She was not at all surprised that the girl was a sore loser.

Cici greeted Lupe with a kiss on the cheek, draped her sash over her head, and handed her a big bouquet of pink roses while last year’s Miss Sweet Tiara put her crown on Lupe’s head. Lupe strode forward, walking the catwalk and waving to the crowd. She even blew a kiss to Oz. She looked as if she’d been born to wear a crown.

“She did it,” Joe said.

A flash of white and black caught Mel’s eye as Lupe strode forward. Mel grinned. Underneath her beautiful gown, Lupe was wearing her favorite black Converse high tops, and Mel knew that all the glitz and glam in the world wouldn’t change their Lupe.

“She sure did,” Mel said.

Mel waited beside Joe in the emergency room. She had
texted Angie to have everyone meet back at the bakery for a celebration. She mentioned that she and Joe would be late but she didn’t explain why.

Joe got four stitches on his head. Mel joked that they matched the four stitches on her leg. The doc looked at them as if they were a troubled couple, and Joe used his position as an assistant district attorney to explain that they had been swept up in a police investigation and had helped apprehend the bad guy. They gave the doctor Manny’s name if he felt the need to verify their story. From the set expression on the doc’s face, Mel had a feeling Manny would be getting a call.

While they waited in their curtained room, Mel paced and Joe rested. She watched an older couple shuffle past them to the next curtained partition and she wondered if that would be her and Joe in forty years. Probably not, if he never asked her to marry him again.

When the doctor had examined Joe, he had told them that Joe was lucky he hadn’t taken a harder hit to the temple, as it could have caused bleeding on the brain or severe brain damage.

Joe had blanched but Mel had been hit with the sudden clarity that even if her man did get injured she would do everything she could to take care of him just like he had risked everything without hesitation to take down the man who was chasing “his girl.”

She thought about what her mother had said, that her life would have been infinitely more tragic if she had never had Mel’s father in it. The fear of losing Joe, while still very real for Mel, had lost its power when she realized that by pushing him away, she was losing him anyway. There were no half steps in a relationship. Either you were in or you were out.

She thought about her dad and how Tate had said he would be disappointed in her for not going after what she wanted. Then she thought about Tate springing the question on Angie out of the blue and how right it had been. Then she thought about how it was always Joe that she measured every man against and how every man fell short, even the really good ones.

“You’re going to pace a hole in the floor,” Joe said. He was reclined on the hospital bed, watching her. He looked pale and it made Mel’s fear kick up in her chest. She smacked it back down.

Mel took his hand in hers and brushed his hair back from his forehead with her free hand. “Sorry.”

“No need,” he said. “What’s on your mind, Cupcake?”

Mel looked at him. What could she say? That she had finally come to her senses and wanted to marry him, but he had quit asking her? Yeah, that wouldn’t be awkward, especially if he had changed his mind. And what if when he found out that Tate and Angie were engaged, he thought her sudden change of heart was because she didn’t want to feel left out? It wasn’t true, but she could see how he might see it that way.

“I was thinking—” Mel was about to confess all when a nurse pushed back the curtain and entered their area.

“Mr. DeLaura, your discharge papers are all set,” she said. “You’re free to go.”

“Thanks,” Joe said as he sat up.

Mel studied him to see if he was woozy at all, but he rolled off of the bed as if he was just fine.

The nurse was listing off the things he had to watch for and Mel listened with half an ear as she followed him out of the hospital.

She was parked in a visitor’s space near the door. She helped Joe into the front of her car and hurried around to the driver’s side.

“Do you want me to take you home?” she asked.

“No, I want to see our girl,” he said. “To the bakery.”

“All right,” Mel said. “But if you look woozy, I’m taking you home.”

Joe gave her a small smile. The hospital was minutes from the bakery and when Mel parked in front of her new glass window, she saw that the window shades were down and the closed sign was flipped, but the jukebox was playing and it was easy to see there was a crowd in the joint.

“I’m glad we didn’t miss the party,” Joe said. He climbed out of the car and led the way to the door. Mel used her key to let them in.

And soon as they entered, Joyce pounced. “Dear Joe, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” he said. He reassured her with a hug.

“Stan called and told us everything,” she said. “I can’t believe Brandon Richards was the killer, and he went after Mel. Oh, if you hadn’t been there, I shudder to think what would have happened.”

“Mel would have been okay,” Joe said. “She’s very re-sourceful.”

“Nice head, bro,” Paulie said. “How many stitches?”

“Four,” Joe said.

“Aw, that’s nothing,” Al said. “Remember when Sal was in that motorcycle accident and he left his scalp on the road?”

They all shuddered.

“I heard how you took down Brandon Richards,” Marty said as he joined them. “Nicely done.”

“Thanks,” Joe said.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Joyce asked. “Lupe won, and Tate and Angie are engaged! I’m just so happy!”

“What?” Joe looked stunned.

“You didn’t tell him?” Joyce asked Mel.

“No, I didn’t get a chance,” Mel said. She knew it sounded weak when Joe looked at her and frowned. There had certainly been plenty of time while they were cooling their heels in the ER.

“It’s pretty big news,” Al said. “The rest of the family is coming over to celebrate.”

“That’s great!” Joe said. Mel wondered if it was just her who heard the bittersweet tone in his voice. He strode across the room and hugged his sister. When Tate held out his hand for a shake, Joe pushed it aside and gave him a manly hug instead. Mel smiled. It was good to see Tate being accepted into the DeLaura fold so easily.

“That could be you,” Marty said.

She turned and glanced at him. “No, I don’t think Angie is interested in marrying me.”

“You know what I mean,” he said. “That could be you and Joe.”

“Assuming they didn’t keep it a secret,” Joyce said from her other side.

“Are you two ganging up on me?” Mel asked.

Marty and Joyce both leaned forward and looked at each other before they leaned back. “Yes,” they said.

Mel glanced at the crowd in front of her. Oz and Lupe were standing with her family while Tate and Angie and Joe were just off to the side. Al and Paulie had drifted over to join the newly engaged couple. Everyone was smiling and happy.

“No, it can’t be me,” Mel said sadly. “Joe has stopped asking me to marry him. I think he’s given up on me.”

“Oh, no,” Joyce said. Her face looked as sad as Mel felt.

“Well, so what?” Marty snapped.

“What do you mean ‘so what’?” Mel asked. “He’s given up. As in, I finally managed to push him away.”

“And you’re going to let that be the end?” Marty asked. “That’s lame.”

“Lame?”

“Totally lame,” he said.

“Is this how you mind your own business?” Mel asked.

Their voices were rising in volume and she noticed that the rest of the gathering was beginning to look at them. She didn’t care.

“Yes, it is,” Marty snapped. “I’ve been watching you for the past few months messing up your life and I’ve said nothing, because I was sure that brain in your head would kick in and you’d figure it out. But you are slower than molasses on a cold day. So what if Joe stopped asking you? Is he the only one in your relationship?”

Mel felt her face get hot as she realized everyone in the room was staring at them. But then she glanced up and saw Joe, gazing at her with his warm chocolate brown eyes filled with concern, and everything clicked into place.

“Joe, will you marry me?” she asked.

The entire room froze. The only noise was coming from the jukebox, which, appropriately, was playing Elvis crooning “Love Me Tender.”

“You don’t have to do this, Mel,” Joe said. “In fact, you really shouldn’t.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Marty muttered to Joyce. “Did he fall down the stupid tree and hit every branch?”

Joyce hushed him.

“I know I don’t have to and I love you for that even more than I thought possible,” Mel said. “The truth is I have been in love with you since I was twelve years old, Joe DeLaura. When you asked me to marry you, everything in my world was right, but then I got scared. I couldn’t bear the thought that I might lose you someday and I got the wiggins. It was stupid and I’m sorry.”

Joe crossed the room to stand beside her. His face was pinched as if he were in pain.

“I really think we should talk about this somewhere else,” he said.

Mel studied his face. He looked like a man being torn in two.
Oh, no!
She had been right. He had changed his mind. She had thought it would be the humiliation of being publicly rejected that would kill her, but no. She clutched her chest. This was not angina that hurt so bad; rather, it was the feeling of her heart breaking and shattering into a million pieces.

“Oh, I see,” she said.

“What the what?” Marty protested beside her.

Again, Joyce hushed him.

“Come on,” Joe said. He took Mel’s arm and led her out the door. “We need to talk.”

The door closed behind them and Mel could still hear Elvis crooning, which was only slightly louder than the furious chorus of whispers that broke out as soon as the door shut.

“You don’t have to explain,” Mel said. “I was an idiot. I’m so sorry I kept pushing you away. I understand if your patience has run out.”

Joe moved into her personal space and cupped her face in his hands.

“Listen, Cupcake,” he paused and took a deep breath as if trying to figure out exactly what to say. “I meant it when I asked you to marry me. Every. Single. Time.”

Mel gazed into his eyes and she knew he was telling the truth. She supposed it was some consolation that he looked as if he was in as much agony as she was.

“But?” she prodded.

He pushed back a lock of her hair that had fallen forward. His fingers moved slow as if savoring the feel of the blond curl. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. Mel felt her throat get tight. She closed her eyes, trying to memorize the feel of his lips against her skin. She knew a kiss-off when she got one.

His voice was gravel-rough when he said, “But things change. I’m sorry, Mel.”

She couldn’t speak. She stepped back and nodded. Joe met her gaze for a heartbeat. It hurt too much and Mel glanced away. When she looked back up, he was gone.

She didn’t think she could go back inside and face everyone just yet. She slumped against the wall and let the tears fall silently down her face. The irony that losing Joe hurt even worse than she had feared was not lost on her. And it didn’t help, not even a little.

“Uh, Mel?” a voice called her name. “You all right?”

She hastily wiped her cheeks and cleared her throat.

“Yeah,” she answered.

She turned to find Manny walking down the sidewalk toward her. The overhead light shone on his black hair. He looked rumpled and tired and in need of a big lemon cupcake. Funny, she could use a few dozen herself.

“I’m looking for Joe,” he said.

Great, just hearing his name was a knife to the chest.

“You just missed him,” Mel said. She tried not to blanch but she couldn’t help it. Having Joe walk out of her life was going to take some getting used to.

Manny stopped beside her and studied her face. “Oh, hell. He did it, didn’t he?”

“Did what?”

“Walked away,” he said.

“Walked. Ran. Left skid marks,” Mel said. “Take your pick. I suppose I had it coming since I rejected him so many times. What’s that lovely expression? Payback’s a bitch?”

Manny blew out a breath. “You know, I thought I would be happier about this, but I’m not. I hate to see you hurting.”

“I’ll be all right,” Mel lied.

A noise sounded from the shop and Mel suspected that the party was breaking up. Probably, the jocularity was cut short by the awkward scene she and Joe had caused.

“We can’t talk here,” Manny said. He grabbed Mel’s hand, giving her no choice but to go with him.

They circled the building until they were at the back stairs that led up to her apartment.

“Sit,” Manny ordered.

“I’m really not up for a convo just now,” she said. The thought of rolling up in her futon and not coming out for a week or two . . . Now that had appeal.

“This isn’t a conversation,” Manny said. “I’m going to talk and you’re going to listen.”

Mel straightened up. He had her attention now.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Manny began to pace. “You know if you could just fall for me this would all be so much easier.” He sighed. “Your heart belongs to Joe, doesn’t it?”

“Always,” Mel choked.

Manny nodded. “This is ridiculous. I’m considered one of the toughest detectives on the force, but I can’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“Lie to you,” he said. He stopped in front of her. “The brick that came through your window, it wasn’t meant for Lupe.”

“What?”

“It was meant for you,” he said.

“Me?” Mel gaped. “But why?”

Manny started pacing again. He looked to be thinking through something. Mel didn’t interrupt for fear that he wouldn’t share. Finally, he stopped.

“If you were a very powerful criminal with an incredibly long reach, how would you try to stop the assistant district attorney who was gunning for you?” he asked.