The Diva Frosts a Cupcake (14 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Dear Sophie,

I’d rather have cupcakes at my wedding than a wedding cake. My mother is pitching a fit. How can I convince her?

—Fit to Be Tied in Romance, Wisconsin

Dear Fit to Be Tied,

Cupcakes have become a popular change from the traditional wedding cake. Talk to your baker. She’ll probably have pictures of lovely wedding cupcakes. Maybe it will help mom compromise if the very top of the cupcake display features a small traditional cake with flowers or a cake topper.

—Sophie

“I remember that,” said Francie. “Spenser was out of town on business. Clarissa had the fright of her life when some man broke into the house and took their things. I heard she hid under the bed so the man wouldn’t see her.”

My concern for Humphrey heightened. All the recent troubles had involved a small circle of cupcake bakers. I didn’t understand what was going on, but it seemed like Humphrey had stepped into a nest of yellow jackets, and one of them had stung him. I set the bowl on the counter and sat down with my friends. One person’s name rattled around in my head—Renee. Humphrey would balk as soon as I mentioned her. He would deny her involvement. How could I get him to see what I was thinking without shoving it down his throat?

“Who has been in your car in the last couple of weeks?” I gave him a window, so he wouldn’t fight me right away.

“No one.”

We stared at him.

“Renee.” He spoke her name like he was doomed. “And Natasha’s dog, Martha.”

Nina gasped. “That’s why Renee killed Muffin!”

There could be a connection, but I didn’t see it. I waited for her to go on.

“Muffin found the bejeweled cupcake in Renee’s apartment and accused her of burglarizing Spenser’s house.”

“Or maybe Renee stumbled upon it and was going to return it to Spenser. I need to talk with Renee!” Humphrey rose from his seat.

“Maybe you should eat breakfast first. Where is Renee anyway?” I rose and folded the egg whites into the batter.

Francie poured more coffee for everyone. “If a man burglarized the Osbourne home, then he must have given it to Renee. Maybe she doesn’t know that it was stolen.”

“Why would she be carrying it around?” asked Nina. “I would have that thing in a safe, or at least well hidden.”

“She stayed at my house for a couple of nights while her place was a crime scene,” said Humphrey. “She probably brought it with her for safekeeping and it slipped out in the car. Oh my gosh, I bet she’s frantic about losing it.”

I heated the pork sausages and warmed the Ebelskiver pan. The scents of spinach and pork mingled with the coffee aroma, and I realized how hungry I was.

Unbidden, Nina set the table with a blue tablecloth, round white Fiesta ware plates, and chocolate and blue toile napkins that boosted the elegance of the table setting immediately. She located the maple syrup in the fridge and brought it to the table.

It warmed my heart that Nina pitched in without asking—and she even knew where to find everything!

Squeezing the moisture out of the spinach, I considered my mixed feelings about Renee. I’d liked her and had no problems with her until she started using Humphrey as her personal assistant. That wasn’t reason to suspect her of murdering Muffin, though. Or of stealing the cupcake. Her bedroom was packed with miniature collectables but I hadn’t noticed any of that caliber.

I poured a teensy bit of cream and mixed a tablespoon of butter into the spinach, added salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg, and gave it a whir with an immersion blender to chop it up and incorporate the seasonings. I spooned a small portion of batter into each of the round Ebelskiver indentations in the pan. On top of each, I added a tiny bit of the spinach mixture, then added a little bit more batter to cover it. I flipped each Ebelskiver to cook on the other side and fetched a serving platter. The pork sausages went in the middle and the spinach-filled Ebelskivers formed a circle around them.

I set the platter on the table and started the next batch of Ebelskivers, this time with a Nutella filling. After that, I made one more batch with blueberries, dusted them very lightly with powdered sugar, brought them to the table, and sat down.

The food had brought conversation to a dead stop. Nina helped herself to more of the savory spinach Ebelskivers. “As much as I love sweets, these have to be one of my favorites. They’re like spinach crepes, only in little balls.”

Humphrey chowed down, apparently not any worse for wear after his incarceration.

Francie had finished with the savory portion of her breakfast and eagerly helped herself to sweet Ebelskivers. “Mmm.” She swallowed a bite. “I never know what to do with Nutella other than spread it on toast. These are sinful. Humphrey, I hope you’ll ask Sophie to make Ebelskivers more often.”

I appreciated their enthusiasm, and had to admit that the chocolatey hazelnut flavor of Nutella wrapped in a tiny warm pancake was hard to beat.

If only Humphrey’s problem wasn’t hanging over our heads like a sword dangling on a loose cord.

My fear was that Nina had been right in regard to Renee’s connection to Muffin’s murder. So far, we hadn’t heard about anyone who might have a motive to murder poor Muffin. No one except Renee or Joy. And I wondered if even they had motives. After all, they were the ones who’d put her in the position of having to choose between them. It seemed impossible to imagine that Joy had been so upset by Muffin’s decision to stay with Renee that she’d resorted to murder, unless she had a drug problem and hadn’t been thinking clearly.

Or maybe Joy was right. Maybe someone had tried to poison her. The most likely candidate for that was, once again, Renee.

Trying to sound oh-so-casual, I asked, “So Humphrey—what’s the story behind the split between Renee and Joy?”

“I already told you. Joy moved out without any notice to Renee.”

“What’s with the ring I keep hearing about?” I asked.

“Joy claims Renee stole her grandmother’s ring, a valuable family heirloom. That’s nonsense, of course. What’s worse, Joy cleaned out the business bank account, so Renee didn’t even have money to pay the rent!”

I watched him carefully. Had he paid the rent for Renee? How could I delicately inquire?

Francie coughed. “Good grief. I hope she didn’t hit you up for rent money.”

I froze. Trust Francie to cut to the chase.

Humphrey didn’t seem put out in the slightest. “She did not. I offered to pay it for her.”

“A loan, I hope?” asked Nina.

“Not at all. If you were in a financial bind, and I was able to help, I would do the same for any one of you.”

Glances shot around the table between Francie, Nina, and me.

“That was very kind, Humphrey.” He’d never see that money again. I cut into a blueberry Ebelskiver.

“No wonder Renee tried to knock off Joy!” Francie shook her head. “What was Joy thinking, taking all their money? It’s like a bad divorce.”

This time Humphrey bristled. “Francie, please. I won’t have you speaking that way about the woman I love. You have no reason whatsoever to think that Renee had anything to do with Joy’s illness. And frankly, I’m not sure that the rumors of poisoning are even true. The doctors think she may have taken something that caused her hallucinations.”

“The woman you love?”
Nina choked on her coffee.

I had seen this coming. I
so
wanted to be happy for Humphrey, but I’d had misgivings from the start. Now that so many horrible things had happened, and Renee seemed to be in the middle of them, Humphrey’s adoration of her worried me.

“I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

Forks clattered on dishes around the table as they fell from our hands.

“How long have you known Renee?” I asked.

“Over a year.”

“You’ve been dating her that long and never said anything about it?” How did we miss that? How could we not have known?

Humphrey raised his forefinger. “Known . . . dating, that’s a distinction without a difference.”

Uh-oh
. He was in for another huge letdown.

“Oh, Humphrey! How can you be so naïve?” Nina smacked his hand.

His forehead crinkled. “I am not naïve. For instance, Sophie and I have never dated, but I’ve known her most of my life. There’s probably not much I don’t know about her.”

“Apparently you don’t know how shocked she would be if you asked her to marry you.” As usual, Francie had hit it on the head.

Humphrey turned his head ever so slightly toward me. “Is that true? You would be shocked?”

“Yes! I have male friends, but marriage—well, that’s a completely different thing.” I dared to ask, “Is your relationship with Renee . . . romantic?”

“Actually, it is.”

I relaxed a little bit. Maybe I’d gotten the wrong idea about Renee.

“You can’t imagine what fun we had selling cupcakes in the booth. Tight quarters, you know, so we couldn’t help brushing against each other now and then. And the laughs we had when we baked cupcakes at Cake My Day with Spenser! I’d say we’ve been quite close.”

Once again, looks flitted between Nina, Francie, and me.

Francie set her coffee mug on the table with a little thud. “Have you been intimate, son?”

“We have engaged in warm embraces.” He scowled at us. “I believe a gentleman never discusses such things.”

“Oh dear heaven!” Nina bit back a smile. She’d said exactly what I was thinking.

Francie
tsk
ed at us. “Now, now. There’s nothing wrong with being a gentleman. In my day, we didn’t plop into bed with whomever came along. We allowed feelings and mutual respect to develop. You don’t have to rush into anything, Humphrey. But, son, you can’t just marry someone because you’ve baked cupcakes with her.”

I felt for poor Humphrey. He’d had so little luck with women that he saw the most ordinary behavior as special. “What’s important right now is to figure out how Humphrey came into possession of that expensive cupcake and how to clear his name.”

“And while we’re doing that, we still need to find poor Buddy!” Nina eyed Humphrey. “Do you think you could sweet-talk Myra into going into Maurice’s house? I tried, but you might have more sway with her.”

“I forgot all about him. That poor dog! Of course, I’ll ask Myra. She’s really a very good-hearted person.” He checked his watch. “In fact, she should be at work right about now.”

Francie rose. “I’ll come along with you. I’ve always wanted to see the inner workings of a mortuary.”

When Humphrey excused himself for a moment, Francie said, “Somebody’s got to look after that boy. I’ve never met anyone so smart who was more clueless about women. Besides, I’ve always wanted to match someone up with the right partner. You know, where they thank you in the wedding toast.”

“You’re going to try to help him with Renee?” asked Nina. She sounded appalled.

“Do you think I’m daft? It’s that Myra girl that
I
like!” She raised her voice. “Humphrey! Don’t take all day!” She winked at us and met him in the foyer.

I stood up and began to clear the table. I was holding three dishes when Humphrey dashed back into the kitchen and hugged me. “Thank you, Sophie. In spite of your concerns about Renee, you’re a very good friend. No one else would rescue me at four in the morning.”

Nina cleared her throat dramatically.

“Except for Nina,” said Humphrey. He pecked her on the cheek and hurried back to the front door, where Francie was hollering his name.

The second Nina saw them on the sidewalk, she grasped my arm. “He is in so much trouble! Do you think that cupcake was planted on Humphrey or dropped in his car by mistake?”

“It could have happened either way. The only thing I’m certain about is that he didn’t steal it.” I rinsed the dishes and slid them into the dishwasher. “How would you feel about making some inquiries?”

“I’m in. As soon as I shower and change. Half an hour?”

Nina and I met on the sidewalk in front of her house. I’d left Daisy at home with Mochie, since we were planning to visit bakeries. After the busy weekend, complete with doggy gala, I figured she had some sleep to catch up on anyway.

Fresh spring air invigorated us. We both wore running shoes, rather a joke since neither of us was inclined to run, except when no other alternative appeared reasonable. But we walked at a nice clip, and even though we talked about Humphrey and Renee, we slowed occasionally to appreciate the scent of blooming flowers or a particularly spectacular azalea.

The center of Old Town bustled with people. We turned right and faced the rival bakeries, Sugar Baby and Sugar Mama.

“Joy first?” asked Nina.

“She might not be back at work yet. How are we going to find out more about her taking Sugar Baby’s money? It’s not like we can come right out and ask.”

“We should have brought Francie. She doesn’t seem to care about being polite. What if we tell her that we’re worried about Humphrey and his relationship with Renee? Maybe she’ll tell us the scoop about her.”

Armed with that intention, we proceeded to Sugar Mama. The door was locked, though, and the closed sign hung on it.

“Do you guess she’s home from the hospital?” asked Nina. “Maybe she’s still recuperating from the poison.”

“Or the drugs.”

We jaywalked across the street to Sugar Baby, easy to do in Old Town, where cars didn’t move very fast. Even before we entered, I could see Renee smiling at customers. She wore her trademark pink apron and looked as though nothing terrible had ever happened there. The makeshift memorial to Muffin had already vanished, along with the police tape. How quickly we moved on. It wasn’t fair to Muffin or her memory.

I pushed the door open, and the little bell tinkled merrily. The customers left, and Nina and I caught Renee alone.

“Looks like business is good,” I said.

She hurried out from behind the counter. “Where’s Humphrey? I’ve been calling him for hours, but he doesn’t answer.” She didn’t wait for a response. She clutched her forehead with nervous fingers. “Someone almost broke into the bakery last night. I’m scared to death.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Dear Sophie,

How can I cover cupcakes to store them? The wrap or foil always destroys the cute frosting.

—Can’t Get Enough Cupcakes in Cold Spring, Minnesota

Dear Can’t Get Enough Cupcakes,

Use toothpicks! Stick three to four toothpicks in each cupcake to hold the wrap away. It works for cakes, too!

—Sophie

I was inclined to believe Renee, because her chest heaved heavily, as though she was extremely agitated.

“What happened?” asked Nina.

“Did you call the police?” I motioned to a table, and we all sat down.

“It was early in the morning.” Her fingers balled into little fists. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I was dreaming about Muffin. It was as though she came to me in my dream, and she scolded me for not changing the locks. I woke up and went downstairs to be sure I had locked up. When I reached the bottom, I could hear someone messing with the lock on the back door. I screamed my head off and shoved one of these chairs under the doorknob at an angle so he couldn’t get in if he managed to unlock it.” She bent forward and hid her face in her hands.

Nina patted her back.

When Renee sat up, she drew her hands down her face, and she could hardly breathe. “Just remembering it is giving me chills. I called the cops and ran back up the stairs. When I looked out my bedroom window, I saw him running away. It wasn’t my imagination. Somebody tried to break in.”

“Could you tell it was a man?” I asked. She was so frightened that my own pulse raced.

“Not really. I guess it could have been a woman. It’s dark out in the alley. I didn’t see much.”

“What did the cops say?” asked Nina.

“To change the locks. The locksmith is working on the back door right now. He’s adding a deadbolt, and he’ll do the front door next. An electrician should be here any minute to add a spotlight in the back of the store. And Spenser is sending someone over to install an alarm system.”

“Spenser?” That was interesting.

“I couldn’t reach Humphrey, and I just didn’t know what to do, so I called Spenser. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to burden you with my problems. I’ve been trying so hard to keep a cheery face since Muffin’s murder. It hasn’t been easy, but if I don’t do that, people won’t come here, and I’ll be out of business.” She bit her upper lip. “I’m scared witless. I’ll feel better once all the security measures are in place. Spenser says I’ll be safer here than anywhere else. There’s even going to be an alarm that goes off if someone breaks one of the storefront windows.”

I wanted to ask about Joy gently, but there just wasn’t any way to pussyfoot around it. “Does Joy suffer from a drug addiction?”

“Oh, my word, no! I never would have gone into business with anyone into drugs. That would have been a guaranteed nightmare.”

“I wanted to thank you for being such a trouper and baking cupcakes for the feast in spite of everything that happened.” Nina smiled at her. “I was so busy searching for Martha that I never had a chance to chat after the cupcake feast.”

Renee wove her fingers together over the logo on her apron. “I’m lucky most people don’t know about my inedible frosting at the cupcake feast. What a disaster. Nothing like that has ever happened to me in all my years of baking. I don’t know what went wrong with the frosting on the Salted Caramel Cupcakes. Spenser thinks I mixed up the flour and the powdered sugar.”

“I’ll take six of the Tres Leches Cupcakes,” said Nina.

When I looked to her in surprise, she said, “Humphrey and Francie might want one.”

Renee rose and pulled out a box for the cupcakes. “Where is Humphrey? He usually stops by for a cupcake in the morning, but I haven’t seen him.”

“Usually stops by? Every day?” I asked.

Renee raised her chin with pride. “Some people are addicted to our—
my
—cupcakes. Humphrey is here every single day. Muffin always worried about him when he didn’t show up on time.”

Muffin’s name had rolled off Renee’s tongue easily, but a cloud passed over her sunny expression. She stopped working and winced. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget that she’s not here anymore. I keep thinking she’ll walk in the door and tell me an outrageously funny story about what happened to her on the way to work.”

“It must be hard for you to sleep upstairs.” The words slid out of my mouth, and I immediately regretted them.

“It is! I don’t know what I’m going to do. I might just rent out the unit upstairs. Do you think I’d find a tenant? Would anyone rent an apartment where someone had been murdered? On the other hand, it’s so convenient to be right here at the bakery. I never have to worry about working late or dealing with traffic. It’s almost a luxury. Once the locks, and lights, and bells and whistles are installed, it will be super safe. And I love living in Old Town. But I know I’ll never be able to sleep in my bedroom again.” She winced. “I never wanted to look under the bed, but when the police let me come home, I found sugar ants trailing under there.”

“Frosting!” I said.

“How did you know?”

“A dollop landed on my shoe.”

Renee nodded. “She must have been gripping an icing bag in her hand when she was killed. Frosting was all over underneath the bed.”

Nina wrinkled her nose. “Where are you sleeping?”

“Humphrey loaned me one of those big inflatable mattresses. I put it in the living room. I have to try to block out what happened to Muffin, but it’s hard.”

I believed her. I didn’t think her distress was fake. Of course, even if she
had
murdered Muffin, she could still be distressed by it. But if Renee had murdered Muffin, why would someone have tried to break in last night?

“Do the police have any leads?” I asked.

“Not any that they’ve mentioned to me. Muffin was a sweetheart. No one hated her. She even slipped that dreadful Maurice Lester a free cupcake now and then.”

“Why?” I asked.

Renee’s mouth pulled tight. “That man won’t pay for anything. He and Nick Rigas. Talk about tightfisted. For some reason, they think everyone should just hand them whatever they want. I would never have the audacity to ask for free food at a bakery. Seriously”—she waved her hands as though showing us the bakery—“do they really not understand that this is a business? Who does that? I don’t go to restaurants and expect free food. And Maurice of all people! He knows how hard it is to make it as a cupcakery. I got so mad at poor Muffin, because I won’t put up with freeloaders. Maurice was like a neighborhood dog—slip him a treat once and he comes by every day looking for another one.”

She brushed a dusting of powdered sugar off her apron. “If he’d been destitute, well, that would have been different. It’s not as though I have no compassion for those in need, but I see no reason to feed him for free. He can fork it over as far as I’m concerned.”

“That’s what was going on at your booth,” I said. “We thought he was acting odd.”

“I gave him a cupcake as a bribe to get rid of him. He can be a pest and
mean
! I was afraid if I didn’t give him a cupcake, he’d hang around and bad-mouth me to other customers.” Renee came around to the front of the case. “Joy, Muffin, and I used to categorize people as cupcakes. For instance, Humphrey is plain vanilla, with a dependable plain chocolate frosting—no surprises there. Spenser is like one of these Chocolate Hazelnut Raspberry Cupcakes. He’s multilayered and complex, but inside, there’s a soft, sweet raspberry filling. His wife, do you know Clarissa?”

We nodded. I couldn’t wait to get her assessment of Clarissa.

“She’s our Peanut Butter Surprise. A familiar flavor when you bite into it. But inside, it’s not jam, like you might expect. It’s chipotle chocolate, and it’s all nutty on top. Oh, I shouldn’t bore you with my silliness!”

“This is fun!” said Nina. “Who else has a cupcake?”

“Let’s see. Nick Rigas is like these, which are a huge hit with women customers—devilishly rich chocolate, with a soft dark chocolate truffle inside and this gorgeous piped top. They look so pretty, but there’s a lot going on. And that cute policewoman, Wong, is definitely her favorite cupcake. Red Velvet. There’s nothing ordinary about her, but what you see is what you get—a no-nonsense cupcake. And this Pink Coconut was Muffin—sweet, innocent, and yet fun and unexpected.” She released a long breath, and the momentary happiness vanished. “I can’t understand why anyone would have wanted her dead.”

“Are you afraid that the killer was looking for you?” asked Nina.

Nina’s question must have caught Renee by surprise. She stared at Nina. “I wasn’t before last night. What could I have done to make somebody that angry?”

“We should be going,” said Nina, paying for her purchase.

“Tell Humphrey to stop by when he has a chance,” said Renee.

I debated ordering a sampler for my clients. What if she was the murderer? Would she poison us? Surely not. But out of an abundance of caution, proving to myself that I still didn’t completely trust Renee, I didn’t say a word about the sampler.

I waved good-bye, wondering if the adorable petite blonde in the darling apron could have murdered Muffin. When we were outside and walking away, I said, “She was so nice. No wonder Humphrey is smitten. And she couldn’t be any cuter.”

Nina stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk. “Where does Joy live now? Over top of her new bakery?”

We turned to look at the second story of the building across the street.

My phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and pushed the button to answer it. Francie’s voice said, “Mission accomplished. Tonight at eight o’clock. We promised you would be outside with us.”

She didn’t wait for me to say anything. She just clicked her phone off.

I chuckled. “I think Francie is having a good time playing detective. Apparently Myra agreed. We’re on for eight o’clock tonight.”

Nina pressed her hands together as though in prayer. “I hope we find that poor dog. He weighs on my conscience. It’s my fault that he’s lost, because I was responsible for him. What if he’s wandering the streets somewhere or was hit by a car?”

I’d had the same terrible thoughts. The image of poor, big Buddy lost and alone tore at me. “No, it’s my fault. I knew you were busy, and that Francie was off to the ladies’ room, and I took lunch over to Humphrey anyway. If I had stayed put in the booth, Buddy wouldn’t be missing. Let’s hope Myra sees him at Maurice’s tonight.”

Nina pointed across the street. “I don’t think Joy lives over Sugar Mama. It looks like there’s an antiquarian book dealer up there. See the door to the left of the shop?”

“Rats. We’ll have to ask around to find out where she is. Are you game to go to Cake My Day? I’d like to speak with Spenser.”

“Sure. I’m always up for visits to cupcakeries.”

Cake My Day was located a good ten blocks away. We decided that would surely work off the calories of one or two cupcakes. We didn’t walk as briskly as we intended, though, because we kept stopping to window-shop.

Nina poked me while we peered at the window display of The Yuppy Puppy. “Is that Natasha?”

A woman dressed like Audrey Hepburn in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
browsed in the store. Huge, dark sunglasses covered half of her face. A scarf wrapped around her head and neck, and she wore a stunning sleeveless black sheath.

Giggling, we dodged inside. Natasha picked up item after item. Apparently she was having trouble seeing them well with the dark sunglasses. She lifted the glasses and peered below the rims, turning each item over and examining it.

“Natasha?” I called.

She stiffened. Turning casually, as though she hadn’t heard me, she lowered her head to look over the glasses. Holding her head high, she marched past us and left the store.

Naturally, we followed her.

She walked a few yards, stopped, and removed the sunglasses. Gesturing madly, she hissed, “I was on a spy mission.”

Nina and I laughed aloud. Surely she didn’t think she was fooling anyone in that getup. In fact, she was probably attracting attention. “Who are you spying on?”

“Not who. I’m doing corporate spying.” She unwrapped the scarf. “It’s getting hot out here. How did women wear these things in the summer?”

“You’re spying on The Yuppy Puppy?” asked Nina.

“No, I’m spying on the things they sell. I can’t believe I’ve been so blind. All these years I’ve baked and sewn and crafted, but I just can’t get a national TV show. I’ve overlooked the obvious! It’s all about dogs. Dogs are the new children. I don’t know how I never saw it before.”

I wasn’t following. Actually, I hadn’t gotten over
dogs are the new children
.

“People used to do domestic things for their husbands and children. But now it’s all about their dogs. Dog beds, dog clothes, dog jewelry, dog cuisine. While I’ve been focusing on people, the world has gone to the dogs!”

“Speaking of dogs, where is Martha?” I asked.

“Hmm? Oh, I left her in Mars’s study. He doesn’t mind the fur.”

“Alone? You left that little dog alone?” Nina clapped a hand over her mouth.

“What’s wrong with that? Daisy stays in there all the time.”

“Daisy isn’t a puppy,” I said. “She’s outgrown the chew-and-tear phase.”

“What could she possibly do? There’s nothing in there of any interest to anyone except Mars. You’re pulling my leg, right?”

She studied us, and her eyes widened in horror. “Excuse me, I think I left something on the . . . in the . . . I have to go.”

She took off at top speed for someone wearing high heels on brick sidewalks.

Nina shook her head. “What was she thinking?”

We strolled on to Cake My Day. I came to a dead stop outside. What had
I
been thinking? I’d forgotten all about Clarissa’s ridiculous notion that I was sleeping with her husband. “You don’t think Clarissa comes down to the cupcakery, do you?”

“Want me to go in and scope it out for you first?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “No. I have a completely clear conscience. There isn’t a reason in the world for her to be upset with me. If she’s there, we’ll just buy some cupcakes and leave.”

We walked inside. No sign of Clarissa. While I asked to speak to Spenser, Nina eyed their assortment of cupcakes.