A Catered Christmas Killer (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery)

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

Sydney’s All-Natural Vegetable Wash

“Sydney,
go!
” Grace shouted at her best friend and employer.

“I know, I know. I just want to help you finish these,” Sydney protested.

“If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late for your date!”

“He’ll understand.”

Grace walked to Sydney’s desk and took the keyboard right out from under her hands. Sydney looked up. “OK. I’m done. I’m going.”

“Good. I don’t want to see you until Saturday when I get to the Durans’. Give me your key, this is your time to schmooze and prove that Sinful Sweets has reached the next level of success.”

“You don’t need to take my key. I won’t even have time to come here before I leave tomorrow,” Sydney promised as she packed up her things and walked toward her bike leaning against the wall next to the back door. “Come on, Maple!”

Her golden retriever came bounding from the front of the bakery where she’d been snoozing on her bed.

“I’ll see you Saturday. Thanks for covering the next couple days. I owe you,” Sydney told Grace.

“You don’t owe me anything. You do plenty for me, and this is the least I can do for you. Just don’t make it a habit to accept these catering jobs before we hire at least one person to help.”

“I promise.”

“Have fun tonight!” Grace called just as the back door closed. She would stay another half hour to finish the invoices Sydney had been working on, but then she’d call it a night, too.

Sydney pedaled as quickly as she could to get home. She was thankful it hadn’t snowed all week. She loved being able to ride her bike to and from work, but it could get tough in the winter. She’d considered getting better tires, but it was only a few weeks out of the year that she’d even need them. She took those few weeks to indulge in driving the couple miles from her house to her bakery.

Tonight, it made her happy to see all the Christmas lights that were decorating the houses along the streets she rode. Christmas was less than two weeks away, and everyone could feel the magic in the air. Everyone in Twin Peaks was just happier.

“Sorry Maple, you have to stay home tonight,” she told her dog when they reached her house. She brought her bike inside and propped it next to the front door. She hated leaving it out in the elements where it could get rusty and beat up by the weather. She didn’t worry about theft in Twin Peaks. Aside from the recent murder of her ex-boyfriend—which she’d had nothing to do with, but had been the prime suspect initially—Twin Peaks was as safe as it got.

Sydney dropped a cup of food into Maple’s bowl and then headed to the shower. Normally she wouldn’t worry about what she looked or smelled like after work—she personally enjoyed the leftover smell of flour, sugar, butter and eggs on her Sinful Sweets t-shirt—but tonight she was going on a date with Detective Austin Massey. Her fourth one in a month. And this time, he was cooking.

The first three had been casual—local restaurants where they could pretend they were still just friends. But after their third date a week ago, their end-of-the-night kiss had implied a little more than just friends.

They hadn’t made the leap of going home with each other at the end of the night, and Sydney wasn’t sure she was ready for that tonight, but she was excited about dinner at his house.

She took her time in the shower, shaving each leg carefully—just in case. She shampooed twice to make sure to get the day’s worth of baking out of her hair.

After the shower, she blow-dried her hair to try to tame the curls and then took her time with her makeup.

She wasn’t one of those women who wore a lot of it, but for special occasions, she’d put on just a touch. She used a brown mascara to accentuate her eyes and applied just a hint of green eye shadow. She was always told that green was her color—it complemented the color of her hair.

Sydney walked into the bedroom to finish getting dressed and was shocked to see that she had only ten minutes until she was supposed to be at Austin’s house. It took almost that long to drive there. She was glad Grace had helped her pick out her outfit the day before—skinny jeans and a white scoop neck, long sleeve t-shirt. Simple and comfortable. She liked not dressing up for dates with him.

She picked up her keys and wallet, forgoing a purse since they weren’t going out, and Maple ran to the door.

“Sorry girl,” Sydney told her again. “I’ll be home tonight.” At least, she
planned
to be home tonight.

She locked the door and nearly ran to her car. She didn’t want to be late. She loved soaking up all the time she could with Austin.

***

“You look . . . great,” Austin said, nearly speechless when he opened the front door. She hadn’t even knocked.

“Thanks. It smells incredible in here. What’s for dinner?” Sydney loved it when someone else did the cooking. While she loved being in the kitchen, she was there all day. She wouldn’t trade her job for anything, but a break every once in a while was appreciated.

“I made a butternut curry soup and fresh bread.” Austin smiled, clearly proud of himself for coming up with a delicious menu.

“You even made the bread?”

“Well . . . no. But I heated it up in the oven.”

“Garlic?” Sydney asked, following her nose to the kitchen.

“Sure is. I can’t fool a cook.”

“Baker,” she corrected him.

At the door to the kitchen, Sydney suddenly stopped. The kitchen table was set with two plates, full glasses of wine, and candles. It had been a long time since anyone had gone to such lengths for her. She was speechless.

“Do you want to try it?” Austin asked, nearly bumping into her when she’d stopped short.

“Yes . . . Of course.” She was slowly regaining her composure and her voice. She took a couple steps toward the beautifully romantic table and Austin stepped in front of her to hand her a glass of wine.

“To the great success of Sinful Sweets,” Austin said, raising his glass for a toast.

“To a wonderful dinner with even better company,” Sydney responded.

She sat in one of the chairs at the table and let Austin pamper her.

***

Sydney could hear Maple running to the front door as she unlocked it later that night. “Sorry I’m so late,” she told her beloved dog as she scratched behind Maple’s ears. “Let’s go out.”

Together, they walked through the house to the back door and Sydney sat on the top step while Maple took her time smelling every corner of the yard for intruders. Sydney was completely lost in her own world, reliving the magic of her evening and hoping there would be more to come just like it.

Maple took a seat on the second step and stared at Sydney until she came back to the present.

“You’re ready for bed?” Sydney asked her dog, knowing she looked a little crazy, having complete conversations with an animal.

Sydney took her time removing her makeup and getting undressed. She could sleep in the next morning before she headed to Newhall for her first catering job. She even indulged in reading a few pages from the book she’d been working on for months before she turned off the light and closed her eyes.

She dreamed about Austin. It was the most realistic dream she’d ever had. She could see his dark brown eyes. She could feel his long wavy hair. She could smell his skin.

She woke up with a smile on her face, ready for anything the world had to throw at her.

After a large breakfast, she grabbed the leash, indicating that Maple was coming with her. It was a break from their usual routine where Sydney rode her bike to Sinful Sweets and Maple ran freely alongside her. Today, Sydney was putting Maple in the car. Maple didn’t need to be told twice to get going, she was at Sydney’s side before she was even called.

“Auntie Sydney!” Ariel cried when Sydney got out of her car in her niece’s driveway and Maple jumped out after her. Their front yard was the most decorated on the block. She assumed her sister, Mia, had let the kids choose the decorations—a sleigh with Santa in it, six reindeer pulling the sleigh and even a blow-up snowman.

“Hey Ariel!” Sydney opened her arms and the three-year-old ran straight into them. “Is Addison already at school?”

“Yeah. Is Maple staying today?”

Mia, must have told the kids that Maple would be spending a few days with them. Sydney couldn’t bring her to her catering job, and the kids loved Maple at least as much as Sydney did.

“She sure is. All the way until Monday!” Sydney said with excitement.

“Hooray!” Ariel threw her hands up in celebration and wiggled out of Sydney’s arms. She ran to Maple and wrapped her in a bear hug. Maple responded by turning to lick the girl on her face.

Sydney let herself inside, knowing Mia had already seen them in the driveway. She wouldn’t have let Ariel out alone otherwise. “Morning, Mia,” she called, not sure where she’d be.

“Hey Sydney. We’re in the kitchen,” she called back.

Mia was busy cleaning up Aiden’s face after a breakfast of something green. He wasn’t yet one and Mia had her hands full with three kids under the age of six. Sydney was grateful her sister had been willing to take Maple for a long weekend and add more chaos to the mix.

“You have your menu planned?” Mia asked when Sydney entered the kitchen. Mia had been the founder of Sinful Sweets so was well versed in what went into running the bakery and living up to the expectations of clients.

“Mostly. I know Julia wants to go over everything first thing today. So I haven’t bought anything yet. She seems like she might be a little overbearing.”

“That can happen,” Mia agreed.

“But I’m really excited about the potential this will open up. If it goes well, it could be a whole new way to get business. And Grace has been wanting more help in the kitchen, so this would be the perfect way to give her some change and get someone else working in there.”

“Sounds like a great opportunity. I’m really proud of you, Sydney.”

“Thanks, Mia. I’ve gotta run,” Sydney said looking at her watch. The drive to Newhall was at least a half hour, and she’d never been to the Durans’ house, so she wanted to give herself a little extra time. “I’ll see you Monday night to get Maple. Bye Ariel. Bye Aiden.”

Sydney got to Newhall much faster than she’d expected, so she took her time on the side streets, checking out the neighborhood’s Christmas decorations and gawking at the enormous mansions. House after house on every street she turned on to was decorated to the nines. One house—with a four car garage—had giant Christmas decorations on their lawn as lawn ornaments. Another had flashing colored lights along every edge of its roof. It was mid morning, but the lights were still on. She could just imagine what it would look like at night. Many of the houses had pillars on front porches and they were all wrapped with garlands, the doors adorned with wreaths.

Sydney made the final turn into the Durans’ driveway. It was lined with potted evergreens wrapped in strands of tinsel and topped with fake snow. Along the walkway to the front door, there was a row of reindeer. She thought these would be lit up the evening of the party to guide guests to the door.

“Good morning, Ms. Marshall,” Marcus Duran greeted Sydney at his front door. She’d had to ring the bell twice and wait much longer than she’d expected. When he opened the door and invited her inside, she understood why. The house was so large that either he hadn’t heard the first ring, or it just took that long to get from one side of the house to the other.