Pies & Peril (16 page)

"
Sounds yummy. I bet it's good hot or cold."

"
It is." Thalia tucked a couple bags into the front pocket of Amy's purse. "You have to try some. Caffeine-free, so you can drink it in the evening."

"
Thanks."

The donation box sat on the counter a foot away. Too obvious to ignore even though she dreaded opening it. Amy slipped off the cover. There was probably $30 or $40 inside, judging by the amount of fives and tens. Most likely left by the staff of the salon.

Thalia sighed deeply. "Sorry. Like I said before, Mandy Jo had lost most of her customers because of her surliness." She punched a button on the register, and the cash drawer slid out. She slipped out a fifty dollar bill and dropped it into the open box. "This will help a bit more."

"
You don't need to do that."

She held up her hand.
"Despite our differences she was a loyal employee and a very skilled stylist. Have you thought about doing a memorial brick instead of a bench? I'm sure those cost less."

Why, no, she hadn
't thought of that. Amy wanted to smack her head on the nearby wall. Of course, the park offered different kinds of memorials in a variety of price ranges. Nobody else seemed enthusiastic about doing the memorial, so it was unlikely she would ever be able to pay for the bench from donations only. Still, Mandy Jo didn't deserve to be murdered and then forgotten like a carton of chicken lo mein in the back of the refrigerator. Amy looked at the money in the box again and made the decision. A less-expensive brick it would be.

"
That's a great idea. I'll look into it when I get home. Thank you for the suggestion," Amy said as she put the lid back on the box and tucked it under her arm. "No more need for my silly-looking box to clutter up your counter."

"
No problem." Thalia placed her hand on Amy's forearm. "Find yourself a designated driver and come out tomorrow night. I'm sure a few cocktails would help ease some of your stress."

Amy stubbed her toe on the corner of an uneven section of sidewalk. Carla caught her by the arm as she stumbled toward the grass median between the sidewalk and curb. Grass and mud stains wouldn't have blended in with the pattern on her skirt.

"
Thanks. If we had to go back home so I could change my clothes, we'd have to park in River Road Cemetery. It is going to be packed downtown." As it was they had parked three blocks north of Main Street in the old residential area where the note was left on Amy's windshield. The ancient sidewalks were cracked and slanted, courtesy of old age and tree roots. It was like walking through a fun house.

Carla waved her phone in front of Amy
's face. "I doubt half a dozen cocktails will do much for your balance and agility. If you fall down later, I'll take pictures. Just in case you can't remember what happened tomorrow when you're trying to clean up those pesky stains."

"
Gosh. You are so helpful." Amy rolled her eyes. "Always thinking ahead."

Thank goodness the purpose of the evening was to blow off some stress, not compete in a poise contest.
Gracefulness wasn't one of her strong points. "No pictures. No evidence. Or Alex may never let me go out with you again. You're supposed to be looking out for me, just like Alex expects you to."

"
Really? I don't remember promising that to him."

"
I promised for you." She grinned. "You're welcome."

Carla shook her head as she returned the phone to the front pocket of her jeans.
"Where is Alex tonight? I'm surprised he didn't insist on coming with us so he could keep track of you, too."

It had taken a lot of convincing to get Alex to leave her with Carla and have some fun himself. He and his friends had been planning the
boys' night out for months, but he had wanted to cancel to make sure the illiterate psycho didn't get her. "He's at a concert in Detroit with a few of his friends. When I told him Rayshelle was most likely sending the notes and that Shepler was keeping an eye on her, he finally agreed that both of us could have some fun. Separately."

"
He's loves you and is just trying to take care of his sweetie."

"
I'm a big girl." She wasn't a naive child who needed to be shielded from the cruel, hard world. "I can take care of myself, usually."

"
Says the woman who is walking like a drunk before even having a sip of alcohol."

"
Whatever." She stopped and pointed at a black SUV. "That's where I was parked when the last note was stuck on Mimi. Nobody in the neighborhood saw anybody suspicious. I swear I'm going to install security cameras inside Mimi if Shepler can't pin the notes on Rayshelle."

Carla exhaled so loudly a dove strutting under a nearby bird feeder flapped its wings to protest the noise.
"Hopefully he nails her soon so you can both relax."

"
I am planning on relaxing tonight. Why do you think you're my designated driver?"

They walked around the back corner of Riverbend Coffee and conveniently landed at the end of the line to get into Shots & Whatnots. As they waited Carla studied the banner
, listing ticket prices, which stretched over the registration table. "Looks like it'll be an inexpensive night for me. I only have to pay a quarter of what you do since I'm not drinking."

Amy couldn
't resist messing with her friend a bit, especially after the embarrassing picture threat. "You qualify as a cheap date. When's the last time you were called that?"

"
It's been a while. I don't do cheap and easy."

"
Definitely not a distinction anybody should aim for," Amy said as she dug her wallet out of her purse. "I'm paying tonight. I really appreciate you rearranging your sleep schedule to come with me."

"
I told you, it isn't a big deal." She winked and bumped shoulders with Amy. "My sleep patterns are a mess already since I started dating Bruce."

"
And it's my fault, I suppose, for
making
you go out with him."

"
Yup. Sure is…and I appreciate it."

Amy put her hand over her heart.
"My goodness, do I hear correctly? My dedicated spinster friend in a serious relationship and enjoying it?"

"
It's a seriously fun relationship. Fun. That's it."

"
You know, the best relationships always have an element of fun to them. A couple that plays together, stays together."

She glanced at Carla, who was staring at the park on the other side of the river, obviously trying to drop the conversation by ignoring it. The ticket booth was manned by four serious looking older women representing the
Friends of the Library, a charity the event would help. One of the women, wearing a sun dress covered in huge, fuchsia roses asked, "How many treat tickets do you want to purchase?"

Carla
answered, "I'll just have half a dozen since I don't have time to go to the gym over the next few days."

Amy placed her order for a combination of treat and cocktail tickets.
Ten of each, to maintain a balance. One of the volunteers explained that the red tickets could be used in exchange for one cocktail shot and the white tickets were for non-alcoholic offerings, either mocktails or the variety of treats being offered by the downtown businesses. Plus, the drink tickets could be used to get non-alcoholic treats if she decided she had reached her maximum relaxation level and was drunk enough.

She
paid and stuck a red sticker printed with DD, for designated driver, on the front of Carla's shirt. "According to the event map, if you wear the sticker you can get extra treats. And I think you, my dear, dedicated bachelorette, are in love."

Carla stuck her index finger up and
twirled it around. "Yippee. I get to look like a clown in training and then not fit into my skinny jeans tomorrow. I'm not in love, either."

Their hands were stamped with small red ink stars
, and they were in. Two blocks of Main Street had been cordoned off for the event. Instead of the usual mass of cars, parked or searching for a place to park, there was a shifting sea of people in the area. On the sidewalk in front of most of the businesses were tables filled with plastic shot glasses and trays or baskets full of goodies. Forget about wine or beer events, Kellerton had decided to go the extra bartending mile and organize a cocktail event.

"
How do you want to do this?" Carla asked as she surveyed the scene. "Check all of the offerings out first or just wander around and pick whatever looks good?"

Meandering like a lost puppy wasn
't a method that Amy preferred to tackle any task with. Maybe it was years of cutting hair, a process that needed to be carried out in an orderly sequence. Maybe it was developing recipes for the contests where every ingredient had a purpose and specific time to be added. Maybe she just had a dislike for randomness. Even getting snockered needed to be planned out, at least a little bit.

"
There's Sophie." She pointed at the owner of Riverbend Coffee, who was chatting with a customer at the front of the long line queued up for her offerings. Two of the baristas from the shop also stood behind the table, taking tickets and distributing treats. "Let's start there, and we can work our way down each side of the street."

Five minutes later Amy was finally close enough to the coffee shop
's table to read the descriptions of the offerings, displayed in thick wood picture frames. Half of the table was covered with coffee liqueur shots topped with brown sugar whipped cream and dusted with cocoa powder. A quartet of glass cake stands showcased vanilla maple scones nestled in gold foil cupcake wrappers. Instead of chunks of larger pastries cut down to bite-sized portions, the scones were adorable, miniature triangles. Shiny, tan glaze topped each shrunken masterpiece.

"
I have to try one of those," Carla said as she pointed at the flaky pastries.

"
I'll take one of each." Amy exchanged tickets for a shot glass and the morsel of buttery baked good perfection. "Might as well get some carbs in ASAP, and I know these are going to be good."

Sophie motioned for her to step around the side of the table, so they could chat without holding up the line.
"So what do you think of this event? Judging from the number of people in my line, I'd say it's a success already," she said.

Amy nodded.
"We just got here. It's amazing how crowded it is for only starting half an hour ago. How's it going?"

"
Wonderfully, for the most part." Sophie glanced to her right. The Maxson's Bakery tables were set up about 10 feet away. "Some people have interesting marketing tactics."

"
Oh boy, what's going on?"

"
Nothing that seems to be affecting us much," Sophie sighed, "But I had thought this event would be a little friendlier between businesses. I'm sure you'll hear her when you get closer. Kristi is telling everybody that you don't have to pay extra for trendy atmosphere when you buy their baked goods. I'm pretty sure the barb is meant to jab me."

"
Or just about any other foodie business downtown who actually provides tables and chairs for their customers." Amy placed her hand on Sophie's forearm and leaned a bit closer. "You know, the trend that allows customers to enjoy their purchases immediately instead of schlepping them back to their car or office. Making people wait to get their sugar fixes can't be good for business."

Sophie
's serious expression morphed into a smile as she laughed. "I didn't think of that! Thank you for pointing it out."

Amy licked the whipped cream off the top of the shot and grinned at the beleaguered coffee shop owner.
"You're welcome. Besides, I don't think her reasoning is working with most people. Even a hearty buzz can't stop them from seeing through the underhanded tactics. Looks like Maxson's has the shortest line of any table at this end of Main Street."

Sophie wrapped her in a hug. She whispered into Amy
's ear, "I owe you a free latte. I can't thank you enough for lightening up my mood. Stop in whenever you have the time next week."

"
Aww, thank you. You don't need to do that. I was planning to stop in anyway. I've become a wee bit addicted to your vanilla and nutmeg lattes." She waved goodbye. "I think we need to keep moving or we'll never see everything. Have a good evening."

As they munched on the scones
, Amy and Carla plunged back into the crowd. Directly ahead, Kristi Maxson's auburn-haired topknot bobbed over the heads of people milling about. Surely Elliot was nearby, trying to hawk a garishly colored treat or temper his wife's snarkiness. He was the last person Amy wanted to chat with. Maybe if she and Carla moved toward the middle of the street, instead of staying close to the sidewalk, they wouldn't be noticed by the baker.

She touched Carla
's arm. "Let's walk in the middle of the street for a while. We can check out stuff on both sides."

Carla raised an eyebrow.
"Highly unlikely in this crowd, especially for height challenged people like you, but whatever you want to do."

As Amy tried to squeeze between a large flock of women wearing sparkling rhinestone tiaras with pink feather boas wrapped around their necks and a knot of
businessmen still dressed in their workday suits, a hand clasped her shoulder. She turned. Evasive maneuver failed.

"
Good evening," Elliot said. "I was wondering if you have had a chance to make any progress on my proposal to procure funds for your little memorial project."

"
Nope." She grinned at him like a little girl who had been given a lollipop. Or at least that was the look she was going for. The sweet smile could very well look more like a cat baring her teeth at an enemy. That was how she felt. Blackmailing her into stealing a recipe, because there was no other way she'd get it, was not a decent proposal. Besides, she didn't remember indicating that she would help him. "I've decided to buy a less expensive memorial brick with the money that has already been raised, instead of continuing to ask for donations for the bench. Thanks for checking in with me. I'll stop by this week to pick up the donation jar and money."

Elliot blinked slowly a few times. The combination of the slanted evening light and his fake
, orange-tinted tan made him look like a strange department store mannequin. Amy grabbed Carla's hand and plunged them deeper into the throng of liquored up humanity. The crowd was a little less dense in the middle of the road, as opposed to close to the sidewalk and the coveted cocktails. They walked side by side, discussing which business had the best looking treats. Half-way down the block Carla pointed at a table, "That stuff looks really good. I vote to stop there."

Amy giggled, despite the run in
with Elliot, as she made her way toward the table Carla had targeted. The coffee liqueur must have been pretty high proof. "You look like a stewardess pointing at the exits."