BlackBuried Pie (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright © 2015 Lyndsey Cole

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Behind the scenes with Lyndsey

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  OTHER BOOKS BY LYNDSEY COLE

  BlackBuried Pie

  A Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series

  by Lyndsey Cole

  Copyright © 2015 Lyndsey Cole

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and/or publisher. No part of this publication may be sold or hired, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination and/or have been used fictitiously in such a fashion it is not meant to serve the reader as actual fact and should not be considered as actual fact. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Chapter 1

  Annie sighed with satisfaction when the delicious aroma of blackberry pie filled her nose as soon as she entered the Black Cat Café Wednesday morning with Roxy trotting at her side.

  Until she saw Leona’s angry face.

  “Where are the blackberries you were supposed to pick up at Hayworth Farm?” Leona practically spit the words out as she looked at Annie’s empty hands. Annie’s mother Mia, stood behind Leona with her finger to her lips, shaking her head at Annie to keep silent.

  Annie willed herself to stay calm and not take the attitude personally. This Leona was not the Leona Annie was used to. The fun and wild Leona changed the day she revealed to Annie that she was her birth mother and not her aunt. Annie tried to be patient while this new mother-daughter thing sorted itself out.

  That and the craziness of the upcoming Fourth of July weekend seemed to be pushing Leona to her limit and her patience was nonexistent.

  “I wanted to help you here first. Once the rest of the help comes in, I’ll pop over and pick up the blackberries. Okay?”

  “I guess so,” Leona replied before opening the oven and pulling out a big batch of blueberry muffins.

  They worked in silence. Annie filled the pastry case, the breakfast cart, and the coffee cart and Leona filled her already-made crusts with the last of the blackberries from the previous delivery, carefully sliding them into the oven. The oven door closed just before the café door opened with the first customer.

  Robbie Benson shuffled into the café, tapping his cane on the hardwood floor as he made his way to the pastry case.

  Annie raised her head and frowned. Robbie grinned at Annie, showing where a front tooth was missing and he pointed his gnarled finger at a blackberry pie in the pastry case. “I’ll take one of those, sweetheart. I have something big to celebrate today.”

  Annie felt her blood start to boil as she held the freshly baked blackberry pie in her hand and imagined it smashing into Robbie Benson’s wrinkled face. She could almost see the blackberries spraying over his white button down shirt and bits of crust sticking to the few hairs that rimmed his ears. Her hand jerked forward before her brain forced her body under control. Instead, she handed the pie to him over the pastry case. She certainly wasn’t his sweetheart. No woman in town could tolerate his condescending attitude. The thought made her stomach lurch with disgust.

  “Here you go, Robbie. Don’t eat it all in one sitting.” Or maybe you should and suffer the consequences, she thought behind the fake smile. She watched his hunched over body hobble to the cash register to annoy Mia before leaving the Black Cat Café.

  “What is it with that guy?” Annie asked Mia and Leona. “You two grew up with him, didn’t you? Has he always been such a negative, angry, little man? I’m surprised he’ll even eat blackberries from Peter Hayworth’s farm. Those two hate each other.”

  “He’s more the age of the Crowley twins.” Leona pointed her finger at Annie and Mia. “Mark my words. He’ll eat three quarters of that pie and bring the rest back for a refund saying the berries were too sour!”

  Mia laughed. “I hope I’m here when that happens. You’ll probably pick him up by his shirt collar and throw him in Heron Lake.”

  Martha, from the Fabric Stash across the hall from the Black Cat Café, entered with her coffee mug. “Who is Leona going to throw in the lake?”

  “Robbie Benson,” Annie said in between her laughter.

  “That old coot? What did he do now?”

  “Nothing in particular. He just rubs us the wrong way,” Leona said as she took more pies out of the oven.

  “He rubs everyone the wrong way.” Martha filled her coffee mug with the new Irish Crème coffee. “I’m completely addicted to this new flavor. I don’t know if it’s the coffee or the Irish Crème liqueur but I’m in trouble if you have it here every day.” She closed her eyes and took a sip. “Can I have a piece of pie? The smell is too good to resist.”

  Annie cut a big slice for Martha and slid it onto a plate.

  Martha took a bite and blackberry juice ran down her chin. “This is heavenly,” she said, savoring the tart-but-sweet burst of flavor. “Now, what were we talking about?”

  “Robbie Benson.”

  “Oh yeah.” After wiping her chin, she made herself comfortable on a stool at the counter. “I remember him back in grade school. He was a pipsqueak and a bully. Bob and Harry Crowley kept him in his place. I doubt there’s any love lost between them over the years.”

  Leona elbowed Martha. “Did you pick one of those twins yet?”

  Martha finished her Irish Crème coffee and used her finger to get every last bit of blackberry juice off her plate. “No need for that! I kind of like them fighting over me. Ever since the Valentine’s Day dance, one or the other takes me out for dinner and a movie every week. And I still can’t tell them apart.” She laughed. “I’ve agreed to let them both escort me to the barbeque on Friday before the third of July bonfire.”

  Leona harrumphed. “Escort you? They’ll be putting you to work. They’ve run that chicken barbeque for the last fifty years.”

  Martha winked. “That’s what they think. I’ll be teaching them a thing or two, and I made them new aprons for the occasion.”

  Annie sipped her coffee. “Do they know yet?”

  “Nope.” Martha giggled.

  Bree and Ashley Jordan rushed into the café, putting a stop to their conversation.

  Annie was glad that Leona made the decision to hire summer help. Catfish Cove was overrun in the summer months and having two extra pairs of hands made all the difference. The two sisters were as different as night and day. Bree was flirty and great wi
th the customers and Ashley was smart as a whip, especially with numbers.

  “Sorry we’re late, Leona, I didn’t hear my alarm go off,” Bree said breathlessly between gasps for breaths of air.

  Ashley rolled her eyes. “Out too late again is more likely. I heard you climb in through the window.”

  Bree shot Ashley a nasty glare as she threw her backpack in the corner behind the counter.

  Leona handed each girl an apron. “It will be busy any minute now. Bree, you’re working with Annie at the pastry display. Smile at the customers and restock when you have a chance. Ashley, you get the cash register this morning. Both of you will be at the ice cream window when we open it at eleven. Okay?”

  Both girls nodded while tying their aprons on.

  The café began to fill up with unfamiliar faces, ending the women’s gossipy conversation. The breakfast cart with two kinds of granola and several fruit juice choices was mobbed. The coffee cart had a line of people waiting for their morning dose of caffeine. Annie and Bree’s hands were kept busy serving blueberry muffins, slices of blackberry pie, scones, cinnamon rolls and every other choice from the pastry case.

  “Do you make all these goodies right here in the café?” a friendly voice asked Annie.

  “Yes. We get up early to have a good selection fresh from the oven.”

  “Oh. The smells are fantastic. I can’t wait to bite into this slice of blackberry pie.” The woman leaned closer and cupped her hand around her mouth. “Is there whipped cream too?”

  Annie pointed to the coffee cart. “There should be a bowl of whipped cream on ice with the coffee selections. Let me know if I need to refill it.”

  The woman thanked Annie and moved along for the next customer to make a choice. Leona was busy grilling breakfast sandwiches and making smoothies. She definitely could use some help.

  “Are you all right here by yourself for a while Bree?” Annie asked. “I need to help Leona.”

  Bree nodded and smiled to the next customer in line.

  Leona shooed Annie away, sending her to pick up the blackberries.

  Walking to the parking lot, Annie was surprised to see a dark green Subaru parked where her old faithful Saab was supposed to be. That Saab had traveled with Annie for the past ten years and she felt a little guilty with this new vehicle. Her new car had the wrong color, the wrong feel and it always started! Roxy couldn’t care less. She jumped into the back seat and made herself comfortable for the ride to Hayworth Fruit Farm.

  Annie expected to meet Peter Hayworth, the old farmer who owned Hayworth Fruit Farm, in his barn ready to load her up with the berries. Only problem was, she didn’t see him anywhere when she parked next to his tractor. The berries were neatly waiting for her, but no Peter.

  She loaded the containers into the back of her car. “Come on Roxy, let’s walk out to the fields, maybe he went back out to do some more picking. I want to at least say hi and thank him.” She grabbed her camera and followed Roxy’s disappearing white blur.

  The air hung heavy with humidity. Roxy charged ahead, sniffing all the trails that only her nose could smell. She flushed a partridge out of some bushes and the noise it made startled her. Annie meandered and took some photos for her gallery opening at the end of the summer, then turned left toward Roxy’s bark, assuming she was enjoying some belly rubs from Peter in one of the many blackberry rows.

  As Annie moved closer, a horrible smell assaulted her senses. What could he be doing out here? Was this a new type of fertilizer for the berry bushes?

  Annie turned up between two blackberry rows where she saw Roxy cautiously sniffing something on the ground about fifty feet away. The rotten smell grew as Annie got closer to Roxy. She had her hand over her nose, breathing through her mouth while trying to avoid gagging.

  “What did you find? Some poor dead animal?”

  Roxy whined. Annie felt her body go cold in the July heat. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to control her gagging reaction before she lurched around and vomited in the mowed grass.

  When she let herself open her eyes, nothing had changed. Peter lay face down on the ground with a shovel pushed into the black dirt next to his body. Silence filled her ears. Without thinking, Annie knelt beside Peter and felt for a pulse. Relief flooded her body when she felt a faint beat.

  A pathetic meow came from the blackberry bushes. Annie crouched down until she saw the green eyes of an orange tabby cat huddled in the brambles.

  “Come on kitty, I won’t hurt you,” Annie said, trying to coax the cat out. He inched toward her slightly, enough for Annie to grab him by the scruff of his neck. After marking the row where she found Peter, she hurried back to her car with Roxy close at her heals.

  Somehow, she managed to find her phone and punch in 911. Her friend, JC, the dispatcher at the police station answered and Annie blurted out that Peter Hayworth was passed out in his blackberry bushes.

  “Calm down Annie. Is anyone else with you?”

  “No. Just Roxy and an orange tabby cat.”

  “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. There’s a horrible smell and he’s lying on the ground. Maybe he had a heart attack?”

  “Wait by your car. Tyler will be there in a few minutes.”

  Annie kept herself busy patting the cat as she paced in front of the barn. When the sirens got closer, the cat tensed and leaped from Annie’s arms, running into the barn and disappearing between some bales of hay.

  “I’m sure he knows his way around here,” she said to Roxy to keep herself calm.

  Tyler Johnson, the police chief of Catfish Cove, screeched to a halt next to Annie’s car. An ambulance and several volunteer firemen were right behind him.

  “Where’s Peter?” Tyler asked Annie.

  She waved her hand in the direction where she had found him. “He’s on the ground in his blackberry bushes. The ambulance can follow the path at the edge of the field.”

  “Get in my car and tell me where to go. Roxy can sit in the back.”

  It took them a few minutes to find the row Annie had marked and she told Tyler to pull in between the blackberry bushes.

  “What’s that smell?” Tyler asked, wrinkling his nose.

  “I don’t know.”

  “There’s still a weak pulse,” the EMT told Tyler. The ambulance crew worked at the speed of lighting to get Peter on the stretcher and away from the horrible smell.

  Chapter 2

  Annie was relieved when she finally walked back into the Black Cat Café. She let the delicious, sweet smells settle deep in her lungs, replacing the stink from Hayworth Farm.

  Leona glanced at Annie’s empty hands. “Where are the berries?”

  “In the back of my car. There was an accident. Peter’s at the hospital.”

  “Oh,” Leona mumbled before sending Bree out to help Annie.

  They piled the blackberry containers on the counter for Leona’s waiting pie crusts. The population in Catfish Cove soared with all the summer residents arriving and bringing along every friend and relative to their lakefront homes for the busy Fourth of July weekend.

  The summer residents wandered into the Black Cat Café along with tourists coming for the Fourth of July fireworks. Business was booming. Everything Leona could make sold out quickly but the pies were a special favorite since the berries were fresh from the local farm.

  Mia efficiently cleared the tables as customers finished and she made friendly conversation with the tourists. Annie marveled at her mother’s ability to put people at ease and the wealth of knowledge she sprinkled into her conversations about Catfish Cove. Mia and Leona were as different from each other as two sisters could possibly be.

  “They are hard workers for sure. You must be proud of them,” Annie overheard Mia say to Stacey Jordan about her two daughters working at the café.

  “They can be a handful, especially when it comes to boys.” Stacey grimaced. “They always seem to go after the same one and it usually doesn’t turn o
ut well for anyone. I’m glad this job is keeping them busy this summer; one less thing for me to worry about while I’m at work.”

  Mia leaned closer to Stacey. “We have noticed an influx of teenage boys coming to the ice cream window. Now I know why.”

  Stacey rolled her eyes. “Just be sure to keep Bree on this side of the window. I’m off to my shift for the visiting nurses. Thanks for the coffee.” She held her cup up as she walked out the door.

  Tyler poked his head into the café. Annie smiled as he walked over. “Peter Hayworth was released from the hospital. He’s lucky you found him when you did or he might have been a goner.”

  “Have you figured out what happened?” Annie asked, worried about what she’d found at his berry farm.

  “Apparently he was trying some new type of fertilizer and the fumes knocked him out. You’d think he’d know better after all these years of farming.”

  Annie put two gooey cinnamon rolls in a bag and handed it to Tyler. “Here’s a treat for you. I know these are one of your favorites.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be sure to share them with JC.”

  Annie put her arms on the top of the pastry case and leaned toward Tyler. “So, everything is good with you two?”

  Tyler smiled. “Yup. I’m taking Dylan fishing tomorrow. He’s finally taking a shine to me. I think that was the biggest hurdle for JC. Dylan’s happiness comes first for her and I totally get that.” He headed for the door with the bag held up to his nose.

  The lunch mob followed the breakfast crowd without much of a break. All the customers kept the booths and stools inside packed with the overflow headed outside to the tables on the deck overlooking Heron Lake. Books disappeared from the freebrary shelves faster than ever before. Fortunately, Leona had several extra boxes of donated books that hadn’t fit before, so if some people didn’t follow the rule of taking a book and leaving a book, they could use the ones they still had in the office.

  Roxy meandered around the outside tables accepting friendly pats here and there, especially from all the kids excited to see a dog. Annie couldn’t have adopted a better dog. Roxy liked everyone and knew enough not to beg for food from the customers sitting outside.