WineBuried Wedding (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 8) Read online

  Jason shrugged. “That’s possible, or else she thinks she’s in danger of being the next victim. Trisha has a successful business and most likely has a lot of clout. What does Scarlet have?”

  “Not much. She told me she gave her sketch pad of designs to Steve with the hope and expectation that he would help her move to a new job where she was appreciated. She could see the writing on the wall if she stayed working for Trisha.” Annie shook her head. “She didn’t like the message. Now, Steve is dead and her sketchbook is missing. And Scarlet may have just flown the coop,” Annie added.

  “Did you tell her about the sketch pad Leona found? I’d put money on it being Scarlet’s,” Jason asked.

  Annie folded the papers and zipped them in her tote. “No. I never mentioned it. I wonder if she decided to confront Trisha at the store and demand to get it back. I’m heading over there to find out what’s going on. I told Leona I’d stop by to sample some of her appetizer creations for the wedding, anyway. Do you want to come?”

  Jason carried the wine glasses to the kitchen and rinsed everything. “I’d love to, but I have an important phone conference this afternoon.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Annie. “I have to get all this business stuff wrapped up so we aren’t interrupted on our honeymoon.”

  “Good planning.” With her bag slung over her shoulder, Annie texted Leona and her mom that she was on her way to the café and her stomach was in desperate need of something delicious.

  Annie was somewhat relieved to see Scarlet’s car when she pulled into the Cove’s Corner parking lot. Scarlet confronting Trisha probably wasn’t the best strategy, but at least she was here and didn’t just up and disappear. There was a good chance Scarlet had more information that might help her figure out who killed Steve Fitch.

  Anything to help clear up that mystery before it had a chance to derail her wedding was welcome.

  As Annie entered the Cove’s Corner building, shouts filled the hallway and drowned out the soothing new age music that was supposed to be the gentle background in the Dazzle Design dress shop. Annie peeked in the doorway and caught Camilla’s attention. As she stepped one foot through the doorway, Thorne appeared and blocked her from entering.

  “You’re not welcome in here.”

  Annie put her hands on her hips and stared right into his dark eyes.

  She noticed the pulsing tattoo on his neck.

  “I don’t think you want to cross me, tough guy. Tell Trisha I’ve changed my mind about her wedding gown offer.” Annie saw Camilla’s eyes pop open at those words. She knew that statement would get Trisha’s attention. Quickly.

  Thorne hesitated for about five seconds, clenching and unclenching his jaw, before he spun around and made his way to the back room. The limp was barely noticeable but he definitely had a problem with his leg.

  The arguing stopped.

  Trisha emerged. All smiles—the fake ones Annie suspected she had perfected from years of practice.

  “I just heard the exciting news, Annie.” Trisha looked around the store and crooked her finger at Camilla.

  Camilla warily approached Trisha and Annie.

  “Camilla has an eye for style and she can help you,” Trisha continued. “Take all the time you need.” She started to walk away but stopped and added, “Of course, it will be a trade. My new design for the gown you were planning to wear. I’m sure that’s more than fair.” Again, the perfect smile showing all her pearly whites, along with a piercing stare was directed at Annie before she walked to the back room.

  Annie gulped. “I didn’t see that coming,” she whispered to Camilla.

  “You have to wear Leona’s gown. She’d never forgive you.”

  “Of course I will, but I have to let Trisha think she has me backed into a corner.” Annie hesitated for a second. “Wait here,” she said to Camilla before she followed Trisha right into the unknown.

  She slipped through the partially open door, hoping for the element of surprise.

  She was not disappointed.

  Thorne held Scarlet tightly by her arm. Trisha’s back was to Annie so she couldn’t cut off her words before they were overheard.

  “Where is it, Scarlet? You’ll never get away from here with that sketchbook. Steve isn’t going to be able to protect you anymore.” Trisha’s hysterical voice hissed through the room.

  Scarlet laughed. “You should have asked your husband that question before you killed him. You gave him instructions to get my sketches using any tactic necessary.” She twisted, trying to pull away from Thorne, but his grip didn’t loosen. “Weren’t those your exact instructions—use any tactics necessary?”

  Annie saw Trisha’s body tense. “How do you know that?” She turned toward her desk and shuffled through papers. “What happened to the papers, Scarlet? You stole them before you quit? The police will be interested to know about that.”

  Trisha reached for the phone, and at the same moment her head jerked as if she noticed something in the corner of her vision. She focused in Annie’s direction. Her mouth fell open. “What are you doing in here?” she sneered.

  “I had a question. What’s with the attitude?” Annie noticed Thorne drop his hand from Scarlet’s arm.

  She rubbed the spot, and very slightly gave her head a shake when her eyes met Annie’s.

  Trisha’s mouth softened but the rest of her angry mask stayed in place. “Trying to tie up some loose ends,” she muttered as she moved toward Annie and ushered her out of the office. “Your question?”

  “Well, I’m not sure I can take you up on your generous offer of a wedding gown. Obviously, I can’t trade away something I don’t own.” Annie tilted her head. “I’m sure you understand my dilemma. Leona has kept that gown for so long, I doubt she’s going to allow me to just give it away,” Annie snapped her fingers, “like that.”

  “Listen, Annie, I want that gown back. I created it for Leona in an act of friendship and, well, it was years ago. Frankly, it was before my business was even started. I want it for advertising purposes showing the evolution of my brand.” She cocked her head. “I’m sure you can convince Leona. Otherwise, she may find herself in a smidge of trouble with the police about my husband’s murder.” Trisha paused, “Obviously, you understand?”

  “Oh, of course I do. I will certainly explain your position to Leona.”

  Trisha patted Annie’s back as she began to walk away. “Good. Now go find the gown you want.” She dismissed Annie as if she was a pet that just performed a trick satisfactorily.

  Annie gripped Trisha’s arm. “Not so fast. I don’t think you understand. Leona will never give that gown back to you. She won’t be blackmailed. Please, tell your story to Police Chief Tyler Johnson.” Annie smiled at Trisha. “By the way, did you know that he’s a very good friend of mine?” Annie raised her eyebrows as she stared at Trisha’s scowling face. “Oh, and another thing, I have some juicy tidbits to share with him myself that won’t put you in a flattering light. If I were you, I’d be much more worried about what I know rather than what gown I’m planning to wear at my wedding.”

  Annie pushed past Trisha, walked back into the office, and looped her arm through Scarlet’s. “You’re coming with me.”

  Thorne reached out to stop them but Trisha said, “No. Let them go. They have no idea who they’re dealing with.”

  The tone in Trisha’s voice made Annie’s blood run cold. She was following her gut and she hoped her instinct didn’t lead her down the wrong path about Scarlet.

  They walked out the door and straight into the Black Cat Café. Annie didn’t stop until she could sag onto one of the red cushions in a booth by the window.

  Scarlet sat opposite, staring at her.

  Neither spoke.

  Annie raised her eyes to Scarlet’s face. “It’s time you level with me. Where were you the night Steve was murdered?”

  Scarlet began to open her mouth.

  Annie interrupted before Scarlet could even get started. “And don’t give me tha
t line about being in your room at the Heron Inn. This time, I’m not buying it.”

  Scarlet let her head drop and she talked more to her hands on the table in front of her than to Annie. “When I left Dazzle Design that stormy night before the opening, I waited in my car to see what Steve and Trisha were going to do.” She looked up. “Steve had my sketch pad but Trisha saw him with it. I wanted to trust Steve but I couldn’t just leave without finding out if they were planning something at my expense.”

  Mia hovered at the booth. “You said you were hungry. Should I get you a plate of food?”

  Annie nodded without taking her eyes off Scarlet.

  Chapter 11

  The sound of Leona’s favorite oldies station made it through the noise in Annie’s head. That was a good sign, at least as far as Leona’s state of mind was concerned.

  The mouthwatering aromas filling the café distracted her from her thoughts.

  Unfortunately, the fear that settled in her stomach when she looked at Scarlet made her wonder if she was sitting across from a victim or a murderer.

  Mia set a plate covered with finger food on the table and sat next to Annie. “These are some samples Leona has created for your wedding.” She cupped her hand around her mouth. “Better not make any negative comments. Tell her you love everything, even if you don’t.”

  Annie smiled. “Thanks, Mom.” She selected a cup filled with avocado fries with a spicy roast garlic dip. “No complaints with this,” she said after using the back of her hand to wipe away a drop of the dip on her chin.

  “Geez, Annie,” Mia scolded. “Use a napkin.”

  Scarlet’s hand hovered over a guacamole bruschetta before she helped herself to a ham and asparagus rollup instead. “Yum. All this looks amazing. I’m glad I’m getting a preview.”

  Leona joined the group with a plate of cupcakes. “Leave some room to sample these. I made cupcakes with some extra wedding cake batter.” She scooched into the seat next to Scarlet.

  “Oooh. They look fantastic.” Scarlet helped herself. “Lemon. I wasn’t expecting that.” She licked her lips. “Mixed with blackberries. This combination is perfect.”

  Leona beamed from the praise. She pushed the plate closer to Annie. “Try one. This is different from what you originally tasted. Much more flavorful in my opinion.”

  Annie pulled the cupcake wrapper down and took a big bite. The lemon buttercream frosting squished out the sides of her mouth. Mia shoved a napkin into her hand before she had time to wipe the frosting away with her fingers. Talking with her mouth full of cupcake, she managed to mumble, “Amazing. The lemon stands out more in this version. I love it!”

  Leona sighed. “It’s a good thing your wedding is fairly small and intimate. It gives me more time to create a bigger variety of items. And, to keep experimenting until everything is perfect.” She slid out of the booth. “Back to work for me.”

  “Wait.” Annie held up her hand. “I’m thinking there’s a good chance we’ll be having a few less guests after what happened this morning.”

  “Oh?” both Leona and Mia said at the same time.

  “I had a nasty run-in with Trisha.”

  Leona put her hands on her hips. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all. Nasty and Trisha are two words that go together all too well.”

  “What happened?” Mia asked.

  “She offered to give me a brand new designer gown from her store.”

  “That’s generous,” Mia said.

  “In exchange for Leona’s gown,” Annie added. She only had to wait for half a second before Leona reacted. Loudly.

  “My gown? You traded my gown to that, that—” Leona waved her hands around and shook her head before she came up with an appropriate label. “That low-down, self-centered thief? And that’s being nice about it.”

  Annie grinned. “Don’t have a heart attack, but Trisha also, in a not-too-subtle fashion, threatened a bit of blackmail to entice you to give up the gown.”

  Leona’s face fell. “Blackmail? What are you talking about?”

  Scarlet helped herself to another appetizer. Once there was a break in the hysteria, she said, “She must know about Leona walking with Steve along the trail at the edge of the lake.”

  Annie saw the color drain from Leona’s face before her eyes bored into Scarlet’s. “And how do you know this?”

  “I already told you, I waited in my car to see what Steve and Trisha were going to do after I gave Steve my sketch pad.” Scarlet leaned forward and looked at them with bright eyes. “Well, Trisha got in her car in a big huff. It was kind of hard to see through the downpour, but I know her face and she was not happy. I decided to wait to see where Steve was headed. He came out about ten minutes later, but he wasn’t alone.” Scarlet glanced at Leona.

  “Why were you spying on him?” Leona asked. “He told me he was worried about some stuff going on with Trisha’s business after I let him have it for never helping me get my original designs back from her all those years ago.”

  “She stole from me, too, and I wasn’t going to let her take any more,” Scarlet explained. “I told Annie that Steve promised to help me find a new job. All Trisha was interested in was to screw me out of my creations.”

  “Why trust Steve? He was part of the problem, as far as I’m concerned,” Leona said, disgust dripping from her words.

  “That’s probably true, and that’s why I was spying. I wanted to trust him, but I also planned to keep an eye on him. Especially while he had my sketches.” Scarlet stuffed the rest of the lemon cupcake in her mouth.

  “He had your sketch pad? Does it have a black leather cover?”

  Scarlet nodded and swallowed before she asked, “How do you know that detail?”

  Annie interrupted, “Listen, we need to get back to the gown problem.” She wasn’t quite ready to share the discovery of the sketch pad yet with Scarlet. She thought it was best to keep it a secret to prevent Scarlet from disappearing for good if she got it back too soon. “I think we should tell Trisha we’ll make the gown trade. Confront her about the stolen designs and threaten to expose her fraud which will ruin her business.”

  “What do you expect to gain from that, Annie?” her mother quietly asked. “Pushing her into a corner could make her desperate and the whole confrontation could backfire.”

  The timer on the oven made them all jump. “My cakes! I forgot about the cakes.” Leona dashed off to take the wedding cake layers out of the oven.

  Annie rearranged the salt and pepper shakers on the table while she thought about the problem. “I hope to force her to make a mistake, incriminate herself, or point the finger at someone else. I know it has the potential to be a dangerous plan but we have to throw her off balance somehow. Do you have a better idea?”

  Mia scrunched her lips together with her thumb and index finger before she answered. “I could talk to Uncle Harold. He’s always been the friendliest member in that family and he’ll do anything to protect his precious Trisha from bad publicity. It’s worth a try.”

  “What are you going to talk to him about?”

  “How about I tell him you are rethinking the gown situation. You’ll go to the store and pick one out but you have to wait on the final decision about the trade. I’ll tell him Leona is close to changing her mind.”

  “I’m still here, you know, and I’m listening to every word,” Leona called from across the café. “I’ll never give Trisha that gown.”

  Scarlet butted into the conversation. “It’s a great idea. Just because you are thinking about making the trade will let Trisha think she has the upper hand. It will buy you some time.” She sat back against the cool bench seat. “I never finished telling you what else I saw during that rainstorm.”

  All eyes focused on Scarlet again.

  Waiting.

  Breath held in.

  “After Leona returned to her car and drove off, I decided to go in the direction Steve and Leona had been walking. Fortunately, I had a dark colored ra
in slicker with a hood and a small flashlight stored in my car.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Leona spit out. “How do we know anything you’re saying is true? Next, you’ll be telling me you tripped over Steve’s dead body which means I was the last person to be seen with him.”

  “No, that’s not at all what I saw.” Scarlet waited for everyone’s attention to turn back to her.

  “What then?” Annie asked.

  “I don’t know who the other person was, but someone was ahead of me on the path. Steve stopped. I knew it was him because a flash of lightning lit up the sky and I made out his yellow slicker. The other person was hunched over. That person was carrying something and then they both disappeared into the darkness.”

  “Who do you think it was?”

  “Trisha had driven away earlier, but I suppose she could have doubled back to find out what Steve was going to do. It could have been Thorne, I suppose. He was always spying on people for Trisha. He gave me the creeps.” She lowered her voice. “I think he had a crush on her. Other than those people, I don’t know. Possibly Harold or Milly but, as far as I know, they were at the Heron Inn staying dry.”

  The hinge of the café door squeaked. Scarlet, Annie, Mia, and Leona all turned as one to see what caused the noise.

  Milly stood just inside the door, wringing her hands. Her eyes darted between all the faces. “I was hoping to talk to Annie.”

  Chapter 12

  Mia stood up and made a fresh pot of coffee.

  Milly took Mia’s spot at the booth, placing her book on the table in front of her. “This is awkward for me,” she began. “Harold thinks I never pay attention to anything with the business since I’m always reading, but I’m an extremely observant person.”

  Mia slid a tray onto the table with coffee, mugs, cream, and sugar. Leona added a plate with more of the wedding cake cupcakes.

  Milly looked across the table at Scarlet. “You shouldn’t have quit like you did. It left Trisha in such a stressed state of mind.”