PoisonBuried Punch (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 6) Page 9

  Roxy jumped off the couch at the sound of the door opening and greeted Annie. “I was so worried when you weren’t in the apartment.” She crouched down and hugged her best four-legged friend.

  “I thought she was lonely, so I took her for a walk, fed her, and kept her over here. I hope you don’t mind,” Jason said with one hand on Annie’s head, letting his finger twirl in a curl.

  Annie stood up and sobbed into his chest. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you everything that was going on with Christy.”

  He held her tight. “It’s okay. Come and sit down. Dinner will be ready soon.”

  “You still made dinner for me? I thought you were angry.”

  “I was, but I realized that your stubbornness is one of the things I love about you. It’s good and bad, but it’s you.” His lips twitched and his eyes sparkled. “And, you made me a promise that I intend to keep.”

  Annie pushed him away playfully. “Well, Mr. Hunter, I hope it’s a special meal or I might not keep that promise.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that.”

  He turned Annie around and she gasped. His table was set with a beautiful royal blue tablecloth with silver candlestick holders and white candles burning. Two places were set with white square porcelain plates and freshly polished silverware. An orange pumpkin sat in the middle, filled with white lilies.

  “I hope you brought your appetite.”

  Annie’s stomach growled at the thought of food. She looked down at her ridiculous outfit as an apple farmer. “I want to change first.”

  “Perfect. That gives me just enough time for one last detail.”

  Annie’s heart flipped and flopped. How could she have ever considered messing up her relationship with this considerate man?

  “I’ll be right back.” Her comfy, worn-in jeans and soft as puppy fur flannel shirt were still hanging in Jason’s downstairs bathroom where she changed earlier. Annie took a quick look in the mirror as she finger-combed her curls. She gave a shrug and returned to his living room.

  A pop made her jump, but it was only champagne.

  “I guess this is a special meal,” she said and smiled.

  Jason grinned and filled two champagne flutes. Handing one glass to Annie, he clinked her glass. “To us.” After they both took a sip, Jason set his glass down and a small box magically appeared in his hand. He flipped the top open and held the velvet box toward Annie. “Will you marry me?”

  Her hand went to her heart and Jason grabbed the champagne flute before it slipped to the floor.

  “Of course.” Annie’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Did Leona put you up to this?”

  Jason choked. “Leona? Why would you say that?”

  Annie dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. “Oh, nothing. Well, you two always have your heads together when it comes to me, and she’s been dropping hints constantly.”

  The door opened. “Can we come in yet?”

  “Uh oh. Maybe I did mention it to her,” Jason hurriedly mumbled.

  Leona walked in with a huge wicker basket. “Here’s your dinner—lobster, corn on the cob, and sautéed new potatoes with parsley.” She looked at Jason. “Did I forget anything?”

  His head made a slight nod.

  “Oh yeah, Danny, get the other basket in the trunk of my car.”

  After Danny left, Leona asked Jason, “What did she say?”

  “I’m standing right here, Leona.” Annie held up her left hand to show off the sparkling diamond ring on her finger.

  Leona grabbed Annie’s hand. “Camilla did a beautiful job crafting your ring. It’s elegant but modest.” Leona squealed with delight, picked up Annie and twirled her around. “So there is a chance I’ll be a grandmother someday.”

  “If you don’t get out of here, you might not live to see that day, though,” Annie said as she pushed Leona to the door just as Danny was coming back in with another basket. “I’ll take that, thank you very much.” Annie took the basket before she pushed them both outside, slammed the door and locked it.

  Jason roared with laughter. “I like it much better when someone else is the recipient of your stubborn behavior.”

  Annie already had the basket open and looked inside. “Oh, Leona made her fancy pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. How did she know that’s my favorite?” Annie raised her eyebrows and looked at Jason.

  “Come on, I was friends with Leona before I ever knew you existed. She’s as close as a sister could be for me.”

  Her eyebrows inched higher.

  Jason sighed. “We’ll stop conspiring behind your back. But, for the record, it’s always in your best interest.”

  Annie laughed. “I know, just giving you a hard time. You couldn’t push Leona away even if you actually wanted to. It’s kind of fun knowing that the two of you are always trying to make my life as good as it can be.” She set the basket on the counter and wrapped her arms around Jason’s neck.

  “That’s better,” he mumbled into her curls. “Shall we eat or skip right to dessert?”

  “We have all night. Let’s take care of those lobsters. It would be a shame for them to go to waste.”

  One more kiss before they separated and then Jason refilled their champagne glasses and Annie brought the food to the table.

  With soft music playing in the background, Annie let herself completely relax, enjoy the food and Jason’s company. She finally shut out any thoughts of Christy and Eddie—until her phone beeped— but Jason shut it off and wouldn’t let Annie check her messages.

  She didn’t complain.

  ***

  Warm pumpkin scones, leftover pumpkin cheesecake, cut up melon and a pot of strong French roast coffee covered the table, where only the night before Annie enjoyed a delicious lobster dinner.

  “I could get used to this treatment, Mr. Hunter,” Annie said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “I never even heard you get up. I must have slept like the dead.”

  “Not the dead since you were snoring like a chainsaw. I had to get up to get some peace and quiet.”

  Annie felt her cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment until she noticed Jason laughing. “You slept like a baby.”

  Jason started to toss Annie’s phone on the table. “You can have this back, find out what was so darn urgent last night, but only if you promise to share every detail with me.” He held the phone above Annie’s head. “Promise?”

  “Well, what if it’s a message from my secret admirer?” she teased.

  “In that case, I’m smashing your phone now.” He put the phone on the floor and lifted his foot.

  Annie tackled him, pushing him off balance and they both landed in a heap on the couch.

  Annie tried to get up but Jason held her. The more she struggled, the tighter his arms closed around her until she was laughing so hard she gave up the struggle and relaxed on his chest. “You drive a hard bargain, but I promise to share everything about Christy and the murder with you.”

  “That was a win-win for me.” He nuzzled her neck before relaxing his hold on her, but Annie didn’t hop up. She settled in, resting her head beneath his chin.

  A knock on the door got her moving.

  “Geez, what now?” Jason said. “I might have to move you out of Catfish Cove if I ever hope to get time alone with you.”

  Annie stood up and straightened her disheveled clothes with one hand and raked her fingers through her wet hair with the other. Jason opened the door.

  Tyler stood outside, looking a bit sheepish. “I tried Annie’s apartment and there was no answer. She didn’t answer her phone last night, so I stopped here to check if you knew where she was.”

  Jason moved out of the way so Tyler could see beyond him. Annie sat at the table drinking coffee and munching on a scone.

  “Care to join us for breakfast?” Annie indicated a chair for Tyler.

  “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to intrude.” He started to turn around to leave.

  Jason took his arm. “No problem. There’s
plenty of food. Come on in. You must have something important if you drove over here.” Jason brought another mug and plate to the table for Tyler.

  Tyler sat down. Annie poured him some coffee. His mouth dropped open when he took the mug from her hand. “What’s this?” He touched her diamond ring.

  Annie smiled shyly. “Last night. That’s why my phone was off.”

  Tyler hugged Annie. “Congratulations.” A tear slid down his cheek. After he straightened, he shook Jason’s hand and slapped him on the back. “Good luck. She’s got a mind of her own.”

  Jason nodded and smiled. “That she does.”

  Annie added a pumpkin scone to Tyler’s plate. “What’s so important? Did you discover something interesting about the mystery man, Dusty Reed?”

  He nodded, his mouth too full to talk.

  Jason gave Annie a quizzical look and mouthed the words, mystery man?

  Tyler washed down the scone with a slug of coffee and wiped his mouth. “Yes, and you’ll never guess in a million years what he’s doing here in town.”

  Annie stood up. “Don’t leave us hanging like that, Tyler Johnson. Is he here to kill Christy?”

  Tyler held his hands up. “Nothing like that. I followed Dusty and Christy to her house last night to find out what was going on. They’re working together.”

  Chapter 16

  “He helped Christy kill Eddie?”

  “Annie.” Tyler gently put his hand over her mouth. “Let me finish before your mind makes up the completely wrong story. Dusty is an undercover cop. He signed up for the same class at Mixed Drinks Bartender School with Eddie, Samantha, Kyle and Dennis. He contacted Christy after he suspected Eddie was involved in a scam.”

  “Why didn’t he arrest Eddie? According to what Samantha told me, Eddie had the money. Wasn’t that enough evidence?”

  “Christy thought she could handle it all herself. You know her, Annie, she’s independent and more stubborn than you are. She thought if she had the money, she could lure Eddie away from his buddies, get her dog back, and arrest Eddie, or at least con him into revealing the whole scheme.”

  Jason, who was quietly finishing his coffee, put his cup down. “You women don’t know when to ask for help, do you?”

  Annie’s eyes flashed. “Hey! I didn’t lure anyone to town.”

  Jason winked at her and smiled. “Just kidding, but you are a tad defensive.”

  Tyler shook his head at the two lovebirds and continued, “Dusty was after the big fish in the scheme. The money was important, but when Christy left with the money, the others cooled it with the scam and Dusty had nothing to make an arrest.”

  “How did Dusty end up here at the same time as Eddie?”

  “Dusty was keeping tabs on Eddie. He followed him on a hunch.” Tyler sat back in his chair.

  “So where does that leave us?” Annie asked.

  “There’s no us in this Annie. Christy didn’t kill Eddie. I have three suspects and they’re each dangerous and could kill again. They want the money. They want to get their scam up and running again. The only good thing about all this is that Samantha, Kyle and Dennis don’t trust each other. They’ll point the finger at anyone, and if they find the money, there will be less people to split it between. And, this is important, they don’t know about Dusty being an undercover cop. As long as he’s part of their group, he has a certain amount of influence and can keep a step ahead of events.”

  Annie stood up to clear the table, mumbling, “That did a lot of good to keep Eddie alive.”

  Tyler reached out and snatched another pumpkin scone, ignoring Annie’s comment. “These are delicious. Did you make them?” he asked Annie.

  “Leona surprised us with two baskets of food last night. A lobster dinner, pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, and these scones for breakfast.”

  “Pumpkin cheesecake? Is there any left?”

  “Sure.” She cut Tyler a generous piece and slid it onto his plate. “You want this second scone too?”

  He puckered his lips in thought. “No, the cheesecake will hit the spot.”

  Annie carried everything except Tyler’s plate to the kitchen. “I’m curious.”

  Jason rolled his eyes and laughed. “Of course you are.”

  She ignored his comment. “What’s the scam?”

  Tyler savored his first bite of cheesecake. “Oh, delicious. So creamy and just the right amount of sweetness and spices.”

  Annie stomped her foot. “Tyler Johnson, I’ll take that cheesecake away if you don’t stop treating me like I’m an imbecile. I know exactly what you’re doing and I don’t like to be ignored.”

  Tyler laughed. “The scam? I don’t know all the details, but they made random phone calls and convinced whoever answered that their grandson or granddaughter was in trouble and needed money as soon as possible. Quite clever if you ask me. Of course, once Grandma found out her grandson or granddaughter was home safe and sound and not in a bit of trouble, there would be no traceable phone number and the money was gone.”

  “Christy stole the money from Eddie before she knew Dusty was investigating?”

  “Uh huh. If he got Eddie with the money, he thinks he could have gotten more names. No money, and now, no Eddie.”

  “Christy has the money. Maybe that was her goal. Keep the money and get rid of all the other players,” Annie said quietly.

  Tyler stood up. “Aww, come on Annie. Christy’s not a criminal.”

  “How can you be so sure? She’s your girlfriend. How can you be impartial? Maybe it’s her variation of vigilante justice.”

  Tyler brought his plate to the sink. “Watch yourself. I’m not listening to any more of your crazy talk.” He stomped out the door.

  After the echo of the slamming door quieted, Jason started to load the dishwasher. “You hit a nerve. His reaction makes me think that somewhere in his head, he agrees with you.”

  “Tyler calls me stubborn, but he needs to look in the mirror. I’ve known him my whole life and his stubbornness can blind him to what’s about to smack him in the face.”

  “I don’t think I like the direction this is heading. You’re going to keep snooping around since you don’t trust Tyler to do his job properly.”

  With her hands on her hips, Annie scowled at Jason. “Don’t you care if the right person that murdered Eddie is found?”

  “Of course I do, but how can you be so sure Tyler isn’t finding that person?”

  “What if Samantha is right and Christy manipulates the evidence to target someone else?”

  “What if Samantha’s manipulating you, Annie? She’s involved in an illegal scam worth a lot of money. I would say that makes her untrustworthy. What has Tyler or Christy done to make you think you can’t trust them?”

  Annie and Jason stared at each other. Jason was first to look away and sigh. “I know nothing will stop you, short of me locking you in a room and force feeding you champagne and cheesecake.” He grinned, then got serious again. “Be careful, this could get ugly, especially if you’re right about Christy.”

  A loud knocking interrupted them and Roxy ran to the door, barking. Someone was turning the knob but it was still locked.

  “I’ll bet you the last piece of cheesecake I know who that is,” Jason said as he walked to the door. “Well?” He waited for an answer from Annie without opening the door.

  “No deal. We can split the cheesecake. Of course it’s Leona with some lame excuse why she had to show up bright and early.”

  As soon as Jason began to pull the door open, it burst inward with a force knocking him off balance.

  “I hope you don’t mind. We waited as long as possible,” Leona said as she bounced in followed by Danny, Mia, Martha and Camilla.

  “Who’s at the café?” Annie asked.

  “We all met there but I decided we can open a little late today. It’s not busy until mid-morning on a Sunday anyway.” She set her bag on the counter and started unpacking all sorts of goodies.

  Congra
tulations were said all around and Camilla had to inspect the ring. “Are you happy with it? Jason told me exactly how he wanted it designed, you know. Exactly.”

  “So you all knew about this before I did?” Annie said, throwing her arms in the air.

  Silence—for five seconds—before everyone started talking at once. “Jason needed help,” Leona explained, handing a glass to Annie. She passed glasses around the room. “A toast to Annie and Jason.”

  “What are we drinking?” Annie asked as she took a sip. “Delicious.”

  “Mimosas, but straight OJ for Danny.” Next, Leona carried a tray around filled with slices of pumpkin roll, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and thin slices of pumpkin cheesecake.

  Annie groaned with her hands over her stomach. “I can’t eat another thing.”

  She topped off Annie’s glass and whispered in her ear, “You look shell-shocked.”

  “A little more time alone would have been nice.”

  “Tyler was already here so we figured it was our turn.”

  “How do you know Tyler was here?”

  “He stopped at the café looking for you. He said you never answered your phone last night and he was concerned. Don’t worry, I didn’t spoil the surprise of your engagement. What did he say?”

  “He told Jason good luck, I’ve got a mind of my own, or something along those lines.”

  Leona laughed a deep belly laugh. “And don’t change.” She gave Annie a bone crushing hug before moving on to refill everyone else’s glass and stopping to chat with Jason.

  Annie smiled. She couldn’t complain about her family and friends even if they didn’t give her an ounce of privacy at times. She wouldn’t trade them for anything.

  Camilla’s voice was soft and soothing at her side. “It was so hard to keep the ring a secret from you. You know, with my habit of letting everything flop out of my mouth.”

  Annie held her hand up and admired the ring. “It’s beautiful and extra special to me knowing you made it.”

  “Jason was so worried you would hear us talking about it, or get upset that I was over here so often lately. You’re lucky. I can’t imagine finding someone as wonderful as Jason.” She sighed, momentarily lost in her thoughts. “What do you think about Dusty?”