Christmas Cookies with a Side of Murder Read online

  Christmas Cookies with a Side of Murder

  Meredith Potts

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter One

  “Does life get any better?” David Carlson asked.

  My muscular, handsome thirty-one-year-old boyfriend was smiling wide as he sat on my sofa.

  He was happier than I had seen him in a long time. That was a welcome sight. Especially given all the frequent disturbing things he had seen on the job as a police detective over the past few years.

  That said, as cheerful as David was that evening, he was looking at someone who happened to be in a better mood than him—my pet corgi, Snickerdoodle.

  “I think this is as good as it gets for a dog,” I replied.

  Doodle was having the time of his life, batting around a Christmas ornament across the room. His tail wagged excitedly as his stumpy little paws scampered on the wood floor. There was a look of unbridled joy in his eyes that made me feel like there was nothing he’d rather be doing at that moment.

  “Sometimes it truly is the simple things that matter most,” David said.

  “Who needs a complicated life, anyway?” I joked.

  David chuckled. “Not me.”

  “Or me,” I said. “I’d rather be having a ball.”

  “Doodle does make the simple life look awfully good.”

  I nodded. “He also knows how to be the center of attention.”

  “True. Which is saying a lot. I mean, it’s not every day that a dog can upstage decorating a Christmas tree.”

  My eyes widened. “That reminds me. I have been so distracted watching Doodle that I forgot that I still have a whole box of decorations to put up.”

  David sighed. “It’s a shame that tree won’t decorate itself.”

  “You know, I have thought about getting one of those pre-decorated ones.”

  “What has stopped you?”

  “To start, if I got a pre-decorated tree, I wouldn’t get to watch Doodle go nuts batting ornaments around. The decorations would already be on the tree the moment I took it out of the box.”

  “You’re right. You wouldn’t want to deprive yourself of this level of entertainment. Speaking of, I need to get this on camera. Doodle could be a huge hit on the Internet.”

  “Oh, come on. Who watches cute animal videos on the Internet?” I joked.

  He chuckled. “I think the real question is, who doesn’t?”

  “I’m glad you’re going to record this. That way I can hang the rest of these ornaments on the tree without worrying that I’m missing something.”

  David held his phone up and recorded Snickerdoodle scampering across the floor. “I’ll join you when Doodle gets tired out.”

  “In that case, you might be there a while.”

  “You’re right.”

  “But don’t worry. Just sit back and relax,” I said.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Of course. You put up my Christmas lights outside. For that, I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

  He chuckled. “You really hate those lights, don’t you?”

  I corrected him. “They are the ones that hate me. I have tried getting along with them. But no, they just refuse to behave themselves.”

  He snickered. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?”

  I shook my head. “You don’t understand. Christmas lights don’t have it out for you like they do for me. I don’t know how, but you managed to get on their good side. You have no idea how lucky you are.”

  “I guess I don’t. That said, since I took care of those fiendish lights already, you don’t have to worry about them.”

  “And that’s why you’re the best boyfriend a woman could ask for.”

  He threw his arms out. “Who knew the bar for being a great boyfriend was set so low?”

  “You’re not going to turn down a compliment, are you?”

  “I certainly won’t.”

  “Good.”

  I stepped away from the tree and headed toward my kitchen. “That said, all this talk about Christmas lights has dredged up the kind of bad memories that only some hot chocolate can get rid of.”

  David shrugged. “What? No egg nog?”

  I grimaced. “I’m afraid I’m all out.”

  “Bah humbug,” he joked.

  “I do make a mean cup of hot cocoa, though.”

  He smiled at me. “My taste buds are already excited.”

  “Two cups, coming up.”

  “Do you have any Christmas cookies?”

  I shook my head.

  His eyes widened. “Wait. Are you serious?”

  “I know. It’s very unlike me.”

  “It’s not just unlike you. It’s practically unheard of,” David said.

  “I don’t like it, either. But to be fair, there’s a very good reason.”

  “Such as?”

  “Shannon makes the best cookies around. And since her holiday party is tomorrow night, I just figured I would save my appetite for then,” I said.

  “In that case, I’m looking forward to Shannon’s party more than ever,” David replied.

  Chapter Two

  “A peppermint latte. Mmm. Now this is how you start off a day,” Julie Lambert said.

  The curvy, redheaded forty-four-year-old was in a great mood as she stood across the counter from me at my family’s coffee shop.

  Julie was a waitress at Home Away From Home Cooking, one of my favorite restaurants in town. While the food there was delicious, their espresso left a lot to be desired. That was fine by me. It meant more business for Daley Buzz.

  Julie was one of my regulars. The same could not be said for Wally Tuttle.

  “I’m not sure that I agree,” Wally Tuttle replied.

  Julie shook her head at Wally. “You and your protein shakes.”

  Wally Tuttle was a tall, muscular, clean-shaven man in his early thirties. I really had to put the emphasis on him being muscular, as his body had made a radical transformation over the last year or so. As recently as twelve months ago, fitness was one of the last things on Wally’s mind. But ever since he sobered up, all that had changed.

  Wally had become such a gym rat of late that he became a personal trainer a few months ago. To say that he made a stunning turnaround was a gross understatement. I was still kind of in shock over how well he had managed to clean up his act. But all his work had paid off. His new look had caught the attention of Julie, who was smitten with him.

  “You can’t go wrong with protein,” Wally replied.

  “That’s something only a personal trainer would say,” I joked.

  “I know, right? I mean, here we are in a coffee shop at the holidays. This is what peppermint lattes were invented for,” Julie
said.

  Wally wasn’t the only one who had made a change in his life. Julie had a wild past as well—with men, at least. A year and a half ago, she was dating Wade Becker, a man who was now in jail for committing murder. After that, she was with Matt Wallace. While Matt did not commit murder, he also did not prove to be a great romantic match for Julie, either. Now, with Wally in her life, she was hoping that the third time would be the charm.

  So far, so good.

  I glanced at Wally. “Can I get you anything?”

  He shook his head. “No. I had my protein shake this morning.”

  “I’ll bet it wasn’t as tasty as a peppermint latte,” I said.

  “You’ve got me there. But my shake also didn’t have thirty-five grams of sugar in it, either,” he replied.

  “Hey, I’m trying to enjoy my latte here. Nutritional facts have no place in this conversation,” Julie said.

  “I didn’t know that speaking the truth was so frowned upon,” Wally said.

  “It is when I’m in the middle of peppermint bliss. Now please don’t suck the joy out of this latte. Otherwise, I’ll leave you in the car next time I come here,” Julie replied.

  “Fine. I’ll just keep the truth to myself then,” Wally said.

  “The only truth that matters to me right now is that this latte is absolutely delicious,” Julie replied.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle as I listened to them volley replies back and forth.

  Wally gave me a quizzical look. “What’s so funny?”

  “Are you listening to yourselves? A waitress at a comfort food restaurant and a personal trainer. You two make for an odd couple,” I said.

  “True. But we make it work,” Julie replied.

  Wally smiled. “We sure do.”

  “Even if we do have a few hiccups every now and then,” Julie said.

  I watched them beam at each other.

  “I have to say, you two make a really cute couple,” I replied.

  “Thank you,” Wally replied. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Julie said.

  “If you two are this happy now, wait until you get to Shannon’s party tonight. It’ll be a delight for your taste buds,” I said. I focused on Wally. “Even you won’t be able to resist her desserts.”

  He put his hands on his hips. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

  “Fine. Julie’s taste buds will be happy, then. You, meanwhile, can hover around the tray of carrot and celery sticks,” I said.

  “Joke all you want, but it has taken a lot of work to turn my life around. The last thing I want to do is backslide by bingeing on holiday desserts,” Wally replied.

  “More for us, then,” Julie said.

  I gave Julie a high-five.

  “Besides, I’m a personal trainer. How would it look if people saw me chowing down on cake?” he asked.

  “Human,” I said. “If you can’t indulge at the holidays, when can you?”

  “Talk about enabling,” Wally said.

  “What you call enabling, I call selling. After all, I am in the peppermint latte business,” I replied.

  Julie held her cup up. “And business is booming.”

  Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to change our minds, Wally threw up a figurative white flag. “Maybe I should hang out in the car.”

  “Look. I know we joke with you. But I respect your restraint. You’re an inspiration,” I said.

  The sound of a phone ringtone was then heard.

  Julie instantly recognized the tone and reached into her purse. She pulled out her phone and glanced at her caller identification screen.

  “I need to take this,” Julie said.

  “Who is it?” Wally asked.

  “The law firm handling my aunt’s inheritance,” Julie said.

  I grimaced. “Does that mean your aunt passed away? If so, I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks for the support, but she was a distant aunt. We weren’t close at all. My brother and I only met her once. Which makes it all the more generous of her to include us in her will. Especially since it’s a fairly significant amount of money we’re talking about,” Julie said.

  Julie walked away to take the call in private.

  That left Wally and me alone at the counter of the shop.

  I grinned as I glanced at Wally.

  He scrunched his nose. “What are you smiling at?”

  “I was just thinking about the past,” I said.

  “What about it?” he asked.

  “When you and I used to be a couple”

  “This isn’t awkward for you, is it? Seeing Julie and me together?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not at all. I’m really happy for you two. Besides, I love David.”

  “Okay. Good.” His forehead wrinkled. “Then why were you thinking about when you and I used to be a couple?”

  “Because you’ve come so far. I mean, when I think about how you used to be, how much you used to drink—”

  “How terrible I used to behave,” he said.

  “Those are your words, not mine.”

  “It’s not easy to admit it, but it’s the truth. I wasn’t a good boyfriend. Or even a good man back then.”

  “Which just makes your transformation even more stunning. Look at you now. You haven’t just cleaned up your act. You have reinvented yourself.”

  He smiled. “When you put it that way, it is kind of remarkable.”

  “Try incredible. A few years ago, you had no willpower. Now, you’re clean, sober, and so disciplined that you can resist cake at a holiday party,” I said.

  “It turns out that resisting alcohol is a little harder than resisting cake.”

  “Tell my stomach that.”

  “Everyone’s journey is different.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. You are proof of that. I mean, if you would have asked me a few years ago what you’d be doing now, I would have never said personal training,” I replied.

  Wally shrugged. “What can I tell you? I got tired of being a cautionary tale.”

  “I’ll say. You’re a success story. With a wonderful girlfriend to show for it.”

  A spark was in his eyes. “Julie is pretty fantastic.”

  “You take care of her.”

  He nodded. “I will.”

  Chapter Three

  “Oh no. This can’t be,” Shannon Smith said.

  My petite thirty-year-old redheaded friend was beside herself.

  Her freckled face was so filled with concern that I found myself fearing the worst.

  Instinctually, my muscles tensed up. I had walked into Shannon’s kitchen to check up on her. Apparently, I had come at a terrible time.

  My thoughts raced.

  What kind of trouble was she in? I braced myself for some seriously bad news.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I can’t believe it,” Shannon said.

  “Shannon, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “We’re all out of Christmas cookies, and the party is only an hour old.”

  I put my hand over my chest. Sweet relief washed over me. It turned out I had gotten all worked up for nothing.

  How refreshing.

  Typically, the opposite was the case. After all, Treasure Cove was no stranger to trouble. At least when it came to recent history. Nefarious activities hadn’t always been so common in my hometown.

  For example, just a few years ago, going sixty days without a homicide taking place within the city limits wouldn’t seem like much reason for excitement. Especially considering that Treasure Cove was a picturesque coastal Northern California town of only twenty-five-thousand residents. Unfortunately, a lot had changed around here. Most notably, a number of disturbing murders.

  So even though it was only a small victory to go two months without a homicide occurring in town, it was much better than the grisly alternative.

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I thought about Shannon’s overrea
ction to running out of cookies.

  Shannon’s nose crinkled. “What’s so funny?”

  “It’s just that I thought you had a serious problem,” I said.

  Shannon was not amused by my statement. “Sabrina, this is serious. My Christmas cookies are always a huge hit. People are going to be asking for them all night. And I’m going to have to tell them that they are all gone.”

  “They’ll live.”

  “I know that. I mean, there are other desserts—”

  “Exactly. Your guests will be fine. Besides, coming up a few cookies short is a pretty small worry in the scope of things. Especially in this town.”

  “Well, yeah. Clearly,” she replied. “Some days I feel like we’re living in weirdo central.”

  “Too much of the time, recently. Which is why a Christmas party like this is so welcome. Fun is being had by all.”

  Shannon was still kicking herself. “I just thought that I had planned this better.”

  “Shannon, calm down. You don’t want to be the only one at your own party who isn’t having a ball, do you?”

  “Of course not. It’s not like I want to feel like this.”

  “Then don’t. You’re a great hostess.”

  Unfortunately, her mood did not improve. She continued to beat herself up.

  Shannon grimaced as she looked out into the distance. “I just hate to disappoint people.”

  I stared deep into her eyes. “We’re not talking about cookies anymore, are we?”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Maybe it wouldn’t be if you were talking to one of your other friends. But it turns out I’m half decent at this whole sleuthing thing.”

  “Right. Of course. I don’t know how I expected to keep my feelings hidden from you.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what this is really about?”

  “My wedding.”

  “The one that’s six months away?” I asked.

  “I know you probably think I’m being silly, but if I can’t get everything just right for a Christmas party, then how can I expect to get all the details correct for my wedding?”

  “Shannon, you can’t even compare the two.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. My wedding is going to be so much bigger.”

  “Yes, but you also have a professional planner who is helping you with your wedding.”