The Death by Cupcake Series: Books 1 - 3, page 29
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The rumble of the words ‘stay here’ brings me out of my stupor. I have no idea how much time has passed since I crawled back into the corner. I take a deep breath and try to stand, but I don’t manage to move before the door is flung open and a man bursts in, gun raised. I immediately shrink back into the corner and make myself as small as possible.
“Logan! You’re scaring the frosting out of her!” A familiar voice shouts before hands reach for me. Her hands are everywhere, touching and inspecting me. I finally gain control of my voice when she starts to open my robe. “Hey!” My scratchy voice stuns Anna enough that I’m able to bat her hands away. I push her aside and manage to stand.
I tower over her when I stand. Her five-feet height is no barrier to my seeing the entourage, which she apparently brought with her. Behind Anna, her boyfriend, Logan, and my boss’s boyfriend, Ben, are standing over the body. And immediately behind Anna hovers my boss, Callie. Callie owns the bakery Callie’s Cakes where I work as a barista and Anna as the baker phenomenon.
Logan and Ben are both cops. As I watch them, Logan reaches over and checks naked dude’s pulse. He pulls away and shakes his head. Ben whips out his phone and walks out of my overcrowded bedroom. I panic when I realize that he’s a police officer and probably calling into the desk or whatever policemen do when they discover a crime.
“No!” I shout before trying to chase after him. Anna squeaks as I easily mow her down, but Callie’s not as easily ignored. She may be two inches shorter than me at five-feet-five-inches, but she’s got sexy curves that go on for days and she’s not afraid to use them. She wraps me in a hug and refuses to let go as I struggle with her.
“Shh,” she whispers into my ear. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
I start to growl before I can stop myself. I don’t growl. I’m the good girl. I take a deep breath in through my nose before letting it out of my mouth. “I know, I’m okay. I don’t know, however, if I’m a murderer. I’d prefer to figure that out before the cops arrive.” I somehow manage to speak in a normal voice, the scratchiness slowly disappearing the more I exercise my vocal cords.
Anna barks out a laugh behind me. “Seriously? How in the world can you possibly think you’re a killer?” She snorts. “You’re Ms. I’m-gonna-save-the-world.”
I roll my eyes at her assessment of me. She doesn’t know me as well as she thinks she does. Callie still has her arms around me and she pushes me into the desk chair across from my bed. “Kristie,” she says as she kneels on the floor in front of the chair. “Can you tell us what happened?”
I shake my head. “I have no idea. I woke up …” I pause as I feel my cheeks heat up. I lean forward and whisper, “… naked.” I clear my throat after that embarrassing admission before continuing. “This dude was in my bed with me.”
“Do you have any idea who he is?” Anna asks from the position she took up next to Callie.
I continue to shake my head. “No idea. I’ve never seen him before.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Before I get a chance to answer Callie’s question, I hear sirens. My heart starts to pound. What if they’re here to arrest me? I rub my hand over my pounding heart and stare wide-eyed at Callie.
Logan grabs Anna and lifts her out of her place. He gives Callie a look I can’t interpret but which causes my boss woman to back away as well. When they’ve retreated, Logan gets on his knees in front of me. He looks briefly at the floor before looking me into the eyes and speaking. “Kristie, sweetheart, do you remember how you got home?”
The sirens are getting closer. I have no idea how I got home, let alone how I ended up in bed with a man I don’t know. And now the police are coming to get me! I try to stand, but Logan grabs my hands.
“Sweetheart, is there any reason you’d be naked in bed with a man you don’t know?”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. Is that his way of asking me if I do one-night stands? I shake my head vigorously but that causes my head to ache and my stomach to roll. “Kristie, we need you to go to the hospital.” He says and leans over me. I panic and try to escape, but I’m stuck in my chair. Anna immediately rushes over.
“It’s okay, Logan would never hurt you,” she whispers and turns to nod at the man himself to proceed.
“I’m going to pick you up now. I’m going to carry you to my car and we’re going to go to the hospital. Is that okay?” I just stare at him. Anna reaches forward and grabs my hand.
“I’ll be with you the whole time,” she says as she squeezes my hand. “I won’t leave you alone with anyone. And you know, no one’s getting through me.” The tiny pixie’s bravado makes a ghost of a smile appear on my face and I nod.
Logan picks me up as the paramedics rush through the door. He nods at them and points with his chin at my bed. Callie’s standing in the living room as we exit my bedroom. She grabs my free hand and tries to smile at me. “I’m going to pack you a bag, okay?” She doesn’t wait for my response and rushes into my bedroom after the paramedics.
Logan carries me to his car with Anna holding my hand the entire way. She scoots into the back seat before her boyfriend lowers me onto the seat next to her. He shuts the door gently behind him before getting into the driver’s seat to drive us to the hospital. I stare out of the window and try to remember last night, but my memories are fuzzy. I know I went to the college bar down the street but, everything after I took the first sips of my beer, is a blur.
Chapter 2
Coffeeology: Take life one cup at a time
We drive up to the emergency room entrance and Logan dashes out of the car to grab a wheelchair. He lifts me gently into the chair and wheels it inside while Anna walks beside me squeezing my hand. Police must get better treatment at the ER than normal folk, because we’re immediately ushered into a private examination room. A real examination room with a door and everything. Even though my dad is a plastic surgeon, he does spend some time in emergency rooms and I’ve been with him when he’s been called in for an emergency a few times. An actual room with walls and such is a luxury I’ve never seen.
“Miss,” the doctor says when he arrives while looking pointedly at Anna. “You’re going to have to leave.”
Anna squares her shoulders and heads off with the man. “I’m not leaving Kristie alone after what happened.” She turns to Logan. “They can’t make me, can they?”
Logan’s eyes soften as he smiles at her and shakes his head. When he turns to the doctor, he’s back to scary-as-all-get-out cop. “She’s staying.” His voice has me nearly shaking in my boots – if I had boots on – and he’s not even talking to me. The doctor seems to agree with my assessment and just nods.
“I’ll be right outside this door,” Logan says as he tilts his head to the hallway. “If you need anything, just shout. Or tell Anna and she’ll take care of it.” The corners of his mouth quirk up at that before he turns and leaves.
A nurse rushes in as Logan closes the door. After the nurse removes my robe, the doctor does a quick physical exam before taking several samples of blood. As soon as the needle leaves my body, Anna is helping me pull the thin excuse for a blanket over my body.
The doctor clears his throat and sits on the rolling stool next to me. He looks me right in the eyes and asks. “Do we need to do a rape kit?”
My eyes nearly bug out of my head. Despite waking up naked next to a dead man who was also naked, it never occurred to me that I may have been violated in that way. “I don’t think so.” My voice is trembling as I answer. “I’ve never you know…” My voice trails off as my face explodes in heat.
“Shall I just take a look to make sure everything is still intact?” The doctor forms the words as a question, but he’s already moving around to the end of the bed and giving the nurse instructions with his eyes.
The nurse slides the curtain in front of the door to give us complete privacy. Logan’s face turns hard as he disappears from my sight. Anna grabs my hand and squeezes with all her might. “Just look at me, sweet cheeks. This will be over in less time than it takes me to frost a cupcake.”
Fortunately, she’s right. Before I have a chance to contemplate why a bed in the ER has stirrups, the doctor is rolling his stool away from me and snapping his gloves off. He nods at the nurse and she grabs a gown, which Anna insists on helping me into. As soon as I’m covered, the nurse moves the curtain away from the door and Logan barges in.
The doctor ignores him as he stands and moves to the sink in the corner to wash his hands. “Everything looks normal.”
“So I wasn’t…” I can’t seem to finish a sentence today.
He smiles at me gently and shakes his head. “No.”
“Thank god,” Logan mumbles as his body visibly relaxes. He stands behind Anna before reaching out and squeezing my shoulder.
The doctor finishes with the sink and grabs my chart. “Based on your symptoms, memory loss, confusion, drowsiness, it looks like you were given Rohypnol. We’ll know for sure when the lab results are back.” That’s as far as he gets before Anna explodes.
“She was given the date rape drug! How could this happen?”
Logan hugs her to him and shushes her. “Let the doc talk.”
The doctor clears his throat and continues. “You should be completely fine in a few hours. Drink plenty of liquids, get some rest.” He gives me another gentle smile before looking at Logan. “I assume you want a report?” Logan nods in response.
The doctor closes his clipboard. “Take all the time you need,” he says before quietly leaving.
“What…” Anna’s question is cut off by Logan.
“Can you tell us the last thing you remember?”
I shake my head and stare at the door. “I went to Dylan’s, the bar just down the street from my place. I had one beer.” I stop. I don’t remember anything after that. I shake my head. “Sorry.”
Logan reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
Ben and Callie rush in before he can continue. Or at least Callie rushes in. Ben just saunters in behind her. She smiles at me before handing me my backpack. I quickly unzip it to find a pair of jeans and sweater. “Thanks,” I mumble as I root around looking for some underwear.
“I’ve got your coat and a pair of boots as well.” She holds up the items and I nod in appreciation.
Ben and Logan move to the corner of the room and start whispering.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Anna shouts as she crosses her arms. “You’re not going all secret-spy cops on us now. Kristie deserves to know what’s going on.”
I roll my eyes at her before turning to the guys. “Yeah, a heads-up before I get arrested for murder might be nice.” Callie and Anna, who have both spent time at the police station getting grilled for murders they obviously didn’t commit, join in on my protestations. The men don’t stand a chance.
Ben rolls his eyes and throws his arms in the air. “We’re not trying to keep things from Kristie. And she’s definitely not being arrested for murder.”
The tightness in my chest releases as I digest those words. “I’m not? Really?”
Ben approaches the bed. “No, sweetie, you’re not.” He smiles at me and I can understand why Callie melts every time the man is near. He’s absolutely gorgeous when he aims that smile at you.
“Do you know who the dead dude was?” Now that I’m not going to be immediately arrested for murder, I need to know who I woke up with. Someone out there has lost a loved one and they don’t even know it yet. That situation needs to be rectified, stat. Ben shakes his head in response to my question, but he doesn’t get a chance to speak before my name is shouted.
“Kristie? What are you doing here?”
I take a deep breath and plaster on the biggest smile I can muster before turning my head to the voice. “Hi, Mr. Timmer. What are you doing here?” I cringe when I hear how sharp my voice sounds.
He waves a hand in dismissal of my question. “Just visiting a friend.”
I blink my eyes in surprise at the unexpected guest. Mr. Timmer is my graduate counselor at the School of Social Work at the university where I’m working on my Master’s in Social Work. He’s a sweet guy and super supportive of my career, but I don’t want everyone on campus to know what happened to me. Before I have a chance to think of a believable lie as to why I’m here, Logan speaks.
“Who’s your friend, Kristie?” The sentence is formed like a question, but Logan’s voice makes it clear that he expects an answer. I nearly roll my eyes at him being all protective. The man may be hot as Hades and super sweet to Anna, but he still scares the daylights out of me.
“This is Mr. Timmer. He’s my academic advisor in the social work program.” I nod to Callie. “That’s Professor Muller from the German department and also my boss.”
Callie stretches out a hand to Timmer. He reluctantly lets me go to shake her hand. “I don’t think we’ve met before. Nice to meet you,” she says with a smile. Ben wraps his arms around her and practically yanks her away from my advisor. Now I do roll my eyes. These men take being protective to the nth degree.
“I work with Anna.” I point to the pink-haired pixie. “Ben and Logan are their boyfriends.”
Mr. Timmer barely glances at the men before turning back to me and grabbing my hand again. “Are you okay? What happened?” His eyes roam over my body as if he’s looking for some type of injury, but they stop on my breasts. I follow his gaze and notice the blanket has fallen away and my breasts are nearly visible through the just-not-see-through gown. I quickly grab the blanket with my free hand and pull it to my chin.
“I’m fine.” I wouldn’t tell him what happened for all the coffee in the world. I wiggle my hand until he releases me. He may be a sweet guy who’s supportive of my career but that doesn’t mean I want him touching me. He’s my advisor for coffee’s sake.
Mr. Timmer obviously feels the chilliness that has descended on the room upon his arrival. “Well, okay then. I guess I’ll be heading out. I’ll see you at school,” he announces before scurrying from the room without saying a word to anyone else.
“Is it me or was that guy weird?” Anna doesn’t even wait for the door to shut behind him before she opens her mouth.
I shake my head at her. “Give him a break. He had some kind of breakdown or something in his previous job so he does advising now.” I shiver as I recall his fascination with my womanly assets. “But that was kind of creepy.”
“Total creepsville.” She nods in agreement before loudly announcing, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
Chapter 3
I’m pretty sure BC actually stands for ‘Before Coffee’
I assumed that as soon as we got back to my apartment, everyone would take off and I’d be left alone to contemplate what happened. Contemplate. I snort to myself. Freak out’s more like it. Unfortunately, when I open the door and turn around to thank everyone, the men push their way in before sauntering over to my sofa and collapsing on it. My sofa, heck my apartment, was not made to house the two oversized detectives.
I don’t shut the door but stand at the entrance with my mouth opening and closing in my best imitation of a fish. Think, think, think. Oh yeah, I have the perfect excuse for keeping them out. “Should you be in here? Doesn’t CSI or whatever it’s called in real life need to do their thing? Find clues or fingerprints or something?” There! That sounded reasonable. Not at all like I’m trying to kick everyone out.
Logan snorts. “You watch too much TV.”
Luckily, Ben takes pity on me and explains. “They’ve already come and gone. And even if they hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter.” The confusion must show on my face. The big detective smiles. “We were all here this morning.” Duh. I nod my head in understanding but don’t move away from the door.
Anna sits on Logan’s lap and I cringe as my sofa creaks. “You might as well shut the door and come in here.” Oh great, the troublemaker is on the case. Looks like I don’t have a choice. I shut the door and walk the short distance to my living room. I collapse in the chair across from my friends and close my eyes. Let the questions begin.
“So why were you in that bar anyway? You don’t drink. Or at least the few times we’ve gone out, we nearly had to force-feed you beer.” Callie’s voice sounds genuinely hurt.
I shrug and try to evade giving away the real reason for my visit to the bar. “Am I not allowed to go to a bar on a Friday night?”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Callie immediately snaps. Darn it! I suck at the secret spy mission stuff.
“Sorry, I’m not feeling well.” There, that’s not a lie.
“We just need you to answer a few questions and then we’ll leave you alone,” Ben insists in a gentle but firm voice. Obviously, I’m not getting out of answering some questions and considering I woke up naked next to a dead man, I should probably be grateful I’m getting grilled by my friends instead of cuddling up to some jailbird named Bertha.
“What do you want to know?” My voice may sound a bit whiney, but I’m not about to reveal my secret. An offense is the best defense or something like that, right?
“What do you remember about last night? What time did you go to the bar?” Ben’s the one asking questions, but the others are paying close attention, watching me with sharp eyes. I lean back and close my eyes again. Maybe if I can’t see my friends, I can pretend I’m not lying to their faces.
I shrug. “I guess it was about nine or so when I walked over there.”
“Did you have anything to drink?”
“Just a beer. Not enough to get me drunk or anything.”
“Did you open the bottle yourself?”
I snort. Of course, I didn’t drink from a bottle. “I had a draft. Friday is fifty-cent draft night.”
“So, basically anyone could have tampered with your drink?”
I nod. I figured that out a while ago.
“But why? It doesn’t make any sense. You were given the date-rape drug, but you weren’t …” Callie clears her throat before skipping over the word everyone is thinking. “Why would someone give you a drug? And then there’s the whole dead guy thing. Why did someone put a dead guy in bed with you? It’s almost like someone’s framing you. But why would someone frame you? You’re the good girl. You never get in trouble.” My face heats up as Callie gets closer and closer to the truth. Luckily, Anna slaps her best friend and she finally stops rambling and yelps, “Sorry.”
