The first thing I got started on was the soup. I made my broccoli cheese soup with real cream so that it was rich and flavorful. I shredded my own cheddar too because I didn’t like using the preshredded stuff in the bag. The starch used to keep it from sticking gave the soup a consistency I didn’t like.

  Next came the broccoli which I had picked up at the farmers’ market on the way into the shop. I got out my cutting board and chopped it up after washing each stalk. My soup only used the florets and never the stems. I thought they were too woody, and I’d never really liked them.

  Once I had two big pots of soup going on the stove, I got the dough for Mr. Meyers’ rolls out of the cooler and cut it into individual rolls. Those went onto baking sheets and into the oven.

  By seven I either had everything ready to go into the display cases or cooling on the counter. The coffee was going, and I quickly put baked goods out in the cases for sale before I unlocked the front doors. The finishing touch was flipping my little pink neon Open sign on.

  A few minutes later, my first customers started arriving. Camille came in too, and that allowed me to go into the back and box up Mr. Meyers’ rolls. One of his assistants would be coming in any time to pick them up.

  After they were boxed up, I grabbed everything I needed for the bread bowls. “You doing all right?” I asked Camille.

  “I’ve got it all under control,” she said with a smile. “It’s steady, but I’ll call back if I get overwhelmed.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “I’m going to get started on some bread bowls for lunch.”

  “Hey, Cathy.” I looked over and Dwayne, Ralph, and Ann from the television station were standing in line.

  The came in every day for coffee and rolls before they went to their jobs. I appreciated the business and the friendly faces.

  A few hours later, I told Camille that I needed to run some errands. “I’m going to go let Gracie out and then visit the police station.”

  “Oh, the police station?” Camille asked.

  “Yeah, one of the women I work with was screaming at Jenna yesterday before she died. She had her in tears. I’ve been debating whether or not to say anything to the police about it, but I think I should.”

  “Definitely,” Camille said. “Even if it turns out to be nothing. It’s better safe than sorry.”

  Gracie was in the middle of a nap when I got to the apartment. She was lying in a beam of sunlight coming from the window, and she really didn’t want to move. I convinced her to go outside for a quick walk, and when we went back in, she plopped back down in the sun.

  Mark wasn’t around to start a conversation, so it was a quick trip in and out. I drove to the police station and sat in my car for a few minutes before I went in. I still wasn’t sure that telling them about Rachel was the right thing to do. Yelling at someone didn’t mean you’d killed them.

  Ultimately, I decided just to do it and get it over with. Camille was right. It was better safe than sorry.

  I went inside and told the officer at the front desk that I was there to see Mack. She told me that he was on the phone and I’d have to wait.

  Rather than waiting in the little reception area, I went back to Tom’s desk and sat down. “Any news on the murder?” I asked.

  “Later,” was his response. “Can you have a late lunch with me?”

  “That sounds great,” I said. “I forgot to eat lunch in my rush to get over here and talk to Mack.”

  “You’re here to see Mack?”

  “Yeah. I remembered something about yesterday. There’s this manager at the television station named Rachel, and I caught her screaming at Jenna yesterday. I never did find out what it was about, but she had Jenna in tears. I thought it might be important.”

  Mack got off the phone just then and called out to me. “What are you doing back here, Cathy?”

  “I actually came in to see you.” I stood up. “We’ll do lunch when I’m done with him, okay?” I said to Tom.

  “It’s a date.”

  I walked over to Mack’s desk and took a seat. He was typing some notes into his computer, and it was a couple of minutes before I finally had his undivided attention.

  “So what brings you in, Cathy?” he asked when he stopped typing.

  “I wanted to report something that might have to do with Jenna’s murder,” I said.

  “Okay, go on.” He looked skeptical, but he didn’t say so.

  “Yesterday, after I was done filming…” I began, and then filled him in on the rest of the story.

  “Hmm,” Mack said when I was done telling him about the fight. “I think I’m going to have to interview the people who work for the studio.”

  “You think Rachel might have killed Jenna?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  “I’m not saying that, but I am saying that the information you’ve brought me is worth looking into further. Thank you,” Mack said. “Is there anything else?”

  That was his way of telling me I was dismissed. “Not right now. Have a good day, Mack.”

  “You too.”

  I went back over to Tom’s desk, and he was doing something on his computer. “I got a call I have to log while you were over there. Would it be all right if I met you at the Burger Barn in a few minutes?”

  “Sure,” I said. “I’ll go get in line.”

  “You know what I want if I don’t make it in time,” he said with a smile.

  “I do, but you’re totally paying me back if that happens.”

  “Of course,” Tom said with a wink.

  Chapter Five

  Tom made it over to the Burger Barn before I got to the front of the line. We only had to wait a couple of minutes, though, and he did pay. When the lady behind the counter asked if it was for here or to-go, Tom said to-go.

  “Do you have to go back?” I asked after he’d paid for the food.

  “Nope. It’s just a lovely day, and I thought we’d go to the park and eat. I want to be able to talk in private.”

  “Oh, that does sound good,” I said.

  We stepped off to the side to wait for our order, and I filled both of our drinks. I knew Tom wanted a cola and I was in the mood for a grape soda to go with my cheeseburger and fries.

  “How’s Gracie?” Tom asked as we walked toward the park.

  “She’s doing great. I actually went home and walked her real quick before I went to the police station. I think she was upset that I interrupted her nap and was in a hurry to get back to it,” I said.

  “Well, that’s good. I wouldn’t want her to be suffering because you’re here with me.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” I said with a smile.

  We found a picnic table that was far enough away from the playground area we could have a discussion without anyone overhearing us. It was a lovely spot under a tree and out of the sun.

  “So what’s going on that we had to have lunch out here?” I asked. “Not that it’s not lovely. It is and thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tom said as he spread the paper around his burger out like a plate and then dumped his fries out next to it. “I wanted to fill you in on the investigation, and I thought it would be better if we were away from prying ears.”

  “Oh, cool,” I said. “I appreciate you keeping me in the loop.”

  “Well, I trust you, and I know you well enough to know that you want to know what’s going on in the case. Especially when it was someone close to you. I figured this was better than finding you poking around and you getting into trouble.”

  “I wouldn’t be poking around in a police investigation,” I said with a laugh, but I knew it was a lie. I had a fierce curiosity, and at least with Tom, I’d found someone who could tolerate, if not appreciate, it.

  “Mhmm,” he said, but he was still smiling. “So we searched Jenna’s apartment yesterday afternoon. We were looking for any clues about her killer. It’s usually someone close to the victim.”

  “Yes. People are so afraid of strangers, but that’s so rare,” I agreed.

  “We found her diary. It started off really mundane, but then she met a man named Antwan Bains. He works at the studio, but you know that.”

  “Yep,” I said.

  “So they went out a couple of times, and Jenna seemed to be falling deeply in love very quickly. Suddenly, the entries changed because he broke it off with her. He just told her he didn’t think it was working out and he didn’t want to see her anymore.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,,” I said, not having any clue what was coming next.

  “Well, it turned out to be too bad for him too. There were several entries describing Jenna sitting outside of his house watching for him. She did the same thing at work when they were on different shifts. Jenna even followed him a few times. When he started dating another woman, Jenna would follow them and show up on their dates. She’d sit close by them at restaurants and the movies thinking that Antwan would see what he was missing and take her back.”

  “That’s kind of creepy,” I said. “I had no idea that Jenna would do something like that. She seemed so sweet.”

  “Antwan finally had enough because Jenna wouldn’t stop following him on dates. He confronted her outside of the movie theater and yelled at her that if she didn’t stop following him, he would do something he’d regret. Jenna said she was really scared after that. She’d never seen Antwan so angry. The veins in his neck and forehead had stood out and his face was beet red as he screamed at her in public. She vowed right then and there to stop following him,” Tom said.

  “Sounds like he snapped,” I said.

  “Yeah, and because of that threat, he’s now a suspect.”

  “That makes sense,” I said. “I wonder if there was something wrong with both of them, and that’s why they were attracted to each other in the first place.”

  “Could be,” Tom said. “We’re going to continue with the investigation, of course.”

  We made small talk for the rest of our lunch. I told Tom about the rolls for the bank opening and about my idea to let Camille sell quarts of her Indian soups. He told me a funny story about a parking ticket and an elderly lady in an electric scooter.

  It was a good lunch date, and neither one of us realized how fast the time had passed. When we were done eating, I had to hurry back to the studio for a quick production meeting.

  The production meeting was only supposed to be around twenty minutes, but it stretched on for almost an hour because people kept asking questions. Nearly all of it was stuff that could have been sent in a follow-up email because we all didn’t need to hear it, but that was the way meetings usually went.

  As it was ending, Tom and Mack arrived to conduct their interviews of the television station employees. If they needed me to stick around, it meant I might not be able to go back into the shop before it closed. Thankfully, I had Camille to cover for me. I was blessed to have such a good friend in my life.

  Mack decided to interview me first because he’d already spoken with me multiple times. “I just want to check in with you and see if you remember anything else about the incident between Rachel and Jenna?” he asked.

  “I don’t really have anything new to add. I’m sorry. I just came down the hall as Rachel was yelling at Jenna, but I don’t really know what it was about. Jenna and I had tea and cupcakes after it because I wanted to cheer her up, but she didn’t want to talk about the incident. She said we could discuss it later when she wasn’t so upset, but of course, that never happened.”

  “What do you know about her relationship with Antwan Bains?” Mack asked.

  “I don’t really know that I can help you there either,” I said with a shrug. “I didn’t even know they’d gone out until very recently, so I know nothing about their relationship.”

  It was a bit of a fib. I knew what Tom had told me, but I wasn’t going to get him in trouble. Plus, everything he’d relayed to me, the police already knew.

  “You can go, then,” Mack said. “I’ll contact you if I have further questions.”

  I looked at my watch and was pleased to see that I still had time to go back to work at the bakery. “Thank you,” I said. “I’m going to head back to the bakery. Have a good afternoon.”

  “You too,” Mack said.

  When I arrived back at the bakery, I found a line to the door and a very frazzled Camille. I jumped in and helped her clear out the line. We got everyone the baked goods they wanted and checked them out in an efficient manner. Camille and I made a good team, but that was the problem.

  “Thank goodness you came back when you did,” Camille said once we had a moment to breathe.

  “I wasn’t expecting to come back to so much business,” I said.

  “Business has really picked up, and sometimes when you’re not here, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. It’s not bad all of the time, but we get rushes. It’s happening more and more,” Camille said.

  “Why didn’t you say something to me about it?” I asked.

  “Well, I thought I could handle it or I’d just get used to it,” Camille said. “But the business is growing in popularity, and when you’re gone, it’s a bit too much sometimes. We really need to think about hiring someone else.”

  “You know, you’re right. I think an extra pair of hands is not just a good idea, if things are as busy as you say, then it’s necessary,” I said. “I believe that we can fit it into the budget now that I’m doing the television gig twice a week.”

  “I think the television gig is a huge part of the reason the shop is getting busier too,” Camille said.

  “I guess I never really thought about that. I’m sorry I’ve left you in the lurch,” I said.

  “I think if you’re going to get someone else in here to help out with running the front end of the store, it’s probably time to start thinking about ways you can bring in more income from the bakery,” Camille said.

  “Yeah, that would be amazing if we could grow even more,” I said. “One thing I’ve been thinking of is possibly getting a booth at the farmers’ market next year. Do you think people would want to buy fresh baked bread and maybe some sweet treats while they’re out buying vegetables and fruit?”

  “I think that could be an amazing idea,” Camille said. “While they’re buying local, organic produce, why wouldn’t they want to purchase some artisanal baked goods?”

  “I don’t know if I’d call the stuff I bake artisanal,” I said.

  “Of course, it is,” Camille said. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Cathy.”

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, I went into the shop early because I was making tortilla soup and churro cupcakes for the daily specials. I started with roasting the corn on the open burners of the stove. It gave them a nice char and added lots of flavor to the soup. I boiled the organic, locally sourced chicken breasts in a spiced broth. It made them extra tender and gave them a wonderful zest.

  The tortillas I hand rolled and fried. I could have used premade tortillas, but I made sure that everything I offered at my bakery had that extra special touch. I tried not to use anything premade in my recipes unless the ingredient was something that was handmade by another local business.

  I was happy with myself because even taking those extra steps, I had the soup done and the cupcakes about to come out of the oven a half hour before we were supposed to open. I figured I’d get a jump start on one of my big custom orders when I heard someone knocking on the glass out front.

  It was Antwan from the television studio. I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to go ahead and open the door. I unlocked the door and pulled it open so he could step inside.

  "Can I come in?" He said. "I need to talk to you."

  "We're not open yet," I said. "I'll be opening for the day in a half an hour."

  "Please," Antwan pleaded. "I really need to speak with you. It's important."

  I let out a sigh. He looked so anxious, and I was curious about what he had to say. Ultimately, that won over my trepidation. He'd threatened Jenna, and I really, really, really wanted to get to the bottom of that considering she was now dead.

  "Come in," I said.

  He stepped inside finally. "Thank you. I appreciate this more than you can possibly know."

  "I have coffee going. Would you like some?"

  "Sure. How much do I owe you?"

  "Remember, I said I'm not open yet. The coffee is on the house," I said.

  "Thank you."

  I brought over a tray with two coffees, cream, and sugar. Antwan had chosen a table near the counter and away from the windows. I was thankful for that because it meant other people wouldn't think I was open already. I set the tray down and took a seat across from him. I grabbed my cup and added two creams and two sugars. I noticed that Antwan took his black.

  "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked after taking a sip of the coffee.

  It burned a little going down, but not too much. I liked it like that. It was perfect when it was just a little too warm. For some reason, I felt like it brought the flavor out more. It didn't work when it was so hot that it burned your tongue, but when I had a cup just right, I wanted to drink as much of it as I could before it cooled down too much.

  "I was interviewed yesterday by Mack after you left the station,” he said and took a sip of his coffee. "He told me that I’m a person of interest in Jenna’s murder case. I am so scared, Cathy. I just don't know what to do with myself. I probably shouldn't even be drinking this coffee because the caffeine will have me bouncing off the walls."

  "Did you want me to get you a cup of decaf instead?" I asked.

  "No, it's good. I'll probably actually need the boost. I couldn't sleep at all last night."

  "You're not making much sense," I said softly.

  "I know,” he said and shook his head. "I was only able to drift off for a few minutes at a time last night. It was awful. I kept waking up thinking I heard someone knocking on my front door. I thought it was the police coming to arrest me."

 

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