Crepe Expectations by Sarah Fox Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Crepe
Expectations
The
Pancake House Mysteries #5
by
Sarah Fox
Genre:
Cozy Mystery
Pub
Date: 5/28/2019
When
a murder case from the past heats up again, it’s up to Marley
McKinney to sort through a tall stack of suspects in the latest
Pancake House Mystery. . .
Although it’s a soggy
start to spring in Wildwood Cove, the weather clears up just in time
for the town to host an amateur chef competition. Marley McKinney,
owner of the Flip Side pancake house, already signed up to volunteer,
and chef Ivan Kaminski is one of the judges. But when Marley visits
her landscaper boyfriend Brett at the site of the Victorian mansion
that’s being restored as the Wildwood Inn, she discovers something
else pushing up daisies: human remains.
The skeleton on the
riverbank washed out by the early-spring floodwaters belonged to
eighteen-year-old Demetra Kozani, who vanished a decade earlier.
While the cold case is reopened, Marley must step in when some of the
cook-off contestants fall suspiciously ill. Stuck in a syrupy mess of
sabotage and blackmail, it falls to Marley to stop a killer from
crêping up on another victim. . .
The
last diners of the day left the restaurant shortly after two o’clock,
and I locked the door behind them, flipping the “open”
sign
to “closed.” Leigh Hunter, The Flip Side’s full-time waitress,
untied her red apron from around her waist. Patricia Murray’s
daughter, Sienna, did the same with her apron. Sienna was seventeen
and still in school, but she worked at the pancake house on the
weekends. “Did
you know that Logan’s entering the amateur chef competition?” I
asked Sienna. “Yep.
He’s a really good cook. He got into watching cooking shows about
three years ago, and now he can make some really amazing stuff.” “I
hope he does well in the competition,” Leigh said. “He
will,” Sienna said with confidence. “My friend Ellie Shaw’s
entering too. She didn’t really want to, but her mom thought she
should.” “Why
didn’t she want to?” I asked. “She’s
kind of shy. I don’t think she likes the idea of cooking in front
of an audience.” “Maybe
she’ll forget anyone’s watching once she gets cooking,” Leigh
said. “I
hope so. She’s really talented, especially with desserts.” Sienna
headed for the break room to fetch her jacket, and soon she and Leigh
had left the pancake house for the day. Talking
about cooking made me wonder if Brett would be finished work by
dinnertime. I sent him a text message asking him how things were
going. I tidied up the pancake house while waiting for his response.
It came about half an hour later. He figured he’d have to work
until six o’clock, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to stay at the
inn any longer than that. Hungry?
I
wrote in another text. I
can bring you a snack. I
love you, was
his quick response. Smiling,
I finished up my remaining tasks and grabbed a can of soda from the
kitchen before heading out. I walked to Marielle’s Bakery and
picked up two doughnuts and half a dozen chocolate chip cookies. From
there, I set a course for home. The Wildwood Inn sat on the outskirts
of town, and making the trip on foot would have taken a while, so I
decided to make a quick stop at home to pick up my car. After
checking on my cat, Flapjack, and Brett’s dog, Bentley, I set off
in my hatchback. When I reached my destination, I followed a long
driveway toward the beautiful white Victorian mansion and continued
along the branch that led around the house to the large detached
garage, built in the same style as the inn. I parked my blue
hatchback next to the cube van Brett used for his lawn and garden
business. With
the paper bakery bag and soda can in hand, I wandered around the
garage until I could see clear to the back of the inn’s property.
An expanse of green lawn stretched from the mansion to a white
gazebo—a new
addition, Brett had told me. Beyond the gazebo, flagstone pathways
wandered around numerous flower beds. Brett had been working hard to
add some color before the garden party. He’d already transplanted
numerous types of flowers in a variety of hues and would add more
over the coming days. Some of the flower beds farther back in the
garden were home to recently planted rosebushes, which would bloom in
a few weeks’ time. As
soon as I started across the lawn, I spotted Brett near the back of
the property, working away at one of the last flower beds, only a
stone’s throw from the woods that bordered the garden. There was a
small cottage in the back corner of the lot, but I couldn’t see
anyone else around. The garden was peaceful, the only sound the
chirping of birds in the trees. I
followed the flagstone pathway past the flower beds, raising a hand
in greeting when Brett looked up and saw me approaching. “I
come bearing food,” I said as I reached him. He
grinned and drove the spade he was holding into the soil so it would
stand upright on its own. “Best news I’ve heard all day.” I
glanced around the garden. “You’ve made a lot of progress since
the last time I was here. It looks great.” “I
need to work at a couple of other sites this week, but hopefully this
job will be done in the next two weeks.” He pulled off his work
gloves and tucked them into the back pocket of his jeans. “How was
your day?” “Great.
Everything went well at The Flip Side. A lot of people were talking
about the garden party. They’re going to love what you’ve done
here.” “Hopefully
Lonny and Hope will love it too,” he said. “They
will,” I said without any doubt. “They like what you’ve done so
far, right?” “So
far so good,” he confirmed. I
held up the paper bag and can of soda. “Your snack.” “Thank
you. You’re the best.” “I
can’t say I was disappointed to have a chance to see you before
tonight.” He
grinned. “I’m definitely not disappointed either.” He
led me to a stone bench at the end of the garden that faced the
flower beds, the mansion visible in the distance. I sat with him and
snacked on one of the doughnuts while he devoured the other one along
with a couple of the cookies. When I’d finished eating, I rested my
head against his shoulder. “It’s
so peaceful here,” I said, listening to the birdsong coming from
the woods behind us. Brett
took a long drink of his soda. “It’s definitely a nice place to
work.” I
raised my head. “Speaking of which, I should probably let you get
back to it.” He
eyed the rosebushes sitting in pots near one of the flower beds,
waiting to be transplanted. “Another two hours or so and then I’ll
be heading home.” I
got to my feet and set the paper bag on the bench. “I’ll leave
these here in case you want more.” Brett
set down his soda can as he stood up. He took my hands, pulling me in
close. “Thanks for stopping by, Marley.” He
gave me a lingering kiss that I reluctantly pulled away from. “See
you later.” I
was about to set off along the garden path when something small and
black streaked toward the tree line. I spun around to follow its
progress. “A
kitten!” I exclaimed. “Did you see that?” The
tiny black cat paused at the edge of the woods, its green eyes wide,
one ear twitching while the rest of its body remained frozen. “Does
it belong to Lonny and Hope?” I asked. “I
don’t know,” Brett said. “I caught a brief glimpse of it
earlier today, but that’s the first time I’ve seen a cat around
here.” I
took a careful step toward the kitten. It dashed beneath a bushy fern
and hunkered down, out of sight except for the tip of one black ear. “It
looks way too tiny to be out here on its own,” I said. “We
can take it up to the house and see if that’s where it belongs. If
we can catch it, that is.” As
if it had heard Brett’s words, the little kitten darted out from
its hiding place and zipped away, deeper into the woods. “Catching
it might not be possible, but I don’t want to leave it in the
woods. Maybe we can at least get it to run back this way.” “We
can try,” Brett agreed. We
moved off in opposite directions, planning to circle around into the
woods and hopefully herd the kitten back to the garden. I tried to
move quietly as I entered the woods, not wanting to scare the cat
farther into the forest. Despite my efforts, twigs still snapped
under my feet and the underbrush rustled as I picked my way through
the trees. I
could hear rushing water somewhere nearby and realized we were close
to the Wildwood River. My concern for the kitten shot up. Although
the water level was on its way down now, the river was still higher
than usual and could be dangerous for anyone who got too close to the
slippery, unstable banks. I didn’t want the kitten going anywhere
near the water. As
I moved deeper into the forest, the dirt beneath my feet became
soggier. Through the trees, I caught sight of the river, still
swollen and muddy, hurtling its way toward the ocean. I swept my gaze
from left to right, desperately seeking out any sign of the kitten. “Can
you see it?” I called out to Brett when he came into view. We were
almost to the river now, and I had to talk over the sound of the
rushing water. “Not
yet,” Brett called back. At
the sound of his voice, something moved slightly a few feet away. I
peered at a small, hollowed-out cavity at the base of an old tree. It
was dark inside the hole, but I was certain I’d seen movement. I
crept closer to
the tree, moving slowly and cautiously. I
was about to crouch down in front of the hole when the kitten darted
out of the hollow tree. I dropped to my knees and grabbed at the
kitten, ending up flat on my stomach, my arms outstretched ahead of
me. A fallen tree branch poked at my ribs, cold moisture was seeping
through my jeans, and I had a face full of ferns, but I also had a
wriggling kitten in my grasp. “Are
you okay?” Brett asked as he hurried over to me. “I
caught it!” I said through the ferns. I
couldn’t see too well, but I heard Brett reach my side. One of his
hands brushed against mine. “I’ve
got it. You can let go now.” I
released my firm but gentle hold on the cat and climbed to my feet,
brushing pine needles and clumps of mud from my clothes. I smiled at
the sight of Brett holding the little kitten against his chest, but
when I reached down to brush a clod of mud from my knee, my smile
slipped away. “Brett…” “Are
you hurt?” he asked with concern. I
shook my head and stepped back before pointing at the ground. Next
to the patch of ferns I’d landed in, a partial human skull poked
out through the mud.
Sarah Fox is the author of the Music Lover's Mystery series and the USA Today bestselling Pancake House Mystery series. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer, she can often be found reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English Springer Spaniel. Sarah lives in British Columbia and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada. Visit her online at AuthorSarahFox.com.
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