Ashley Crane Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Read online

  “Copy that,” April stuttered. “Oh wait, that’s your line.”

  April took her husband’s arm, and they both stared at their daughter in defiance.

  “You’re not going back to your apartment tonight, and that’s that.” Her dad stood up straight and set his chin up high too.

  Ashley sighed. “Okay, you’re right. But we have to just stop over and get Charlie. I can’t bear to think of him alone all day and night.”

  “Honey, we will all go get Charlie and your things first thing in the morning. I’m sorry, but he will have to tough it out tonight.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  Ashley thought of her dear pet and hoped he’d be all right. She shuffled down the hallway to her old bedroom and got ready for bed. Then she kissed her parents goodnight. As she laid in bed, her instinct told her that she should start looking for clues first thing in the morning. Just as she was drifting off, her mom popped her head into the bedroom.

  April had a big grin on her face. “I have a great idea. I’m going to ask the members of my decoupage club to help with this case. There are some ladies who are really into mystery books, and they always seem to figure out the plots.”

  “Uh okay, Mom, let’s talk about it tomorrow. Night,” Ashley said.

  “Night, honey. It’s an early rise and shine so we can get over to your place and get Charlie and your things.”

  Her mom shut the door, and Ashley laughed to herself. Imagine a group of middle-aged and elderly women sitting around doing decoupage and solving mysteries.

  Then, before she knew it, she was out like a light.

  Chapter Nine

  Ashley’s alarm went off early in the morning, and she winced. She had a massive headache. She smelled coffee and stumbled into the kitchen. It was only five forty-five a.m.

  At that moment, only one thing was on her mind when she went through the kitchen door.

  “Mom, I need sugar.”

  “I was going to make eggs and bacon, honey. You need some protein,” April replied.

  “Okay, thanks. But can I have sugar too?”

  “Okay, a double whammy of protein and sugar coming up.”

  Her mom smiled and poured Ashley a cup of coffee. She whipped up some eggs, put some bacon in a pan, and got a muffin mix out of the cabinet.

  “I never made muffins from scratch, you know. Even the ones we’ve had on holiday mornings are made from a mix. I just doctor them up.”

  Ashley smiled as her mom blended the muffin mix and added more butter, vanilla, and cinnamon.

  “Are you making your cinnamon strudel muffins?” Ashley asked excitedly. Those were so good warm from the oven and slathered with butter.

  “I sure am, honey,” April replied.

  “I always thought those were homemade. They are the best.”

  April laughed. “Well, now you know my little secret. It’s like that cooking series where they show you the shortcuts. Everyone thinks they’re homemade.”

  April then sprinkled brown sugar on the tops of the muffins before they went into the oven to make a caramel crust.

  “Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Ashley said.

  “Now there’s a country truism,” April said as she eagerly licked the bowl and spoon. She quickly glanced at her daughter.

  “Oops, don’t want to offend your gourmet sensibilities.”

  “Mom, I’m a cook, not a fool. ‘Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers,’ and I agree.”

  “Shakespeare again, huh? I like that one.”

  “It’s from Romeo and Juliet, which is one of my favorites that he wrote,” Ashley replied.

  “Burt! Breakfast!” April yelled.

  Ashley felt her head throb. She reached for another cup of coffee.

  “Where is Dad, by the way?” Ashley asked.

  “He’s in the garage looking for some more wood for the living room window. The service guy can’t get here until tomorrow to install a new pane.”

  “I’m so sorry this happened, Mom. I hope the police solve everything soon.”

  “Well, I made a few more calls to some of the ladies in my decoupage group after you went to bed last night. They are reviewing the articles in the papers and on the internet and are paying a visit to the restaurant to see if there is anything that looks suspicious.”

  “Mom, do you think that’s a good idea? Besides, they can’t get inside anyway; it’s taped off.”

  “Don’t worry, dear, they know that. They’re just going to walk around and see if anything looks odd. Sometimes extra eyes pick up things,” April explained.

  “Okay, but tell them to be careful. And you know, they shouldn’t be talking about this outside of your group.”

  “Honey, we may be old, but we are not idiots.” April handed her breakfast. “Here, dig in.”

  Ashley looked at the plate of creamy scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, and those heavenly cinnamon-crusted muffins. Her favorite breakfast. She was in heaven.

  “Orange juice?” April asked.

  “Yes, please, and more coffee.” Ashley was like a little kid enjoying her food. She gobbled down one muffin and reached for another. Her headache started to fade away. Food, heavenly food.

  April smiled. “You know, you need to meet a man who enjoys cooking and food as much as you do.”

  Ashley sighed. “I know, you’re right.” She ate another forkful of her mom’s fabulous eggs. “Where is my prince, Mom? I’m waiting for him to ride in on his white horse.”

  April laughed. “Forget a horse, honey. Look for a man with a frying pan.”

  Burt then walked into the kitchen. “No fooling.” Burt grabbed a plate and sat there like a little kid, too, waiting for his share.

  “Are we going soon to get Charlie and all my stuff?” Ashley asked.

  “Of course. Now enjoy breakfast while I go get some things. We’ll leave shortly,” April said.

  ***

  They all rode in silence on the way to her apartment. Ashley had a knot in her stomach. She thought of her dear Charlie and just wanted to get him and her stuff and get out. When they arrived, there were a couple of residents from her building milling around outside and a patrol car parked there. Uh oh. Her dad looked green. Her mom got very quiet all of a sudden.

  They got out of the car and started up the stairs to her unit. The apartment manager, Mrs. Norris, poked her head out of her door and called to her.

  “There was a lot of action here in the wee hours of the morning,” Mrs. Norris said.

  “What do you mean?” Ashley asked.

  “Well, we heard a lot of noise in your unit and what sounded like glass breaking. I woke up and saw a guy running down the stairs like a bullet, and then he jumped into his car and peeled out of here so fast he smashed into the dumpster. He backed up and sped off again.”

  “Uh, thanks for telling me. Anything else?” Ashley wondered.

  “He dropped something. I called the police. They just came. I’ve got lots of theories if you ask me,” Mrs. Norris said.

  Some of the residents kept staring at them.

  “Thanks for the info Mrs. Norris. I’ve got to get up there and check everything out first. I’ll get back to you.” Ashley said.

  Mrs. Norris was a busybody and always had a lot of opinions no one asked for. But she might come in handy this time.

  Ashley and her parents walked up to her apartment. A policeman stood just inside the doorway. Her mother gasped.

  “Oh no!” Ashley exclaimed.

  The entire place had been turned upside down. Her belongings were strewn everywhere. Shattered glass from her living room mirror was on the floor. Her family stood there in shock.

  “Don’t touch anything, please,” the policeman said.

  “Roger,” Burt replied.

  “I have to find Charlie!” Ashley started to tear up. If anything had happened to her beloved little boy, she would never forgive herself. She bolted into the apartment, calling his name.

 
“Charlie!”

  He usually came like a dog when she called him, but as loud as she yelled for him, nothing. What if the intruder had taken him? Her blood ran cold at the thought.

  “Just a moment, ma’am. We can’t have you running through here,” the policeman said.

  “My cat was here last night. I need to find him!” Ashley cried.

  Just then, Charlie straggled out from behind a heavy cabinet in the living room. How he had squeezed back there, she couldn’t figure out, but he must have panicked when he saw the intruder come in and managed to hide the best he could. She scooped him up.

  “Are you okay?”

  Ashley felt him all over and examined him everywhere. He seemed to be physically fine, but his pupils were big, and he was shaking. She began stroking him until she heard him purr.

  “Thank God he’s okay.” Ashley began to cry.

  “We’ll take him back with us and give him lots of love,” April said.

  They all took turns petting him and telling him what a good boy he was.

  “Well, this place sure is a mess. Why don’t I wait here to talk to the police and you two get back home?” Burt said.

  “No, Dad, I have to talk to them too. The sooner we get to the bottom of this the better.”

  “She’s right, sir. Since it’s her place, the detective will want to talk to her anyway,” the policeman said.

  “Might as well be now,” April replied. “I’ll take Charlie back and calm him down.”

  Burt sighed. “Roger.”

  Ashley and Burt heard the detective coming up the stairs, and Ashley’s mom quickly said goodbye to them and then put Charlie in the car and drove off. Some of the residents of the building were still milling around and looking up at her unit.

  “Looky-loos,” Burt grumbled.

  “Yes, but maybe one of them saw something, Dad. I’m sure the police will question all of them, too, and see what comes up,” Ashley said.

  “This is turning out to be a bigger mess than I thought. Glad you’ll be staying with us for a while.” Burt replied.

  Ashley could see the concern on her father’s face. What she didn’t say was that she was worried about them, too, especially since she’d be staying at their place. But by the looks of her dad’s expression, she knew he was thinking the same thing.

  Just then, Ashley heard steps behind her, and she saw the hunky detective who had questioned her at the restaurant the other day. She immediately got weak in the knees.

  “Oh, hi, Detective…” Ashley stammered.

  He cut in. “Detective Thompson.”

  He looked intensely at her then noticed her father standing behind her.

  “Good morning, sir.” He extended his hand to shake Burt’s. “Well, this place is sure a mess.”

  “Copy that,” Burt said. “Seems someone is trying to mess with my daughter. Hope you can find the person who did this. We’ve had a crazy few days.”

  “I understand you have. I saw the police report from last night. So that was your residence that had the rock thrown through the window?” Detective Thompson asked.

  Burt nodded his head grimly.

  Detective Thompson then turned to Ashley. “I’m thinking that maybe this has some connection to the murder of your boss. I’m going to need to ask you some more questions.”

  Ashley tried to answer all his questions without blushing, but it was hard. The problem was that he was too cute. He had a big effect on her, and she hoped her dad didn’t notice. Every time the detective asked her a question and she looked into his baby blues, she felt a rush inside. She thought she saw a slight smile on his mouth when he finished. She didn’t dare look at her dad.

  She suddenly remembered she had to fill him in on the threatening phone call. As well as the other information she had neglected to tell him.

  “Dad, can I have a moment in private with Detective Thompson?”

  Her dad stepped outside, and Ashley talked to the detective.

  “Did you get my voicemail?” she asked.

  “Yes, and I was going to get back to you this morning, but here we are now, so shoot.”

  The detective’s brow furrowed as he listened to Ashley. She explained how Chris had muttered “he will get his due,” to her in the kitchen the day of the murder. And that after Jimmy had quit, he had rushed back to the restaurant and fought with Chris and that there was an altercation between the men and Darren. Then she explained the threatening phone call that had come in yesterday.

  “You mean you heard a threatening comment about your boss at the workplace, witnessed a fight between the dishwasher we have in custody and the other cook who’s disappeared, and saw your boss intervening, who then was murdered? And you’re just telling me now?” Detective Thompson asked.

  “I had forgotten what Chris said to me in the kitchen that first day when you questioned me. I was really rattled and nervous. And I’ve never been questioned by the police before. But I had meant to call you this morning about all that and the threatening phone call, I promise. Then last night with the rock coming through our window, then what’s happened here at my apartment, and well, uhh, well…anyway, I’m telling you now,” Ashley said.

  This time, he stared at her as if she was out of her mind.

  There was a long pause in the conversation. It seemed an eternity before he spoke again. Ashley wondered how red her face was.

  “This is all very serious. Are you sure there is nothing else, Miss Crane? Absolutely sure?” Detective Thompson asked.

  Ashley stammered. “I’m sure.”

  “And are you sure you will let me know everything that happens from now on as soon as it happens?”

  “I will.” Ashley blushed again.

  She felt so stupid. She couldn’t tell him that one of the reasons she had forgotten to give him all the information the first day he questioned her was that he was so hunky that he rattled her.

  “Okay, I’m counting on you,” he said. Detective Thompson then winked at her.

  What? Now she felt confused as well as stupid.

  After the detective had questioned her dad, he thanked them both and got ready to leave with one of the policemen.

  ***

  Just then, they all heard a woman yell from below her unit.

  “Ashley? Ashley? Can I come up?”

  Ashley sighed. There was no putting off Mrs. Norris. Whatever was going on, she had to be there and then gossip all about it. However, this time she could give her info to the detective. Ashley hoped it could help at least.

  “Hello,” Mrs. Norris said as she introduced herself to Detective Thompson. “I have some news about what happened that you might be interested in.”

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  Mrs. Norris looked straight at the detective.

  “I woke up early in the morning when I heard the neighbor, Mr. Bean’s, dog barking. It was still dark out. Most of the time that dog is just a nuisance, and I was ready to call Mr. Bean and tell him so, but when I went to the phone, I saw a man running out of your unit, Ashley. He was running real fast, and he dropped something and then smashed his car into the dumpster before getting away like I told you. I waited until light broke and then went out and picked it up.”

  “Can you tell me what time you saw the man?” Detective Thompson asked.

  “Around four thirty or five o’clock. That’s how loud that pesky dog was to wake me up at that hour. Although I guess I should be grateful to it for alerting us. What kind of nonsense was going on in your place last night? Did you have some kind of wild friends over?”

  Mrs. Norris glared at Ashley.

  “I wasn’t even here Mrs. Norris. I was with my parents. Someone broke into my place. I want to remind you that’s why the police are here.” Ashley gritted her teeth.

  “Oh, heavens! Broke in? I think I’ll get that dog a nice big bone. I thought it was just a wild party. Why would someone break into your place? Are you stashing money in there? That’s what banks ar
e for, you know,” Mrs. Norris replied.

  Detective Thompson cut in. “Ahem...ma’am…did you get a look at the car or a license plate number?”

  “Of course not. I told you it was still dark. You know, they always ask people in those TV shows if they saw the license plate. That’s not realistic. Everything happens too fast,” Mrs. Norris replied.

  “Okay, well, can you show me what the man dropped as he ran out?” Detective Thompson asked.

  “I’d like to know that myself,” Ashley muttered.

  Burt Crane piped in. “No fooling.”

  “Well…” Mrs. Norris dragged it out. She rolled her eyes and glanced around first. Then she leaned in close to the detective. Ashley was ready to explode.

  Detective Thompson cleared his throat. “Ma’am?”

  “Here it is.” Mrs. Norris pulled a tiny pink cup out of her robe and gave it to the detective.

  “What is this?” Detective Thompson asked.

  “It’s a mini ramekin,” Ashley said. “How strange that he dropped that. It’s not one of mine, so he must’ve had it on him. Why would the person who broke into my place have a ramekin on him? And in pink?”

  “Uh, excuse me, but I still don’t know what that is.”

  Detective Thompson stared at Ashley. She saw her dad and Mrs. Norris looking at her too.

  “It’s an individual baking dish. A small dish in which food can be baked and served. Like you would use for individual portions. We sometimes used these tiny ones for parties to make appetizers,” Ashley explained.

  “Do you recognize this as coming from your restaurant?” The detective looked at it like it was the strangest thing he had ever seen.

  “No, ours are made of china. This is silicone baking plastic. That’s why it didn’t break when he dropped it,” Ashley said.

  Mrs. Norris folded her arms and huffed.

  “I thought it was some sort of tiny cupcake holder. Don’t they make the silliest things nowadays for chefs and kitchens? That’s why I prefer plain cooking. A pan’s a pan and a pot’s a pot.”