Footsteps crunch through the underbrush. I freeze to listen, despite the patter of rain overhead, and wipe my hands down my frosting-speckled apron.
“Violet?” Laurel breaks my concentration as she comes out of her birthday party to check on me as I take a break.
“There’s someone walking behind your back fence. Is that normal? Is there a path back there?” I whisper.
Laurel matches my tone. “No, are you sure?”
We both fall silent to listen. The rhythmic snapping of twigs continues more slowly, but it’s clear that Laurel hears it when she grips my forearm.
“Problem, ladies?” Paul, Laurel’s new husband, is never far behind her.
“Footsteps behind the back fence. Maybe it’s a deer?” Laurel transfers her grip to Paul’s bicep.
“It’s definitely two legs.” I whisper again. “And a deer has never made that much noise.”
Paul retrieves a flashlight from just inside the door, letting the loud din of the party escape the house, and grabs a stepladder that was already next to me on the patio.
I can’t hear the footsteps anymore. Paul’s movements finally settle into silence as he mounts the stepladder at the back fence and starts shining into the trees.
“There are lots of good reasons for someone to walk in the greenbelt, right?” Laurel’s voice begs for reassurance, but I can’t offer any.
“Walking in the woods, in the rain, at ten o’clock at night, behind a row of houses, behind a crowded party?”
Before she can respond, Paul returns. “Whatever it was is gone now. C’mon! The party needs it’s caterer and it’s birthday girl!”
“Wait, I think I’ve got it.” I whisper and hold my finger up to my lips.
I open the door to the house wide, make some shuffling and stomping sounds with my feet, then close the door with a loud thud. The crunching starts again. Now the footsteps follow the fence and move around to the side yard.
I gently take the flashlight from Paul and tip-toe to the gate. I don’t have to wait long before the latch to the gate starts to squeak open.
When the gate brushes open, I click on the flashlight and blind the intruder. Laurel and Paul gasp.
“Iris? I knew it wasn’t a deer, but I didn’t expect my sister!” Laurel said.
“I wasn’t sure but . . .” I admit. “It was a good possibility.”
“Why? How?” Laurel asked. “I thought Iris was in the party! Weren’t you in the bathroom or something?”
“Lee-me alone!” Iris folds her arms and stomps back into the house.
Laurel huffs, “Violet?”
“Well,” I begin tentatively. “There were only four explanations I could think of – someone going outside to smoke, going out to meet someone, a person sneaking in, or someone sneaking out of the party. But, if someone had been sneaking out for a cigarette, they could have just come to this patio and stayed out of the rain. And there was only one person walking through the trees, so it wasn’t some kind of secret rendezvous in the woods. Then I realized the party isn’t big enough for someone uninvited to sneak in. I mean, you’re not a Bond villain having a gala. Everyone would have noticed if there was an uninvited guest!”
“Yeah,” Laurel chuckles, “So that only leaves someone sneaking out. So then, why didn’t she run away when Paul looked over the fence?”
“That’s how I knew it wasn’t any one of those things, but two things!” I spout, “Instead, what if it was a combination of sneaking out and sneaking in? Someone who had been in the party had snuck out and now was trying to sneak back in unnoticed. Your sister had been gone a long time and no one seemed to know where she had snuck off to, but her car was still here. Based on what your mom said earlier, I should have known. Isn’t she the sister with an undesirable boyfriend?”
“Yeah,” Laurel rolls her eyes. “At least in my parents’ mind. To her he seems irresistible.”
I continue, “She made sure she was seen at your party, then snuck out to meet him. Now that the party is wrapping up, she was trying to sneak back in! I guess that makes it a combination of three of my suspicions.”
“All four, actually,” Laurel says, “One reason my parents can’t stand him is that his smoking has caused Iris to start smoking.”
I smile. “So, she snuck out for a smoke and a rendezvous, but was now sneaking back in. I guess I’m getting pretty good at this detective-thing!”
A Caterer’s Guide to Love and Murder is a cozy mystery with recipes, released September 29, 2020. It is the first book in the NEW “Caterer’s Guide” mystery series.
A wedding caterer, a florist. . .and a dash of poison.
“Wow, this dough is sexy!”
As their wedded bliss starts to show signs of serious strain, Violet and her new husband, Jake, put their feelings aside to focus on catering a wedding that could make or break her career.
When murder ruins the rehearsal dinner, and her sister, Greta, the florist, becomes the prime suspect, Violet risks everything to clear her – and still deliver the beautiful wedding her new friend deserves.
But will she be in time before the killer dishes out seconds?
Meet the author
When Jessica discovered mystery novels with recipes, she knew she had found her niche. Jessica is an avid home chef and is active in her local writing community, including being a member of the Writers’ League of Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Brigham Young University but has always enjoyed writing and reading mysteries. Jessica is originally from California, but now has adopted the Austin, Texas lifestyle with her husband and two children.
All comments are welcomed.
This sounds like a great new series that I’ll really enjoy. I’m happy to learn of this new author’s series. Thank you DruAnn for presenting this information.