Spiced and Iced (A Callie's Kitchen Mystery Book 2) Page 20

  “I’d like that,” Christy said with a smile.

  The two were interrupted by the arrival of Bix and Jack Myers who entered the shop, stomping snow off their boots. Callie nodded at them. “I’m happy to see some of Melody’s co-workers supporting her,” she remarked to Christy. “Bix works part-time at the inn and Jack supplies the food, among other things. At least somebody showed up for her.”

  “Yes, it’s important to have support.” Christy eyed the two good-looking men appreciatively. Uh-oh. “I’m so glad we could do this for Melody.”

  Suddenly, there seemed to be a bit of commotion while a pair of women appeared to be trying to drain an empty tea urn by turning it at a precarious angle. “Oops, better get a refill, stat, before somebody gets burned,” Christy said, scooting towards the women.

  Callie took this opportunity to speak to Bix and Jack who were waiting in line to talk to Melody. “Hi guys,” she said. “Thanks for stopping by.” She was a little leery of Bix, given his debacle with Viv and Sweetie, not to mention Samantha. She was also shy around Jack, who had been so flirtatious with her the last time he’d stopped by her shop.

  “Of course,” said Bix, nodding at Callie in a relatively civil way. Callie was relieved that he appeared to be in a calm mood. “It’s not every day someone you know gets a book published,” he said, looking over at Melody.

  “Melody must be really proud,” Jack observed. He and Bix looked like lumberjacks in their puffy coats and heavy boots worn with jeans. He gave Callie one of his dazzling, intimate smiles and Callie blushed. What was it with him?

  Nervously, she glanced at Melody, who was chatting brightly with a cookbook fan, seemingly unaware of her co-workers’ arrival. When she looked at Jack again, he was eyeing the platters of food, not Callie. Thank goodness.

  “We can’t stay long,” Bix was explaining. “I’ve got to get back to work soon. Kayla’s working the front desk alone. She volunteered to hold down the fort, but she’s sorry she had to miss it. I think Melody told her she’d give her an autographed book.”

  Callie noticed that her platters of food were emptying. Time to excuse herself from the conversation. “You’re here and that’s the important thing. I’m going to put out some more food – it’s going fast! Be sure to have a bite to eat and a hot drink before you go.”

  Bix and Jack nodded at her and shuffled towards the line of people waiting for Melody to sign their books.

  The rest of the launch went swiftly. Callie couldn’t believe it when she checked the time – 6:30 pm. She was exhausted but exhilarated. She had sold lots of food and gift certificates for Callie’s Kitchen, so the day was a success by her standards. Gathering up some empty platters, she swept them into the back room so she could do a quick wash-up.

  When she emerged just a few minutes later, many of the guests had left. Callie looked around for Melody and didn’t see her. She checked the restroom but Melody wasn’t in there, either.

  “Piper,” Callie said, as the young woman dashed by her with a tray full of empty tea cups. “Where did Melody disappear to?”

  “She said she had to go and that I was to say thank you.” Piper frowned, remembering. “She did say something about calling you later.”

  “Oh,” Callie shrugged. “Fine. She was probably tired and I don’t blame her.”

  What a day. Callie’s shoulders slumped a little bit when she remembered that Sands had never shown up, either.

  Oh, well. She’d worry about him tomorrow. All she wanted to do now was take a hot shower and sleep for about twelve hours. It probably would be more like seven, but she’d take what she could get.

  Max and Piper offered to stay and clean up and Callie gratefully accepted. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until she was sitting and pulling on her boots like an old woman. Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her coat pocket. Sands! It had to be him.

  “Hello!” she said eagerly, not even bothering to look at the number on the screen.

  “Callie it’s me, Melody. Listen, I’m at the inn and I wanted to know if you’d bring those cookies by for me tonight. I know you’re tired and so am I. But Emma called to ask how things were going and I thought it would be good if I could at least tell her that I had secured your cookie delivery, so to speak.”

  Callie was silent for a minute, wondering if she even had the energy required to pack up more cookies and drive to the English Country Inn.

  “You can trust me. I’ll have the cookies. Can’t it wait until tomorrow? Emma will never know!”

  “Please, Callie. Bring whatever you have. It would really help me out. I think Emma is really on edge.”

  In her tiredness, Callie was losing patience

  “All right, fine. I’ll be there. Just give me a few minutes to pack up and then I’ll stop by. I can’t stay long though,” Callie warned. “I’m about dead on my feet.”

  Callie packed up the kourabiethes for the Christmas Tea party, willing herself to keep alert and awake. It wasn’t that late, after all.

  Christmas cheer, Christmas spirit, she kept telling herself, feeling a bit like Scrooge. True, she’d had a long day, but she was fortunate to get the additional business at the inn’s celebrated holiday tea event, wasn’t she? Plus, she was exceedingly lucky that her business seemed to be on the upswing. For whatever the reasons, people were starting to frequent Callie’s Kitchen once again. These were all good things, no doubt. So she had to make another delivery – it was a small price to pay. She was ashamed at snapping at Melody on the phone.

  Before she could make her exhausted way out the door, Piper had insisted on snapping a picture of Callie holding the boxes of cookies. “It will be great to show you contributing food to something as elegant and popular as the Christmas Tea,” she gushed.

  Callie had relented, applying a fresh coat of lipstick and doing her best to smile. “I’m posting this now,” Piper had chirped as Callie was leaving her shop. “Your customers are going to be impressed!” I hope so.

  As Callie drove the short distance to the inn, the snowfall seemed to be growing thicker. Callie drove slowly and carefully, the headlights of her car highlighting the wall of white flakes that were swirling out of the sky. Had the imminent blizzard finally arrived? Callie gripped the wheel tightly. Despite being a lifelong Wisconsinite, she still didn’t care for driving in a snowstorm. Her recent trip down a ditch hadn’t helped matters.

  At a stoplight, Callie texted Sands and told him where she was going and why. Since she didn’t yet know if Melody was a threat, the more people who knew she’d be at the inn, the better.

  As usual, the inn made a pretty picture. Tonight, it was aglow with lights and its signature cheerful Christmas décor. Bright white lights sparkled under the thick layer of freshly fallen snow. Angels with bugles hung from the eaves and wonderfully piney-smelling fresh Christmas wreaths adorned nearly all of the inn’s windows. Despite her weariness and her apprehension about Melody, it truly was a winter wonderland.

  Stepping gingerly over half-hidden icy patches, Callie made her way to the door of the inn without falling. As soon as she crossed the threshold, Melody was practically falling over herself to take the cookie boxes from her hands.

  “Callie, I’m so glad you’re here. Let me bring you to the kitchen so that we can put these away.”

  “Sure thing. Can I take off my coat first?” Melody was certainly eager to get moving – just as well. Callie was feeling more exhausted by the minute.

  “Of course. Sorry – I’ll take it for you.” Melody hung Callie’s coat behind the reception desk and bustled back to her side.

  “My goodness, you brought quite a few boxes,” Melody remarked. She looked at Callie, who was yawning, despite her best efforts to look perky.

  “Thanks for coming out here. You must be exhausted.”

  “It’s fine,” Callie said, stifling another yawn. “It’s an honor to contribute to the tea.”

  The two women distributed their boxes between the two of th
em and made their way down the hallway, past the dining room and to the clean, white kitchen.

  “Hello, anybody here?” Melody asked, hesitating before entering the room. She nodded at Callie to follow her inside. Hesitantly, Callie did so and stood on the threshold of the door. She watched as Melody placed the cookies on a shelf and then motioned for Callie to join her.

  “I didn’t want the staff to see us bringing in boxes of cookies or they’re going to be asking us to taste-test them.”

  Callie chuckled. “Yep, that happens. Where do you want these?”

  “Let’s put them in the walk-in refrigerator,” Melody suggested. “They’ll stay fresher in there, plus, the kitchen staff may not be as tempted to sample them if they’re not lying around on the countertops.”

  “You bet,” Callie answered. The two of them stacked boxes on the shelves, shivering a bit with the cold air of the fridge. The fridge was tidy but packed full of food – it was difficult to wedge the boxes in place.

  “Well, hello there,” said a familiar voice. Callie looked up to see Jack Myers standing outside the door. He was holding the remainder of the cookie boxes. “Can I help?”

  “Thanks, Jack!” Melody said, smiling at him. “Just put them in here.” Jack stacked the additional boxes and they all walked back out to the warmth of the kitchen.

  “Is that everything?” Jack asked.

  Callie started to nod, but Melody shook her head. “I left a couple more boxes near the reception desk,” she said.

  “I’ll get them,” Jack said with a grin. “As long as I can have a few of whatever’s in here – it smells great!”

  “You see what I mean?” Melody said to Callie.

  “I’m sure we can spare a few cookies,” Callie answered, grateful for the help. She was fading fast and happy that her errand was nearly complete.

  Looking to expedite her homecoming, Callie ventured back into the walk-in and started looking for space on the shelves – which was a mistake. The second she tried to move a stack of frozen food, several parcels spilled out onto the floor. Sighing, Callie leaned down to pick them up, Melody joining her when she heard the noise.

  Callie picked up the first package of food and recoiled at the label: “Lake Perch. 2010.” What was 6-year-old fish doing in the walk-in?

  “Yuck!” Callie said, showing the package to Melody.

  “What in the world?” Melody sniffed the package and started to unwrap it. “I’m sorry, but I need to show this to the chef. It’s unthinkable that someone would keep this in here.”

  “Just be glad it has a date,” Callie remarked. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to see a petrified fish.

  Suddenly, Melody gave a little gasp. “Callie,” she whispered. “Look.”

  Not really wanting to, Callie forced herself to look at the object in Melody’s shaking hands. Horrified, Callie recognized a heavy pipe wrench. Sticking to it was blood and bits of hair … long, red, curly hair. Natalie. Callie felt her stomach lurch.

  “We’ve got to call the police. Now.” She felt her pockets but her phone wasn’t in any of them. “Darn, I must have left my phone in my coat or in the car. Let’s go call from reception.” She started toward the door but nearly bumped smack into Jack Myers who was carrying the remaining boxes. One of the boxes had an open lid and Jack had apparently taken the liberty of sampling the cookies already. Any other time, that might have annoyed her, but right now she had bigger fish to fry, so to speak.

  “Jack!” she shrieked. “We need help. Melody found something in the freezer. I think it’s the weapon that killed Natalie.”

  Slowly, Jack set the cookie boxes on the counter and walked over to a stricken Melody, who was holding the wrench gingerly, trying to touch only the ends of the paper.

  He took it from her hand and gently turned it from side to side. When he looked at Callie, she couldn’t believe she had ever thought his eyes were attractive and warm. He gazed at her with intense hatred.

  “Bad luck just seems to follow you two around,” he said. “I knew I should have gotten rid of this a long time ago. But there’s always somebody hanging around here.”

  Melody stared at Jack, stricken, as he pulled something out of his pocket and pointed it at her. A Taser gun. In seconds, she was unconscious on the floor. That must be how Jack had been able to stun and kill Natalie.

  Callie was horrified, rooted to the spot. Move, she told herself. Maybe you can outrun him.

  Smirking now, Jack turned to Callie, his eyes like steel. “Don’t even think about it,” he said. “I have a three-shot Taser.”

  She looked wildly around her but there was no one to help. Her body jolted, then froze as the Taser went off. Callie flopped to the floor, just like a freshly caught lake perch.

  Twenty Three

  Callie was unable to move or talk as Jack dragged her into the walk-in. She watched with horror as Jack dragged Melody inside the refrigerator and let her drop unceremoniously to the floor.

  Jack muttered to himself as he arranged each of them inside the walk-in. Callie felt him sit her up and prop her against a shelf. Her legs splayed uselessly in front of her. He did the same to Melody.

  “I thought we had a nice thing going,” he was saying to Melody, but very softly. Callie had to strain to hear. “You don’t tell anyone that Natalie and I were skimming off the top here at the inn and in exchange, I don’t tell everyone about your torrid past as Sandy Madison. Oh yeah, and unlike, Natalie, my would-be whistleblower, you get to live. It was only my bad luck that my partner in crime ended up having a conscience.”

  He spat the last word as if it tasted bad. “So much for honor among thieves.” He practically snorted before continuing to castigate Melody, who was looking distinctly out of it. Could she even understand?

  Jack’s voice rose, dripping with venom. “But no. You had to be so inquisitive. And then you drag Callie into it with you. Too bad you’re so active on Instagram, Callie,” Jack turned to her with a sneer. “That’s how I knew you’d be here.” Callie groaned and tried to move but Jack went on, relentlessly.

  “You should be more discreet in your investigative techniques. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and I knew you had figured things out about Melody. It was only a matter of time until you figured out the rest. Was I right or what?”

  Terrified by his attention turning to her, Callie struggled to move once again. Jack snorted with derision.

  “Well, ladies, get ready for a nice long slumber party. Real long. ‘Such a shame those nice women got locked in the walk-in. Accidents happen.’” He paused and looked at the two of them, shaking his head. “Too bad Emma didn’t upgrade the old door to have a safety latch, but she was always looking to save a buck. Your loss.” He slammed the door, leaving Callie and Melody in complete darkness.

  Callie wanted to cry for help but she couldn’t. It was like one of those nightmares where you want to scream loudly but nothing came out.

  Inside the walk-in, the darkness was almost palpable and the cold was astonishing. Callie sat on the icy floor, willing her fingers and toes to move, move, move. She was unclear how much time had passed before she heard Melody moaning a few feet away from her.

  “Melody. We’re stuck. In the walk-in,” came out weakly, but at least she was talking again. “We’ve got. To get out of here.” Callie found that she could slightly move her arms and she braced her hands on the floor before slowly rising to a kneeling position. Every movement felt like she was in slow motion.

  She crawled at a snail’s pace to the door of the walk-in and started trying to ram against it with her shoulder to make noise. She was too weak. Callie felt warm involuntary tears flow down her cheeks. With longing, she thought of her cell phone, left in her coat pocket near the reception desk.

  Would Sands get her message about the inn – and when she didn’t answer his texts, would he think of coming to find her? Or would he assume she had only texted him about her nighttime visit to the inn in a rather lame attempt to get h
is attention?

  Callie heard a small cry escape her lips and she bit them, hard. Crying would do nothing. She and Melody were in serious danger. Their only hope was to make some noise and try to get out.

  Once again, Callie tried to scream but her voice was still too weak. And she was getting colder. She envisioned taking off her coat when she entered the inn and wished she hadn’t. What could she do to stay warm?

  Callie remembered that the most heat escaped your body from your head. Crawling around on the floor of the walk-in, she felt around the walls for an apron or anything that somebody might have left behind. Nothing. Frozen food clattered to the floor and Callie felt something hard hit her shoulder. She grunted in pain.

  Well, she would just have to use what she had. She pulled at her sweater until it covered her head – leaving part of her abdomen exposed, but she wore a knit camisole and at least that offered some protection. As Callie struggled with her clothing, a memory struck her like a thunderbolt. The day of Natalie’s murder, she’d barely recognized Jack, all spiffed up in a suit, so unlike his usual lumberjack-style attire. She remembered that she’d found it slightly odd that he was so dressed up, but now she knew – he’d gotten his clothes wet killing Natalie and had to change.

  Now able to sit up, Callie called to Melody, who was babbling incoherently. Maybe she was regaining consciousness, Callie thought, clinging to any hope she could.

  “Melody, we’re locked in the walk-in,” she repeated. “Jack Myers put us here.” Callie’s ability to speak was getting stronger. “Our only way out is to make some noise! Do you think you have the energy to yell?”

  “I don’t think so,” Melody rasped in a whisper. “Sorry.” She tried to scream but it only sounded as if she were gargling. Her body must have reacted more strongly to the Taser, Callie thought. Drat.

  “I’m going to find something to hit the door with,” Callie said. “Will anybody hear us? Is there a cleaning crew here tonight? Will the guests hear us? Anyone?”

  “Guests…not allowed…back here…” Melody rasped. “Cleaning crew…gone.”