Weddings are Murder (Bee's Bakehouse Mysteries Book 7) Read online

  Weddings are Murder

  A Bee’s Bakehouse Cozy Mystery

  Kathy Cranston

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Preview: Apple Seeds and Murderous Deeds

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Copyright © 2017 by Kathy Cranston

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1

  “Not long until the big day, Jessie!”

  Jessie Henderson smiled. The whole town of Springdale had been abuzz for the past few weeks. Jessie’s aunt was getting married in two days and it was as if there was going to be a royal wedding in town. Jessie had never known people to be so excited about a wedding that wasn’t their own.

  Then again, Aunt Bee and her husband-to-be, Chief Daly, were sort of like royals in town. Everyone loved Bee’s baking and snarky sense of humor. Chief Daly was universally well-liked for his kindness and fairness. He prided himself on treating all residents of the town the same, regardless of whether they were friend or foe; rich or poor.

  Jessie put the finishing touches to Amber’s latte and set the cup carefully on the counter. “It’s all we’ve been talking about for months now. I don’t know what we’ll talk about after the wedding!”

  “I can think of one thing,” Amber said, a devilish look in her eyes.

  “What’s that?” Jessie asked, suspicious.

  Amber grinned and took a big sip of her coffee. “Your own wedding! You’ll be next, I bet! You and Mike. I’d put money on it.”

  Jessie waved her hand. “That didn’t work out so well for me last time. Anyway, I feel like I’m married to this place now. I have no desire to become a bigamist!”

  Amber laughed but it was clear she wasn’t going to drop the subject. “But you and Mike are so cute together.”

  Jessie glanced past Amber to check on her pug, Toby, who was relaxing in his little doggy play area outside the café. “Shh. Mike will kill you if he hears you say that.”

  Amber shuddered and Jessie immediately regretted her choice of word. There hadn’t been any trouble in Springdale for months, but some residents were still a little jittery after the spate of murders the year before. Amber lived alone and had paid too much attention to some of the gossip-loving residents who liked to exaggerate things.

  “Sorry,” Jessie said, cringing. “That was just a turn of phrase. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  “No, no, it’s fine. I’m just being silly. Back to you and Mike.”

  Jessie sighed.

  “You’ll be married before the year is out. I can just feel it.”

  “What are you? A fortune teller?”

  “No, but I have a good instinct for these things,” Amber said, tapping the side of her nose.

  The door open and Jessie was relieved to see her good friend Julia, who struggled to get inside with all the boxes she was carrying.

  “What have you bought now?” Jessie smiled, automatically reaching for a cup to make Julia her favorite coffee.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Jessie quirked an eyebrow. “I think it’s time to freeze your credit card in a bowl of ice.”

  Julia dropped the boxes onto the nearest table, catching the top one seconds before it toppled off the pile and onto the ground. “Please don’t. This stuff isn’t for me.”

  Jessie frowned. “Who’s it for?”

  “Bee asked me to pick up the new wedding favors she ordered.”

  “I thought she had those finalized. She’s got all the boxes made up and stacked in her spare bedroom.”

  Julia shook her head. “Not as far as I know. She called me this morning and asked if I was going to the antiques auction over in Glenvale. When I said I was, she asked me to pick up her wedding favors. That’s all I know.”

  “Aha!” Jessie cried. “So you have been shopping for yourself.”

  “Only for the store.”

  “You know hoarding is a real condition, right? Where are you going to put all those books? I know you: you buy boxes and boxes of gorgeous old books and then decide they’re too beautiful to sell.”

  Instead of trying to protest, Julia just smiled.

  “It’s true! Your house is tiny and you’ve already run out of space in the store.”

  Julia smiled even wider.

  “Why do you look so smug?”

  Amber laughed. “She’s moving in with Chad.”

  “Another prediction? Why don’t you do me a favor and predict the lottery numbers instead.”

  “I can’t predict the lottery numbers. Don’t you think I’d have done that by now if I could?” Amber said, sounding pained.

  Jessie shook her head. She heard all kinds of crazy stories around Springdale. “Okay. I see a body of water in your future. You’ll come into money.”

  “Jessie…”

  But Jessie was getting into the swing of her outlandish predictions. “You’ll meet a man with a pot of gold and a suit. There’s sand in your future.”

  “Jess—”

  “But don’t trust a man whose name begins with G or else you’ll be in trouble—”

  “Jessie!” Julia yelled. “Enough! She’s right. I’m moving in with Chad.”

  Jessie’s mouth fell opened as she looked from one friend to the other. All of the hairs on her arms were standing on end. She rubbed her arms quickly.

  “Oh my goodness. How did you know?”

  Amber smiled enigmatically. “I told you not to question my ways. Didn’t I? That’s what you get for mocking me. I have the power.”

  Jessie stared at her in stunned silence. She would have stayed that way for several minutes if Julia hadn’t broken the silence and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

  “Jessie! You should see the look on your face—for a moment I thought you were going to faint!”

  “Don’t you think that’s just a little bit creepy? That she knew before you even told us? You’re kidding, right? You just said that to freak me out.”

  “No, it’s true. Chad asked me to move in with him and I said yes.”

  Jessie shook her head and Julia started laughing again.

  “How’s that funny?”

  “Oh, Jessie. We’ve both been so busy lately that I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Amber must have seen the moving truck outside my place. There’s nothing mysterious about it!”

  2

  “I’m so happy for you. But you could have spared me the coronary,” Jessie said, shaking her head and glancing back at the counter.

  Julia sipped her coffee. “It was too funny. You’d have
done the same thing to me.”

  Jessie nodded. It was true. She sighed with contentment. The café had been hectic and this was the first time she’d relaxed in what felt like several days.

  “How are the weddings plans going? Has Bee driven the chief crazy yet?” Julia glanced back at the kitchen, wearing the look of a little girl who’d just been caught red-handed.

  “Don’t worry. She’s at home resting. I had to force her to take the day off.”

  Julia laughed. “I’m not surprised, what with you guys being so busy in here.”

  Jessie shrugged. “Hiring Martin was the best decision we ever made. He’s like a kitchen ninja. I can get on with the lunch special this week without having to worry about the baking side of things. And Bee gets a well-deserved rest.”

  “You mean she’s not coming to work for the rest of the week?”

  “Not if I can help it.”

  Julia quirked her eyebrow. “Does Bee know about this yet?”

  “She’s getting married in a few days. Anyone would think I was torturing her the way she’s complaining, not trying to give her a break! Honestly, I talk about being married to this place, but she’s got a real problem. She’s busy with the wedding plans but she still wants to come in here.”

  “She’s still preparing? I thought she was done weeks ago.”

  “She was,” Jessie laughed. “The problem is she can’t relax so she’s tweaking things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, the favors for one thing. She had wedding favors ready two weeks ago.” Jessie shook her head, eyes roaming around the room. She glanced out the window and completely forgot what they’d been talking about.

  “What is it, Jessie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Oh no,” Jessie said with a groan. “She’s not supposed to be here. The wedding’s not for a few days.”

  Darlene the florist had parked outside the café and was removing several long rectangular boxes from the back of her van.

  Toby went crazy when Jessie stepped outside the café, causing Darlene to start and slam the door of her van. Jessie took a step back, alarmed by the sudden noise.

  “Sorry,” Darlene said absentmindedly. “You startled me. I haven’t been sleeping much lately. I’ve got the flowers for the venue here. I told your aunt I’d deliver them today and we’ll get them all set up on the morning of the wedding.”

  Jessie bit her lip. “What? I thought you were bringing them to the venue on Saturday morning.”

  Darlene shrugged.

  “Are you sure she told you to bring them here? I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have told you to store them in the café.”

  Darlene glowered at her. “I don’t know. I can’t remember what she said. She’s changed her mind so many times. Can’t you stack them in the back of the café? I have two other deliveries to make.”

  Jessie balked. “No, of course not. We don’t have space for them.”

  Darlene muttered something Jessie didn’t quite catch.

  “Excuse me?”

  Darlene did not repeat herself. She shook her head and flounced away to the driver’s door.

  “Wait!” Jessie said, remembering her conversation with Bee the day before. “Are those lilies? I could swear Bee said she’d called you and changed to peonies. Has she changed again?”

  Darlene slammed the door and folded her arms, staring at Jessie with undisguised aggression. “What?”

  “I don’t know,” Jessie said, taking a step backward. “I just wanted to check that with you. I am the maid of honor after all, so it’s kind of my job to help out. I didn’t mean to offend you—I just want to make sure everything is perfect for their big day.”

  “But I’ve already finished the arrangements!”

  “Last I heard was she was going with the peonies. She’s been calling me up to run ideas past me so I’m surprised she never told me she’d gone with the lilies. I’m just telling you in case there’s been a mix-up.”

  “There hasn’t been a mix-up.”

  “Can we just confirm? You’re going to have to move these anyway because there’s no way we can store floral arrangements in here. We don’t have any space. I tell you what, why don’t I—”

  “Oh, why don’t you just can it, Jessie,” Darlene said, pulling the door open and reaching inside the van.

  The next thing Jessie knew, she was staring down at a shattered glass bowl. Rose petals blew around her feet. Darlene jumped into the van and pulled away with a squeal of tires. Jessie stared at the roses, wondering whose floral centerpiece had just been destroyed.

  3

  “Maybe she’s having a bad day,” Mike said as he stirred the bubbling pot on the stove.

  Jessie shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone so angry, at least not anyone who hadn’t just covered up a murder.” She shivered.

  Mike laughed. “Don’t be crazy. That was just a strange coincidence. There hasn’t been a serious crime in Springdale since before Christmas.”

  “I know, I know. She was just… out of control. She threw that floral bowl on the ground at my feet and stormed off like a woman possessed. I mean, why would she react like that? I was just trying to figure out what was going on.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mike said, wrapping his arms around her waist. “This wedding will be perfect. How could it not be? They have the most dashing, dreamy, talented couple as best man and maid of honor. It’d take a disaster of epic proportions to derail this wedding.”

  Jessie shivered. “Don’t say that.”

  “I’m just happy you agree I’m dashing and talented.”

  She grinned up at him. “I didn’t say that.”

  “But you didn’t disagree.”

  Jessie found herself relaxing. It had been weeks since their schedules had lined up and allowed them to cook dinner together.

  “Have you finished your speech?”

  He nodded. “Of course. I finished it last week. Has it really been that long since you’ve been here?”

  “I guess. It’s just been one thing after another. Never mind, we’ll get away for a break when Aunt Bee and the chief get back from their cruise.”

  He grinned. “Why don’t I get us tickets so we can join them?”

  “Oh don’t even joke, Mike! I swear I’m never setting foot on another cruise ship after what happened the last time.”

  “Hey, let me get those plates.”

  She stood back and let him grab their steaming hot plates. He led the way through to the little dining room.

  Jessie’s phone buzzed just as she was about to spear her first forkful of food. She pulled it out of her pocket, intending to silence it, but paused when she saw it was her aunt.

  “I won’t be a second,” she whispered. “It’s Bee.” She stood and hurried back to the kitchen. “Hey, Aunt Bee. Is everything okay? I thought you were having a relaxing night with a bath and a movie.”

  Bee sounded so agitated that Jessie couldn’t make out what she was saying.

  “Slow down, Aunt Bee!”

  “I can’t. I… I…”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s… it’s… Lindemann’s.”

  Jessie’s blood ran cold. Lindemann’s was the venue for the wedding: it had been booked for months. “What is it? Has something gone wrong?”

  “Yes,” Bee sighed. “Yes, everything. It’s all wrong.”

  4

  “So let me get this straight,” Jessie said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Lindemann’s is booked for an event the day before your wedding. That’s what you’re upset about?”

  Bee nodded, lips pursed obstinately. “That’s what I told you. Yes.”

  Jessie crouched down in front of her aunt’s easy chair. “Explain it to me. I don’t understand why you’re so upset. This kind of thing happens all the time.”

  “We planned to start preparing the venue tomorrow. Now we can’t.”

  Jessie sighed. “But that’s fine. We’ll m
anage.”

  “No we won’t. This isn’t how I planned it.”

  “But Aunt Bee, you only booked the room for the day of the wedding. You can’t expect Freddie to turn away business.”

  “But he said he would! He told me he’d keep the room free on Friday.”

  “Well…” Jessie looked to Mike for help but he looked as lost as she felt. “It’s going to be fine. We’ll get into the room as soon as we can and get everything ready. It’ll be just like you planned.”

  “But it won’t be like I planned. Because I planned on having a full day to prepare.”

  Jessie sighed and took her aunt’s hands, squeezing them tight. “Okay, Aunt Bee, I’m going to tell you something you need to hear.”

  Bee’s eyes lit up in an instant. “Are you telling me you’re engaged?” she cried. “Jessie?”

  “No,” Jessie sighed, wondering why everybody in town seemed so obsessed with her marital status. “I didn’t say that. I’m trying to tell you that you’ve got to snap out of it. I don’t think there’s a wedding planner in the state who could have done a better job than you. So you need to relax, okay? Enjoy your last days as a single woman.”

  Bee brightened a little. “You’re right, Jessie. Goodness me, I never thought I’d let a wedding take over my life.”

  Jessie’s heart plummeted as she remembered she still hadn’t spoken to Bee about the flowers. “Aunt Bee, did you speak to the florist today?”

  A second later, Bee was on her feet and pacing the room. It was as if she’d been injected with adrenaline, such was the change in her demeanor. “You won’t believe it. She stormed over here and demanded I had it all wrong. You and I both know that I called her last week to see if it was too late to change my mind. It wasn’t so I ordered the peonies. I spoke to her. I’m sure of it—I even made a note in my planner. But that didn’t seem to matter to her. You ought to have heard her, Jessie.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “She was like a wildcat. She stood there on my porch and yelled as loud as she could. She told me she was going to the van and getting those lilies and leaving them outside to rot for all she cared.”