Pies & Peril - Culinary Competition Mystery #1

Chapter 2

(Carla)

The following morning the scent of rich, sweet chocolate was Carla's alarm clock. Outside the window, the sky was dusky blue. The sun wasn't up, but Amy was already baking. It had been close to midnight when she pulled back into Amy's driveway, her best friend sitting in the passenger seat apparently stunned into uncharacteristic silence from finding Mandy Jo's body. The day had been so strange and exhausting, with one catastrophe after another, ending in being questioned by a police officer, the gorgeous and charming Detective Bruce Shepler, who had danced out of her past and invaded her dreams the entire night.

She had gladly accepted Amy's offer to stay in the guest bedroom instead of driving back across town to her condo. Even though she always worked third shift in the ER, the night still had exhausted her. Within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, she fell asleep. Hopefully, the luscious scent creeping into the bedroom was from her favorite double chocolate muffins.

Carla pulled on a thick, white terry cloth robe to cover up the oversized T-shirt nightgown borrowed from Amy. Staying in the guest bedroom always made her feel like she had checked into a luxury resort, right down to the plush robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Alex and Amy had invested a lot of money in the two-story Craftsman-style house. The place put her loft to shame, outdoing it in elegance and character. Here, stunning, original woodwork mingled with high-end finishes like glass tiles and marble countertops. Even the yard was impressive, thanks to a landscape architect and regular visits from a team of master gardeners. Marrying a successful entrepreneur had definitely improved Amy's lifestyle, but there was no reason to be jealous. If anybody deserved a golden ticket marriage it was Amy. Somehow she had not only survived growing up with a set of alcoholic parents, but she had also blossomed into a caring, generous woman with a fierce loyalty to her friends.

A quick check in the dresser mirror revealed a severe case of bed head. Carla loved the short, sassy haircut Amy had given her a month earlier. The cognac color with honey highlights was gorgeous too, but the hairstyle didn't fare well after a restless night of sleep. She grabbed a brush from her purse. A shower would be the only thing that would truly fix the mess, but she could at least attempt to tame the disheveled hedgehog look. After brushing her teeth and applying a slick of sheer lip gloss, she deemed herself presentable enough to make an appearance downstairs.

When Carla walked into the kitchen, Amy was peering into the open oven. She donned a pair of oven mitts and said, "Good morning. After our awful evening, I decided to make quadruple chocolate muffins. Some chocolate therapy is definitely in order since it's too early for wine."

"I agree, but I have to tell you after working third shift I've drunk wine in the morning many times." She inhaled as Amy removed the jumbo muffins from the oven and slid the pan onto a cooling rack. Her stomach growled in anticipation. "What are the four kinds of chocolate?"

"Dark, semi-sweet, milk, and white."

Amy set the insulated coffee carafe and a couple of mugs on the breakfast nook table. Then she pulled a carton of cream and an unlabeled glass bottle full of milky, brown liquid out of the refrigerator. "I don't know about you, but I kind of feel like I worked third shift. I'm lucky if I slept for an hour. So you can have regular cream or homemade Irish cream liqueur in your coffee."

"I didn't sleep that bad, but I'm used to seeing dead people," Carla said as she poured coffee for herself. She uncorked the bottle of liqueur and topped off her mug. Hopefully, Amy would follow suit. Her friend needed to chill out a bit. It looked like she was teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Maybe a joke would help. "Usually they aren't covered with pie, though."