Pies & Peril - Culinary Competition Mystery #1

Chapter 9

(Amy)

"It's lovely. Thank you so much for making it fit in with the salon's decor." Thalia hugged Amy and whispered in her ear. "I hate it when people come in with old industrial-sized mayonnaise jars to collect donations for fundraisers."

"No problem. I wanted to make it look as nice as possible."

The black lacquer box with an ornate gold picture frame glued to the front did look like it belonged with the leather chairs and gilt-framed mirrors of the salon. A jar adorned with bows and lace would be as out of place as cake mix cookies on the dessert tray at a 5-star restaurant. Thalia and the salon didn't do cute and fluffy anything.

"Where would you like to go to lunch? My treat." Thalia patted her espresso brown hair that was curled into a riot of messy ringlets. "Riverbend Coffee has great paninis. Now that I don't look like a Smurf, I don't think I'll embarrass us too much."

Amy quickly shook her head before her stomach overrode her brain. The smoked turkey panini with Brie and homemade apple butter at Riverbend was a perfect rectangle of toasted sandwich heaven. Too bad Lucy seemed to like mini hamburgers instead of gourmet sandwiches. "How about Louie's? I haven't been there in ages, and I've been craving their burgers for some reason."

"Really?" Thalia raised her perfectly waxed eyebrows. "I can afford someplace better than that, but whatever you want. Now that you've mentioned it, sliders do sound kind of good."

Amy turned away from Thalia and fiddled with the lid of the donation box. She had never had hopes of being an international spy for a reason. Her traitorous face always broadcasted her emotions like a flashing, electronic billboard. Actually, she hated the grease-dripping, soggy-bunned, heartburn-inducing, miniature burgers. "It's been a while since I've eaten there and I wanted to take some notes about how they're made, for a contest."

Thalia shrugged as she looked out the front window. "Since it's such a nice day, do you want to walk down there? I could use some fresh air."

"Sure." Maybe the exercise would help burn off some of the onion-infused calories. "It's so nice now that the temperature has turned down from the broil setting."

Outside, the sidewalk bustled with people shopping and heading to lunch at one of the many downtown restaurants. All of the restaurants on the way to Louie's Hamburgers were a hundred times better than the grungy dive, but she wasn't going for the food.

Thalia edged closer as they passed by a Lebanese cafe where the smoky scent of grilled meat drifted from the sidewalk patio seating area. "I feel so guilty about Mandy Jo's death."

Huh? They hadn't walked a block, and Thalia was playing a heavy-duty game of true confessions. "Why?"

"I was going to fire her, had the speech all planned out and everything. Most of her customers had switched to other stylists over the last three months. I lost count of the number of complaints about everything from her spreading nasty rumors about a client's friend to cutting 6-inches of hair off when the customer asked for a trim. She only worked two days a week for the last few months. The money she was bringing in wasn't worth the hassle of dealing with her screw-ups. Don't expect a lot of my customers to chip in for her memorial, but I will help. Let me know how much money you need after you are done collecting donations. She worked for me for over eight years and was an excellent stylist for most of that time."

So the wicked witch routine had affected Mandy Jo's paycheck and pissed off Thalia. It was never a good idea to tick off a boss. The repercussions from maintaining the consistently nasty attitude didn't seem worth it, at least not if Mandy Jo wanted to continue working as a hairstylist. "Sounds like she had become very difficult to deal with."