Chapter 6
802 Words
byWhen Stacy Chambers entered the kitchen of the Mountain Laurel Inn, she saw Eileen Streetman, the inn’s owner, standing behind the granite-topped island, a mixing spoon in her hand and a frown on her face.
“Eileen,” Stacy said to her longtime friend, “what’s wrong?”
Shaking her head, Eileen said, “There’s been a theft.”
“Oh my!” said Stacy. “What’s been taken?”
The innkeeper gestured toward a silver muffin pan in front of her. “Just my reputation.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Stacy.
“Stacy, dear,” said the diminutive woman, “you’re on vacation here in the mountains, and I don’t want to ruin your stay by involving you in my problems.”
“Hey,” said Stacy, “what are friends for?”
“Well, OK,” said Eileen hesitantly. “Every year we have a community fair, and one of the highlights is the big bake-off. Since everybody loves my chocolate cupcakes, I promised to enter them this year.”
“And?”
“The rules call for one dozen muffins or cupcakes, not ten,” said Eileen, staring at the two empty cups in the pan. “I don’t have time to bake another batch, so I guess I’ll have to wait till next year.”
Her curiosity pricked, Stacy said, “Who could have taken the cupcakes without asking?”
“Other than you, there are three persons currently staying at the inn,” said Eileen, “but I certainly don’t want to accuse one of my guests.”
Unable to resist a mystery, Stacy said, “When did you realize the cupcakes were missing?”
“I baked them this morning, then went out front to pick up the newspaper right after breakfast. When I returned to fetch them and have my handyman, Buddy, drive me to the fair, two were missing.”
“Do you mind if I do some poking around?” said Stacy.
“Well,” said Eileen, a conspiratorial smile sneaking to her lips, “I would like to know who enjoyed my cupcakes.”
Stacy found Burton Swift reading a book in the inn’s library. “It’s almost too beautiful a day to stay inside, even for a good book,” she said.
Swift looked up. “Oh, Ms. Chambers, isn’t it? I came down early to finish this thriller. I’ve been glued to my chair since 6:30. Even skipped breakfast. Just got a few more pages.”
Seeing no traces of the pilfered cupcakes, Stacy headed to the dining room, where she spotted Rachael Bailey, pencil in hand, poring over the crossword puzzle in the daily newspaper. “Ms. Bailey,” Stacy said as the young woman frantically erased an entry, “could I have a minute?”
“Sure,” said the slender redhead. “I’ve been sitting here since breakfast, and, honestly, this puzzle is getting the better of me. I wish I hadn’t asked Ms. Streetman to let me have the newspaper.”
Stacy reasoned that if Rachael never left the table after breakfast, she couldn’t have taken the cupcakes.
That left just one fellow guest. Ernest Miller was standing on the front porch. As Stacy approached, the stocky man said, “Ms. Chambers, I so enjoyed talking with you at dinner last night to my embarrassment, I overslept this morning and didn’t get to continue our discussion at breakfast.”
Stacy was about to ask Miller if he had grabbed the cupcakes as a replacement for breakfast when a tall, lanky teenager she recognized as Buddy Stiles, the inn’s handyman, bounded up the porch steps.
“Ms. Chambers,” he said, “are we still on for a horse ride up the mountain this afternoon after I drive Ms. Streetman to the fair?”
“Buddy,” said Stacy, “where have you been this morning?”
“Out in the barn with the horses,” said the teenager.
“And you haven’t been in the inn?”
“Nope.”
“So you wouldn’t know anything about missing cupcakes?”
Buddy shook his head. “Look, Ms. Chambers, I need to take Ms. Streetman into town. Besides, why all the fuss about a couple of missing cupcakes?”
“I guess you’ll have to ask your boss about that,” said Stacy.
Stacy knew Buddy was guilty when he mentioned a couple of missing cupcakes. If he were outside all morning, how did he know the number of cupcakes taken? Confronted, Buddy confessed to finding the cupcakes too much to resist when he came to the kitchen earlier to give Eileen a ride to the fair. Eileen forgave the embarrassed teen, and everyone enjoyed a lunchtime treat of chocolate cupcakes.
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