Burned to a Crisp (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  Josie's mouth fell open, and she looked at me in amusement. "Wow. Way to go, girlfriend."

  Brian's mouth twitched. If he started laughing, I wasn't going to be held responsible for my actions. "Sally, I don't believe Gianna killed him. But she may have been the last person to see him alive. A lot of things don't add up here. So if you know where Gianna is, you'd be doing her a huge favor by sharing the information with us. She's not under arrest for anything. We only want to talk to her."

  Shoot. Here I was flying off the handle again. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't afford to alienate Brian since he might prove to be a valuable source of information, especially where Bernardo's autopsy was concerned. "Sure. Sorry I overreacted, but I'm still upset. In answer to your question, I really don't know where she is."

  He nodded, but the look in his eyes was untrusting. "It's okay, Sally. I believe you."

  A female voice came over his radio at that moment, addressing him by name. He reached for it, and then his gaze met mine again. He studied me in such a way that brought to mind Grandma Rosa's reference to her cheesecake last night.

  Brian was sweet and handsome, and while sparks had flown between us for a brief period in the past, that was all over now—well, for me anyway. I was in the midst of planning a wedding, dealing with a destroyed business, and trying to locate my sister. I didn't have time for his lovesick antics.

  "Maybe I'll see you tonight." Brian started to say something else then he cut his eyes to Josie, and his face reddened immediately. He turned and walked toward his squad car.

  Josie grinned. "Gotta give him credit. Officer Hottie is one persistent little bugger." She stared at the building again and sighed, her face mournful. "Let's go. I can't bear to look at this place anymore."

  "I know. It seems unreal, kind of like a bad dream."

  Josie's lower lip trembled. "Sal, I can't believe I'm asking this, but what's Gianna's connection to this mess?"

  "I don't know," I said. "Hopefully nothing. There's no proof that she was involved in Bernardo's death."

  "She didn't give you any clue as to where she was?"

  I shook my head. "She hasn't answered any of my calls or texts since the first one. What if somebody's holding her against her will? Maybe they made her type that message to me."

  Josie pinched a blade of grass between her fingers. "Ah, you watch too much television."

  Perhaps she'd forgotten how a lunatic had once done the same thing—made her call me and say everything was fine as she'd been held at gunpoint? I decided not to remind her. If Josie had somehow managed to block that horrible episode out of her life, then all the better for her.

  She dug her keys out of her purse. "Maybe someone wanted Bernardo dead, and they hoped Gianna would take the blame for it."

  "I don't understand this at all," I said. "Was someone angry that he wasn't going to prison? Maybe they blamed Gianna for that too?"

  "It's possible. They may have been sure he'd be convicted, but then that juror came on to Gianna and screwed up their entire scheme." She opened the driver's door of her van. "Come on. Let's go grab some coffee and hopefully cheesecake—courtesy of your grandmother."

  I pulled the seat belt around me. "Sounds like a plan. Besides, I want to see how my parents are doing."

  Josie observed me suspiciously. "Speaking of plans, you're up to something. I can tell. Let's have it."

  I stared out the window at my smoke-stained and battered bakery one last time. "We're going back in later to search Gianna's apartment. Maybe then we can find out where she's gone."

  She gazed at me in astonishment. "You can't, Sal. That would be tampering with an investigation."

  "Then we'll get Brian to let us in somehow. Gianna could be in trouble. I need to find her before the police do." I averted my eyes from the building and told myself that I wouldn't cry again. After all, what would it solve?

  Josie started the engine. "Why does this stuff always happen to us?"

  I thought of the fortune cookie message from last night and shivered. "I don't know. But I can tell you I'm getting a little tired of so much drama in my life."

  "Yeah, I hear you on that one."

  CHAPTER SIX

  We found my parents and grandmother in the large, sunny, yellow kitchen, drinking coffee and arguing in their typical Italian fashion. I'd already phoned Grandma Rosa earlier to tell her about Gianna's text. My parents were back to their old selves, acting as if nothing had ever happened. This was the usual manner in which they dealt with disaster. They put their rose-colored glasses on and saw only what they wanted to see. It was a mechanism that worked well for them, so perhaps I was jealous.

  "Come here, baby girl." My father put a protective arm around me. "There's no need to worry. We've got your new bakery all ready."

  Josie and I sat down while Grandma Rosa set a large piece of her ricotta cheesecake in front of each of us. My mouth immediately started to water. I hadn't eaten since the party last night and until this moment hadn't realized how famished I was.

  Grandma Rosa brought us each a cup of coffee and snorted at my father. "Sei pazzo."

  With the exception of my grandmother, was there anyone in my family who wasn't acting a bit crazy these days? Lord knows I'd come close to teetering on the edge last night too.

  Grandma Rosa shook her fist at my father. "I tell you, this idea is no good. It will never work. You have had some winners before, si, but this one really takes the pie."

  "You mean cake, Grandma," I said.

  She shrugged. "Same thing."

  "Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Josie asked. "Did you find a new location for the bakery?"

  "Yes." My mother giggled and spread her arms out wide. "Here you are, honey."

  Josie and I exchanged confused glances.

  She had to be joking. "Mom, I have no idea what you're talking about."

  "It's the perfect solution. You'll run your bakery right here until you find a new place." My mother gave a proud toss of her head. "I can tell you firsthand from my professional connections that there is very limited rental space available in Colwestern at the moment."

  My mother was a licensed real estate agent. She'd been working at the job for over a year but hadn't made any actual sales yet. It was a good thing that my father had a generous pension from the railroad and didn't have to depend on her to bring home the bacon because they would have starved long ago.

  Josie's face was pale underneath her freckles. Somehow I'd managed to keep myself from choking on the coffee I'd been swallowing. How crazy was this idea?

  "Mom, what about permits and everything? It will never work."

  She waved a hand impatiently. "Of course it will. Don't you remember my friend, Claire Houston? Well, she's a health inspector now. She gave me an application for you to fill out. She's coming here tomorrow to check out the place, and she said if everything looks good, she'll pull some strings and issue you a permit right away. In the meantime, you two should go out and buy some new equipment today so you'll be all set to go."

  The panic in Josie's eyes undoubtedly mirrored my own. I found myself grasping for more excuses as to why this would not—could not—work. "Wh-what about zoning? I don't think we'll be allowed to run a business here."

  "Sure can." My father looked up from the obituary section of the paper that he was reading. "This street is zoned both commercial and residential. You're forgetting about Mona at the end of the block."

  I desperately wanted to forget about Mona. When I was ten, my mother had thought it would be nice to send Mona some business after she'd opened a hair salon inside her house. Somehow she'd managed to mix color with shampoo, and my hair had wound up a mysterious shade of purple that I hadn't been able to wash out for weeks. I had never returned to the salon. Thanks to the rumor mill in town, it appeared not much had changed with Mona and her dye problems.

  "Besides…" My father looked at my mother. "After Sal finds a more permanent location, we'll be getting rea
dy to move another business in here."

  Uh-oh. I pushed my empty plate forward. "Okay, I'll bite. What are you thinking about doing now?"

  My father reached for another piece of cake. "I'm taking an online course. Of course, I'll have to complete my traineeship at a lab afterward, but these 60 credit hours will have me on my way."

  "How is this possible?" I asked. "You don't even know how to turn on a computer."

  My father shoved half of the cake from his plate into his mouth and talked around it. "Your mother has been showing me things."

  "What course of study are the credits for?" I asked nervously, but deep down I already knew the answer.

  He beamed. "I'm studying to become a mortician."

  Josie's fork clattered noisily to the floor.

  My grandmother shook her head in disgust as she removed both of our plates from the table. "You want more, cara mia?"

  "No, thank you." I had officially lost my appetite. I stared at my father, who was grinning from ear to ear. "You can't be serious."

  "Of course I am." He exchanged glances with my mother, who wore a proud smile on her face. "Someday we'll be running our own funeral home here. Your mother will greet the guests while your grandmother bakes cheesecake for the mourners."

  Grandma Rosa turned around from the sink, a knife in hand. "That will never happen. You can go to the store and buy the Sara Lee kind for all I care."

  He prattled on as if he hadn't heard her. "I have to pass a test too. Anyhow, you girls can bake in here all day. Plenty of counter space for your goodies, and there's the two freezers out in the garage, so you can store dough there. I've already cleaned them out for you. You even have room for a small display case too. This will work out great."

  Oblivious to our dazed state, my father stood and calmly removed the napkin tucked into his shirt. He reached out and patted my mother on the behind. "Come on, hot stuff. Let's go take a walk on the wild side."

  Mom giggled as she put her arms around him. "I thought you'd never ask."

  After they'd left the room, Josie shook her head in disgust. "Your parents are—guess the word I'm thinking?"

  "Unique?" I prompted.

  "Nice try. More like whackadoodle," Josie said.

  My grandmother slammed a kitchen cabinet shut. "Crazy loons."

  "Just when I thought I'd seen it all," Josie muttered. Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. "It's Rob. I'll take it in the other room."

  I leaned forward in my chair, covering my face with my hands. Grandma Rosa patted my shoulder. "Did you and your young man straighten everything out, my dear?"

  I smiled. "Yes. We're fine. You were right, as usual."

  "I always am." She sat down in the chair next to me. "You two were always meant to be together. Such love like yours is rare. Never take it for granted. I do not want to see you make another mistake."

  She was referring to my marriage to Colin, a mistake that had been big enough to shock the Richter scale.

  I stirred my coffee absently. "Lord knows I've made several. Plus, I acted like such a baby last night. I'm sorry."

  She patted my hand. "It is all part of growing up. We are always learning. You were upset, but remember that Mike is there to provide strength. You will be life partners soon. That is his job, and you will do the same thing for him."

  That was pretty much the same thing Mike had said to me last night. I reached out, and she took my hand in her tiny, warm one. "Grandma, I know Mom and Dad mean well, but I'm not sure I can do this."

  She nodded in understanding. "It is a bad idea. I love you and Josie but do not want you both in my kitchen all day. But it is your only option for now."

  "Well, hopefully it won't be for too long. That's not fair to you."

  "Do not worry about me." She smiled. "We must think of others besides ourselves. Josie needs the job, and so does Sarah. And you do not want people to forget about your bakery, so it must stay open until the other one is fixed."

  I knew this spelled disaster, but she was right. "Josie and I will have to buy new equipment. There won't be room for much, but we'll manage somehow."

  "It will be fine." She pursed her lips together. "Now on to other things. I am worried about your sister."

  "So am I. Why would she take off like that and leave Bernardo in the shop? Who started the fire? None of this makes any sense."

  Grandma Rosa shook her head. "I knew she should have refused to defend that man. That family has a very bad reputation."

  "She didn't have a choice, Grandma," I said.

  "Furniture shop, my foot. His stepfather thinks he is the next Marlon Brando." She sipped at her coffee. "Someone did not want to see Bernardo go free. That is why he died, I am sure of it."

  An uneasy feeling washed over me. "Do you think Gianna might be in danger?"

  She nodded soberly. "Yes, I do think so. You must find her, cara mia."

  "I was told there wasn't much damage to her apartment. Maybe she left something behind that will tell us where she went."

  She patted my hand. "It is good. You will find her. And Josie will help. You are like those famous women television detectives."

  Josie walked back into the room and sat down at the table. "Charlie's Angels? I love those old reruns."

  "No, the other ladies. Cagney and Stacey."

  "It's Lacey, Grandma."

  Grandma Rosa shrugged. "Close enough."

  I spread my arms out wide as I addressed my best friend. "Well? Do you think you can bake in here, partner?"

  "Shoot, I can bake anywhere," Josie replied. "But your father and mother need to promise to stay out of the way."

  I rolled my eyes. "You know that isn't going to happen."

  "Hey, I can dream, right?"

  I placed my coffee cup in the sink. "Grandma and I were talking about Gianna. We're both worried about her."

  "It is not like her to not answer your messages," Grandma Rosa said. "If it was your parents, yes, she might try to ignore them for a while. Who could blame her? But Sally, my love, Gianna looks up to you. And she has been so stressed from this trial. She thinks it is all her fault."

  "It wasn't Gianna's fault," Josie protested. "It was that stupid juror's doing. But of course, everyone will blame her instead."

  "I do not like this," Grandma Rosa muttered under her breath. "Think. Where could she have gone?"

  "She has friends in Canada. Maybe there?" Josie asked.

  "Your handsome officer friend," Grandma said. "He will know more when the autopsy comes back. Maybe that will show how Bernardo died. You should call him."

  I frowned. "I don't want to call him."

  She raised her eyebrows at me. "Did something happen last night after I left the car?"

  I wasn't going there again. "Let's not talk about him anymore. Plus, Mike won't be pleased if I go near him again."

  Josie leaned forward on her elbows. "But I want to talk about it. I want to hear every sordid detail."

  I made a face. "You're sick."

  She grinned. "Hey, I'm living vicariously through your life. I'm an old married lady with four kids. Of course I want to hear how the hot cop tried to seduce you in his car last night."

  "Mamma mia." Grandma Rosa shook her head in disbelief.

  My cheeks warmed. "It wasn't anything drastic like that, okay? And for God's sake, don't breathe a word to Mike. He's about ready to shoot Brian as it is."

  Grandma Rosa snorted. "The young officer is still in love with you. This nonsense must stop. You will be a married woman soon."

  "I won't see him anymore," I promised.

  "But you have to see him."

  Thunderstruck, Josie and I both looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

  "He will tell you things that the other officers will not because he is smitten with you," Grandma Rosa said. "You must play the game for a little while. Be nice to him. I realize that your young man may get upset, so you should be honest with Mike about what you are doing, and then eve
rything will be fine."

  What she said made sense. Brian had already offered to share the autopsy details with me, and I was tempted to take him up on it, but I didn't want to give him the idea I was interested in him romantically. Last night's episode had been extremely uncomfortable. I intended to be honest with Mike about the scheme, but that didn't mean he in turn would be happy about it. I didn't want to risk hurting our relationship—heck, I'd almost done a bang up job of that last night. But this was my sister we were talking about. She was in some kind of trouble, and I needed to find her.

  Josie snapped her fingers. "I've got it. We'll have Brian let us into Gianna's apartment tomorrow. I'll go through her things while you distract him."

  I didn't like the sound of this. "Distract him how?"

  "Wear a tight, short skirt and bend over right in front of him," Josie said. "I'm sure your mother has something that will work. Officer Hottie won't know what hit him."

  "Dear God in heaven," my grandmother muttered. "You must stop reading those romance novels. They are giving you too many naughty ideas."

  Josie grinned. "But I like ideas, Rosa."

  Grandma Rosa said something in Italian that I could have sworn meant "nutsy cookie." She heaved herself out of her chair and began to wash the dishes in the sink.

  Josie winked at me with a pleased expression. "You'll have him eating out of your hand."

  A visual I didn't even want to let myself think about.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Josie and I went on a shopping spree at the bakery supply store and bought mixers, cookie sheets, spatulas, utensils, and several other necessities. There would be limitations on the cookie variations we could make because we lacked the extra space that had been available in the bakery.

  We'd placed a sign out in front of my torched shop, informing people of the new, temporary location. I ran an ad in the local paper to announce that the bakery would be open for business on Tuesday morning. We planned to spend a good portion of Monday getting things in order. Claire Houston had already dropped off our permit, and I'd been forced to admit that my mother had really come through for us this time.