Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes - Culinary Competition Mystery #3

Chapter 9

(Amy)

"Good morning," Amy said as she wrapped the white, sweatshirt fabric cardigan tighter around her stomach. The morning air was still very chilly before the sun came up. Even though summer would officially arrive in a few weeks, in the dark early morning hours it was still decidedly sweater weather. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good," Sophie said as she unlocked the back door leading into Riverbend Café's main kitchen. "Let's just hope this week goes better than the last."

The lock tumblers clicked into place, and she swung open the door. No lights were on in the windowless kitchen. It seemed as if they were standing at the edge of a black hole. Amy held her breath for a second as she imagined a sea monster-sized tentacle waiting just out of sight. It was merely her imagination in hyperdrive because of the murder. Sophie flipped the light switch near the door as she passed through the doorway. Amy was right behind her. The goosebumps on her arms were the size of sesame seeds, but heat from the ovens would soon have the kitchen toasty warm.

The reality of what was waiting in the kitchen was far worse than Amy's ocean fantasy.

A hangman's noose hung from the suspended fluorescent light fixture in the center of the room. A breeze from the open door made the thick rope sway as if an unseen executioner was beckoning for them to fasten the noose around their necks. Its shadow danced like a snake on the tile floor. A violent shiver rattled through Amy as she looked at Sophie. Her friend was frozen, staring at the rope.

A faint thump from outside spurred Amy to action. The person who left the gruesome calling card could be in the café or hiding in the shadows outside. If the macabre intruder was still around she had a 50/50 chance of guessing where he was lurking. Due to the sound, she chose outside. For the moment. So that meant it would be a good idea to stop the person from coming back in. Amy eased the door shut and twisted the lock. She raced to the counter, where the kitchen staff usually prepared the sandwich ingredients each morning, and grabbed two chef's knives. It was like déjà vu when she had searched the café a few days earlier to find Sophie in the bathroom cleaning her scraped hands. Except now Sophie was three feet away, and she had no idea if they would turn up a real intruder.

Amy nudged Sophie's arm with her shoulder. The contact made her hiss with surprise. "I'm sorry," Amy said as she offered one of the knives. "But we need to see if whoever left this is hiding in the café. I'll call the police, but we can defend ourselves with these if we need to before they arrive."

"No! No police."

The response was almost as startling as finding the noose. Amy shook her head. "What do you mean? Luke was just killed. This is a death threat or a very sick prank. The police need to know about it."

"No...it'll get worse. I can't let the police get involved."

The hairs on the back of Amy's neck bristled. While she was arguing with Sophie, the person who left the noose could be prowling in the shadows of the café, waiting to attack. Making sure they lived to tell the police what happened moved to the front of her priority list. She could figure out Sophie's odd police phobia after taking a few minutes to search the café.

"Since you don't want to call the police right now, we need to make sure we're alone. These knives are the best defense we have. Let's go check the other rooms. I'll count to three and then switch on the lights to the next room. If we both rush in at the same time, you can look to the right, and I'll keep an eye on our left. Okay?"

Sophie's eyes glistened as she shook her head. "I can't do that. I'm too scared to move."

Amy closed her eyes to try to mask her frustration. There was something going on with Sophie that went way beyond the foreboding noose. Something that turned the smart businesswoman, who tackled any kitchen snafu with determined gusto, into a terrified statue. Amy held out one of the knives again. "Please take this while I check the other rooms by myself. Alex made me take a self-defense class, so I'll be okay."