Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes - Culinary Competition Mystery #3

Chapter 13

(Amy)

The chunks of frozen banana rattled in the glass blender jar as the sharp blades worked to turn the frozen fruit, coconut, coffee, and chocolate into a smoothie. Tossing things into a blender was all of the effort she could muster. Collecting Sophie from the nightmare at the duplex had kept Amy up past her usual bedtime. Then she couldn't sleep from worrying about the increasingly terrifying tactics employed by the extortionist. The skull and crossbones image had only remained on the laptop screen for a few minutes before it vanished, leaving behind the computer's usual desktop wallpaper, a pink frosted cupcake sporting a smiley face. Luckily, it was visible long enough for Shepler and his cohorts to snap pictures of the grim art. If she barely got any sleep, Sophie was lucky to have slept at all considering all of the things that were making Amy anxious were happening to her.

Alex was upstairs showering. She wished she could join him, but neither one of them had time to spare. He had an extra-long day of work ahead of him. Normally he would stay late at his office when he had a heavier than normal workload, but they were going to have dinner with Carla and Shepler. He had already skipped out on the dinner portion of the double date when Carla tried on dresses, so he vowed to make sure he made it home in time. No matter how tired she was, Amy didn't want to miss a chance to get more wedding planning done.

Just in case Sophie was sleeping, Amy had moved the blender into the pantry, shut the door, and wrapped the jar in a heavy towel to try to muffle the jet engine-like noise from the powerful motor. Amy had worked at the café long enough that she could get the morning prep started so Sophie could take the day off and sleep in the safety of the guest room all day if she wanted. The kitchen staff was great. They didn't ask why the work Amy and Sophie usually took care of often wasn't done lately. The assistant bakers just picked up their pace and got caught up, perhaps assuming that distress over Luke's murder was the only reason Sophie wasn't her normal, super-efficient self. Not telling the staff about the threats was also something Amy didn't think was wise, but it was Sophie's business, not hers.

Amy punched the button to shut off the blender and lowered the towel. It looked like a creamy milkshake full of energy-giving coffee and chocolate. So it wasn't quite a kale and pomegranate superfood smoothie, but in the early morning trying to drink something that looked like pond scum didn't agree with her gag reflex anyway.

She grabbed the handle of the blender jar. A quick series of taps on the door sent her heart into spastic mode. She was not expecting a knock on the pantry door. At least she hadn't taken the glass container off the base or she would've been wearing the ice-cold breakfast treat accented with broken glass.

For about three seconds, she thought the mess-making extortionist had followed Sophie and used his magical detection-evading skills to break into her house. Those thoughts were rapidly followed by two more rational ones. One, Pogo was her backup alarm system. He'd go crazy if he heard someone even rattle a door handle. Two, a person ransacking a home wouldn't knock to ask permission. Hello? Is it okay if I destroy your things now?

Amy cracked open the door. Sophie stood a few feet away wrapped in the thick, white robe that Amy always left in the guest bathroom when someone spent the night. "I can't sleep so I might as well go to the café with you," Sophie said as she stretched both arms over her head.

"No. I told you last night that I'll get everything started myself. You have to be exhausted." Amy grabbed the blender jar and emerged from the pantry. "Alex and I will set the alarm when we leave, so you can stay in the guest room and nap all day if you want. You're safe here, so get caught up on the sleep I'm sure you've been losing for much longer than last night."