Banana Muffins & Mayhem - Culinary Competition Mystery #5

Chapter 7

(Amy)

The warmth from the sunshine made Amy feel as if she was wrapped in a cozy flannel blanket. All of the tension in her shoulders eased as she gently baked herself on the park bench. Life was giving her happy little surprises to offset the stress of being in the middle of another murder investigation, such as the gloriously sunny day and a burst of creative ideas for posts on her blog. After working a few hours that morning in the kitchen at Riverbend Café, she ended her shift by making a toasted coconut latte for herself then taking a stroll to the park on the other side of the Cooley River.

Ideas for everything from spring vegetable gratin to how to make the perfect meringue base for a chocolate-covered strawberry pavlova poured into the notebook balanced on her knees. She was jotting down so many notes that her fingers ached from gripping the narrow stick pen. The crunch of shoes on the gravel path beside her produced an undulating flourish at the end of a word, but the writing was far from beautiful calligraphy. The flinch-induced embellishment looked more like toddler scribbles than art. And her heart was racing as fast as her dog, Pogo, when he discovered a squirrel in their backyard. She had been so engrossed in taking notes that she hadn't realized she was no longer alone in the small park.

"Good morning," Chuck said as he paused his jog in front of Amy. Shiny lines of sweat traced down his tanned face. As usual, he was wearing all black clothing, this time with exercise appropriate shorts and a T-shirt. Amy had respect for his unwavering dedication to the color since it absorbed heat from the sunshine and added it to the warmth his exercise routine was already generating internally—suffering in the name of fashion with the macho man equivalent of wearing pointed-toe stilettos.

"It is a glorious morning, isn't it? This sunshine feels wonderful after all of the long gray days this winter," Amy replied as she squinted up at Chuck. His black hair, slicked into a slim ponytail, gleamed like a raven's wing in the bright midday light. She used her hand to make an improvised sun visor. "How is Aubergine doing? There certainly was a packed house for her beginner's calligraphy class. I had so much fun, and I think everybody else did too. She's a fantastic teacher."

He pulled the bottom of his shirt up and used it to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Amy caught a glimpse of six-pack abs. Even though he was no longer a mixed martial arts fighter, Chuck was still staying in very good shape. He leaned over slightly, planting his hands on his knees. "It was nice to see her so happy last night. She loves teaching. This stuff with the TV star has really gotten her down. No matter what I say, I can't seem to ease her guilt over arranging for that awful woman to come here." His eyes narrowed. "Before the event began, she had tracked down Aubergine to complain, blaming her for ruining the weekend by bringing her to 'stupid Kellerton.' How ridiculous is that? It's not like Aubergine held a gun to the whacko's head and made her come. The planning committee booked an appearance through a publicity agent. If she didn't want to come here, she shouldn't have agreed to the contract. I figure she just got her jollies off of being mean and nasty. And you can't throw that kind of karma out into the world without having it come back around."

He kicked a softball-sized rock in the flower bed next to the bench. Amy held her breath as the stone took flight for several feet then rolled down the embankment and landed with a plop in the river. Her foot throbbed in sympathy for Chuck's toes. The anger-induced punt had to have hurt. Despite the glare from the sun hanging behind his head, Amy could still see the intense expression on his face. The rage radiating from him made her shiver. She had never seen him react so intensely to anything, even when someone had been trying to blackmail him the previous summer.

"I know you want to help Aubergine feel better. I do too. Maybe she would cheer up if you brought her some sweet treats." She pointed at Riverbend, directly across from them on the other side of the river. "I made some raspberry and white chocolate brownies at the café this morning. They may even still be warm."