Northâs murder and everything else related to it.
Since the shop was fairly busy, she worked the counter beside Mallory, the new hire. About midmorning, it dawned on Chase what bothered her about Mallory. The woman, little more than a girl, rarely smiled. She knew this was her first job out of high school, but her résumé had listed an impressive number of retail places she had worked during the summers. Shortly before lunchtime there was a lull, one of those rare times without a single person in the shop.
âMallory,â Chase began, then wondered how to continue. She paused, then forged ahead. âI need to tell you something very important about selling things to people.â
Mallory drew in her breath, her eyes wide with worry. âWhat am I doing wrong? Did I miscount the change?â
Chase gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. âNo, nothing like that.â It suddenly occurred to her that the reason Malloryâs list of jobs was so long could be that she got fired from all of them. âYouâre doing fine, really. But, well, Iâm sure youâve heard that first impressions are important. Right?â
Mallory nodded, but the worry remained etched on her face. She sucked on her bottom lip and hunched her thin shoulders.
âRelax, dear. Iâm going to tell you a secret. Thereâs only one thing you need to do to improve what youâre already doing. Itâs a tiny thing, but it makes a huge first impression. When you first interact with a customer, you smile. Thatâs it. The customer is at ease, so youâre more at ease. Things will go smoothly if they feel comfortable with you from the start.â
Mallory nodded, her posture and her face losing some of the tension.
Just then, the tension in the shop kicked up one hundred percent. Grace Pilsen, Annaâs old baking rival, strode into the Bar None, throwing the door open so violently that the usually soft bell jangled loudly. She looked fierce, but that was her normal expression, Chase thought. Sheâd never seen the woman without an angry scowl on her face.
Confronted with this new, terrifying customer, Mallory reassumed her worried expression. Chase couldnât blame her for not trying out the smile technique with this woman.
âMs. Pilsen,â Chase said, also not smiling. âIs there anything I can help you with?â
âI need to speak to Anna.â She ended her sentence with an unattractive sneer. The white skunk streak in hersuspiciously black hair always made Chase think of Cruella De Vil, the villain in the
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Disney movie. A shorter, plumper version. The woman obviously ate a lot of what she baked at The Pilsener.
Anna had heard her snarling voice, which was rather loud, and came barging through the double doors almost as violently as Grace had entered the shop. The doors
whomp
ed as they swung back and forth a few times in Annaâs wake.
âWhat do
you
want here?â Anna asked.
âIâm trying to keep you from being disqualified.â
Anna drew herself up to her full height, which wasnât much more than Graceâs. Both women measured about five feet tall.
They faced off in front of the sales counter, the lights of the display case below acting as spotlights on the action. Mallory and Chase watched in fascinated silence.
âIâll have you know,â Anna said, âthat Iâm officially entered and have turned in my recipe. My paperwork is all in order.â
âExcept for this.â Grace extracted a piece of paper from the briefcase she carried and waved it toward Anna, who came forward and grabbed it.
âThis is my application. I turned this in long ago. My acceptance was based on this.â
âLook at the bottom.â Graceâs sneer grew uglier. âYou neglected to sign your full name.â
Anna glanced at the sheet. âI . . .
what
?â She put her