Free Éclair Case of Murder: A Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Rosie Kale Culinary Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Leigh Selfman

the bed. “She has way too much energy for first thing in the morning.”
    Cupcake blinked lazily, as if in agreement, then she curled into my arms and we both tried to sneak in five more minutes of sleep.
    But just as I was nodding off, my cell phone rang. It startled Cupcake who jumped up and tangled her paw in my hair.
    “Ow, hello?”
    “Darling, are you alright?”
    I disentangled Cupcake’s paw and sat up, realizing that more sleep this morning was obviously out of the question—especially as it was Casey on the phone, calling to ask me to a charity ball on Friday. I stretched and told him I’d love to go, even though that meant that not only did I have to have my hair done but I also had to get a gown and lose 20 pounds, all in the next few days.
    “Sure I’d love to,” I told Casey. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
    I got out of bed and thought about going for a run in order to jump-start my crash diet, but then I remembered that I still had to shower and dress and get over to the Wright’s house before 8:00 AM. I figured if I got there early, it would lessen the odds of seeing Violet or Dr. Wright.
    So unfortunately a run was out of the question—thank goodness.
    I grabbed an éclair and headed out… I needed to keep my metabolism up after all.

Chapter 19
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Unfortunately, getting into the Wright house, without being seen by Violet was much harder than I thought it would be. She was always there! And if she wasn’t there, she was always coming or going at unpredictable times or at times that weren’t convenient for me—what with my bakery job, my writing job and my newest job of all: that of chauffeuring Laila to her rehearsals and her other play-related errands.
    “So isn’t this fun, Cuz?” Laila asked as I drove her to the warehouse a few days later. “I really think this acting thing is for me. I’m really such a natural!”
    “If I do say so myself,” I said, sarcastically.
    She glanced at me then smiled. “Do you think so too? Oh, thank you!” she squeezed my hand, obviously touched. Then, as I parked the car, she flounced out, calling behind her. “Oh, could you get that box of props in the back seat? I promised Diane I’d be on time today!”
    I rolled my eyes, about to tell Laila what to do with the box…when she added, “Oh by the way, Diane wanted to talk to you about having the Cozy Cat cater the event.”
    I stopped and stared. Boy, Laila really knew how to get her way.
    I reached into the back seat and grabbed the overstuffed box which was full of hats and fake guns along with some other things that Laila had wangled for free from a local costume shop. As I carried it in, some of the hats and a very real-looking plastic gun were about to fall out.
    “Laila, could you help me,” I called out, but she’d already rushed inside without me.
    Struggling to balance the box, I carefully bent down and retrieved the fallen items, and stuffed them in my tote bag, just to be safe. Then I brought it all inside and placed the box on one of the chairs. I was just taking everything out of my tote and piling it on the table, when I spotted Diane, talking on the phone. She saw me and smiled, and then hung up and came over.
    “Hi, Rosie. Laila told you about the catering job?” she asked, grabbing a mini bottle of water of the snacks table and offering me one.
    “No thanks,” I said. “Yeah, she mentioned it, but she didn’t say much else. What exactly were you interested in?”
    “Well, I’ve heard your bakery does wonderful things with éclairs. Maybe an assortment of different flavors. And of course some cupcakes. And some cake balls. I’ll get back to you with the exact number of guests. It’s for the silent auction/cocktail party that we’re having after the play. Oh people are donating the most wonderful things. You’ll see when you come.”
    “That sounds great,” I said. Then I frowned. “You know, I’d have to talk to Nana about it, but