Free Ganache with Panache: Book 2 in The Chocolate Cafe Series by Valley Sams Page A

them really doesn’t want anyone knowing,” Vanessa scowled. “We need to find the druggie punk who did this and figure out what’s going on.”
    Macs entire body stiffened as a flash of adrenaline went through her.
    “Druggie punk?” Mac asked. “What makes you say that?”
    Vanessa was absently cleaning her desk, trying to sort through the overturned pencils and reams of white paper.
    “The arms. The only thing I saw before I was knocked out. They were covered in track marks. Nasty.”
    It took all of Mac’s considerable self-composure not to leap up and down on the spot excitedly. Forgetting Vanessa’s recent trauma, Mac grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her toward the steps.
    “It’s the sister. She’s trying to cash in on her dead brother’s drawings.”
    “Ow…how do you know that?” Vanessa allowed herself to be dragged, still holding the back of her head where the man had clobbered her.
    “I saw her arms when I went up there today. She has obviously been a pretty heavy user. Actually she probably still is, by the look of them.”
    The women raced down the steps, Vanessa’s undone hair still flopping around her face.
    “If she’s crooked enough to steal her brother’s drawings, who’s to say she isn’t crooked enough to have, you know—”
    Mac stopped outside her car and turned to Vanessa, who was fumbling with the code on the shop security system. Under the streetlight, she looked absolutely alive. The shop secure behind her, Vanessa walked to her side, almost magnetized by the sheer brilliance coming out of her new friend’s eyes. Mac’s odd prettiness was only the tip of the iceberg, that was plain to see.
    “She’s crooked enough to have been the one to kill him.” Mac announced.
    “Whoa. Wait. No. We definitely need to get the cops involved.” Vanessa watched, helplessly as Mac rolled her eyes.
    “Yes, I know. We will.” Mac opened Vanessa’s door for her, motioning impatiently for her to get in “I’ll call on the way there.”
    Hesitantly, Vanessa stepped into the vehicle; Toby hustling his hugeness into the backseat. Mac smiled at her in what should’ve been a comforting way as she closed her door.
    “The way where?”
    Mac looked at Vanessa as if she’d just been born. Her jaw even dropped with wonder.
    “To the crime scene.” She spoke as if no one had ever asked such a simplistic question. “Obviously.”
     

CHAPTER TWELVE
    Mac didn’t call on the way to the Strand Hotel, despite her repeated assurances to her passenger. Rather, she stared straight ahead like a woman possessed, her jaw muscles working as she battled what looked like a pretty formidable demon.
    After a while, Vanessa gave up. She probably should’ve been more nervous but there was something about Mac that gave her the impression that she’d been in the situation before, a couple of times, maybe.
    By the time they reached the hotel, a storm was beginning to roll in from the beach. When they turned the corner into the cul-de-sac that connected the cabins, the bare bulbs that were strung up overhead were swaying ominously overhead with the wind. Although they didn’t give off a great deal of light, it was enough to show that the hotel was practically deserted.
    Except for the police cruiser parked squarely in front of the door to Maple Cabin.
    Mac gasped and cursed.
    “What? Who is it?”
    Leaning against the trunk of the car, arms crossed over his chest, was the owner of the police car. The headlights of Mac’s car caught on the badge hanging off his rain jacket.
    Vanessa couldn’t help but feel more than a bit relieved. “Thank goodness, the police are already here.”
    Mac stopped the car and put it in park. Before she switched off the headlights, they clearly illuminated the man’s face and it was far from welcoming.
    “It’s my boy…my friend.” Mac mumbled. “That’s the guy I was supposed to be calling.”
    Vanessa nodded, the pieces of the puzzle coming together quite