Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron

Author:Ellen Byron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

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Worn out by her adventures in waitressing, Maggie slept late—late for her being eight AM. She woke up to an empty home, Bo having already left for work. She checked her phone and saw a text from Kate: Hired waitress. Thanks for helping. Maggie viewed the text with relief and skepticism. While she was happy to avoid further upending her schedule, she had a sense that Kate had moved quickly to replace her for reasons other than Maggie’s mediocre waitressing skills. Or, she had to admit, it was exactly for that reason. She showered and threw on black leggings and a stretchy teal-blue top, then ate a pear on the cusp of overripeness. Someday I have to actually go shopping instead of helping myself to the B and B food.

Maggie checked the weather through the apartment’s large picture window and saw it was raining. She pulled an umbrella out of the stand in the entranceway and left for the main house to see if her parents needed her for any B and B duties. She detoured to the party tent and peeked in to see Gran in the middle of auditions. A handsome older gentleman in full Colonial regalia was in the middle of reciting Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” he orated with genuine feeling. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Maggie listened, moved. He finished his abbreviated version of the pamphlet to applause from both her and Gran. “Bravo, Ian,” Gran said. “You’re in the show.”

“Try men’s souls,” indeed. Maggie thought of the many things trying her soul at the moment, the most trying of which was her impending session with Vi De Lavallade. She found her parents in the kitchen having coffee with her step-grandfather, Lee. “There you are,” Tug said. “Your order came. Lee found it under the back door overhang, so it didn’t get wet.”

“What order?” Maggie asked, confused. “I didn’t order anything.”

This confused the others. “I figured you ordered an early Valentine’s treat from Fais Dough Dough,” Ninette said. “Whatever’s in there smells delicious.”

She motioned to a flat white bakery box on the kitchen counter. Maggie examined the box. She pulled out a pair of the disposable gloves the family used when handling food and carefully opened it. Inside lay four heart-shaped doughnuts decorated with red frosting. Lee and her parents peered over her shoulder. “Four, huh.” Lee rubbed his bearded chin. “Odd number for a doughnut order.”

“It’s not an order,” Maggie said, heart racing. “It’s a message.”

Her stalker hadn’t been scared off. He’d merely recalibrated.

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