Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (2 page)

A
s she stepped inside the beautifully decorated lobby of the recently renovated Albion Hotel, Hannah decided that her struggle to get dressed in her very best outfit might just have been worth it. She’d taken a quick peek at the hotel when it was being remodeled, but she hadn’t seen it now that it was finished.

The lobby was absolutely gorgeous. It took up half of the ground floor and it was designed as a recreation and party area for the occupants of the seven luxury condos on the floors above. The old original mahogany floor had been torn up and the best boards saved and refinished. They made up a parquet design around the borders of six massive rose-patterned carpets, each featuring a different variety and color of rose. Wing chairs and couches in matching colors formed five conversational groupings. The sixth carpet held several game tables with matching chairs.

Since she was there early and happened to be the sole occupant of the lobby now that Andrea had gone off to the ladies’ room, Hannah walked around to take a look at the lovely rugs. The first rug showcased yellow roses and the rose name,
Midas Touch
, was woven into the border. As she explored the rest of the lobby and read the rose names, Hannah thought about how much fun it must be to name a rose. The purple ones were
Ebb Tide
, the pink were
Tiffany
, the orange blooms were
Tahitian Sunset
, the white were
Polar Star
, and her favorite, the red roses, were called
Sedona
.

As she neared the huge window overlooking the garden on the side of the lobby, she saw that a sizable area had been reserved for special use. Tonight it would be a dance floor with a raised platform that had been set up for a dance band. Chairs, microphones, and a sound system were already in place.

Hannah had just seated herself in a wing chair on the Sedona rose rug to wait for her sister when she saw Lisa beckoning to her from the doorway of the Red Velvet Lounge.

“I need to talk to you, Hannah!” she called out.

“I’ll be right there.” Hannah got up and walked across the lobby to the bar and grill that occupied the other half of the hotel’s ground floor. One glance inside the open doorway and she was suitably impressed. Roger Dalworth, the money man behind converting the old hotel, had done a great job of preserving an early nineteen-hundreds look. The faceted crystal decanters behind the highly polished oak bar glittered in the beams from halogen lights positioned at strategic places in the ceiling. The sepia-tone prints in old-fashioned frames that lined the wood-paneled walls depicted the Albion in its heyday. There were also some scenes of Lake Eden life from that time period, and a player piano complete with a wooden case that held at least three dozen piano rolls. Best of all, the banks of booths that lined the perimeter of the room were upholstered in a shade of red velvet that perfectly matched the color of the red velvet cupcakes that they were serving tonight.

Lisa was arranging cupcakes on the three-tiered revolving display that her husband, Herb, had built for them. When she spotted Hannah, she left her work and rushed over. “I’m glad you’re here, Hannah. There’s something I’ve got to tell you!”

“It’s okay, Lisa. I know. Andrea told me.”

“Thank goodness! I was worried sick you’d run into her before anyone told you. Does Norman know?”

“He should by now. Mother talked to Carrie and Carrie was going to call him.”

“This is bad, Hannah. What are you going to
do
?”

“Not a thing until I find out why she’s back.”

Lisa considered that for a moment. “Okay. I guess that makes sense. But I just know she’s going to try to get even with you for exposing the truth about her. There’s no other reason for her to come back here. You’ve got to be careful, Hannah.”

“I will be.”

“Just don’t make the mistake of underestimating her. She might be all sweetness and light tonight, but you can’t judge a book by its cover and you know she’s bad to the bone. She’s dangerous, too. You have to remember that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Hannah gave her first genuine laugh of the evening.

“What’s so funny?” Lisa asked.

“You just used three clichés in a row.”

Lisa thought about that for a minute. “It’s four, unless you didn’t count the Shakespeare quote.”

“It’s not a Shakespeare quote.”

“It’s not?”

“No. It’s a misattribution.”

“A what?”

“A misquote of something William Congreve wrote in the late seventeenth century. And I did count it.”

“Okay, here’s another cliché and I don’t know who said it first. Leopards don’t change their spots overnight.”

“I don’t know who said it either, but this leopard
did
change her spots. Doctor Bev’s got a whole new look. Now she’s a blonde. Sally thought she might have had a facelift, too.”

“That’s drastic.”

“That’s desperate. I guess she thought she’d better repackage since she was getting so close to the sell-by date.”

Lisa’s mouth dropped open and then she started to laugh. She laughed long and hard, and then she said, “You’ve really got a way with words, Hannah. But I’m curious. When did you see Doctor Bev?”

“I didn’t. Andrea told me.”

“Then Andrea’s seen her?”

“No. Sally’s the only one who’s actually seen her. Doctor Bev’s staying out at the Inn with Roger.”

“And Sally called to tell you?”

“Not exactly. Sally called Mother, and Mother called Andrea, and Andrea told me.”

Lisa laughed. “It’s good to see that the Lake Eden Gossip Hotline is working. But Doctor Bev didn’t actually change her spots, Hannah. All she changed was her appearance. She’s still the same scheming, conniving, selfish person inside.”

“You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig?”

“Exactly. It’s like you always say, Hannah. The reason they’re clichés is that they’re true most of the time. And here’s another couple for you. Forewarned is forearmed, the best defense is a good offense, and you shouldn’t trust her any further than you can throw her.”

“I’m ready, Hannah.” Andrea stood in the doorway of the Red Velvet Lounge. “I’ll show you the condos now, before everybody gets here.”

Hannah turned to look at Lisa. “Do you need help arranging the cupcakes?”

Lisa shook her head. “I’m almost through. Don’t worry about me, Hannah. Herb’s coming back with a couple of chairs and we’re going to restock the display when it gets low.”

“But I should help you.”

“No, you shouldn’t. Herb has to be here anyway. He’s running security here in the lounge.”

“Security for what? It’s Lake Eden. Nobody’s going to steal anything here.”

“I know that and you know that, but Roger Dalworth doesn’t. He’s from Minneapolis and it’s different there. Roger hired Herb to cover the whole hotel.”

“But how can Herb do that if he’s sitting here next to you?”

“He’ll be wearing earbuds and he’ll be in constant communication with the other members of his security staff. Besides, you said it before. It’s Lake Eden. The only thing that might happen is that somebody has one too many glasses of champagne. If that happens, one of Herb’s guys will handle the driving and take that person home.”

A phrase Lisa had used caught Hannah’s attention and she repeated it. “
One of Herb’s guys?
How many guys does he have?”

“Six not counting him. They work in pairs. Roger wanted two on the ground floor, two on the second floor, and two outside. The only thing that’s not covered is the penthouse and that’s because it’s not furnished yet.”

“Hi, Hannah.”

Hannah turned to see Lisa’s husband, Herb Beeseman, walking toward them. He was wearing a nice-looking red blazer with the word SECURITY embroidered on the pocket. Below it was some sort of insignia and as Herb came closer, Hannah realized that it was an embroidered cupcake.

“Meet the head of Cupcake Security,” Lisa said, smiling at Herb.

Hannah glanced at the cupcake display and then back at Herb’s pocket. The embroidery on the pocket was a perfect rendition of the Red Velvet Surprise Cupcakes they’d baked.

“Cupcake Security?” she asked.

“Why not?” Herb gave a little laugh. “It was Lisa’s idea. Our motto is,
You gotta be tough with a name like Cupcake
.”

“That’s really funny.” Hannah laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t use Cream Puff.”

“I might have, but it was already taken. Besides, the cupcakes you baked were really pretty and the graphic was more colorful. The guys just love their new blazers.”

“Who did you hire?” Hannah asked.

“Four seniors from Jordan High, and two freshmen from the community college. We’re also going to run security at football games in the fall. Mayor Bascomb said he might even use us for things like the Winter Carnival and Moonlight Madness later this summer.”

“Well . . . good luck with it. I’m sure the boys are glad to get some part-time jobs.” Hannah glanced at her sister, who was staring at the display of cupcakes longingly. “What’s wrong, Andrea?”

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that your cupcakes look luscious and my stomach’s growling. I was so busy distributing fliers for tonight that I didn’t have time for lunch.”

Lisa plucked a cupcake from the box she’d been using to fill the display and handed it to Andrea. “Taste this and tell us if it’s as good as it looks.”

“I love red velvet cupcakes!”

“These are Red Velvet
Surprise
Cupcakes,” Lisa told her. “Hannah and I put a surprise in the center of every one.”

“What kind of surprise?”

Hannah smiled. “If we tell you, it won’t be a surprise. Take a big bite. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Andrea didn’t wait for a second invitation. She peeled off the cupcake paper and took a giant bite. “Mmmmm,” she said and took another big bite. “Mmmmmm!”

“So what do you think?” Lisa asked her.

Andrea held up her hand for a timeout and popped the rest of the cupcake in her mouth. She chewed, swallowed, and smiled. “It’s great! I just love the chocolate and . . . apricot?”

“That’s right. They were Hannah’s idea. Everybody makes red velvet cupcakes and when we got the order for the party, we wanted to make ours different.”

“And better,” Andrea added. “I’ve eaten a lot of red velvet cupcakes and these are the absolute best!”

Hannah glanced down at the price sheet in her hand. The two-bedroom condo she’d just seen was double the money she’d paid for her condo. “Do you really think you can sell these? My complex is a lot cheaper.”

“Your complex isn’t convenient to downtown Lake Eden. If you lived here, you wouldn’t have to drive to work every morning and drive home every night. And your condo doesn’t have a view like this.” Andrea walked to the windows and pointed. “Every room on this side has a view of the Lutheran church, Granny’s Attic, and the Red Owl.”

“This is a nice balcony,” Hannah said, walking to the sliding glass doors.

“If you lived here, you could see The Cookie Jar from your balcony. I could probably cut you a deal, Hannah. And I know I could sell your place for more than you paid for it. You’d be trading up.”

“No thanks,” Hannah said quickly. “I like where I live.”

“Well . . . just think about it. Your cookie truck is getting old and if you bought this unit, you could walk to work.”

“I’ll think about it,” Hannah said, knowing that she wouldn’t, but also knowing that her sister wouldn’t stop her sales pitch until every single one of the condos were sold. “Why don’t you show me the penthouse?” she suggested, by way of diversion. “I know I could never afford it, but I’d love to see it.”

The penthouse had a private elevator that Roger Dalworth had installed. Hannah and Andrea rode down to the lobby and used Andrea’s key to activate the private elevator.

“The penthouse takes up the entire top floor,” Andrea informed her as they stepped out of the elevator and directly into the penthouse foyer. “The view is spectacular and it has a huge tropical garden with its own Jacuzzi and grotto swimming pool.”

“A Jacuzzi and a swimming pool? That’s not very practical for Minnesota.” It was all Hannah could do not to gasp as she walked into the penthouse living room. There were wall-to-ceiling windows on three sides and Andrea was right, the view was spectacular. “This is gorgeous, but I’m still thinking about the hot tub and the swimming pool. They’ll have to be drained and covered all winter and that means the owner can’t use them for six or seven months out of the year.”

Andrea shook her head. “There’s a climate-controlled dome that fits over the whole rooftop. It was supposed to be here and installed by tonight, but there was a delay and it hasn’t arrived yet. That means we can go out in the middle and look, but that’s it. Roger’s got the rest blocked off with sawhorses because it’s not safe.”