Chocolate Cake and Chaos (Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 4) Read online

  Chocolate Cake and Chaos

  Peridale Café Cozy Mystery - Book 4

  By Agatha Frost

  About This Book

  Released: April 28th 2017

  Words: 37,000

  Series: Book 4 - Peridale Cozy Café Mystery Series

  Standalone: Yes

  Cliff-hanger: No

  A funeral wreath is delivered to Barker’s cottage. Is it a prank, or a grim warning? Julia’s fears that somebody is trying to kill Barker are confirmed when a dead body with a striking resemblance to him is found on his doorstep the very next day, just as their romance is deepening. Barker might be on temporary suspension from his role as Detective Inspector at the village police station, but that doesn’t mean he’s short of enemies in Peridale, especially when a dark face from his past arrives in the small village to stir up painful memories. With an unclear list of suspects and motives, Julia vows to keep Barker safe, but can they figure out the puzzle as they work outside of the law in a race against time to stop Barker paying the ultimate price?

  ***

  Copyright © Agatha Frost

  Cover designed by Ashley Mcloughlin

  Edited by Keri Lierman

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact the author at [email protected]

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  OTHER BOOKS IN THE PERIDALE CAFÉ COZY MYSTERY SERIES

  Pancakes and Corpses (Book 1)

  OUT NOW!

  Lemonade and Lies (Book 2)

  OUT NOW!

  Doughnuts and Deception (Book 3)

  OUT NOW!

  Chocolate Cake and Chaos (Book 4)

  OUT NOW!

  Shortbread and Sorrow (Book 5)

  PREORDER NOW!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 1

  "Try this one," Barker said, handing Julia a small sample of dark beer. "I think this is my favourite so far."

  Julia looked unsurely at the beer, the taste of the last sample still staining her tongue. She looked back at the long line of barrels, sure each new beer had been Barker's favourite. Julia's taste buds had always been uncertain of beer, but it had taken the first annual Peridale Craft Beer Festival to assure her she was more of a peppermint and liquorice tea kind of woman.

  "It's certainly malty," Julia said, wincing after taking a small sip. "I'm not sure I have the tongue for the subtleties this requires."

  "You're just not an IPA beer kind of girl," Barker said defiantly, taking the sample from her and placing it back on the table. "There's a drink out there for everyone."

  Julia wasn't so sure, but she followed Barker to the next barrel, smiling her apologies to the brewer for not choosing his batch.

  "This should be a little smoother." Barker picked up two samples from the small tray sitting in front of the barrel on the next table. "Smells fruity, don't you think?"

  "Smells like ale," Julia mumbled as she inhaled the amber liquid. "Bottoms up!"

  They clinked their plastic shots, and instead of sipping this one, she tossed it back like Barker had been doing, hoping it would affect the taste. She swallowed, wincing as she had with the others. It didn't leave as strong an aftertaste, and it was definitely smoother, but Julia couldn't detect the fruitiness Barker had assured her of. Glancing over her shoulder at the dozen more ales to taste in the white tent outside of The Plough pub, she opted for half a pint of the one she had just tried in hopes it would appease Barker. If he hadn't looked like a kid in a toyshop when he had first heard about the festival coming to Peridale, she would have stayed home and spent her Sunday afternoon de-weeding her daffodil beds.

  "I guess you weren't one of those teenagers who drank alcohol on street corners?" Barker asked as they took their drinks to one of the free benches.

  "I was more of a stay home and bake girl."

  "I should have known," Barker said with a wink. "That's why you're so good at it."

  Most of Peridale had turned out for the festival, which had been organised by Shelby and Bob Hopkins, the owners of The Plough. They had been talking about pulling something together for years, but life in Peridale moved slowly, so most people expected it to stay nothing more than just talk. Julia suspected a lot of the visitors were showing their faces to see if there was anything worth gossiping about for the coming week, but so far the event had run a lot smoother than the alcohol Julia was forcing down.

  "Here comes trouble," Barker whispered over his pint, nodding towards the opening of the tent. "Code Grey."

  Julia followed his eyeline to a group of senior women, fronted by her gran, Dot. They were decked out in brightly coloured and mismatched tracksuits, with even brighter neon sweatbands pushing their permed curls away from their faces. It reminded Julia of the 1980’s workout videotapes her gran had tried and failed to complete when Julia was a little girl.

  "I see you're polluting your body with the rest of them, Julia," Dot called out loudly enough for everybody within earshot to hear as she marched over, her knees and elbows lifting dramatically. "It's a beautiful day out. Why don't you put down that poison and join our fitness group?"

  Dot continued to march on the spot, squinting at the expensive new exercise watch on her wrist that she had recently purchased. Julia had tried to teach her how to use it correctly, but the technology had gone over her head. She missed the days when devices had buttons and not just touchscreens.

  "I think I'll pass today, Gran," Julia said, smiling to the rest of the girls behind Dot, who didn't seem as enthusiastic about their new club. "Clocking up lots of steps?"

  "Eight thousand so far this morning," she announced proudly. "I've decided we should do one hundred steps for every year of our age. Since I appear to be the oldest, we've got another three hundred left."

  There was a grumble from the girls as they adjusted their sweatbands and sluggishly attempted to copy Dot's eagerness. It had only been a week since Dot had started her new health-kick club, but Julia was sure the numbers were already dwindling.

  "You should take it a little easier," Julia suggested after sipping her beer. "Remember what the doctor said about your tricky hip?"

  "My hip has never felt better, thank you very much!" Dot cried. "We've got another lap of the village green before we can sit down. Barker, you should stop eating so many of Julia's cakes. You're starting to get fat. Must dash."

  Dot twirled around, pushed through the girls, and power-walked out of the tent, her head held high and her shoulders forced back. The rest of the girls followed, some of them eyeing the barrels of beer longingly as they left.

  "Am I getting fat?" Barker mumbled a
s he prodded the tiny bit of softness poking through his white shirt.

  "Ignore her. She saw some documentary about fitness for old people on the telly, and she hasn’t shut up about it since. She's already warned me about the dangers of heart disease four times this week. Sue and I went to her cottage for dinner last night, and she lectured us about meat and dairy while we ate steamed asparagus and kale. Knowing Gran like I do, she will be bored in a couple of days and she’ll already be onto the next thing."

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "Of course you're not getting fat!" Julia insisted with a chuckle. "You're in better shape than most men in this village."

  "Only most men?"

  "Do you want me to tell you you're in the best shape to make you feel better?"

  "Yes, please."

  "You're in the best shape, Barker," Julia said, glancing down to his barely there stomach. "Although maybe she's right about the cakes."

  "That's your fault!" Barker cried, readjusting his posture so he could suck his minuscule stomach in. "You know chocolate cake is my weakness."

  "I'm trying to perfect my recipe," she said casually. "Nobody is forcing you to eat it."

  "Maybe if you weren't such a great baker, I wouldn't need to. Perhaps you should have been that teenager who drank beer on the street corner?"

  He winked and kissed her on the cheek, the malty scent of ale lingering on his breath. Julia felt her face flush as the kiss sent the pit of her stomach into a wild swirl. It had been three weeks since they had confessed their love to each other after only a couple of months of dating, but it was the small things that kept taking Julia by surprise. After twelve years of marriage to a man whose idea of romance was buying Julia a bottle of whatever perfume was on sale once a year on Valentine's Day, Julia was enjoying the feeling of being in love.

  "Oh, more trouble," Barker mumbled, nodding to the opening of the tent once more.

  Julia turned around with his kiss still fresh on her cheek. Her heart skipped another beat when she saw Jessie, her sixteen-year-old lodger, sneaking in, a hood pulled low over her pale face. Leaving her beer, Julia hurried through the crowd and across the tent, her pastel yellow dress fluttering behind her.

  "What are you doing here?" Jessie demanded, looking down her nose at Julia, her lips snarling into a scowl.

  "I'm the one who should be asking that."

  "You hate beer."

  "I'm here with Barker."

  "Oh," Jessie said with a roll of her eyes. "I was bored at home. Thought I'd come and see what was happening here."

  "And not to try and sneak some underage alcohol?" Julia asked with a smirk as she folded her arms across her chest. "You're right, I don't like beer. Let me grab my bag, and we'll head home."

  Jessie grumbled as she slid her hood back to let her dark hair fall over her shoulders. She had been living with Julia and working in her café for four months now. Their relationship had begun with Jessie breaking into Julia's café and stealing cakes because she was homeless, but it had developed into something that resembled mother and daughter. Julia hadn't expected to suddenly have a teenage girl in her life to look after, but it was a challenge she was enjoying. Jessie was a good kid, most of the time.

  Leaving Jessie lingering by one of the barrels, Julia headed back to the bench she had been sitting at with Barker. Her half-full plastic cup of beer was still there, along with Barker's now empty cup, but Barker and her bag had disappeared. She spun on the spot and was relieved to see him getting a refill of the IPA that had almost made Julia gag. That relief turned into a steel weight when she didn't see him carrying her handbag.

  "Barker! Where's my bag?"

  Barker walked back to the bench, his fresh pint crammed firmly against his top lip. After a deep gulp, he set it down and looked under the bench, a little less urgently than Julia would have liked.

  "You had a bag?"

  "Men!" Julia cried, pushing her hands up into her hair as she spun on the spot. "I think somebody has stolen it!"

  They both scanned the tent, their eyes landing on the same thing at the same time. A hooded figure in a red tracksuit was hurrying through the tent and towards the opening, clutching Julia's bag under their arm. They gazed at each other, frozen for a moment before they set off at a run. The figure looked over their shoulder, revealing the face of a teenage boy.

  "Stop him!" Julia cried as she felt the nauseating sinking of despair. "He's stolen my bag!"

  The boy began to sprint, but as he approached the entrance to the tent, he slammed into two men who had just walked in. There were gasps from the watching crowd as he was thrown to the ground, dropping the bag as he landed in a heap. But just as Julia breathed a sigh of relief, the nimble teenager scrambled to his feet, grabbing the bag in the process before either of the thick-necked men could figure out what was happening.

  Side by side, Julia and Barker burst out of the tent, the bright May sunshine blinding them. They stood outside of The Plough, looking up and down the crowded village street.

  "There!" Barker cried before setting off at a sprint. "He's heading towards the village green!"

  Julia kicked off her kitten heels, hitched up her dress, and set off running, catching up with Barker in seconds, her tights-covered feet pounding into the cobbled road. She didn't care about her phone, or even her café's takings that were in her bag from the busy Saturday shift the night before, but she did care about her small notepad, which had all of her recipe revisions and notes for the chocolate cake she was working on.

  The boy's hood flew down as he darted across the village green. Dot and her speed walking group all stopped to gawp at the commotion.

  "Stop that boy!" Barker cried through bated breath. "Stop him!"

  The women all looked to one another as they fumbled from side to side, none of them appearing to know what to do. Dot, on the other hand, charged at the boy, seemingly forgetting the existence of her eighty-three-year-old tricky hip once again. The boy smirked over his shoulder, eyes wide as Peridale's finest came at him from both directions.

  "Stop!" Dot cried, letting out a tribal scream as her Day-Glo green sweatband flew off, unleashing her recently permed curls. "Thief!"

  Like a rugby player going for a below the belt tackle, Dot dove in, but like an even better player, the boy darted out of her way. She fell into the neatly mowed grass and rolled over onto her side. Julia gave up on her recipe notepad and ran to her gran's aid.

  "I almost had him!" Dot said through shallow breaths. "I was – I was so close."

  "It doesn't matter," Julia said, crouching down to her gran. "I'm calling an ambulance."

  "You'll do no such thing!" Dot cried as she stumbled up to her feet, instantly checking her watch. "I've just finished my steps for the day. And a new calorie-burning record to boot! Ladies, another lap around the green for you!"

  As though nothing had happened, Dot scooped up her sweatband, reapplied it, and marched back to her group. Julia turned her attention back to the boy, who was sprinting full force towards St. Peter's Church with Barker lagging behind. Resting a hand on her forehead, she wanted to cry out to tell Barker to leave it, but at that moment, a black blur darted in front of the boy, knocking him clean off his feet as he entered the church grounds. The figure flicked their dark hair back, and Julia was startled when she saw that it was Jessie who was pinning the boy into the ground.

  With renewed energy, Julia ran over, overtaking Barker as he paused to clench his knees and pant out of control.

  "Apologise!" Jessie screamed, shaking the boy with fistfuls of his red tracksuit. "Apologise to the woman, you worm!"

  "Get off me!"

  "Apologise!"

  "I said, get off me."

  "I ate idiots like you on the streets for breakfast!" Jessie yelled as she shook him even harder. "Apologise, now!"

  "Fine!" the boy cried, pushing Jessie's hands off him. "I'm sorry, alright?"

  For a moment, Julia thought Jessie was going to plant a fist
in the boy's face, but she relented and jumped off him. She scooped up Julia's bag and tossed it over the boy to her.

  "Billy Matthews," Barker mumbled through his pants. "I should have known it would be you."

  Billy's eyes widened when he saw Barker. He glanced from Jessie to Julia before darting off again. Jessie went to chase him, but Julia put her hand out and shook her head.

  "I can get him!"

  "Just leave it," Julia said, checking in her bag, relieved to see everything intact. "I owe you."

  "Somebody had to stop him," Jessie said with a roll of her eyes. "It was like witnessing an old folks fun run watching you two."

  "Maybe your gran was right," Barker mumbled as he leant against the church wall. "I'm so unfit."

  "You are getting fat," Jessie said casually. "Being suspended isn't a good look for you."

  Barker looked up at Jessie, his eyes narrowed and his cheeks red. Julia stared sternly at Jessie, who shrugged and shook her head as though she didn't know what she had said. Jessie might not have been blood-related to Julia, but she shared her gran's bluntness and brutal honesty. She usually appreciated it when it came to critiques of her cakes, but less so when it came to Barker's recent suspension from the police station, which seemed to be her current favourite topic to joke about. If Julia and Jessie were like mother and daughter, Barker and Jessie were more like brother and sister.

  When Barker had finally caught his breath, they set off walking up the winding lane towards Julia's cottage. They reached Barker's home first, so Jessie set off on her own and left them alone.

  "She didn't mean it," Julia apologised as they stood outside of Barker's gate. "You know what Jessie is like. She can be a little – prickly."

  "It's nothing that's not true," Barker said with a small shrug as he circled his foot around on the smooth pavement. "I went to the station yesterday to see if they were any closer to deciding on my future, but nobody would speak to me. It doesn't look good, does it?"