Sweet Masterpiece - The First Samantha Sweet Mystery by Connie Shelton Page A

left Los
Angeles on a moment’s notice, or to dwell on the fact that she’d
never find a job of that caliber here in Taos.
    “I’m tired,” Sam said. “We’ll talk about this
tomorrow.”
    She closed her bedroom door and put on her
nightshirt. A quick call to Beau to let him know there was no
emergency and that they could talk more tomorrow. From the living
room a reality show began blaring on television. The smell of
microwave popcorn drifted through the house. This was too much like
the last time Kelly’d shown up, right after her college graduation.
Sam pulled the pillow over her head and tried not to think.

 
     
     
    Chapter 14
     
    Sam woke early, with an uneasy mix of images
running through her head. Beau’s kiss last night came back to her,
creating an ache inside. Then she remembered that Kelly was in the
next room and suspected that she’d only heard half the story about
her quick exit from L.A. and her job.
    The phone was ringing in the kitchen when she
stepped out of the shower. When it became apparent that Kelly
wasn’t going to get herself out of bed to answer it Sam threw on a
robe and dashed for it. A female voice was leaving a message about
a cake. She grabbed up the receiver before the answering machine
cut off. At this moment, any business was good business.
    “I know this is short notice, but is there
any way you could do a wedding cake by Thursday?” the female voice
inquired, once she realized she was speaking to a real person.
    Sam got the details on size and colors and
quoted a price, with a little added premium for the fact that she
would once again have to drive to Santa Fe for delivery. Sam’s own
inclination, if she were the customer, would have been to look for
the nearest local bakery but as the baker she was more than happy
to accept an order. It wasn’t as if she were swamped with extra
business right now. If Sweet’s Sweets was ever going to get off the
ground Sam had to jump through a few hoops to get that necessary
can-do reputation.
    The minute she hung up she made a quick
inventory of supplies and calculated a schedule. The three cakes
for the tiers would have to be baked the night before assembly and
delivery. But she could get busy on the flowers and trim pieces
right away. She whipped up a batch of buttercream frosting, tinted
part of it in the bride’s chosen mauve and started making roses and
buds. A darker tint for some of the flowers would add dimension.
Even with a traditional cake like this customer wanted, Sam liked
to add special touches. She’d no sooner slipped the baking sheet
full of roses, on their small paper squares, into the fridge than
Beau called.
    “How did it go last night?” he asked.
    “Same song, next verse. I don’t think I’m
getting the whole story.” She glanced toward Kelly’s room. The door
remained closed. Some job hunt.
    “Thought you might be interested in knowing
that some kind of plant toxin showed up in Riley Anderson—uh,
Pierre Cantone’s system. The M.I. said there was fluid in the
lungs, maybe pneumonia, so I don’t know if the two are
related.”
    “Odd. Maybe he was having an allergic
reaction to something and that caused the fluid.” Sam realized that
she was merely making wild guesses. “I’m still wondering where the
roommate went, too. How weird is it that he just vanished. Do you
think someone might have harmed him?”
    “No real evidence of that. Maybe with
Cantone’s death, he simply had no reason to stick around.”
    That was certainly possible.
    “Sam . . . I’d really like to see you again.”
His voice held that familiar ache.
    She glanced again at Kelly’s closed door and
lowered her voice. “Me too. But it’s awkward right now. Your
place?”
    “Well, that’s awkward too. My mother is
here.”
    He’d mentioned his mother before. “Visiting?”
she asked, daring to hope.
    “No, and that’s the thing. She’s getting
fragile and I’ve been debating what to do. Nursing homes are just
so