Vanilla Sprinkle Murder: A Milly Pepper Mystery

By Rosie A. Point

Three cupcakes, two knives, and one dead body equals... An unsolvable mystery?

 

When Milly Pepper is invited to cater a closed-door Halloween party by the "popular people" of Star Lake, Iowa, she feels like she's finally being accepted by the townsfolk. But when she arrives at the exclusive mansion on the outskirts of town, she's kind of… creeped out. And not in the good "fake blood and vampire teeth" way. 

 

The occupants of the mansion, from the butler to the host, have dark secrets, and Milly's determined to get her pay and get out while the getting's good. 

Until the clock strikes midnight on Hallows' Eve, and the power cuts. And… Milly Pepper stumbles over a dead body in the dark. 

 

It's the host. And she's been stabbed with one of Milly's knives! 

 

If Milly can't prove her innocence, she'll lose her father's café, her pet bunny, Waffle, and her freedom. 

 

Join Milly as she solves the unsolvable crime in the second installment of the Milly Pepper Mystery Series. Grab your copy today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rosie A. Point
• Release date: Jan 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201103316

Book preview

1

"L ook alive, ladies! If you mess this up, heads will roll." The call came from the head maid, Rachel, who stood at the head of the vast, glistening tiled kitchen in Nora Jensen’s mansion.

This was hardly how I’d envisioned spending Halloween. First, because I barely knew Nora and she happened to be the leader of the highly vicious and exclusive Bakers group that ran a third of the town. Second, because I usually spent Halloween at home with my pet bunny, Waffle, watching old horror movies on my tiny TV.

There was nothing better than a good horror movie with my fluffy companion by my side.

But I was here.

At Nora’s mansion on the fringes of Star Lake.

I stepped out of the path of a server—a young woman in a black and white maid’s uniform, fake blood dribbled artistically down her chin—and bit down on the inside of my cheek.

This was… new to me.

Catering a party? For one of the most exclusive groups in Star Lake, Iowa? It was a huge deal for the Starlight Cafe. Out of literally everyone in town, Nora had chosen us to cater, even though we weren’t even a part of the Bakers group.

The head maid moved over to join me. How are you holding up? she asked. Doing all right?

I’m good, I managed, smiling at her. Thanks for asking.

Ugh, I know these big events can be a pain in the rear-end. Especially when it’s Nora who’s hosting them.

I’m just grateful for the job. The cafe was doing way better than it had been at the end of summer, but we were by no means swimming in cash. I’d managed to hire an extra hand in the kitchen to join my long time baker and chef, Fran. Noel and Fran manned their stations in the kitchen now, having prepped the food before we came out to the party.

A good thing too, since I was hardly a whiz in the kitchen. I was passable, but no chef.

I glanced sideways at my collection of chef’s knives, each one engraved with my initials, MP, and a fresh wave of a guilt beset me.

I had received the gift on my birthday last week. My father had kept it aside for me, and it had been delivered to me by his lawyer on my birthday. A surprise that had brought plenty of tears. I missed my father more and more each passing day.

Well, don’t worry too much about things, Rachel said, patting me on the back. We’ve got everything under control and—

Rachel. The voice snapped through the kitchen, and every server jumped as if they’d been goosed.

A tall, willowy woman strode into the kitchen. She wore a long glittery gown and a set of devil horns. She carried a red trident and wore, alarmingly enough, crimson contact lenses.

This was the host. My new client, the leader of the Bakers group, and one of the most powerful women in the entirety of Star Lake, Nora Jensen, stopped just inside the kitchen, her eyes narrowed at the head maid.

What do you think you’re doing? Nora asked. Slacking off as per usual?

Ma’am, I was just, uh, just—

Nora pulled a face, appearing more horsey by the minute. I was just, uh, just uh… spit it out, woman! The mocking tone rubbed me the wrong way.

She was updating me on kitchen procedures, I said, smoothly. Thank you, Rachel, I appreciate it. I’ve got to say, you’ve been such an amazing help this evening. My chefs haven’t complained once about anything. Fantastic.

Rachel blushed.

Nora kept her glare on Rachel for a moment. So, you’re doing your job adequately for a change, she said, sarcastically, the tip of her pink tongue darting out to wet her lips. Color me delighted. Get back to work. I’ve got to talk to Miss Pepper.

Rachel skedaddled off, leaving me with the female demon herself.

Oof. This ought to be interesting.

I straightened, squaring my shoulders.

It had been a difficult few months, adjusting to the behavior of the rather insular town residents, but being hired for this job meant I had finally started making inroads with them. Just because my father, Frank, had been a beloved member of the town didn’t mean I would be. But being here was a great sign, right?

I faced Nora with confidence. What can I help you with, Miss Jensen? Would you like an update on anything?

Not quite, dear. Nora, who was in her fifties, I’d have guessed, drew me aside.

My nerves grew. Ever since I had returned to Star Lake to take over my father’s cafe, my anxiety had dipped and peaked. I’d gone from being a cool, calm and collected law enforcement official on the path to becoming a detective to this. The owner of a failing cafe in a town that didn’t want me around.

Stop it. You’re fine.

Listen, I’ve been meaning to have a little talk with you about your presence here tonight, she said.

My presence? I asked.

Yes, of course. You see, as the head of the Bakers group, I have some leeway to break rules and hiring you, an outsider, well, that was a spectacular bout of rule-breaking on my part.

Oh. Small towns sometimes had weird laws—like no ice cream cones at the lake shore, for instance—but I highly doubted that Nora was talking about laws in this case. I’m sorry. I’m not sure what you mean?

You see, usually, when I throw a party, and I do happen to throw several of these spectacular events a year… But usually, when I host a party, I’ll hire a caterer from inside the Bakers group. Asking you to cater this event is causing some talk.

OK. The Bakers had tried to fold me into their group to no avail. I wasn’t going to sign up to be a part of any pseudo-union, especially if they wanted to impose restrictions on my father’s business.

It’s your business now. I shoved the thought aside.

So, you see, this would be so much easier for me if I could just tell the other members of the group that you’re an applicant.

Disappointment settled around my shoulders like a cape. Ah. Of course. I’d thought I was finally making headway with the townsfolk because of this gig, but really, Nora had had an ulterior motive for hiring me.

She wanted me to join the Bakers group! Fat chance.

Thank you for the offer, Ms. Jensen, I said, but I’m not interested. I’d better go check on Fran and Noel. Make sure they’ve got everything under control. I turned, but Nora caught my arm.

Now, don’t be so quick to refuse, dear. Her voice was a hiss. The Bakers have great benefits for their members. Many of them are on the town council now. It’s much easier to get things down in Star Lake if you’re a part of our group.

Irritation spun through my chest. There were three main groups in Star Lake. The Bakers, Boaters, and Butchers, and I was… apolitical at the best of times.

Thank you again, Ms. Jensen, but I’m not interested. I strode off before she could say anything else, regretting that I’d agreed to cater the party.

What I wouldn’t have given to be back at home with Waffle or visiting my dear Gran, Cecelia Pepper, right now.

Need help with anything? I asked Fran, my young, pretty chef as I reached her.

Oh, no, Milly, thank you so much, she said, swiping a hand over her neat chef’s whites. We’ve got it all under control here.

There’s got to be something I can help with? Anything to avoid Nora’s hateful stare, now burning into the back of my head.

You could help take out some hors d'oeuvres, I guess? Maybe? Fran pointed to the line of trays with their dainty mini-cupcakes, muffins, finger sandwiches, and tartlets.

On it! I swept up the tray and hightailed it out of the kitchen and into the hall of the mansion, trying not to notice Nora’s crimson eyes, tracking my every movement.

2

The interior of Nora’s mansion was covered in Halloween decorations. Skeletons hanging from the walls, witch’s cauldrons overflowing the smoke from dry ice that the maids had to refill, and the occasional scream or ominous laugh from a set of speakers. Even the hallways where there weren’t many guests had decor.

I carried the tray of finger sandwiches and tartlets down the hall, holding it in both hands, and navigating toward the living room where the main festivities were taking place.

I hadn’t expected the party to be quite this exciting, with regards to the Halloween decorations, at least, and it was fun, but I was still a little disappointed about Nora’s attempt to convert me.

My father had sworn off the Bakers, he’d told me as much in one of our weekly calls, and I would do the same.

Besides, the whole point of being your own boss was that you didn’t have to answer to anyone else.

I’d heard quite a few nightmare stories about the groups that ran Star Lake from Gran and from my best friend, Sue.

The Boaters were liable to shut you out of their community entirely and ban you from the lake during summer if you got on their bad side. And since Star Lake’s main income came from tourists during the summer months, that wasn’t a wise decision.

The Butchers were rumored to be ruthless. Gran had told me there’d been a Great Meat War of ‘97, and, honestly, I didn’t even want to know what that had entailed.

But the Bakers… oh, they were rumored to be the worst of all. They had contacts in the local newspaper, The Star Lake Gazette, and could pull several strings with the town council and even the mayor and sheriff. Those were the rumors, anyway.

I’ll just play the part of Switzerland, thank you very much.

I kept on down the hall, admiring a particularly intricate spider web that had been draped over an end table, humming under my breath to cheer myself up. I didn’t doubt that this would be the first and last time I’d be allowed to cater one of Nora’s parties, so I would enjoy it while I could.

A rustling of paper followed by a cough drew my attention.

I frowned, slowing down.

This was the