A Cup of Secrets: Tea Room Cozy Mysteries, #2

By Elodie Hart

The last tea course is served, the guests have left and there's a dead body in the middle of the town library. 

Serving tea at the performance of the town play, Quinn Sanderson expected odd things to happen. But murder? That wasn't one of them. When arguably the most reviled man in all of Cottage Grove is killed after the first performance of the town play, no one is the least bit sad. No one liked Wilfred Cartright and everyone had a reason to kill him. Suspecting her neighbors and friends isn't something Quinn wants to do, but it's a necessary step to solve the case. Quinn uncovers a plot of blackmail and revenge and if she's not careful, she might be the next victim. As if that weren't enough, she has to make a decision about her old flame and secret boyfriend – all while solving a murder and serving tea.

Will Quinn be able to find the killer before the final curtain call?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elodie Hart
• Release date: Jun 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986202129

Elodie Hart

Elodie Hart was raised on old detective movies and mystery books. She loves a good puzzle (literally and figuratively), cuddling with dogs, and exploring small towns. The Tea Room Cozy Mystery Series is the first of many books she’ll write.

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Elodie Hart

A Cup of Secrets

Copyright © 2022 by Elodie Hart

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

First edition

ISBN: 979-8-9862021-2-9

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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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 16

Chapter 1

Hosting a tea party for Cottage Grove’s first interactive murder mystery play was a dream for Quinn Sanderson, but Miss Susanna’s involvement did make her wonder if it was more of a nightmare.

As the director and a cast member, Miss Susanna James, town busybody and foremost gossip, was a force to be reckoned with and everyone knew that. But Quinn also knew that’s what was needed to take a movie like Clue and turn it into a play. If anyone were going to tackle that monster, it would be Miss Susanna.

Okay, everyone, let’s take that scene again, Miss Susanna called out to the group of actors in full costume and makeup for the third time that night.

There were some grumbles from the cast and Quinn could see their energy drain at the thought of running lines one more time.

Miss Susanna? I’ve brought some desserts from the tea room for you all to enjoy. How about taking a short break? Quinn asked as she waved a greeting to everyone.

An excited cheer rang out in the open space of the town library Miss Susanna commandeered for the play. At first, Quinn thought Miss Susanna would be upset, but she gave in and smiled at Quinn.

Alright, everyone. Take five. And I better not see a single dessert left, understand? Quinn’s baking is too good for that, Miss Susanna said, much to Quinn’s delight.

How’s it all going? Quinn asked when Miss Susanna joined her.

Quinn was in charge of the tea and food for the guests of the play and had come over to the library after work on Saturday to make sure everything was ready for the performance on Sunday.

"We simply cannot afford to mess it up, so I’m making everyone go through it until it’s perfect. Clue is a classic movie and deserves to be acted with precision and respect," Miss Susanna said, her voice haughty.

Quinn didn’t want to tell her the movie was based on a board game. That might ruin the magic for her.

I can’t wait to see it in action tomorrow, she said instead.

Despite how it was originally a board game, it was still one of Quinn’s favorite movies, and one she had grown up watching with the aunt who raised her, Belladonna Bella Sanderson. Seeing it come to life in front of her would be spectacular.

Just you wait. We’ll knock the socks off of every one of you in the audience!

I have no doubt about that.

Are you ready for the tea tomorrow?

Quinn looked around at her work station and said, Apart from the food, yes. I’ve brought over the teacups, saucers, plates, and teapots today. I’ll get the food ready at the tea room tomorrow morning during my usual preparation and then bring it over here when it’s all done.

And you’ll have plenty? We don’t want to run out of anything.

Don’t worry, Miss Susanna. I’ve never run out of food at a tea party before and I don’t plan to now. Not even murder could make that happen.

Despite the look of delight in her eyes, Miss Susanna shivered at the mention of murder. The peaceful town of Cottage Grove sat on the rugged California coastline just south of bustling San Francisco. People from the city came to Cottage Grove to escape city life and enjoy a breath of fresh air.

However, there were occasional murders.

A couple of months ago, Quinn’s life had turned upside down with the arrival of her first love from high school and the murder of a bride in her tea room. It was an experience Quinn would rather not repeat, but trouble had a way of finding her – like murder and childhood crushes.

While the play was about murder and blackmail, Quinn dearly hoped it would be confined to the stage and not leak over into real life. The last thing any of them needed to worry about was another murder.

Dear, I have to take care of something. Save me some of the chocolate mousse, Miss Susanna said before she sashayed away at a fast pace with the chunky block heels she wore click-clacking away.

Quinn had already saved some mousse, since she thought Miss Susanna might be up to her eyeballs in last minute snafus and problems. With a shake of her head, Quinn returned to arranging the tea party items she’d brought over.

Three years ago, Quinn had opened The Grand Tea Room at the old keeper’s cottage at the manor house, armed with years of working around the world on tea plantations and in tea shops and a nearly endless collection of cups, saucers, and tea pots she’d picked up along the way. Right next door to her at the manor house, Macy Hardgrave, Quinn’s best friend and a third of the town’s three musketeers, opened up a bed and breakfast. Since they were neighbors, they often partnered up on business.

At first, Quinn started small and stuck to hosting tea times throughout the day in her shop, with private parties relegated to the grand salon at the back of the tea room. Over the years she opened a small gift shop at the front of the tea room where guests could buy teacups, teapots, tea, and some baked goods.

The way Quinn offered tea parties changed, too. Once she opened shop and got some traction going, requests came in from all over town for her to host parties outside the shop, like birthday parties and this interactive murder mystery play.

Smiling to herself, Quinn studied all the actors as they devoured the desserts she’d brought. It was easy enough to guess what characters they played since they were all in costume. A giggle escaped her as she saw Miss Ophelia and Lucy from the B&B dressed up as the cook and a thrice-divorced wealthy socialite, respectively.

Miss Ophelia was the stern middle-aged lady who ran the daily operations and staff of the B&B with an iron fist. Her nickname among the staff there was Serge because she gave orders like a drill sergeant. On the other end of the spectrum was the sweet Lucy who manned the B&B kitchen and served up a delicious breakfast day in and day out for guests. Never did Quinn think either of them would be acting in a play, but there they were. She took a photo of them with her cellphone to capture them in their acting glory. She also got one of Henry Danvers, another of the three musketeers and Cottage Grove’s finest detective, who played the FBI agent at the end of the play.

How do we look? asked Lucy as she gave a twirl to show off her all-black outfit while Miss Ophelia looked demure in a cook’s costume.

Just like your characters should look, Quinn said as she gave them a thumbs up.

Miss Ophelia scoffed but smiled anyway.

How’s everything going? Are you ready for the first performance tomorrow? Quinn asked.

We’re ready to go, I just hope everyone else calms down a bit before then, Lucy said as she finished eating the last of her chocolate mousse.

Is everyone stressed?

Miss Ophelia shook her head. There’s some tension among a few of the actors. Not everyone gets along with each other.

I’ve heard creative people are like that, Lucy said with a firm nod.

Just then, a loud crash rang out from the stage. Quinn looked in the direction of the sound and saw Neil Roberts, one of the understudies, trying to clean up the props he accidentally knocked over.

Quinn was about to run over and help him when Wilfred Cartright as the play’s retired army general yelled, For God’s sake! Stop causing problems for the rest of us!

Everyone quieted down after that and looked uncomfortable. Nick Coretti, of Coretti’s Italian Ristorante, currently dressed as the butler from the play, stood up for Neil and said, There’s no need to yell at him. It was just an accident.

Nick was a local loved by everyone. On top of that, they couldn’t argue with his breadsticks or pasta.

That’s one of the tensions. To be fair, not many people get along with Wilfred. He acts as egotistical his character, too, Lucy whispered so the man himself wouldn’t overhear.

She didn’t have to worry about that, since Wilfred stormed away from the others and disappeared into the main part of the library. The other cast members all released a collective sigh of relief once he was gone and Quinn got a glimpse at how stressed they were.

If he’s like that, then why doesn’t Miss Susanna fire him? She’s not one to let people stay around if they’re rude or bully others, Quinn said.

He wrote the script and helped design the set, Henry said as he waved around at everything.

I thought Miss Susanna was in charge.

She is, dear. But he said he would only help if he were allowed to be in the play. No one else wanted to be the general and it’s quite a big part, so he jumped at the chance. Miss Susanna wanted to do this play so badly that she agreed before we all knew what he would be like to work with, Lucy said.

Now we just have to keep our cool and get through the next month of performances. Although I’ve a mind to teach him some manners, Miss Ophelia said with a stern gleam in her brown eyes.

Miss Susanna clapped her hands three times to get everyone’s attention. Places, everyone! Let’s start again.

Quinn waved to Lucy and Miss Ophelia as they walked away and used the peace and quiet at her workstation to prepare for the next day. She had to figure out how the place settings should be arranged at each table, how many teacups, sugar bowls, and food plates were needed so everyone who bought a ticket would have a memorable tea during the play.

When Miss Susanna first brought up the idea of an interactive play with a tea party thrown in, Quinn didn’t know what to think. But now that everything was almost ready to go, excitement strummed through her veins. It was a new venture for her business and something that could expand the town’s festivities if it worked out well. Who knew? Maybe the interactive play and tea party would become an annual summer tradition in Cottage Grove.

An hour later, after she’d finished arranging all the items she would need, Quinn rolled her shoulders to release the tension that had stored up there. The next day would bring on new challenges, but with any luck, the play and tea would go off without a hitch.

* * *

The next afternoon, Quinn entered the main library entrance with her arms weighed down by food for the tea. Emily Stephens, her college student waitress and right hand woman at the tea room, followed behind her. At the audience tables already set up and ready to go, they set down the containers of food for the play. Earlier that morning they’d done the usual baking for Sunday reservations at the tea room, plus the order for Miss Susanna and the play. There had been very little downtime for either of them and Quinn, for one, was exhausted.

A few more trips should do it, Quinn said as they went back out to Quinn’s car and picked up more trays loaded with scones, the makings for finger sandwiches and an array of desserts.

I think we have enough to feed the entire town, boss.

With the crowd that’s coming tonight and the actors? Not a chance, Quinn said, smiling.

Emily had a way of bringing humor to any stressful situation and Quinn knew she would have a much more difficult time without Emily around. That’s why she always made sure to accommodate Emily’s college class schedule and gave her as many hours as she could handle. Quinn didn’t know what she would do when the twenty-year-old graduated and left her. Without Emily around the past year and a half, there was no way Quinn could have taken on different orders and events. The day she left would be one of the saddest days for Quinn. With a look at the work ahead of them, Quinn knew that was something she didn’t have time to worry about right then.

There was an hour until people would show up to watch the play, so she had to get a wiggle on if everything was going to be ready in time. The town library had been gracious enough to let Quinn use their small kitchen to prepare and store food in the fridge. After she put the sandwich ingredients and some of the desserts in the fridge, she and Emily focused on the tables.

Rectangular tables were set up in a U-shape in front of the stage and guests would sit only on one side, so each guest could see with an uninterrupted view and not have to crane their necks in uncomfortable positions to see the action. The stage itself spread out all around the tables in a circle to encompass the audience, and was divided into separate rooms to provide the full layout of the mansion in Clue. With the guests seated in swivel chairs on wheels, they could turn in every direction to keep up with the actors as they ran about to the different rooms, like the characters do in the movie. The area the audience sat in also doubled as the main hall of the mansion in the play. Basically, the whole play took place around the audience.

Reading tables that usually took up the middle of the main floor of the library had been moved out of the way for the play. The cast would have to move them back after every performance, per the agreement with the library. Fortunately, with the library closed on Sundays, they had been able to leave the stage up overnight after rehearsal on Saturday and didn’t have to worry about disrupting the library’s opening hours.

Quinn brought the tea room’s tablecloths to use at the play, so she and Emily set them out and checked the length.

The last thing we need is for Aunt Bella or another member of the Ladies’ Coalition to step on a hanging corner and take the whole table down, Quinn said and got a laugh out of Emily as they made adjustments.

The Ladies’ Coalition was a group of geriatric ladies in the town, but nobody really knew what they did. Some thought they were a secret society and others said they guarded town treasure. When Quinn was young, she asked Aunt Bella which version was true, but Aunt Bella had laughed and said it was only a book club. All these years later and Quinn still wasn’t entirely convinced.

We’re not grouping teacups together, are we? Emily asked as they began to set the tables with teacups, saucers and small plates.

No, let’s mix and match them so no one gets offended that there aren’t enough of the same design for their group. But make sure the cups and saucers match, Quinn said.

At the tea room, they decorated each table with matching tea essentials, but with the number of guests showing up for the play, it was better to spread everything out and have a mismatched organization scheme. The main point was that they had enough teacups and plates for everyone.

Once the tables were set, Quinn and