A Crime of Cranberry: Marcall's Breakfast Cafe Paranormal Cozy Mystery

By B I Skinner

A reality tv show, murder, and a bitter reporter bent on wreaking havoc for Charlotte and the rest of Crested Peaks, endangers the upcoming ski season. Will Char and the talking rabbits be able to save the town before time runs out?

All of Crested Peaks is excited when a reality tv baking show comes to town. But when Charlotte and the talking rabbits discover yet another body in the town square, everyone pressures her to get involved. She swears she's done with all of that until a reporter vows to bring down the entire town. Can Charlotte, and the talking rabbits, along with their feline bestie, save Crested Peaks or is it a lost cause?
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: B I Skinner
• Release date: Aug 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201997847

Book preview

A Crime of Cranberry

Marcall's Breakfast Cafe Cozy Mystery

B I Skinner

Contents

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

10. Chapter 10

11. Chapter 11

12. Chapter 12

13. Chapter 13

14. Chapter 14

15. Chapter 15

16. Chapter 16

17. Chapter 17

18. Chapter 18

19. Chapter 19

20. Chapter 20

21. Chapter 21

22. Chapter 22

Copyright

Chapter 1

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I can’t believe we’re actually here, an excited Damien whispers in my ear.

I know! I try not to squeal as I watch Robby Slay, the host of our fourth favorite reality tv show That’s How the Cookie Crumbles, take the stage.

We’re live in Crested Peaks, Colorado, and I’m your host Robby Slay! This week’s theme is a pie baking competition just in time for Thanksgiving. Now let’s get right to the contestants.

We were stunned when Miranda found out that That’s How the Cookie Crumbles would film in Crested Peaks at the Hotel Glacier right before Thanksgiving.

I closed the cafe for the afternoon so Damien, Marcall’s chef, and I could see the show in person. Miranda, my best friend and witching mentor, is with us. She didn’t have to close her coffee shop Bean Around a Bit. She has so many employees, she can easily take an afternoon off.

Robby Slay continues after the applause dies down. Please welcome Lucy Bellet! She’s a former beauty pageant winner from Beaumont, Texas, she has her own line of lipstick, and her hobbies include horseback riding and scrapbooking.

Miranda leans over to whisper in my other ear. Robby better watch it, or he’ll get stabbed by the big hair.

I giggle. I hope she isn’t cooking over a gas stovetop, or the entire place could go up.

Don’t be so rude, you two! Damien waggles his finger at us.

Lucy, welcome to the show. What are you most excited about this week? Robby asks.

Well, Robby, Lucy poses in her best pageant posture. I think this week will be a blast, and I’m super excited to meet my competition.

Next, we have Byron Gilbert, the Executive Chef at Thatsa Lotsa Pasta restaurant in New York City.

Damien snorts as Byron marches out, acting just like you’d think a gourmet chef from one of New York’s finest restaurants might.

Chef Byron, tell us a little about yourself, Robby says.

I swear, for just a moment, the chef rolls his eyes like he can’t believe he is doing this. Robby, let’s just say I’m delighted to be here in, uh, er,--

Crested Peaks, Robby whispers.

Uh, yeah, Crested Peaks. He nods his head at the audience and then takes his place behind the workstation next to Lucy.

Okay then! We also have Fred Robinson, who owns Tofu on Wheels, a vegan taco truck in California.

Fred looks like he’s from California, I whisper to Miranda. He looks like he’s straight out of a surfing ad.

So, Fred, what do you do when you aren’t stuffing tacos with tofu? Robby asks.

I love to surf and collect trash on the beach.

Oh! Poor Robby looks like he isn’t sure what to say about that. "Did you say collect trash?"

That’s right, Robby.

But what do you do with the trash you’ve collected?

I recycle it and make things that I give to people as gifts. Like this cool bracelet, Fred says, shoving his wrist in Robby’s face.

Very nice, he responds, nodding his head.

Finally, we have Shelly McGee, a stay-at-home mom from Ohio who loves experimenting with new recipes and keeping her family of eight well fed. Welcome, Shelly! Did I read that right, or is that a typo? You have six kids?

That’s right, Robby. As you can imagine, it isn’t easy keeping dinner ideas for that many people fresh and creative.

And what do you do in your spare time? Although I imagine you don’t have a lot of spare time? Do you drink a lot? I know I would if I had six kids, Robby jokes.

I happily devote nearly every waking moment to my family. I also volunteer at my church and feed the homeless once a week. And I don’t drink. Ever.

Never? Robby asks.

Never, Shelly shakes her head emphatically.

And there you have it, my friends, our panel of four contestants. Now let’s meet our celebrity judges.

For celebrities, I don’t think I recognize any of them, I mutter. Do you? I ask Miranda.

Miranda shrugs.

I mean, I kind of recognize the guy on the end, but I can’t remember where I’ve seen him.

Damien leans in. That’s Tommy Garcia, he tells me, giving me the same look the rabbits do when they think I’m an idiot for not knowing the answer to something.

I still don’t--

He’s a huge star on Rich and Bratty.

Ohhh, that’s right! I used to watch that all the time in college. What’s he doing judging a pie baking competition?

Beats me, Miranda says.

Please welcome Tommy Garcia from the daytime soap opera Rich and Bratty! Robby proclaims.

The audience goes wild with applause. He’s really pretty, isn’t he? I ask.

Damien nods his head. And how!

Miranda also agrees. He’s a good-looking guy.

Good looking? I think you need your eyes checked, Damien tells her. "He’s almost hotter than Detective Bailey," he winks at me.

I groan. My boyfriend, Detective Andrew Bailey, is extremely handsome, to say the least. Damien, and his husband Tom, enjoy teasing me about how hot he is. They even like to call him Detective McHotty behind his back.

I hate to admit it, but he really is tall, dark, and handsome. He has dark hair and striking emerald green eyes, framed by extra-long eyelashes that belong on a girl. Everybody thinks he’s a hunk. Even Gladys, Marcall’s most loyal customer, who’s old enough to be his grandmother, loves to flirt with him when he’s in the restaurant.

And next, I’d like to introduce Terrance Hawkins, a highly respected startup founder, angel investor, and philanthropist from Portland.

Terrance waves and blows kisses to the audience as he sits down next to Tommy.

Our third and final judge is Evelyn Lawson, a reporter for the Sea Times Newspaper in Los Angeles.

Evelyn nods to the crowd, taking her seat next to Terrance.

Now that everyone is in place, let’s get started! Robby shouts as the audience applauds enthusiastically.

The show was supposed to film the episode in Florida, but the venue burned down the day before. The General Manager of the Hotel Glacier knows one of the producers, and here we are.

We’ve been excited about it ever since we got the news, and I still can’t believe we got tickets for the first taping. In reality, they record the show over several days. But when it’s shown on Thanksgiving Day, it will appear as if it was just one day of baking.

How’s it going? Harvey asks, as he appears next to us with a pop, startling everyone sitting around us.

Harvey, I told you to quit sneaking up on us like that! Damien chastises.

Crested Peaks townspeople are accustomed to seeing ghosts, so the audience doesn’t think much of it when one suddenly appears. And especially when it’s Harvey, who was killed at the hotel in the late 1800s, but his spirit stuck around to help manage the hotel.

The reality contestants and judges, however, are another matter. They all come to a standstill as they stare at the shimmering ghost floating between us. I slink down in my chair, wishing I could disappear as fast as Harvey can.

Jumping Jehoshaphat! Shelly exclaims.

Jehoshaphat? Harvey grunts. "What century are you from?"

Excuse me? Shelly says.

Great, right in the middle of filming a show, Harvey picks a fight with a contestant.

A man with a clipboard and headset, who appears to be running things, turns red in the face and splutters. Cut! Cut! I told you no ghosts! Where’s the manager?

"I am the manager, dear sir," Harvey says, placing his hand on his chest, but it goes right through him.

You’re not the manager. You’re a, you’re a--

Sir, I am a spirit. One of the unliving. A ghost, if you must. And you are downright rude.

I don’t care what you are! Get out.

Just then, Berta, the living manager, appears. Harvey, please leave. We can’t have disruptions during filming.

Well, I never! Harvey huffs, making as dramatic an entrance as possible by zooming over the top of the audience and out the door.

The contestants and judges are all gobsmacked, and it’s hard not to laugh at their expressions. Terrance and Lucy look extra pale. Shelly crosses herself. But Fred just grins and says, Cool.

I’m terribly sorry, Berta says. It won’t happen again.

See that it doesn’t! the man with the clipboard says.

Let’s find out what kind of pies our contestants are making. Shelly, how about you?

I’ll be making a cranberry pie, Robby.

Cranberry? Really! That’s kind of unusual.

Yes, but as I mentioned, my family likes me to keep things interesting, and this is one of their favorites.

And Fred, how about you? Don’t tell me your pie has tofu in it.

I’ll be baking a vegan chocolate cream pie, and no, no tofu in this.

Allllll righty then, Robby declares while the crowd laughs.

Damien rolls his eyes. As the chef in a vegetarian cafe, he knows Fred can undoubtedly make a pie that the others won’t even realize is vegan.

Byron, what will you be making for us this evening?

Sweet potato pie, Robby.

What made you select sweet potatoes? Why not just pumpkin?

Sweet potatoes are easier to work with than pumpkin.

Great! I know I’m looking forward to trying it. And, last but not least, we have Lucy. What kind of pie are you baking, young lady?

What every southerner craves, Robby, a peanut butter pie!

Wow! Our contestants are making some unique pies for us! All right, everybody, start cooking! Robby declares as contestants race to scoop up