Whole Latte Murder

Book 5: All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery

by Lena Gregory

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

Ex-New Yorker and local diner owner Gia Morelli is still getting used to the sweltering Florida sun. But this summer she’ll have to deal with a more dangerous kind of heat—when she’s hot on the trail of another murderer . . .
 
Summer in Boggy Creek has arrived, and Gia’s best friend, successful real estate agent Savannah, is getting hitched. Now she’s enlisted Gia’s sleuthing talents in a desperate search for the perfect wedding dress. But when Savannah mysteriously vanishes after showing a mansion to a bigwig client, Gia investigates the house Savannah was trying to sell. The first clue she finds is Savannah’s car in the driveway. Inside the house, they stumble on Savannah’s potential buyer—dead. Someone had apparently closed the deal—with a two by four full of nails to the client’s head. Soon afterward, a woman’s body is fished from the lake near the same house. The townsfolk are now sweating bullets over the murders, and the heat comes down on poor Gia to find her missing friend, and track down the killer . . .  

Praise for Lena Gregory
 
“Hold on to your plates for this fast-paced mystery that will leave you hungering for more!”
—J.C. Eaton, author of the Sophie Kimball Mysteries, on Scone Cold Killer
 
“Family secrets, old mansions, and a growing list of murder victims—these elements and more blend together to make an intriguing as well as entertaining cozy mystery.”
—RT Book Reviews on Occult and Battery
 
“As breezy and salty as a gust of wind off the chilly bay waters.”
—Juliet Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchcraft Mysteries on Death at First Sight
 
“An intriguing opening to a fun new series.”
—E. J. Copperman, national bestselling author of the Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries on Death at First Sight
 

Release date: April 27, 2021

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Print pages: 230

Sample

Chapter One

“I can’t believe people actually torture themselves like this. On purpose.” Savannah Mills tapped one long salmon-colored nail against the top offender in a heaping stack of bridal magazines piled on the All-Day Breakfast Café’s counter. Light reflected off the rhinestone heart on the tip of her nail. “I think it would be easier to elope.”

“Oh, stop.” Gia Morelli slid one of the magazines out from the middle of the pile. “You’re not eloping.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do? I don’t want to have to start cutting people off the invitation list, but we can’t afford what it would cost to invite everyone to one of these venues.” Savannah rested her elbow on the counter, propped her chin on her hand, and sulked. “I don’t understand why planning a wedding is so difficult. It shouldn’t be. Right?”

Gia didn’t know what to tell her. When she’d gotten married, the entire affair had been arranged by the company her ex had hired to create an event that would boost his status in the financial community. She just showed up the day of, stood where they told her, and smiled at his guests. She should have realized then where that marriage was headed.

“Hey? Earth to Gia.” Savannah waved a hand in front of her face. “Did you hear a word I said?”

“Um…”

“Ugh.” She threw her hands up and flopped against the back of the stool. “What kind of maid of honor zones out while the bride is on a rant?”

“I’m sorry. I’m trying to think of something that will work without it costing a fortune.” But Savannah was right. The cost of a wedding venue was excessive, and she and Leo didn’t have that kind of money. Gia had been saving to try to help them out, but it was slow going. And Savannah refused help from her father, saying he had a hard enough time just keeping up with the bills.

Easing the death grip she held on the magazine, Gia opened it to a random page and set it on the counter. If she hadn’t known how badly Savannah had always wanted a big wedding, with her extended family and an abundance of friends there to celebrate with her, Gia would have whole heartedly encouraged the elopement idea.

An image caught her eye. A laughing bride and groom, still clad in their formal wedding attire, playfully splashing in the surf. “Have you considered a destination wedding? You don’t have to go somewhere far away; I’m sure Florida is full of beautiful locations. Maybe the Keys?”

Savannah’s gaze bored through her.

“What? It was just a suggestion.”

Cole, a good friend who often manned the grill despite the fact he claimed to be retired, tapped the page she had opened. “They do look awfully happy.”

Gia shot him a grateful look, then braced herself to earn Savannah’s wrath.

“But that puts the cost of attending on my guests, and I already know some of them won’t be able to afford to attend.”

She couldn’t argue that. The cost of traveling, hotel rooms, food, plus missing time from work would make it difficult, if not impossible, for some people to attend—Gia included, since it would mean closing the café for a few days, at least. “I know you want a big wedding, but is it really worth the stress you’re putting yourself under?”

“Maybe you’re right.” Seemingly defeated, Savannah folded her arms on the counter and rested her head on them. “Maybe I should just give up trying to plan the perfect wedding.”

Guilt nudged Gia. “Oh, stop. Come on. This can’t be all that difficult. What are the most important things to you?”

Savannah shrugged and continued sulking, an unusual look for someone who was usually filled with energy and almost always saw the positive in any situation.

Cole handed Gia a notepad and pen.

“Thanks.” She tapped the pen against the counter. “Come on, Savannah. Help me out here. What do you want most out of your wedding?”

She sat up with a sigh. “Mostly, I just want somewhere all of my family and friends can gather to celebrate with us without it costing an arm and a leg.”

A seemingly legitimate request, and yet… Gia set the pad and pen aside and flipped through page after page of advertised venues, not that they hadn’t gone through them all already.

“I have an idea.” Earl, the elderly gentleman who’d been her first customer and had since become a good friend, took a sip of his coffee, then set it aside and grabbed a magazine off the pile. “Instead of looking for venues that won’t cost a fortune, why not see about having the reception on the beach or in a park?”

Savannah sat up straighter. “You think that would work?”

Oh, thank you, Earl!

“I don’t see why not.” He flipped through page after page without stopping. “You’d have to set up a tent of some sort, in case the weather was bad, but other than that, I think it would be beautiful.”

Savannah shook her head. She still looked semi-interested, but skepticism was creeping back in. “What about food?”

Cole grabbed the pad Gia had discarded. “What kind of food do you want? We could cater it, I’m sure.”

Savannah frowned. “I don’t want you guys to have to cater it. I want you to have fun.”

Willow, the All-Day Breakfast Café’s only full-time waitress, though that might change later if the woman Gia was scheduled to interview turned out to be any good, stopped to chime in. “What if we all pitched in to make the food ahead of time, then I could get a few of my friends to serve the day of?”

“I don’t know.” Savannah chewed on her lower lip. “Where would we keep the food? It’s not like there are refrigerators in a park. And even if we did a buffet, the food would still have to be heated up. How would we keep it warm?”

An idea started to form. Gia glanced at the clock over the cutout to the kitchen. Their late morning lull would be ending soon, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about her brainstorm until later on when Trevor opened Storm Scoopers, the ice cream parlor down the road, and she could talk to him. “If I can work out the logistics, would you be happy with an outdoor wedding, somewhere pretty that wouldn’t cost too much, even if we had to have it catered?”

“Are you kidding me? I’d be thrilled.” She tossed the magazine she’d been looking through back onto the pile. “I really only care that everyone can come and have a good time.”

“Great, then leave it to me.” Gia added her own magazine and Earl’s back onto the stack, then shoved the whole pile on a shelf beneath the counter.

Savannah’s already big blue eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Yup, I have something in mind I think might make you really happy.” At least, she hoped it would. Savannah was her best friend in the world. She’d been there for Gia more times than she could count. The least she could do was help her plan a wedding that would make her day as special as she was.

She took her phone out of her pocket and shot Trevor a quick text asking him to stop in on his way to work. “Now. Are we still on for this afternoon?”

“Yup. Two o’clock. I’ll pick you up here so we can start gown shopping.” Savannah grabbed a muffin from one of the cake dishes on the counter. “Hopefully, a gown will be easier to find than a venue.”

“Well, it can’t be much harder. At least, chances are, it’ll cost less.” Gia set a plate on the counter in front of Savannah, along with a can of Diet Pepsi. “Do you want a real breakfast?”

“Nah.” Savannah waved her off. “Thanks, anyway, but my client is meeting me here any minute. We can have lunch afterward if you want, before we go shopping.”

“That works.” Gia offered Willow and Cole something to eat. Earl had already finished his breakfast, so she offered to top off his coffee. When they all declined, she set a plate on the counter for herself and put a banana chocolate chip muffin on it.

May as well eat a little something before she had to interview the potential waitress, a chore she dreaded. Hmm…maybe Cole wanted to interview the waitress while Gia manned the grill.

“Oh, wow, I gotta run.” Earl stood and grabbed his fisherman’s cap from the stool next to him. “I’ll catch up with you guys later. I promised my daughter I’d pick up my grandson from soccer practice this morning.”

“I’ll see you later.” Gia sat next to Savannah and broke off a piece of her muffin. She paused with it halfway to her mouth. A fruit cup would probably be a better choice, given that she was trying on maid of honor gowns that afternoon too.

Savannah glanced at her watch. “I hope Buster gets here soon. If not, it’s going to cut into our shopping time.”

Earl stopped partway to the door and turned back toward her. “Buster?”

With her mouth full of muffin, Savannah nodded. “Mm-hm.”

Reversing direction, Earl yanked his cap off and headed back to the counter. “Buster Clarke?”

“Yeah, why?” Savannah wiped her mouth and spun her stool in his direction. “Do you know him?”

Earl propped one foot on the bottom bar of a stool and leaned an elbow on the counter next to Gia. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. Guy’s bad news.”

Savannah frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He’s a two-bit hood and a loan shark. I know a guy who got in a little over his head with that man and wound up in the hospital with two broken legs.”

Savannah gasped.

Cole leaned on the counter on the other side of Savannah, caging her and Gia between them. “How’d you get mixed up with him?”

Savannah shoved her plate aside with her muffin only half eaten. “He came into the office and sought me out. He’s looking at an expensive house, the old Oakley Manor House.”

“That’s the one out by the fairgrounds, isn’t it?” Cole asked.

“Yes. It’s a seven thousand square foot house on five acres of property. It was a bed and breakfast at one time, but it sold a while back, and the owner never opened it again. He never kept up with it either, and it fell into disrepair, but now it’s in the process of being restored as a private home. It’ll go for over a million dollars once finished.”

Earl scowled. “Guess crime is profitable, if Buster can afford a house like that.”

Savannah ignored him. “If I can sell it before construction is complete, I get a bonus. A nice bonus that would not only help us pay for our wedding, but would also put me ahead of Ward Bennett for sales.”

Earl looked at Cole, then shifted his gaze back to Savannah. “Let Ward Bennett sell him the house.”

Savannah bristled. “Look, I’ve already invested a lot of time in this, and Ward will get a share of the commission as it is, since the Oakley Manor House is his listing. Trust me, I’ll be careful, but there’s no way I’m giving up this sale to that weasel Ward.”

Earl scratched his head and put his cap back on.

From what Gia knew of Earl—which was a lot considering he came in for breakfast every morning and spent at least half an hour chatting with her, some days hanging out all morning long—he wasn’t easily ruffled. If he feared for Savannah’s safety, it was with good reason. “Maybe you should consider giving up the sale. I have an idea that will make the whole wedding cost a ton less, and it’s better to be safe—”

“Enough.” Savannah stood, lifted her tote sized, teal purse off the stool back, and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m not giving up this sale. And stop talking about him; he’s meeting me here any minute, and I don’t want him to walk in and overhear.”

Earl glanced over his shoulder toward the door and pitched his voice low. “Why is he meeting you here?”

“So we can drive out to the house together.”

He lowered his gaze and shook his head. “Would you consider doing me a favor?”

Done with the topic, Savannah fished her sunglasses out of her bag and propped them on top of her head. “What’s that?”

“Take your own car, and let him take his.”

She started to argue, but Earl held up a hand. “Look, Savannah, you and Gia are like daughters to me, and I’m only giving you the same advice I’d give any of my own girls. If you insist on doing business with that man, at least take precautions. Tell him it’s getting late, and you have to meet up with someone right after the showing, so you’ve decided to take your own car.”

Savannah caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

“It’s not even like that’s not true.” Gia didn’t know Buster Clarke, but for Earl to be so worked up over it, the man must be bad news. And Savannah heading out to a deserted house in an area even more remote than Gia’s community with a man she didn’t know but whose reputation preceded him, did not sit well. The thought of calling her boyfriend, Savannah’s cousin, Captain Hunter Quinn, shot through her mind at warp speed.

Savannah pointed a finger at Gia. “Don’t even think about it.”

“What?” The innocent look she aimed for was probably ruined by the ‘you caught me’ expression she was most certainly wearing. Sometimes, having Savannah’s thoughts run so similar to her own had its down side.

“Listen, guys.” She kissed Earl’s cheek and patted Cole’s hand. “Thank you for worrying about me. I really do appreciate it, but this is my job. I don’t have a choice but to do it, even if it’s not always comfortable.”

“Are you sure, Savannah?” Cole leaned closer to her. “I’m covering grill, and I’m sure Gia wouldn’t mind rescheduling her interview so she could go with you.”

A pang of hope shot through Gia.

“Aww…sweetie, thank you.” She kissed his cheek as well. “You guys are the best, but I’m okay. Buster hasn’t done anything inappropriate either of the times I’ve met with him so far, and once was at the office after everyone else had left. He’s been nothing but professional, no matter what he does in his personal life.”

Gia stepped forward, a sinking feeling in her gut that she shouldn’t let Savannah go alone. “Savannah…”

Savannah’s gaze shifted past Gia’s shoulder and out the front window. “Shh. He’s here. You guys behave now. Please.”

The front door opened, and a middle-aged man strutted in, his mostly black but peppered with gray hair slicked back with more grease than Gia scraped off the grill after cooking five pounds of bacon. His perfectly tailored suit hugged the solid build of someone who spent a good chunk of his day in the gym. He reached a hand out to Savannah. “Savannah, dear. So good to see you. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Um…” She glanced at Earl, Cole, and Gia grouped together beside the counter. “No problem, Buster, but would you mind if we take separate cars out to the Oakley Manor House? I have a meeting right afterward, and I’ll need to head straight there once we’re done.”

He shifted his gaze to the trio beside the bar, looked them up and down, and then dismissed them to look at Savannah. “Of course, dear. That’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

Buster turned and headed for the door without acknowledging any of them.

Savannah shot them a wink, then followed.

Earl whirled on Gia. “I’m not comfortable with this. Sloan was hurt really bad by that guy.”

“Did he press charges?”

“Nah, Buster’s slick. He had a couple of his goons take care of Sloan when he couldn’t repay the loan he’d taken, then threatened to come back for his wife and kids if he went to the police.”

Bile burned its way up Gia’s throat. “What ended up happening?”

“Sloan learned a hard lesson about the dangers of gambling. He paid back every dime, including the astronomical interest, and was grateful to be done with the whole thing. Once he finished rehabilitation, he went back to work, though he still walks with a limp.”

Gia’s gut cramped. “You said Buster had Sloan’s legs broken because he couldn’t pay him back. Where’d he come up with the money to satisfy the loan?”

Red blotches crept up Earl’s cheeks. “A friend loaned it to him.”

“Did he pay it back?”

Earl shook his head. “Sloan’s a truck driver with a pack of kids and a wife who doesn’t believe in working. He has a hard enough time keeping food on the table without having to pay back that kind of money. That’s how he ended up in trouble in the first place, just tryin’ to make ends meet.”

Gia hugged him. “You’re a good man, Earl, and a good friend.”

He blushed even deeper, then turned to stare out the front window in the direction Savannah had gone. “Then why do I feel like I failed Savannah?”

“She’ll be all right, Earl. She does have to earn a living, and showing houses is part of that. Besides, growing up with five brothers and a pack of male cousins made her tougher than she looks.” She hooked an arm through his and nudged his side. “And, I happen to know she carries a can of mace somewhere in that massive purse, and she’s not afraid to use it.”

Gia glanced at the clock. Three hours before Savannah was supposed to meet her back there to go shopping. She had a feeling it was going to be a long three hours.

Chapter Two

Gia wiped her sweaty palms on her apron, then tossed it into the hamper. This was ridiculous. She was the interviewer not the interviewee; what did she have to be nervous about? It’s not like she had to hire the woman. If she didn’t seem like she’d work out, she wouldn’t hire her. But that was the problem. Gia’s track record for choosing which employees would work out was less than stellar.

Although, Willow and Cole had worked out perfectly.

Besides, she could always fire someone if they didn’t do the right thing. Of course, firing trumped interviewing on her most dreaded business owner responsibilities list. She sighed and took a detour into her office.

Coward.

A quick glance at the clock on her phone told her she wouldn’t have to return to work before heading out with Savannah, so she took a moment to freshen up. She ran a brush through her long dark curls, taming them as best she could between the humidity and two and a half hours spent standing over the hot grill with Cole. She used a wet wipe to clean the dark circles from beneath her eyes, courtesy of the eyeliner and mascara that had run while she’d stood over the steam all morning, then reapplied a fresh coat of each.

And with that, she promptly ran out of stalling options. Ugh…She’d already left the woman standing out front waiting for the better part of ten minutes. It was time to—in Savannah’s words—pull up her big girl pants and get this done.

With a new burst of confidence, she strode through the doors to the dining room and stopped short. Sweat trickled down her back. Only one customer sat alone, a woman at the counter sipping a cup of coffee.

She appeared to be in her late twenties, early thirties, mid-length brown hair pulled back into a neat pony tail. Her capris and tunic style shirt were neatly pressed. She watched Willow like a hawk as she finished up with the few customers still remaining in the shop after the lunch rush. Nothing about her screamed don’t hire me, and yet…

Gia approached slowly. “Excuse me, are you Marie Winston?”

“Yes, I am.” She smiled, stood, and held out a hand. “Gia Morelli, I presume?”

“Yes.” Forcing a smile of her own, Gia shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“Oh, no problem. Willow was kind enough to give me a cup of coffee.” She gestured toward the cup on the counter. “To be honest, I’m not sure the caffeine was such a great idea. I’m already nervous, and it just made me more jittery.”

She seemed friendly enough. And honest about her feelings. Which was good. She supposed. “Sit, please. There’s no reason to be nervous.”

Marie sat, and Gia moved to stand behind the counter opposite her. Then she paused. Maybe she should have taken a stool and sat. That might better convey the cozy, homey feeling she encouraged in the café.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, barely. This whole interview process was lost on her. She should have let Savannah or Cole do the interviews. Or even Willow. “So, do you have any waitressing experience?”

The woman twisted an engagement ring with a small round diamond around her finger. “Well, not really. I have worked retail for ten years, though, and I’m a fast learner. I’m good with customers, enjoy working with people, and I can provide several references.”

Her disappointment at Marie’s lack of experience came as a surprise. Had she really expected she wouldn’t have to train someone? That they’d fit right in as if they belonged there already. That’s exactly what she was hoping, since it had happened that way with both Willow and Cole. She reminded herself the most rewarding things in life were those you worked the hardest for. “Why do you want to leave retail?”

“Actually…” Marie hesitated. “I don’t want to leave my full-time job; I just want to add hours. I was hoping I could work here part time on my days off, or the early shift, before my shift at the mall starts. My fiancé and I are saving up for our wedding next year.”

“Oh, congratulations.” She bit back her first instinct to ask if they’d chosen a venue. If she’d picked any of the ones Savannah had discarded, she might need more than one part-time job.

“Thank you.”

Hmm…part-time might be a good way to start. Then, if she didn’t work out, Gia could simply reduce her hours until she left. Of course, Marie probably didn’t plan to work . . .