Honey Buns, Hexes, and Hanging Read online

  Honey Buns, Hexes, and Hanging

  A Witch Bakery Mystery

  Naomi Muse

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Author - Naomi Muse

  Copyright © 2018 Naomi Muse, All Rights Reserved.

  Reproduction of any kind is strictly prohibited unless written permission granted by the editor of the anthology and the individual author.

  The stories included in this set are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Dedication

  Big thanks to my mentors! To T S Paul, for helping select the Witchy Bakery Mysteries for me next series. Also, for listening to my excessive questions. To Kat, for believing in me, even when I didn’t. To Diane & Dorene, for making me a better writer at every turn.

  Chapter 1

  I still couldn’t get over the fact that I owned a bakery. A thriving bakery. Okay, maybe thriving was an exaggeration. The Bewitching Bakery was thriving when I moved to Temperance, but I had to close down temporarily when it was given to me by the previous owners. Looking for a new baker was going to take some work. Everything I knew about baking could fit on the head of a pin. Actually, that is an overstatement. I know two things. One, baked goods taste delicious. Two, they are usually made in an oven. That’s about it.

  After I helped to solve the murder in their bakery, the former owners Mr. and Mrs. Quinn were kind enough to turn the shop over to me. Finding a dead man in the bakery had taken a toll on them. Of course, it wasn’t their fault. Still, running the bakery had just lost its allure.

  Once the bakery was legally in my hands, they skipped town Maybe that’s too strong. They went on vacation. To be honest, it was long overdue. Mrs. Quinn told me that they hadn’t been away from the bakery for more than a day at a time in a decade.

  I was touched that they trusted me enough to leave the Bewitching Bakery permanently in my care. Anita had worked for them part-time as well, and she agreed to stay on as my employee. Neither of us were bakers, so I had no choice but to interview applicants. I had never interviewed anyone before, but it should be a breeze.

  When I first acquired the shop, I tried my hand at baking. It didn’t look difficult. First, I tried recipes that I found on the internet. Disaster struck early. Then, I tried working alongside a cooking show. Those results were even worse. Finally, I decided to try using magic. It seemed like a great idea. After all, there is an entire practice based on kitchen witchery. The things I made in that kitchen should never be seen by human eyes. I should have known better after the frosting incident that happened when I worked for the Quinns.

  I don’t discuss that on the property. There was no reason for me to tempt fate.

  Anita tried her hand at baking as well. She was great with decorating but terrible at baking. We also discovered that it was frowned upon to use premade cookie dough at a bakery. There was a reason that we had both been part-time counter help when the Quinn’s ran the bakery.

  <<<>>>

  My dog, Angelo, and I headed to the bakery to meet Anita for the first round of interviews. Angelo was the perfect keeshond. He was fluffy, brave, a bit silly, and an excellent judge of character. I trusted him above all others. Angelo was a big help when I was investigating the cupcake killing. Hopefully, he could help with the hiring process too.

  Angelo and I rounded the corner to the store. I was half hoping that I would see a line of people standing outside. There was no one. The help wanted to sign didn’t get much action. I did have a few phone calls from my online ads, so there were a few prospects scheduled to come in.

  I hoped that we would hire someone soon. I felt like I was starving to death without any goodies. At least we had a plan. Anita and I were going to repaint the bakery, hire a new baker, and come up with kitschy bakery items. I felt like we needed a theme. What could be better than magic?

  Once we worked out all of the details, we planned to have a grand reopening with free samples and everything. The Bewitching Bakery had been a longtime staple in Temperance, Rhode Island, so I wasn’t worried about losing any clientele. If nothing else, the murder last year had driven more customers our way. The killer, Corey, had been an employee at a rival bakery. The owners there had no involvement, but public opinion was set against them. I wanted to find a spell to help them out, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. Plus, I had my new bakery to worry about.

  I was so eager to get the reopening of the bakery of to the right start.

  I unlocked the door and inhaled deeply, half expecting to smell a wonderful scent of cakes, cookies, and pies that I had grown accustomed to. With no baker, there were no sweet smells for me. I sighed. Angelo did too.

  I knew this bakery was something special the first time that I had set foot in its doors. They even made dog treats. It was truly a place for everyone. We would get it back to its former glory.

  I heard the familiar jingle of the bell over the door and turned to see Anita coming in. She seemed fresh-faced and happy. The must be someone new in her life. She had been so down since the last guy who had a crush on her turned out to be a homicidal maniac.

  “Good morning,” she said, placing a paper bag on the table.

  “Good morning, Anita. You’re in a good mood today. What’s this? You baked?”

  “Yeah right,” she said with a laugh. “I just stopped by the grocery store on the way over here. I figured it would be best if we weren’t trying to stifle our grumbling stomachs during the interview, so I grabbed some bagels and cream cheese.”

  “I started a pot of coffee. Should I make tea too?”

  “I think of coffee will be fine.”

  “Okay. If the whole bakery thing doesn’t work out, we can always sell plain coffee. We would be the only coffee shop in town that doesn’t make lattes or other fancy drinks. I’m sure business will be booming,” I said with a giggle.

  Anita giggled around her mouthful of bagel. She took a sip of the coffee and glanced around the room, a frown crinkling her brow. Something seemed to be on her mind.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I feel fine. It’s just a bit strange to be around here without them.”

  “Without the Quinns? Of course, but this is what they wanted. We’ll make it feel like home again.”

  “I hope we can.”

  I looked around the bakery. I hated to see the glass display cases standing empty. They used to house so much temptation for me. Now, all they held was memories. The new tables were already starting to gather dust. It was heartbreaking. It was like an abandoned town. If anyone could bring it back, it was us.

  Before I moved to Temperance, I never stayed in one spot for too long. Settling here felt like fate. I knew that I found my home as soon as I settled here. Clearly the planets were aligned in my favor. In a short time, I found a cute little cottage, met all of my new friends, and Angelo came into my life. Being gifted the bakery was just this icing on the cake.

  The bakery was the Quinn’s baby. I had to do right by them. They would probably pop in unannounced to check on me once their vacation was over. I wanted to be ready. Anita and I had already repainted the interior a pale yellow. I painted protection and affluence sigils in the primer. Anita didn’t seem to notice. We got all new white tables and chairs. The new déc
or gave the entire place a light, airy feeling.

  Since our first interviewee hadn’t shown up yet. I got up and began cleaning the tables. Even if they didn’t notice, having a nice atmosphere was important to me. I wanted the bakery to be a place where someone would like to work. I didn’t want to make them feel like they were coming into some dump. I wanted the bakery to be successful, but I also wanted to do things my way.

  Although I wasn’t going to be doing the cooking, I still had plans do a little bit a spell work. It’s amazing what you can do with the proper amount of intent. If the food wasn’t enough to make it successful, I could always give things a little nudge in the right direction.

  When I finished cleaning up, I split a bagel with Angelo. He seemed more interested in the cream cheese than the bagel itself. Just as I was finishing up my breakfast, I heard the jingle of the bell once again. I turned just in time to see a familiar face walking in. Chief Rowan.

  Chapter 2

  “Hey, Chief. Have you come to apply for a job? You don’t look very much like a baker to me,” I said.

  “I’m not here to apply for anything. I’m just checking to make sure everything is okay. You seem to attract trouble.”

  “You definitely are trouble,” I said with a wry smile. “We’re looking for a new baker. The bakery has been closed for long enough.”

  “It would be nice to have the bakery open again, but are you sure this is for you?” Chief Rowan asked.

  “Since the bakery was given to me, I would say it is one hundred percent for me. Bagel?” I said, hoping that he would take the food and shut his mouth.

  “No thanks. I’m cutting back on carbs,” he replied.

  “Why? I don’t see how you could possibly get the any better shape.”

  Chief Rowan smirked at me and raised an eyebrow. I said that a little more earnestly than I anticipated, but I wasn’t wrong. He was in the best shape of anyone in this town. Better than anyone I had ever seen for that matter.

  “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, but like I said low carbs. Just making sure you don’t have any unsavory types in here.” The chief said before nodding to Anita on his way out the door.

  I rolled my eyes and took another bite of my bagel. Anita let out a lovesick sigh.

  “I wish the boys in my school looked like that,” she said.

  “Don’t feel bad. Boys don’t look like that in any schools. Most men don’t look like that either. Let’s get back to business. What are we looking for in a new baker, aside from the ability to bake?”

  “We should have someone that meshes with your personality.”

  “My personality? What about yours?”

  “I’m easy to get along with. You can be a bit more challenging. Look at the chief.”

  “Challenging? How dare you call your savior challenging! You’re fired,” I said, snatching her bagel out of her hand.”

  “You can’t fire me,” Anita said, taking her bagel back. “Then you would have to do all of these interviews all by yourself.”

  “Yikes, you’re right. You’re hired. As a matter of fact, have another bagel.”

  Anita laughed.

  “let me finish this one first, boss lady.”

  “Ok. I also think that whoever we choose should like animals.”

  Angelo barked in agreement.

  “I think that decision is unanimous,” Anita replied.

  “As for the chief, he didn’t like me from the first time that we met.”

  “Oh, you mean at the crime scene?”

  “I was a mere bystander!”

  “Maybe you just have a suspicious look.”

  “I might not fire you, but I can give you overtime.”

  “You’re not even paying me to be here right now.”

  “Shouldn’t you be eating your bagel?”

  As they were finishing their breakfast, the bell of the door jingled again. This time it appeared to be an applicant. A well-dressed man with a full beard came strolling in. Anita raised an eyebrow and turned to look at me but said nothing.

  “Hello, my name is Leo. I’m here for an interview. Could one of you point me to the owner?”

  “Nice to meet you, Leo, my name is Nova Bell. This is Anita. She works the counter. I am the owner.”

  Leo shook my hand.

  “It’s lovely to meet both of you ladies,” he said. “I’m excited to take your bakery into a new, modern direction.”

  I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. It was a pretty bold claim considering we hadn’t even started the interview yet. Being confident in his baking abilities wasn’t a crime. Maybe it would pay off.

  “Oh? Well, we have some ideas too.”

  Leo smirked. He slid his resume across the table. I could see that he was very well-qualified, but the smirk gave me pause.

  “Have either of you ever worked in a bakery before,” he asked.

  I hate to say his voice dripped with disdain, but he wasn’t trying to hide it.

  “We worked at this very bakery. I took over ownership when the former owners retired,” I replied.

  “I see. So, you think working in a bakery qualifies you to run one. You think you know what direction the bakery should go in?”

  “I think owning the bakery gives me the right to make any decisions I would like to make,” I replied. “And furthermore --”

  “Before this goes any further, I would like to remind you that we are interviewing you for a position, not the other way around. I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding,” Anita said hastily.

  I looked over at her in surprise and saw a saccharine smile plastered on her face.

  “I fully understand that. I think that my level of expertise can help steer you ladies in the right direction. I’d hate to see you start off on the wrong foot.”

  “Too late. I think this interview is over.” I said.

  “Ladies, ladies. Let’s not be hasty.

  “I wish I could say that it was nice to meet you,” I said firmly, standing from the table. Leo stood and frowned at me as he gathered took back his resume and headed for the door.

  Maybe this interview process wouldn’t be as easy as I’d hoped.

  “Sheesh, you would think bakers would be nice.”

  “I don’t put anything past people.”

  Angelo sniffed in agreement.

  The next Baker to come in was one of the timidest people I had ever seen. When she came through the door, she jumped when the bell over the door jingled. When she introduced herself, she seemed afraid to even speak in a voice loud enough for us to hear. I could barely make out her name. Her baking resume was good, but I was afraid that we would eat her alive. Or, at least I would.

  “Sally your work history looks wonderful. I think you might be just the person we need.”

  Sally whispered something under her breath. I leaned forward.

  “I’m sorry what was that?”

  She whispered again, but it was barely louder than the whisper of curtains in the breeze.

  “I’m afraid I have to ask you to speak up.”

  “Thank you for the opportunity to interview with you,” she said in a murmur.

  “Is everything okay? You don’t have to be nervous. We’re pretty laid back here.”

  Sally blushed a deep red and began apologizing Anita gave me a stern look and reached over and took Sally’s hand.

  “Please don’t worry. You seem like a lovely woman, and your skill set seems to be just what we need. Nova can come across a bit strong.”

  Sally blushed again and shook her head nearly hiding her face behind her hair. It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. I was the least scary person I knew, but she seemed to be terrified.

  Still holding her hands, and Anita said, “Sally, we have a few more interviews today, but I’d like you to come back for a second one. Is it all right if I call you in a day or so to follow up?”

  Sally’s eyes widened. She opened and closed her mouth, but no words ca
me out. It reminded me of a goldfish. Sally silently nodded her head. When she collected her purse, she practically ran out the door.

  “Anita you can’t be serious. We can’t hire her.

  “Why can’t we hire that the very accomplished baker. I thought she was sweet?”

  “How she can handle any criticism or feedback.?”

  “We could deal with that if the time comes.”

  “She seems like she’s afraid of her own shadow. If she finds out someone’s died here, she’d probably never come back.”

  “I don’t think we should lead with that, Nova. What would you say? Nice to meet you. Have you ever seen a dead guy? We have?” Anita said sarcastically.

  I think Anita was spending too much time with me.

  “I’m just saying don’t get your hopes up for this girl. I don’t like her. Angelo, what you think?”

  Angelo suddenly was very busy investigating his paws. The traitor. Anita looked at the list of applicants.

  “Lucky for you, we still have a few to go. Hopefully, you won’t scare them all away.

  “I didn’t scare her away! The interview was over,” I protested

  Anita just rolled her eyes went back to her list. I felt like this day was stretching before me and it was going to be a long one. Our next interview subject was Marcus. He was very focused on vegan baking. I had nothing against vegan, but the thought of having a bakery with no dairy was almost too much for me to bare. I had to bite back tears as he was describing how he would go about replacing cream cheese in a cheesecake. I wasn’t ready to go in that direction.

  Anita seemed to like him too. Marcus lost Angelo’s support when he said he thought was unhygienic for us to have a dog in the bakery. A closed bakery with no available food on site and it was unhygienic. I wasn’t sure if he was going to make the cut.

  We had a few more interviews scheduled, but I was already exhausted. After what felt like a million grueling hours of interviews, we had narrowed our list down to our top three. Shy Sally, Leo, and Marcus. Leo Marcus a coming back to back. They both had a strong background in bakery type stuff. And neither one of them tries to hit on us them to us. I think one was too much better than the other. But Leo gave me a weird vibe. As a witch. Five is very important to me. Angelo didn’t seem to be a fan, but he patted them nicely on the hadn’t thought about his business.