Bunny Donuts and a Body Read online

  Bunny Donuts and a Body

  A Donut Truck Cozy Mystery Series

  Cindy Bell

  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 17

  Chapter 18

  Also by Cindy Bell

  About the Author

  Bunny Shaped Donut Recipe

  Copyright © 2018 Cindy Bell

  All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

  All trademarks and brands referred to in this book are for illustrative purposes only, are the property of their respective owners and not affiliated with this publication in any way. Any trademarks are being used without permission, and the publication of the trademark is not authorized by, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  Chapter 1

  Brenda poured coffee into two tall travel mugs. She smiled to herself when she heard the sound of the car door in the driveway. She knew it meant that her friend and business partner, Joyce had arrived. As quietly as she could she moved around the kitchen gathering the last items she needed. She didn’t want to wake her husband, or her daughter, who had the luxury of sleeping in. That was not the case for her, but she didn’t mind getting up when it was still dark outside. She was excited to get out into the morning chill.

  After a light knock Joyce let herself into the house. They had a routine that they followed, and today was no different as Brenda handed over one of the travel mugs.

  “Good morning, Joyce.”

  “Good morning.” She beamed as she took the mug. “I have some amazing news.”

  “You do?” Brenda grabbed her purse and keys, then followed Joyce through the door.

  “We were approved!” Joyce squealed as Brenda closed the door behind her. She winced and hoped the noise didn’t wake either her husband or daughter.

  “What are you talking about?” Brenda trailed after her to the car. Joyce left her car in the driveway, and Brenda unlocked the doors to hers. As they settled in the car, Joyce could barely contain herself.

  “We’ve been approved to be one of the vendors at the Easter egg hunt. Isn’t it fantastic?” She slapped her palm against one of her knees. “I thought we weren’t going to get it, but we did!”

  “That is wonderful news!” Brenda started the car then looked back towards the house briefly. As always, she felt a subtle pang at driving away without saying good morning to her husband or daughter. This was still new to her in many ways, and though she was adjusting, there were moments when she wondered about her choices.

  “We need some tunes.” Joyce flipped on the radio, shot a knowing look in Brenda’s direction, then settled in for the drive.

  “Oh, I love this song!” Brenda’s excitement resurfaced as she turned the radio up a bit and began to sing along.

  “You weren’t even born when that song came out.” Joyce laughed.

  “It’s still good! You know the words, don’t you?” She grinned at her.

  “Sure do.” Joyce clapped her hands and began to sing along as well. By the time the song ended they were both laughing.

  Brenda pulled on to the main strip where several vendor trucks were parked, and turned off the car.

  “That’s a great way to start the morning.” They both stepped out into the crisp morning air.

  “Oh boy, I needed that. Now, about the hunt. There’s so much to do. I wasn’t expecting this, truly. Apparently, the churro truck had some mechanical issues and can’t be part of the event, so we’re up. The only problem is the other trucks have had weeks to prepare and we need to be ready by tomorrow.” She hurried towards the truck with Brenda right on her heels. “We’re going to need supplies, and we’re going to need to pay for a sign to be hung up. Each of the vendors has to pay to have one hung up at the park. Which, don’t worry, we have the money to do, but it will take a bit of arranging. Plus, we need to make sure we have enough donuts for today’s sales, which might be high.”

  “Joyce, take a breath.” Brenda put her hand on her friend’s shoulder as they reached their truck. “Everything is going to be fine. This is a good thing, remember?”

  “Oh, I do, I’m sorry, I know I’m stressing. It’s just that this could be such a wonderful opportunity for us, and I want everything to go smoothly.” She unlocked the door of the truck and flipped the light on inside.

  “It will, Joyce. This is an amazing surprise. I’ll tell you what. I’ll handle everything with the truck today. I’ll get everything set up, keep the donuts cooking, and you can just work on getting things ready for tomorrow. Does that sound okay?” She studied her friend with some concern. Joyce was quite a few years older than her, and was physically spry and incredibly intelligent. But Brenda couldn’t overlook how tense she was, and the slight tremble in her voice. Was it anxiety or excitement?

  “Yes, that’s perfect. Thanks, Brenda. I promise I’ll feel better once everything is in place.” She headed to the small space in the rear of the truck that they had set up as an office. While she began to make phone calls, Brenda focused on getting the truck up and running for the morning. She heated up the fryer, molded dough into donuts and dropped them inside. Then she began wiping down the front counter and setting out the supplies they’d need for the day. When she saw that the napkin holders were almost empty she grabbed a new box from the storage shelf. As she started to set it down on the counter, the timer on the fryer began to buzz. Despite working in the truck for some time, the sound still startled her first thing in the morning, and the napkins flew out of her hands. She tried to catch them, but the box tumbled off the front counter and down onto the ground in front of the truck.

  “Great!” She sighed as she turned around to pull the donuts out of the fryer and turn off the buzzer that she was sure interrupted Joyce’s phone calls. She turned to see Joyce still chatting away on the phone. When she turned back she found a young man, perhaps just in his twenties, smiling at her. He held up the box of napkins.

  “Are these yours?”

  “Yes, thank you so much.” She laughed as she took the box. “I’m a little wound up this morning.”

  “It smells like you’re doing a great job.” He looked past her into the truck. “I’ve been meaning to stop by here all week, but I’ve been a little busy.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here now. We’re going to be at a new location tomorrow. Thanks again for your help.”

  “It’s no problem. I’m Frederick.” He offered his hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Brenda smiled and gave his hand a quick shake. “Would you like to try one of our new chocolate filled donuts that we have made specially for Easter?”

  “Sure. I guess you’ll be at the park for the Easter egg hunt?” He accepted the donut she offered. “This looks delicious.”

  “Thanks. Yes, we’ll be there, we just found out this morning. We’re ve
ry excited.” She glanced over her shoulder at Joyce who was still on the phone.

  “I’ll see you there. I’m working at the park, hanging up signs. It’s a bit more complicated than it sounds.” He chuckled. “How much do I owe you?” He held up the donut.

  “It’s on the house.” She smiled. “Just enjoy.”

  “Thanks.” He gave her a light wave as he walked away.

  Brenda couldn’t help but be happy. She knew that all of the hard work they’d invested in ‘Donuts on the Move’ was going to pay off. The sales at the park would be a big boon to the business, and she would finally be able to feel confident that things would go well. The first few years of a business were always nerve-wracking.

  “I thought I’d never get off the phone.” Joyce laughed as she joined her friend near the window of the truck. “Sharon loves to chat.”

  “Yes, she does.” Brenda grinned. “Did they have everything we’re going to need?”

  “Yes, it’ll be delivered tomorrow. I tried to get it today, but it was too short notice. Who was that you were talking to?” She peered through the window at the man who headed for the parking lot.

  “His name is Frederick. I dropped a box of napkins through the window and he grabbed it for me before they could get trampled on.” She displayed the unopened box.

  “Hmm, sounds like a decent enough fellow.” She glanced over a group of customers that headed down the line of trucks. “It looks like it’s about to get busy around here.”

  “Yes, it does.” Brenda took a deep breath, pushed down all other thoughts, and prepared for the onslaught of hungry customers.

  The morning rush was wilder than ever. Word had spread about their donuts and people were coming from the other side of town to try them. Brenda did her best to keep up and keep a friendly smile on her face. She knew that people needed a positive start to their day. A few quiet moments followed after eleven. She took a breath and rushed to catch up with cleaning as well as making an afternoon batch of donuts. As she was tidying up, she heard a sharp voice not far from the truck.

  “Where is it?” The question rang out so harshly that Brenda turned and gasped. She saw a man approach the truck window. She noticed that he was on his cell phone. “I need answers. I’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone.

  “How can I help you?” Brenda walked towards the window. He was tall with short, brown hair. She didn’t think he had been there before. But then again, she’d met many people since opening the donut truck, so many that she couldn’t keep track of them all.

  “Can I get a cream—” He looked down at his phone as it beeped. “Ugh, I have to go.” He turned and walked away.

  “Are you okay?” Brenda jumped at the sound of Joyce’s voice right behind her.

  “Oh Joyce, you startled me!” Brenda shook her head. “That was weird. That man.”

  “I know, I heard everything.”

  “I’ve never seen him before.” Brenda frowned as she crossed her arms. “Have you?”

  “Not that I can say. But the Easter egg hunt is drawing people from all over the county. Seeing as the vendors aren’t open at the park, yet, it doesn’t surprise me to see a few strangers come to our truck. I’m sure there are many people staying in town for a few days. Don’t let it bother you. We’re having a great day, remember?”

  “Yes.” Brenda smiled and slung her arm around Joyce’s shoulders. “Thanks for reminding me. How are the calls going?”

  “I have to get back to it in a second. I just need some fresh air.” Joyce stepped off the truck. She breathed in the fresh air and glanced around. She loved to watch people and the interactions they had. She imagined what was going on in their lives. There were many people walking through the area. She watched a mother push her baby in a stroller, she looked so happy. She noticed two men walk quickly past her. They stood out to her because one was quite tall and muscular and the other short with a round belly. They looked so different to each other and were both dressed in long pants and coats. She laughed to herself as she couldn’t understand how they could be wearing such warm clothes on quite a hot day. She took a deep breath and stepped back onto the truck. “I’m going to make some more calls. Are you doing okay serving by yourself?” She asked Brenda as she grabbed a cup of coffee and a baked donut.

  “Yes, it’s been busy, but I can handle it.” As she spoke she turned to face a line of people that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Once the line started, it didn’t stop. People kept piling up.

  Just after three, a lull finally hit. Normally, the truck would close up at that time or Joyce would keep it open and serve customers for a while if it was very busy, and Brenda would head off to pick up Sophie from school. But Sophie had the day off and was spending it at home with her father.

  “How is it going?” Joyce walked towards the service area, away from the office area where her attention had been most of the day.

  “It’s finally starting to quiet down, though I’m not sure if I should trust that.” She peered out through the window. “We could get another rush at any second.”

  “If we do, they’ll be out of luck. I think we should close up soon.” Joyce started to gather some of the donuts that remained on the shelves.

  “Joyce, are you serious?” Brenda looked over at her with some concern. Joyce was the business-minded one and she always said every minute is a chance to make an extra dollar.

  “Yes, I’m serious. We’re better off using the time to prepare for the event. Let’s get the truck moved over this afternoon, that way we’ll have a fresh start in the morning and we won’t have to worry about where we should park, or anything else like that.” She turned off the fryer. “Plus, I need to meet with Michael about the sign. I confirmed it, but I want to make sure that he gets the name right. Not ‘Donuts on the Go’, ‘Donuts on the Run’, it’s ‘Donuts on the Move’.”

  “If he can’t get that right, you should be worried.” Brenda laughed. “Sure, let’s do it. I can’t wait to get home and tell Charlie about all of this, but I’ll put it off just a little bit longer if it means we get things set up.”

  “I’m excited, too. Now that everything is arranged, I feel a lot better about it.” Joyce stashed away a few items. “I think we’re just about done here.”

  “I’ll finish up, why don’t you go grab us a couple of burgers from Sam’s truck.”

  “Great, I’ll do just that. Pickles?” She smiled as she climbed down the steps out of the truck.

  “Yes, please!” Brenda finished the last bits of cleanup, then made sure the truck was ready to be moved.

  When Joyce returned to the truck with the burgers, Brenda was ready to go.

  “Thanks.” She took her burger and climbed down the steps. “Be careful on your way over.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll beat you.” Joyce winked at her before she pulled the doors shut.

  As Brenda drove the few streets over to the park she couldn’t help but smile. She felt great. It was nearly four when she pulled into the gravel parking lot. There were a few other cars there, but most people had gone home for the day. As Joyce promised, she was already there.

  “I got approved for this spot. It’s not the greatest, but at least it’s close to the entrance.”

  “It looks pretty good to me.” Brenda smiled as she looked down the line of vendors. As she hoped, they were the only donut truck.

  “Well, it’ll do I suppose.” Joyce waved her hand towards a man across the parking lot. “There’s Michael, I’m going to go check with him about the sign.” As she headed off towards him, she noticed another man beside him. She immediately recognized him as the man that was shouting on his cell phone earlier in the day. He had left before he had finished ordering.

  As she approached Michael and the man who stood next to him, she noticed that their conversation was getting more heated. Instinctively, she hung back a few steps. Though it seemed they were upset, they kept their voices low. She did her best to get an idea of what they were sa
ying. She focused her attention on the two men. Her special skill, which she had taught herself when she was young, came in handy quite often. She could read lips. It was a trick she learned when trying to figure out her older brothers’ schemes. Since the men were facing each other she couldn’t quite catch the movement of their lips to distinguish much. But she did see the same name repeated several times. Fred.

  As she stepped closer she caught a snippet of their conversation.

  “I don’t care where he is, you get him here now, or it’s both of your jobs on the line!” Michael’s harsh tone seemed to snap the younger man into action.

  “All right, boss, I’m on it.” He took off on foot across the park.

  As Michael turned towards her, Joyce took a step back.

  “Michael, I need to speak with you.”

  He squinted at her for a moment, then nodded. “Joyce, I figured you’d pay me a visit.”

  “I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page with the sign. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She looked towards the man that was almost out of sight.

  “Oh, that’s just Bobby. He’s one of my employees. You know these young kids, they have no work ethic.” He raked his gaze over her. “Not like our generation.”

  “Oh, Michael you’re too kind. I don’t think we’re anywhere near the same generation.” She fell into step beside him as he walked back towards the line of food trucks.

  “Eh, it’s all about the same once you’re over forty, isn’t it?” He shrugged, then winked at her. “I’ve got your sign correct, don’t worry. And I asked my guys to make sure it’s up by tomorrow morning, so you have nothing to worry about.”