Pistols & Pies (Sweet Bites Book 2) (Sweet Bites Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page A

for sure.”
    His whine had turned to wheedling, like a little kid asking for a big favor. “And I know all about cakes, so I won’t help people make stupid choices like a filling that needs refrigeration in a fondant cake.”
    I chuckled—it was one of the most classic stupid things that Karen had done during her tenure as kitchen manager. You don’t refrigerate fondant once you put it on the cake—not unless you want condensation marks all over it. “I couldn’t hire you full time. Not right away,” I reminded him.
    “That’s fine, maybe I’ll pick up a second job. Hey, maybe someone there could use a good computer hacker.”
    Though I knew he was joking, it made me shudder. His previous time in the slammer hadn’t been computer related, but I knew some of the things he did walked the line of legality. He’d crossed that line for me during my previous investigation and I hated to think of what would happen if he got caught. “I think you best save your hacking skills for me and not spread them around. At least your illicit ones.”
    People hacked systems all the time just to see if they could do it, then told the website administrators about the problem. He’d made a habit of this, claiming he was doing them a good turn—it’s not like he did anything malicious when he was in their system, after all. He claimed he was honing his talents, but his heart was in cake decorating, so it’s not like he’d use his computer skills professionally.
    “If you think you might need that set of skills in the future.” He sounded hopeful. Since he didn’t know about my new investigation, he must be smelling things in the air.
    “Look, you talk to Kat. I’ll check my books and we’ll see what I can do.” He would be a huge advantage in the shop—and might be able to keep away the creepy gas station attendant who always came in for coffee, a muffin and to hit on me.
    “Deal. So what else is going on out there?”
    “You mean besides me finding another body?” I asked as casually as possible. “Not too much.”
    “Another one? Girl, you’re like a magnet. Tell me everything.”
    I smiled as I settled in to give him the whole rundown.
     

The thermostat said eighty-five degrees as I walked through the park toward the skateboarding area that evening. It had been busy at the shop, and I still had receipts to total and dough to prep for the next day, but I was glad for an excuse to get out while the sun was still up, and talking to Michael was as good an excuse as any.
    There were six boys on the cement course, and I recognized him right off. Michael looked a lot like his mom with the same sandy hair hanging down to his chin. He was getting in his beard and hadn’t shaved for at least a few days, but it grew in unevenly across his jaw. He had earrings, an eyebrow ring and when he opened his mouth to laugh when one of the guys biffed it, there was a flash of silver which must have been a tongue piercing. I wondered if he really wanted to get all those holes, or if he just did it to be cool. Or maybe he’d done it to make Eric mad. Eric was conservative and traditional all the way.
    Holding a bag of leftover cookies, I watched the boys for several minutes. The others seemed to be impressed with Michael’s skills, but though they called to each other, I could tell he wasn’t really part of their group. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I was sure they hung out in the same place, not together.
    One of the guys looked over at me, a black kid with a wiry frame and fingers long enough to rival those of a professional basketball player. “Hey, aren’t you the cake lady?” He nudged his friend, and the others glanced my way.
    Michael frowned, but picked up his board and headed toward me. “Mom said you’d stop by.”
    “I brought you guys leftovers. Anyone interested in cookies?” I held up the bag. One of the kids snatched it before I even finished my sentence and took off, playing cat and mouse with his