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  Smothered

  A Whipped and Sipped Mystery

  G. P. Gottlieb

  Copyright © 2020, J. M. Stephen

  Published by:

  D. X. Varos, Ltd

  7665 E. Eastman Ave. #B101

  Denver, CO 80231

  This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

  Book cover design and layout by, Ellie Bockert Augsburger of Creative Digital Studios.

  www.CreativeDigitalStudios.com

  Cover design features:

  Delicious caramel sauce pouring on white background

  by Africa Studio / Adobe Stock

  Pouring condensed milk isolated on white background

  by xamtiw / Adobe Stock

  ISBN

  978-1-941072-87-5 (paperback)

  978-1-941072-88-2 (ebook)

  Printed in the United States of America

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Cast of Characters

  Alene Baron, 38, owner of the Whipped and Sipped Café, mother of Sierra, Quinn, and Noah

  Blanca, 47, Alene’s cleaning lady, Cal’s caregiver

  Brianne Flynn, 52, Alene’s neighbor, owner of bar next door to café

  Cal Baron, 65, Alene’s father

  Edith Vanza, 60, Whipped and Sipped staff, former owner’s sister

  Frank Shaw, 42, homicide detective, Alene’s boyfriend

  Harrison Huff, 32, Stanley Huff’s son

  Heather Evans, 30, Sylvie’s daughter, dating Miles Taylor

  Jack Stone, 34, Whipped and Sipped staff, Alene’s neighbor, stepbrother of Kacey Vanza

  Jocelyn DeVale, 24, Whipped and Sipped staff

  Julian Evans, 34, Sylvie’s son, married to Phyllie for 6 years, father of Evan and Richie

  Kacey Vanza, 24, Whipped and Sipped staff, Alene’s neighbor, dating Kofi

  Kofi Lloyd, 26, Kacey’s boyfriend, bartender at Tipped, part-time trainer at Better be Fit,

  LaTonya James, 23, Whipped and Sipped staff

  Lee Bautista, 41, Frank’s partner

  Lawrence Habern, 70, Lillian’s beau, was Stanley’s lawyer

  Lillian Blum, 64, Ruthie’s mother, Sylvie’s best friend, dating Lawrence Habern

  Lydia Baron, 34, Alene’s sister, estate lawyer, married to Theo King, 36

  Michael Jay, 32 Alene, Brianne, and Gary’s personal trainer, used to work for Stanley Huff

  Mitzi Dunn, 67, Alene’s ex-mother-in-law

  Miles Taylor, 35, Heather’s boyfriend, works at Better be Fit

  Neal Dunn, 43, Alene’s ex-husband, father of Sierra, Quinn, and Noah

  Noah, 8, Alene’s youngest child

  Olly Burns, 24, Whipped and Sipped staff

  Phyllie Evans, 34, wife of Julian Evans, mother of Ethan and Richie

  Quinn, 10, Alene’s middle daughter

  Rhea Huff, 32, wife of Stanley’s son, Harrison Huff

  Ruthie Blum Rosin, 38, Alene’s best friend/pastry chef mother of Shaily, 12, Eden, 10, Avi, 8

  Sierra, 12, Alene’s older daughter

  Stanley Huff, 59, owner of Better be Fit

  Sylvie Huff, 62, mother of Julian and Heather, married to Stanley

  Toula Savas, 43, customer with gap between front teeth, married to Royce

  Vivian Baron, Alene’s deceased mother

  Zuleyka Martinez, 23, Whipped and Sipped staff, Alene’s babysitter

  Chapter 1

  Alene fretted as she walked to work, first about Frank, second about her children, and third about her father. Frank hadn’t made it over to the apartment the night before. Was his work as a homicide detective always going to come before their relationship? Nobody ever said life would be easy for a single mother of three, but it had been a long time since anyone had held her.

  She needed to do something to stop the foul language Sierra picked up from Alene’s ex-husband; she was a rotten mother for putting off the attention-disorder testing that Quinn’s fourth grade teacher had recommended at the end of the year; and she hadn’t yet been able to get Noah to stop biting his nails. It wasn’t even six in the morning, and she was already gnashing her teeth.

  Mostly she worried about her father’s deteriorating health. He’d probably have an easier time swallowing if he didn’t keep insisting on drinking ice water. Should she pester him about resting more and insist on room temperature water like the doctor had advised?

  At least she had Blanca, who’d morphed from cleaning the apartment into caregiving for her dad. Blanca would come at eight that morning, take care of the children, and stay until Cal fell asleep after lunch. Alene would probably get home before he woke up. She worried that he’d fall if left alone, since myasthenia gravis, finally diagnosed the previous year, caused muscle weakness. What if he dropped a glass or something, and she came home to find him bleeding on the kitchen floor? He hadn’t yet been rushed to the hospital, but it could happen, and Blanca couldn’t be there around the clock.

  Alene turned into the alley, and saw Edith, a longtime employee, pacing at the back entrance to the Whipped and Sipped Café. Edith Vanza resembled a cranky neighborhood librarian who made late returns feel like punishable offenses. Even from afar, she looked put out because she had to wait for Alene to unlock the door. Alene didn’t trust her with the alarm code after an incident involving firetrucks and a false alarm citation.

  Alene passed the shoe store on the corner and then Tipped, the bar just before the café. Her friend Brianne ran the bar on her own ever since her husband died, eight years before. Alene would never forget seeing him lying on the bike path, other riders flying past, none of them stopping to help. If only she had Brianne’s confidence and positive attitude.

  Alene noted garbage bags strewn on the ground in front of the fitness facility just past the café. Maybe she could rally Brianne and other fellow business owners into demanding that Stanley Huff, owner of the fitness place next door, keep the alley clean.

  Alene didn’t have anything against fitness facilities or personal trainers. Michael, her own personal trainer, whose first job out of college was to work in one of Stanley’s earlier Better Be Fit locations, was wonderful. He knew everything about the human body, but he also read books, followed the news, and was intelligent enough to carry on a thoughtful conversation about the world while urging Alene to hold her plank for a few more seconds.

  It bothered her that in addition to fitness training, Stanley Huff sold vitamins and a host of medical-sounding but probably dangerous weight-reducing supplements. He also peeked at himself in her café’s window whenever he passed, admiring his thick silver hair and bulging muscles even though he was well into his sixties and nobody cared. Just the day before, he’d strutted into the café, smelling like he’d bathed in a musky aftershave, his face over-tanned and one of his eyes swollen. He’d flirted with one of Alene’s customers, an attractive woman with long, golden-brown hair and a gap between her front teeth, and argued with Edith Vanza about the healthful properties of the smoothies Edith made versus the ones he sold.

  Alene had overheard him tell the customer with the long hair that his business was tremendous, and that he was planning to open another Better Be Fit a few miles west. Great, she thought, then more Chicagoans could spend money that they’d literally flush down the toilet the next day. Edith had said she’d heard that Stanley had some dedicated followers. Hard to imagine he was that good at it fitness training, although in those tight shirts he favored, his muscles had muscles
.

  In the alley, Alene greeted Edith, unlocked the café’s back door, and turned off the alarm. Edith went right in, but Alene stopped to pick up one of the bags that Stanley or one of his trainers had tossed much too close to the café’s back door. It looked like it was filled with papers, wrappers, and receipts. Everything was computerized at Whipped and Sipped – why did anyone still want or need paper receipts? She should contact the neighborhood alderman and ask his office about littering policies. It would be fitting if Better Be Fit had to pay a huge fine.

  Businesses focused on healing should not be tossing trash on the ground, Alene thought. Maybe later in the morning, she’d bring over a smoothie and hand Stanley the garbage bag she’d picked up. If he said something patronizing, like the day she’d come into the condo building winded after a run and he’d remarked that someone her age should be in better shape, she’d give him the look she’d been practicing in her mirror. Then she’d scrub her hands and face to get rid of that musky scent he wore, combined with cigarette smoke.

  As Alene walked in, Edith complained about how cold it was in the kitchen. “It’s going to be over ninety degrees today and the ovens will be on in a few minutes,” Alene said, tossing Stanley’s trash bag under the desk in her little office, wondering what she could possibly learn from it. She put her purse in a desk drawer and tied on an apron. Edith followed her into her office. “Maybe you could just wear your sweater until you warm up, Edith.” Alene dreaded the thought of becoming a cranky old lady.

  They had two hours before the café opened. They washed up, and Edith began chopping fruit and vegetables while Alene turned on the ovens, chose one of her self-made playlists of calming music, and pulled trays of prepared dough from the refrigerators. While the ovens heated up, Alene set out ingredients: oils, flours, vanilla beans, fruits. Her mind was all over the place. She needed to take up one of the meditative or self-defense practices her employees were always talking about, like meditation or yoga.

  Jocelyn, for example, practiced Krav Maga, and Olly taught jiujitsu classes. Both in their twenties, they’d been close friends since high school, kept up a running conversation in the café, and wanted Alene to try out their respective disciplines, each promising increased strength and mental clarity. Alene went running on mornings when she didn’t open the café and worked out with her trainer every other Monday, but that didn’t help her concentrate during the rest of the week. She didn’t want to take on something without her children, but what if she could find a class that they could all take together?

  Edith returned to the kitchen and a smile flickered as she pushed a cart of supplies out to the café. The smile was a good sign. Lately, Edith had seemed grateful to have recovered from that blow to her head at the beginning of the summer. Before being attacked, she’d have already lobbed several more complaints and Alene would have already started losing her patience.

  Now Alene began measuring ingredients for the pastry chef’s Almond-Berry breakfast cake, since Ruthie always took Saturdays off. Alene’s kids were usually with her ex-husband on Saturdays. Today, he’d probably take them to work at his car dealership and let them run around. He’d no doubt bought them fatty, salty food the night before and would do the same at lunch unless he took them to his mother’s. His mother would make them feel loved and they’d come home smiling. Would Neal ever figure out how to do that, or would the children always come home bickering and fighting with each other? Alene tried to stop thinking about home and focus instead on getting the café ready to open.

  An hour later, more employees signed in, washed up, and put on their aprons. Two of them got busy with batters and dough. Jocelyn DeVale greeted Alene with a broad smile and a warm hug and started filling trays for the dessert case. Alene wished her own ponytail was lustrous, like Jocelyn’s, and that she wasn’t just another sallow-skinned, late-thirty-something mom with bags under her eyes.

  Olly Burns, Jocelyn’s best friend since high school, struck a boxing pose and whispered something that made Jocelyn laugh. Alene could count on Olly to make a joke out of everything, which sometimes annoyed her, but he was hard-working, good guy. Like all of Alene’s employees, he washed his hands constantly, and she always noticed how scarred they were from his other gig, carpentry. After Jocelyn left the navy after a couple of years in Afghanistan, Olly had helped her get the café job and had partitioned his bedroom so she could have a place to live.

  Kacey Vanza, daughter of the previous owner and Alene’s across-the-hall neighbor, came in looking depleted. Maybe because of her new boyfriend, thought Alene. Kacey got to work cleaning, cutting and prepping vegetables to roast. She’d turned into someone Alene could count on. Olly Burns, with a little help from a new employee, prepared and began frying huge pans of mushrooms and onions. Everything smelled so smoky good, Alene started thinking about adding a bowl of roasted and sautéed veggies to the menu. She pulled out her cell and texted herself a reminder.

  The kitchen’s morning sights, smells, and sounds usually soothed Alene, but she was still disappointed that Frank had cancelled their date the previous night. She’d finally felt ready for their relationship to take the next step and had already spent an hour cleaning up, washing her hair, and getting dressed when he called to cancel. It hadn’t been his fault that yet another Chicago homicide required his attention. Alene had been one of the people who wondered what the police did all day, since there was so much crime, until she saw how much time Frank put into his job.

  Kacey Vanza took a break from chopping vegetables to give Alene a hug. What a pleasure to see her beautiful smile, her sea green eyes sparkling behind glasses, and skin clear and bright. Alene had babysat for her when she was a curious, cuddly little girl, but as a teenager, Kacey had gotten into drugs, lost her way, and dropped out of high school. While she was still using, her skin had seemed gray and her eyes had looked glassy and red-tinged, like a night animal’s. She’d spent time in one rehab after another, but now she was back, living across the hall from Alene and sharing the apartment with her stepmother, Joan, and Joan’s thirty-four year old son, Jack Stone, a relatively new employee, who was now cleaning the front windows.

  “It’s never as much fun in the kitchen without Ruthie,” Kacey said now, her dark-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, her voice low and serious.

  “Because we all have to work harder,” said Alene, guilty because she’d started thinking about Frank again. The truth was that she always felt kinder and less bitter when Ruthie was around. She’d thought her marriage to Neal would last forever and had never imagined raising children or running a business by herself. She spent way too much time feeling sorry for herself, and Ruthie, still her closest friend twenty years later, always reminded her about what was good in the world.

  Alene unlocked the front door at eight, and customers began streaming in. She noticed, as usual, how different the weekend crowds were; people had more time to sit and enjoy their drinks on a Saturday morning without jumping up to go to work. She loved this part of the day, greeting regulars and welcoming newcomers, but it was hard to look at all the couples smiling at each other, eating from each other’s plates, and holding hands.

  The customer Stanley had been bragging to about opening another training facility/vitamin store came in wearing a snug Better Be Fit T-shirt over leggings, her long hair again in a low ponytail. She’d been stopping by nearly every morning all summer, and usually ordered a vegan omelet smothered in onions. Alene didn’t know her name, or the name of the man who sometimes came in with her, but she usually took one of the large tables, even when she was alone. Alene noticed her standing at the counter for a long time while two employees chatted near the espresso machine, as if they didn’t see her.

  It was the third time Alene had to point out waiting customers to Jocelyn and LaTonya, a barista who was slowly working her way through a graduate degree in urban studies. Her intricately braided hair gave her a few additional inches so that she was as tall and striking as Jocelyn.
They were usually excellent baristas, but occasionally got too immersed in conversation. All month, Alene had been conferring with Ruthie about how to get employees to be more attentive to customers.

  They’d been overwhelmed with pride when the café won both “Healthiest Breakfast,” and “Best Hot Drinks,” in the Lakeview neighborhood newsletter competition. Whipped and Sipped was known for its art exhibitions, story hour and knitting group, and always co-sponsored Pride Parade and Lakeview Arts Fest. Everyone loved Whipped and Sipped, but it could all collapse if Alene wasn’t vigilant.

  After the breakfast rush slowed, Alene headed back to her office, intending to check her email and confirm that the schedule was set for the next day, Sunday, when she’d be off. Sitting at her desk, she read Frank’s text and felt herself blush, even though she was alone. Hopefully, her daughters would never search through her texts. The second line was about rescheduling their date for that night. Alene would probably have to decline if her children came home feeling clingy and needing attention. She texted that she’d have to get back to him.

  Then she closed her office door and put on a pair of rubber gloves.

  She opened the trash bag she’d found in the alley and read through a few of the bunched-up receipts. Alene felt guilty for going through Stanley Huff’s trash, but it wasn’t as if she stole something. The rest of the bag was filled with crumpled wrappers for those ludicrous protein bars Stanley sold at Better Be Fit. People didn’t need as much protein as they imagined. And, just as she’d suspected, Stanley didn’t recycle.

  Chapter 2

  Thirty minutes later, Alene was back behind the counter, watching Phyllie Evans open the café door for her husband, Julian, who pushed a stroller in which their two open-mouthed, red-faced little boys slept. They lived in the neighborhood and came in often. Now, they waved at Alene, roused their sons, and lifted them out of the stroller. Then they left it standing in everyone’s way, as usual.