Deadly Desserts (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 6) by Mary Maxwell

for Mr. and Mrs. Ascot’s wedding
anniversary.”
    “What does she want instead?”
    “Papaya, passion fruit meringue and
mamey sapote.”
    Julia shook her head. “I need a
martini. But I’ll settle for a cappuccino. You want to come inside and tell me
what the heck that is?”
    “You bet!”
    While we climbed the front steps
and went inside, Julia peppered me with more questions about Abigail Ascot. She
wanted to know if the bubbly young girl had mentioned anything about her
father’s affairs with an actress named Judy, a singer named Trixie and a
broadcaster named Alana.
    “The woman that used to be on CNN?”
    “Yep. She’s on another channel
now,” Julia said. “But before she switched, she and Brendan Ascot supposedly
had a wicked hot affair when they were at the Olympics in China.”
    “You don’t say.”
    Julia smirked. “Yes, I do say.
Because I read it in People , so it must be true.”
    After she divulged more Hollywood
gossip and I made two frothy cappuccinos speckled with nutmeg and cinnamon, we
went into the kitchen. One or two lunch customers were still in the dining
room, lingering over coffee and dessert, so Julia needed to be on duty in case
any last minute orders came in during the final minutes before we closed.
    “Okay,” she said, pulling out a
stool and inhaling the fragrant steam from her cup. “What’s the scoop on mamey
sapote?”
    I sat beside her and sipped my
cappuccino. “Well, Abigail told me a long story about a trip she took to Miami
last year with her family. While they were in Florida, they had mamey sapote
smoothies and marmalade. Her mother loved it so much, the hotel’s chef made a
pie with it. And, long story short, that’s part of the reason Abigail decided
to switch from the more traditional fruit pies to the three new flavors.”
    Julia nodded. “Okay, but that
doesn’t tell me about mamey sapote.”
    “Oh,” I said. “You were asking
about the fruit itself?”
    Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Exactly,
Katie. I’ve never heard of it before.”
    “Sorry, Jules. It’s pretty simple
really. Mamey sapote is a large evergreen tree that produces berries known by
the same name. On the outside, they’re brown and sort of scratchy, like
something between peach fuzz and sandpaper. When you cut open the berries, the
flesh is usually orange, red or pink, and it tastes like a combination of
cherry, almond, honey, peach and sweet potato.”
    Julia contemplated the description
as she drank more of her cappuccino. Then she said, “And we can just stroll
down to Food Town and buy some?”
    Between the expression on her face
and the lilting sound of her voice, I couldn’t help but laugh. “No, smarty
pants! I’ll place a special order with one of our vendors in Denver. I’ll make
sure they arrive in plenty of time to ripen properly so we can make a mamey sapote
fruit pie topped with a lattice of raspberry jam swirls and coconut.”
    Julia frowned. “Oooh! That
sounds…well, it doesn’t sound very good to me. But if it’s what Little Miss
Hollywood wants, then it’s what Little Miss Hollywood gets!”

CHAPTER
13
     
     
    I’d just locked the front door of
Sky High Pies when my phone rang a few minutes after three. A quick glance at
the screen told me it was Dina Kincaid, calling from her office at the Crescent
Creek PD.
    “Detective?”
    “Hi, Katie. How are you?”
    “I’ll be better when the prep work
for tomorrow is done and I can catch up on the bookkeeping. How are things
going with the Lacy Orvane case?”
    “That’s what I was calling about,”
Dina answered. “I was wondering if you’d thought about the incident since we
talked earlier. I mean, you were at the meeting and you know how we investigate
a suspicious death, so I’d appreciate your views on the situation.”
    “You’re treating it as suspicious?”
    “Very,” Dina said. “The initial
toxicology report shows incredibly high levels of cicutoxin.”
    I’d never heard the name