Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse (A Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Book 1) by Harper Lin Read Free Book Online

chirped.
    I heard the smile in her voice. Since Mr. Cardosi’s funeral, I’d actually cut back on my hours, and Sammy was happy about it. She’d been genuinely concerned about me working so much—that cheerfulness and friendliness wasn’t just an act. As much as I hated to admit it, I was happier too now that I was working closer to forty hours each week instead of one hundred.
    I set the cups on Matty’s table, careful to make sure his was positioned properly. “Mind if I join you?”
    “No, actually, that’s why I’m here,” he replied.
    “We haven’t seen each other much since the funeral.”
    “Yeah, I know, I’ve been catching up at work. They didn’t mind me being gone for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean the paperwork didn’t pile up my desk.” Matty worked as a project manager at a telecom engineering company. He’d told me the engineers who worked under him could manage pretty well without him, but he still had to sign off on everything they did. If something on the project went wrong, he was the one who would get fired, not them.
    “I can imagine.” I knew how bad it used to get when I’d take just a couple of days off at my job in New York. I couldn’t imagine how long it would take to get caught up after being out for two whole weeks.
    Matty looked at the design in his coffee. “Sunrise?”
    “Yup,” I responded. “New beginnings, new life. It’s always darkest before the sunrise—”
    “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” Matty corrected.
    “Same thing.” I took a sip of my coffee. It was much better than that bitter brew we’d had the night Mr. Cardosi had died. Not that I was patting myself on the back—just about anything would have been better than that foul concoction.
    “I almost hate to drink it,” Matty said. “I don’t want to mess it up.”
    “But the coffee’s the best part!” I retorted. “It’s the whole point! The cappuccino art is just there to enhance the experience. We eat—and drink—with our eyes first, you know.”
    My grandfather’s motto had been: “Make your food delicious, and make it beautiful.” He would never tolerate me serving a sloppy mess of food or drink to a customer, and he’d insisted I make it again and again until I got it right.
    “You’re the designer,” Matty said as he raised the cup to his lips. His eyes rolled back a little as he tasted it. “God, this is amazing! You seriously make the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. I don’t know how you do it.”
    “Amaro family secret.” I smiled, taking another sip. We really did make some amazing coffee. Well, I guess I made amazing coffee, since I was the only Amaro left. “Here, have a cupcake.”
    I gave him one of the chocolate cupcakes from behind the counter. We didn’t exclusively sell Italian drinks and desserts. After all, customers were crazy about cupcakes, and I made sure we stocked at least four flavors a day.
    “This is heaven,” Matty said. “I always get the chocolate when I come here. How did you know?”
    “You can’t go wrong with chocolate.” I had one myself. They were dark chocolate, with the most delicious peanut butter filling that our bakers made to perfection.
    We enjoyed our coffee and cupcakes for a few more minutes before Matty pulled out a file folder. He drummed his fingers on it. “I guess I should tell you why I’m here.”
    “I thought it was for the pleasant company and the delicious coffee,” I joked.
    “I wish that’s what it was. Mike called me this morning and asked me to come down to the police station. The medical examiner finished up the report on my dad’s autopsy, and Mike wanted to give me the results.” He was silent for what seemed like a very long time.
    “And?” I asked, deciding that it was up to me to break the silence.
    Matty pushed the folder toward me.
    “What’s this?” I asked.
    “That’s the autopsy report.”
    “You want me to read it?” I whispered.
    He opened his mouth then closed it