Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  DOG BISCUITS AND DEAD BODIES

  Pupcakes and Peril

  Paige Tyler

  Copyright © 2024 by Paige Tyler

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the author.

  Editing by Jennifer Jakes / The Killion Group, Inc.

  Copyediting by RVP Editing

  Cover Image by Anastasia

  With special thanks to my extremely patient and understanding husband, without whose help and support I couldn’t have pursued my dream job of becoming a writer. You’re my sounding board, my idea man, my critique partner, and the absolute best research assistant any girl could ask for!

  Thank you.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “You know those are dog treats, right?”

  From where she stood over by the long rustic-looking table with its plethora of three-tiered stands piled high with a variety of homemade dog treats, Lucy Shaw glanced up from the peanut butter bone-shaped biscuit she was snacking on, blue eyes twinkling. “I know, but I’m hungry and these taste delicious. Besides, I’m eating for two.”

  Tassie Drake let out a snort of laughter as Lucy went back to nibbling. She and Lucy had been best friends since high school, so Tassie knew all her weird habits, but this was a new one. And while Tassie and her sister, Abby, made all the biscuits at Pupcakes, the doggy bakery they co-owned, with ingredients you could certainly eat, sugar wasn’t one of them, which meant they didn’t taste delicious at all.

  Unless you were a dog, of course.

  Beside Tassie, her adorable Chiweenie, Baxter, regarded her from where he sat on his fluffy round donut bed on the floor. Black with some caramel, he had a patch of white right on his chin that made it look like he was smiling whenever he looked up at you. Right now, it made Tassie think he found the idea of Lucy snacking on those peanut butter treats quite amusing.

  From over in the open kitchen where Abby was rolling out a fresh batch of dog biscuits on the big wood counter, Tassie saw her sister shake her head, light brown ponytail swinging from side to side as she tried not to laugh.

  But like Lucy said, she was eating for two. And she had been craving some very weird foods now that she was in her second trimester. Petite with shoulder-length dark curly hair, she was the definition of glowing. After stuffing a few more treats in the clear plastic bag—for her dog this time—she closed it with a twist-tie, then walked over to the counter where Tassie waited.

  “Henry’s replacement arrived today,” Lucy said conversationally as she pulled out her credit card.

  The town’s one and only police detective, Henry Olson, had recently retired after three decades of dedicated service. After living in Bluewater Bay their whole lives, he and his wife decided to move to Florida to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Everyone thought the department would promote one of their four officers, but instead, they’d hired someone from the outside.

  Tassie rang up the price of the dog treats, giving her the usual first responder discount because she was the daytime dispatcher with the police department. “Oh, yeah? Is he nice?”

  “Seems to be.” Lucy glanced at her as she tapped her card against the reader. “Cute, too. I could introduce you if you want.”

  Tassie purposely ignored her sister who was listening to the conversation about her love life with way too much interest and gave Lucy a pointed look. “The last time you introduced me to someone, he told me I looked like a younger version of his mother.”

  “Eww. Really?” She made a face. “All the more reason to let me introduce you to Jack. So you can forget about that disaster.”

  Tassie opened her mouth, but Lucy didn’t even stop for breath.

  “Before you ask, Jack Sterling is twenty-eight and originally from Albany, New York, where he’s been a detective for the past five years. He isn’t married—obviously. And he has a dog.”

  Okay, having a dog was definitely a plus, but still.

  “I wasn’t going to ask,” Tassie said. “Besides, why is everybody so interested in setting me up with someone? I already have a man in my life—Baxter. He never hogs the remote or complains about what I watch on TV. He never cares that I take all the blankets at night. He never offers unsolicited advice. And I never have to worry that he’s cheating on me with the waitress at the local grill and bar.”

  Her friend frowned. “That last part was oddly specific. Not every man is a toad like the former boyfriend of yours who shall remain nameless.”

  Tassie knew that, of course, but that didn’t keep her from being frustrated with the male gender when it came to dating.

  “Hmm. I seem to remember that you introduced me to that toad as well,” she pointed out. “You don’t have a very good track record when it comes to matchmaking, you know?”

  Lucy had the grace to look at least a little chagrined. “How was I supposed to know he was a serial cheater?”

  Tassie just looked at her.

  “Baxter is absolutely adorable and perfect in every way, I’ll give you that,” Lucy agreed when it was clear she wasn’t going to say anything else. “But finding someone to join your little family wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?”

  “No. But not everyone is as lucky as you, Lucy. You hit the jackpot with Andrew.”

  It was true. Lucy and her firefighter husband had met through work since the police department worked closely with fire and rescue. Handsome, outdoorsy, and laid-back, Andrew was sweet, caring, and an altogether great guy. All in all, he was the perfect match for Lucy.

  “The big lug does all right,” her friend said with a teasing grin. “But we’re talking about you here not me.”

  She sighed. “And when the right guy comes along, I’ll be more than happy to give him a chance.”

  “How will you know if a guy is the right guy unless you go out with him?” Lucy countered.

  Tassie wished she could come up with an argument for that, but unfortunately, she was drawing a blank. It would be nice if there was some kind of computer program that’d tell you if a guy was boyfriend material or not. She flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder, then leaned her hip against the counter and folded her arms.

  “How do you know so much about this new detective already anyway? I thought you said he just got here.”

  Lucy shrugged. “He did. I did most of my research on him before that. I like to know who I’m working with.”

  “You should have been a cop, you know that?” Tassie told her.

  “Um, that’s a hard no. I don’t like the idea of getting shot at. I’ll stay at my desk, thank you very much. Speaking of which, my lunch break is almost over so I’d better get back.” She swung her oversized bag up on her shoulder. “By the way, Andrew is working a double, so you and Baxter want to come over for dinner tonight? I hate eating alone.”

  As a firefighter, Andrew sometimes worked back-to-back shifts.

  Tassie glanced at Baxter to see her fur baby smiling up at her. Tassie grinned back.

  “That’s a yes,” Tassie said to Lucy.

  “Great!” She looked over at Abby. “You and Finn in, too?”

  At the sound of his name, Abby’s cute brown Dachshund, Finn, looked up from the stainless steel bowl of water he had his head in.

  “You know it,” Abby said.

  Lucy smiled. “I’ll see the four of you later then. Toodles.”

  As she walked out of the shop, cool air swept in, making Tassie glad she and her sister had decided to locate the check-out counter toward the back of the store instead of near the front. It might say spring on the calendar, however, the state of Maine clearly didn’t get the memo because it still felt like winter out there.

  But she’d promised Baxter that she’d take him to the dog park that afternoon, so they’d both be venturing out into the cold. As soon as Abby got the batch of peanut butter treats she was working on in the oven so she could take over for Tassie at the counter. Which, from glancing at her sister, should be any minute now.

  Graham Bartlett, another of Pupcakes regular customers, finished his shopping and walked over to set two bags of dog treats on the counter along with a box of cupcakes he’d purchased at Cozy Cupcakery, the bakery next door.

  “Those look delicious,” Tassie said, taking in the chocolate caramel cupcakes through the clear window on the top of the purple box. “Gwen’s cupcakes are to die for, aren’t they?”

  He chuckled. “They are wicked good.”

  “Better not let y
our sister hear you say that,” Tassie teased.

  His sister, Irene, owned Dreamy Desserts, the bakery a few stores down and on the other side of the street. Even though Gwen’s Cupcakery specialized in cupcakes while Dreamy Desserts made everything from cookies to pie to the most delicious, moist, decadent chocolate cake on the planet, Irene was always in competition with Gwen. It had been like that since they were kids. And now that they’d be going up against each other in a baking contest next month, their rivalry would be even more intense. Since Tassie was friends with both of them, there was no way she was getting in the middle of that battle.

  Maybe they’d end up being co-champions or something. One could only hope.

  Graham turned the color of his curly red hair. “Don’t I know it! But I only stopped because it’s a coworker’s birthday and Gwen’s bakery was on the way. I didn’t drop by specifically to see her or anything like that.”

  Sitting on the floor beside her, Baxter gave Tassie the side eye. He seemed to have a knack for knowing when people were lying. And Graham was most certainly being less than truthful at the moment. Because he most certainly had a crush on Gwen Swanson. Not that he probably didn’t love her cupcakes. Although Tassie wasn’t joking. He’d better not let his sister ever hear him say it.

  Tassie couldn’t help but smile at Graham. “Of course not. How is Charlie?”

  Graham let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh like he was relieved to talk about something other than the pastry chef he was sweet on. “He’s doing great. I installed a doggy door for him the other day, which the squirrels aren’t happy about since he can now terrorize them whenever he wants.”

  She laughed, chatting with him about why dogs loved chasing squirrels so much as she finished ringing up his purchase.

  Abby walked over as Graham left, attention focused on her cell phone and a big grin on her face. Older than Tassie’s twenty-five by a couple years, Abby was the business side of the doggy bakery. In fact, it had actually been her idea to open the store. Tassie had already been making doggy biscuits for Baxter and Finn as well as for dogs belonging to family and friends, so when Abby suggested starting a business a few years ago, she’d been all for it. She loved dogs and she loved baking, so it was a win-win. And in all honesty, Tassie hadn’t been thrilled with her job as a pharmacy tech at the time even though her employer had been great, giving her flexible hours so she could go to college to get her degree. Classes like biology and chemistry had always been easy for her, so becoming a pharmacist seemed like a great idea, but after working as a tech, she realized it wasn’t what she wanted. Luckily, her business-savvy sister had come to the rescue otherwise she’d probably be filling prescriptions right now.

  “You look happy about something,” Tassie remarked.

  “I am,” Abby said. “I just booked a therapy session for Finn with Isaac Bridger.”

  Tassie looked at her in surprise. “The dog psychologist who Mom and Dad were talking about the other day?”

  Her sister nodded excitedly. “Yup.”

  Their parents had a veterinary practice in Bluewater Bay and told everyone and anyone about how remarkable Isaac was when it came to helping dogs and their owners. If Mom and Dad endorsed him, then the guy knew his stuff.

  “Why would Finn need a session with a dog psychologist?” Tassie asked. “He doesn’t have any behavioral issues.”

  “I know,” Abby agreed. “But it was the best way I could think of to meet Isaac.”

  Ah. Now it was starting to make sense. Kind of. Though from the expression on Finn’s face, he didn’t seem to think much of Abby’s plan.

  “So he’s a hunk, I take it?”

  Her sister laughed. “Duh. I wouldn’t be going to all this trouble if he wasn’t.”

  Abby pulled up something on her phone, then turned it around so Tassie could see. It was a photo of the aforementioned Isaac from his Facebook page. Dark blond hair, brown eyes, and an angular jaw with a trace of stubble, he was cute. And totally her sister’s type.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to show up at his office and introduce yourself, then tell him that he’s welcome to drop by Pupcakes anytime with some brochures or business cards?” Tassie suggested. “Almost everyone in town who has a dog comes in here.”

  Her sister turned her phone around to gaze at the photo on the screen. “Easier? Maybe. But then what?”

  “Um, ask him out.”

  Tassie’s own love life might be something resembling a reality TV show at the moment but that didn’t mean she could give her sister advice on the subject.

  Abby didn’t call her on it though. But that was only because she was too busy looking at Tassie like she’d just suggested Abby jump in the bay naked—in the middle of winter.

  “I can’t do that!” she said. “At least not until Isaac and I get to know each other. Hence why I’m taking Finn for therapy.”

  “Uh-huh.” Tassie folded her arms. “And don’t you think that a dog psychologist as good as Isaac is going to figure out that Finn doesn’t have any behavioral issues?”

  Sitting on the floor beside Tassie, Baxter appeared to be as interested in the answer to that question as she was.

  Before Abby could reply, the door to the bakery opened and Sara Larson rushed in, practically falling over Roxie, her Jack Russell, as she hustled her dog inside. Closing the door behind her, she smoothed her blonde bob and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

  “Sara?” Tassie said even as Baxter pranced around the counter, tail wagging. “Are you okay?”

  “What? Yes. No. I don’t know.” She made a face as she walked toward Tassie. “I just got into it with Conrad Meyers.”

  Well, that explained it. Conrad Meyers was a mean old man who wanted everyone—and their four-legged friends—to get off his lawn. Unfortunately, the town decided to put their beautiful dog park on the same street as his house, which meant every dog owner in Bluewater Bay had to walk past his property to get there.

  Tassie crouched down to pet both Baxter and Roxie. “What happened?”

  Sara wasn’t only a regular at the bakery. She’d been a good friend since Tassie had met her a few years ago when she’d purchased some of Sara’s delightful handmade soaps for Abby’s birthday.

  Sara sighed. “Roxie and I were walking past that creep’s house when she yanked the leash out of my hand and ran across his precious lawn and into the backyard to chase a squirrel. I immediately went after her, but before I could get to her, Conrad came out of the house like he was shot out of a cannon. He shouted at me to get ‘that dog’ out of his yard and I completely lost it. I’m surprised you didn’t hear us screaming all the way over here. But I couldn’t help it. I’ve never met anyone so infuriating in my life.” She joined Tassie down near the floor to run her hand over Roxie’s coarse fur. “I think I scared my poor baby.”

  Tassie caressed Baxter’s silky upright ears and gave Sara a smile. “Come on, let’s get Roxie a treat so she can forget all about that nasty man.”

  Baxter grinned and wagged his tail wildly at the mention of a treat.

  Laughing, Tassie leaned over to give him a kiss on the head and added, “Yes, you get a treat, too. Finn, as well.”

  As Sara filled a bag with some homemade doggy biscuits, she chatted with Abby while Tassie gave Baxter, Finn, and Roxie the tiny treats she and her sister kept on top of the counter in a ceramic canister for those special pooches—which was every dog that came into the bakery, of course.

  Sara and Roxie left a little later, both of them thankfully much more relaxed.

  “Okay,” Tassie said to her sister. “We’re off to the dog park.”

  “Be careful,” Abby said. “And don’t get into any fights with Conrad. He sounds like he’s more ornery than usual today.”

  Promising she’d be careful—and wouldn’t get into a fight with Conrad—Tassie dressed Baxter in his cute little plaid fleece vest, then his harness before hooking him onto his leash. Shrugging into her coat, she put on her hat, then grabbed her crossbody bag and sunglasses. A moment later, they were heading for the door.

  Chilly air coming in off the water enveloped them the moment they stepped outside, swirling Tassie’s hair around her face. Thankfully, the sun more than made up for the brisk spring weather and Baxter pranced along happily beside her down the sidewalk.