Dead Pan Read Online Free Page B

where Fran immediately noticed the gum paste figurines.
    “What pretty little dolls!”
    “Thank you,” I said. “They’re made of gum paste.”
    “You made these? Wow.”
    “Painting the faces was the hardest part. Doing such tiny detail work makes me nervous.”
    “I can imagine. What is gum paste anyway?”
    “It’s a sugar dough.” I grinned. “Kind of like Play Dough, but you can eat it.”
    “Kids in my elementary school wouldn’t have known the difference. One kid was always nibbling his modeling clay. Now he’s our high school’s first string quarterback. Go figure.”
    I laughed. “Is he a HAG—Hot Available Guy?”
    “Um . . . he’s hot, I guess. But I think he’s dating one of the cheerleaders. Not that I care. He’s totally not my type. I mean, I’m not even sure I have a type; but if ditzy girls in short skirts are his type, then I’m not it, so he must not be my type either. Right?”
    I gave her a slight nod and wasn’t all that clear on what she’d said. Either way, I thought she was being a little too emphatic about not liking this guy, but I kept my opinion to myself.
    I took four, one-quarter, sheet cakes from the refrigerator. “While these are warming to room temperature, I’m going to start preparing the decorations.”
    “Who are they for?” Fran asked.
    “Since the Save-A-Buck doesn’t have a bakery staff, Mr. Franklin has me make cakes for them to sell. He specifically requested birthday cakes this week. I’m making two for girls and two for boys.”
    “Cool.”
    “Want to learn how to make a butter cream rose?” I asked.
    “Sure.”
    I jerked my head toward the wall pegs that held my aprons. “Grab yourself an apron and wash your hands. I’ll show you a super-easy trick.”
    When Fran was ready, I handed her a flower nail and a bag of dark pink icing with a Number One-Zero-Four rose tip. I had the same tools. I took a red gumdrop and secured it to my flower nail with a dab of icing.
    “Normally, I would use icing with a Number Twelve round tip to make a cone-shaped base for the rose. But since this is for a little girl’s cake, I’m using gumdrops. I got the idea from a cake decorators’ discussion group.” I smiled. “Didn’t you always want one of the biggest roses on your slice of birthday cake? This way, when the birthday girl bites into that rose, she’ll get another sweet surprise.”
    Fran giggled. “That is totally cool!” She placed a gumdrop onto her flower nail. “Now what?”
    “Okay. Let’s start at the top and make the inner petal. Then, slowly spinning the flower nail, we’ll add three rows of petals.”
    Her first effort wasn’t too bad, but she wasn’t satisfied.
    “I have an idea.” I took a six-inch round cake from the refrigerator. “When my niece and nephew visit, we make what we call ‘bitty cakes’ because they’re small. Why don’t you keep practicing your roses; and before you leave, we’ll use them to decorate this bitty cake for you to take home.”
    “That sounds great. Thank you.”
    We continued to work on our roses.
    “The hospital doesn’t think Fred’s prior brain injury had any bearing on this incident, right?” I asked.
    “Um . . . they don’t think it contributed to his death, if that’s what you’re saying.”
    “That’s what I’m saying. I’m sorry. It’s kind of difficult for me to discuss Fred’s death with you.”
    “It’s okay,” Fran said. “I’m mature enough to handle this. Plus, I know that now is not the time to grieve. Now is the time—while the evidence is still readily available—to determine what happened to my cousin.”
    “Gee,” I said, “you are mature. But you don’t have to be Supergirl, you know.”
    “I know.”
    “Once again, we know Fred’s brain injury didn’t play a part in his death; but something did. There was something different about Fred . . . something none of the other victims had. That’s why they recovered, and he