Lemon Tart Mystery Read online

  Table of Contents

  ENDORSEMENTS

  BOOKS BY NAOMI MILLER

  — ONE —

  — TWO —

  — THREE —

  Lemon Surprise Cupcakes

  — FOUR —

  — FIVE —

  — SIX —

  Katie's Triple Lemon Cookies

  — SEVEN —

  — EIGHT —

  Singing Night Lemonade

  — NINE —

  — TEN —

  Orange Supreme Bliss Bars

  — ELEVEN —

  — TWELVE —

  — EPILOGUE —

  Katie's Lemon Tarts

  ENDORSEMENTS

  “A delightful story you'll not want to put down until you finish it. You will turn each page and wonder what will happen next. Naomi Miller is a talented and wonderful author, and I can't wait to read more of her stories.”

  ~ Molly Morris Jebber, author of

  Two Suitors for Anna

  “A delicious and delightful story with a large helping of fun and a dash of romance.”

  ~ Jennifer Beckstrand, award-winning author of the

  Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series

  “I'm ready to pull up a chair in the Sweet Shop, savor a slice of cinnamon bread, and dig into this juicy mystery.”

  ~ Dana Mentink – award-winning author of the

  Love Unleashed series

  “Blueberry Cupcake Mystery” is a warm and cozy mystery just right for reading in one sitting. This short novella is sweet in more ways than one and will not only whet your appetite for a bit of mystery but might just tempt your taste buds with its descriptions of The Sweet Shop’s offerings.”

  ~ Vine Voice

  “A sweet, refreshing novella that will satisfy your sweet tooth as you weave your way through the crumbs to find the “whodunit”.”

  ~ Goodreads Reviewer

  “A sweet, fun and intriguing mystery you can really sink your teeth into.”

  ~ Rachel L Miller - author of the Amish

  romance series: Windy Gap Wishes

  BOOKS BY NAOMI MILLER

  Blueberry Cupcake Mystery

  Christmas Cookie Mystery

  Lemon Tart Mystery

  Pumpkin Pie Mystery

  (Winter 2017)

  Lemon Tart Mystery

  Copyright © 2017 by Naomi Miller

  1. Fiction / Religion & Spirituality / Christian Books & Bibles / Christian Fiction. 2. Fiction / Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Mystery / Cozy. 3. Fiction / Christian Books & Bibles / Literature & Fiction / Amish & Mennonite.

  S&G Publishing, Knoxville, TN

  www.sgpublish.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, without written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations in printed reviews. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible (KJV)

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental

  Cover, graphics and formatting by Expresso Designs

  First Edition 2017

  To God be the Glory...

  A NOTE FROM NAOMI MILLER

  Lemon Tart Mystery is one of my favorite stories in this series. I had such fun writing about Mrs. Simpkins and Mr. O'Neal; they are delightful people and lots of fun, too. I hope this story helps you to get a better picture of their lives and how they interact with others in their community.

  When I felt the Lord calling me to write Amish fiction that was fun to read, free from stress, anxiety, and other stomach-tightening reactions, I wasn't certain if readers would enjoy it. I'm thrilled to find loyal readers who look forward to the release of new books in the series... many more readers than I expected.

  As with any work of fiction, I’ve taken license in some areas of research as a means of creating circumstances necessary to my characters or plot. I've created fictional characters in a fictional town. Any inaccuracies in the Amish, Mennonite or English lifestyles portrayed in this book are completely due to fictional license.

  God bless you!

  ~Naomi

  GLOSSARY

  The German/Dutch dialect spoken by the Amish is not a written language. It is solely dependent on the location and origin of each settlement. The spellings below are approximations.

  * * *

  aenti = aunt

  allrecht = all right

  appeditlich = delicious

  bruder/bruders = brother/brothers

  buwe/buwes = boy/boys

  danki = thank you

  Dat = dad

  dochder = daughter

  du bischt daheem = you’re home

  Englischer = non-Amish person

  freind/freinden = friend/friends

  frau = wife

  froh = happy

  Gott = God

  Gudemariye = Good morning

  gut = good

  hochmut = pride

  hungrich = hungry

  in lieb = in love

  jah = yes

  kaffe = coffee

  kinner = children

  kumme = come

  maedel/maedels = girl/girls

  Mamm = mom

  naerfich = nervous

  nee = no

  onkel = uncle

  rumschpringe = running around time for youth

  schweschder/schweschders = sister/sisters

  verrickt = crazy

  Was iss letz = What's wrong

  wunderbaar = wonderful

  A soft answer turneth away wrath:

  but grievous words stir up anger.

  Proverbs 15:1

  For Rachel

  — ONE —

  Thursday started out as a normal day for Katie Chupp. As always, she left home just before sunrise, heading toward the small town located not far from her family's farm.

  Katie was eager to get to work, where she would create the most delicious breads, cakes, cookies, and assorted pastries that could be found in Abbott Creek.

  When she arrived at The Sweet Shop, it was dark inside. Katie pulled out her key, unlocked the door and stepped inside. After locking the door behind her, she turned on the overhead lights and headed to the kitchen. Comfortable with her daily routine, she went to work, pulling out the ingredients she needed to make nine-grain bread.

  Using the large, commercial mixer, she was careful to add everything in the correct order, watching until the dough pulled away from the hooks enough to begin the next step. Then she changed the setting so it would knead the dough until it was ready to knead by hand. She was thankful that the professional mixer did such a gut job and that it spared her much time, but the dough still required a human touch to prepare properly.

  Sticking to her routine, she knew precisely what to do. Many mornings found her praying or singing as her hands flattened and pounded dough for one of a dozen breads she baked daily.

  Soon she was scraping the dough from the large bowl and working it with her hands on the large countertop. As she squeezed and pressed the dough, flipping the large mound over and repeating her motions again and again, her mind wandered and she thought about how different it was making bread at The Sweet Shop than it was when she baked bread at home.

  When making bread for her family, she did every step by hand, mixing and kneading the dough by hand from the very beginning.

  Even with so many growing buwes, their family rarely used more than ten loaves of bread in any given week. At the bakery, she made two dozen loaves each morning of each type of bread they sold and that was in addition to what had been specially ordered by customers.


  Katie carefully separated out bunches of dough, weighing each one before settling them into a loaf pan. After covering the pans with a clean cloth and then setting them aside to let the dough rise, she moved to a nearby counter to mix up the ingredients for snicker-doodles, one of her favorite desserts.

  Four dozen cookies were soon baking in the oven, filling the bakery with a delicious, spicy aroma.

  Pausing for a moment, she left the kitchen area and made her way to the front of the bakery. The sun was just making an appearance, turning the dark sky to a beautiful pink as it rose slowly toward the sky.

  Looking at the clear, blue heavens, Katie could not help thinking that the day might seem a bit too normal. It had been several months since her last adventure—and almost a year since that fateful day when she had arrived at work, only to discover that the bakery had been ransacked.

  Many of the breads and pastries, along with some of the customer orders that had already been prepared, had been missing—leaving a huge mess to be dealt with.

  But today the sun was rising over the Abbott Creek community, clear and brilliant. Soon the sky would be a beautiful shade of blue. The bakery would open and customers would be arriving to buy delicious, fresh breads and desserts.

  Katie would stay in the kitchen most of the morning—measuring, mixing, shaping, baking and frosting dozens of pastries and cookies. After all the prep work was done, she would start to work on orders taken during the morning.

  Katie typically spent her working hours in the kitchen baking delicious treat to keep the bakery cases filled. In between that work, she would work on filling any special orders.

  Every day was much the same. Customers came in to order their favorites—or to place special orders. Then those same customers would come back the following day to pick up their orders. And it would start all over again.

  Some might think her job boring, but she enjoyed the routine. She knew what to expect each day—and if she wanted variety, there was plenty of that with the orders they received from customers.

  Of course, there is also the adventure that comes with each mystery that somehow seems to find me, she thought with some amusement.

  Katie was soon back in the kitchen, pulling the snicker-doodles out of the oven.

  Dear Gott, danki for giving me such a wunderbaar job. I cannot think of anything I would rather be doing.

  A few minutes later, Freida showed up. Freida helped with the baking when Katie had more work than she could manage; otherwise her job was waiting on customers when the bakery opened.

  More often than not, she came early to visit with Katie. And she always asked the same thing day after day...

  “Don’t you ever get tired of doing the same old thing, Katie? Don’t you ever wish something different would happen around here?”

  Katie laughed before answering her freind. “Nee. I cannot think of anything I enjoy more than baking.”

  “And just what is so funny, Katie Chupp?” Freida asked with a hand on one hip and a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth.

  “Ach, I was thinking just before you arrived how some people might find what we do boring, but there is much about it that changes constantly”. Katie pulled another sheet of cookies from the oven before going on.

  “Besides, I can remember a morning when something different happened—a morning that was more frightening than anything I have ever known. Even though everything turned out fine, I still remember how scary it was at the time.”

  “But Katie, it wasn’t so bad—not really. And because of it, you met Travis. I think he’s a bit in lieb with you. It’s too bad that’s he’s an Englischer. The two of you make such a cute couple.”

  “Freida, do not tease me about such a thing. Travis is not in lieb with me. We are just freinden. That’s all.”

  “You are not fooling me, Katie Chupp. I know what is what. You can deny it all you want, but I know you have feelings for him—and him for you.”

  “Ach, Freida. We cannot—I cannot—have feelings for him. You know this is what has to be. Even if I wanted—”

  “Aha! I knew it.” Freida was practically shouting.

  “I cannot have feelings for an Englischer. I can not. I will not. And that is that. And I do not want to speak of it further.”

  With that, Katie turned and left the room to return to her baking. No one could have missed the sad expression on her face before she disappeared into the kitchen, especially Freida, who knew Katie so well.

  — TWO —

  Freida was forced to wait until there were no more customers waiting to be helped, but as soon as the front of the store cleared, she headed back into the kitchen.

  “Katie, please forgive me for upsetting you. You know how mei tongue runs away from me at times.”

  “Ach, Freida. Of course I forgive you. I do think about Travis—more than I should, to be sure. Ever since I painted the windows of the bakery last year, I have been fretting about getting in trouble with the bishop. That is why I cannot make any mistakes, like being more than freinden with an Englischer.”

  “But you have not been baptized into the church yet. You are still on your rumschpringe.”

  “That makes no difference, Freida.”

  “Makes no difference? What if Travis is the one for you?”

  “Nee, he cannot be the one.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I would have to leave the church... the community... mei freinden... mei home.”

  “Nee, you will not be shunned, so long as you do not join the church beforehand.” Freida's voice was full of determination.

  “But I would no longer belong. I cannot imagine how horrible that would be.”

  “Then Travis is not important enough to you; otherwise, you would not hesitate.”

  Freida sounded sad, which surprised Katie. She wondered how much her freind had thought about leaving her family—and church—behind.

  “Nee, he is not. I do not know of anyone who is important enough to give up mei haus—mei faith. Could you leave everything behind for someone, Freida?”

  “Truthfully, I do not know, Katie. I only know if you love someone, you should be able to leave everything behind for them.”

  “And I know that you have been spending time in the romance section of the library again.”

  Freida blushed before answering back. “It matters not where the knowledge kummes from. It does not make it any less true.”

  “Perhaps not, but life for fictional people is far easier than those of us with flesh and blood.”

  They were both silent for several minutes while Katie carefully sliced cookies from the long roll of chilled dough.

  “In those romance books you fancy, things always work out somehow, typically without anyone having to leave what or who they love behind. It is not that way in real life.”

  “I know; you are right.”

  “Jah, I am.”

  Freida grabbed her in a big hug. Evidently she was willing to drop the matter—at least for the time being. “I do not want to lose you as mei freind. You are mei best freind.”

  “I do not want to lose you as mei freind, either. And I do not want to think of leaving mei family or mei church. Ach, why do I have feelings for an Englischer when I know it is wrong?”

  “Katie, Gott will work it out somehow. You have to trust Him. If it is His plan for you and Travis—”

  “Please, Freida. Do not say that. I cannot. I cannot even talk of the possibility of a future with Travis. It cannot be.”

  Both maedels turned toward the front room when they heard the tinkle of bells that hung over the bakery's front door.

  “We must have a customer. Do you want to go?”

  “Nee, you go. I have a lot more baking to do.”

  “We will talk later, jah?”

  “Jah, later.”

  When Freida left, Katie bowed her head long enough for a quick prayer.

  Dear Gott, please show me what to think. Help me to
know what to do.

  * * *

  Freida was waiting for Katie after work. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, with the birds singing and a cool breeze blowing through the trees. As they walked home together, Freida chatted about her day.

  “Did you see Mrs. Mueller kumme in? She always seems to manage to be first. Lately, she sits for a while at one of the tables and watches the other customers coming and going. I think she’s a terrible gossip, don’t you?”

  Without giving Katie a chance to answer, Freida went on. “And not once did Mr. O’Neal come in. He hasn’t been by for over a week. He used to come in for cookies several times a week, although I always thought it was an excuse to see Mrs. Simpkins. I thought for sure and for certain that they were dating. Do you think they broke up?”

  Katie opened her mouth to answer, but once again Freida went on before she managed to say anything.

  “Are you going to the singing? I can sit with you some, but I sort of promised someone else I would spend time with them, too. And I have been thinking about you and Travis. If you truly don't think you could never care enough about Travis to date him, is there a buwe in the community that you would be wanting to court?”

  “Stop!” Katie laughed. “Ach! That is a lot to talk about, Freida. Where do I even begin?”

  “Jah, well you know how I go on sometimes.” Freida looked a bit sheepish, but said nothing else, so Katie took the opportunity to jump in again.

  “Well, for one thing, you know I like Mrs. Mueller.” Katie sent her freind a serious look, but Freida only shrugged and gave a half smile in return.

  “I try not to talk about Mrs. Mueller or any of our customers in a hurtful way.” Katie paused a moment, before clearing her throat and continuing.

  “And as a matter of fact, jah, I did notice that Mr. O’Neal has not been in the bakery for several days. I think the last time I saw him was last Friday. And Mrs. Simpkins hasn’t mentioned him to me. She used to sit at the prep table and chat while I worked, but lately she's been staying in her office. I hope nothing has happened between them. They seem perfect for each other.”

  “That’s just what I thought, too. How can we find out if something has happened? And how can we fix it?”