The Windmill Café: Autumn Leaves
‘I relished every moment of this story … definitely not one to be missed’ Emma, Shaz’s Book BlogSummer days drifting away…As the last rays of summer sunshine fade away, Rosie Barnes swaps serving ice-cold fizz and strawberries for warm, spiced pumpkin latte and chocolate brownies. Her love for the Windmill Café remains as strong as its peppermint green sails.So, with time on her hands, Rosie agrees to help gorgeous Matt Wilson on one of his outdoor expeditions – camping under the stars with rugged Matt the perfect chance to wind down.As the Autumn mist rolls in, the change in weather brings with it a sense of danger when one of the camping group is shot with a bow and arrow! An unfortunate accident, or a killer on the loose in picture-perfect Willerby?If news escapes, Rosie knows dreams of building a life at Windmill Café will be over for good. Unless she and Matt can solve the mystery before it’s too late!
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HarperImpulse an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2018
Copyright © Poppy Blake 2018
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018.
Cover illustrations © Shutterstock.com
Poppy Blake asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © March 2018 ISBN: 9780008285135
Version: 2018-04-20
Table of Contents
To Mum and Dad; I know you would be so proud to see my name on the cover of a novel
Rosie surveyed the Windmill Café whilst she waited for her chocolate and pecan brownies to bake. Even without the burble of her customersâ cheerful chatter, the room still resonated with warmth, comfort and contentment. However, Rosie felt far from contented and comfortable because she knew she needed to broach the thorny subject of that nightâs approaching escapades with Mia before she exploded from an overdose of anxiety.
âSo, what do you think of the blackberry and apple roulades?â
âI think theyâre amazing! Theyâre definitely going on the menu for the Autumn Leaves Halloweâen party on Saturday,â declared Mia, cramming a third mini Swiss roll into her mouth and rolling her eyes in confectionery ecstasy before crumbling into a fit of giggles.
âAnd the pumpkin and treacle tartlets? Do they make it onto your list?â
âAbsolutely, and the apricot and cranberry brownies, and the gingerbread with lemon icing, and the red velvet cupcakes with the raspberry coulis that looks just like blood! You know, I really wish youâd reconsider my fabulous idea to hide eyeball gobstoppers inside the Boston Scream pie.â
âHealth and safety, Mia. Donât you think weâve had enough contact with the food inspectors to last us a lifetime? Okay, so that just leaves us with the punch to finalize.â
Rosie leaned over the huge copper jam pan she had been adding spices to all day. She inhaled a deep breath, savouring the heady fragrance of warm red wine, cinnamon sticks and cloves that sent her taste buds tingling. She gave the dark crimson liquor a stir before sampling it, gasping as the alcohol hit the back of her throat. Maybe if she downed a couple of glasses of the lethal brew she would find the courage to confess her swirling trepidation to Mia.
âWell, if it tastes as good as it smells, weâre onto a winner,â said Mia. âAnd weâre definitely having the hot chocolate with marshmallow ghosts and the green slime smoothies for the kids. I take it, then, that youâve also vetoed my idea to float plastic spiders in the pomegranate cocktails?â
âYes! Of course I have!â
Rosie rolled her eyes in mock chastisement, but after what had happened at their Summer Breeze party in August, she was even more nervous than usual about hosting this celebration of all things scary â she didnât think she could cope with a second drama. It hadnât been her fault that one of their guests had been poisoned, but sheâd still insisted on triple-testing every recipe for their Autumn Leaves party before it was granted a place on the menu, stipulating that only the most delicious, mouth-watering creations would be allowed to feature.
The celebration was also billed as a farewell bash for Mia, her friend and fellow baking fanatic, before she embarked on her foray into the field of outdoor sports. She was going to train as a zip wire instructor at the outward-bound centre, Ultimate Adventures, over the winter season when the café was only open at the weekends. Rosie knew she would miss Miaâs daily dose of chirpy banter, but she consoled herself with the fact that Mia was following one of her dreams. And anyway, they would still be able to meet up in the local pub, the Drunken Duck, whenever they wanted to partake in that trio of female solace; cocktails, cake and gossip.
