Did he plan to rob Creative Cupcakes? Demand she hand over the money from the cash register? Her eyes darted around the frilly pink-and-white cupcake shop. The loud clang of the metal bakery pan hitting the tile had caused several customers sitting at tables to glance in her direction. Would the masked man threaten the other people as well? How could she protect them? She stepped over the white-frosted chocolate mess by her feet, tried to judge the distance to the telephone on the wall, and turned her attention back to the masked man before her. Maybe he wasn’t a robber, but someone dressed for a costume party or play. The man with the black masquerade mask covering the upper half of his face also wore a black cape. “If this is a holdup, you picked the wrong place, Zorro.” She tossed her fiery red curls over her shoulder with false bravado and laid a protective hand across the old bell-ringing register. “We don’t have any money.”
