Business is doing really well at Sage Caplin’s Ground Rules Coffee Cart and Roastery. While she slings drinks to consumers at the cart, her business partner, Harley Yamazaki, comes up with new blends and roasts in their rented office space. They’re delighted to be gaining a solid toehold in Portland, Oregon’s coffee supply chain as well, selling their beans to cafes and offices in addition to other food and beverage businesses with complementary synergies.

One business that buys in bulk from them is their neighbor, Grumpy Sasquatch Studio. While not in the food industry itself, the video game design company has staff that consumes a lot of coffee. Sage has witnessed this firsthand, both as the girlfriend of its co-owner Lukas “Bax” Baxter and as a motion-capture actor for their next in-development game. When the company invites her to join the rest of its employees on a costumed team-building scavenger hunt to celebrate the birthday of Bax’s business partner, she doesn’t hesitate to dress up and take part.

Sage has spent a lot of time with the Grumpy Sasquatch crew but never in a competitive environment before. Thus, she’s a little surprised by the attitude of one programmer, Robbie Kayle, who immediately starts taking the game way too seriously. This is in stark contrast to Robbie’s usual persona as a playful prankster, though it quickly becomes clear to Sage that not everyone is as enamored of Robbie’s practical jokes as Robbie is herself.

When it becomes apparent that Sage’s team is winning the hunt, a furious Robbie stalks off from her group, vowing to get the win on her own. Sage figures that the other woman just needs some time to calm down. As Sage and her team pursue another clue, however, she’s alarmed to find the door to her roastery unexpectedly ajar. Her team willingly pauses their game to investigate and is shocked to discover Robbie dead on the floor inside.

Sage soon learns that Robbie’s playfulness had hidden a huge mean streak, and that quiet, quirky Harley had been one of her favorite victims. Had Robbie snuck into the Roastery to spring another nasty surprise on Harley, or had she decided to target Sage for doing better than her in the scavenger hunt? Adding to this headache is a vindictive business rival using Robbie’s murder as an opportunity to smear Ground Rules’ name. Will Sage be able to clear her company of any wrongdoing before anyone else gets hurt?

I always love the social justice bent of this series and really enjoyed this contemporary, compassionate look at life in Portland as Sage strives to bring a killer to justice while looking thoughtfully and even-handedly at all involved. The many different plot strands add to the verisimilitude of her daily life. Some of these strands include major relationship steps for the people she loves, so series fans definitely shouldn’t miss this installment!

There were six recipes included here, though all but one were for drinks and syrups. The sole dessert recipe is, however, a stunner.

Ground Rules Espresso Brownies

Ingredients

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

8 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 shot of brewed espresso or 1 teaspoon of espresso powder

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with tin foil and give it a once-over with cooking spray (or otherwise grease the tin foil.)

Mix the dairy-free chocolate chips and canola oil in the top of a double boiler, and melt over medium-low heat, stirring regularly. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and one shot of brewed espresso or espresso powder. Put aside.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl. Once it’s combined, whisk in the chocolate mixture. Once it’s mixed, add the cup of flour, taking care to incorporate the flour without over-whisking the mixture.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes. When a toothpick comes out mostly clean, your brownies are ready. Note that if your toothpick comes out completely clean, you’ve overbaked the treats.

Let the brownies cool for about an hour before removing them from the pan. Cut into squares, store in an airtight container, and consume within a day or two.

I’ll admit to a moment of panic when I thought I’d overbaked these, but I just hadn’t pushed the toothpick far enough into the pan. I’m so glad I took them out exactly when instructed, though, as these are the most deliciously fudgy brownies I’ve ever made! The texture was absolutely perfect, with a good tooth to the external edges and a wonderful chewiness to the insides. The coffee taste doesn’t come across too strongly, serving only to enhance the delicious chocolate flavors (though you still probably wouldn’t want to serve these right before bedtime). This recipe is definitely worth putting in a prominent spot on your brownie repertoire.

Next week, we travel back to the Midwest and whip up an even easier treat while investigating the murder of a rival bakery owner. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: Blueberry Blunder by Amanda Flower