Cupcakes and Killers

by Laina Turner

  “Look at that license plate. California. See!” she said proudly. “I told you he wasn’t from around here.”

  I didn’t feel like pointing out the car could be a rental, because it clearly was going to do no good to argue with her. I did have to admit that driving here from California seemed a long way, when a plane was much faster. I couldn’t help but think of Jack being in California, which made me sad.

  “Okay. So, the guy is from out of town. Why is that a big deal?” I still didn’t understand where she was going with this.

  “C’mon, Trix. You know ninety percent of everything George is involved in is dirty. Meeting in a parking lot with someone who isn’t from around here. It has scam written all over it.”

  “Sally, I know you don’t like him, and with good reason, but you can’t be suspicious of every little thing. Now forget about it, and let’s get the pastries.”

  “Trixie! Sally!” I heard someone call. Looking over, I saw it was Avery, running through the parking lot to catch up with us. We all walked into the bakery, and Sally said she would see if our order was ready and get us coffee and fritters. Avery and I sat down at one of the four tables. The only one open. It was busy here. Probably all of Avery’s customers coming over.

  “Avery, you look exhausted,” I said. “How are you feeling?”

  She ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. “Exhausted.” She gave a tired smile. “I haven’t been able to sleep. Until Clive tells me they didn’t find poison at my place and I can reopen, I’m going to be an anxious stress ball. I can’t stop running all the negative scenarios through my head. I mean, what if he does find poison? I’m doomed! I’m going to be living on the street.”

  “Did he give you a time frame?”

  “He said by the end of today or tomorrow. What if I do get to open back up, and no one comes to buy cupcakes anymore? I know you said to be positive, but I can’t help obsessing.”

  “Avery, you’re worrying too much. We haven’t had anyone not want our pastries, and he died in our place. People will soon forget all about it. Even if it’s not forgotten, people won’t blame you. No one would think you would poison your own cupcakes.”

  “I hope they won’t, blame me that is,” she said as Sally came back to the table. “I just want this nightmare to be over.”

  “They’re boxing our stuff up as we speak, and I brought coffee and fritters all around. Have one, Avery. It will make you feel better.”

  I grabbed one of the fritters out of Sally’s hand and bit into it. “Ummm, it’s even warm.”

  “Of course it is. I know how you like it. How are you holding up, Avery?”

  “I was just telling Trixie, it’s stressful not knowing if people are going to come back once I’m cleared of any wrongdoing. And what if, God forbid, Clive does find something? What if whoever did this snuck into my shop to try and frame me?”

  “Just have faith. You know you didn’t do anything wrong, and Clive will prove that. No one is out to get you. Everyone loves you.”

  Avery looked down at her watch. “Oh, crap. I didn’t realize how late it was. I need to go pick up Jeff. I dropped him at the dentist while I went to run errands. He’s probably wondering where I went by now.”

  “Call us as soon as you hear something from Clive.”

  “I will.”

  “Sally, your order is ready,” called Helen from the counter.

  “We’d better get back too,” I said, finishing the last bite of my fritter. “Make sure Cora isn’t alone too long and our customers aren’t freaking out over the lack of pastries.”

  Chapter 8

  “Jonathan said he will give us the money to pay Stephen and get rid of him,” Cora said to us while we were hanging out at my house later that evening, enjoying our weekly Wednesday wine and whine night—or WWW, as we liked to call it. We were at my house tonight, since I had Cody and Sally’s daughters were with her ex-husband, Tom.

  “He has that kind of money?” Sally asked.

  “He’s a good businessman. He’s turned the motorcycle shop around from when his dad had it. He does a booming business, and he lives simply. He laughs at my shopping habit. Tells me I should put my money in stocks, not shoes. Which is just insane.” She smiled. I could tell how crazy she was about him.

  “He was always good in school. Sally, remember how he would purposely miss questions in math because he didn’t want to be labeled as the smart one?” I said. “He didn’t want his friends to know how intelligent he was.”

  “True. I was his lab partner in Chemistry and always cheated off his homework.”

  “We can’t take his money, though it was nice of him to offer. Plus, you heard Clive, paying a person like this doesn’t usually work. They always come back for more,” I said. “But please give him a big thank you hug and kiss from us.”

  Cora smiled. “He first offered to find him and beat the crap out of him, but then he offered money when I told him you guys probably wouldn’t go for that.”

  I laughed. “Now that’s more like the Jonathan I know and love. Kick ass! And I wouldn’t mind, except I wouldn’t want to get Jonathan in trouble. Stephen’s not worth it.”

  “That’s an offer we should take him up on, Trixie,” Sally said to me. “I’m sure he could do it and not get caught.”

  “He’s more than willing,” Cora said. “But, seriously, what are we going to do about this? We can’t live with the possibility of Stephen popping in on us at any moment. He seems determined to get something we don’t have, and it seems he will go to any lengths to get it.”

  “I agree with you. I’m worried. Every time the phone rings I wonder if it’s him, and I half expect him to show up somewhere after that incident at Baxter’s. I shudder to think of it.”

  “That’s his game. Just like Clive said. To get in our heads so we drive ourselves crazy,” added Sally. “We have to be strong.”

  Just then, my cell phone rang. We all looked at each other, all of us thinking it must be him. I picked it up and looked at the display. Blocked call. Just like the other night when I’d answered, and it was him.

  “Are you going to answer it?” Sally asked.

  “Should I?”

  “Absolutely. You don’t answer the phone, he’ll think you’re scared, and he wins. Answer it, and at least pretend you’re not afraid,” said Cora. “Show him we can’t be intimidated.”

  “Hello?” I said, trying to act normal. I should have had Cora answer it if she wanted us to be all brave and such.

  “I hope you ladies are enjoying your evening and discussing how you’re going to give me my money back,” he said in a hard tone.

  “It’s him,” I mouthed to them.

  “I already told you that’s not going to happen. Now, quit calling me!” I ended the call, then slammed the phone down for my own personal satisfaction. Pressing the end call button just didn’t have the same feeling.

  “What did he say?” asked Sally, her eyes wide in apprehension.

  “He knew we were all here,” I said, my voice shaking.

  “How in the hell would he know that?” Cora asked.

  “He must be watching us and saw the cars,” I said. “Just like he knew where I was the other night. He’s keeping tabs on us.”

  “This is freaking me out,” said Sally.

  I called Clive, and was extremely relieved when he answered. I told him Stephen had called and grabbed my wineglass to take another drink.

  “What did Clive say?” Sally asked.

  “That he would see if he could find where the call was coming from, and for us not to leave until he called back. He’s sending a patrol car over to sit in front of the house for a while, instead of just doing the drive-bys, just in case Stephen is out there.”

  “There’s a lot going on in this little town right now,” Sally said. “Let’s take our minds off Stephen and talk about George.”

  “Oh, Sally, you’ve got to let that go,” I said, rolling my eyes.

&n
bsp; “George who? The mayor George?” Cora asked.

  “Yes, that George,” replied Sally.

  “Why are we talking about George?” Cora asked, surprised. “I must be missing something here.”

  “Sally saw George talking to some guy who isn’t from here, or at least, she doesn’t recognize him, and she is now convinced George is up to no good. She’s being ridiculous, inventing problems where they probably don’t exist just because she doesn’t like him,” I said. “As if we don’t have enough problems already.”

  “I know you think I am blowing this out of proportion,” Sally said, “but listen to who this guy is. His name is Lewis Slydell, and he’s a developer from California. He wants to invest in building some type of open-air shopping complex.”

  “What’s the problem with that?” Cora asked. “Wouldn’t that be good for the town?”

  “It would be if that were actually true.”

  “I don’t follow. Why wouldn’t it be true?” I asked.

  “The land he is supposedly looking at is that parcel out past the Hillsdale farm on 131st and State Road 151.”

  “That’s been for sale forever. Again, why wouldn’t it be a good thing for someone to buy it? It seems a little out there for a shopping center, but I’m not a land developer, so maybe it is a good spot,” Cora said. “It is kind of central to the county.”

  “I don’t know if it’s a good location for a shopping center either, but what I do know is that land can’t be developed. Not for thirty more years at least. No way someone would buy that to build something on now.”

  “Sally, what are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Ten years ago, when the property was first up for sale, someone put in an offer and was having some soil testing done. I’m not sure why, and it’s not important. Anyway, they found the ground was saturated with some sort of hazardous chemical, and it will take until thirty years from now for the ground to be safe again. All I know is that land can’t be built on, so for someone to say they are buying it to open a mall . . . it’s a lie. He has some other motive. Or George does. There is something going on, and that proves it.”

  “Did Tom tell you this? About the land I mean,” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Does Tom think there is something fishy going on between George and this Lewis guy?”

  “He said it did sound odd when George first brought it in front of the property committee, but he didn’t think much about it. The town owns that land and was happy to sell it. Plus, Tom doesn’t care if what George does is fishy, as long as it doesn’t negatively impact him.”

  “But really, what could be the secret motive behind this? Maybe the guy is making a long-term investment?” Cora asked.

  “In this economy, no one is going to buy land they can’t use for thirty years. And why would George be talking about a shopping complex if it was strictly a long-term investment? According to Tom, even if that land didn’t have the chemical issues, it was never worth much anyways.”

  “I still don’t see your point,” I said.

  “I’m trying to get to that, if you guys would stop interrupting. There has to be a reason the mayor is working a deal with this guy for this useless land. This Lewis fellow must be getting something else from George that is valuable, and he’s buying this land as a cover. And I’m sure whatever that is, isn’t on the up-and-up.”

  “That does make a little sense, Trixie,” Cora said.

  I thought about it for a few minutes. While Sally was always thinking George’s actions were suspicious, this did sound plausible. “What can we do about it? Don’t we have enough to deal with right now without worrying about this? When it doesn’t affect us at all?”

  “That we know of,” replied Sally darkly.

  Chapter 9

  “You busy?” I popped my head in the back office, where Cora was studying something on her screen. She looked up.

  “No. Just updating my Comic Sans website. I took some great pictures the other day, and I want to get them posted. People comment on this thing all the time. I almost wish it wasn’t anonymous. It can get pretty hysterical.”

  Cora was a graphic designer who despised the Comic Sans font, and said it was never a good choice to use professionally. So she would take pictures of signs and things she would see around that were in Comic Sans, and she had a website she uploaded them to. She called it her virtual clipboard. She had gained quite a following of people who started posting their own Comic Sans pics, poking fun at the people who used them.

  “Can you add these book selections to our website when you have time?” I said, setting down a stack of books someone had dropped off.

  “Sure,” she replied, taking the list from my hand. “I told Jonathan about the call last night, and he said we should take him up on the offer to kick ass.”

  “I’m about ready to. The problem is, we don’t know where Stephen is.”

  “Has Clive found out anything yet about the phone call?”

  “He called me this morning, and so far, nothing.”

  “Have you talked to Jack lately?”

  “Not for the last couple nights. I mean, things have been a little crazy here. But he hasn’t called either. It’s going to be like I thought. Just kind of dwindle away. Long-distance relationships rarely work. It’s just too hard.”

  “Don’t think that way yet. He might just be busy.”

  “Maybe,” I said doubtfully. “I’m living vicariously through your happiness right now. I’ll be up front for a while longer, until Sally comes in, if you need me.”

  “Okay.”

  I walked back up to the front, happy to see customers milling around. We did have our fair share of browsers each day, but we were fine with that. Our thought was at least they came through the door, and if they had a good time, they might come back and try something. They often bought a cup of coffee, and every little bit helped.

  The time flew by, and Sally came in to relieve me, so I headed to see Clive. I felt like I was hounding him, but I couldn’t sit and twiddle my thumbs just waiting for news.

  “We were able to track where those cell calls came from that you say are Stephen,” Clive told me as I sat down in the chair across from him in his office.

  “Finally. Please tell me he’s in Canada or something.”

  “Sorry, darling, but he’s a little closer than that. He’s about fifty miles away in Collins, or at least, that’s where the cell signal from his last phone call came from. There is always the chance of him using a device to re-route the signal.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel good. So even though you were able to track where the signal was coming from, it might still not be where he actually is.”

  “Correct. I called the sheriff up there, and he’s going to check the hotels in the area. Remember, Stephen is wanted for questioning in the car bombing, so when we find him, we have cause to haul him in.”

  “If you can find him. Clive, what if you don’t find him? What are we going to do?”

  “Don’t think that way. We will find him.”

  Chapter 10

  “Trixie, it’s Katherine. I need you to stop by the shelter if you can. Phyllis says she has something for you, and is adamant it can only be given directly to you. She seems quite worked up over it.”

  “Okay,” I said, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I put the groceries in the back of my car. “Do you know why or what it is she has for me?”

  “She won’t say anything, just that she needs to see you right away.”

  “Okay. I’m in town, getting groceries. I’ll run them home real quick and head over. See you in about twenty.” I sped home and hurriedly put the groceries away that needed to stay frozen or to be refrigerated and left the rest on the counter. I was concerned about Phyllis and didn’t want to make her wait any longer than I had to.

  “You came!” Phyllis said, jumping up to greet me when I finally made it to the shelter and walked into her room.

 
“Of course I came. I told you I would be there for you. What’s going on? Are you okay? I was worried.”

  “I’m fine. But this letter with your name on it was in my mailbox today,” she said, handing me a plain white envelope that had ‘For Trixie Pristine Only’ written in block letters on the front.

  I stared at the envelope, wondering what it could possibly be. “You don’t know how this got in your box?”

  “No. I had one other piece of mail and this. I told Katherine to call you because I didn’t feel I should open it. Why would someone put something for you in my mailbox?”

  “I don’t know, but you did the right thing, Phyllis.” I turned the letter over in my hand, examining it, shaking it a little. I was afraid this could only be from one person, and if it was, this was bad.

  “Are you going to open it? I mean, you don’t have to if it’s private. I can go down to the common area if you want to read it alone.”

  “You don’t need to do that. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’s nothing I need to open in private,” I said, not wanting Phyllis to think it was a big deal. I tore the end off neatly, like my grandmother had taught me, and slid out the sheet of paper that was inside. I unfolded the paper.

  I told you I wanted my money back. I suggest you find a way to make this happen. You have 72 hours. S

  I went pale, and my hands started shaking as I stared at the letter.

  Phyllis looked at me, worried. “Are you okay, Trixie? Should I get Katherine?”

  I didn’t want to put more stress on Phyllis by filling her in on the drama in my life. She had enough to worry about, and I was now worried for her safety more than ever. It looked like it wasn’t just her ex who might be a threat to her.

  “No. I’m okay,” I said, folding the letter back up and sliding it back in the envelope. “Everything’s fine.” I forced a smile. “How about you?” An easy way for me to forget about my problems was to focus on someone else’s.