Pippa and I looked at each other. Uh-oh. Maybe Tyson hadn't been so paranoid about the stealing after all.
Had I completely misjudged Tyson McCall? The thought of apologizing to him made my stomach turn.
I turned back to Mikey. "Being a waiter at a restaurant is not a 'fancy' job," I said. "It's barely scraping by. But you probably have no idea what it’s like to even have a job. I'm sure your parents pay for your place here, and your cost of living."
"That doesn't give him the right to steal my money! Even if my parents gave it to me! Paul owed me!" Mikey shouted.
"So what did you do?" I asked. "Follow him to work, wait till he got a minute alone to threaten him?" I still didn't totally understand what Mikey's plan had been. "Why didn't you just threaten him here? In private?"
Mikey shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. "I followed Paul to work because he kept promising to pay me back but said he couldn't until he picked up his paycheck. I went with him to make sure I got it as soon as he did. That cash was mine."
So he was just going to rip the paycheck straight from the poor guy's fingers?
"But of course, I got there and there's more excuses. Next he tells me I'll have to wait till the end of the night till he gets his tips." Mikey was fuming as he told the story. "Where was I even supposed to go for the rest of the night while I waited? I went around the corner to a costume shop and bought the hat. Thought I'd have a bit of fun with him."
"That's why you were so mad when you saw he gave away a free bottle of wine," I murmured. "Because you thought it would come out of his tips, and you wanted that money for yourself."
I could see the look in his eyes. He was going to run. I don't know if it was stupid or not, but I stepped in front of the doorway and blocked it so that he'd have to get through me if he tried to escape.
"We did that dumb kid a favor, letting him into this fraternity, even though he had no money and no family connections." Mikey pointed his thumb at his own chest. "I stuck my neck out for him more than anyone, sticking up for him when no one else did, getting him a fake ID when he got fired from his last job." Mikey let out a long, bitter laugh. "Fired for stealing, of course."
It was just Pippa and I blocking the exit. I knew that at any second, Mikey was going to get tired of playing this game, tired of having two women interrogating him, and he would push past us. Or worse.
Where the heck had Marcello gone? Right when we needed him the most.
"Paul was struggling to survive," I said. "Maybe he did desperate things but only because he was trying to keep up, trying to fit in with this lifestyle you have." I took a step closer toward Mikey. "That doesn't mean he deserved to be killed."
Pippa and I had become a brick wall between us. But we were so busy blocking the door that neither of us stopped to consider he might go the other way.
Pippa spotted the open window behind him first and realized what Mikey was about to do. She ran for it, but Mikey was too quick, an athlete, and he raced past her, almost knocking her down.
"You can't get away that easy!" Pippa screamed, grabbing onto the ankle of his jeans, trying to drag him away from the window.
But he was already gone, out the window and down the railing, jumping to the grass below. He was young and fit and managed to pick himself up quickly. Then he fled.
"Oh gosh," Pippa said, looking down over the railing at the lawn two stories below.
"It's not that far," I said, climbing over the ledge. I took my heels off first and threw them over. "We've got to jump, Pippa! Or there's no chance we'll ever catch him."
Mikey was already becoming smaller and smaller as he sprinted across the quad, back toward the tennis courts and the science facility. He'd be lost in a sea of students if we didn't act fast. Without thinking about it, I climbed out the window and down a trellis.
Pippa closed her eyes and followed me.
My ankle gave out when I hit the ground and I winced and jumped up, telling myself I could complain about the pain later. With my heels in hand, I began to run.
"How long have we got?" I was breathless as we jogged along and had to stop when I got a stitch and the pain became unbearable. Pippa and I were always talking about joining a gym and getting into shape, but we never actually did it.
As bakers, we didn't really have to be in top shape. But as investigators, it occasionally screwed us up when our suspects get away.
"Come on," I said, waving her along, breathless. "We have to keep going."
But we were no match for Mikey with his head start and athlete-level fitness. He was a dot ahead of us. About to disappear completely into the crowd.
"It's too late," I said, coming to a complete stop. I was doubled over, too out of breath to even talk, let alone keep running. "We've missed the deadline. And Mikey has gotten away." I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was over.
"What the..." Pippa murmured. She suddenly shook me violently till I came back to life. "Rachael, look!"
I stood up straight and shielded my eyes, trying to focus on what she was pointing to. "What the heck?" I asked. "Who was that that just jumped out from behind the bush and flattened Mikey to the ground?"
"It's Marcello!" Pippa said, jumping up and down excitedly. "He's done it, Rachael! He's caught Mikey!"
I shook my head in disbelief as I let out a long sigh and then a happy, relieved, but very loud laugh.
"Looks like that husband of yours might just turn out to be a genius after all, Pippa."
Who would have thought it?
Back in the station parking lot, a familiar face greeted me while I sat, exhausted, on the curb. I'd been worried that if I stayed in the car, I would fall asleep. But even the curb looked like an inviting bed at that point.
Jackson shook his head at me as he walked over. He was trying to keep his face straight, I could tell, but there was a smile fighting to get out.
"Well done, Rachael," he said. "Seems like your tight time frame worked out after all."
He reached down and offered me a hand, helping me back to my feet.
"See?" I said with a tired grin. "There's nothing wrong with solving a murder quickly."
"In some cases," was all he would concede. I could tell I wasn't going to get much more praise than that.
"Maybe I should give you some pointers sometime," I said. "But right now I have somewhere I really need to be."
"Bed?" Jackson asked.
I shook my head wearily. "I'm afraid not yet. There's someone I've got to see."
"Oh, right." Jackson cleared his throat. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Rachael," he said, before turning to leave.
Scott shocked me by embracing me in a giant hug, even picking me up off the ground for a second. As he spun me, I noticed that someone had cleaned up the broken glass and smashed china.
"Thank you, Rachael."
Pippa cleared her throat.
"And you as well, Pippa," he said. "How can I repay you?"
Pippa and I looked at each other. "Um, you are still paying us the money, right?" I asked.
"Well, y—"
Pippa spoke up before Scott had a chance to answer fully. "Actually, I have a request. Instead of my half, I was wondering if you might consider giving my husband a chance at a job here?" She pushed Marcello forward. "He knows how to make a great coffee. And you need a new waiter."
Scott only took a few seconds to chew this over. "Your wish is my command!" he said, clapping his hands together.
Oh boy. He doesn’t know what he has gotten himself into.
I looked around at the empty restaurant. "So, looks like you are not opening for lunch after all?" I said.
Scott shook his head, but he didn't look too distressed. "Turns out it’s still a crime scene for a little while." He made an apologetic face at me. "So I am afraid I won’t be able to pay you that money after all. I hope you understand, Rachael."
What could I say? I wasn’t surprised. Not one little bit. But that didn't mean I was happy about it.
I just shook my head. "You know what, it's really okay."
Scott beamed at us. "How about dinner here for all of you, on the house, as soon as we re-open next week? To make up for last night. I am throwing a belated Valentine's Day to make it up to all my customers."
"So?" Marcello said, looking around at the rest of us. "How about we finally have that double date then?"
"Sure," I said with a low laugh. "But I am taking a very long nap first."
Epilogue
"This is the best table in the house," Scott explained as he poured the wine into our glasses. "It's usually reserved for VIPs."
"Like Tyson McCall?" I asked, raising my glass.
"Where has Tyson McCall gone to, anyway?" Pippa asked.
"Apparently, he's taking a bit of a break from the studio," I replied. "He wants to lay low for a while after all the controversy. Justin texted me that he has taken a long personal leave and headed up the coast."
"Shall I just leave the remainder of the wine on the table for you?" Scott asked helpfully.
Pippa, Kenneth, and I all turned sharply, at the same time, to look at Marcello. He had yet to start his trial at Scott's, and none of us wanted Scott to see his handiwork up close before he was officially hired. If the only payment we were going to get was Marcello's gainful employment, I didn’t want to screw that up.
"Maybe I'll take it back to the bar with me," Scott said with a quick nod. "Just call out when you want a refill."
"I think that would be for the best." Kenneth raised his glass and winked at the rest of us.
"Cheers," Marcello said as we all clinked our glasses together. "Happy Valentine's Day, everyone."
We all laughed and wished him one back. It was a week late, but it was sweet all the same, to be sitting at the table with all the people in the world who meant the most to me.
Well, just about all of the people who meant the most to me.
My phone buzzed in my purse. I wondered who it could be that late at night, considering that the four main people in my life were already there with me at the same table. And something, I don't know what it was, call it a hunch or intuition, made me secretly lean down and check it in the middle of dinner.
It was Jackson. Happy Belated Valentine's Day, Rachael.
Thanks for reading the Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery Boxed Set (Books 7 - 9). I hope you enjoyed reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them. If you did, it would be awesome if you left a review for me on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
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Preview: Up in Smoke
I could feel my hair puffing up like cotton candy in the humidity as I stepped outside the Miami airport. I pushed a sticky strand from my face, and I wished for a minute that it were a cheerful pink instead of dirty blond, just to complete the illusion.
“Thank you so much for picking me up from the airport.” I smiled at the sprightly old lady I was struggling to keep up with. “But why did you say my grandmother couldn’t pick me up?”
“I didn’t say.” She turned and gave me a toothy grin—clearly none of them original—and winked. “I parked over here.”
When we got to her car, she opened the trunk and threw in the sign she had been holding when she met me in baggage claim. The letters were done in gold glitter glue and she had drawn flowers with markers all around the edges. My name “Nikki Rae Parker” flashed when the sun reflected off of them, temporarily blinding me.
“I can tell you put a lot of work into that sign.” I carefully put my luggage to the side of it, making sure not to touch her sign—partially because I didn’t want to crush it and partially because it didn’t look like the glue had dried yet.
“Well, your grandmother didn’t give me much time to make it. I only had about ten minutes.” She glanced at the sign proudly before closing the trunk. She looked me in the eyes. “Let’s get on the road. We can chit chat in the car.”
With that, she climbed in and clicked on her seat belt. As I got in, she was applying a thick coat of bright red lipstick while looking in the rearview mirror. “Gotta look sharp in case we get pulled over.” She winked again, her heavily wrinkled eyelid looking like it thought about staying closed before it sprung back up again.
I thought about her words for a moment. She must get pulled over a lot, I thought. Poor old lady. I could picture her going ten miles an hour while the rest of Miami flew by her.
“Better buckle up.” She pinched her lips together before blotting them slightly on a tissue. She smiled at me and for a moment, I was jealous of her pouty lips, every line filled in by layers and layers of red.
I did as I was told and buckled my seat belt before I sunk down into her caramel leather seats. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, from the trip. I closed my eyes and tried to forget my troubles, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly to give all my worry and fear ample time to escape my body. For the first time since I had made the decision to come here, I felt at peace. Unfortunately, it was short-lived.
The sound of squealing tires filled the air and my eyes flung open to see this old lady zigzagging through the parking garage. She took the turns without hitting the brakes, hugging each curve like a racecar driver. When we exited the garage and turned onto the street, she broke out in laughter. “That’s my favorite part!”
I tugged my seat belt to make sure it was on tight. This was not going to be the relaxing drive I had thought it would be.
We hit the highway and I felt like I was in an arcade game. She wove in and out of traffic at a speed I was sure matched her old age.
“Ya know, the older I get the worse other people drive.” She took one hand off the wheel and started to rummage through her purse, which sat between us.
“Um, can I help you with something?” My nerves were starting to get the best of me as her eyes were focused more on her purse than the road.
“Oh no, I’ve got it. I’m sure it’s in here somewhere.” She dug a little more, pulling out a package of AA batteries and then a ham sandwich.
Brake lights lit up in front of us and I screamed, bracing myself for impact. The old woman glanced up and pulled the car to the left in a quick jerk before returning to her purse. Horns blared from behind us.
“There it is!” She pulled out a package of wintergreen Life Savers. “Do you want one?”
“No, thank you.” I could barely get the words out.
“I learned a long time ago that it was easier if I just drove and did my thing instead of worrying about what all the other d
rivers were doing. It’s easier for them to get out of my way instead of me getting out of theirs. My reflexes aren’t what they used to be.” She popped a mint in her mouth and smiled. “I love wintergreen. I don’t know why peppermint is more popular. Peppermint is so stuffy; wintergreen is fun.”
She seemed to get in a groove with her driving and soon my grip was loosening on the sides of the seat, the blood slowly returning to my knuckles. Suddenly I realized I hadn’t asked her name.
“I was so confused when you picked me up from the airport instead of my Grandma Dean that I never asked your name.”
She didn’t respond, just kept her eyes on the road with a steely look on her face. I was happy to see her finally being serious about driving, so I turned to look out the window. “It’s beautiful here,” I said after a few minutes of silence. I turned to look at her again and noticed that she was still focused straight ahead. I stared at her for a moment and realized she never blinked. Panic rose through my chest.
“Ma’am!” I shouted as I leaned forward to take the wheel. “Are you okay?”
She suddenly sprung to action, screaming and jerking the wheel to the left. Her screaming caused me to scream and I grabbed the wheel and pulled it to the right, trying to get us back in our lane. We continued to scream until the car stopped teetering and settled down to a nice hum on the road.
“Are you trying to kill us?” The woman’s voice was hoarse and she seemed out of breath.
“I tried to talk to you and you didn’t answer!” I practically shouted. “I thought you had a heart attack or something!”
“You almost gave me one!” She flashed me a dirty look. “And you made me swallow my mint. You’re lucky I didn’t choke to death!”
“I’m sorry.” As I said the words, I noticed my heart was beating in my ears. “I really thought something had happened to you.”
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