The Diva Sweetens the Pie

by Krista Davis

  “Oh, Sophie.”

  I was glad he sounded miserable.

  “Now if you don’t mind, I believe I’ll get back to my dinner. Or would you like to take that, too?”

  “I’ll try to be here when they come with the search warrant.”

  I turned and walked toward the table, quaking.

  “Sophie?” Wolf called.

  I didn’t want to turn around, but I did.

  “Don’t be sassy with them. That won’t go over well.”

  When I sat down at the table, Mars was on his phone. I was too nervous to eat, something that rarely happened to me. I listened unabashedly to his end of a conversation about search warrants.

  Mars hung up. “That was Benton. He says they’ll probably get what they want. We need to look at it to make sure it’s specific and not open-ended. They can’t take just anything.”

  That didn’t make me feel better at all!

  “They’re not supposed to come after ten at night, unless they think you might destroy evidence.”

  I snorted. “Then that’s when they’ll come. Just to annoy me, I’m sure. Why do they have to be so rude?”

  “Mars and I will stay over tonight, okay?” said Bernie. “So you won’t be alone.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  Nina made an effort to change the subject, but during dessert Willa whispered to me that we had to figure out what was going on. We couldn’t continue this way.

  At exactly nine fifty-five that evening, squad cars pulled up outside.

  “They’re here,” murmured Mars.

  Bernie, Mars, Daisy, and I gathered in the foyer.

  Chapter 40

  Dear Sophie,

  I have a recipe for pie that uses butter in the crust. I’d rather use shortening. Can I swap them or will it throw the recipe off?

  Living Dangerously in Crisp, Illinois

  Dear Living Dangerously,

  Butter contains more water. Swap one cup of butter for one cup of shortening plus two tablespoons of water.

  Sophie

  I opened the front door before anyone could knock. That ought to show some degree of cooperation. A uniformed officer announced that he had arrived with a search warrant, which I assumed was the paper he held in his hand.

  I reached my hand out for it.

  He waved other uniformed officers into my house.

  “Everything you’re looking for is right here in the foyer.”

  The officer gazed at the phone, iPad, and laptop on the console. “That’s all you have?”

  “Yes.”

  Mars snatched the search warrant from his hand and read it.

  “Thank you for assembling these things, but we still have to search.”

  I’d had a feeling that was the case. The truth was that there just wasn’t anything else. I had sent off old cell phones to an organization that recycled them for use by abused women. And I traded in my old iPad and computer when it was time for new ones. There just wasn’t anything else that fit into that category.

  I could hear the officers tromping around upstairs, no doubt opening doors and drawers.

  “Is there a basement?” asked the officer who seemed to be the leader of the pack.

  “Yes. The door is just off the kitchen.”

  They wouldn’t find anything down there but my laundry and Christmas decorations.

  Wolf walked up to the door. I was plenty mad at him, even though I knew he probably didn’t have much, if any, control over this. He couldn’t just tell them that I was a decent person and hadn’t harmed Alex. But I couldn’t help feeling betrayed, anyway. I knew that was petty of me, but it was how I felt. I walked away from him and into the kitchen.

  A uniformed officer came up from the basement and passed by me without a word. Why did they have to be so unfriendly? Is that how they would want their mothers to be treated?

  I could hear murmuring in the foyer. The front door closed with a click and I heard the clank of the lock.

  Mars and Bernie came into my kitchen.

  “Are you okay?” asked Mars.

  “Yes. They didn’t stay as long as I expected.”

  Bernie winked at me. “I think most people have a lot more computer stuff.”

  “I wonder when I’ll get it back? Do I have to buy something new to get into my own files and work?”

  Neither of them had an answer for me. I had a bad feeling that I might never see the removed items again. The one thing I knew for sure was that they wouldn’t find anything incriminating. I hadn’t even texted Alex in the last week.

  * * *

  After a restless night I rose early, showered, and dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and a navy skirt. I bothered to put on makeup and curl my hair in the hope that it would help restore me to my usual self. I didn’t like being out of sorts.

  The smell of bacon wafted up to me and I had a hunch Bernie was up. Neither Daisy nor Mochie was in my bedroom. I padded down the stairs.

  Bernie, Mars, and Natasha were seated around my kitchen table.

  Natasha rose and held out her arms to me. “I had no idea you tried to kill Alex! Oh, Sophie! What have you done?”

  “What did you tell her?” I asked Bernie and Mars.

  “It’s all over town,” said Natasha. “Everyone has heard about the huge fight you had with Alex.”

  “That’s total garbage. I did no such thing.” Determined to be my usual self again, I smiled at her and asked, “Did you make breakfast, Bernie?”

  I sat down and he brought me a plate of banana pancakes and bacon.

  “This smells so good. I’m hungry!”

  Mars sat down next to me with his coffee mug. “Bernie and I have been talking. This situation has gotten entirely out of hand.” He looked upward. “That fly is going to drive me nuts. I’ve been chasing it with a dish towel all morning.”

  “It probably came inside last night when we brought the dishes in,” I said.

  Bernie sat down opposite me. “We’re not going to let this person frame you like he did Nellie. Mars and I are taking the day off to check some things out. We’ll go over and visit Alex. It’s probably wishful thinking, but the best-possible scenario is that he finally wakes up and can tell us who attacked him.”

  Mars frowned at me. “Think you can stay out of trouble for one day?”

  “I appreciate your help. I never anticipated that this could happen. It’s crazy! Most of all, though, I appreciate your belief in me and my innocence.” Which was more than I could say about Wolf.

  I hugged them all like crazy before they went on their way. The second they were gone, I phoned Harry Gibbard and asked if he could meet me. He readily agreed.

  I suited up Daisy in her halter and set out to meet with Harry. The way I saw it, we were down to three people. The killer had to be Tommy Earl, Roger, or Willa.

  They were all intriguing options. Tommy Earl was getting ready to head out of town. He also happened to live where he had easy access to Dooley’s rhubarb.

  Roger had been unbelievably bitter about Patsy Lee’s success, yet he had a secret affair with her for years.

  And while Bernie thought highly of Willa, I couldn’t exclude her. If she was the killer, she had a lot of guts to tell me she had lost her coffee cup at the pie festival. And even more guts to steal my gas can and then enjoy dinner at my house!

  Harry met me on the sidewalk in front of Moos & Brews.

  “I presume you know my fingerprints were on the gas can and that I have been questioned. Will you get into trouble if you’re seen with me?”

  Harry grinned. “Who cares? Talking to you is part of my job.”

  That set off red warning flags in my head. Just like Wolf, he might repeat what I said. “I guess I can’t swear you to secrecy.”

  “You could, actually. But it wouldn’t do you any good.”

  I bought us both coffees and we walked toward Alex’s office and sat on the bench.

  “For the record, while Alex and I h
ad a disagreement, it wasn’t a big deal, and I certainly did not murder him.”

  “Good to know.”

  “My gas can was stolen.”

  “Why would someone want to frame you?” he asked.

  “I’ve been pondering that very question. All I can imagine is that Alex’s attacker thinks I know something and he wants to get rid of me. This is an easy way to do it. After all, it worked for him with Nellie.”

  “So how can I help?”

  “Tell me about Grainger. Specifically, tell me about his relationships with Willa, Roger, and Tommy Earl.”

  “I hate to let you down, but you’re asking me about details of my brother’s life from more than five years ago. I have no idea. Didn’t anyone see you when you were out walking Daisy? Someone who could refute the claim that you argued with Alex in his office that night?”

  “I’ve got nothing. It was getting dark. I must have passed dozens of people while we walked. But I didn’t go into his office until I saw his bloody hand in the window. Right now, I would love to unravel that rumor and follow the thread back to the idiot who started it.”

  “You’d probably find you were looking at the person who attacked Alex.”

  I tried to recall whether I stopped somewhere, spoke to a neighbor, waved at a friend. And then it dawned on me—I had three suspects. All I had to do was figure out where they were that evening!

  I leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek.

  “Now that will get me into trouble,” he said.

  “No, it won’t. Because I don’t plan to be a suspect for much longer. Thanks for helping me.”

  I walked away and heard him mutter, “I have no idea what I did that was helpful.”

  I reached for my cell phone and remembered that I didn’t have it. So annoying! I would have to locate Wong. She had a sweet tooth. If she was on patrol, I might find her on King Street, more specifically, in the neighborhood of Big Daddy’s Bakery.

  Two minutes later I spotted her one block away from Big Daddy’s. I hurried toward her.

  Wong saw me coming and held up her palms like she meant to stop me. “I can’t talk to you, Sophie.”

  “Funny how all my police friends abandoned me the second I was accused of something I didn’t do.”

  “Sophie,” she groaned, “we’re still friends.”

  Didn’t sound like it to me. “I only wanted to ask you how things are going with Tommy Earl. Does he plan to come back on weekends? After all, he has a house here.”

  Wong relaxed her stance. “He’s not putting it on the market yet. Peter has a issues. Tommy Earl is keeping an open mind for now. He’s eager to see what Peter can do for him, but Tommy Earl isn’t holding his breath. Look how fast Peter dumped Natasha.”

  “Tommy Earl has more sense than to pull that kind of stunt.” I tried to sound casual. “Has he cooked dinner for you yet?”

  “Sophie, he’s such a fantastic cook. I knew he could bake, but he put together a lasagna from scratch that was the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

  “Sounds yummy. Was that the night you sat around his fire pit?”

  “It was.”

  “And that was when? Three nights ago?”

  Wong yawned. “Sorry, these double shifts are beginning to get to me. It was the night of the fire in Alex’s office. I was late because of it, but Tommy Earl was very nice about it.”

  “I’m sure he understood when you called to tell him you wouldn’t be there on time.”

  “Everyone was very kind.”

  “Everyone?”

  “He invited another couple. They all had to hang around waiting for me. I was so embarrassed.”

  And there it was—Tommy Earl’s alibi. A cop and another couple could vouch for him. While I suspected that he could have put together the lasagna in advance and slipped out to set Alex’s office on fire, I didn’t think that had happened. He would have come home bloody and possibly reeking of smoke. Nope, as far as I was concerned, Tommy Earl was in the clear.

  “I hope you two can work something out.”

  “Me too, Sophie.”

  I walked away, thinking one down, two to go, and headed for the Belmont Hotel. It was just past noon when I arrived.

  The morning PiePalooza classes were ending and the halls teemed with eager bakers. I found the registration desk and nosed around for a schedule of events.

  Roger had done a good job of organizing. I picked up a yellow booklet that contained all the activities and flipped back to three days earlier. In the late afternoon there had been a cocktail get-together before a dinner at The Laughing Hound.

  “Sophie!” Roger greeted me warmly. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to see how the PiePalooza was going.”

  “It has been marvelous. There’s talk of doing a dozen of these across the United States! Honey, I think I may have found my calling.”

  “I am genuinely happy for you, Roger. That’s terrific. I see you had dinner at The Laughing Hound. How was it?”

  “The food was marvelous. Bernie arranged for us to dine on the private terrace and he helped me choose a menu that was just to die for. It was wonderful, until the fire, of course. That put a damper on the festivities, since we were outdoors and could see the smoke in the air.”

  I gave him a hug. “Stay in touch and let me know how you’re doing with the PiePalooza events.”

  He hurried off, and I mentally crossed Roger’s name off my list of three people. Unless I missed my guess, it was Willa who had killed Patsy Lee and Grainger, and tried to get rid of Alex.

  Chapter 41

  Dear Sophie,

  What exactly is lard? It’s in my great-grandmother’s pie recipes.

  Modern Woman in Burning Fork, Kentucky

  Dear Modern Woman,

  Basically it’s pig fat.

  Sophie

  Normally, I would phone Wolf and let him know. Would he believe me this time? Would he even take my call?

  I walked through the streets of Old Town, amazed by the calm and the friendly people who passed by me with a warm greeting. They had probably already forgotten about the fire three days ago. But I hadn’t.

  I had, however, gotten very used to having a cell phone and being able to call anyone from anywhere. There was nothing I could do but walk home and make my phone calls from there.

  I walked slowly, wishing I had some kind of physical evidence of Willa’s guilt. The only thing the cops had, as far as I knew, was the coffee cup with her fingerprints on it. I suspected she had done that on purpose. She must have switched her cup with the caffeine overdose in it for Patsy’s cup. Since she wasn’t serving pie, it would have looked odd if she had worn gloves. But she shrewdly made sure she told me, and possibly others, that she was looking for her coffee. If more people testified that she had lost her coffee, it would surely put doubt into the minds of the jurors.

  As I walked home, I neared the house Peter was renting from Mars and Bernie. Peter stood on the stoop with Wolf, who held out his hand. Peter shook it. They were both smiling. Wolf walked away and Peter closed the door.

  “Wolf!” I called, jogging toward him.

  The smile on his face vanished when he saw me. “I was going to phone you.”

  I put my hands in my pockets and flapped them. “Whoops! No phone!”

  “On your landline.”

  “As you can see, I’m not home.”

  He took a deep breath like I was annoying him. “The white powder in Peter’s vial was not caffeine.”

  “He’s in the clear. I figured that. What was it?”

  “Seems he has a common little problem when he travels.” A grin crept back on Wolf’s face. “It was a laxative.”

  I hated to be so juvenile, but I chuckled with him, which cracked the ice between us a bit. “I was going to call you, too. It was Willa. She poisoned Patsy Lee, she murdered Grainger, and she attacked Alex.”

  “I know about Patsy Lee, but I don’t have any reason to believe she di
d those other things.”

  “She relies on fingerprints and framing people. I don’t know what her motive was for murdering Grainger, but I’m certain she baked the pie and brought it to him. It had to be someone he knew and trusted. She stole the rhubarb from Nellie’s ex-husband’s garden to make her appear guilty.”

  “Do you have any proof of that?” asked Wolf.

  With great reluctance I said, “No. The key was the attack on Alex. She took my gas can, knowing my fingerprints would be on it. I bet if you ask around, she won’t have an alibi for that time of day.”

  “Sophie, I’m sorry you’re in this mess. I’m even sorry that they took your computer and phone, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up. What you’re telling me is only speculation.”

  I knew that. “Look in Alex’s files. I’ll bet anything there’s a file on her that contains some kind of secret.”

  Wolf nodded. “I’ll check it out. In the meantime you stay out of it.”

  Yeah, sure, like that would happen. “See you later, Wolf.” I started to walk away.

  “Sophie! Promise me!”

  I turned around. “If the police were interrogating you about something you didn’t do, and they had confiscated your computer, iPad, and phone, would you stop trying to prove your innocence?”

  “No.”

  It was the tiniest whisper, but I heard it. I walked home, hoping he would follow up and check Alex’s files.

  Nina was waiting at my kitchen door, holding a pie box. “Look what I found! Must be a gift from Tommy Earl.”

  The logo on the top of the box indicated that it was from his bakery.

  “Have you had lunch?” she asked.

  “No, but I have lots of leftovers.”

  “Would that include a slice of Tommy Earl’s pie? Wonder what kind it is?”

  I unlocked the door. Mochie mewed at me, which I took as a complaint because he had been home alone.

  Nina gasped. “You didn’t wash the dishes this morning.”

  “I had some things to take care of.”