The path was close to the Toliver property. Now that the leaves had mostly fallen from the trees, Lexy didn’t need binoculars to see into the yard, but she used them to look at the house itself and the various out buildings to try to pick out anything unusual.
After twenty minutes, Lexy sighed with frustration. “There’s nothing going on...we should head back.”
The path had wound around to the back of the house. They turned to head back towards the car. About halfway back, Lexy noticed the path cut in right near the edge of the Toliver property, where they were building the new cabana. Lexy paused, looking at the construction site through the trees. She was so close, she didn’t need binoculars to see they were setting up forms to pour cement.
She felt Sprinkles tugging on the leash. Looking down, she noticed it was wrapped around various sticks and vines, leaving the dog only about a foot of leeway. Lexy squatted down. “How did you do that, girl?” She was always amazed at how the dog could get her leash tangled in an impossible mess. This time was no different - somehow Sprinkles had weaved the leash in and around a cluster of thick vines. Lexy swore under her breath as she tried to unknot the mess.
“Hey, there’s a truck idling out front with someone in the passenger seat!” Cassie, who had continued up the path, was now rounding the corner which had a view of the front of the house.
Lexy worked harder at the leash.
“It’s Bronson - he’s getting in the truck!” Cassie started jogging for the car.
Lexy felt panic rise up in her chest. They had to follow him! Giving up on the leash, she unhooked Sprinkles harness, scooped the dog up in her arms and ran for the car.
Chapter Fourteen
Lexy peeled out of the parking lot, leaving a cloud of dirt in her wake. Bronson had a good head start, but the road didn’t have many intersections so Lexy figured she could catch up to him if she drove fast enough.
“I wonder where he is going...and who is with him?” Cassie rolled down the window, the crisp air circling through the car.
“That’s him up ahead!”
They had come to a long straightaway, the taillights of a big black pickup truck signaling to take a right turn were barely visible about a half mile ahead. Lexy stepped on the gas, praying the police had already met their speeding ticket quota for the month.
She lucked out and the light was green when she got to the intersection. She turned right and saw Bronson’s truck about 3 cars ahead.
They followed him straight down the road, taking a left when he did but being careful to stay a few cars behind. Lexy was surprised when he pulled into the upscale condo unit on the edge of town.
“I wonder what he would want here?”
“Don’t follow directly behind him - it’s too obvious,” Cassie said. “Go down this side road. We can keep an eye on where his truck is going by watching between the buildings.
They didn’t have to go far. Bronson stopped about a half mile in. Lexy did the same. She held her breath as she watched his passenger door opened.
“That’s Candice!” She said excitedly.
The girls watched through Cassie’s open window as Candice produced a set of keys from her purse than disappeared from view, presumably making her way to the front door of one of the condos.
“She must live here...” Lexy said staring at the back of the condo unit which Candice had just entered. She noticed a big black cat skulking around in the grass between the two buildings. Unfortunately, Sprinkles must have noticed it too. In a blur of white fur, the little dog launched herself out Cassie’s open window, charging full speed after the cat. Lexy jumped out of the car in pursuit.
“Sprinkles, come back!” Lexy felt a jolt of panic when she saw the dog disappear around a corner. She tried to run even faster, her stilettos sinking into the soft ground slowed her down and it took a few seconds before she made it around the corner. Her heart sank - the dog was nowhere to be seen!
Then she heard Sprinkles give a playful bark. She turned towards the sound and saw Sprinkles inside one of the condos. The sliding glass door was opened and Sprinkles must have run in. A woman sat on the couch, her head bent down as she petted the dog.
Lexy stepped partway into the condo. “Sprinkles, you almost gave me a heart attack.” She gasped between breaths. Sprinkles saw her and ran over, Lexy bent down scooping the dog up into her arms, her cheeks growing warm with embarrassment for the dogs behavior.
“I’m so sorry...” She started to say, then her breath caught in her throat as the woman looked up and she saw who it was. Candice.
***
The two women stared at each other for a few seconds.
“Hey, you’re that nosy baker. What are you doing here?”
Nosy baker?
“Umm...my dog got away.” Lexy pointed to Sprinkles.
“Yeah but what were you doing here in the first place? Were you spying on me?” Candice stood, taking a step forward, her eyes narrowed to slits. Lexy felt her heart clutch in fear.
“No, we were taking Sprinkles,” she said, pointing to the dog again, “for a walk and then went for a drive and ended up here.” That was mostly true, Lexy thought, mentally crossing her fingers. Candice did not look convinced.
Lexy glanced around the living room of the small condo. It was full of boxes and clutter. “Are you moving?”
Candice snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Of course I am, my employer was murdered so now I have no job. So, if you don’t mind leaving, I’ll get back to packing.”
She spat the words out with such hatred that Lexy, backed up a step and stumbled against one of the boxes. It teetered over, the shoes inside threatening to spill out. Lexy put her hand out to stop the box from falling and couldn’t help but take a peek at the shoes. She noticed one pair on the top, a gorgeous purple suede with pointy toes. Too bad one of the toes was ruined with a brownish stain. The stain was just on the tip of the toe and extended underneath on the bottom of the shoe where the tan sole showed the true color - red. Red like blood.
Lexy felt a chill trickle up her spine. She clutched Sprinkles closer, putting her finger on her eye to keep it from twitching.
“Why are you still here?” Candice asked, waving her hands at Lexy to shoo her out the door.
Something on Candice’s hand caught Lexy’s eye. It was a large shiny ring, a ring with a canary yellow cushion cut diamond - just like the one in Chastine’s brooch. Lexy backed out the door without a word and bolted for the car.
***
“I...think...Candice is...the killer!” Lexy could barely get the words out between gasps.
Cassie’s eyebrows shot up. “What happened out there?”
Lexy took a few deep breaths. “I ran into Candice - Sprinkles was in her condo! She’s packing to move.”
“That hardly makes her a killer.”
“That’s not it.” Lexy took another deep breath. “While I was there, I noticed some shoes with blood on the tip and she had a ring on which had the same stones as the brooch that was missing from Chastine’s blouse!
“Wow, that does sound convincing. Should we call the police?”
Lexy grabbed her purse out of the back seat and rummaged in it for her phone, than punched the speed dial number for Jack. She felt her breathing going back to normal as she listenend to it ring...and ring...and ring. She snapped the phone shut when it went to his voice mail.
“No answer.”
Cassie whipped out her phone. “Let me see if I can get them.” Lexy watched her punch in a few numbers then put the phone up to her ear.
“Hi John...good...no, actually I’m calling because Lexy seems to have uncovered the murderer of Chastine Toliver. Yes, she has evidence. Ok, see you in a bit.”
“Who was that?”
“John Darling. He said to come in right away so they could take a statement.” She turned to Lexy, an innocent look on her face. “You’re not the only one with an in at the police department.”
Chapter Fi
fteen
“Lexy, what are you doing here?” Lexy saw the look of surprise on Jack's face as his eyes traveled from her to Sprinkles to Cassie.
“You didn’t talk to John?”
“I didn’t catch up with him yet.” John’s voice boomed from down the hall.
Jack spread his hands “What’s this all about?”
“I know who killed Chastine!” Lexy blurted out.
She saw Jack's eyes narrow. “What? I thought I told you to stop investigating the murder?”
Lexy felt her cheeks burn. “I was...well I mean, we were just taking Sprinkles for a walk when we saw Bronson. We followed him and ended up at Candice’s condo.”
“Lexy, you aren’t making sense. Come on down here and tell me the story from the beginning.”
Jack turned down the hall and Lexy started to follow. Cassie touched her arm, “I’ll stay back here,” she said tilting her head in John's direction. Lexy nodded, thinking Cassie probably mistook her eye twitch for a wink. She put her finger up to her eye, wondering if she had a big mascara smudge underneath from jabbing at it to stop the twitch.
Jack stood in front of the door to a plain room motioning for her to enter. Inside was a long table with two metal chairs - one on either side of the table. It looked like the interrogation rooms she always saw on TV. She took a seat, setting Sprinkles down on the floor.
Jack leaned on the edge of the table in front of her and swiped at her cheek gently with his finger. “You had a smudge of mascara there...now, tell me what this is all about.”
“Sprinkles got away from me, chasing after a cat. I followed her and, just by chance, she happened to have run into Candice’s condo. I went in to get Sprinkles and noticed she had a pair of shoe with blood on the tips.” Lexy saw the look of disbelief on Jack’s face - she had to admit it did sound a little far fetched.
“What were you doing near Candice’s condo...and how do you know it was blood?”
Lexy felt her heart speed up. How would she explain what she was doing there without getting Jack mad at her?
“Well...” Lexy saw Jack’s eyebrows raising even higher and decided the best course of action was to come clean.
“Ok, we followed Bronson. But we weren’t going to do anything, just see what he was up to. Only, Sprinkles got out and ran off so I chased after her. The part about finding Candice in her condo really did happen by accident.” Lexy looked up at him sheepishly, her heart leaping when she saw amusement, instead of anger, in his eyes.
“What about the blood?”
Lexy told him about the box of shoes. Jack's expression changed as she described exactly what the blood looked like. He took out his notebook and started jotting tings down.
“Well, that does sound like blood, but, of course it could be plenty of other things, she could have stepped in it anywhere. I’m afraid it’s really not much to go on.”
“There is one other thing...” Lexy looked up to see how interested he was in hearing it. Jack bent in closer. “I noticed she had on a ring... a ring with a very distinctive stone in it...”
“A canary yellow cushion cut diamond.” Jack finished the sentence for her.
Lexy nodded. “You knew about the pin?”
“Of course,” Jack said giving her a sideways look, “...and we know Bronson tried to pawn it...without the stones. It’s not looking good for the two of them.”
Lexy felt a bubble of happiness. She had found the killer! Or killers. Either way, the case would be solved and she could get paid. Most importantly, Jack didn’t seem mad at her.
“I’ll have to get the paperwork rolling, we’ll need warrants and statements if we want to bring them in tomorrow. That could take all nigh-” He broke off the last word and looked at Lexy.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“We were supposed to go out on a date tonight.” He said.
Lexy felt her stomach drop. She knew what was coming next. If they went on their date, he might not get the paperwork done. She wasn’t sure which she wanted more.
Jack put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re more important to me than this job. I can fill out paperwork tomorrow and bring them in for questioning the next day.”
Lexy looked into his honey brown eyes, warmth spreading through her body. She wanted to go out with Jack, but, on the other hand Candice was packing - tomorrow could be too late.
“I have an idea.” She reached up and played with his collar. “Maybe you could do the paperwork tonight, and then...when it is done .. come by my house for a nightcap.” Skip the date and go straight to the good stuff.
Jack smiled, pulling her close. “That sounds like a very good idea.” He lowered his lips to hers making Lexy forget all about murderers, bakery equipment and overdue bills if only for a few, delightful seconds.
Chapter Sixteen
Lexy padded into the kitchen, her bare feet making slapping sounds on the linoleum. The sun streaming through the window lit up the room. She smiled when she saw Jack’s coffee cup neatly placed in the sink, a warm glow of contentment filling her.
She felt happier than she had in weeks. Soon the killer would be behind bars, she’d get the payment she needed for the bakery and her and Jack were back together. What more could she ask for?
Sprinkles happily danced at her feet. She squatted to pet her. “It’s a beautiful day today, what do you say we go visit Nans, then take a walk in the woods to retrieve your leash?”
Sprinkles increased the pace of her dancing, Lexy didn’t know if that was a yes to the walk or a sign the dog was hungry. She filled her ceramic dog bowl, setting it on the floor.
While Sprinkles munched contentedly on her dog food, Lexy scrounged in the fridge for breakfast. She ignored the eggs, milk and fruit reaching straight for a small banana cream pie she had stashed in the back. She figured it was the closest thing to a balanced breakfast because it had fruit from the bananas, protein from the cream and carbs from the crust.
While she ate the pie, she rummaged in the drawers for Sprinkle’s old leash. The new one, an expensive retractible model was still tangled in the woods and Lexy needed something for her visit to Nans. Sprinkles was pretty good at staying with her - unless a cat or squirrel wandered into view - but she still wanted to make sure the dog was safe and didn’t wander around the retirement center unattended.
She saw the frayed material of the old purple leash shoved in the back of a drawer, grabbing it with her fingertips, she pulled it out. It was beaten almost to shreds with some very thin areas, but it would have to do. She shoved it in her purse, than headed upstairs to shower and change.
***
“Sprinkles!” Ida shouted the dogs name from the other side of the Retirement Center lobby. Sprinkles wagged her tail, straining at the end of the leash - she couldn’t get over to greet the four ladies fast enough.
Lexy let the dog pull her towards them, then perched on a chair while the older women lavished Sprinkles with attention.
“Are you going to bring her around to the other residents?” Ruth asked as she bent forward to stroke the dogs ears.
Lexy occasionally brought Sprinkles to the Retirement Center to visit some of the elderly patients who couldn’t get out, she was always a big hit. “Not today,” Lexy said, “I’m in a bit of a hurry but I wanted to stop by and tell you some big news about the case.”
The four ladies switched their attention from the dog, sitting up in their seats they stared at Lexy expectantly.
“I found the killer!”
Lexy heard four sharp gasps. She saw eight wrinkly eyes narrow. Four grayish blue heads bent forward across the table.
“Well...who is it?” Helen asked.
“Candice.”
“Candice?” Nans, Ruth, Helen and Ida echoed in unison.
Lexy nodded, then told them all about the previous days events. “She’s probably at the station being arrested right now...and maybe even Bronson too.”
“That’s fabulous! Another ca
se solved by the Ladies Detective Club.” The other ladies nodded in agreement.
Solved by the Ladies Detective Club? Lexy wrinkled her brow thinking she had done most of the work.
“Now dear, don’t give us that look. Sure, we sent you off to do all the legwork, but we did do the investigation to find out who pawned the brooch.”
“And eliminated the people from Texas and Trixie as suspects when we found they had alibis.” Ida added.
“And pushed you in the right direction.” Nans said with a firm shake of her head, “Of course, we couldn’t have done it without you, though.” The others nodded their agreement.
“Yes, Lexy, nice work,” Ruth said. “But I wonder- why would Candice want to murder Chastine?”
Lexy chewed on her lip. That was a good question, of all the suspects, Candice was the one without a motive. “She probably was in on it with Bronson. He had a pretty good motive with Chastine on the brink of marrying into family money.”
Ruth tilted her head apparently thinking about Lexy’s theory.
“Well, I just wanted to stop by to let you ladies know the good news. Sprinkles and I are heading back to the walking trail. It’s such a beautiful day...and I need to retrieve her leash. It got tangled in the vines yesterday and we had to leave it to run off and follow Bronson. It was expensive, and this leash won’t last much longer.” She held up the frayed end of the purple leash.
Lexy got up, hugging Nans she bid the other ladies a good day, then she picked up Sprinkles and headed out the door.
Emerging from the building into the warm sunshine made her feel like singing. Everything was going her way - it was a beautiful day and soon her life would return to normal. For the first time in weeks she felt relaxed, looking forward to the future. Nothing could possibly go wrong now.
Chapter Seventeen
“When we find those shoes, we’ll have the evidence we need so you might as well confess now and save us all some trouble.”
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