by Cindy Bell
“I’m so glad.”
“I’m sure it had nothing to do with the two of you being outside alone together?” Chantelle raised her eyebrows.
“Uh.” Lucy smiled.
“Well, whatever you said, it worked. I’m glad. He told me how he was feeling, and I told him how I was feeling, and we’re back on the same page.”
“So you mentioned marriage?”
“Oh yeah, no.” She coughed and shook her head. “I’m not so sure I even want that anymore. I think I was just feeling anxious about Greg growing up so quickly and moving out in a few years. Maybe I just wanted to make sure Noah had to stay put.” She laughed. “As silly as that sounds.”
“It doesn’t sound silly at all. But you’re right, you don’t need a piece of paper to make sure Noah sticks around. He’s a good guy. If he wasn’t, Mom and I would have gotten rid of him long ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sure.” Chantelle grinned. “But I do know he’s a good guy.”
“Listen, I know this is last minute, but Lauren agreed to the class.”
“Wait, she wants to do the class?” Chantelle stepped away from the register and looked at her.
“Yes, I told her she could come this afternoon for it.”
“Wow, I thought she was upset with you.”
“She was, but I guess the frustration wore off. She seems like the type who is eager to learn no matter what she has to do.”
“That’s a good quality to have.”
“Yes, it is. But it also could be seen as a little obsessive, don’t you think?” She set a fresh tray of macarons in the display case. “Which could make her obsessive about other things, too.”
“You still think she might have something to do with the murder?”
“Honestly, I never thought it in the first place. But the more I consider it, I suppose that it could be possible.”
“Well, let’s hope that’s not the case since we’re going to be alone with her all afternoon. Did you run this by Mom?”
“Uh, not yet.”
“You probably should.” Chantelle finished opening the register then walked over to the door to turn the sign to open. “You know she likes to be kept informed and maybe she can serve the customers while we teach Lauren.”
“Yes, I will call her.”
“In a few minutes. There are some more macarons in the oven that need to be taken out.”
“Okay, I’ll do that first.”
“I’ll get another pot of coffee going.”
Lucy stepped into the kitchen and arrived just in time to take the macarons out before they burned. She was still so distracted by Hugo’s murder that even the simplest tasks were difficult for her. As she turned to set them on the counter to cool, her mind swirled, and she thought for sure she caught a glimpse of Lauren headed out the back door. Had she come in early for the class? Did she hear what she and Chantelle said? She chased after her through the back door and out into the parking lot. However once there, she didn’t see her. The parking lot was too large for Lauren to have gotten out of sight so fast. She stood near the door and skimmed her surroundings. She had to be there somewhere. Then she saw her, at the edge of the parking lot, beneath a tree. It was a tall oak tree. Lauren seemed to be digging under it.
“Lucy? What are you doing out here?”
Lucy jumped at the sound of her sister’s voice. She looked over at Chantelle’s concerned frown, then back at the tree. But the tree was gone, as was Lauren. Only then did she recall that there was never an oak tree beside the parking lot. Had she imagined the whole thing?
“Did you see that?”
“See what? We’re getting a crowd out there, I need your help, plus you left the oven door open. Are you okay?”
“Sorry, I got distracted.” Lucy shook her head and followed her sister back into the shop. As Chantelle said there was quite a line of customers. Lucy lost herself in the routine of pouring coffee and serving macarons. Once the crowd finally died down, her mind returned to what she’d seen, or rather hadn’t actually seen outside. She’d already had one nightmare about Hugo was it possible that she was now having visions about Lauren? Not long after the second rush, Lauren walked through the door. Lucy stared at her for a moment.
“Hi Lauren.” Chantelle smiled at her. “So glad that you could be here. Come on in the back. Lucy, did you remember to call Mom to cover the front?”
“No, I didn’t.” She blinked, relieved that her sister saw Lauren too. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”
“That’s fine, I can handle things up front, you can work with Lauren.”
“Sure, thanks Chantelle.” She led Lauren into the back and began to gather a few things she would need for the recipe.
“Lucy, are you sure you’re up for this? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” She lined up the ingredients then smiled at Lauren. “I’m glad that you could make it.”
“Me too. I’m sorry about getting so defensive the other day. I guess I just reacted too quickly without thinking things through properly.”
“I understand, I tend to run into the same problem. I also don’t always express myself in the best way, which I think led to some of the confusion between us. Let’s just put all of that behind us and focus on these macarons.”
“Great! I’m ready to bake.”
As they went through the process of creating macarons, Lucy couldn’t keep the vision out of her mind. She decided to ask a few questions.
“I’ve always had Chantelle to keep track of me. Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I am an only child.”
“What was that like for you growing up?”
“Boring, mostly. Not to say that I would have wanted a sibling because I was quite a spoiled child which I enjoyed, but I was left to my own devices most of the time. My parents were older, and well ingrained in their careers, honestly I don’t think I was planned.”
“Ah, you were a surprise? I’m pretty sure I was, too. And I also think Chantelle would have loved being an only child. But, I really liked having a sister. Even though we fought some as kids, it was nice to have her to turn to, with secrets.”
“Yes, I didn’t really have anyone to do that with. I tended to keep my own secrets.”
The comment made Lucy think of the vision. Were those secrets she buried under the tree? Was it even a vision, or just a hallucination brought on by the stress of Hugo’s murder?
“You know, Lauren, I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t have the chance to tell you properly in the first class just how talented you are. I know that you took a lot of abuse from Hugo about your skills, but you are a natural. I hope that you won’t let anything he said keep you from achieving your goals.”
“Hugo had it in for me. I’m not sure why. I was never anything but a fan of his. Maybe he took that as a challenge in some way. Maybe he just didn’t like remembering where he came from and I reminded him of that. I don’t know what it was, but at least now it’s over.” She frowned. “That came out wrong. It’s not as if I’m glad he’s dead, but honestly it is a small relief to know that I will never have to deal with him again. You probably think I’m horrible for feeling that way.”
“No, I don’t think you’re horrible at all. It can be very overwhelming to have someone blocking your success. It wasn’t right for Hugo to treat you that way. I can’t help but think he must have been threatened by you.”
“Threatened? How?” The spoon she held slipped out of her hand and dropped into the bowl of batter. Some batter splattered up into the air.
“By your skills of course. Where did you get your natural cooking instincts?”
“From my mother.” Lauren plucked the spoon from the batter. “Sorry, I guess my hands are a little slippery. My mother used to cook with me a lot. In fact she left me all of her recipes.”
“Oh? What do you cook of hers?”
“Nothing. I haven’t looked at them in a long time. When I was younger
I was so paranoid that someone would find them and take them, that I buried them in the backyard, under a tree. I forgot all about it until she passed away last year. I didn’t have time to go looking for the recipes then.”
“You should.” Lucy locked eyes with her. “You really need to get those recipes out to the public.”
“You think so? They’re just old fashioned meals.”
“Trust me, make the time to go back and find those recipes.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Oops, you’ve got some batter on your nose.” Lucy laughed and handed Lauren a napkin. Lauren tried to wipe it off, but kept missing. Lucy grabbed the napkin and wiped it away for her as she laughed harder. “I guess making macarons can get messy.”
“I guess so.” Lauren grinned. “Thanks for your help. This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Remember Lauren, growing up is great, but you don’t have to rush it. I remember when I was your age…”
“It wasn’t that long ago.”
“Long enough.” Lucy smiled. “I was so eager to get to my destination, even though I had no idea what that was. Unfortunately, that caused me to miss out on quite a bit of fun. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t be so focused on success that you miss out on the journey.”
“Hmm, I haven’t really thought of it that way. If I’m honest with myself, I’d say that I’ve always tried to impress or be better than Hugo ever since we first worked together. I was always envious of him. Jealous of his success. Maybe he sensed that, maybe that’s why he had such a problem with me.”
“Interesting. You can try to slow down now, enjoy life.”
“I will.”
As they went through the remainder of the class, Lucy was distracted by the beautiful macarons that Lauren created. However, as she said goodbye to her, she was reminded of her comments about being jealous of Hugo. Jealousy was often a motive for murder. As endearing as she found Lauren to be, maybe she was just too easily swayed by the parts of herself that she saw in the young woman.
“How did it go?” Chantelle handed her some paper towel to wipe up the counters in the back.
“I think good. She seemed happy with the class. And as usual she was amazing.”
“So? Things are settled between the two of you?”
“I’m not so sure about that. I like Lauren. I like her a lot. And that might be the problem.”
“Why would that be a problem?”
“I might just not want her to be guilty. I might want her to be innocent so badly that I’m ignoring other signs.”
“Well, the police should help sort it all out.”
“I hope so.” Lucy finished cleaning up the kitchen.
After Lucy was done in the kitchen, she stepped back out into the front. As she reached the counter four police officers stepped inside. One of the men smiled at her as he walked up to the register.
“We can’t get through the day without some of those fantastic macarons. Could we have some, and four coffees?”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll bring them over to your table.” As Lucy prepared the macarons and the coffee, she overheard snippets of conversation from the officers. She was certain they were talking about Hugo’s case.
“At least an arrest was finally made.” One of the officers groaned. “I could use a few hours off.”
“It’s a pretty open and shut case. While they were searching for Sophia’s clothes, they found the murder weapon hidden in a closet. A chef’s knife, they think it was Hugo’s if you would believe it.”
“Who hides a murder weapon in their closet?” One of the other men chuckled.
“Cut it out. It’s nothing to laugh about.” The officer who appeared to have a higher rank than the rest looked between all of them. “It’s still an ongoing case, you need to be careful what you say and who you say it to.”
Lucy walked up to the table and set down their coffees and macarons. The officer who ordered them reached into his pocket for his wallet.
“No, no charge.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her again. “You’re the bright spot in our day.”
“Anytime.” She forced a smile. Inwardly, her mind was imploding. They’d gone to Sophia’s house to look for the clothes and found the murder weapon? She’d been arrested? Her heart raced at the thought. It was real, it was happening. Sophia was a murderer. She just couldn’t wrap her head around it.
“Lucy, are you okay?” Chantelle pulled her into the back. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently, they found the murder weapon in Sophia’s home. She’s been arrested.”
“Oh no, how horrible. I never would have thought she was capable.”
“Me neither. It just seems a little odd, don’t you think?”
“Odd how?”
“Well she owns the school, she kills him there, and she hides the murder weapon in her home? Why wouldn’t she try to cover her tracks more? Why not get rid of the weapon?”
“If she did it out of anger she probably didn’t think it through very much. She might have just panicked and tried to figure out what to do,” Chantelle said.
“Okay, that’s possible. But how did she have time to hide the murder weapon? I don’t think she would have been able to, I was in the school when she found him.”
“Maybe she just made it seem that way. She could have killed him earlier, then pretended she discovered him after everyone left.”
“But if she thought everyone was gone, why would she scream?”
“Maybe she had to in case someone was there.”
“Maybe.” Lucy shook her head. “None of it makes sense to me.”
“So you don’t think she did it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Lucy.”
“All right, all right. I’m not sure. My instincts are telling me no, but maybe I’m just blinded by our friendship. Honestly, I’m so frustrated with all of this, that I can’t think clearly anymore.”
“Well, we’re just about done here for tonight. Go home, take a hot bath, cleanse your mind a bit.”
“Good idea.” Lucy sighed, then went through the process of closing up the patisserie with Chantelle.
On the way out the door, Chantelle patted her shoulder. “Don’t forget we have the class with Georgina tomorrow. Why don’t I pick you up? No reason to take two cars.”
“Yes, that sounds good. Text me when you’re on the way.”
“I will.”
On the drive home Lucy sorted through her thoughts the best she could. If only she could get that sense that she was used to, the one that would tell her exactly who to suspect, she would be able to calm down. Instead, all of the possibilities floated through her mind, and taunted her. After a little play time with the cats and dinner for all of them, she ran the hot bath that Chantelle suggested. As she soaked in the warm water she closed her eyes and focused on clearing her mind. She knew from experience that the calmer she was, the clearer her intuition would be. One breath, then another breath, and her muscles began to relax. As her body unwound her mind quietened. Flashes filled her thoughts. Georgina’s laughter, Lauren’s innocent smile, Sophia’s warm touch on her shoulder. Then all of a sudden she didn’t feel alone in the bathroom anymore. She grabbed a towel and wrapped herself up as she stepped out of the tub.
“Hugo? If you’re there, and you have anything you want to tell me, you can. I’m listening.”
All she heard was the steady rush of the water as it drained out of the tub. “Hugo? Do you know who did this to you?” Again she was greeted by silence. Exhausted she changed into her pajamas and curled up in bed. As she lay in the darkness, she willed herself to fall asleep. She wanted to enjoy Georgina’s class the next day, and that meant getting some actual rest.
Chapter 15
In the morning Lucy’s phone buzzed. She shivered and opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize what the sound was. When she finally grabbed her phone she saw a message from Chantelle that declare
d she was on the way.
“Oh no! I overslept!” She jumped out of bed and threw on clean clothes. After a brief visit to the bathroom she grabbed an apple from the counter and was almost to the door when she heard two sad meows. “Oops, sorry guys.” She spun around and made sure they had breakfast, then stepped out the door just as Chantelle’s car pulled up in the driveway. Lucy jumped into the passenger seat and Chantelle backed out of the driveway.
“I’m so excited that she invited us to this class.”
“Me too. Do you think any of the guys from the dating show will be there?” Chantelle winked.
“Chantelle! What would Noah say?”
“He’d say, Can I have Georgina’s autograph?”
“I bet he wouldn’t.”
“I bet he would. Noah’s not the jealous type. It’s one of the things I love about him.”
“It’s nice that you two have such a good sense of trust between you.”
“Well, after so many years, I think we know each other well enough to know what to expect in that department. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t wish he would be a little surprising.”
“What do you mean?” Lucy asked. “I thought you liked that he wasn’t jealous.”
“I do. But you know, seeing that passion in him, that desire for me, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.” Chantelle parked the car.
“Ah, you’re hoping for a little spice?”
“Spice sounds so naughty.” Chantelle laughed. “Maybe a little less routine.”
“I can understand that. I’m pretty happy just to have a new cat in my life.”
“Did you name that cat yet?”
“Marmalade.”
“Marmalade?” She grinned. “Mia and Marmalade? I think I like that.”
“Me too. I haven’t had any responses from the ads I posted, so I guess she’s here to stay.”
“And Mia?”
“She’s doing pretty good with having a new partner in crime. I feel better that she’s not alone while I’m at the patisserie.”
“Good, I’m glad. Now we just have to get you a partner. Have you heard from Jack?”
“Give it a rest, Chantelle!” She rolled her eyes and laughed.