Burned to a Crisp

by K A Miltimore

  “That’s fine, as long as you don’t mind some interruptions. I have to get more cookies in the oven.” Hedy had a tray of kraken cookies ready to bake, with more dough on the marble slab.

  “Not at all, it will give me a chance to take a few pictures while I am here. So, your name is Hedy Leckermaul, correct? And you moved to Enumclaw just last year to open this shop, The Gingerbread Hag. Interesting name for a bakery.” He looked at her expectantly but Hedy was waiting for a question.

  “Why do you make such strange treats? What’s the thinking behind rat shaped cookies?”

  “Well, to some they might be strange, but to others they are fascinating. Anyone can make a plain old round sugar cookie. What’s the fun in that?” The kraken cookies were in the oven and the timer set, just as another pair of customers approached the counter. The reporter waited patiently as Hedy boxed up the fresh banana bread and six of the iced withered leaf cookies.

  “Business is brisk today but you haven’t done much in the way of advertising. You barely have a small sign out front and I haven’t seen or heard any kind of ad for the shop. How are folks hearing about you?”

  “I’m assuming by word of mouth. Opening the shop has been a labor of love. The Leckermauls have a history as bakers, all the way back to the Black Forest in Germany. If I didn’t bake, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

  “Why Enumclaw to open up your shop? Surely you could have done better in an urban place like Seattle or Tacoma.”

  “Why not Enumclaw? Who says that only big cities can have interesting things? In all seriousness, I have lived in many cities for many years and I was ready for a slower, calmer pace of life. Enumclaw seemed like a perfect place to slow down and concentrate of my baking.”

  “Hard to say that right now with all the missing women and the fires, huh? Though thank goodness that has come to end.” The reporter had his camera out to snap a picture of a red velvet cake with a candy hatchet through the top, when Hedy stopped him.

  “What do you mean, it has come to end?” Mel and Ana had stopped their chatting and were paying close attention as well.

  “Oh, I suppose it hasn’t made the news yet but I heard just as I was coming here on the police band that they have made an arrest for the arsons. Some homeless man was found with a bag belonging to one of the missing women.”

  “Really? I wonder why he would set the fires and what happened to the women?” Hedy asked.

  “I’m sure we’ll learn more when the police issue their statement. I’m still on the lifestyle beat so I won’t be covering it.” He sounded disappointed. Just then Bren came into the shop, followed by a ruddy faced Darro, finished with his rose wrangling for the day. He brought the smell of damp garden trailing behind him.

  “The police think they have caught the arsonist, a homeless man.” Hedy said and she saw the surprise on Bren’s face; it matched her own.

  “If it is alright with you, can we finish the interview? I need to get over to the meat market to interview them about making sausage for Octoberfest.” The reporter really sounded like he hated his job.

  “Certainly. What else would you like to know?”

  Hedy and the reporter chatted while Bren and Darro joined the girls at the table. Darro was waiting for his pay but he figured he might as well be sociable while he did so. Bren and Ana hadn’t spoken since the confrontation last night but he spoke as if he didn’t seem inclined to hold a grudge.

  “Here’s a quick blurb about it on the Internet. ‘A homeless man, name unknown at this time, has been arrested in the recent arson and missing persons cases in Enumclaw, WA this week. The man’s connection to the two missing women is unknown. He was reportedly found with a backpack belonging to one of the women and was identified as at the scene just prior to the first fire. Police have no comment at this time but will be releasing a statement.’ That’s all there is.” Mel read from the screen on her phone.

  “How would a homeless man abduct two women? It doesn’t make any sense.” Bren shook his head, clearly not finding the story plausible.

  Darro chimed in. “We don’t know all the facts, do we. He might have had help, he might have some vehicle that he used. I’m sure the police will have more information.” While not necessarily a fan of the police in general, especially before pot was legal, he saw no reason to doubt the news of the arrest.

  “I’m glad to hear it. Maybe now that the danger is passed, people will settle down and stop acting like idiots.” Mel looked meaningfully at Ana and Bren wondered what that was all about.

  The reporter had wrapped up his questions and taken a few pictures of the shop, with Hedy doing her best to pose in her polka dot apron, holding a rolling pin. If she had known about the interview, she would have taken the time to have fixed up her hair; it would just have to do.

  “Thank you for your time. You’ll be in the Halloween issue of the paper. No surprise there, huh?” The reporter headed out the door, giving the shop one last look and a shrug as he headed out the front door.

  “I suppose I should be offended by that comment. As if I’m only suitable for Halloween.” The timer dinged for the kraken cookies and Hedy grabbed her oven mitt.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “I’d say it has been a good day then, all considered. Darro managed not to trade blows with Jeffries next door. The police think they have the arsonist in custody, and I have just about sold out of everything in the showcase today.” Hedy wiped her hands on her apron before switching the Open sign to Closed. She came back to the shop where everyone but Darro, who had left for his nightly hobby, was still at the table.

  “Mel, will you be joining us for dinner? Not that we wouldn’t love to have you but I don’t want your family to think we are taking advantage.” Hedy said while Ana looked apprehensively at Mel to hear her reply.

  “Actually, I do need to be heading out. My mom sent me a text that she brought home take and bake pizza, so it’s a home cooked dinner with the family.” She smiled as she said it; Mel’s mother was notoriously a bad cook. “Ana, would you like to come over for dinner?” Mel was hoping she would but also fearful about it; she rarely had anyone over to the house, especially someone she liked as well as Ana.

  “Oh, well, I don’t know…I mean, would your mother mind?” Ana was stalling a bit as she thought about it. She wanted to go but she didn’t want another experience like she had with Stuart, the school security guard.

  “No, she wouldn’t mind at all. I’ll send her a text that I’m bringing a friend, and the good news is even my goofy brother won’t be there. He’s in Seattle trying to get his dumb band off the ground.”

  “Well, sure then. I would be delighted to join you.” Ana smiled and the girls started gathering their things to go. Hedy looked around the showcase and saw that she had a few items left she could pack up.

  “Here, take these treats to your mother, with my compliments. I hope that she can come by the shop and visit us sometime.” Hedy filled a box with a few of the kraken cookies, a slice of banana bread, and a small pumpkin tart. “Do you girls need a ride?”

  “No, it's not rainy, let’s walk.” Mel took the box from Hedy with a thank you and together they headed off into the twilight.

  “That’s nice to see, isn’t it?” Hedy came back to the table where Bren was deep in thought.

  “Oh, yes, I mean, sure.” He clearly had hardly noticed their departure.

  “What’s on your mind this evening, Bren?”

  “Something doesn’t add up, Hedy. This arrest makes no sense to me. Why would this man burn down both places and seemingly abduct two women, without a trace? Where did he take them? How did he take them?”

  “I have no idea, Bren. It’s surprising for sure but I’m sure the police have evidence we don’t know about. If it turns out that this man didn’t do it, then they’ll let him go. For now, I’m just glad that this seems to be behind the town.” Hedy hadn’t felt this relieved in days and she didn’t want to let that go, even
if the story did seem a bit strange to believe.

  “For the sake of the town, I hope they do have the right man but it just doesn’t feel right to me. The rage in that fire, remember I can feel that rage even in the embers and ash left behind, that rage had to come from someone who really wanted to see those buildings burn.”

  Before Hedy could answer him, Zelda came into the shop in a hurry. “Hedy, you might want to come outside.”

  Zelda led them down the front porch and around to the side of the house. The green fruit cellar door was swung open, one of the hinges loose. In the darkness, she could just make out the lock in the grass.

  “Oh no! When did this happen?” Hedy watched as Bren carefully stepped into the dark cellar, fishing around for the light chain. After a few moments, the room had bright light spilling out. She came to the edge of the cellar in time to see Bren shaking his head.

  “It’s gone. Nothing else has been moved.” Bren pulled the light chain and came back out of the cellar.

  “Well, damn it. That didn’t take long. How the hell did the thief know where we hid it?” She watched Bren as he carefully placed the half-hanging door back over the cellar.

  “Maybe he knows something.” Zelda gestured toward the patch of ivy where the reddish heap of Ren was laying still.

  Hedy came over to the fox and he didn’t move. He was barely alive.

  “Hedy, careful. He might bite you.” Bren watched as she took off her apron and wrapped it carefully around the fox before picking him up. He stirred slightly but otherwise was limp in her hands.

  “Let’s get him inside.” Hedy led the way back into the house, carrying the still fox carefully in her arms.

  She brought him into the entry and turned left, into a small room off the entry that had a large octagon table. Carefully, she placed the fox on the table and then turned on the overhead light. The fox was barely breathing but he was alive.

  “What happened to the creature?” Bren was beside her, seeing no wounds or marks of damage on its body.

  “I don’t know. Watch him for a minute while I gather up a few things.” She retreated toward the back of the house and came back with a flannel blanket, a chair pad, and a small bottle with an eyedropper. “Lift him up for a minute so I can put the pad underneath him.” Bren gingerly lifted the fox, clearly not convinced it was a good idea to have a wounded wild animal in his arms, no matter how still it looked. He placed the fox back down and watched as Hedy loosely covered the fox with the flannel blanket.

  “I want to try to get some water down him. Do you think you could hold open his mouth while I drop some inside?”

  “No, I don’t think that is a good idea, Hedy. Better to let him rest and if he is better in a few hours, we can put out a bowl for him to drink from. Prying open the mouth of a wounded fox is not the best idea, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Hedy nodded. For now, there wasn’t anything they could do other than hope that the fox recovered. She dimmed the overhead light and closed the pocket doors that led into the little room, leaving the fox to rest in the flannel blanket and the two humans to wonder whether he would recover or die on Hedy’s table.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A couple of hours passed and Ana had not returned from dinner with Mel. Hedy kept checking on the fox but so far, he didn’t appear to be stirring. There wasn’t an emergency vet in town, and she doubted whether the vet would treat a wild fox anyway.

  With the showcase in the shop so empty, she had some midnight baking ahead of her to be ready for the morning. Bren asked if he could help so the two of them donned aprons and set to work.

  “We’ll need some cookies, a quick bread like banana or pumpkin, two batches of cupcakes or muffins, and some hand pies.” Hedy was eyeing the double ovens in the shop and calculating temperature to maximize the baking time.

  “That sounds like a lot.” Bren had never so much as iced a cookie but he was willing to be helpful.

  “It is a lot, normally I don’t have to do quite so much at one time - I can bake a few things throughout the day and keep the shelf restocked, with a larger batch now and then. But we can get as far as we want tonight and then I’ll do some more in the morning.”

  “So, where do we start?” Bren asked.

  “I have quite a bit of pie dough already chilled in the fridge, so we can start there, rolling out rounds for hand pies. Pumpkin seems like a good filling for the season.” Hedy put Bren on the task of making the filling. Rather than roasting a fresh pumpkin, she actually preferred the taste and texture of canned pumpkin for her pies. Bren had can after can to open, plopping the orange puree into a large ceramic bowl.

  “OK, you have a vat of pumpkin here, what do I do with it?”

  “Time to flavor it up with spices. Over on the shelf there, grab the cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. You’ll need the salt cellar and the sugar jar as well.” Hedy walked him through adding all the spices and sweetening it up with sugar. “We’ll beat up some eggs and add that to your pumpkin, and then we are ready to add some filling to the dough I have rolled out.”

  The front door bell tinkled and both Hedy and Bren looked up, expecting to see Ana. It was a police officer instead.

  “Good evening, how can I help you?” Hedy rubbed her hands off on the apron and came around to the front of the shop.

  “Officer Williams, ma’am. I am here because your neighbor, Mr. Jeffries, lodged a complaint today about an altercation he claims he had with you. I’m here to take your statement.”

  “Please come in, Officer. I am sorry you had to come over something like this. It was nothing on our part, anyway. Mr. Jeffries became livid over the removal of some rose bushes on my property.”

  “Yes, he told me about the bushes and to be honest, I’m not that interested about whether or not the bushes belong to you or him; he can take that up in small claims court if he wants. I’m here to discuss the threats he says were made.”

  “Threats? What threats?” Bren had removed his apron and come around to join the pair.

  “Who are you, sir? Do you live here?” The officer had his notebook out and ready.

  “My name is Bren Aldebrand, I’m a friend of Ms. Leckermaul and I am just staying here for a few days. I was present at the confrontation with Mr. Jeffries this morning.”

  “He claims that two men and Ms. Leckermaul threatened him with physical harm. He said one of them, who had a slight German accent, said ‘I’m going to knock your head into the pavement, old man.’ Did you say that, Mr. Aldebrand?”

  “Absolutely not. No one said anything like that to Mr. Jeffries. No threats were made. Ms. Leckermaul informed him that he wasn’t welcome on her property but that was it.” Bren looked astonished by the claim, as did Hedy. The officer jotted down Bren’s statement.

  “Ms. Leckermaul, who is the man that was with you that had a Scottish accent? Is he here?”

  “That would be Darro, the gardener that I hired, at Mr. Jeffries’ insistence, I might add. Darro was with us but he said nothing threatening either. I have his phone number if you wish to contact him.”

  “Yes, thank you ma’am. I’ll need his statement as well. I will tell you that Mr. Jeffries is quite adamant that he felt threatened and that he is going to request a restraining order against you. I can’t say whether such an order will be granted but you will likely have to appear in court.” The officer closed his notebook, his face a blank slate.

  “It’s really ridiculous, Officer. No one has ever threatened Mr. Jeffries and if truth be told, he has been the one that has imposed himself on me, time after time, complaining about trivial things. I’ll appear in court if that is required but if he continues harassing me, I’ll be forced to get a lawyer involved.”

  Officer Williams headed for the front door and passed Ana on the porch as she was coming in. She looked surprised and was even more so when she heard why the officer had stopped by.

  “That man is crazy. Honestly, what is he trying to do?” Ana took off her jacke
t and hung it on the rack in the entry.

  “I don’t know, but he is the least of our worries tonight. Someone took the Greek crate.” Hedy slid open the pocket door to reveal Ren, the fox, still curled up in the flannel blanket.

  “What happened to him? Who took the box?” Ana peered inside the blanket and watched Ren’s shallow breathing.

  “We’re hoping he can tell us that, when he wakes up. Whoever took it knew exactly where we had it hidden.”

  “Could be your crazy neighbor. He probably took it and hurt the fox. I wouldn’t put either past him.” Ana gave the fox a soft touch and she felt him stir slightly. She didn’t seem the least bit concerned that she was petting a wounded, wild animal.

  “Hedy, he moved. I think he is waking up.” Ana said. The three gathered around the table and watched the fox for several minutes, as Ana gently stroked his fur. After several minutes, the fox began to blink slowly.

  “Ren. Ren, you are alright. You are here in the house, you were injured.” Hedy tried to speak calmly so the fox wouldn’t panic and possibly bite them in fear.

  Ren’s eyes widened and he looked around at the human faces peering down at him. He rustled slightly and gingerly sat up.

  “What am I doing in here?” He shuffled off the flannel blanket and blinked at the overhead light.

  “We found you outside, in the ivy, unconscious. We brought you inside to warm up and hopefully wake up.” Hedy watched the fox carefully shake his head, stretching out his neck from side to side.

  “Oh yes, I remember now. The lady.” He said.

  “The lady? Did someone hurt you?” Hedy asked.

  “Do you have some water?” He lightly licked his parched lips. His voice sounded raspy.

  “Yes, of course, here you go.” Hedy had a saucer of water on the edge of the bookshelf and she passed it over to the large table where Ren sat.

  “Thank you.” He lapped the water slowly before continuing. “Yes, I was out in the shrubs near the side of the house, where I had a nice juicy mole caught, when I heard a lady speak. She said ‘I see you little fox, I see you there. Come out, come out and tell me what I need to know.’ I honestly thought it was you, Miss.” Ren paused and took another sip of water.