The Mud Pie Murderess: A Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery

by Stacey Alabaster

  She agreed to meet me in ten minutes. But as soon as I ended the call, another car pulled into the back of the parking lot.

  "Pippa?" I asked in surprise as she stepped out of a car I'd never seen before.

  "What do you think?" she asked proudly, pointing at the small red hatchback. "It's my new set of wheels! Well, new old set of wheels. It's secondhand, of course. But I'm going to need to be able to get around now with baby on the way."

  "That's...that's awesome, Pippa. How did you know I was here?"

  She raised her eyebrows. "I've been talking to Tegan. She filled me in on everything."

  Oh great, it was good to know that everything I said to Tegan was in confidence then. "Hang on," I said. "So, how much do you know?"

  A smug little smile played on her lips. "I know enough," she said.

  I knew Pippa must be loving this. And she hadn't even heard what Simona had said. I quickly filled her in and every word was like music to Pippa’s ears. She was practically bopping about by the end of it. "She'll be here soon," I ended with a whisper. "And I'm not quite sure what to do."

  "I knew it!" Pippa said, shaking her head. "I knew Chloe was trouble all along."

  "Oh, you did not," I said a little teasingly, but I was too nervous to really commit. "You were just jealous of her, Pippa. You just didn't like her from the start!"

  "And with good reason!" Pippa shot back. "She is a spy, and a killer to boot!"

  I frowned. "I'm not sure about a spy," I said. "A lot of this still doesn't make sense to me."

  "Of course she is a spy," Pippa said. "She is related to the CEO of Bakermatic, for crying out loud. She was obviously sent to destroy you and your business."

  "So then why did she try to poison a Bakermatic customer?" I asked Pippa.

  Pippa shrugged. "Because she's crazy? I don't know."

  I heard a car pulling up and told Pippa that she ought to hide. "Get into the office and make yourself scarce!" I said. "She's not going to tell me anything if you're around."

  Pippa ran inside just as Chloe pulled in. I straightened up and composed myself. I had to try and let her think that everything was normal.

  "Hey, Rach!" Chloe said with her usual bright smile spreading over her face. Her long glossy hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing a tailored jacket—ready for detective work. Ready to help me with the case. For a second, I felt guilt stabbing at my stomach. I actually felt bad for what I was about to do.

  I had to stop and remind myself of two very firm facts.

  1. Chloe had been sent to spy on me and set me up.

  2. She had killed Olive Styles.

  I approached her steadily, trying to keep my poker face on. I didn't want to alarm her. I wanted to at least give her a chance to explain herself. I at least owed her that much.

  No such luck with the poker face. "What's wrong, Rachael?" she said. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

  "Let's go inside," I said. "It's freezing out here."

  Even though I didn't want Chloe to know Pippa was there, I felt more secure having the conversation indoors, knowing that Pippa was nearby and could listen in.

  "I thought we weren't supposed to go in here," Chloe said uneasily as she followed me.

  "We're just going into the kitchen," I said. "We'll be fine."

  I stood in front of a counter and spun around to look at her. It was time.

  "Chloe, did you work for Bakermatic before you came to work for me?" I asked.

  Now it was her turn to look like she'd just seen a ghost. All the color drained from her face. She shook her head. "No...no, Rachael." Her eyes started to fill with tears and for a moment. I felt sorry for her again.

  I had to remain calm and firm. "I know you worked there. Chloe. And I know that you related to the CEO of the company. You're his niece. Simona told me everything."

  "Please. Rachael," she started to beg me. "It was never supposed to go this far. Olive was never supposed to die. She was only supposed to get sick."

  I shook my head. "So you wanted to make a customer so ill that no one would ever come into my store again? Is that right?"

  Chloe looked crestfallen. "It was only supposed to get you a bit of bad publicity. No one was supposed to die."

  "But you did want my bakery to shut down, didn't you?"

  "Yes," she finally whispered in defeat, her head hanging. "Rachael, for what it's worth, I am sorry." She looked up at me with huge watery eyes. "I am sorry you got hurt in the crossfire."

  I was in shock. Even though all the evidence had pointed to Chloe, I'd still been hoping that she might have had a logical explanation for everything. I realized I'd still been holding out hope that Braxton Madison was to blame. It was preferable to being betrayed by someone I'd thought was my real friend.

  "I can't believe you did this, Chloe," I said, shaking my head in disbelief and disappointment. "I really, really can't."

  "Please," she said, reaching out to grab my arm. "You can't turn me into the police, Rachael."

  "Of course I can!" I cried, trying to shake her off me. But she had my arm in a death grip.

  "I was being blackmailed," she said, wiping mascara-stained tears from her cheeks with her free hand. "Rachael, I had no choice."

  "Of course you had a choice." I managed to shake myself free this time.

  She shook her head. "I didn't," she said.

  I stared at her. "Who was that woman you tried to poison at Bakermatic? With the chocolate milkshake?"

  Her face went white. "Her name was Brooke," she said. "She was...she was the woman that my boyfriend was cheating on me with."

  My eyes flew wide open. "And so you tried to kill her?"

  She shook her head. "Not kill, no. Just make sick." She looked at me in despair. "But Simona caught me and then I got fired. She didn't know about the poison but my uncle found out what I had done. He said he'd turn me into the police unless I came here and, well..." She looked up at me guiltily. "Used some of my same special skills here. To try and put you out of business. I didn't mean for anyone to die, Rachael!"

  She burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.

  For a moment, I again felt sorry for her. I even had to fight the urge to go over and hug her, tell her that everything was going to be all right. But I didn't know if it was going to be all right for Chloe. And I kept having to remind myself that she did a terrible, terrible thing. Someone was dead.

  And as for my own life, my own career, my bakery? They all seemed like they were over and done for as well. The damage had been done now. The die had been cast.

  Chloe took her hands away from her face. It was a total mess of mascara and smeared makeup now. "Come on, Rachael," she whispered. "Let's just let Braxton Madison take the fall for this. He was cheating on his wife. He bought off the witnesses. He's a corrupt politician. He deserves to be punished."

  I just stared at her in disbelief. Was she serious? Maybe Pippa was right, maybe the girl really was completely crazy.

  "He might deserve to be punished, but he does not deserve to go to jail for a murder he didn't commit," I said firmly.

  Chloe stared at me and a dark look came over her face. She grabbed me by the arm and using her free hand, reached out for the knife block. She pulled the biggest knife out of the wood triumphantly, like Arthur retrieving the sword in the stone, and held it up. It caught the light just before she started to bring it down, and I screamed.

  "Someone help!" I screeched, yanking my arm free and jumping to the side before the knife pierced my flesh.

  Chloe laughed. "There's no one here to help you, Rachael."

  "Help!" I called out again, keeping one eye on the blade Chloe still wielded. She was a complete psychopath. "Pippa! Help!"

  "Pippa?" Chloe said, turning around just as Pippa ran into the room.

  "Rachael!" Pippa cried, then stopped when she saw that Chloe had a knife.

  Chloe burst out laughing and took a step towards Pippa. "Funny seeing you here. F
inally helping your friend after you abandoned her for months?"

  Pippa shook her head as she looked at the blade in terror. She held a hand instinctively over her belly as she backed away.

  I gasped. The baby.

  I lunged forward and used the full weight of my body to push Chloe onto the ground. The blade fell from her hand and slid across the floor. Pippa quickly reached for it while I sat on Chloe's back. I wasn't sure how long I could hold her, though.

  "Quick!" I gasped. "Call the police! Call Jackson!"

  Pippa already had her phone to her ear and she winked at me.

  "I'm already on it," she said. Then she turned her scowling face towards Chloe. "We're the real team, Chloe, Rachael and I. And thanks to us, you'll be going to prison for a very long time."

  One Week Later

  I turned the sign around to "Closed." There was no point having it to open now. It might never be pointed to "Open" again.

  Once the door to the bakery was locked, I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets and started the long walk down the street to the bank, where Mr. Brooks was waiting for me to admit defeat.

  I was stopped by a figure with a long black ponytail.

  Simona. Great. Not exactly the first person I wanted to see right then.

  She didn't look very happy to see me either, though.

  "I suppose you'll be happy now," Simona said. "You got what you wanted in the end."

  "Happy?" I asked with my eyebrows raised in shock. Happy that someone died? Happy that I almost went to prison? What was there to be happy about? "You're going to have to explain that one to me, Simona."

  Now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "I suppose you haven't heard the news yet then."

  "The news?" I shook my head.

  "The Belldale branch of Bakermatic is closing down, effective immediately."

  I just stared at her. Could this really be true? Bakermatic, gone in a flash? My only true direct competitor, vanished?

  A large smile gradually crept over my face. Then I caught the look on Simona's face.

  "See?" she said. "I told you you'd be happy. Too bad not all of us have jobs to go to tomorrow," she said pointedly.

  She was hurt and she was bitter, but she had reason to be. Simona was never high enough in the Bakermatic food chain to cause any real damage to me. She just managed her own store, and did the best she could. It was never about politics or espionage with her. It was just about getting a regular paycheck.

  I felt bad for her, I really did, but the news for me was great. Bakermatic closing would not only be a public admission of guilt over the Olive Styles’ murder, it would also mean that I would be the only bakery on the street. I could stay open. I could march right back into the bank, right up to Mr. Brooks and demand that loan. And I'd get it. I may still have been at rock bottom but the only way was up, and the way ahead was suddenly, unexpectedly clear.

  "You know I fired Chloe when I saw that she was up to something dodgy, " Simona said. "I had nothing to do with any of this."

  I nodded. "I know you didn't, Simona. I'm sorry for ever suggesting that you did. And you always did an amazing job at Bakermatic. You were practically the only staff member who had any real hospitality skills," I said.

  She shrugged. "What does it matter now?" she asked. "It doesn't make any difference. I gave everything I had to that company over the past two years and what do I get? I get to drown with the sinking ship just like everyone else."

  I couldn't believe what I was about to say. I must have been losing my mind. Or going soft with old age.

  I cleared my throat. "Actually, with Chloe gone and Pippa pregnant..." I started to say, and I saw Simona turn her head up in surprise. Was I actually about to say the words? "I am going to need a new full time staff member. A good one. Someone I can trust."

  Simona just stared at me. "Do you really mean it, Rachael?"

  I nodded and reached out to shake her hand to seal the deal. "Welcome on, board Simona."

  Epilogue

  The room was painted a pale yellow. I winced a little at the fumes and placed my paintbrush down. Maybe it was better not to let Pippa inside the nursery. Not while she was still pregnant. Not till the paint fumes settled.

  The house was a good size. Sure, it was a little more out of town than my last apartment had been, and it was in an area known as Downtown Belldale, but there were three bedrooms. Enough for me to have one, for Pippa to have one of her own, and for there to be a nursery for the baby as well.

  I walked back into the living room where Pippa, Tegan, Simona, and a bunch of other friends were waiting around, ready for the baby shower to begin. I gave them each a hug, even Tegan, but warned them to stay out of the newly painted nursery for a little while.

  "I’m so excited that you’re having a baby, Pippa," I said, saving my biggest hug for last. “And I’m glad we get to spend the afternoon celebrating you and your little one!"

  She held up her flute of nonalcoholic champagne and grinned back at me. "I can't believe I thought I just had a stomach bug all that time," she mused. "It seems crazy to think about now." She gave me a little wink. "But now that my stomach has settled, I've been doing some baking again."

  "Really?" I said surprised. "That's supposed to be my job, remember?"

  "I know," she said cheekily. "But I thought I'd give you a break seeing as you were so busy painting." She put her flute down. "Wait here," she said to everyone as she raced into the kitchen to fetch something. I hadn't even had time to use our new kitchen yet. We'd only been in the house two days.

  She returned with a thick, glossy pie and put it down on the coffee table, triumphantly, for everyone to admire.

  "What is this?" I asked, staring down at the chocolaty concoction. It was dripping with chocolate syrup. Mud Pie.

  Pippa burst out laughing. "I thought it would be funny." She clutched at her bulging belly. Clearly she thought it was VERY funny. "I'm sorry, Rachael," she said, catching her breath. But when she saw the look on my face, she only laughed harder.

  I shook my head. "I don't think I ever want to look at chocolate mud pie ever again, let alone eat it," I said. "You really do have a sick sense of humor."

  She picked up a slice and started shoveling it into her mouth. "Well, you may not want to, but I do. And I'm pregnant so I get to eat—and do—whatever I like."

  "Fair enough," I said with a laugh, deciding to dig in myself.

  "Hey," Simona said. "Did you hear that Braxton Madison won the local election?"

  I shot a look at Pippa. "I've been trying to avoid local politics. I'm not surprised, though."

  Simona nodded and bit down on a slice of cake as well. "But apparently, his wife has just left him, so he's already embroiled in a scandal. Looks like he won't last long in office."

  I shook my head and grabbed a piece of pie. Why not? I munched on it quietly while I stood back and watched the other girls laughing and eating, celebrating Pippa and her biggest news so far.

  Whether there was ever a curse of not, things were finally looking up.

  Thanks for reading The Mud Pie Murderess. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, it would be awesome if you left a review for me on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

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  FairfieldPublishing.com/pie-to-die-for

  As a special surprise, I’m also including a preview of the first cozy mystery from my friend Miles Lancaster, Murder in the Mountains. I really hope you like it!

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  Preview: A Pie to Die For

  "But you don't understand, I use only the finest, organic ingredients." My voice was high-pitched as I pleaded my case to the policeman. Oh, this was just like an episode of Criminal Point. Hey, I wondered who the killer turned out to be. I shook my head. That's not important, Rachael, I scolded myself. What's important is getting yourself off this murder charge. Still, I hoped Pippa had recorded the ending of the episode.

  I tried to steady my breathing as Jackson—Detective Whitaker—entered the room and threw a folder on the table, before studying the contents as though he was cramming for a test he had to take the next day. He rubbed his temples and frowned.

  Is he even going to make eye contact with me? Is he just going to completely ignore the interaction we had at the fair? Pretend it never even happened.

  "Jackson..." I started, before I was met with a steely glare. "Detective. Surely you can't think I had anything to do with this?"

  Jackson looked up at me slowly. "Had you ever had any contact with Mrs. Batters before today?"

  I shifted in my seat. "Yes," I had to admit. "I knew her a little from the store. She was always quite antagonistic towards me, but I'd never try to kill her!"

  "Witnesses near the scene said that you two had an argument." He gave me that same steely glare. Where was the charming, flirty, sweet guy I'd meet earlier? He was now buried beneath a suit and a huge attitude.

  "Well...it wasn't an argument...she was just...winding me up, like she always does."

  Jackson shot me a sharp look. "So, she was annoying you? Was she making you angry?"

  "Well... Well..." I tripped over my words. He was now making me nervous for an entirely different reason than he had earlier. Those butterflies were back, but now they felt like daggers.