8 Scones, Skulls & Scams

by Leighann Dobbs

“Well, I wouldn’t think too many people would know about something that happened so long ago,” Helen said.

  “Sure, but it only takes one person. Someone on the police investigation or someone in the historical society that knows the history,” Nans suggested.

  “Oh, wait.” Ruth grabbed her purse from the back of the chair and set it in her lap. “They have a card you sign to view the blueprints just like when you take out books at the library. I have it here since I signed out the other blueprints. Let me see …”

  Lexy held her breath as Ruth pulled several objects out of her purse, placing them on the table and diving back in until she finally retrieved a small card.

  Squinting down at it, she adjusted her glasses. “Yes, here it is. The last person to take these out was someone named Brewster … Caraleigh Brewster.”

  ***

  Lexy gasped, her head jerking up to look at the bakery across the street.

  “What’s the matter, dear? Do you know this person?” Ruth asked.

  “I can’t believe it … Caraleigh Brewster is the baker across the street.” Lexy shot her arm out pointing toward the bakery, and four gray heads turned to look out the window.

  “You don’t say,” Ida said.

  “Why would a baker want to get in the sewer?” Helen asked.

  “I have no idea,” Lexy said, her eyes riveted on the other bakery. Inside, Caraleigh swiped at her cafe tables with a white towel. Lexy took little consolation in the fact The Brew and Bake was as empty as her own bakery.

  “Well, it’s simple,” Nans said matter-of-factly. “She must know about the treasure.”

  “How would she know?” Ida asked.

  “Who knows? Isn’t she new in town?” Nans looked up at Lexy. “What do you know about her?”

  “Nothing, really. She was getting the bakery ready to open right before I left on my honeymoon. When I came back it was in full swing.”

  “A suspicious bakery that sells grocery store baked goods.” Nans narrowed her eyes and looked out the window. “She probably doesn’t even know how to bake.”

  “Oh, come on, Mona.” Ruth raised her brows at Nans. “Why would someone who doesn’t know how to bake open a bakery?”

  “I know why,” Ida cut in. “It’s a cover!”

  Ruth’s eyes narrowed, she tapped her index finger on her pursed lips. “You mean somehow she found out about the robbery and thinks the treasure is still here in town, so she came here to ferret it out. Maybe she knew all about Midas Mulcahey and recognized the teeth in the skull, then went to get the blueprints, planning on getting into the sewer just like we did.”

  “But she was here before they even found the skull,” Lexy said. “And why would she go to all the trouble of opening a bakery and then try to drive me out of business?”

  “Yeah, why break in here? Why sabotage your scones?” Helen added.

  “It doesn’t make any sense.” Lexy spread her arms and let them slap back to her sides.

  “Wait a minute …” Nans bent closely over the table, her index finger tracing the lines on the blueprint. “Let’s see … this is Main Street and here is the intersection of Duvall and Main. Then it branches off to Elm and … Yep, just as I thought!”

  Nans straightened up and looked at the group, her green eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

  “What?” Lexy squinted at her grandmother.

  Nans pointed at the table. “If this blueprint is correct, the underground access to the sewers is right below your bakery.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Lexy’s stomach twisted as she stared down at the blueprint.

  “Below the bakery? I don’t get it.” Lexy remembered the conversation she and Cassie overheard behind Caraleigh’s dumpster. The other baker had said they had to “figure out a way to get access across the street.” Lexy had thought they meant into the bakery, but what if they were talking about the sewer access under the bakery? And if so, why did they break in and mess around with the recipes?

  Lexy didn’t have time to think about it, because Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen had already jumped up out of their seats and were making a beeline for the door to the basement.

  Lexy hurried after them, passing a confused looking Cassie who had poked her head out of the kitchen at the commotion.

  “Can you watch the front? We need to check something out downstairs,” Lexy yelled on her way past. “I’ll fill you in later.”

  “Sure, no problem.” Cassie’s voice followed Lexy around the corner where the door to the basement had been flung open.

  Lexy stepped on the top stair, then stopped and peered down into the dark basement where she could hear the four ladies chattering on the stairs below her.

  “Is there a light switch down here? I can’t see my hand in front of my face.”

  “Does anyone have a flashlight?”

  “I do, but it’s in my purse upstairs!”

  Lexy felt along the wall tentatively, relieved when her hands met the hard plastic of the light switch instead of something less desirable … like a spider. She flipped the switch and a dull yellow light illuminated the basement below.

  Nans looked up at her. “Oh thanks, dear.”

  Lexy descended the rest of the stairs, the smell of mildew tickling her nose and causing her to stifle a sneeze.

  “Have you ever noticed a door or manhole cover or anything down here?” Nans asked.

  Lexy looked around. She’d only been down here a couple of times. She found it a bit creepy and too musty to store any of her ingredients. The hard concrete floor was dirty and scuffed with age. The brick walls were dark, the mortar falling out in chunks here and there. It was filled with old shelves and metal ducts and pipes from the previous resident.

  “I never really looked down here,” she admitted.

  “Where should we start?” Ida turned around in the middle of the basement, looking for a good starting point.

  “What are we even looking for?” Ruth asked. “A door? A manhole cover?”

  “I’m not sure,” Nans replied. “But it makes sense that whatever it is would be over near the street. That’s where the sewer tunnels are.”

  “That wall over there is the one that faces the street.” Lexy pointed to a wall covered in floor to ceiling metal shelving to her left.

  Nans walked over to inspect it. She ran her finger across one of the shelves, stirring up a cloud of dust. “We’ll need to remove these shelving units so we can see the actual wall of the building.

  Ida tugged on a corner. It didn’t budge. “They’re nailed in.”

  “We’ll need to get some tools,” Ruth said.

  “And our work clothes,” Helen added.

  “And maybe even hard hats.” Ida looked warily at the unsteady shelves.

  “I don’t get it,” Lexy said. “What does this have to do with Caraleigh sabotaging my food, stealing recipes, lowballing my prices and having television spots?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Nans asked.

  “No.” Lexy gave an exasperated shrug and held her hands up.

  “She was trying to put you out of business so she could rent this space. That way she’d be free to come down and explore the sewer for the money without anyone knowing.”

  “So, her whole bakery is a scam? A ruse to get into this basement?”

  “I think so.” Nans tilted her head and looked thoughtful. “She must have known about this before they found the skull. That’s the real reason she came to Brook Ridge Falls. And if the skull didn’t show up, she would have been able to take her sweet time poking around in the sewer until she found the money, because no one else would have suspected it might be in there.”

  “Right,” Ida added. “She must have found out about it some other way and come to town specifically to get into the sewers. I bet she got those plans when she first arrived in town. Maybe even before she opened the bakery.”

  “Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to just on the off-chance there’s a treasure in there,”
Lexy said.

  “That’s just it,” Nans said. “She must know the treasure is there for sure.

  “Which means we need to get in there fast … before she does,” Ida added.

  “Not only that, but now that the skull has surfaced and the sewer is being closed off, she’s sure to know she’ll have to step up her efforts to get to the treasure before someone else does or the access to the sewers is blocked off,” Nans said. “Which means Lexy better be extra careful because, if my guess is right, this Caraleigh person will likely stop at nothing to get in here.”

  ***

  “Let me get this straight … There’s a secret access to the sewers right in our basement and Caraleigh is doing all this to get in there?” Cassie eyed Lexy doubtfully.

  Lexy had to admit, it did sound rather far-fetched, but it was the only explanation that made sense. And the more Lexy thought about it, the more sense it made.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but the money from the robbery could be sitting down there.” Lexy looked out the window toward The Brew and Bake. Was Caraleigh looking out her window toward them? Had she guessed they’d discovered the secret sewer entrance? And if she had, what would she do?

  “Well, I guess it might be worth a million dollars to go to all that trouble,” Cassie said. “Still, seems like there would be an easier way to get into those sewers.”

  “There isn’t,” Lexy explained. “Believe me, we’ve looked. Anyway, Nans and the ladies are going to be back soon with the tools and we’ll close up and get to work downstairs. Do you want to stay and help?”

  “I’d love to, but John made plans for dinner with his parents tonight.” Cassie made a face.

  Lexy laughed. Cassie and her in-laws didn’t exactly get along, but she made the effort for John’s sake.

  Lexy looked at her watch. “It’s almost quitting time, so why don’t you go ahead and take off. I’m sure you can use the extra time to meditate or something so you have a calm demeanor for dinner.”

  “Thanks.” Cassie untied her apron and hung it on the hook, then picked up her coat. “I was thinking more like some pre-dinner cocktails.”

  Lexy watched Cassie go out the back just as the bells over the door tinkled and Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen came in the front. They had their usual large old-lady purses and Nans and Ruth were each holding the handle of a duffel bag that hung between them.

  “We brought the tools,” Nans said as they shrugged out of their coats to reveal dirty, stained tee shirts and sweat pants. Ida pulled a pair of leather work gloves out of her purse and put them on. Helen tied a bandana around her head. Nans and Ruth dropped the heavy duffel bag and each took a chair.

  “I’ll just close up shop.” Lexy made her way to the door, all the while stealing inconspicuous glances at The Brew and Bake. She could have sworn the other baker was watching her as she flipped the sign to “Closed”.

  Nans motioned for her to turn off the light and she did. Dusk had fallen and the streetlight outside had just flickered on, leaving the inside of The Cup and Cake in shadows.

  Nans leaned toward the rest of them, her voice lowered to a whisper. “Okay, now I want to make sure you’re all aware of the danger and everyone is on board no matter what happens.”

  The three other ladies nodded and murmured their agreement.

  “Lexy, are you in?” Nans asked.

  “Damn right I’m in,” Lexy said. “I have a bigger stake than anyone here, and hopefully whatever we find will either make Caraleigh pack up and go home, or prove what she’s really up to. But I need some hard evidence before I call Davies … Maybe we’ll find what I need to get rid of Caraleigh down there.”

  “Alrighty then…” Nans pulled a baseball cap out of her purse and stuffed it on her head, then picked up one handle of the duffel bag. “...let’s go!”

  Lexy followed the ladies down into the basement where they set the duffel bag on the floor in front of the shelving. Nans bent over the bag and pulled out a sledgehammer. Ruth reached in and came up with a crowbar. Ida found a tire iron and Helen a hacksaw.

  The shelving had been nailed into the brick and they started in the corner with Ruth sticking the edge of the crowbar in and Nans banging on it. Once it had pulled out from the wall, Ida added her muscle by sticking the tire iron in and Ruth tried to saw the giant nail apart with the hacksaw.

  They pushed, pulled, pounded and sawed until finally the shelf crashed to the floor, revealing the wall of bricks behind it. Lexy thought she heard a distraught mew come from somewhere next door.

  “There’s nothing here but a brick wall.” Ida’s disappointment was obvious.

  “Oh don’t worry,” Nans said cheerfully. “There’s plenty more wall. She moved to the next shelf and started the process all over again. Then the next. Lexy’s spirits were starting to sink dismally by the time they got to the fourth shelf.

  “I’m not sure there’s anything here.” Lexy picked a cobweb out of her hair. “Maybe those old blueprints are wrong.”

  “Nonsense.” Nans raised her arms over her head and brought the sledgehammer down on the end of the crowbar. “We’re not stopping until we’ve dislodged every shelf unit. There’s only two more to go.”

  Ruth jammed the crowbar behind the shelf unit and pried it away.

  “Look!” Ruth pointed excitedly behind the shelf.

  Nans, Ida, Helen and Lexy ran up behind her, jockeying for position so they could see behind the shelf. Lexy’s heart lurched when she saw what Ruth had been excited about.

  An old wooden door.

  The ladies worked on the shelf with a burst of energy and it crashed to the floor, revealing an old oak door set into the brick wall. In the middle of the door sat a wide plank, which dropped into metal brackets on either side of the door, presumably to keep it from being pushed open from the sewer side.

  Lexy and Nans raced to one side of the plank, Ida and Ruth to the other.

  “Ready?” Helen asked. “On the count of three … One … Two … Three …”

  The four women pushed the heavy plank up and out of the brackets. It clattered to the floor revealing a large iron door handle.

  Nans rubbed her hands together. “This is it, girls.”

  She reached out and tugged at the handle.

  Nothing.

  Planting her feet firmly in front of the door, she grabbed the handle again and leaned back.

  The door did not budge.

  “Let me do that.” Ida pushed Nans out of the way and tried opening the door, but it remained firmly shut.

  “Hold on you guys, I’ll do it.” Lexy pushed Ida out of the way and took her turn.

  The door did not open.

  “It’s locked,” Lexy said, her heart sinking.

  “Locked? Now doesn’t that figure? We finally uncover the door and it’s locked,” Ruth said.

  “Can’t you guys pick the lock?” Lexy asked. She knew at least one of the ladies had skills in the lock-picking area.

  Ruth bent down to inspect the handle, or rather the keyhole, underneath. It was the type that took an old skeleton key—a gigantic skeleton key judging by the size. “No can do. This lock is too big. We need a key.”

  “Maybe the key is in here.” Lexy looked around the basement, picking up some scraps that lay in piles looking for the key.

  “It’s probably long gone,” Nans said. “But I think I know where we can get a skeleton key that just might fit.

  “Where?” Four heads turned to look at Nans.

  “Victor’s antique shop.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lexy almost told Jack about the secret door, but she knew he’d give her a hard time about going into the sewer. Maybe he’d even get the police involved. She couldn’t risk them screwing everything up, so she’d managed to keep mum about it all night. Needless to say, she was glad when morning came and she could escape to the bakery.

  Walking in through the back, she glanced toward the basement door, her stomach taut with excited anticipatio
n. She couldn’t wait to get down there and open the door, but Victor’s shop had been closed last night so they hadn’t been able to get a key. Not only that, but she still had a bakery to run and had a ton of things to do, not the least of which was trying one last tweak to the scone recipe. Tomorrow was the bicentennial celebration and she’d need to have the recipe perfected by morning in order to bake a fresh batch in time for the judging.

  Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen had some finishing touches to do on their display for the historical society, so, even though they all were dying to get into the sewer, they’d decided it was best to meet later in the afternoon, get the key from Victor and then get into the sewer once Lexy closed the shop for the day.

  “I could have sworn I saw Caraleigh Brewster looking over here with binoculars when I drove in,” Cassie said as she tossed her coat on a hook and grabbed an apron.

  “What? No way. That would be too weird.” Lexy rushed out into the front room and looked out the window to find the other baker busy behind her display case. Just as she was about to look away, a man came from the back room and Lexy noticed binoculars hanging around his neck.

  “Who’s that guy?” Cassie had come to stand beside her at the window.

  “I don’t know. Maybe her brother?”

  “He has binoculars,” Cassie pointed out.

  “I see that, but why would they be studying us with binoculars? He’s probably just bird watching or something.”

  Cassie raised a brow at Lexy. “Okay, if that's what you want to think, but I think they’re scoping this place out. You said yourself that time was running short and they’d need to get into the sewer tunnels, and if Caraleigh saw the blueprints, she knows there’s access through this bakery.”

  “True.” Lexy frowned out the window. “The question is, just how far will she go to get it?”

  ***

  Lexy and Cassie spent the rest of the day baking up fresh pastries for the bakery. The lack of customers during the week had created a glut of two-day-old baked goods, which Lexy packed up to donate to the soup kitchen. She didn’t sell anything older than one day in the store, but the desserts were still good and there was no reason why someone couldn’t enjoy them.