A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1)

by Phoebe T. Eggli

  “Detective Payne,” Logan began but was interrupted.

  “Son, the name is Jason out here.”

  Logan continued, “Ummm, okay. Jason, I’m not sure any amount of surfing would make me feel better right now. I’m not some ignorant little kid. I can tell you guys think my Aunt Mel had something to do with Mrs. Stevenson’s death, but I’m telling you the honest to goodness truth – she had nothing to do with it.” He wasn’t sure what he thought his declaration would accomplish, but couldn’t help himself.

  Jason responded sincerely, “Logan, I don’t personally believe your aunt had anything to do with it. Just following the evidence as any good cop would do. Please trust me, no one in the department is railroading your aunt. I’m sorry for the disruption of your lives while we investigate but there’s not a lot I can do to alleviate that at the moment.”

  “That’s not true,” the boy said defiantly. “You could at least tell her what’s going on. Everyone in town is talking about her. Mr. Stevenson is out there blasting her on the news saying all sorts of lies. And to top it off you guys won’t even tell her what happened even though it was her bakery where it all happened. You guys are telling her squat!” He hadn’t meant to blurt all that out, but the whole situation was enough to make him pull his hair out. The last couple days were starting to take a toll on him.

  Jason calmly put down the surf board. Sitting down on the sun-bleached wooded picnic table he motioned for Logan to join him. “Please, have a seat,” he said. He then proceeded to explain to the teenage boy that no one was trying to implicate his aunt. Perhaps his partner had seemed a bit anxious to close the case but that the investigation was nowhere close to being over. He expressed his sorrow that Logan’s aunt’s name was being dragged through the mud but there was always going to be talk and even the cops couldn’t stop people from talking. The officer tried his best to placate the boy’s concerns but he could tell Logan was not to be easily swayed so he offered to meet with his aunt to discuss the case, unofficially of course, if he thought that would make her feel better.

  Logan considered the detective’s offer and decided that he couldn’t possibly hurt things at this point. He pulled his phone out of his shorts and speed dialed his aunt. After explaining Jason’s offer to her, they agreed that she should meet with him. Since she had been on her way to the precinct to start asking questions there, Melissa altered her route and swung by The Surf Shack.

  Chapter 10

  As the sun rose higher in the sky and the temperature rose in unison, Melissa walked up to The Surf Shack where Logan and Jason were quenching their thirst with bottles of orange soda. The boy gave her a Cheshire grin as she approached, knowing he was not allowed soda. It was his aunt’s one pet peeve. He was hoping she would overlook the transgression just this once.

  While they awaited Melissa’s arrival, the two gentlemen had lapsed into a more casual, friendly conversation about surfing and fishing, and even video gaming. Logan was surprised how much the old dude - okay he was only 49 years old but still old in the teenager’s eyes – knew about these subjects. He figured the cop was only interested in catching bad guys and donuts. When she found the two together they were laughing as they watched an obvious tourist tween with pasty pale skin trying to boogie board for the first time.

  As Melissa walked up to the picnic table, Jason stood up and offered her a seat. Logan noticed a slight glint in the man’s eyes and that his aunt blushed ever so softly. “Adults?!” he thought with exasperation.

  After exchanging pleasantries, Melissa decided to get to the gist of the matter. She informed Jason that she was keenly aware of the trouble it appeared she was in but she swears she had nothing to do with what happened to Linda. She expressed her sorrow for Linda’s death, but she was frustrated with having to stand by while Mr. Stevenson and others were spreading lies that she had any reason to want to hurt Linda because she absolutely didn’t. While the other woman’s body had been discovered in her bakery, she asserted that she was the one that called the cops in the first place and had since been treated as a suspect instead of an additional victim. Her business was broken into. A grisly murder had happened in there. She wasn’t even allowed back in to assess the damages or determine if something was missing. Frustrated, she asked, “How exactly am I supposed to clear my name and get my life back if no one at the police department will even tell me what’s going on?”

  Jason listened intently to the captivating baker for quite a while before attempting to reply. He kept having to remind himself to stop staring into her large, almond-shaped hazel eyes and to keep his brain from fixating on how the gold flecks in her eyes flashed as she passionately stated her case. He had to physically shake his head to re-focus on what she was saying.

  Still, her words sunk in and he was compassionate to her plight, but he couldn’t allow compassion to blind him to the evidence that was currently sitting in clear plastic bags in the department’s evidence room. He didn’t believe it was fair that she was completely unaware of just how much all the clues were pointing to her.

  Melissa continued, “I realize that the case is ongoing and all that gibberish, but this is my life on the line here. My good name. While that may not mean much to anyone else in this town, it’s all I have left.” Without realizing what he was doing, Jason reached across the table and took her hands in his own.

  While Jason couldn’t reveal specifics he was able to fill her in on a few facts as it related to her bakery. Forensics had taken a number of fingerprints. Most of the prints had been ruled as belonging to her, Britney, and Linda. There was one other partial print that they had not been able to identify. It was being sent off to the local FBI office for further analysis. Additionally, the back door had been broken into but it didn’t appear the intruder knew a lot about breaking locks. Most likely the intruder was an amateur and the police had not ruled out that Linda had been the one breaking into the bakery. The question on everyone’s minds was “Why?”

  Melissa asked about her office. Since he was already aware she had visited the scene, she didn’t think it would hurt to broach the subject. Jason told her that they had noticed the door to the office was unlocked and had taken evidence from the room, but that only a couple recipe cards had been located in Mrs. Stevenson’s fanny pack which she was wearing at the time she was found dead. They had not been aware any cash was missing. Melissa explained that she usually kept $1,200 petty cash on hand which should have been in the safe. Jason agreed to add that to the case file but he doubted they would find such a small sum of cash.

  By the end of their conversation, Jason and Melissa agreed that they should go back to the bakery together, in an official capacity so he could log a list of missing items. That way she could also see the place in broad daylight and pick up any items she might need between now and whenever the police department gave the go ahead to re-open the shop. When asked for a guesstimate for when that may be, Jason only shrugged his shoulders. He decided to forego his surfing expedition for the day and instead would change back into his street clothes so they could head over to the Kill Devil Delicacies bakery.

  Chapter 11

  Despite it being mid-afternoon on a hot summer day, Melissa felt chilled as they entered the bakery. Unlocking the front door, she felt more than saw the multitude of eyes staring at her from along the street. Logan, being less intimidated, turned around and stared at all the gawkers causing them to quickly turn back around and get back to their own businesses.

  Flicking on the lights, nothing seemed out of place in the front of the bakery. There was still powder residue on the counter and cash register from where the police took fingerprints. The real story was in the back. Jason asked them not to touch anything. If they needed to check anything or pick something up, he would do so with latex gloves so as not to contaminate the scene. Melissa gave him the code to open the cash register. Nothing in there but she informed him that Britney had taken the cash, all except what was kept in the safe, to the bank d
epository the night in question. Finding nothing out of the ordinary in the front, the trio approached the door to the back room with hesitation. To be honest, Melissa was not looking forward to seeing dried blood all over her floors. It brought fresh images to her mind of finding Linda’s body.

  The back room was much like Melissa remembered from the other night. Jason asked if she noticed anything out of place. Well, of course she did! Everything seemed out of place! Utensils and bread pans littered the counters and the floor. She was a neat freak when it came to her cooking area so the scene before her was a nightmare. He informed her that most of the items that may have contained a trace of blood or a fingerprint had been confiscated and were now in the evidence room at police headquarters. Looking around at the mess that used to be her sanctuary, Melissa felt nauseous.

  Finally, they walked over to the office. Melissa indicated where the safe was located. Opening the safe, she restated that she always kept $1,200 in the safe as a petty cash fund or for emergencies. Clearly, there was no money in there now. Reluctantly, she also told him about the recipe box, explaining that she had taken the box and what cards she found home under the guise that she may need the recipes in order to bake at home if she wasn’t allowed back in her own shop. After sorting the cards at home, she discovered two were missing from her stack – Rosemary Sea Salt and Cranberry-Orange breads. Jason agreed to check the evidence log to see if these were the particular cards that had been found on the deceased woman’s person. He also chastised her for removing potential evidence from the scene even if he did agree they probably weren’t important to the case.

  He felt the missing money was more of a legit reason for the break-in. But that raised another question – Who besides Melissa knew about the cash and the location of the safe? Britney knew where the safe was but did not know the combination. Anyway, if Britney was interested in money, she had access to a lot more cash than $1,200 since she deposited over $5,000 that night at the bank. If she needed money, she could easily have taken that. Besides, the young woman also had an extremely wealthy boyfriend to take care of all her monetary needs.

  There was still the biggest question of them all – Why had Linda Stevenson been inside the Kill Devil Delicacies bakery at all?

  They didn’t have time to mull the question over as Jason’s phone unexpectedly rang, startling all three. Melissa and Logan had a good laugh as they were surprised to discover Jason’s ring tone wasn’t the normal tones found on any cellular phone. No, his was “Kick Start My Heart” by Motley Crue which didn’t seem to fit his clean-cut cop persona. Jason answered the phone and carried on a short conversation. Afterwards, he gave Melissa a worried look. “Sorry to have to cut this short,” he explained, “I’m needed back at the precinct. Seems your assistant has been brought in for questioning. Apparently, Mr. Stevenson suspects she was snooping around his house today.”

  Chapter 12

  “Miss Williams, please just answer the question,” Detective Reynolds implored. The poor man was quickly running out of patience with the young woman. “Attractive or not,” he thought, “she’s a real piece of work.” After receiving the call from Mr. Stevenson, he had immediately sent a couple of rookies over to Britney’s house to bring her in for questioning and another cop of two years over to the Stevenson house to get a statement from Mr. Stevenson and any other visitors that witnessed Britney’s irregular visit to the home. Lloyd Stevenson was raging mad and throwing around all sorts of accusations that the woman was there for some nefarious purpose and probably sent there by her boss. Personally, Detective Reynolds was glad he able to stay here instead of dealing with the grieving man. Lloyd wasn’t someone you wanted to deal with on a regular basis, even if in a happy occasion. The death of his wife would make the usual hostile man only worse.

  Unfortunately, the woman wasn’t proving very helpful. She wouldn’t say a word except “I will not say anything without my lawyer present.” He figured she probably learned that from watching some silly cop show on television. Anyway, he was forced to wait for her attorney who was in no hurry to arrive apparently. When Peter Andrews, a Johnson Family’s lawyer, finally did arrive the detective was more annoyed. Of course, Edward Johnson Jr. would send one of his dad’s fleet of attorneys to protect his little precious snowflake from the big bad cops. Sitting across from Miss Williams and the oversized buffoon that was this hot-to-trot lawyer in the cramped interview room, Larry rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache. “I’m too old for this,” he mused to himself.

  Every question he asked, she looked over at Mr. Andrews, the lawyer, who would nod or shake his head for her to answer. The entire process took over three hours and he didn’t glean much information from it. Yes, she was a bakery assistant at the Kill Devil Delicacies owned by Mrs. Melissa Maples. Yes, she had been at the Stevenson house with her boyfriend offering their condolences to the family. Yes, she had encountered the Stevenson daughter as she searched for a bathroom. No, she had not spoken with Mr. Stevenson as she did not see him when she was there. They left the house within 45 minutes to an hour after arriving.

  Not a lot to go on for the tired detective. Larry had to hope the cop at the Stevenson home found some evidence of something or this was just another dead end. He was just wrapping up the interview when his partner finally decided to show up. As he walked the attorney and young woman out, he noticed the younger Mr. Johnson waiting anxiously. As if on cue, Andrew’s voice raised a couple octaves as he chastised the police for wasting his client’s time. Larry almost laughed since it was obvious the lawyer was putting on a show for the benefit of the lazy, entitled Mr. Johnson Jr. but thought better of it since being sued right before retiring was not on his personal bucket list.

  Jason also thought it was a bit of overkill since the woman had not been harassed at all, just questioned in an ongoing case. It certainly made sense to interview her. She was an employee of Melissa’s and had access to the bakery. The attorney was making an ordinary police procedure into a bigger case than it was. Britney wasted no time in running over to her beau as if she had just undergone the inquisition. With a stern look to the detectives and a friendly handshake with the designer suit attorney, Eddie escorted the fair “damsel in distress” out of the precinct and sped away in his prized Audi.

  Before following his client out the door, the Mr. Andrews turned around with a final warning that he would be on the lookout for any ill treatment or harassment of Miss Williams and her boss in the future and the police department had better take more care. Stunned, the detectives both processed this final statement differently. Jason questioned why Eddie Johnson Jr. and Britney were so jumpy. What did they have to fear? Larry’s mind latched onto the part that mentioned Britney’s boss as well. The interview had been about Britney and her visit to the Stevenson’s house. He had never mentioned her boss, Mrs. Maples, so why did the big shot lawyer?

  Chapter 13

  In the meantime, Melissa and Logan were arriving home after their visit to the bakery. The news van was still parked around the corner. Before she had a chance to react, a young twenty-something female in a smart suit and holding a microphone ran up to them followed by a heavy set man carrying a large camera. Melissa tried to get the front door open but dropped the keys in her haste. Desperate to get Logan away from the prying eyes of the news, she didn’t even hear the barrage of questions flying out of the reporter’s mouth. To Melissa, she sounded like the teacher from the old Peanuts cartoons. However, she did hear Logan loud and clear, “No comment! Leave my aunt alone!”

  They were miraculously saved when a booming voice from the direction of the sidewalk ordered the news people to leave now before he called the cops and had them arrested for harassment. Melissa had never been so glad to see Luis in all her life. Luis was a giant of a man at 6’4” with the body of an aging WWE wrestler. He also owned the only other bakery in town, next to Melissa’s and Linda’s. He specialized in traditional bakery fare – cakes, cupcakes, pies, and the best ma
rzipan to be found on the east coast. Melissa was also good friends with his wife, Maria. At least once a month the two women, usually joined by Cheryl, would have a ladies’ night out. Also, the two women were old friends from high school. Maria had been thrilled when Melissa moved back to town.

  As Luis used his hulking frame to shield them from the reporters, Melissa snatched her keys off the ground and the group bolted through the front door, slamming it on the nosy cameraman who was still trying to get video footage. Luis issued a string of curse words but then looked apologetically over at Logan. The look on the young boy’s face was priceless. His aunt was a bit worried there were much worse words floating around in his head than what came out of Luis’s mouth. In the melee, she hadn’t even noticed that Maria was with her husband. Now safely inside she gave them both a hug of thanks.

  “Luis, you are an angel!” she proclaimed. The big man just shrugged off the praise. Maria, on the other hand, began fussing over Melissa and Logan. She was always the mother hen type. Before she knew it, Maria had taken over her kitchen and was fixing them all some tea and sandwiches. Melissa, for perhaps the first time since this ordeal began, relaxed on her comfy, oversized sofa.

  With everyone taken care of, Maria sat down with the group in the living room. They discussed what had happened to Linda, of course. Melissa filled them in on the events from her vantage point with Logan interjecting with a few quips here and there, mostly about the incredibility that that anyone would believe Aunt Mel had something to do with the situation. His aunt smiled fondly at the boy. He was being very overprotective. She just hoped he didn’t take it too far. He was sometimes a hot-headed teenager after all.