Cheesecake and Chills

by Ramona Ransom

  “I don’t know much about anything, it seems. Maybe Ranger is right, and I killed Liam.” Nessa groaned and took a huge bite of her meatball grinder.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Ranger wants answers, just like you do. Maybe you two should talk,” Faye suggested. “I think if you put your heads together, you might be able to come up with something.”

  Nessa looked up, hearing the door open.

  “My life is over. Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for me?” Bizzie Eadler stomped over to where Faye and Nessa sat. Luckily for her, there weren’t any customers around, but Nessa wished Bizzie had decided to come during a rush so she’d be less dramatic.

  “What’s wrong?” Nessa asked, pulling out a chair for Bizzie and wondering why she’d chosen to come there at all.

  “Judson.”

  Faye squealed. “Did he finally find out that you like him? Don’t be nervous. This is exciting!”

  Bizzie scowled at Faye. “No, he didn’t find out I like him, but even if he did, it’d never matter. Not now, anyway. Now that he thinks I murdered Liam.” Bizzie flung herself into the chair and put her head down on the table with a thud.

  Nessa’s jaw dropped. “Why would he think that?” she asked.

  Bizzie lifted her head. “Maybe because I’m a freak and can’t act like a normal person around him, so when I ran into him at the town offices, and he tried offering me his condolences, I started babbling about how Liam and I weren’t even close and about all times we had an argument. I’m talking every last detail. I even told him about how we fought about what kind of plant I should put in my office. I made it sound like I hated the guy, and now he thinks I killed him.”

  “He does not think you killed him,” Faye said. “He knows you’re grieving, and I’m sure he realizes that you’re upset and didn’t know what you were saying. It’s nothing to worry about, dear.”

  “Oh, yeah? Tell that to Rose. She was there paying her water bill and heard the whole thing. I guarantee the entire town already thinks I killed Liam.” Bizzie dropped her head again with a thud louder than the last.

  Nessa looked to Faye, who had a look on her face that said Bizzie was right to be worried. If Rose knew, then everyone knew.

  “You didn’t kill Liam, right?” Nessa asked.

  “Of course not,” Bizzie mumbled. “I didn’t kill Liam, and someone is sneaking around my house at night. Maybe Judson and Rose aren’t the only ones who think I did it. Or maybe the killer wants to kill me too, and I’m next on the list? Nessa, do I need to make cookies for this week?”

  Nessa felt for Bizzie, she really did, but she wasn’t going to let her give up. If she didn’t make the cookies, she’d have more time to think about bad things.

  “Yes, I will still need cookies.” She sighed, not wanting to say what she was about to say. “How about you use the kitchen here to bake them?”

  “Eww. No. I don’t want that. I’d rather…”

  “Bizzie,” Faye warned.

  Bizzie cleared her throat. “I mean, no thanks. I’ll bake them at home like I’m used to.”

  Nessa kept her thoughts to herself about Bizzie’s snarky comment. “Have you noticed anything else weird?”

  “No, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.”

  “Feel free to give me a call or knock on my door if you need to,” Nessa said. She meant it, even if Bizzie drove her insane. If someone was sneaking around Bizzie’s, that meant they were near her house as well, and that was scary for the both of them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Nessa picked up her phone for the first time all day. The bakery had been a madhouse since she’d arrived that morning. She had a missed call from Daniel and a text from Chloe asking if she could come to visit. Nessa sent Chloe a text back joking that it was like she knew exactly what Nessa needed. Chloe had helped her pack, and since Nessa had yet to unpack, Chloe might just have to help do that, too.

  “I’m taking off. Can you handle closing up on your own?” Lex asked.

  “I’m good. See you tomorrow!” Nessa told her grandfather.

  After making sure the doors were locked, Nessa got to work. She washed all the dishes and put them away, cleaned the dining area and mopped the floors, and made sure the display case was spic and span. She had to work early the next morning and didn’t want to leave anything extra for herself to do.

  Once she was satisfied that everything looked good, she left and drove directly home. She wanted to shower and rid herself of the bakery smell. No matter how much she loved dessert, she didn’t want to smell like it all day. She hoped to call Daniel and that he’d want to meet up, and she wanted to be ready in case that happened rather than making him wait on her.

  When Daniel didn’t answer, Nessa realized that it was a sign. It was time for her to finally start unpacking. She couldn’t actually wait for Chloe to come, no matter how tempting. Instantly regretting her choice to pack so lazily, Nessa decided to start with the boxes that Chloe had packed. She moved things around and decided to start with the bathroom. It was the smallest of all the rooms, and she didn’t need to spend too much time figuring out where to put things.

  She opened a box full of towels and began to either hang them or put them in the small linen closet in the bathroom. She was thankful for that and had always loved having storage right in the bathroom and not down the hall. Moving on to her hair products, Nessa took out her spare hairdryer, a curling iron, and a bag full of hair ties. Already over unpacking, she decided to do three more boxes and take a break to try calling Daniel again. She hadn’t left a message the first time.

  Opening a box labeled, ‘stuff’, she dug around to see if what was in there even went in the bathroom. At the very bottom of the box, under a stack of old magazines she didn’t even know why she packed, was an even larger stack of money.

  Nessa frantically took everything out of the box and left the money inside. She stared at it for a long time, not having a clue what to do. The money didn’t belong to her. She knew that much. She sat back, still staring, and struggled with more than she’d anticipated. There wasn’t just one batch of money missing, and that made things worse. She refused to touch it but thought there was closer to the amount that Robby had then whatever Chloe’s college group had, but didn’t really know much about Chloe’s situation.

  She crawled over to her bed and pulled her phone down, still feeling weak, and pulled up her Internet browser, typing in Granger Community College. She looked for any sort of news articles but found nothing about missing money. Opening up her favorite social media platform, she typed the same thing into the search bar but added ‘missing money’ at the end. If people were talking about it, it would be found there even if it wasn’t reported in the news. She scrolled a bit, looking for something that matched, and finally found where someone had posted about it.

  A small group that raised funds for free libraries, the kind people had in their front yards, had over four-thousand dollars go missing. Nessa had seen that amount before at work, but it was nicely wrapped by bands and not strewn all inside a box mixed with her old magazines. She’d heard more than once that whatever Robby had looked to be between five and ten thousand dollars. Most people had never seen either amount in one place before, so she didn’t want to rely on what they guessed the amount was. All she knew was that there was a whole lot of cash in her house that didn’t belong to her. Now, she had to decide what to do about that.

  Should she call Chloe and ask if maybe she took it? That might insult the girl, which she didn’t want to do after she’d been kind enough to help her, but there was missing money in her neck of the woods, and Chloe had packed the boxes. On top of that, she was now asking to come to visit… to get the money she’d hidden amongst Nessa’s things. Nessa could barely think straight when she heard a rustling by her window. She’d opened it a little when she first started unpacking because moving around had made her hot, and it was the quickest way to cool down.

  She ducked awa
y from the window, not wanting to be seen if there was someone out there. She knew what she had to do, and it wasn’t something she looked forward to.

  She made sure her volume was turned down, and she texted Bizzie. If she didn’t get an answer, she’d call her, but if someone was outside, she didn’t want to be heard.

  Right away, Bizzie replied. I already called the police. They’re on their way.

  Nessa breathed a sigh of relief and vowed to stay on the floor until she knew the police had arrived.

  Since Lake Wilawalo wasn’t all that big of a town, she didn’t have to wait long before she was able to poke her head up and look out the window to see the activity. At first, she wanted to stay right where she was and not move a muscle until someone told her that nothing was wrong, but something inside her made her get up and find the courage to see what had happened.

  Nessa went downstairs. She opened her front door and stood there, trying to see what was going on. She saw an officer talking to Bizzie on the sidewalk but couldn’t hear what they were saying. The only thing she noticed was Bizzie pointing and waving her arms around like a crazy person. Nessa followed her pointing finger.

  “What the heck?” Nessa said aloud, knowing no one was around to hear her. She looked down at herself, happy she’d stayed dressed and wasn’t about to run around in her pajamas, and sprinted over toward Bizzie.

  “Nessa!” Bizzie said, eyes wide. “You aren’t going to believe this.” She pointed toward Ranger. “That’s who we heard and probably who I saw sneaking around here the other night. So much for being a guy we’re supposed to trust. That Rangerhood Watch crap is a bunch of baloney.” Bizzie had one hand on her hip while the other swung around wildly.

  There wasn’t a single part of Nessa that wanted to believe someone who stated he wanted to protect the town would have been creeping around her house and causing fear in any way.

  “Are you sure he’s who they found? Maybe he was trying to protect us after he witnessed something.” She tried to justify Ranger’s actions but knew she was reaching. Even if he’d seen something and gone looking to see what it was, it didn’t make a ton of sense that he’d be in their neighborhood in the first place.

  “Stop making excuses for someone just because you’re a nice person. I’ve known Ranger my entire life, and I can’t, not even for one second, come up with a good reason why he’d be around here in the middle of the night outside our windows.” Bizzie started to run toward him, but the officer stopped her.

  “Miss Eadler, please stay calm and stay where you are.”

  Bizzie glared at the officer. “Fine.”

  “Did he say what he was doing?” Nessa asked.

  “Did he have to?” Bizzie spat. “He thinks you’re killing all the people around here, and he thinks that I somehow have the money from the radio station.”

  Nessa had no idea how or why he’d think that about her. Any crime that had happened in the past was solved, and the killer was brought to justice. She was smart but not capable of making it look like someone else did something when it was her the whole time. And definitely not multiple times.

  She knew now was the time to tell the police about the money she’d found.

  “Officer…” Nessa looked at his nametag. “Officer Kelley, can I please speak to you for a moment? Alone,” she added at the end.

  He looked at Bizzie as though he was unsure if she could be trusted on her own.

  “I’ll stay here.” She sighed and rolled her eyes at him.

  Nessa and Officer Kelley headed toward her house, and on the way, she told him about the money. He said something into his radio, and before she knew it, Raff, Officer Kelley, and basically the entire Lake Wilawalo police force was in her house.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next morning, while Nessa waited for news about the money, she threw herself into her work. Determined to make something more with her cheesecake recipe, she texted Bizzie and asked if she had any white chocolate chunk cookies on hand or if she could bake some.

  Bizzie baked a dozen white chocolate chunk cookies and had them at the bakery within the hour. Nessa hadn’t meant for her to drop everything to do something for her, but if Bizzie was feeling anything like she was, she needed to take her mind away from reality, too.

  “I’m here, and I have cookies,” Bizzie said, holding a box in her hands. She held it out, waiting for someone to take it.

  Lex stepped up and took the box, bringing it into the kitchen and leaving the women alone.

  “Thanks for doing this and for being so fast. You didn’t have to do that,” Nessa told her. She went behind the counter and held up a pot of coffee. “Want some?”

  “Yeah.” Bizzie couldn’t have been more somber and reserved. “Have you heard anything?”

  “My grandfather said he heard they were still questioning Ranger. I think he’s making excuses about why he was there. It’s easy for him to say that he was trying to keep us safe, but I think you’re right. I think he was looking for something.”

  “Like the money? I can’t get over that everyone thought I might have it, and it was in your house the whole time. You didn’t take it, did you?” Bizzie asked, back to her usual self.

  “No, I didn’t steal money from a radio station I’ve never been to, and for what it’s worth, I don’t even know if that’s where the money came from.” She told her about Chloe and the missing money from her college. Nessa hadn’t intended on telling Bizzie anything about anything, but she felt compelled to since they were both dealing with unpleasant things.

  “No wonder Ranger thought it was you.” Bizzie laughed but turned serious quickly. “I’m making jokes because I hate this. I don’t like that it’s happening, and I don’t like that it’s happening with you. We aren’t supposed to be forced to get along.”

  “We aren’t being forced to do anything, but I would like to point out that you’re the one who came all the way here.” Nessa smirked.

  “Yeah, well. You aren’t my favorite person, but let’s face it, for whatever reason, people like to think we’re evil.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Nessa said, refilling Bizzie’s cup. “Anyway, thanks for the cookies.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “You aren’t?” Nessa squeaked. She wanted to get into the back and see what she could do with white chocolate chunk cookies and her no-bake cheesecake mix.

  “Not until we figure out who that money belongs to, how it ended up in your house, and if it had anything to do with Liam’s death. I don’t like you much, but you’re smart. I know you have thoughts about this, and I want to hear them.” Bizzie sipped her coffee and drummed her fingers on the table. “Should we go into the kitchen for this or what?”

  Nessa wasn’t left speechless often, but today was the day. Bizzie had insulted her and complimented her in the same sentence, and if that wasn’t bad enough, now Nessa was expected to talk about stolen money and murders with her. That didn’t sound like her idea of a good time at all.

  “Uhh. You want to do this right now?” Nessa asked.

  “Do you have something better to do?”

  “I mean, I am at work. This is my job, and I didn’t call you here to hang out. I was hoping to work on a recipe,” Nessa explained.

  “Well, lucky for you, I know how to bake.”

  Dragging herself into her Zen zone, Nessa smiled. “I’m more of a no-baker myself, so I don’t actually need baking skills. Perhaps we can talk later?”

  “I think now is better.”

  “Of course, you do. Come on.” Nessa stood and led the way to the kitchen.

  “What’s going on?” Lex asked, seeing the women. Especially interested in the look on Nessa’s face.

  “I’m going to help Nessa learn to bake,” Bizzie announced.

  Nessa clenched her teeth and her fists, and every other part of her body.

  “Is that right?” Lex asked, dashing out of the kitchen before Nessa threw something at Bizzie.

 
“I don’t mind that you’re here or anything,” Nessa lied. “But I’m not learning to bake today. I’m going to come up with a way to use your cookies, no-bake cheesecake mix, and some berries. I don’t really need any help with that, but you’re more than welcome to bake something if you want.” She said the last part through clenched teeth.

  Bizzie muttered something under her breath that Nessa couldn’t make out. She went to the fridge and looked around, then to the cabinets, doing the same. Bizzie pulled out ingredients, all the while ignoring anything Nessa said.

  “Are you seriously not speaking to me right now?” Nessa asked, stunned.

  “I wanted to teach you to bake, and you rejected me. I think it’s better if we don’t say anything to each other.” Bizzie kept her back turned. “Is that okay with you?”

  Nessa had to admit that it wasn’t all that bad. She didn’t want to send the woman away, but she didn’t have any desire to talk to her, either. She guessed that if that meant they had to work together in awkward silence, it wasn’t the end of the world. She could handle Bizzie if she didn’t have to talk to her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Never one to think about what she did before she did it, Nessa decided to call Clint over to her house. She was going to accept his estimate and have him do the work around her house. Sure, he might be a thief or a cold-blooded killer, but she had to give it a shot. Chloe hadn’t been answering any of her phone calls, and Raff refused to tell her anything about the money. There was nothing in the news and no way for Nessa to know where the money in her house came from. Her conversation with Bizzie hadn’t been productive since they barely did any talking at all.

  If she assumed that the money came from the radio station, Clint had more than one chance to hide it at her house. The first day he was there, he’d been in the house alone when she finished ordering everyone’s food. Clint could have hidden the money in her things on that day. Maybe he hadn’t intended on doing it until he saw Raff show up. Police presence when you’ve done something illegal is enough to frighten anyone. He could have meant to hide it there and hoped that she’d agree to have him do the work. That way, he’d be able to come back for the money later, but that was a bigger stretch. There was no way he’d know that Nessa was going to have taken so long to unpack. If Clint hadn’t done it that day, he could have done it the day he came to fix her sink. At that point, he’d have seen that she still wasn’t unpacking and thought it would be a good place to hide the money, but again, he’d be risking that Nessa wouldn’t actually hire him for future work. Or there was also the option that made the when part of if he hid the money not matter at all. Maybe he just wanted to frame her. That seemed like the worst possibility since it would give Ranger all the help he needed to accuse Nessa of something else.