Margot nodded as Adam pulled away from the house. She knew he was right. When one door closed, they had to find the one that was open.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, gently squeezing her hand.
She knew he was right, but she wanted to know by Christmas. Somehow, celebrating the holiday without a solid answer felt wrong. She’d just have to dedicate more thought to the problem and hope that they caught a break soon.
Chapter 13
Margot had to admit it finally felt like Christmas. After lunch at the café, she and Adam had come back to his parents’ house just as it started to snow. An hour later found all of them outside with boots, hats, and gloves on playing in the freshly fallen snow with the children. The large white flakes continued to fall as they built a lopsided snowman and tossed snowballs at one another.
When Brad and Giselle took the kids to a small slope to sled down on plastic saucers, Adam and Margot went inside to warm up and make more cinnamon-laced coffee. Margot had just joined Adam on the couch when her phone began to ring.
“It’s Julia,” she said, worry shooting through her. It was only a few days until Christmas and the shop would soon be closed, but so far, every time she’d checked in by text with Dexter and Julia, things had been going well. “I’d better take this.”
“Stay,” he said, standing. “I’ll to help my mom in the kitchen until you’re done.”
Heart-warmed at his kindness, she pressed the answer button. “Hello?”
“Oh, Margot, I’m so glad I got a hold of you.”
“Is everything all right? The shop…” She couldn’t even bear to ask if something had gone wrong.
“Yeah. The shop is great. Sorry, I should have prefaced this by saying it’s kind of a personal call.”
“Personal?” Margot didn’t mind Julia calling her, but was surprised she had. They had grown close in the months before Dexter came back, but Margot wasn’t sure how the single mother saw Margot. As a boss? As a friend? As both?
“Yeah. I, well… This is kind of awkward.”
“It’s all right. You can ask me anything.”
After a pause, Julia blurted out, “Dexter asked me out.”
“He did?” Margot burst into a grin. She’d wondered about what he’d decided to do, but she had also vowed to herself not to meddle. It was too easy to get involved in the lives of others and most of the time, the meddling never worked out. There had been enough well-meaning older women in the community that had tried, and failed, to set her up after Julian died. Adam was a testament to the fact that things happened at the right time.
“What did he say?”
“He wants to take me out for New Year’s, but I don't know…” Julia took a deep breath.
“What is it that you’re unsure of?”
“I’ve got Nick and my parents and this job and…it’s just a lot. I mean, do I really want to be dating right now? Is that smart?”
Margot smiled, completely understanding what the woman was considering. “What do you think about Dexter?”
“I…I don’t know.” It sounded as if Margot’s question had caught the young woman off-guard. “He’s a great guy. Funny. Makes me laugh. Does dumb things,” she chuckled softly, “but I think that’s to make me laugh.”
Margot was glad to hear that Julia had noticed that. “And did he make a big deal out of this?”
“Not really. Well, okay, so he was walking me out to my car—the first thing that told me something was up—and then he got all shy and tripped and fell into my car when he was trying to put my stuff in for me.” She was laughing now. “It was actually really adorable.”
Margot smiled. “I can imagine.”
“And then he said he knew I had a lot in my life and didn't need complications, but that, if I wanted to, he could make me laugh and buy me dinner on New Year’s Eve.”
“Sounds like a pretty good offer to me.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
Margot let the silence answer Julia’s question.
“All right, I see what you’re saying. I think I’m going to go.”
“I’m glad to hear it. You’ll have to let me know how it goes.”
“I will. And, Margot?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. I can’t talk to my parents about this stuff, they get too excited, and I had no one else to call.”
“Then I’m glad you called me.”
“Thanks,” Julia said, clearing her throat. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you.”
The line went quiet and Margot dropped the phone into her lap, her gaze turning toward the fire. She was glad that Dexter had finally worked up the courage to ask Julia out and she hoped they’d have a good time. The thought of her two friends and employees going on their first date made her smile, but it also made her think about her own situation.
She’d thought about talking to Adam, about being honest with him about where her feelings were now versus when they had talked about their future before, but she’d been too afraid. Now though, after seeing how Julia was facing her fears and giving Dexter a chance, it made Margot want to tell Adam what she was thinking.
It seemed like terrible timing; the reality of Simon’s killer still being at large and the bake-off and family distractions…but those were only superficial things. Her relationship with Adam would be something that would last.
Heavy footsteps told her that Adam was coming back in. He peered around the corner as if to see if she was still on the phone but, seeing that she wasn't, he came in all of the way.
“Hey, I—”
“Can we talk?” She bit her lip, suddenly feeling nervous.
He came up to her, lightly cupping her elbow and looking down at her. “Of course, but first—”
“It’s just that I thought maybe we could take a walk.”
He frowned. “I’d love nothing more, but we need to go pick up Fran at the police station. She’s finally being released.”
“She is?”
“Yes.
“That’s good news.” Margot felt relief hearing that Fran would finally be able to go home.
“Yes, but they’ve found evidence against Wade. Detective Nelson is positive that Wade is the killer.”
Margot’s eyes widened. Wade? It didn’t ring true.
The next moment, Cassie came running into the room, tears falling down her face. “They are saying that Wade did this! I even told them that he was with me, but Detective Nelson thinks I’m lying for him.”
“What evidence do they have?” Margot looked between Cassie and Adam.
“They found a syringe in his locker at the bakery. It had his fingerprints on it and Nelson is positive it’s what was used to deliver whatever it was that killed Simon.”
“Margot, you have to prove he’s innocent.” Cassie grasped Margot’s hand and gave her a pleading look.
Margot took in a breath. “I can’t promise anything, but I will go down to the station with Adam to get Fran and when I’m there, I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thank you.” Cassie broke down into sobs and Adam pulled his sister to him, wrapping his arms around her.
Margot slowly took in a breath. A syringe with Wade’s fingerprints. A puncture mark on Simon’s left ear. Fran being drugged. Airtight alibis and possibly faked alibis. Things certainly were not adding up, but Margot would do everything she could to find out why. Someone was lying and she was determined to find out who it was.
The station was nearly empty when Margot and Adam stepped inside, stomping their boots on the mat and brushing snow from their shoulders.
“It still coming down out there?” the woman behind the desk asked. When Adam nodded, she shook her head. “I’d better get to leave soon.” She said the last part more loudly, looking over her shoulder at whom Margot assumed was her boss.
“Soon,” the man called without looking up from his paperwork.
“You here to get Fran?” the woman asked.<
br />
“Yes,” Adam said.
“She’ll be right out.”
“I should have known,” the loud voice of Detective Russ Nelson floated out from a hallway just as he stepped from the shadows into the main area.
Adam looked at Margot, then back at the man. They’d discussed what would happen when they got to the station and Adam was adamant that he should say something to the man. Whether or not it would be received, they weren’t sure, but he said he felt he had to try.
“Look…” Adam lowered his voice so only the detective and Margot could hear him. “I’m not stepping in here, or trying to step on any toes, but I’ve got it on good authority that Wade is a changed man. I would hate to see him wrongly accused due to his past mistakes and not taking his current life choices into account.”
Detective Nelson crossed his arms, his faded sports jacket pulling tight at the seams. “Sounds like you are stepping in to me. And, last time I checked, I’ve got jurisdiction here. Besides, you haven’t been in the area in how many years and your ‘good authority’ happens to be your sister, so pardon me if I don’t take that as real information.”
Margot’s blood spiked at the man’s indifference.
“And if you think I’m only going off of some flimsy type of evidence, you’re wrong.” He lowered his voice. “We found Wade’s fingerprints on the murder weapon—or, what we suspect is the murder weapon—in his locker at Baked & Glazed. I promise you, it will go through due process and then we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
Margot was surprised at his slight capitulation to them, but she wasn’t convinced. “Do you even know if what was in the syringe was what killed Simon?”
“That’s the due process, Missus Durand. These things take time to process and we have to let that happen. Besides, it’s the holidays. Things may take a little longer than usual.”
“But that’s a man’s life you’re holding in the balance. You want him to miss Christmas based on evidence that you hope will turn out to be incriminating?”
“Would you prefer we let a possible murderer walk around free?”
Margot opened her mouth, but Fran stepped out of a side door, dressed in a pair of old sweats and looking completely exhausted.
“Fran,” Adam said, enveloping her in a hug. “Ready to go?”
“More than,” the older woman said. “Hello, Margot, thank you both for coming.”
“Sorry about all this, Fran,” Detective Nelson said.
“You were just doing your job. I…I’m sorry it had to be about this.”
Margot looked over at the detective, surprised to hear the tenderness in his voice. Then she looked at Fran and noticed she looked weepy and tired. They had to get her out of there.
“Come on, Fran,” Margot said, wrapping an arm around the woman’s shoulders. “Let’s go.”
She nodded and, with one last glance at Detective Nelson, Margot, Adam, and Fran walked out and back into the falling snow. It cushioned their footsteps and left the world looking soft and quiet.
With Fran in the backseat, Adam carefully pulled out onto the road. They had discussed what they would do for Fran when they picked her up and Louise had insisted that she come to stay with them. Since Fran’s only living family member, a brother, lived in Indiana and wasn’t able to come out for Christmas, Louise didn’t want her at home alone for the holidays. And what was one more guest? she’d insisted.
The silence in the car drew Margot back into her thoughts. She’d missed the opportunity to speak with Adam and knew she wouldn’t be able to find the time that evening. It would be more important to make Fran feel at home and comfortable, but there was something else. Something that was bothering her about what Detective Nelson had said.
He had specifically mentioned they found the syringe in Wade’s locker in Baked & Glazed. That didn’t make any sense to Margot. Why would Simon’s body be in Fran’s but the murder weapon be back at the other bakery? Did Nelson think that Wade had taken it back to work with him and hidden it there? Even for an inexperienced person, that seemed rather foolish. It almost felt as if it had been planted there.
And, as she was thinking about it, why weren’t more questions asked about how Simon had gotten to Fran’s? Or why he’d even been targeted in the first place? Then again, with Fran’s arrest, it had been simple. Their rivalry had finally gotten out of hand—or so it had seemed. What was Wade’s motivation?
They pulled up at the Eastwood home and Margot helped Fran out of the car and into the house. Louise had prepared a light meal for them all and they would soon gather around the table to eat and do anything to distract from the reality of what Fran had been through in the last few days.
Margot, on the other hand, wasn’t sure if she could do that. She had too many questions rolling around in her head.
“Margot,” Fran said, clasping her hand before they stepped into the kitchen.
“Yes?”
“Can we bake tomorrow? I’d just like to do something normal.”
Margot smiled, completely understanding. “Yes. We can most certainly bake tomorrow.”
Fran’s smile, though weaker than it should have been, was all the motivation that Margot needed. She would make sure that Fran’s entry for the competition was flawless, if only to honor the memory of the rivalry between two unlikely people.
Chapter 14
The small General Market store in town was crowded with last minute holiday shoppers getting groceries for their Christmas dinners. Margot regretted the choice to come, but she had no other choice if they were going to have enough ingredients for the bake-off the next day.
Adam pushed the cart next to her, deftly avoiding running into anyone while Margot consulted her list.
“This is a little crazy,” she said, searching the shelves.
“It’s never this bad, except near holidays.”
“You mean the only time we decide to come shopping?” She shot a smile at him before turning back to her list. “We’re almost done. Just a few more things and—”
“Is that Adam Eastwood?”
By now, Margot thought she would be used to everyone knowing who Adam was, but it still surprised her. They had already met several people in the crowded aisles, each one as warm and welcoming as the next.
The hardest part was the fact that conversation usually circled to what happened with Simon. It was natural to discuss such a tragic event in a small town like this, but it only served to remind Margot that there was no way she could see the case being solved by Christmas. A fact that Cassie was none too pleased with. She had spent most of the morning on the phone with her father’s lawyer trying to find a way to get Wade out on bail, but it wasn’t looking promising.
“And this is my girlfriend Margot.”
Margot tuned back into the conversation with Adam’s introduction. She smiled at the slight man with gray hair and kind eyes. He stood several inches shorter than Adam and had a strong and steady handshake.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, feeling ashamed she hadn’t caught the man’s name.
“Doc Barnes was my doctor up until I moved away,” Adam continued, giving Margot the key piece of information she needed.
“Have you always practiced here?” she asked.
The doctor gave a light chuckle. “Indeed I have. I liked it here—it’s my home. But what is it you do, Margot?”
His genuine interest warmed Margot’s heart and she felt some of the tension leaving her shoulders, despite the fact that she felt the pressure of solving the case—or at least hearing that Detective Nelson had a strong lead.
“I’m actually a baker,” she said with a smile, sweeping her hand over the contents of their cart, which included several bags of sugar. “As you can see, I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth.”
“It’s the worst dating a baker,” Adam said, his sarcasm thick. He patted his flat stomach and both Doc Barnes and Margot laughed.
“You look even more fit than when you were in high
school, Adam. I don’t think her baking has affected you one bit.” Doc Barnes turned his smile back to Margot. “You seem to be in wonderful health as well, Margot. I’d dare say that couldn’t be said for all bakers. It’s as if something in them just craves the sweets. I don’t think I’ve met a baker who’d turn down a cookie if it were offered them.”
He chuckled at his joke, but something he’d said sparked a memory in Margot.
“—don’t you think, Margot?”
“Margot?” Adam touched her elbow gently and she blinked back to the present.
“I-I’m so sorry. Adam, we have to go.”
“Go? You mean, we’re done shopping?” He turned to Doc Benson with an exaggerated sigh. “Finally.”
“No, I mean we have to go. Now. There’s not time to purchase these things. We’ve got to get to Anne’s place.”
At the mention of Anne, Adam’s eyes sharpened. “Anne’s. Right. Doc, I'm so sorry, but we’ve got something we’ve got to do. I hope to see you around. Maybe at the bake-off tomorrow?”
“Sure thing. You two go have fun. I’ll wheel the cart back to the front. Jeb will be happy to take care of it.”
Despite the fact that Margot felt bad about creating more work for the employees on what was an already busy day, her revelation couldn't wait.
Adam held the car door open for her as she slid in and then rushed around to the front seat. “Margot, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t have all the facts yet,” she began, clenching her fingers in her lap. She hoped she was right about this. “But I'm almost certain I know who killed Simon and how they did it. Now I just need to prove it.”
On the way to Anne’s Adam put in the call to Detective Nelson. It was one Margot knew was hard to make, it put him in danger of being reprimanded, but Adam had told her that his faith in her was stronger than his career preservation. Then he’d laughed and said he knew a few people who could get him out of a bind should it come to that.
When they finally pulled up in front of the boarding house, Margot was surprised to see the detective already out front. Her stomach clenched nervously, but she was growing more and more confident in her conclusions.
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