Leighann Dobbs - Lexy Baker 10 - Mummified Meringues

by Leighann Dobbs

  “But then Violet showed up and blew Ida out of the water. No pun intended.” Helen giggled.

  Ida sighed. “She sure can shoot far, but it was the way she went about it. Following me and sizing me up. Then she would try to intimidate me into bowing out.” Ida pressed her lips together. “But I do have to admit she won fair and square. ‘Course they don’t have that contest anymore.”

  “Right, I think they replaced that with the cherry pit spitting contest,” Ruth said.

  “She wins that one, too.”

  “And she bakes, too?” Lexy asked.

  “Bakes, gardens, knits.” Ida picked a cookie up from her napkin. “You name it and Violet is into it.”

  “Well, I’m not afraid of some old lady that can shoot a pea through a straw,” Lexy said.

  “No? You just wait. Anyway, we know that’s not the main reason you came.” Ruth leaned toward her and lowered her voice. “Our informant down at BRFPD told us about the mummy and we figured you’d be coming by.”

  “Been sitting here waiting on ‘ya,” Ida added.

  “Oh, good,” Lexy said. “I called Nans last night first thing, but I guess we had a bad connection. I’m surprised she’s not here waiting, too. I’m sure she must have heard about the mummy by now.”

  “Yeah, her new boyfriend must be more interesting,” Ida cackled.

  “We can get started without her,” Helen said. “Tell us what you know.”

  Lexy glanced around the room. The other tables were empty, but two gray-haired men sat in the lounge chairs, watching the big screen TV that was turned up to an annoyingly high volume.

  “Oh, don’t mind them.” Helen waved her hand toward the two men. “They’re deaf as doornails. Won’t hear a word we’re saying.”

  Lexy told the ladies about how they’d found the mummy and Jack’s theory about the builder. Then she went on to describe her visit earlier with the McDonalds. “And, of course, Davies said that Jack is a suspect.”

  “Oh, dear! That’s crazy,” Helen said as she bit into the chocolate kiss meringue.

  “Well, a dead body was found in his basement.”

  “But surely they can tell it was put there before he moved in … I mean, that must have been what happened, right?” Ruth asked.

  “If Jack is a suspect, that’s all the more reason for The Ladies’ Detective Club to investigate and help clear his name,” Ida said.

  That’s right.” Ruth pressed her lips together and tapped them with her index finger. “Are you sure the previous owners weren’t hiding something from you? If they’re the killers, they might be very clever.”

  “They’re just a nice old couple,” Lexy said. “It couldn’t be them. Plus, they didn’t seem to have a clue of what I was talking about. And anyway, Jack said he figured it would be the builder since he would have had a perfect opportunity to make that secret room and hide the body when he was building the house.”

  Ida frowned down at her half-eaten meringue cookie. “Wouldn’t the smell of a decaying body hamper the sale?”

  Lexy shrugged. “I guess he might have stalled the sale until that smell was gone.”

  “What about the other people coming on the job site?” Ruth asked. “Or the neighbors. Surely, someone would notice something.”

  “Wait a minute,” Helen said. “We’re talking about Jack’s house, and that’s right behind Mona’s. Did she live there then or did she buy the house after the McDonalds?”

  “The McDonalds said that she already lived there when they moved in,” Lexy offered.

  “Nothing gets past Mona, so if she lived there back then, she must have noticed something.” Ida’s forehead creased and she craned her neck to look in the parking lot. “Where is she, anyway?”

  Lexy turned to follow her gaze, but there was no sign of Ruth’s big, blue Oldsmobile. “Beats me.”

  “Did the McDonalds tell you who the builder was?” Helen pulled Lexy’s attention from the window.

  “No. I guess I should have asked.”

  “No worries.” Ruth bent down and picked up a giant black purse from under her chair. She opened a flap, unzipped a compartment, reached in and pulled out an iPad. “Google is a wonderful tool. We’ll just look it up.”

  “It would help to know who the victim was, too.” Helen raised her brows at Lexy. “Any idea?”

  “No. Sorry.”

  “Could you tell if it was a man or woman?”

  “I think it was a man,” Lexy said. “It was wearing shorts and what looked like a tank top or white undershirt. That’s not something a woman usually wears.”

  “Very good.” Ida nodded at Lexy. “And that’s an important clue.”

  “It is?”

  “Yes. From the clothing, we know it must have been summer when he was killed.”

  “So, now we just need to look for missing persons reports on males that disappeared in the summer.” Helen reached into her giant purse and produced an iPad. “Now, what year was the house built?”

  “I’m not sure exactly.” Lexy chewed her bottom lip. “Jack said about sixty years ago.”

  “Okay, good enough.”

  Ruth and Helen alternated tapping away on their iPads and nibbling the meringue cookies. Ida looked over Ruth’s shoulder while nibbling her own cookie. Lexy noticed that they weren’t eating the cookies with their usual gusto. She hoped that was simply because their minds were too busy with investigating to pay much attention to the cookies, and not because the cookies didn’t taste good.

  “That’s strange,” Helen said. “I’ve searched several decades and not found anyone reported missing who was never found.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t from around here,” Ida suggested.

  “Maybe. But it seems like he would be. Otherwise, why did he get killed and hidden here?” Ida asked. “It doesn’t seem like one would bring a body from somewhere else and seal it up in a basement, does it?”

  “Well, we can just ask the builder, because I’ve found him,” Ruth announced.

  “Really?” Ida craned her neck to look at Ruth’s iPad. “Was he involved in any nefarious activity? Money laundering? Fraud? Murder?”

  “No. Nothing.”

  “Is he even still alive?” Lexy asked.

  “Oh, yes. In fact, he lives right here.”

  Ida wrinkled her brow. “In the retirement center?”

  “Yep. Tommy O’Keefe, 350 Pinewood.”

  “Oh? He has one of the single homes. Those are expensive, so he must have money.” Ida’s blue eyes danced with excitement. “Probably got it by being paid off to hide bodies in the homes he built.”

  Helen swatted Ida’s arm. “Oh, Ida, you do have an imagination!”

  “I think we need to make a visit to him, ladies. What do you think?” Ida asked.

  “Definitely,” Helen answered.

  They all looked at Ruth for her answer but she was squinting intently at something past Lexy’s shoulder, apparently not having heard them.

  “Isn’t that Mona?” Ruth asked.

  Lexy spun in the direction of Ruth’s gaze. “Yes, she must not see us.”

  “Mona! Yoo-hoo. We’re over here!” Ida yelled.

  Nans stopped short, then slowly turned toward them. Lexy thought she saw a look of uncertainty cross her grandmother’s face, but then she broke into a smile and headed toward them.

  “Where have you been?” Ida asked.

  Nans face flushed and she looked down at the floor. “Oh, you know, just some errands. What are you all doing?”

  “We’re discussing our new case,” Helen said.

  “New case?”

  “Yes,” Ida nodded enthusiastically. “The basement mummy case. You know, the one Lexy found in Jack’s basement.”

  “Oh, right.” Nans waved her hand. “I heard about that. Very unusual.”

  “I’ll say!” Ruth pulled a chair over from the next table and indicated for Nans to sit. “So, anyway, tell us what you know and we’ll fill you in on what we’ve foun
d out.”

  “Know? Why would I know anything?” Nans asked.

  “You lived there back then. Surely, you’ve thought back and remembered something that might have been amiss,” Helen prompted.

  “We don’t even know when it happened.” Nans turned to Lexy. “Do we?”

  “Not really. I mean, the police haven’t said anything, but Jack thinks it happened when the house was being built.”

  Nans raised a brow. “Oh, really? So they can’t pinpoint the time of death?”

  “I’m not sure.” Lexy looked around the table at the other ladies. “Can they pinpoint the time of death with a body that’s been mummified?”

  The three ladies shrugged.

  “You lived there before they built the house, right, Mona?” Ruth asked.

  Nans nodded.”So whenever it happened, you were living there. You must have seen something,” Helen said. “Think back. Did you notice any strange activity at night? An odd smell? If you want, I can hypnotize you to help you remember.”

  “Certainly not!” Nans said. “I mean, I don’t need any help remembering. My memory is just fine and I tell you, I never saw anything strange going on.”

  “Well, we’ve found the builder and he lives right here in the complex. We intend to pay him a visit. Maybe you could bake one of your apple pies,” Helen suggested. Nans’ apple pies were famous, and the ladies had discovered long ago that bringing pies or pastry to interrogate …err … visit … a suspect was a great way to get them to open up.

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Nans grimaced. “I have a pretty full schedule.”

  “You don’t know?” Ida gave Nans an incredulous look. “Jack is a suspect and that Watson Davies character could screw things up for him. We have to investigate, for Jack’s sake.”

  “Davies might be a little hard to get along with, but she does a fine job,” Nans said. “Remember how she uncovered the killer when we had that whole fiasco with your wedding dress, Lexy?”

  “Sure, but I think we helped her on that one. And on the copycat baker case, too.”

  Nans tsked. “Maybe, but she’s perfectly capable of figuring out this old case. Anyway, it happened so long ago, who would even care about it now?”

  Lexy squinted at Nans. “I would think you would care.”

  “Yeah, aren’t you going to investigate with us?” Ruth asked.

  Nans shrugged. “I need to look over the new cases. Maybe if there’s nothing else more interesting. I’m very busy and have to pick my cases carefully. You know, some things from the past are better left in the past.”

  Lexy exchanged a glance with Ruth, Ida and Helen.

  Since when did Nans not want to investigate every case?

  “But for now, I need to get upstairs. I have some calls to make.” Nans slid the keys across the table to Ruth. “Thanks for the loaner.”

  Nans stood, plucked a meringue cookie from the box and took a bite. She turned to leave, swallowed then looked down at Lexy. “This is good, but it needs a bit more sugar.”

  And with that, Nans shuffled off across the lobby, leaving Lexy, Ruth, Ida and Helen staring after her.

  Chapter Six

  “Do these seem like they need more sugar to you?” Lexy held one of the orange and vanilla meringue cookies out to Cassie.

  Lexy had been a bit concerned the day before with Ruth, Ida and Helen’s unusual silence about the cookies. The three ladies usually raved about Lexy’s baking, so she figured that was their way of politely telling her they didn’t like the taste. Nans had said they needed more sugar, which Lexy found hard to believe since she’d upped the amount for that recipe, but she took the advice and had come to the bakery early to bake another batch with a teaspoon more sugar.

  That batch was now cooling in the oven, but she wanted Cassie’s opinion on the recipe from the day before just to be sure she was doing the right thing.

  Cassie bit into the cookie. She scrunched up her face comically, then swished the bite around in her mouth. She swallowed, then nodded. “Yep. Just a tad, though.”

  “Thanks. Maybe today’s batch is sweeter.” Lexy glanced over at the oven. She’d turned it off an hour ago and resisted the urge to peek in. The secret to perfect meringues was letting them cool slowly, and opening the oven would let in a rush of cold air, so she willed herself to be patient until the timer went off.

  The smell of almonds drifted over from the counter, where Cassie was drizzling icing on a batch of almond scones. Lexy’s mouth watered as she sidled over to the tray, reaching her hand out for one of the freshly drizzled pieces.

  “I think I need to taste test this,” Lexy said. “I rushed in here early to bake these meringues for my visit to the builder of Jack’s house and I’m starving.”

  Cassie raised a pierced brow as Lexy took a bite. “You found the builder?”

  “Yep. Ruth found him on the internet.” Lexy broke off a corner of the scone while she finished chewing the piece she had in her mouth. “Did you hear anything more about the case from John? Davies won’t tell Jack a thing, and last night Jack said he hadn’t had a chance to catch up with anyone else in the department about it.”

  “No. He said Davies was doing all kinds of tests to figure out who the mummy was—when he died, and what killed him.”

  “Do you think they can pinpoint any of those things?”

  Cassie shrugged. “Who knows? Jack must be anxious, though.”

  “He’s trying to act like he’s not, but I think he is.” Lexy’s heart twisted as she remembered their good-bye kiss earlier that morning. Jack had asked her to check in with him right after they talked to the builder and she could tell he was nervous. “But I think he’ll be cleared soon since he’s helping us on the case.”

  “That must be a rare treat for Nans and the ladies—usually it’s them helping him.”

  Ding!

  The timer announced that the meringues were ready and Lexy shoved the rest of the scone in her mouth, her taste buds delighting in the sweet icing and cake-like scone. She crunched one of the slivered almonds that had been sprinkled on top as she slowly opened the oven door.

  She held her breath and peered inside, relieved to see rows of perfectly puffed meringue cookies, their tops peaking in a swirl. Perfect. She slid the tray out of the oven and grabbed a white bakery box, then carefully placed the cookies in the box.

  Lexy untied her apron and pulled it over her head, smoothing her white, sleeveless blouse and checking her tan capris for spots of flour. Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed the box and headed toward the door.

  “I’m off to meet the ladies and visit Mr. O’Keefe,” she called to Cassie.

  “Okay, I’ll hold down the fort,” Cassie said. “Good luck.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Lexy pulled up in front of the retirement center, where the ladies were waiting anxiously at the door. They descended on her VW Beetle like a swarm of ants to a picnic and somehow Ruth, Ida and Helen managed to fold themselves into the tiny backseat while Nans slid into the passenger seat. Lexy always marveled at the dexterity the ladies displayed when getting into her car—they claimed it was all due to practicing yoga.

  Helen poked her head in between the two front seats. “Thanks for picking us up, Lexy.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “O’Keefe’s house is only about a half-mile up the hill, but we don’t want to walk in our good shoes,” Ida added.

  “Plus, Ida’s bunion is acting up,” Ruth said and they all chuckled, except Ida, who elbowed Ruth in the ribs.

  “I’m glad you decided to join us today,” Lexy said to Nans as she drove across the parking lot to the road that led to the retirement center’s single family homes.

  “Well, I guess if you guys are going to investigate, I’ll tag along.” Nans half turned so that she could address everyone. “I’m just not sure this case warrants our time. And anyway, it seems cut and dried that it’s the builder. But if the police can’t pinpoint the time of death, then how can
they prove it?”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Lexy said. “Cassie told me that Davies was running some tests to figure out when he died.”

  Nans swiveled her head toward Lexy. “Did she say how accurate they can be?”

  “No.”

  “If its within days then that can help, but if its within years, I don’t see how that would be of much use.”

  “Here’s the house right here.” Ruth shoved her hand in-between the front seats, her index finger pointing at a large, Tudor-style house on the right.

  Lexy pulled into the driveway, eyeing the carpet of green grass and perfectly manicured shrubs that were ringed by purple, red and white flowers. It sure did look like Mr. O’Keefe had money, just like Ida had said. The question was … did he get that money from building homes or from something else?

  “I don’t think we’ll find out much here.” Nans stepped out of the car and folded the front seat over for Ida, Ruth and Helen.

  “Why not?” Helen asked. “If he’s the killer, I’m sure he’ll slip up somehow.”

  “That’s right.” Ruth started up the walkway. “Besides, we have a sixth sense for these things. If he’s guilty, we’ll know.”

  They reached the polished oak door and everyone looked toward Nans to take the lead as she usually did. Nans, however, didn’t seem to want to take the lead and got busy studying her nails, so Ida pushed her way to the front of the group and punched the doorbell. “You guys let me do the talking. Just follow my lead.”

  The doorbell chimed and, after a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a pleasant-looking, white-haired gentleman who raised bushy white brows at them. His lips curled in a welcoming smile.

  “Well, what can I do for you ladies?”

  Ida glanced back at them and Lexy knew what she was thinking—he was acting awfully nice for a cold-blooded killer.

  “We’re neighbors from the retirement center,” Ida said. “We’ve come on a welcoming visit.”

  His brows knit together in confusion. “Really? I’ve been living here for quite some time.”

  “Oh, we know. It takes us a while to get to everyone.” Ida grabbed the bakery box from Lexy and held it up. “We brought cookies from The Cup and Cake downtown. Lexy here is the owner.”