Yvette wasn’t understanding what was going on. It seemed to her that Max was acting a bit strangely. Following him to the employee breakroom, she tried again to get his attention.
“How are you? I can’t believe something so tragic happened.”
Max huffed. “I’m surprised you aren’t used to it by now.”
“Wow. What’s that supposed to mean?” Yvette asked, taken aback by his harshness.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Max turned and brushed past her before leaving the room.
“Max, wait! I know I’m not technically your boss and none of this is work related, but I don’t appreciate the way you’re acting right now.” Yvette followed behind him again.
“You’re right. I’ll be more professional,” Max replied. “I’m going in the stockroom to put away a few things if you need me.”
Yvette was surprised by the hurt she felt. She hadn’t known the young man very long, but she didn’t like feeling as though he was upset with her. Deciding to let it go for now, figuring that maybe he was just struggling with the realization that someone had been murdered, Yvette carried on with her day. Going through the motions of greeting the few customers that came in, she knew that business would probably be even slower than normal after the word got out about Damien. She’d cleaned everything in the shop from top to bottom, gone over all the paperwork and prepared payroll but something still felt unfinished.
“Okay, Max. We’ve been here together for nearly five hours and you’ve said just as many words to me in that entire time. Can you please explain to me what’s going on?”
“Fine. What do you want to know?” he asked before sitting on a stool at the counter.
“Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?”
“I wasn’t sure what to say to you.”
“Why? Did something happen?” she asked.
Max sighed. “I really like you, Yvette. I think you’re a great teacher and a nice person. But when Damien died, I did a little research because it was so unexpected and nerve-wracking. I found out that there were two murders in Heritage and you were involved in both of them.”
“That’s not exactly true, but I see what you are saying. That’s why you’ve been acting this way? You think I had something to do with Damien’s death?” Yvette’s shoulders slumped at the thought.
“It’s not just me,” Max pointed out. “I’ve spoken to a couple different people, who both came to me about it. Everyone thinks it’s a little weird that you had two murders where you live and then you come here and there’s another one.”
“You can’t possibly think that way. I can explain the other situations to you if it would make you feel better. But Max, I would never… could never do something like that.”
“Like I said, I think you’re great, but you have to admit it kinda makes sense. You did tell me that you wouldn’t care if you never saw Damien again and the next day he ends up dead? I mean, I know the guy was a jerk and all…”
Yvette had been thinking about how oddly Gina had acted after she found Damien’s body and even steered clear of her, for the most part, earlier that morning when they worked together. Not even for a second had she stopped to consider that other people may be thinking of her as the killer.
“I see. Thank you for telling me the truth. I admit I’m a little hurt by your accusation, though.”
“And I feel bad for thinking it but like I said, I’m not the only one.”
“Okay, so who else thinks I’m a killer?” Yvette stammered.
Max was fidgeting with the napkin dispenser, clearly having a hard time.
“You told her?” a voice came from behind them.
Yvette turned and saw a woman she’d never seen before. She scolded herself for not remembering to put up the bell that alerted the staff when a customer had arrived. How much of their conversation had this mystery woman overheard?
“Josephine… I didn’t expect to see you here.” Max’s eyes widened.
“Good Afternoon, Josephine. I’m Yvette Lockhart.” Yvette extended a hand.
Josephine stiffened and turned her attention back to Max. “I’m glad I came by since Max here is sharing all of our secrets.”
“I had to tell her. I see what you all are saying but Yvette doesn’t seem like the type to hurt someone. You all don’t know her like I do,” he admitted.
Yvette felt like she was going in every direction. “I’m sorry, who are you again?”
“Josephine Shears. She and her husband own Clyde’s Patisserie,” Max answered.
“Don’t go telling her all of my business now, Max. We certainly don’t need a killer running around town with all our information just because you think she’s nice.” Josephine put her hands on her hips.
Yvette had finally had enough. “Ma’am,” she said to the older woman. “I appreciate your honesty and I’m sorry you feel that way you do about me but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. This is a place of business and I take my job very seriously. Something senseless and tragic happened here and that’s hard to handle for everyone, including me. Have a wonderful rest of your day and good luck in all your endeavors.” Yvette forced a smile and wiped away any remnants of tears that had begun to form. She couldn’t believe that people felt this way about her.
“Wow,” Max said, after Josephine had left. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone stand up to Josephine like that.”
“I’m not standing up to anyone. I’m simply sticking up for myself,” Yvette hesitated and looked Max in the eyes before retreating to the office for a few moments of alone time.
9
Settling in as deep as she could into Amelia’s oversized recliner, Yvette sipped her tea. “I don’t even know which way to turn,” she confessed.
“I’m so sorry this is happening,” Amelia said, brushing her blonde hair from her eyes.
“I can’t believe that there are actually people out there in the world that think of me as a killer.”
“I mean, if the police don’t think you are, does it even matter?” Amelia pointed out.
“It might. What if they don’t have any suspects either? Maybe I’ll end up being one to them, not only to the locals in Townsend.”
Amelia poured herself a cup of tea and sat across from Yvette. “Talk to me about it. Work out what’s going on in your head and maybe that will help. It seems like when you have the chance to say things out loud, it always makes things better.”
Yvette let out a long breath. “That’s the problem. I don’t know what’s going on in my head. Everything that happened with Gina was odd, Max and apparently several other people think that me being in the area after the two murders in Heritage happened, makes me a prime suspect for this one.”
“Oh! I meant to tell you that I finally figured out why that Gina woman’s name sounded so familiar. She was on that television show Bakery Wars. I was sad when she didn’t win, she was so creative.”
“Yeah, that’s her. She was on last year I think. She is very good at her job, I won’t take that away from her. Not sure why she’s only making waffle cones and whipped cream when she has talent like that though. No matter how much I love my job, I enjoy seeing people achieve their dreams. Anyway, I don’t know a darn thing and that’s more frustrating than anything else. I’m so unfamiliar with Townsend that I can’t make heads or tails of anything.
“Do you need to? The shop is open, and you only have a few days left there. Unless the police need you for something, do you think it might be better if you just go to work and come home then be done with it all? It has to be tough knowing people think badly of you, but you can’t let that dampen everything. Emma wanted you to do a job and that’s all you should be worrying about.”
Yvette supposed that her friend was right. She’d been so caught up in Damien’s death and why Max had been avoiding her that she hadn’t done any more investigating about what was going on at the shop. While it was clear that the Pop-Up was hurting their business, there had
to be more to it than that. Sundae Afternoon had always been her number one priority and Yvette wasn’t going to let that change now. The first thing she needed to do was look more closely into why the other restaurant had been borrowing from them so often. She knew she wouldn’t be able to ask Henry directly yet but maybe there was a way to get one of his employees to explain. Yvette knew that talking to Max probably wasn’t an option and getting anything out of Gina seemed next to impossible, especially since she was so close to Henry. There was only one other option, Twila. She was new to the shop and may be exactly what Yvette needed.
“You are absolutely right. I have a job to do and that’s all there is to it. I’ve never been anything but laser-focused when it came to my career. Thanks for letting me vent. I think I’m going to head back to Townsend, want to come?” Yvette asked, an idea occurring to her.
“Now? It’s nearly seven at night. You just left there. Why do you want to go back?”
“I thought of something that may help clear my name.”
“Yvette! I thought you were only going to worry about work.”
“I am. It all ties in together. Trust me.” She swung her legs off of the chair and set her cup on the end table.
“I think I’ll pass as long as you can promise me you aren’t going to do anything crazy?” Amelia shook her head.
“Not crazy at all. I’m going to check out why Henry’s shop is doing so badly.” Yvette rose from her seat. “You sure you don’t want to come along?”
Amelia sighed. “I’m sure. Call me if you need me. I still don’t get what you’re doing though. Working or clearing your name?”
“Both.” Yvette darted out the door, not even bothering to look back.
* * *
“Welcome to Sundae Afternoon!” the young woman greeted her.
“You must be Twila,” Yvette said, smiling.
“That’s me! What can I help you with?”
“I’m Yvette Lockhart. I’ve been working here all week covering for Henry. I’m so glad to finally meet you!”
Twila looked surprised to see her and that was what Yvette was hoping for. Her intention wasn’t to frighten the girl but to catch her off guard so maybe she could learn a little more information about Henry.
“Hi! It’s great to meet you, I’ve heard so many good things,” Twila exclaimed.
Yvette hoped she hadn’t heard too much because if Twila also thought she was responsible for Damien’s death, she definitely wasn’t going to get any information out of her.
“Same here. Everyone raves about your sundae making,” Yvette admitted. “Want to make me one?”
“Of course. What would you like?”
“Hmmm. How about you surprise me? There isn’t anything I don’t like when it comes to ice cream.”
Yvette sat in silence, planning her conversation with Twila in her head while the young woman made her dessert. It wasn’t long before Twila returned with a decadent looking treat in her hand.
“This looks wonderful! What’s in it?” Yvette asked.
“Strawberry shortcake.” Twila beamed at Yvette’s reaction. “It has both strawberry and cheesecake ice cream with chunks of pound cake layered in between. I added a little strawberry sauce on the top as well.”
“This isn’t even on the menu. Do you enjoy creating different things too? That’s my favorite part of the job,” Yvette noted.
“I do but I can’t take credit. This is all Teresa,” Twila confided.
Yvette didn’t recall being told about someone named Teresa working at the shop. She’d even worked on the payroll and that name wasn’t on the list.
“Teresa? Is she a friend of yours?” Yvette asked.
Twila shrugged. “I wouldn’t call her a friend. She comes in a lot to talk to Henry though. It’s something she came up with one night when we were all here,” Twila explained.
“Really? Well, she’s certainly got the eye and palate for desserts.”
“I’d sure hope so,” Twila giggled. “She owns a dessert bar and they are always so busy!”
Yvette was more than surprised. Teresa must have been the woman that Max mentioned when he was telling her about the person that came to borrow items from Henry. That would also mean that the woman in the photo she’d taken a scree shot of in the article about the dessert bar was Teresa. Pulling out her phone, Yvette brought up the image she’d saved.
“Is this her?” Yvette asked, showing the screen to Twila.
Twila tilted her head. “Umm, yeah. Why do you have a picture of her?”
“A friend of mine and I went to her Pop-Up not too long ago. It was so good that we’ve spent the last few days raving over how excellent it was. We searched Oh Hey Ganachery on the Internet hoping we could find its next location. I heard this was the second time they were in Townsend, so I took the screenshot of when she was in Rhode Island in case she went back there again.” Yvette felt a little guilty for lying but she was almost positive she’d get the information she’d been looking for.
“Oh, yup. I think she mentioned being there before, but I hope she doesn’t have to leave here ever. Her desserts are so good, and I think she makes Henry happy. I don’t know if they are dating or not but she’s here all the time. I end up doing some of his work for him sometimes, so they can hang out.” The young girl hesitated a moment. “Don’t tell him I said that. I don’t mind doing it. Especially since every time she visits, he loses his grumpy attitude.” Twila smiled, seemingly believing Yvette’s story.
“Is she thinking of opening up her shop here permanently?”
“I think that’s her plan but I’m not positive. I know she talks about it a lot and after her business partner died, she wants to stay in the area even more now, so she can remember him. A little weird if you ask me. I’d want to get as far away from here as possible, but I’ll be selfish and admit I don’t want her to leave. Not like everyone else does.” Twila put her hands in her apron pockets.
“People want her to leave?” Yvette asked.
“Mr. and Mrs. Shears from the patisserie aren’t too happy about her wanting to stick around in the area, that’s for sure. Before Teresa’s partner died, I guess he had asked them multiple times if he could buy them out. He’d wanted to open the dessert bar full time in their location.”
“Sounds like there are a lot of folks around here that really love their sweets. Me included,” Yvette said, taking the last bite of her sundae.
“I’m so happy you liked it!” Twila grinned.
“It was outstanding. Please, share my review with Teresa the next time you see her.” Yvette said before getting up from her table. “I’ve got to grab something I left in the office earlier, then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Okay. Like I said, it was great to meet you.” Twila cleared Yvette’s dish and headed for the kitchen.
10
Yvette left her house a bit earlier than normal the next morning hoping she’d get the chance to talk with Gina. She wanted to toss out a little of the information she’d gotten from Twila the night before.
She pulled into the parking lot of the shop and noticed a second vehicle next to Gina’s. She winced, remembering the last strange car that sat there before the shop opened. Yvette ignored it for now and let herself in the back door.
All the lights were on, and things looked to be pretty normal inside. She made her way into the dining area, planning to put her purse in the office when she saw Gina and the woman from the photo sitting together at a table with paperwork laid out in front of them. Yvette stepped back a bit, making sure she was hidden but stayed close enough to listen in on the conversation.
“I know what you want from me, Gina, but I’m not certain I can offer it,” Teresa said, sifting through the papers.
“You owe me. I’ve been doing everything you asked.” Gina looked angry.
“I already paid you what we agreed on, but I can’t help that you blew through the money as quickly as you did.”
“I get it
. But now you have me lying to Henry, just so that you can boost your business. When does it become about my name? My business?” Gina challenged.
“This is about you. You agreed to gather information for me and I agreed to get you on Bakery Wars again. It’s that simple. You scratch my back and I scratch yours.”
“I moved into Henry’s house and found a way to get him to hire me and make him think I was on his side. But I had to tell him that I wanted to work only in the kitchen I’m barely making enough to live. I need more money and I need you to sign something telling me that you will get me on the show. I can’t just trust you anymore, you’ve burned me one too many times. I need it in writing.”
“Just like you need that, I need to be certain that nothing about this gets leaked to anyone. I can’t let anyone know I have an inside source on Bakery Wars. And certainly, no one can know that I’m trying to close down other shops in order to make mine a success. I’m trusting you to keep that to yourself just as you need to trust me that I’ll get you back on the show.”
Yvette saw Teresa slide her chair back, looking like she was getting ready to leave so she quickly turned and ducked back into the kitchen.
“Morning, Gina!” she exclaimed, as she swung the kitchen door open.
“Oh, umm. Hi, Yvette. This is Teresa, she owns Oh Hey Ganachery. She stopped by looking for…”
Teresa interrupted her. “Good Morning. I stopped by to see Gina. She was the one that found my business partner as I’m sure you know. I wanted to check in on her. I know everyone has been worried about me after losing someone so close, but I was betting that no one stopped to think about this poor dear.” Teresa’s high-heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked to greet Yvette.
“How kind of you,” Yvette said. “I’m so sorry for your loss. If there is anything we can do, including helping out with some stock of ours to tide you over at your store until things get back to normal, we’d be glad to help.”
Both Gina and Teresa looked taken aback by Yvette’s comment. It seemed that neither woman knew that anyone else was aware of what had been going on.
A Twist of Murder Page 4