Meringue and Mischief

by Ramona Ransom

  If Bizzie was right, and Samson wrote that third note, he surely knew who Nessa was. He didn’t seem to recognize her, though. Something wasn’t right and she wanted to get out of there.

  “I appreciate that. I’m sure he’s having a great time with his girlfriend, so if you forget to mention it, it’s no big deal.”

  Samson grinned. “I knew it. You sound jealous, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about. His relationship with Erica won’t last for long. Cody is quite the ladies’ man if you know what I mean.”

  Nessa could hardly breathe at this point. Cody was dating Erica?

  So far, she knew that Samson blamed Cody and may have written her the note. She knew they were neighbors, that Cody said he never went to Laverne’s when he was supposed to, and now Cody and Erica were dating. She hadn’t narrowed anything down, and somehow, things had gotten ten times more confusing.

  She wondered about the likelihood of Cody and Erica working together to kill Laverne. If they were dating and wanted to get Abby out so they could live together, then that might make sense. That could be the reason why the cable company said that Cody went to her house, even though he claimed he hadn’t. She already knew it made sense that Erica could have done it. They could have gone to Laverne’s at the same time, Cody to fix the cable box and Erica to get Abby’s things. It all fit together pretty seamlessly.

  “Like I said, I’m not here in that capacity. Thanks for being so kind. I appreciate it.”

  Nessa skirted by Samson as he unlocked his door and went inside. She was thankful that he let her leave that time, and dashed out to her car. She had to get to work, and she couldn’t wait to pour out her ideas to the first person she trusted who was willing to listen. She wanted to make sure her thoughts made sense before she called the police.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “It wasn’t until I saw him unlock his door that it came to me. The act of seeing it happen reminded me that when I’d gone to Cody’s house earlier, he didn’t lock his door. I didn’t think a whole lot of it when I was there because he was just taking his dogs around the complex, but don’t you think it’s possible?” Nessa asked, looking at her grandfather for confirmation.

  “I think everything you’ve told me so far seems possible. Even your idea that Samson told Cody about a stray dog, knowing that he’d try to rescue it. I think Samson very well could have tricked Cody, gone inside his house and stolen his keys, then gone to Laverne’s, pretending to be Cody, and killed her.”

  “So, then you agree? I should tell Raff, right?”

  “If you can tell me why Samson would have killed Laverne, then yes, I agree.”

  Nessa didn’t have an answer for that. Everything pointed to Samson, but there was no motive.

  “I guess I can’t. What do you think I should do?”

  “I wish I could stay here for the rest of the night and talk about it, but I really do have to get going. I told the guys I’d play some cards tonight, and I can’t skip out on them again.” Lex hugged his granddaughter and left the bakery.

  Nessa was on her own. Faye had the night off, and Chloe wasn’t on the schedule. She knew they didn’t need more than one person that night, but she wished someone else was there for her to talk to. So often, she found that it was helpful to talk things out in order to make sense of them. She supposed she could talk to herself, but if anyone came in, they might think she’d lost her mind.

  The cookies Nessa had made before had turned out excellent, and she thought she could pass the time by trying out another flavor. She wasn’t in the mood for anything specific, so she opened her phone to get some flavor ideas. She was trying to decide between pistachio and lemon when the door to the bakery opened, and Cody walked in.

  “Oh, hi, Cody. I’m surprised to see you,” Nessa said.

  “I heard you guys stayed open a little later now, and to be honest, I need something sweet. I’ve had a rough week.”

  Nessa knew what it was like to find solace in dessert. She let him check out the display case and decided that whatever he ordered would be on the house.

  “I’m sorry you’re feeling bad,” Nessa told him, sliding the door to the case open. “Do you know what you want?”

  “How about a caramel brownie? I used to love them when I was a kid.”

  Nessa pulled a piece of tissue paper from the box and picked up two brownies. “For here or to-go?” she asked.

  Cody turned and looked around the room, seeing that no one was there. “I guess I can have it here unless you’re trying to close up or something.”

  “Nope. I’ve still got a while to go.” Nessa smiled.

  “Well, then I guess I’ll stay here. Do you want to sit with me?” he asked.

  Nessa fumbled the brownies, almost dropping them. “Uhh, sure. I can do that.”

  “I just figured that’s why you took out two brownies, is all. I thought you were going to have one, too.”

  Nessa had taken out two so she could give them both to Cody, but now that he’d offered, she didn’t think it could hurt to sit with him and talk for a while. After all, she’d wanted to talk to someone about the murder, so it made sense that she’d do that with someone who was actually involved. She could ask him more about Samson and maybe even get some information about Erica since they were dating.

  They sat down together at a table, Nessa having gotten them both a cup of coffee to go with their brownies.

  “So, I stopped by your house again earlier.”

  “Again? Why?” Cody asked.

  When she realized she didn’t have a logical answer for him, she changed her tune. “I met Samson.”

  Cody scowled. “He seems to be popping up all over the place, doesn’t he?”

  “Well, he is your neighbor.” Nessa smiled. “Anyway, I saw him there, and I got to thinking about something.” She told him about how she thought Samson had lied and pretended to be Cody in order to kill Laverne.

  “Clever,” was the odd reply. “Did you mention that to him?”

  “No! I don’t think that would have been very smart. I didn’t talk about anything with him, really. He just told me that you were out with your girlfriend.”

  “Is that right?” Cody huffed. “Thanks to Samson, I haven’t had a girlfriend in a few weeks.”

  “Really? He definitely told me that you were out, and I had to tell him a couple of times that I didn’t care about that and wasn’t there to see you in that way. He called you a ladies’ man. Is that why you don’t have a girlfriend anymore?”

  “How forward of you,” Cody grinned. “I don’t have a girlfriend anymore because Samson took her from me.”

  Samson and Erica? Nessa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “Well, that’s not very nice. Are you two friends?” Nessa asked.

  “We were at one time, but not so much anymore. He kept telling her the same thing he told you. He told her over and over that I was a ladies’ man, and I think she eventually started believing him. We broke up, and I haven’t talked to her since.”

  “I’m sorry,” Nessa said honestly. Even if they weren’t friends, that had to hurt.

  “Me, too. Back to your little idea, though. You think Samson tricked me about the dog, then broke into my house to steal my work stuff so he could go to Laverne’s and kill her. That’s pretty smart.” Cody nodded.

  Nessa didn’t know who Cody thought was smart. Her or Samson.

  “It’s just a theory. Honestly, I have a few of them.”

  Cody took a bite of his brownie and told her how delicious it was. He slowly sipped his coffee. “I’m all ears,” he said.

  “Alright,” she agreed. What was the harm in telling him? “I thought that maybe this girl Abby killed Laverne because she was mad about Renata kicking her out to let Laverne in. Like maybe she wanted to get back at Renata or something for picking Laverne.”

  Cody nodded. “Good theory, but everyone picks Laverne.”

  Nessa had no idea how much Cody knew abou
t things, so she decided to act like she didn’t know Erica was the girl they were just talking about.

  “I also thought that maybe Abby’s roommate, Erica, might have done it because she wanted Abby out of her place.”

  Cody raised a brow. “And now you think Samson did it?”

  “I guess I don’t know what to think. Do you have any ideas?” Nessa asked.

  “Well, to be totally transparent, the girl Erica that you are talking about is the girl that left me for Samson. Don’t you think it’s possible that they were in on it together?”

  “How so?” Nessa asked.

  “You said Erica wanted Abby out. Maybe they killed Laverne together. They would have had a whole slew of reasons. Mad at Renata, so they’d want her to lose out on rent money. Mad that Laverne had money in the first place and was chosen over Abby.”

  “And mad enough to kill because they thought if Laverne was dead, that Abby might move in once everything was cleaned up so then Samson and Erica could live together. You’re making a whole lot of sense,” Nessa told him. She’d thought the very same thing before, but then it was about Cody and Erica being in on it together. Back before she found out that Samson was dating Erica now. “The only thing I can’t figure out is why Laverne let Samson in her house. You said you were the only one she allowed in there.”

  “He had my truck.”

  “Right, but you two don’t exactly look alike. She would have known.”

  “Good point.”

  Cody sat there, not saying anything else, and Nessa got the hint that he was done talking.

  “Well, thanks a lot for coming in. I hope you enjoyed your brownie,” Nessa told him.

  Cody didn’t move.

  “Is everything okay?” Nessa asked.

  “No. It’s not. No one is going to believe your story, and I’m trying to figure out what to do.”

  “What?” Nessa asked, confused. “What do you mean no one is going to believe my story?”

  “You’re going to the police, aren’t you?” Cody asked.

  “Not right this second, but yes. Don’t you think I should? I mean, it’s pretty obvious that Samson and Erica killed Laverne. I know that Erica works at the cable company with you, so…” Nessa stopped when she saw the look on Cody’s face.

  “You need to go into the kitchen right now. Get away from the windows and go in the back. You already know too much, and once you bring it to the police, they’ll realize the truth.”

  “What truth? What are you talking about?” Nessa asked, feeling sick.

  “I said go to the kitchen.” Cody stood and walked toward Nessa, forcing her to move.

  She went into the kitchen, hoping someone would come into the bakery and see what was going on.

  “Why are you doing this? Why don’t you want the police to know what happened?”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all,” Cody said. “I didn’t realize you were so dense.”

  “What is wrong with you?” Nessa was in the kitchen, backed up against the wall.

  “You think Samson killed Laverne by stealing my truck, and that would have been a great cover until you mentioned that Laverne wouldn’t have let anyone in but me. The minute you go to the police and they start looking into things further, they’d have contacted my job, and the truth would have come out, anyway. Now, before you get a chance to go to the police, you’re going to let me leave.”

  “Let you leave where?” Nessa really was feeling dense.

  “If I tell you, then I’m going to have to kill you,” Cody said, his eyes flashing with something Nessa had never seen before.

  She looked past him, trying not to make eye contact, and saw Ranger in the small window of the door that led to the front of the bakery. He held up a finger to his lips.

  “Go ahead and tell me then because I have no idea what’s going on,” Nessa said, feeling safer now that she knew Ranger was there.

  “I hated Laverne more than I ever hated anyone. I’d have killed her on general principle, but when I found out that I had even more of a reason, I couldn’t help myself. Not only did I have to deal with her, but then I found out that Samson took Erica from me. I knew how badly Erica wanted Abby out, so when I saw my opportunity, I took it.”

  “What opportunity?”

  “When Samson told me about the dog, I went there to find it, but there was nothing there. I was angry that I drove all that way for no reason and missed out on going to Laverne’s. I stopped by her house on my way home to talk to her and apologize for missing our appointment, and when I got there, she was very much alive. Samson and Erica didn’t kill her. I did. I did when she started freaking out at me for allowing someone else to come to her home because I was too busy for her. When she told me how useless I was and how she regretted ever choosing me and giving me her money. She yelled and yelled, and when I realized what Samson did, I got angry, and killed her. Samson tricked me, just like you said. He got me out of the house and stole my stuff, pretending to be me. The only problem was that he didn’t know just how serious Laverne was about not letting other people into her home. She refused him entry, he went home, and that was it.”

  “You… You killed her?” Nessa’s voice hitched.

  She should have put it together sooner and was mad at herself for trusting him. If she’d just had a little more time, she’d have come to the correct conclusion. There was no way Laverne would have let Samson in. She wondered if Ranger had figured it out, and that’s why he’d come.

  “Do you know what it’s like to have someone give you a hard time for everything you do? They follow you around and talk bad about you, and you have no idea why?” Cody asked.

  Nessa knew exactly how that felt, but instead of being mad about it, she felt relief. The person who made her feel that way was about to save her life.

  “I do, and I’m sorry someone made you feel that way. Maybe if you tell the police the truth…”

  “Shut up. I told you the truth, and I’m already regretting it. Go over there.” He pointed to the corner of the kitchen. “Go!”

  Nessa did as she was told, and right before Cody raised his hand to her, Ranger came bursting through the door.

  “Get away from her” He tackled Cody to the ground, and Nessa raced to the phone to call the police.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I wish one of you could have been a fly on the wall when I checked my messages this morning. There I was thinking I had to be getting ready for work…” Faye shook her head, ending with a small smile.

  “I know. I wish I could have told you in person, but I didn’t want to show up in the middle of the night and I would have hated it if you went all the way to the bakery for no reason,” Nessa said, tucking her feet underneath her and settling in on the couch.

  Since the bakery was going to be closed for at least a few days, Nessa had invited Faye over for lunch with her and Chloe, who would be home soon. She didn’t think her grandfather was going to be there, but he ended up canceling and showing up, anyway.

  “It’s okay. I’m glad I didn’t go all the way there, too. But I am glad that you got everything figured out,” Faye told her.

  “I don’t know if I’d go that far. I didn’t really figure anything out. I guess I knew mostly everything except for who did it, and some might say that means I didn’t get it at all,” Nessa joked.

  “You thought Cody and Erica killed her so they could give Abby a place to go. You were almost right and had you known earlier that Samson was dating Erica, you would have gotten it.”

  “I should have looked more into the whole Laverne only lets one cable guy into her home thing. If I did that, I might have learned that it was Cody the entire time. Oh well, you can’t win them all, I guess.” Nessa shrugged.

  “I beg to differ,” Ranger said, strolling up to them. When Lex decided to come to Nessa’s, he invited Ranger to come along, but of course, he’d neglected to tell her that.

  She smiled, trying to be on her best behavi
or. Ranger had helped her, and maybe even saved her life.

  “About what?” she asked.

  “I think you won this,” Ranger said.

  “How do you figure?”

  “As you may have figured out, I too, was trying to solve Laverne’s murder. You thought it was Cody first because of the note you got from Bizzie, and I wouldn’t have known that unless I went through your trash.”

  Nessa nearly choked on air.

  Ranger continued, “That means you have a friend willing to help you out. Then you guessed it was Abby, and I was right on your trail. Once I figured out that you thought it was Erica, I was really impressed. You aren’t afraid to dig in and ask questions. I’d say both of those things are wins.”

  “Thanks, Ranger.”

  “I’m not finished. The only reason I was at the bakery last night was because I knew you knew something I didn’t, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I followed you to work and waited to see if something was going to happen. When Cody came in, I thought for sure you had it solved and you called him there to confront him. I came inside because I wanted to be a part of the action. I wanted to be there when the walls came tumbling down.”

  Nessa appreciated Ranger’s words. He’d made her feel better for not figuring out sooner that it was Cody who had killed Laverne. And he was right, she was winning. She had great friends to help her, a wonderful job, and she wasn’t afraid to be herself.

  “Thank you, again.”

  Ranger patted her on the shoulder and went back toward Lex.

  “What was that all about?” Chloe asked, standing in front of them.

  “You’re here!” Nessa said. “You took forever.”

  “I know, but you’ll never guess what happened! I ran into Renata and she asked to take me to lunch. I know, I know, I wasn’t supposed to eat, but I couldn’t tell her no,” Chloe rambled.