They approached a horseshoe-shaped faux wooden desk, behind which a young woman beamed a welcoming smile at them.
“Hi, we’d like to see Mr. Banks private assistant, Cora.” Nans said in a brisk, business-like voice. “This is Lexy Baker who catered Mr. Banks birthday event and she has a condolence offering.”
Lexy’s stomach twisted as the girl’s smile faltered. The receptionist frowned at Lexy. “I’m sorry, but she’s not here—”
The door opened behind them. They all turn to see Cora, rushing in like she was in the world’s biggest hurry. She stopped short, her flushed face registering surprise at the congregation in front of the desk.
“Looks like you’re in luck,” the receptionist said to Nans, then turned to Cora. “These people are here to give their condolences about Mr. Banks.”
“Oh?” Cora scowled at Lexy. “Aren’t you the caterer from Regis’ birthday party?”
Lexy fought the urge to turn and run. Of course, running would have been impossible with the vise-like grip Nans had on her elbow.
“Yes. I’m the dessert caterer. I’m very sorry about the whole thing,” Lexy squeaked out.
Cora looked sharply at Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen. “And who are you?”
Nans introduced them and then held up the bakery box. “This is for the office. Lexy makes the best cookies.”
Cora took the box, the frown still evident on her face.
“I wonder if we could have a moment of your time …” Nans ventured.
“Me? What for? I’m very busy straightening out Mr. Banks projects for the hand-off.”
“I’m sure you must be. But this is important.” Nans leaned closer to Cora and lowered her voice. “It concerns Mr. Banks.”
Cora stared at Nans skeptically, but something in Nans’ tone must have piqued her curiosity. “Oh, all right then. Follow me.”
Cora turned and walked toward a hallway. The women followed her. Lexy couldn’t help but check out her shoes—her love of footwear drove her to it. She felt a pang of envy. Cora wore a pair of purple suede designer pumps with steel-tipped heels.
Cora stopped in front of an office suite and Lexy blurted out, “I love those shoes.”
Cora glanced down, then frowned, bending to hurriedly wipe off a smudge on the tip of one of the shoes.
“Thanks, they’re Manolo Blahnik,” she shot over her shoulder continuing into the offices.
The outer office was plainly furnished with a desk, bookshelves and two filing cabinets.
This must be Cora’s office, Lexy thought, looking at the clean surfaces. No messy papers or books. No signs of personal mementos either, except a small framed photo of a gnarled old oak tree against a sunset landscape on the windowsill. The office was neat as a pin, the only mess being a large amount of wet-nap packets all torn open and laying in the trash.
One wall had an impressive set of double doors that opened into a much grander, mahogany furnished office. The former office of Regis Banks was now filled with cardboard boxes. The bookshelves were half-empty. The filing cabinet drawers sat open, their contents in the midst of being transferred into cardboard storage.
Cora turned to them. “Now that Mr. Banks is gone, his son, Winston, will take this office. I’m just packing up the stuff Winston doesn’t want.”
“Will Winston keep you on?” Nans asked.
Cora shrugged. “I don’t know what his plans are. We haven’t discussed it.”
“Do you even want to work for him? I heard he had some … problems,” Nans said.
Cora’s sharp dark eyes assessed Nans. “Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s just say I hear he’s not as good with money as his father.”
Cora looked away. “Yes, that’s true.”
“You didn’t notice any tension between Winston and Regis lately, did you?” Ruth cut in.
“Tension? You mean like as if they were fighting?” Cora worked at untying the pink string that Lexy had used to secure the bakery box.
“Yes. Maybe at the party … or before it?”
Cora narrowed her eyes. Lexy thought she saw a ripple of emotion cross her face for a split second before she composed it into a stony mask. “Now that you mention it, Winston did seem rather nervous … edgy.”
“Any idea why?”
“No. I don’t meddle in family business.” She crossed to a row of cabinets and retrieved a large round platter, then came back to the desk and started to arrange the cookies on the platter.
“So, they weren’t close?” Ruth asked.
Cora looked up from her cookie arranging. “Close? No, I wouldn’t say so.”
“But Regis left him in charge of the company,” Nans pointed out.
“Yes, so it seems.” Cora kept her attention focused on the cookies. “But I can’t help but wonder if maybe Regis was having second thoughts.”
Lexy felt her heart rate pick up speed. If Regis was having second thoughts about giving Winston the CEO role and all that stock, it would have given Winston another motive to get rid of him.
“Oh, really? Why do you say that? Did he mention something?” Nans asked.
“Not in so many words, but as you said, Winston wasn’t as good with money and Regis knew that. He didn’t want the company to flounder after he was gone. Of course, he expected to live many more years.” She made a show of placing the last cookie on the platter. “Well, I shouldn’t be talking out of school about that.”
Nans’ lips twitched. Lexy knew she wanted to press Cora about Regis changing his mind, but she must have thought better of it.
“What was that big announcement Regis was going to make at the party?” Nans asked.
Cora’s face grew hard, her lips drawn into a thin line. “They’re announcing development of a retail outlet mall over on the farmland on Meadow Road.”
“Near the Fur Fun K9 Center?” Lexy asked. “That’s such a beautiful piece of land. I didn’t know it was being developed.”
“Regis was trying to keep it under wraps.”
“Oh, why?”
Cora sighed. “Some people in the community were opposed to it. Regis didn’t want them to be able to muck up the works, so he was keeping everything mum until they were ready to start construction.”
“Interesting.” Ida raised her left brow. “But now with Regis gone, will Winston still develop it?”
“Yes,” Cora said. “He’s going to continue as planned. In fact, the announcement is coming out in today’s paper.”
Cora picked up the plate of cookies, balancing it in her left palm and then gestured toward the door with her right hand. “Well, if there’s nothing else ….”
They all took the hint and started out the door with Cora bringing up the rear. Just as she reached the threshold, Nans turned and looked back at Cora who had stopped a few paces behind her.
“One last thing. You don’t think anyone would have switched the ice creams on purpose, do you?” Nans asked.
A look of shock took over Cora’s perfectly composed features for a fraction of a second. The tray of cookies wavered slightly in her hand.
“Certainly not. What reason would someone have to kill an old man at his own birthday party?”
***
“Well, what do you make of that?” Ruth asked once they were in the car and on the way to Harry Wolf’s.
“I get a vibe that she knows more than she’s letting on,” Nans replied.
“What about you, Ida?” Nans half-turned in the front seat to look at Ida. Her eyes went wide. “Ida, you didn’t!”
Lexy peered around Helen in time to see a red-faced Ida shoving the last of a Snickerdoodle in her mouth.
“I only took one,” she mumbled sheepishly, the words sounding distorted because of the cookie in her mouth.
“Oh, for crying out loud.” Nans shook her head and clucked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. “So what did you think about our visit with Cora, Lexy?”
“She seemed distracted, but I guess I w
ould be, too, if my boss just died and I was going to lose my job,” Lexy replied.
Ida swallowed the cookie. “I’ll tell you one thing, if Regis really was having seconds thoughts like Cora said, that would be a compelling motive for Winston to kill him sooner rather than later.”
“And considering gangsters were pressuring him to come up with a large amount of money, that really ups the ante,” Helen said.
“So, Winston looks pretty good for the crime,” Ruth added.
“He sure does,” Nans answered. “Plenty of motive.”
“And what about the big announcement of that retail development on Meadow Road?” Helen asked.
Lexy’s heart crunched. “I hate to see that. The area is so beautiful. I drive through it on the way to the Fur Fun K9 Center when I take Sprinkles to agility class. It’s a shame to see it get turned into a strip mall.”
“I bet the owner of the Fur Fun K9 Center feels the same way,” Ruth said.
“You don’t think that had something to do with Regis’ death, do you?” Ida asked.
“No, Winston has a much more compelling motive. But I do think it would be a good idea to find out who opposed it and how adamant they were about it,” Ruth replied. “People have killed over less before.”
“I bet Norman can research some of that down at the paper for us.” Lexy pulled out her phone. “I’ll send him a text.”
Nans glanced over at Ruth. “That theory doesn’t wash with me, though. Someone switched the ice creams at his birthday party, and I doubt anyone who was in opposition to his big plans would have been invited.”
Ruth pressed her lips together. “You have a point.”
“Hey, isn’t that the place?” Helen leaned into the front seat, pointing at a canopied storefront they were just passing.
Ruth jerked the car to the side of the road. The front wheel bumped up over the curb as the car squealed to a stop.
They piled out and proceeded to the shop, passing the candy store, Oh Fudge!, on the way. Lexy stopped for a mouthwatering second to gaze at the blocks of fudge in the window. She caught the eye of the store owner, Susan, and the two of them exchanged a wave.
“Are you coming?” Nans asked impatiently.
Lexy pulled herself away and hurried past the rest of the store fronts to Wolf Photography. Ruth was already at the door tugging on the handle, but the place was locked up tighter than a drum.
“I guess he’s not here yet.” Lexy shaded her eyes and looked down the street. A tall man in black jeans and tee-shirt rounded the corner. She recognized him as the photographer from the birthday party. Of course, it helped that he was carrying a camera and lugging photography gear.
“Here he comes,” Ida stated the obvious.
He spotted them at the door and quickened his pace.
“Hi. You must be Mona. Sorry, I’m a little late.” He glanced at Lexy. “Oh, yes, I remember you from the party. Sorry about your accident.”
“Accident?” Lexy narrowed her eyes.
Harry frowned at her and Nans cut in. “She doesn’t remember much, that’s why it’s so important we look at the pictures.”
Lexy turned her narrowed eyes to Nans who brought her finger to her lips as Harry turned to open the door.
Lexy had no idea what Nans had told the photographer in order to get him to agree to show them the photos, but apparently it had something to do with her having an accident. Lexy shut her mouth and followed them inside—it was probably better that she didn’t know.
Harry stopped short a few steps into the store, causing the ladies to pile into each other. Lexy peeked around them from the back, her heart sinking when she saw the state of the photography shop—it was in shambles.
“Someone’s trashed the place,” Ida said.
Harry’s equipment case slid out of his hand to the floor. “Who would do this?”
He walked into the shop, a look of shock on his face. Drawers were pulled out, photographs on the floor, a mess everywhere.
“I’m so sorry,” Nans said. “This is awful. Can we help you?”
Harry rubbed his hand through his curly hair, his eyes darting around the shop.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Ruth pushed him into a chair. “Helen, get him some water.”
Helen obeyed and Ruth opened the cookie box, “Eat this. The sugar will do you good.”
“I’ll call the cops.” Nans pulled out her cell phone.
“Why would someone break in? Do you keep anything valuable in here?” Lexy asked.
“Just my cameras and equipment.” Harry nodded toward a rack on the side that had an array of cameras and lenses. “But they’re all still there.”
“What about money?”
“No, I don’t keep any here. Customers pay by credit card usually. Half down before the event and the other half after the pictures are ready.”
Nans had wandered over to the counter where she eyed the messy piles of photographs, paperwork and supplies. Lexy noticed the supplies had been knocked over, dark piles of something wet and something powdery had spilled on the floor.
“Watch out, Nans. You don’t want to step in that and mess up the crime scene,” Lexy warned.
Nans stepped back, pointing to an area on the counter top where there was a square section void of the mess that sat on the rest of the counter. “It looks like something is supposed to be here.”
“My computer!” Harry looked around the room. “It’s gone!”
“Did you have sensitive data on it?” Lexy asked. “I hope you didn’t lose something you can’t recover.”
Harry’s shoulders sagged. “I might have. That’s where I process all my digital photos. I unload them from the camera and manipulate them on the computer and then I make the prints and file them in that filing cabinet.”
Lexy followed his gaze to a gray metal four-drawer filing cabinet that stood in the corner with the top drawer open. She walked over to it, looking in at the manila folders with clients’ names listed alphabetically. The top drawer looked to hold A-G.
“Did you already file the pictures from the Banks birthday?” Lexy asked as she flipped through the tabs.
“Yes, there should be a folder in there.”
Lexy looked through the tabs twice, then checked the other drawers. “I think I know what the thief wanted.”
“What?” Nans asked. Everyone turned to look at Lexy.
“The pictures from Regis Banks’ birthday party … the Banks folder is missing.”
***
The police let Lexy and the gang leave after taking their names, addresses and phone numbers. They all piled into Ruth’s Oldsmobile and she aimed it in the direction of Lexy’s bakery. Lexy was in a hurry to get back to work. She still had a business to run and this case was taking up a lot of her time.
“Well, that clinches it,” Nans said. “Someone switched those ice creams on purpose and wants to destroy any pictures.”
“My money is on Winston,” Ida said.
“Let’s not be too hasty,” Helen cut in. “That place was a mess. The folder could have been laying in one of those piles. We don’t know for sure that whoever broke in took the Banks’ folder.”
“That’s true,” Lexy said. “We don’t know for sure, but why else would someone break in? I’ll have Jack keep us informed on the case.”
“We’ll have to see if we can track Winston’s whereabouts this morning,” Nans said. “Maybe your friend in the candy shop saw him … or saw someone over at the photography place.”
“Good thinking. I’ll put a call into her.” Lexy made a mental note to call Susan after work.
“If only we could search his place for the pictures … or catch him disposing of them,” Helen said.
Ida pushed forward in her seat, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “We might need to go on a stakeout.”
“We could set up near his house tonight,” Ruth offered.
“The car is pretty comfortable. It would be like an adventure and Lexy c
ould bring some pastries and a thermos of coffee.” Ida turned a hopeful face to Lexy.
“Sorry guys, but I’m taking Sprinkles to agility tonight.”
“That’s even better,” Nans said. “You can pump your new friend, Olivia, for information on her brother.”
“If we can just prove he has those photos, we could get this case tied up in no time. I’m sure Jack would accept that as proof and arrest him,” Ruth added. “Maybe Olivia knows where he was this morning or saw him with the pictures.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Lexy said, then looked at Nans with concern in her eyes. “In the meantime, you guys be careful. Olivia said Winston had a temper, and if he is the killer and sees you watching him, there’s no telling what he might do.”
Chapter Eleven
Lexy’s heart tugged as she looked out the car window at the beautiful scenery on Meadow Road.
“Such a shame this is going to be a retail mall and parking lot soon,” she said to Sprinkles who was busy looking out the passenger window.
Her thoughts turned to Nans and The Ladies Detective Club. Before leaving for the agility class, she’d packed them into Ruth’s Oldsmobile with a thermos of coffee and a basket of pastries. She hoped they didn’t get into trouble on their stakeout.
Sprinkles thumped her tail on the seat, anxious to get out as Lexy pulled into the Fur Fun K9 Center. She could barely wait for Lexy to open the passenger side door, wriggling through the small gap and leaping out before it was even all the way open.
The agility area was setup with a tall ramp and some hoops. Today’s training involved running up and down the ramp and jumping through the hoops at various levels. Each activity had a command and Sprinkles was a fast learner and one of the faster and more agile dogs in the class—Lexy, not so much. Once again she felt winded at the end of the lesson, reminding her of how much she needed to get on track with her own exercise program.
After forty grueling minutes, the class broke up and Lexy headed out of the agility stadium. She could use a bottled water … but she had more important things to do. Like find out what was down that hallway in the back where she’d seen Olivia the other day. She had the distinct feeling something secretive was going on down there and with the news about the land development, it couldn’t hurt to check it out.
Leighann Dobbs - Lexy Baker 09 - Ice Cream Murder Page 7