She knelt and tipped the tin back so that she could catch some of the moonlight to read in. She was practically crying tears of happiness by the time she finally stood up, her hands clasped together. “All along this has been perfectly safe and natural?”
I nodded. “You were worried about nothing.”
Pippa looked a little sheepish as she stared at the ground. “I think we should do the right thing. We should go and tell Alex the good news.”
I nodded. But it was late.
“We’ll tell him first thing in the morning. Try and get some sleep, Pippa. Now that your conscience is clear.”
“Now, you’re going to play nice this time, right?” I asked Pippa as we walked back through the doors of Dough Planet. I sighed peacefully as the smell of dark roasted coffee beans hit me. When Blake saw me, he gave me an awkward nod.
“Is Alex still here?” I asked, keeping things purely professional.
He shrugged and told me to check the back.
“What do you need to see Alex for?” he asked as I started to head to the kitchen. I ignored his question.
Pippa may have agreed to be nice, but I still had to drag her to the kitchen with me.
“Come on, stop being a baby,” I said to her. “You can face up to Alex like a big girl.”
But she wasn’t moving. She was planted in position, and she was staring at Blake, who was once again properly groomed, with his hair slicked back and a smile on his face, serving customers as though nothing had happened. As though no one had died.
“Rachael,” Pippa said slowly. “Just why does Blake want you to solve this case for him?”
I stopped as well. What was she asking me this for? “Because he is worried about his business. About his reputation,” I said, as though that was only obvious.
“Huh,” Pippa said, staring over her shoulder at the busy bakery and the line sneaking out the door. “Because he doesn’t seem to be suffering much.” She looked back at me. “Perhaps there’s another reason that Blake wants you to help him.”
I felt uncomfortable. “What would that be?” I asked, thinking that Pippa was about to say something ridiculous like, Blake had a crush on me and wanted an excuse for us to spend time together.
Pippa stared at me. “Because he is trying to cover something up. And he’s using the fact that you like him to his advantage.”
My cheeks were still burning when we finally entered the kitchen.
“Alex?” Pippa called out, loudly and proudly. “I’m here with a peace offering. And also some good news. You don’t have to hide from me, I promise.” The kitchen was empty.
“Maybe he’s gone outside for a break,” I said with a shrug.
Pippa rolled her eyes a little. “Well, I’m not going to chase this guy now and beg him to take my good news.”
“It’s just a few more steps,” I said, pulling her toward the back door. I could see Alex outside, standing on the gravel in the back lot. He was talking to someone tall.
“Hey, that’s Laura,” I whispered, pulling Pippa back out of the way so that we wouldn’t be seen. The two of them were in a deep conversation and Alex was frowning. “She works here as a cook.”
I pushed the door open just a crack so that we could overhear them.
“No way,” Laura said. “I’m not doing it.”
“It’s our only option,” Alex said. “Laura, if you don’t take care of this, I’m gonna be forced to. And I’m gonna have to tell Blake what you did.”
I stopped and stared at Pippa. “Did you just hear that?” I asked her. What did Laura do?
Pippa nodded.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll take care of it all right, Alex. But you’d better keep your mouth shut. Or you’ll be in trouble too.” She stopped for a minute and let out a low laugh. “I know that you wanted to hurt her. You just never thought anyone would get killed.”
My mouth dropped open.
Pippa gasped. “Well, well, well.” She stared up at me. “Looks like I was right, after all.”
Chapter 9
“Where do you think she’s going?” Pippa asked as we took a left in the center of town, following Laura’s station wagon through the streets. I remained three cars behind so that she wouldn’t spot me; I just hoped she wouldn’t recognize my car from my visit on Sunday.
“I don’t know,” I said as we passed the mall. “But I am starting to get a terrible sense of déjà vu.”
Laura brought her car to an abrupt stop outside a tall, shiny business complex. She didn’t even bother to park within the lines, just climbed out and slammed the door before storming to the lobby, acting like a reverse version of me from the day before.
I glanced up at the signage. Extreme Employment Solutions.
“Oh.” I felt all my insides drop with disappointment as I brought my own car to a stop. “Pippa. She’s just here to look for a new job.”
“What do you mean?”
I pointed at the signage.
“This is an employment agency.”
Laura must have gotten so fed up with Blake’s dictator ways that she had decided once and for all that she needed a change. Alex yelling at her must have been the final straw. This was what she meant by taking care of it, then.
“Great,” Pippa said. “So we followed her for nothing.” She glanced over at the mall. “Well, maybe not totally for nothing. I do need to pick up some new bags for my vacuum cleaner at the department store.”
“Maybe I really should offer her a job,” I mused, ignoring Pippa’s burning desire for new vacuum bags. “She actually kind of impressed me in her interview the other day.”
“You interviewed her?” Pippa asked in shock.
“Pippa, you really have missed a lot,” I pointed out. “Maybe if you’d come along for the investigation, you’d be more up to speed.”
She tapped her fingernails on the dash for a few seconds. “I have a question,” Pippa asked quietly. “Is this still our investigation?” she asked me. “I mean, is it still independent? Or have you been fully taken in by Blake?”
I didn’t answer for a few moments. During Pippa’s absence, when I’d started to suspect she was guilty, I had gone over to Blake’s side. I’d even taken him along as an assistant.
“I can assure you I am fully objective about Blake right now,” I said. “And this is our investigation again. As long as you’re back on board. Are you?”
Pippa nodded firmly. “I am. And I am sorry for being away for so long.”
“Let’s never mention it again,” I said, really hoping that we wouldn’t.
“Well, there’s not much sense in staking out this office for no reason,” Pippa said. “I’ve got work to do back on the farm.”
But I made no move to start the engine again. I had a plan brewing. A plan to save Laura from the clutches of Blake.
“I think I’m gonna go inside,” I announced. “I’m gonna tell Laura that she can have a job if she wants it. At our bakery.”
“Umm…” Pippa quickly undid her seatbelt and ran after me as I headed toward the building, driven now. “I haven’t even met this woman before! And I’m just supposed to work with her every day?”
“Don’t worry,” I said with a grin. “She doesn’t believe in making friends in the workplace.”
“Oh. And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“Oh, it’s you back again,” the receptionist in the lobby said. I had to blink a few times. It was the receptionist we’d met at Extreme Employment Solutions with the bright red hair and lipstick, but this time she was manning the lobby instead of the floor of the employment offices. “How are you feeling today?” she said, glancing down at my belly sympathetically. She tilted her head to the side. “Over your morning sickness yet?”
Oh, right. The lie that Blake had told. I was hoping not to have to deal with that until we at least reached the fourth floor. Just my luck.
“Yes, I’m great. Baby is fine as well.”
Pippa swallow
ed down a laugh and covered her mouth with her hand. Please, can this just be over with.
The receptionist nodded. “It can be difficult in the second trimester, even without morning sickness,” she said, shooting me a look of pity. “How far along are you now? Five, almost six months?”
I was rendered speechless for a moment.
“Umm, my friend here just wants to ask a few questions about her husband’s job application, if that is all right,” Pippa said while I tried not to fume too much.
“Oh sure. Let me just get you to sign in and then you can go upstairs.”
She let us go up to floor four. I stomped over to the elevator and pressed the up button. “I hope I never have to come back here again. This is the last time I ever want to have to pretend that I am married to Blake and having his baby.”
Pippa was still trying not to laugh as I punched the button for the fourth floor.
“It’s not funny, Pippa. Did you hear what she said? How far along she guessed I was?”
“Well, you did start the charade in the first place.”
That wasn’t true. Blake had started it. I had half a mind to fake-divorce him over the matter.
The elevator creaked to the fourth floor. I was starting to regret my decision to chase after Laura. I didn’t owe her anything, Was it all worth putting myself through this humiliation?
Pippa stopped me right as I stepped out of the elevator. “What is it?” I tried to break myself free. I had my eye on Laura and I was losing her as she walked around the corner and out of sight.
But she had something she needed to clarify. “Hang on. You’re trying to rescue Laura from Blake, right?”
“Right,” I said, stopping. What was she getting at? “I would save Alex as well if I could. I just didn’t think you two were quite ready to work together just yet.”
From the look on Pippa’s face, I could tell that was accurate. She frowned. “I’m just a little confused is all. If you are saving Laura from Blake…well, does that mean that you are no longer considering combining our bakeries?”
I stopped and thought for a moment. Huh. Even though I hadn’t consciously made the decision, I suppose that this did seal it. I had no intention of working with Blake when all of this was done. It hit me all at once. I nodded slowly. “Rescuing Laura means I need to have to offer her a safe home. Away from the tyranny of Blake.”
Pippa looked joyful for the first time in days. Her eyes actually lit up. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”
“Come on, we’ve got to find Laura now.”
Most people were too busy clicking away at their computers to notice Pippa and I wandering around aimlessly without a recruit officer to guide us, but Niles did look up from his computer and shot us a suspicious glare. “Just looking for my husband,” I said and hurried away before he quizzed me more.
Finally, I spotted Laura, who was deep in conversation with one of the recruitment officers, squirreled away in a side office.
“Oh, she is talking to Claudia,” I said. Hmm. If Claudia already had a job for Laura, my offer would be redundant.
“Claudia?” Pippa asked.
I pointed her out. She was wearing a pressed navy pantsuit and had her hair up in a long blond ponytail, like she had the last time I’d seen her. Only this time she wasn’t throwing things at me. Yet. She hadn’t spotted me yet.
Pippa frowned. “Isn’t that the woman that Alex was with at the farmer’s market?” she asked.
I narrowed my eyes. Was it? That was a little odd.
“I-I’m not sure. I can’t be certain.”
Pippa let out a little huff. “Believe me. I was keeping an eye on him that day. That is Alex’s girlfriend.”
We were waiting outside the office, peering in and waiting for our chance to pounce, when I felt a hand tap my shoulder. It was Niles. “Can I help you ladies?” he asked briskly. “I am going to have to ask you to move away from the door. That is a private interview in there. I can help you at my computer.”
I reluctantly followed him back to his desk, glancing over my shoulder every few seconds to try and see what was going on in Claudia’s office. I must have missed the meeting ending. “Shoot…” I could see that Claudia was still sitting there behind her desk, but Laura was already gone.
“Now, has your husband sent us his revised resume?” I heard Niles asking.
“Huh?” I said. I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I’m not here for career advice. I was lying.”
“Then what are you doing here?” He stood up and towered over me.
Pippa grabbed my arm and pulled me away, pointing toward the elevator. Laura was climbing inside. “Come on, we need to follow her,” I said, rushing toward the elevator.
“There’s no use. She’ll already be at the ground floor and walking to her car by now,” Pippa called out breathlessly.
Darn. She was probably right. I sighed and leaned back against the wall, waiting for the next one to arrive.
A long blonde ponytail was stalking across the room. I straightened up.
“Claudia?” I asked her.
“Oh,” she said, coming to a stop as it dawned on her who I was. “You are Blake’s wife, right?”
I hesitated a moment before nodding. It was better to keep up the charade, at least for a little while longer. Even if it meant that she threw a stapler at me. But she was calmer this time.
“What were you talking to Laura about?” I asked her.
Claudia straightened up and composed her face. “I really can’t divulge that information to you,” she said.
“Does she want a new job? Is she not happy at Dough Planet?” I asked her sincerely. “Look, I’m not here to cause trouble. I might be able to help you.” I saw Claudia’s face change. How could I help her? “I own a business. And I want to offer her a job.”
“Oh.” Claudia blinked a few times and shot me a questioning glance. She lowered her voice and glanced over her shoulder at Niles, who was staring at us all with heavy suspicion. “Look, Rachael. I think it’s me who can help you, not the other way around.”
“What?” I shook my head.
She had only one thing to say before she walked away. “All I can say is, you’d better think twice about that man that you are marrying.”
Just as we were about to climb back into the car, Pippa received a phone call.
“We need to find out what is going on, direct from Laura herself,” I said, as Pippa answered the phone and I buckled my seat belt. I realized she was not listening to me. Whoever was on the other end of the line had her full attention.
“What is it?” I asked.
Pippa was chewing on her nails like they were a corncob as she listened to the call. “But I can assure you—I can show you the proof! I have been falsely accused!” she cried out.
Accused of what?
“It was some idiot from the local paper,” she said, hanging up the phone and throwing it into her purse.
“What did they want?” I asked, fearing the worst. Had Pippa been accused of murdering Valerie?
Pippa blinked away tears. “They found out that the apples I was charging five dollars for at the farmer’s market weren’t even organic. Or, at least, that’s what the journalist was told!”
The fact that it was all a misunderstanding didn’t count for much. The story was going to go to press. $5 for apples grown using insecticide.
“Alex must have told them!” Pippa cried out tearfully. “How could he?”
“Well, we never actually cleared it up with him,” I said quietly. We’d been so distracted with following Laura that we’d never told Alex the truth.
“I have to go to the news office right now to clear this up,” Pippa said, urging me to start the car. “But we need to bring the evidence with us.”
“What about Laura?” I asked. I was ready to turn the car in the direction of her house, but Pippa reached over and pulled the wheel in the direction of her farm.
“Rachael, this is an emergency.”<
br />
It really wasn’t. It was something that could be dealt with in a few hours from now, or even a few days. It wasn’t life or death; it was just a sullied reputation.
“Fine,” I relented.
The tin of organic insecticide was heavy and we didn’t have much time to get it out of the barn and down to the newspaper. “I am going to need your help dragging this out and putting it in the back of the truck,” Pippa said, puffing.
I stared down at the four-gallon bucket. “Can’t we just rip off the label and use that as proof?”
“No! I could have just printed a label off something online. I need the whole drum.” She stopped rolling and stood up, holding a finger to her lips. “Did you hear something?”
It was probably just birds or something, so I ignored her and reached down to help.
But last time I’d thought it was birds, I had been wrong.
And I was wrong this time.
Pippa crept over to the window and peered out. There was someone up in the apple orchard, climbing the branches.
“It’s Alex! He’s back!”
Maybe he’d found out the apples were organic, after all. I gently pushed Pippa aside and squinted, trying to get a good look at the intruder.
But it wasn’t Alex. The figure climbing up the tree was slightly larger than Alex. And more feminine.
I gasped and opened the back door to the barn, startling her. She clearly hadn’t expected company. Had she seen Pippa and I at Extreme Employment and assumed that the coast was clear?
I shook my head. I’d expected far better from my potential new employee.
“Laura…how could you do this?”
She lost her grip on the branch and grabbed onto it as she fell, swinging around until she was upside-down like a monkey, holding on for dear life.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she swung around and landed ungracefully onto the ground. She brushed her hands off and an apple fell out of her pockets. “Alex said either I did it, or he would be forced to…”
This was what they had been talking about outside Dough Planet?
Apple Assassination Page 8