Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set

by Katherine H Brown

  “I’m up,” BeeBee’s soft voice rang out.

  “Tea or coffee?” I asked through the door.

  With her answer, I padded to the kitchen to fix our drinks in some portable cups. By the time BeeBee joined me five minutes later, her steaming cup of coffee stood at attention next to the little crowd of creamers and sugar.

  “Thanks,” she popped the lid on a toasted marshmallow cream and poured a couple of tablespoons into the cup.

  “How did you sleep?” I handed her a long, thin spoon to stir the drink.

  “Pretty great.” Her smile widened. “I think that has to be the softest bed I’ve ever slept in.”

  “Good! Now, let’s get you over to Flo’s Flowers.” I grabbed my travel cup full of green tea.

  ~

  By a quarter before eight, Victoria and I had all of the baking done, plus plenty of extra batters made up and chilling in the walk-in fridge.

  “That should be plenty to keep you going while I’m at court tomorrow,” I told Victoria as I put dishes into the large industrial dishwasher.

  “I think I’ll go over and see if there is anything I can help out with at Flo’s Flowers,” Victoria said when I told her my plans to go see Sam at the hospital.

  “I’ll walk you over.”

  Millie opened the back door for us when I knocked. “Morning!” Her long blonde ponytail bounced with her energetic greeting.

  The surprise must have registered on my face when I saw BeeBee working with a lovely bouquet of flowers because Flo began to explain. “BeeBee learned the cash register and front-of-shop business faster than expected this morning.”

  BeeBee grinned and took over. “Yes, so Flo told me I could practice making an arrangement. What do you think?”

  Stepping closer, I admired the bright yellow and deep purple flower combinations that BeeBee had put together. They were not as refined or symmetrical as when Flo finished one of her masterpieces, but they were beautiful and cheerful all the same. They were displayed in a simple white, cylindrical vase. “I think you did great, much better than I would if I were to give it a try.”

  “Thanks. I planned to give them to Sam at the hospital.”

  “She will love them!” I turned to Flo. Millie was showing Victoria a few different flowers. “Flo, BeeBee and I are going to the hospital to visit Sam. I may run a few other errands, and I want to stop by the church and see Pastor Dan before coming to open the Ooey Gooey at one. Text me if you need me to bring you anything.”

  Flo bobbed her head. “I’ll do that, thank you.”

  In the truck, I sent a text to Griff letting him know that we were on our way. I hesitated with my hand on the keys, not quite bringing myself to crank the truck.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head. “Probably nothing,” I admitted. “But I keep waiting for that psycho to pop up again. I was just thinking about those trackers that keep turning up everywhere. I think I’m going to check the truck before we go.”

  “I’ll help,” BeeBee unfastened her seatbelt.

  Together, we combed the underneath of my truck the best that we could. My hands were embedded with gravel when I stood. Dusting them off on my pants, I did a last check around the mirrors and under the handle to the tailgate. Nothing out of the ordinary was in any of the places I could think to check, so, giving up, I climbed back in the truck and we headed to the hospital.

  When we arrived, I bypassed the front desk and walked straight to Sam’s hospital room. “Hey,” I called out with only a brief tap on the door frame. I came to a stop so fast that BeeBee bumped into. I felt a little water from the vase spill down the small of my back, but that was the least of my concerns.

  The man sitting in the chair beside the bed was not Griff.

  And, as if that wasn’t enough to freak me out on its own, the woman lying in the ICU bed wasn’t Sam.

  Maybe I had been in too big of a hurry. I was really bad about hurrying. And directions, sometimes I was bad at directions. I likely made a simple mistake. I convinced myself that each of these was a plausible explanation and one of them would be the truth. It was easy to convince yourself of something you wanted to believe.

  I stepped back into the hallway and checked the room number.

  Nope.

  No mistake. A plaque declaring this Room 118 stared back at me. I glanced in the room, looking at the couple who hadn’t noticed me because they were wrapped up in each other, hands grasped, tears glistening down the cheek of the woman in the bed.

  I didn’t need tears. I needed Sam. Or Griff. I spun on my heel and snatched my phone from my pocket all in one motion. BeeBee stumbled back out of my way. I could hear the clapping of her shoes on the waxed floor behind me as I hit call.

  Voicemail. Both of their phones went to voicemail.

  Plan B. I marched up to the front information desk. “Hi. My friend was here yesterday and now she’s gone. At least, someone else is in her room. The thing is, nobody told me she was being discharged so she has to be around here, somewhere, right?” I pasted on my very best I’m-not-a-crazy-person look. “Can you give me any information?”

  “Patient name?” The woman asked in a bored voice, never missing a beat as she chomped on her gum and stared at the computer screen.

  “Samantha Lowe.”

  Tapping keys and clicking the mouse, she went through a search engine of some kind. Her clicking slowed at last. All gum chomping ceased as her eyes grew wide. She leaned forward and read words that I couldn’t see, no matter how I craned my neck in an attempt to do so.

  “Did you find anything?” I asked, unable to take the suspense any longer.

  “No.”

  “What do you mean no?” Worry chewed on my stomach, my brain sent flashes of horrible scenarios around and around in my mind. “You looked her up. You found something. Where is she?” For all the effort, I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. My calm was unraveling like a ball of yarn on a downhill slope.

  “I can’t release information on that patient.”

  “Why not? I came here to see her only yesterday, what in the world changed?” I gripped the countertop and leaned toward the woman. “She’s my best friend. You have to tell me something,” I begged.

  “Miss Lowe is a high-profile individual. She has been remanded into private care and I am not allowed to say that, much less anything else.” The woman rolled back in her chair and swiveled to a different computer, away from me.

  I resisted the urge to scream or bang on the counters, but barely. It wasn’t the nurse’s fault; after all, she was only doing her job. I took a deep breath and stepped over to the side where BeeBee waited for me.

  “Is Sam okay?” she asked, lip trembling, as she clutched the vase tightly. We may not have known her long, but it seemed we’d made as big of an impression in BeeBee’s heart as she had in ours.

  I rubbed my fingers along my temples. “No. She’s been kidnapped.”

  Chapter 21

  “Kidnapped? By Asnee’s father or whoever that whacko is?”

  “No. By her mother.” My dry tone conveyed my disgust easily enough.

  As soon as the nurse mentioned high-profile, I knew. Deidra had been in here throwing fits and insisting her daughter wasn’t meant to be in a general ICU area; I had no doubt in my mind. The big question was, where would she have her taken? And after that, where was Griff?

  There was only one thing for me to do. “Come on,” I linked arms with BeeBee and headed back to the parking lot, the double glass doors of the lobby swooshing open as we neared. “We’re going to confront the monster.”

  ~

  The Mayoral Mansion, as Sam and I liked to call it, where Gregory and Deidra Lowe had moved to when he was first elected mayor, sat just close enough to the private road in the gated community to remain visible, thus the envy of the neighborhood, while still far enough back to require a long, picturesque drive through meticulously maintained landscaping. Not only was it located in a gated commu
nity, but the property itself was fitted with a tall wrought iron gate.

  A little brick guard shack, smaller than a linen closet really, sat at the entrance to Number 11775 Princeton Drive. I pulled adjacent to the tiny structure and rolled down my window.

  “Good afternoon. Do you have an appointment?”

  “No,” I began, but the intercom crackled back to life and cut me off.

  “Entry is by appointment only,” the male voice drawled.

  “Jerry, it’s me. It’s Piper.” I spoke to the guard, drawing him closer to the window of his booth. “Jerry, you have to let me in there. This is urgent. Trust me, you can let me in. Sam would want you to let me in.” I’d been a guest of Sam a couple of times when she had expressly ignored her mother’s suggestion that I didn’t quite fit the guest list.

  The guard dropped his eyes, not meeting my pleading gaze. “Sorry, ma’am. No entry without an appointment.”

  I hated to resort to this, but I would do whatever it took. “Jerry Kipper, you will let me in this instant or I will never bake a Scrumdiddlyumptious Cake for your wife’s birthday again.” Jerry Kipper came into the bakery for desserts often enough, but twice a year you could count on him being the first in line. I made a very specific cake just for his wife on her birthday, and her half-birthday

  His head snapped up to look at me, stricken. Jerry had come to me fretting that his wife never seemed to like any cakes from the grocery store. He didn’t know her favorite flavor, but he’d listed off a whole jumble of desserts she enjoyed at restaurants; from that, I created a custom cake with as many of those flavors as would complement one another and the Scrumdiddlyumptious Cake was born. Jerry’s wife bragged on him for months for finding the perfect cake. She loved it so much, he started ordering one six months after her birthday, too.

  I crossed my arms and tilted my head. “I’m really sorry, but this is urgent. And important, I promise. So. What’ll it be, Jerry?”

  Jerry gave a brief nod and tapped a button.

  “Brutal,” BeeBee whispered from the side of her mouth.

  I winked. “But effective,” I whispered back.

  “Cheer up, Jerry” I spoke louder again, as I threw the truck in gear. “Deidra hates me; tell her it was all my fault and she’ll probably forget you were even the one who had to open the gate.”

  Jerry’s lips twitched. He probably knew it was true. I doubt any of Deidra’s staff were in the dark concerning her opinion of me. She bemoaned the fact that I had ruined her daughter’s chance at wealth and happiness by derailing her bright future by tricking her into working at a “sticky, hole-in-the-wall place baking cookies”.

  The gate swung backward in an arc, though, unlike the gates at the impound lot, these moved without so much as a squeak; Jerry must keep them greased or oiled or whatever it was you did to gates. I pulled through before he changed his mind.

  BeeBee let out a low whistle as I navigated the truck up the long drive and into the circle drive. Three fountains, three, were surrounded by elegant topiary and lush flowers in the grassy area within the paved circle. A short flight of steps took you up to a wrap-around porch that was to die for, complete with mini-bar at one end and jacuzzi around the back corner. Two gray-bricked chimneys rose from the roof; I knew one to be located in the living room and the other from the study. A rounded room on the right, the study would have been my favorite room if it weren’t so stark and lifeless; straight-backed chairs, a liquor cabinet, mini-golf, and not a book to be found. The second story boasted a beautiful curved balcony coming from the rounded room on that floor.

  I took it as a good sign that we weren’t met by the butler with a shotgun or multiple armed security guards. Instead, it was only one guard.

  “Uh-oh,” BeeBee darted her eyes from the guard to me and back.

  “Follow my lead,” I told her. “And don’t forget the flowers.” I stepped out and pocketed my truck keys. As we stepped off the paved drive and onto the path leading to the porch, the guard stepped slightly forward, but not enough to block us. I continued at a steady pace. The sound of gravel crunching behind me was enough to know BeeBee was keeping up.

  “Pardon me,” I inclined my head to the guard and polished my best southern smile. “Sam’s expecting us.”

  A swift nod his only response, the guard stepped back into the shade of a tall tree. My heart fluttered with relief. It wasn’t a lie if Sam was here, and now my hopes soared that she might be, then she would definitely be expecting me to come to find her.

  I led BeeBee up the steps and rapped my knuckles on the dark red door. The butler, yes Deidra seriously employed a butler who I believe was Sam’s third uncle once removed or something, opened the door. I didn’t wait, didn’t attempt civility; no begging, no threats. I marched right past the old man with his sleepy expression and headed to the living room first, where I had seen smoke from the chimney.

  “Good morning, Deidra,” I spoke calmly as I entered the room, forcing myself to assume a relaxed pose and not cross my arms and glare at her.

  As wife to the mayor and someone who prided herself on poise, Deidra’s only reaction to my surprise visit was a tightening at the mouth and one pristine eyebrow climbing higher than the other in slow motion. The raised eyebrow, it must be a family trait.

  “Piper. I wasn’t expecting you this morning. I’m afraid I don’t have any refreshments to offer.” Deidra steepled her fingers together in her lap.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t be long.” I smiled. “Just point me to Sam and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Aren’t you going to introduce your friend?” Deidra glanced pointedly at BeeBee.

  BeeBee stepped forward without hesitation. “I’m BeeBee. I’m also a friend of Sam’s and we would like to see her this morning. I need to give her these flowers, too.”

  “How…lovely,” Deidra frowned at the vase of flowers which I had no doubt fell short of her exacting standards.

  More than capable of holding her own, BeeBee smiled as if Deidra had just given her an award. “They are lovely, aren’t they? I put them together myself and each flower represents healing, renewal, and joy.”

  “Sam will love them,” I said. “Now, where did you say she was again?”

  “Sam needs her rest. I will not be answering any of your questions which is obviously more than I can say for the incompetent hospital staff.” Deidra stood then, taking two steps toward us. “As you have seen yourself into my home, you may now kindly show yourself out.”

  “Absolutely,” I nodded and turned. “And I will be happy to do so, right after I’ve seen Sam.”

  “Stop!” I paid no attention as Deidra continued to shout at me. “I asked you to leave. Where do you think you’re going?” The clip-clop of heels sounded as she came after BeeBee and me.

  The thing about being a proper lady though was that one never ran; I had no fear that Deidra would even come close to catching me. I considered going up the stairs to Sam’s old room but decided to check the guest bedroom on the ground floor instead. If I were a doctor carting around a patient, I would veto stairs.

  The guest room door was cracked, no guard posted somewhat to my surprise, and I was delighted to find Sam tucked into the bed when I entered.

  “Thank God, you found me,” she smiled when BeeBee and I approached. I sat down on the edge of the bed while BeeBee placed the flowers on the nightstand. “Thank you! Those are beautiful.” Sam reached out and squeezed BeeBee’s hand. “There’s a chair in the corner; pull it over here if you want to sit down.”

  “Never in my life….” Deidra’s ranting voice carried into the room, a quick warning before she barged in.

  “Mother,” Sam sweetened up the word, “thank you so much for bringing my friends. How very thoughtful of you!” She smiled up at a flabbergasted Deidra. “I’m feeling much better already.”

  I turned my face toward Sam, hiding my smirk from Deidra. Sam had masterfully robbed her mother of speech. Priceless.

  “Yes. I�
�m glad you are feeling better, dear. Still, you need rest. Your friends understood they could only visit with you a few minutes, I’m sure.” The ill-concealed ice in her voice left Deidra’s meaning clear: we would be leaving soon, one way or another.

  “Yes,” I nodded at Sam and continued to avoid Deidra’s death glare which she must have been giving me by now.

  “Yes ma’am,” BeeBee added her agreement.

  Deidra retreated back to the living room and likely a large glass of brandy. I closed the door softly after she was gone. “When did she move you?” I asked, settling back into a comfortable position on the bed.

  “Late last night. She whizzed in on her way to a Ladies Society meeting to ask if I’d scheduled lunch yet. Landon was just leaving and I think seeing him there upset her; the next thing I knew, a nurse was giving me pills in a paper cup. She said the pills were for the headache.” Sam’s mouth twisted down. “I woke up here.”

  “You weren’t kidding, Piper. She really was kidnapped by her mother.”

  I nodded at BeeBee. “What was the point though?” I asked aloud.

  Sam pointed to an enormous bouquet of red roses on the dresser. They dripped money and screamed impersonal, a bouquet a florist sold twenty times a day probably. “Two motives: first, so she can be the doting mother sacrificing her time to care for the poor, injured, prodigal daughter; second, to try once more to make me see things her way, including a future with ‘appropriate’ men.”

  I walked to the dresser and read the card on the obnoxious bouquet aloud. DEAREST SAMANTHA, IT WAS A SHOCK TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ACCIDENT. I HOPE YOU ARE WELL IN TIME FOR DINNER AT THE END OF JULY. GARRETT HOPSINGER.

  “Who is Garrett?” BeeBee wanted to know.

  “Never met him,” Sam rolled her eyes. “Evidently, he’s my date to my father’s mayoral dinner.”

  “The one you had to agree to go to in order for your mother to help get me released from holding in Pierson County?” I knew there couldn’t be any other dinners that Sam would willingly attend, but I checked just the same.