Ain't Seen Muffin Yet (Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Book 15)

by Leighann Dobbs

  Chapter 14

  “So, this is the scene of the crime,” Ida said as they pulled up in front of an old Victorian. From outward appearances, it was hard to imagine that something sinister had happened inside. It was nicely kept, with off-white siding and purple trim.

  “Looks like a birthday cake,” Ruth said as they walked up the steps toward the purple door. She opened the door to reveal a small entryway. A set of stairs loomed in front of them. Old-fashioned green flowered wallpaper papered the walls. The floor was hardwood, scuffed from years of wear. To the right was a solid oak door with the number Two on it.

  “According to the case files, Rosa and Henry lived at number two.” Nans gestured toward the door on the other side of the hall which had a number One. “So this one must be Mrs. Pettigrew.”

  Ruth was standing closest to the door, so she knocked.

  “Who is it?” A voice drifted out almost before the knock stopped echoing. Clearly, Mrs. Pettigrew kept a close eye on the place and had seen them come in.

  “It’s the Ladies’ Detective Agency.” Nans’s voice took on an official tone. “We have some questions on a case if you’d be so kind as to answer them.”

  Of course, Doris Pettigrew would be thrilled to answer questions. If she was truly the busybody that it sounded like she was, she wouldn’t be able to resist the lure of gossip and finding out exactly what case the ladies were referring to.

  Lexy heard a series of locks clicking and chains sliding, and then the door cracked and a rheumy blue eye appeared. “Do you have any credentials?”

  “Of course.” Nans shoved a business card at her. It was in a laminate case, so it resembled an official badge of some sort.

  Doris snatched the card and pulled it inside. It took her a few seconds, but Nans’s card must have passed muster because the door opened and Doris said, “Come in.”

  Ida went in first. “Oh, this is… unusual.”

  Lexy peered over Ida’s head. She couldn’t be sure exactly what Ida thought was unusual. There were so many things. It could have been the giant four-foot-tall dolls that stood around the edge of the room. Or it might have been the knitted afghans that covered every surface. Or maybe it was the stuffed animals that were sitting on the couch as if holding a conversation. Then again, it might have been the herd of cats that was sniffing around Ida’s ankles.

  Doris handed the card back to Nans. “I’m Doris Pettigrew, by the way.”

  They all introduced themselves, and Doris gestured toward the living room for them to sit.

  Ida gingerly plucked a large pink elephant off the sofa and put it on the floor then took its place. A black cat immediately jumped into her lap. The rest of the ladies followed her lead, moving dolls aside, disturbing stuffed animals, and pushing cats out of their laps.

  Lexy sat in the only chair not occupied by a stuffed animal. The smell of mothballs wafted up as the rough wool of the crocheted granny square pillow irritated her arm.

  Achoo! Helen sneezed and pushed the fluffy tail of a white Persian out of her face.

  “God bless you.” Doris handed her a tissue. “Now, let’s get to the point. I know why you are here.”

  “You do?” Nans petted the tiger cat that had settled into her lap. It was a tiny little thing with a white face and paws. Lexy could hear it purring from where she sat.

  Doris nodded. “It’s about that killer across the hall, isn’t it? I told the police he was no good. They didn’t listen.”

  Ruth rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we know how that can be.”

  Achoo! Helen sneezed in agreement, and Doris handed her another tissue.

  “We heard that you filed a complaint.” Nans bent down to pet the ginger striped cat that was rubbing its cheek on her ankle.

  “Yeah, and if they’d done something, that nice girl might still be alive.” Doris shook her head and tutted. “Such a shame.”

  “Rosa? You knew her well?” Nans asked

  “No. Not well. But she seemed nice. She would say hello in the morning and even helped me catch Bartholomew once when he escaped.” Doris smiled indulgently at a large black-and-white tuxedo cat lounging on top of a doily-covered mahogany credenza. “Didn’t she, you naughty kitty.”

  Bartholomew blinked lazily, his green eyes glaring at them.

  Nans shifted in her seat and patted beside her for the orange cat to jump up. “What about Henry? Did you know him well?”

  Doris made a face. “He wasn’t as nice. Actually, I guess I never really saw him that much.”

  “But you saw people coming to visit him that scared you,” Ida said.

  “Yes. Some very suspicious characters came to visit. An old lady living alone can’t be too careful these days,” Doris said.

  “Of course not,” Nans agreed.

  Achoo! Ruth nodded.

  “So did these people come often?” Nans asked.

  Doris pressed her lips together and thought about that for a minute. “One lady did. And I’m using the term lady very loosely.”

  Ida leaned forward, and the cat jumped out of her lap. “Can you describe her?”

  Doris shuddered. “She was most unsavory looking. Young. Dark hair. But the disturbing thing about her appearance was the snake tattoo on her arm.”

  Ida’s eyes grew wide. “Snake tattoo?”

  “Yes, it was big and went all around here.” Doris gestured toward her bicep, around her arm, and down to her wrist. “It was garish, all black and red and green with gold eyes, and its forked tongue was sticking out! Very realistic.”

  “Blech.” Ruth pulled the cat in her lap closer.

  “Did you see this woman with Henry?” Nans asked.

  Doris squinted her eyes as if trying to picture if she’d seen Henry and the tattoo lady. “I’m not sure if I actually saw them together, but I saw her at their door plenty of times. I have no idea why Henry would take up with her when he had Rosa. She was so beautiful and so nice.”

  “You mentioned that.” Helen glanced at her watch. Lexy imagined she was probably anxious to get back to her campaigning. There was only one day left for her to add to her voter count before the election.

  “It seems like you are very observant,” Nans said.

  “Why, thank you.” Doris shifted in her seat, beaming with pride.

  “So, the night Rosa died, you must have seen or heard something.” Nans leaned toward Doris. “Maybe something that could incriminate Henry?”

  Doris pressed her lips together. “Unfortunately, I didn’t see or hear anything. Bartholomew was sick, and I spent most of the night in the back room with him.”

  Everyone turned to look at the cat who simply stared back with his eerily intelligent green eyes.

  “Is there anything else you can tell us about Rosa’s murder?” Nans asked.

  Doris shook her head, regret evident in her demeanor. “I wish I could. But the police have the killer in custody, so I imagine there’s not much else that they need. I do hope he won’t get off on some technicality.”

  “Oh, I’m sure the killer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Well, I guess we’ve taken up enough of your time.” Nans stood and they all followed her lead, pushing cats from their laps and replacing stuffed animals to their places.

  Doris walked them to the door, and Nans turned back to her once they were all out in the hall and handed her a business card. “Give us a call if you think of anything that could be of help.”

  Chapter 15

  “She was weird,” Ida said, casting a glance back at the apartment house as she buckled herself into the back seat of Lexy’s VW Beetle.

  “That’s what happens when an old lady lives alone,” Ruth said. “Good thing we all have each other.”

  Ida smiled and patted Ruth’s hand. “It is a good thing. What do you guys make of that business with the snake tattoo?”

  Achoo!

  “Helen, are you allergic to cats?” Nans asked.

  “Apparently.” Helen snapped her navy-blue
patent leather purse open, pulled out a wad of tissues, and blew her nose. “Anyway, I think that’s a good clue.”

  “Agreed,” Nans said. “The question is, how do we find out who she is?”

  “We know he was arrested for loitering around the bridge… maybe we could start there.” Lexy had her blinker on to turn into the retirement center parking lot. Traffic was clear, but she didn’t turn, thinking the ladies might want to go to the bridge to see if they could question someone now.

  “Now?” Ida patted her stomach. “I’m getting a little hungry. Not sure I have the energy to interrogate homeless people.”

  Nans sighed. “I suppose we should regroup and think out our plan. I still have pastries from our clue session yesterday. Let’s go to my place and get these new clues down.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Ida tapped Lexy on the shoulder. “Step on it. I’m hungry.”

  Lexy didn’t have a lot of extra time to spend on the case. It was late afternoon, and she still had work at the bakery. She’d promised Jack she’d be on time for supper, but she supposed she could pop up to Nans for a few minutes. She hated not to be there when they went over clues.

  She parked in the front lot, thankful to see that Helen’s signs were still in the right places as they approached the entrance.

  “Looks like Mario didn’t mess with your signs,” Ruth said as they walked through the lobby. “Maybe he’s not as bad as you think, Helen.”

  “We’ll see.” Helen glanced around the lobby, frowning upon noticing it was empty of people she could press for a vote. “I just wish there was one more debate before people voted.”

  “Well, there’s really not much more to debate about,” Ida said, impatiently punching the button for the elevator. They usually took the stairs, but apparently, Ida couldn’t wait that long for a snack.

  “I did put out some coffee urns with a sign that said ‘Free Coffee every Saturday if you Vote for Helen’. That ought to remind them who the best woman for the job is.”

  They filed into the elevator and got off on Nans’s floor. Ida rushed inside once Nans opened the door and was rummaging in the fridge within seconds.

  Ruth made coffee, Helen set out some pink crystal dessert plates with a pretty floral etched design, Ida filled a small gold-edged oval platter with the pastries, and they all sat at the dining room table.

  Ida raised a brow and spoke with her mouth full. “You know, Helen, it would be even better if you put out some scones or muffins with the coffee urn.”

  Ruth practically choked on her muffin. “Are you kidding? The first person there would take most of them.”

  Helen pursed her lips. “You know, that might not be a bad idea. I could—”

  Nans interrupted them by loudly tapping the marker on the whiteboard. “Ladies! Let’s focus on the investigation.”

  The ladies zipped their lips and focused their attention on the board, where the current clues and suspects were listed.

  Nans had laid them out in columns, one for suspects and one for clues. Next to each item was an arrow pointing to pertinent information about that suspect or clue.

  Ruth settled back in her chair, her keen eyes surveying the whiteboard over the rim of her gold-rimmed teacup. “It’s really too bad Doris didn’t see anything the night Rosa was killed.”

  “It is, but she did give us the snake tattoo clue.” Nans wrote “snake tattoo” under the clues section and made an action item to follow it up then drew an arrow to the suspect column. Whoever had the snake tattoo might also be a suspect. “Do you all think the best way to start is by asking the homeless people under the bridge?”

  “That might be kind of dangerous,” Lexy said. Jack would probably take a dim view of her interrogating the homeless people—some of them were just nice people who had fallen on hard times, but there were also some not-so-nice people who were into drugs.

  “Maybe. Let’s see what else shakes out.” Nans stood back from the whiteboard to study the clues.

  “I hate to say it, but it’s starting to look like Henry really could be the killer,” Ruth said.

  Lexy nodded. “Jack seemed to think so too.”

  Ruth put down her teacup and leaned forward. “I think the heist and the murder could be related, but I’m not quite sure how or why. I’m certain the Circo Acrobata was involved.”

  Helen snorted. “I told you that Mario and his gang were no good.”

  Ruth glared at Helen. “It might not be Mario. There are plenty of acrobats in the show.”

  “But he was following us and peeking in my windows. Plus, he moved the signs, so that indicates that he’s not above shady shenanigans,” Helen said.

  “She does have a point, Ruth.” Ida cut the top off a cupcake and bit into it.

  “Vinny said that the heist had a strategic mastermind behind it. Henry is good at chess, and that takes a lot of strategy. I think it would be smart of us to try to rule him out before we go around accusing someone else,” Ruth said.

  “Good point.” Nans circled Henry’s name in red then wrote “alibi” with a question mark beside it. “Henry’s alibi seems to be very shaky. I think we should dig in to that.”

  “And don’t forget the scandal!” Ida said.

  “Yeah, he has a few counts against him,” Ruth said. “And Doris seemed to think he was the killer. I know she didn’t see anything, but over the years of living across the hall, she must have gotten a sense about Henry.”

  “I agree. He has a good motive with the life insurance payout, too, so this may not be related to the heist.” Nans clicked the cap onto the marker. “We have to find out more about the alibi and the scandal in order to rule Henry out.”

  “Or prove him guilty,” Lexy said. “But how do we check that out? Henry clammed up about the scandal, and he swears he was driving around.”

  Nans sat down at the table and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the platter. “Helen, don’t you have a niece that works at the hospital?”

  Helen nodded. “Two of them, actually. I’ll text them and see if any of them know Henry or can get us some information.”

  “Perfect.” Nans dunked the cookie into her tea.

  “We still have to check out that other bakery,” Ida said.

  “Yes, maybe we should bring a picture of Henry and see if they recognize him. If he bought corn muffins, then I’m afraid that would be the final mark against him.” Nans patted her lips with a napkin. “Is there anything else?”

  Everyone shook their heads.

  Nans glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. “Okay then, let’s break for the night. Lexy, will you come pick us up tomorrow?”

  “Sure.” Lexy supposed she could impose on Cassie to watch the bakery for one more day.

  Helen pushed up from the table, gathering her plate and teacup and heading toward the kitchen. “I gotta run. I’m late for the cake-decorating class.”

  “I didn’t know you had an interest in decorating cakes.” Lexy wondered why Helen had never mentioned it, seeing as she owned a bakery and all. She and Cassie would have been happy to teach her.

  “I don’t, but those ladies in that class each have one vote. And the more I can get them to like me, the better my chances. See you all tomorrow!”

  Chapter 16

  The next morning, Lexy left Cassie with bakery duty and picked Nans and the ladies up. They were waiting in front of the retirement center, so she pulled to the curb and they folded themselves into her car. Helen gave one last glance at the campaign signs as Lexy pulled away.

  “My niece Joanna is working in the ER. She said to come on down and she’ll meet us there. She knows Henry.” Helen twisted her neck to look out the window at her campaign signs as Lexy pulled out of the parking lot.

  “And we can visit that bakery today too. Sugar Daddies. It’s right on the corner of Granville and Elm, which is only a few blocks from the hospital,” Ida said.

  “Just those two stops though. We need a light investigating day toda
y because tomorrow we vote for the community center president, and I want to have some time this afternoon for more campaigning.” Helen brushed a piece of lint off her lapel. She’d worn a navy-blue suit, which Lexy had thought was odd, but now she realized she was probably trying to appear professional as part of her campaign strategy.

  Nans caught Helen’s eye in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to shake hands and kiss babies, but catching a killer is a bit more important.”

  Lexy drove the short distance to the local hospital and parked in the emergency room area. Since it was morning time, the waiting room was practically empty, consisting of a mother and small child and an elderly man who was sneezing into a hankie. The smell of rubbing alcohol pervaded the area.

  Helen marched up to the desk. “Is Joanna Hammond in? Tell her Auntie Helen is here. She’s expecting me.”

  The receptionist, who looked to be even older than Helen and Nans, narrowed her gaze. “What do you think this is, a real estate office? I don’t summon employees, I check people in. Now step aside, as there are sick people that need my attention.”

  Helen glanced behind her. “There’s no one in line behind me.”

  “So?” The woman pursed her wrinkled lips and patted her blue-tinted hair. “Someone could come in, and I don’t want to be wasting time talking to you.”

  The door to the inner sanctum of the emergency room opened, and a pretty blonde in her mid-thirties wearing purple scrubs stepped out. “Auntie Helen?”

  “Joanna!” Helen and Joanna hugged, and then Helen made the introductions.

  The receptionist scowled at them. “Do you people mind? You’re blocking access. Please go somewhere else.”

  Joanna pulled them aside and lowered her voice. “Don’t mind Iris. Her bark is worse than her bite.”

  “Huh, if you say so.” Ida glanced over her shoulder at the receptionist who was smirking at them as if she’d won some sort of battle.

  “Your text said you wanted to ask me something, Auntie?” Joanna looked at them curiously.