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

by Leighann Dobbs

  “I haven’t.” Ida picked up a celery stick and made a face before nibbling on the end.

  “Ladies!” Nans tapped the marker on the whiteboard. “Can we stick to the case? We’ve had two murders, and I’d like to solve it before there’s a third.”

  “Fine,” Ida said. “Let’s assume the heist and the murders are related. All we need to do is figure out if one of our suspects has the loot from the heist, and we have our man.”

  “Maybe.” Nans thought this over. “But what if Ruby or Rosa had the loot, and the killer did away with them to take it?”

  “Maybe Rosa and Henry had it and Ruby killed Rosa and took it, and then someone found out Ruby had it and killed her so they could take it,” Helen said.

  “Either way, if we find the loot, we find the killer,” Ida said.

  “Right. And what was stolen in the heist? Valuable antiques. Vases. Paintings.” Helen nodded at them knowingly. “And whose windows were we looking in earlier that had antiques, vases, and paintings? Mario Blondini!”

  “Lots of people have vases and antiques,” Ruth pointed out.

  “All the clues point to Mario. He’s sneaky, he has antiques, he was in the Circo Acrobata—”

  The sound of a bag crinkling interrupted Helen, and all eyes turned to Ida, who looked up at them sheepishly. “Sorry, I got hungry for real food. I only have part of a corn muffin left or I’d share.” She shoved a muffin top into her mouth and crinkled the bag into a ball.

  “Wait a minute.” Lexy reached for the bag, her eyes on the blue bee logo. Now she remembered where she’d seen that before. On a box in Mario’s dining room. She smoothed the wrinkles in the bag and held it up. “Helen might be onto something. I’ve been looking at the logos on the bags so I could compare them to the Cup and Cake logo, and I saw this logo on a pastry box in Mario’s dining room.”

  “Which proves that Mario was at Sugar Daddies—the bakery that sells the corn muffins with sugar crystals on top!” Helen was more excited than the day she won the big prize at bingo.

  Ida, not so much. She made a face and shook her head. “I don’t know, Helen, that seems kind of flimsy.”

  “No, it’s perfect! All we have to do is prove that Mario is the killer, then he will be disqualified from the election, and I’ll win by default! We need to get a confession out of him right away!” Helen jumped up from the table and ran out the door before anyone could stop her.

  Chapter 20

  Lexy and the others rushed out of Nans’s place after Helen. She was fast and had beat them to the elevator. The doors were just closing, so they ran down the stairs and tumbled out onto the sidewalk just in time to see Helen turning the corner that led to Mario’s place.

  “Helen, wait!” Nans yelled, but either Helen didn’t hear, or she was so focused on getting a confession from Mario that she didn’t want to slow down. They had no choice but to pick up the pace to try to catch her.

  “Darn it! I don’t think she’s thought this through. If she had, she might have doubts about Mario being the killer. If she confronts him, she may be making a big mistake,” Nans said, her orthopedic sneakers squeaking on the pavement as they rounded the corner at a jog.

  “She seems convinced.” Lexy wondered what Nans meant. Helen had made a good case for Mario being the killer, and Lexy had seen the bakery box with her own eyes.

  “Yes, but remember, the killer must have means, motive, and opportunity… oh dear, she’s knocking on the door!” Nans forged ahead with a burst of speed that surprised Lexy. They were about twenty feet away from the door when Mario Blondini opened it.

  He blinked at Helen, his surprise turning to suspicion as his gaze drifted to the others who were racing to join them. “What is going on here? Does this have to do with the election?”

  “I think you know what it has to do with.” Helen pushed her way inside, and Mario stumbled back. He looked genuinely confused.

  “I’m sorry, Helen, but I’m not up for visitors. We’ve had a death in the family,” Mario said weakly as the rest of them piled into the foyer.

  Now that Lexy was closer, she could see Mario’s red-rimmed eyes and shaking hands. It appeared as if the poor man really was grieving, and Lexy had a pang of sympathy for him. Still, she couldn’t help but look around the foyer to see if any of the things stolen in the heist were lying about.

  It was a large round space with a honey-pine floor and paneled mahogany walls fit more for a mansion than a Brook Ridge Falls retirement villa. It was decorated quite tastefully with antique touches here and there. A tall cut-glass vase on a marble-topped table held a spray of colorful flowers in purple, yellow, and orange. Their sweet smell hung lightly in the air. A collage of gilt-framed paintings of hunting dogs adorned one wall, landscapes another. But all the items appeared as if they’d been there for a while and weren’t just placed there to hide in plain sight after the heist.

  Nans grabbed Helen’s arm. “Now Helen, I think you should—”

  Helen shook her off. “We know about the death. Are condolences in order or…” Helen let her voice drift off as she glanced around the foyer, probably scoping it out for heist loot like Lexy had just done.

  “Or what?” Mario asked.

  “Or maybe you’re glad she’s out of the way?”

  Mario gasped. “How can you say such a thing? She was a lovely girl. Okay, maybe a bit on the wild side, but still.”

  “Helen, really—” Nans made a futile attempt to silence Helen but was interrupted again.

  “What’s with all these antiques here? Did you just get them?” Helen ignored Nans completely.

  “What?” Mario looked confused at the change in topic. To tell the truth, Lexy was too. “Are you on something? Too much of that free coffee you are offering as a campaign promise, perhaps?”

  “No. I’m not on anything. Except a quest for justice! Where’d you get all these antiques?” Helen gestured around the foyer and then walked over to stand in the doorway to the dining room. “And these in here.”

  Mario sighed. “Well, if you must know, they are family heirlooms. The blue china in the china cabinet was my grandmother’s. And this credenza here belonged to my uncle.” He pointed a gnarled finger at a marble-topped cabinet with carved deer that sat along one wall of the foyer. “Various vases and paintings are from other relatives. The family has traveled extensively with the Circo Acrobata, and we pick things up.”

  Helen crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. “You didn’t get them from the heist?”

  “Heist? What heist? What in the world are you talking about?” Mario glanced from Helen to the rest of them. “Are you people mad?”

  “Helen, if you would just listen—” Nans tried again, but Helen put her hand out and shushed her.

  “I’ll listen when Mario explains where he was yesterday when Ruby was killed!” Helen said.

  Mario looked offended but also tired. “Fine, if you must know, I was meeting with my lawyer at that time. I had some matters to tend to, then we were going to have a nice brunch back here. Endora was setting it all up.”

  “Aha!” Helen pointed at him. “This proves it! How would you know what time Ruby was killed if you weren’t the killer? See, that was what’s known as a trick question, and you fell right into my trap.”

  “Umm... the police told me, of course. It was just terrible news.” Mario’s eyes misted, and Lexy felt another pang of guilt.

  That took the wind out of Helen’s sails. “Well, surely you had motive.” But now she didn’t sound so certain of that.

  “Helen, stop.” Nans must have felt bad for Mario, too, because her tone was a little more forceful this time. “I think you might be barking up the wrong tree. The killer had to be able to kill Rosa easily with a butter knife.”

  “And Ruby with a steak knife. Though that looked a bit easier because it’s sharper,” Ida said.

  “So what? Mario is in the Circo Acrobata. I’m sure he did a stint as a knife thrower. Surely he kno
ws exactly where the carotid artery is because he’d want to avoid hitting it.” Helen looked quite pleased with herself for coming up with this.

  “Indeed,” Nans said. “But it takes a steady hand and lots of strength to push a butter knife into the neck of a struggling victim. Look at Mario’s hands. He has arthritis. It wouldn’t be possible for him to be the killer.”

  Helen’s gaze pivoted to Mario’s gnarled fingers, and her face fell in disappointment. “I… but… he moved my signs and has been trying to undermine me!”

  Mario held his hands up, his face sad. “Yes, sadly I’ve been afflicted with this. I had to quit the Circo Acrobata because I could no longer perform. I thought my life was over until this campaign for community center president. It’s given me a new lease on life. I’m sorry if I’ve been a little overzealous in my campaigning, Helen.”

  Helen looked even more disappointed. “But…”

  “Never mind all that,” Ida said. “If Mario isn’t the killer, then who is?”

  Nans pressed her lips together. “Well, it would have to be someone that was good with knives. Someone who knew where the carotid artery is located. Someone strong enough to win a struggle with Rosa and Ruby.”

  “And someone who was involved in the heist,” Ruth added.

  “What heist?” Mario repeated. “Why do you people keep talking about a heist?”

  But before anyone could answer him, William appeared in the doorway. His expression turned into a menacing scowl when he noticed them.

  Lexy remembered the way William had threatened them with the knife and bragged about his skills. “Someone like William, perhaps?”

  William hurried to Mario’s side. “Who are you people? Are they bothering you, Uncle Mario? Do you want me to get rid of them?”

  Lexy wasn’t particularly fond of the way William said “get rid of them,” and judging by the expression on Nans’s face and the way Ida was sidling toward the door, neither were they.

  “I think our visit is just about over.” Mario raised a brow at the ladies.

  “Wait a minute. Aren’t you the busybodies I caught looking in our windows yesterday?” William turned to Mario. “Should I call the cops on them?”

  “Ha! Nice try! We should call the cops on you!” Helen took a step forward, but when William reached into his pocket where he presumably kept his knife, she stopped. “You have means, motive, and opportunity! You have access to the house and could stash antiques here. It’s cluttered, and no one would notice.”

  William did a good job of looking confused. “What are you talking about?”

  Helen put her hands on her hips. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, young man.”

  “Uhh… Helen, maybe we shouldn’t be too hasty,” Nans said.

  “Nonsense. He’s young enough to win a struggle and doesn’t have any ailments that would impede him,” Helen said.

  “But I don’t think—” Lexy started, but Helen waved her off.

  “I should have thought about it before. William is the knife thrower in the Circo Acrobata. He probably could have taken Rosa out from across the room. Poor kid never saw it coming.” Helen wagged her finger in William’s face. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  “What’s with these ladies? I think they’re unstable. Especially this one.” William pointed to Helen. “Isn’t she the one running against you for president of the community center? You said she was an admirable opponent, but I think she’s nuts. I don’t think she’s a good candidate for president of anything.”

  Helen’s eyes softened as she looked at Mario. “You said I was an admirable opponent?”

  Mario shrugged. “You run a tough campaign.”

  “Oh, thanks.” Helen’s gaze shifted back to William. “Then I’m sorry about your family tragedies and especially sorry that we’ll have to have your nephew arrested.”

  William sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “See, told you. She’s nuts.”

  “Oh no, I know exactly what—”

  “Helen!” Nans barked. “Earlier you were so sure Mario was the killer because he wasn’t at home when Ruby was killed.”

  “We know that because we were peeking in the windows,” Ida interrupted. “We saw the big buffet set up, but no one was here. Speaking of which, you wouldn’t happen to have any leftover pastries from that? Looked like a lot of food.”

  “Ida! Not now!” Helen turned to Nans. “Yes, exactly. We knew Ruby’s time of death, and since I was very aware of the time so I could stay on schedule for my campaign, I know for a fact that Mario wasn’t here at the house during that time.”

  “Yes, but then you also know who was here.” Nans wiggled her finger in William’s direction. “Remember, he caught us snooping.”

  Helen’s brows knit together, and she hesitated for a beat. “Well, now that you mention it, I suppose you’re right. So William has the best alibi. Us.”

  Ruth had sidled over, closer to Mario. Lexy guessed now that he wasn’t the main suspect, he was fair game for flirtation. But her expression was clouded. “Well, if it wasn’t Mario, and it wasn’t William, then who else could it have been?”

  Chapter 21

  “Well, well, well. If it isn’t your pesky opponent and her little entourage. What brings you elderly ladies here?” Endora stood in the hallway that led off to the right. Somehow, she’d snuck up despite the fact that she was wearing two-inch silver stilettos to complement her clingy black jumpsuit. She did not look happy to see them.

  “Apparently, they came to accuse Uncle Mario of killing Rosa,” William said.

  Endora scowled at them with eyes as bottomless as a raven’s but not nearly as intelligent. “That’s preposterous! What makes you even think that?”

  “We think it’s connected to the Broadmoore heist, for one,” Ida said.

  “And he knows where the carotid artery is, for two,” Ruth added.

  “But then we realized it can’t be him,” Nans said.

  Endora raised a brow and slinked toward the foyer table. Something about her demeanor set Lexy on edge. Was she up to something?

  “So what are you still doing here, then?” Edora stopped at the vase and took a deep sniff of the flowers. Lexy relaxed. Apparently Endora was only going over to sniff the flowers. Endora then turned to Mario. “Why haven’t you kicked them out?”

  Mario hesitated. “Well, that seems a bit impolite.”

  Endora leaned against the table and crossed her arms over her chest. “Seems to me nosey little old ladies shouldn’t go around casting accusations. It could be dangerous.”

  Uh-oh, that sounded threatening. Lexy glanced at Nans, who had also picked up on the tone. Helen and Ruth seemed oblivious. Ida was glancing longingly into the dining room.

  “We thought we had a good case.” Helen glanced at her watch. “Oh dear, only two hours until the vote. I suppose I better hit the campaign trail.”

  “Not so fast.” Endora stepped in front of her, blocking the way to the door. “I want to know exactly what you ladies are up to. I know you’ve been investigating Rosa’s death, and now that you know Mario wasn’t the killer, do you finally believe it’s Henry?”

  “Oh, no,” Helen said. “It can’t be Henry. The same person that killed Rosa killed Ruby.”

  Endora shook her head. “No. Ruby was killed by one of her lowlife friends.”

  “She’s probably right,” Nans said. “We should go.”

  Helen frowned. “What do you mean? Earlier you said it was the same killer. Someone who was involved in the heist, and that’s why we thought it was Mario and then William, because the loot from the heist could easily be hidden here.”

  “I’ve told you, these are all family heirlooms.” Mario glared around the room, his gaze falling on a painting. “Hmm… except I don’t remember this one.”

  “You’re getting forgetful,” Nans said. “Happens to the best of us. Okay, gang, let’s get going. Helen has hands to shake and babies to kiss.”

>   “Wait a minute.” Helen’s gaze was fixed on the painting that Mario couldn’t remember. “We need to think about our suspect pool. It should be very small with all the criteria. The heist. The Circo Acrobata. Has to be someone who would know just where to place that butter knife and strong enough to get it to tear through flesh…”

  Lexy followed Nans’s gaze. She was watching Endora like a hawk. Lexy saw again the scars on her face and remembered when she’d turned her head so as to protect her neck against getting cut from the sign. It was a built-in reflex she likely had from being the target in the knife-throwing act in the Circo Acrobata. Endora would know exactly how to protect those vulnerable arteries in her neck. Which meant, she also knew exactly where those arteries were. Not to mention that she was an acrobat and could have gotten around the security laser. She clearly still kept in shape. She also had strong hands and wasn’t home when Ruby was killed. But it was just a theory. They needed more evidence before they could accuse her. If Helen continued her train of thought, though, they were all going to be in a bit of trouble.

  “Yeah, someone who knew Rosa and Ruby well enough that those girls would let them right into their places and set the table for coffee and muffins,” Ida said. “And someone strong enough to overtake them when going in quick for the kill. There are really only a couple of people who would fit that description.”

  Endora whipped the drawer in the console open and pulled out a gun, pointing it straight at them. “That’s right. I did it. Are you busybodies happy now?”

  “Endora!” Mario looked shocked. “What are you doing? Put that gun down.”

  “Isn’t it obvious? Now that these old bats have figured things out, the cat is out of the bag.” Endora’s eyes turned even colder, and she looked at Mario with disdain. “You don’t think I was hanging around you because I really liked you, did you?”

  “Well… I…” Mario’s face pinched. The uncaring words had clearly hurt him.