The Bakers and Bulldogs Mysteries Collection: 20 Book Box Set

by Rosie Sams

Melody was so pleased when she saw Carole Archer approaching her table. She and Carole had been good friends for many years. Melody came out from around the booth and grabbed Carole in a big hug.

  “It's been ages!” she said, giving the other woman a squeeze. “How have you been? How is the family?” Melody was beaming, she was so happy to see her again.

  “We are all doing good, busy as usual, but you're the one who has some exciting news, I hear! Congratulations on the engagement! I am so happy for you! Alvin is such a wonderful man and the two of you will make a lovely bride and groom.”

  Smiling from ear to ear, Melody thanked Carole for her well wishes. She and her long-time boyfriend, Alvin, had recently gotten engaged, and it was the talk of the town. Melody was well-known by many because she was the owner of Decadently Delicious and everyone knew Alvin because he was Port Warren’s sheriff. It would surely be a wedding to remember.

  While the two women were happily chatting away, Carole’s daughter, Mariel, came running up to them. In her hand was a stunning, multicolored, stained glass lamp. It was beautifully handcrafted and looked as though it must be an antique and possibly quite valuable.

  “Mom, look!” The little girl exclaimed excitedly. “Won’t this lamp look perfect in my bedroom? It will match my new comforter like a dream. It’s so amazing! Can I have it? Please?”

  Carole carefully took the lamp from Mariel, who, in all of her excitement, had been swinging it around dangerously. She looked the lamp over and inspecting the price tag, nodded her head. “It’s only five dollars. That seems like a pretty reasonable price to me. I think this lamp will look perfect in your room. Where did you get it from?” Mariel pointed to Olive Harrington’s table and the mother-daughter pair bid farewell to Melody and made their way back to the seller to finalize the sale.

  As Melody waved them goodbye, she noticed another familiar face approaching. It was Alvin, her fiancé. Smudge had seen him too and was excitedly wagging her rear end and wiggling around at Melody’s feet. “Hello, handsome!” Melody called out to him and he pulled her in for a kiss.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he replied before crouching down to give Smudge a nice scratch and a belly rub. “How has the sale been going? There seems to be a lot of people here. It’s a really good turnout.” He looked around at all of the booths that had been set up and all of the goods for sale.

  “It has been really busy! We have been giving away lots of free baked goods and promoting the bakery, plus we have sold quite a few of the items that we brought. It’s been non-stop since early this morning!”

  “What do you think about taking a quick browse with me? You never know, we might find something interesting to buy.” Alvin was excited, and Melody thought this was a great idea. She checked in with Leslie to make sure that she would be ok manning the table by herself for a while.

  Leslie happily shooed her and Alvin off, and the pair, along with Smudge, made their way, arm-in-arm, around the sale. There were so many interesting objects to look at. Some were new and others were vintage but all of them told a story about their previous owner or the history of Port Warren. It was fun to see such a diverse assortment of goods all in one place and Melody and Alvin were having a fun time sorting through items and looking for the perfect treasure.

  As they continued to browse, they were interrupted by a commotion behind them. Turning, they saw an angry lady, yelling furiously and rushing towards Olive Harrington’s table.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven

  Melody didn’t recognize the older woman who was yelling and shouting angrily at Olive. Whoever she was, though, she was causing quite a scene. Her voice was shrill and loud and her arms were flailing wildly.

  Olive had taken a few steps back and was glaring at the woman who wouldn’t let her get a word in.

  Alvin and Melody took a few steps closer, trying to hear exactly what was going on. Alvin was ready to jump in and intervene if a need for the law was required. As the woman shouted on, it became apparent that she was Olive Harrington’s cousin, Vanessa, and she seemed to be upset about the stained glass lamp that Carole's daughter was attempting to buy.

  “I just knew you would try and pull a stunt like this, Olive!” Vanessa shouted, wagging her finger in the old woman’s face. “I knew that I needed to attend this rummage sale to see just what you were up to. You can’t fool me, you know! And of course, I was right. You know that late Aunt Audrey willed this lamp to me.” She grabbed the lamp out of Mariel’s hands. “It was supposed to be mine, but you kept it for yourself for all these years. Now you are only selling it to spite me!”

  Carole gently eased her daughter behind her, in a gesture of protection and spoke up, interrupting Vanessa’s rant. “Listen, we don’t want any trouble here. If this lamp is so important to you, then by all means, please take it. We will gladly step aside and let you have it.” Carole was doing her best to try and keep the peace, and to calm the other woman down. She had never liked conflict.

  Olive, who had remained quiet this entire time, finally spoke. Grabbing the lamp out of Vanessa’s hand, she threw it in an empty cardboard box at her feet. “This lamp is no longer for sale.” She continued to quickly pack up the rest of the items on her table and Brenda jumped in to help.

  If it were at all possible, Vanessa’s tone of voice grew even more heated. “Listen here, Olive. My whole life, all you have ever done is try to hurt me. When we were kids, you used to taunt me and make me cry and since we’ve been adults, it's been just the same. This lamp was always kept in my room at Aunt Audrey’s house. It was on my bedside table and it holds a lot of memories for me. Olive, please, for once in your life, show some compassion. This lamp means a lot to me and if you have any heart at all, you would realize that.” Vanessa’s face was red and her fists were clenched but tears could be seen in her eyes. It was obvious that for her, this lamp was more than just a lamp.

  “Listen here, Vanessa, I will never give you this lamp. I hope you have a very good memory because you are going to have to rely on it. Memories of this lamp are all you are going to have.” She picked up a few boxes and stormed off with Brenda following quickly behind her.

  Alvin and Melody approached Vanessa. Melody placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. By this time, tears were streaming down her face, and she was sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Vanessa. I can tell that the lamp means a lot to you. I wish there was something more I could do to help.” Melody’s words were sincere as she tried to console the woman. Alvin handed her a tissue and she wiped her cheeks.

  Trying to compose herself, she spoke to the couple. “Thank you so much for your kindness, it really means a lot. It’s just so frustrating trying to deal with this woman. Olive has been the same way ever since I can remember. She was nasty when we were children and she is still nasty now. She has no sense of compassion for anyone and never has.” Vanessa sniffled loudly.

  Sensing that there was more to the story than Vanessa was sharing, Melody inquired. “How did all of this start? Something must have happened to cause all of this conflict between the two of you?”

  Vanessa sighed, obviously caught up in painful memories. “The story is just too long to tell.” She shook her head in dismay, thanked Alvin and Melody for their thoughtfulness, and then turned and walked away, her head hanging low.

  Melody turned to Alvin. “Oh, Al, I wish there was something more we could do for that poor woman. She seems heartbroken. It makes me so sad to think that family could treat each other this way.”

  Alvin wasn’t shy to say what he thought and laid the blame squarely at Olive’s feet. “It’s obviously Olive Harrington’s fault. She has a reputation around this town for being a bit of an old hag, and her actions today have proven it. She isn’t nice to anyone else so it’s no surprise that she would treat her own relatives the same way.”

  Melody sighed. “I have to admit, Al, all this commotion has really got me down. I’ve lost a lot of the excitement that I had felt for the rummage sale today.”<
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  “I have an idea. Why don’t we sneak out of here and go have an early dinner? That would make you feel better, wouldn’t it?”

  Shaking her head, Melody declined Alvin’s offer. “I would love to, Al, but I still have a table to run. I need to be here to help promote the bakery. Plus, it’s not fair to leave Leslie and Kerry on their own. They have been working so hard all day.” Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek before she and Smudge headed back to her table.

  “Well, Smudge, it has been an adventurous day so far, hasn’t it.” The pup pricked up her little ears and wagged her stumpy tail in agreement. “Hopefully, things will go smoothly from here on in and the day will be a quick one. We may not have been able to have an early dinner but at least we can look forward to heading home and having a late dinner with Alvin.”

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight

  “Hurry up, Brenda!” Olive Harrington snapped at the poor assistant whose arms were full of boxes and items from the rummage sale.

  After their quick departure, she had managed to grab everything and was balancing it precariously as she tried to unlock the car door. After a few attempts, she was finally successful but it had obviously taken far too long for the likes of Mrs. Harrington who was huffing and puffing in frustration.

  “Here you go, Mrs. Harrington. Go ahead and have a seat, I’ll be just a minute packing the rest of these things into the trunk. It shouldn’t take me long.” Brenda tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but Olive made that an extremely difficult thing to do.

  “Well, at the rate you seem to be moving today, I’m sure we will be here a while.” Olive sighed dramatically as she lowered herself into the car and Brenda could feel her face grow red with anger. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves like she had so many times before.

  “Oh, and Brenda!” Olive called from the front seat, “Be careful with that lamp. You know how clumsy you can sometimes be, I don’t want anything happening to it.”

  Brenda had a sudden urge to smash the lamp on the ground, right then and there, but she held back and carefully arranged everything into the car, paying special attention to the stained glass lamp that had caused such a commotion just a few minutes earlier. She got into the driver’s seat, started up the engine and began to chauffeur Olive home. She had hoped it would be a peaceful, quiet drive, but unfortunately, luck was not on her side today. Olive had been worked up to a tizzy by her cousin, Vanessa, and Brenda could almost see the smoke fuming from her ears. It was only a moment before she started up again.

  “Can you believe that blasted woman? Coming down here and accusing me of taking something of hers. Now, why on earth, with all of the money that I have, would I want to take something that belonged to someone else? If I wanted a lamp, I would buy myself a lamp. I wouldn’t need to steal hers. She knows very well that our aunt willed that lamp to me, and therefore, it is rightfully mine.” She crossed her arms. “You know, that woman has always had it out for me. I think she’s jealous. I was always the favorite in the family, the men that she wanted to date always liked me more. I’ve always had a nicer home and more money. She just can’t handle the fact that I’ve always been better than her. Well, she’s just going to have to get over that because it’s never going to change.”

  Brenda sat silently, nodding her head. She was used to putting up with Olive’s rants and knew from experience that it was best to just stay quiet and agree with everything that her employer said. Luckily, her suffering was short as the drive to the Harrington Mansion was only a few blocks away. Pulling up, Olive stomped out and left Brenda to take care of the carload of things.

  After placing the rummage sale items in the garage to be dealt with another day, Brenda went inside just as Mrs. Harrington was hanging up the phone. “I’ve just placed an order for Chinese food Brenda, please make yourself useful for once and go pick it up for me. After the day I’ve had, I’m starving.”

  Brenda held her words and nodded, but inside she wasn’t sure just how much more of Olive’s abuse she could take.

  Just as she was turning to leave the phone rang, Brenda started for the kitchen to answer it, but Mrs. Harrington shooed her away. Thinking it may be the take-out restaurant calling to confirm the order, Brenda listened in as Olive took the call. Although she couldn’t make out the words being spoken on the other end, she could hear a woman’s voice yelling through the receiver. Olive listened for only a few seconds before angrily cutting the woman off.

  “Now, you listen here, Vanessa. You have no right to say those things to me. You are a terrible person, and as of this moment forward, I don’t consider you as a part of my family anymore. I don’t ever wish to see you again.” She slammed the phone down and stormed into the front hall. Brenda tried to move quickly so she wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping but it was too late.

  “My God, woman! Are you still here? You are the most useless person on the face of the planet. Do I need to go and fetch my dinner myself?” she spat the words out angrily. “And I’ll have you know that if I ever catch you listening in on one of my personal conversations again, I will fire you on the spot. Count yourself lucky that for today, you still have a job.”

  Brenda turned without saying a word. She was angry and embarrassed, but there was nothing she could do except hold it all in for now. She needed the money and one thing was certain, Olive Harrington had plenty of it.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine

  The remainder of the rummage sale went by without a hitch. Thankfully for everyone involved, no other drama presented itself, and the sale ended up being a huge success.

  Melody, Kerry, and Leslie stood beaming at one another. Everything from their table had been sold and at a good price for the shelter and all of their baked goods had been eaten. They had spoken to many of the townsfolk; some had placed orders for cakes or cookies for upcoming events and others had taken the bakery’s brochure and promised to be in touch soon. There was nothing remaining to be packed up so the girls said their goodbyes and headed off in their separate directions home.

  It didn’t take Melody and Smudge long to make it home, and Alvin was already there to greet them. “How are my two favorite ladies? Did I miss anything else at the fundraiser this afternoon?”

  Melody laughed, her mood had picked up again throughout the afternoon, and seeing Alvin had made her even happier. “Thankfully, no! There was no more excitement, no confrontations. Just lots of money raised for the animals of Port Warren who need it.” She went on to recount how successful Decadently Delicious’ table had been and Alvin was impressed.

  Heading to the kitchen, Melody grabbed a brand new bone for Smudge and reached up into the cupboard, taking out two wine glasses for herself and Alvin. The success of the sale was a cause for celebration.

  Smudge greedily took her bone and ran to her doggy bed to enjoy it.

  Pouring a glass and handing it to Alvin, Melody lifted her hand in a toast. “To the Port Warren Shelter and all of the animals that it helps.” Alvin clinked his glass with hers and took a sip of the delicious wine.

  “I actually have a bit of a surprise for you,” Alvin said, grinning. He was always full of surprises. “After I left you this afternoon, I took another browse around the rummage sale and I managed to find this…” he left off mid-sentence and ran into the next room, returning a moment later with a lamp in his hand. “Now, I know it’s not identical to the one that Olive was selling but it is stained glass. Since Mariel didn’t get the one she wanted, I thought she may like this one. What do you think?” He turned the lamp over in his hands, inspecting it.

  “Oh, Alvin, you truly are the sweetest man alive!” She ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and gave him a nice long kiss. “This lamp is absolutely adorable. It’s perfect and Mariel is going to love it! You are so thoughtful, Al.”

  Alvin was blushing, and Melody gave him another tight squeeze. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have such a kind man all to h
erself. Unfortunately, their embrace was cut short when Alvin’s phone began to ring. He smiled apologetically to Melody as he reached into his pocket. “Duty calls.” He laughed and answered it.

  “Sheriff Hennessey speaking. Mmm-hmm. Yep. A murder? Really? Ok, hold tight and I’ll be there in just a few minutes.” Sighing, he hung up the call and turned to Melody, who was looking at him questioningly.

  “What’s going on?” She could tell by the look on Alvin’s face that something terrible had happened. “Is everything ok? Did you say murder?”

  Alvin shook his head. “It seems that a crime has taken place at the Harrington house. That was one of my deputies on the phone. They just arrived at the scene, and it appears that Olive Harrington has been murdered.”

  Melody’s hand flew to her mouth in disbelief. “Oh, my God. Who could have done such a thing? How did it happen?” Melody couldn’t believe that the woman who had been so full of fire this afternoon was now gone.

  “My deputy found Mrs. Harrington lying dead in the front hallway of her mansion with a brutal blow to the head.” He shook his head at the thought of it. “I’m so sorry, Melody, but they are expecting me there as soon as possible. There is going to be a lot to do. I’m going to have to cut our date night short. Can I take a rain check? I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  Melody smiled sweetly. “Well, honestly, Al, I don’t see why our time together tonight has to come to an end.” She winked at him and he knew exactly what she was implying. Both Melody and Smudge had proven to be invaluable at numerous other investigations. Without their help, many of the crimes in Port Warren would have gone unsolved.

  “This is exactly why I love you!” He laughed and grabbed Smudge's leash. The pup had already figured out that there was a mystery to be solved and was waiting patiently at the door, ready to be of service.