The Bakers and Bulldogs Mysteries Collection: 20 Book Box Set

by Rosie Sams

  “Oh, no!” Kerry cried. She knew it was too good to be true. As far as she was concerned, her wedding day was jinxed.

  “Everyone! Stay here! Smudge, come!” Melody pulled open the bridal suite door and raced to the lobby where a crowd was already forming. Smudge ran right behind her.

  Where did the scream come from? Melody asked herself. With the open lobby of the inn, it was hard to tell.

  Smudge knew! Her hearing being more sophisticated. She ran ahead of Melody and led the way toward the kitchen! Melody followed her.

  The crowd had started to block the narrow hallway that led toward the employee entrance. Melody pushed her way through it. Smudge deftly navigated the gathering guests’ legs and barked at the kitchen door willing it to open.

  Together they busted through the door to see Emily sobbing uncontrollably behind one of the kitchen counters. She pointed at the floor, horrified by something inside one of the open cupboards. Coleman was trying desperately to calm her.

  “Melody, you don’t want to see this. Please, go back outside. Alvin and Wilbur are on their way over. I just sent the chef to get them from the parlor,” Coleman’s voice was close to breaking.

  His warning didn’t thwart Melody and Smudge from approaching, though. Smudge whined as she sniffed the cupboard. Melody gently guided Smudge back so she could get a better look. There, stuffed inside, was Liza Summer’s strangled body still wearing her white work shirt now stained reddish pink from the splashes from Kim’s cranberry cocktail drink. Melody noticed something odd about the body. Instead of Liza’s lips being bluish in color, they were also stained a bright red.

  “That doesn’t make sense. Why would her lips be red?” asked Melody aloud, but not really loud enough for anyone but Smudge to hear. Smudge whined again.

  “I swear, Melody, this inn is cursed. It’s one bad luck omen after another!” Coleman said, more shakily than ever. He grabbed the sobbing Emily by the arms and shook her. “Get a hold of yourself!” To Melody, Coleman sounded like he was the one that needed to get a grip. The man was nearly hysterical.

  “Melody! Are you ok? Where’s Smudge?” Alvin asked frantically as he pushed his way through the crowd and into the kitchen. Wilbur was right behind him.

  “We’re fine! Smudge is here!”

  Melody scooped her up and carried her away from the cupboard to make room for Alvin. Soon the sheriff’s deputies would arrive and thoroughly investigate the scene, but for now, Alvin initially investigated the body and the cupboard while Wilbur secured the area.

  “Alvin,” Melody called, “what am I going to tell Kerry?”

  He sighed deeply, not having an answer, and their eyes met. It was just a moment, but his strength calmed her. He rubbed his chin as he considered the options. There were none. “Unfortunately, she’s going to have to postpone the wedding, and no one is going to be able to leave the property.”

  After Wilbur secured the area, he approached Coleman and Emily. “Coleman, we need to question everyone, staff, guests, everyone. Let’s get them gathered in the parlor. The sooner we get some answers, the sooner Bradford and Kerry can get married. Does anyone have an idea of who might have wanted to see this girl dead?”

  Melody looked at Emily suspiciously.

  Was the girl’s sobbing a genuine reaction, or was she overcompensating to throw them off her scent? Could the dead woman’s thievery have been enough to push the surviving waitress too far?

  Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Seven

  “I have to call my wedding off?” Kerry looked confused. A look of shock and horror contorted her pretty face. She sat on the edge of the bed between Melody and Kim, shaking her head. “I guess I knew something would go wrong… with Jared and Kim present… but call off the entire wedding?!”

  “Kerry, a woman is dead,” Leslie’s tone was a touch stern as she tried to explain the seriousness of the situation to her friend. “I know this day is important, but I don’t think we should be flippant about the circumstances.”

  Kerry looked at Leslie, her eyes narrow and dark. Melody suspected Kerry was about to give Leslie a piece of her mind, so she distracted her quickly.

  “Maybe not call off the wedding entirely, but simply postpone – hopefully not more than a few hours. I know it’s a lot to take in, but Alvin and Wilbur are down there investigating now. I’m going to get an update. Maybe Smudge and I can help them find some answers quickly. I promise, Kerry, we’ll crack this case as soon as possible.”

  Kim took Melody’s place beside Kerry once she got up and wished Melody good luck. She and Leslie stayed with Kerry while Melody and Smudge headed back down to the lobby.

  By now, the news of Liza Summer’s murder had trickled through the guests. Bradford and Maxwell attempted to keep the guests calm while deputies sealed off the building.

  “Bradford!” Melody called over the chaos of the crowd.

  Bradford finished talking with a great aunt who had traveled a great distance to come to this “great” wedding that had now turned into a murder mystery event. Part of him believed she was more excited about the murder mystery than the wedding. He turned his attention to Melody.

  “I really need to be with Kerry. She’s probably a mess right now,” Bradford said.

  “I just left her. Kim and Leslie are both with her. She’s upset, but this isn’t exactly something anyone could control. I’m going to see if Smudge and I can help move this along.” Melody and Smudge shared a well-earned reputation for being amateur sleuths. Surely, she could use this talent to help her friends.

  Alvin spotted the two in the lobby and pulled Melody aside. Smudge followed.

  “Ok, pastry chef turned Nancy Drew, what are your thoughts? See anything unusual that I should know about?” Alvin asked quietly. He didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation.

  “I have several thoughts. Yesterday, when I went to the ladies’ room, I overheard Liza and Emily arguing. Emily accused Liza of stealing her tips. Liza insulted Emily’s looks. She had a real stuck-up way about her. Coleman also didn’t care much for Liza, though I’m not sure it’s enough to kill her. She was disruptive, and he was frustrated with her.”

  “Interesting. I’ll start with them. Didn’t you say something about seeing Jared with Liza, too?”

  “Yes! I saw them flirting intensely in the parlor before the party started, and last night when we left, I saw her kissing someone in the shadows.”

  “You know for sure it was her? Who was she kissing?”

  “I’m not sure. The man stayed in the shadows. I couldn’t see his face, but there was a moment when Liza stepped into the moonlight, so I know it was definitely her.”

  “Good work, Mel. Anything else?”

  “Yes, one more thing. Emily said that Liza steals tips and flirts with the male guests. She said, ‘she has a real racket going on here.’ Sounds like Liza was some kind of con artist looking for a meal ticket.”

  Alvin gave his fiancé a kiss of thanks. He knew he could count on her. “You know, Mel, you would have made an excellent detective.”

  “You know, Al, if I ever get tired of baking the best cupcakes in Port Warren, I know where to apply. I’ve got connections.”

  “That you do.”

  With the inn shut down and no one allowed to enter or leave, Wilbur and the deputies kept the guests in check while they processed the scene thoroughly. Alvin converted Coleman’s private office into an interrogation room. It was Emily’s turn to give a statement.

  “Emily, we need to understand your relationship with Liza,” Alvin said. “What can you tell us?”

  “Liza was far from my favorite person. I’m not happy she’s dead, but I can’t say I’m surprised, either.” Emily now appeared quite composed and over the initial shock of seeing Liza’s dead body. “She was a bad person. She used a lot of people to get what she wanted, and she never really cared about doing a good job.”

  Suddenly realizing she may be a suspect, Emily added, “If I were going to kill her,
I would have gotten rid of the body in a far cleverer fashion. I’ve seen CSI, and I’m very organized. Mr. Urquhart can verify my performance – even though sometimes he seems unhappy with it.” Emily continued to tell Sheriff Hennessey all about Liza’s downfalls. She revealed how Liza never listened to Mr. Urquhart, who Emily felt worked tirelessly to make the inn a success. She explained how Liza had no respect for the inn, Mr. Urquhart, or the other staff members, often stealing their tips. Lastly, she explained how Liza would flirt with the male guests to get gifts or money from them. “She wasn’t an aspiring model or actress; she was an aspiring freeloader and con artist.”

  Alvin concluded the interview for the time being but advised Emily not to go anywhere.

  Coleman, who had been listening in on the interrogation, suddenly had a change of heart toward Emily. He was impressed with her assessment of Liza’s performance and finally noticed Emily had only the best intentions for the inn and its success. When Alvin left the private office to check in with Wilbur, Coleman grabbed his attention.

  “Sheriff! I’d like to make a statement,” Coleman said.

  “I’ll be interviewing you shortly, Coleman. You sure it can’t wait?” Alvin asked as he paused in his steps to give the proprietor his full attention.

  “Well, it’s about Emily. Emily may have hated Liza, but she’s always taken the high road. She’s a strong, valuable employee that always puts the business before her own needs. I can see her reporting Liza. She’s done that, but I can’t see her murdering Liza. Emily is a professional, not a psycho. In fact, I should appreciate her work ethic and talent more.”

  “Thank you for your input, Coleman. Let me check in with my team, and then we’ll talk more.”

  Alvin excused himself to reconvene with Wilbur and Melody. He told them about Emily’s interview.

  “I kind of agree with Coleman. Emily works very hard. I can’t see her snapping and killing Liza over tip money. Could it really be enough money to risk prison? I don’t think so,” Melody rationalized, Smudge barked. Melody was not sure if it was in agreement or to get attention. Alvin gave her ears a quick rub anyway.

  Alvin and Wilbur both nodded in agreement, but they all knew that people had committed murder over less.

  “We need to find out who else has a motive,” Wilbur said. “She was strangled. It could very well be a crime of passion. Jared and Maxwell fit the bill. Maybe she was trying to play both of them for money – and maybe she was using them to make the other one jealous.” He shrugged to the others.

  “Maybe Maxwell found out she was trying to take advantage of his money and strangled her in a drunken rage?” Alvin questioned.

  “I’m not sure. Bradford made it crystal clear that Maxwell is a lover and not a fighter. He told me that if Liza rejected him, he’d just move on,” Melody added.

  “Rejected and being swindled are two different things,” Alvin said, and they all nodded.

  At that moment, Bradford approached them. Melody studied Bradford’s face. He was visibly tired and stressed. It occurred to her that here they were focusing on “Kerry’s big day” when it was just as much Bradford’s big day.

  He must be so disappointed, she thought.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but could you guys come upstairs? My cousin, Maxwell, has something he wants to confess.”

  Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Eight

  Alvin, Wilbur, Melody, and Smudge followed Bradford to a guest room on the second floor. There, they found Maxwell sitting in a chair by the window nursing a drink. He didn’t look nearly as put together as he did when he first arrived at the inn. In this light, Melody could see the dark circles that pooled under his eyes. He had fine lines etched in the corners of his eyes, laugh lines or worry lines. His clothes looked wrinkled and dingy. They were the same clothes he wore to the engagement party. She hadn’t recalled seeing him downstairs at all that day. Had he been hiding up here this entire time? Was he capable of killing the pretty but shady server?

  “Maxwell. Bradford said you have something to confess regarding the dead woman downstairs?” Alvin said sternly.

  Maxwell looked up at Alvin as his hand pulled the shade closed. The light had been bothering his eyes, or he felt he could tell his story better in the dark. “Yes, Sheriff,” Maxwell said. “I knew Liza intimately. I met her during the early afternoon of the rehearsal dinner… yesterday. We shared a few intimate moments and made plans to meet again after the dinner. I’m telling you this because you may find evidence that places her in my room.” His hand motioned around the room they currently occupied.

  “Except after dinner, when she was supposed to be meeting me, I saw her outside kissing someone else.” Maxwell took a swig of his drink, held it in his mouth for a moment then swallowed hard.

  “What happened next? Did you confront her?” Alvin asked.

  “Well, if you all hadn’t noticed, I had a little too much to drink. I’m pretty sure she was kissing that moron, Jared. I waited for her to come back inside, and then, yeah, I confronted her. I’ll blame it on the liquor, but I got rude and even called her a few names I probably shouldn’t have. She got mad and stormed off toward the kitchen. I followed her into the kitchen, we argued some more, but then I felt sick. I felt really sick like I was going to blackout.”

  The seconds stretched as Maxwell looked down at his glass.

  “Do you think it’s possible you killed her, Max?” Alvin asked.

  Max drained his glass as he thought about it.

  “Do I think I could have killed her? No. But I blacked out. I don’t remember anything after seeing her in the kitchen. If I could have done it, we should find out. Right, Bradford?” His tone was filled with venom. “Maybe if we can wrap this up, Bradford and Kerry can still get married. That’s all that’s on his mind right now, anyway. Kerry, Kerry, Kerry.” It was clear Max was still a little drunk and unsure of himself, and he was resenting Bradford for pressuring him to speak to the sheriff when he wasn’t even sober yet.

  “Max, it’s our wedding day! Of course, I’m concerned about my wife. Her dream wedding was just destroyed, and I really hope you had nothing to do with it!” Bradford was beyond frustrated.

  “All right, enough. Wilbur, please take Maxwell into custody and get his prints. We’ll find out soon enough if there’s something to be worried about here,” Alvin ordered.

  Wilbur took Max by the arm and escorted him downstairs. Bradford looked helpless.

  “I just want to figure out whodunit so I can marry Kerry. We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I just want her to officially be my wife, and Maxwell is like my brother. I really hope he wasn’t involved in this. It’s hard enough on Kerry being estranged from her sister. She loves Max just as much as I do,” Bradford explained.

  Melody sat next to him. Smudge snuffled his ankles, sat on his feet, and then leaned her body against his leg affectionately.

  “I know, Bradford, and it will happen,” Melody reassured him. “If Max had an encounter with Liza, and Emily said she did this repeatedly, maybe there is another guest in addition to Jared and Maxwell that she burned.”

  “We still need to locate Jared and question him. No one has seen him since last night. We need to find out if he was the one kissing Liza last night.”

  Just then, Kim entered the room, crying.

  Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Nine

  “I need to speak to Sheriff Hennessey,” Kim said urgently, her eyes teary. They all looked up at her suspiciously.

  “What did you do?” Bradford asked as he stood up quickly, his hands balled into fists and he glared at her.

  “Bradford! Go check on Kerry. Let us talk with Kim privately,” Alvin said, guiding the angry man out of the room. Once Bradford was in the hall, Alvin shut the door and turned his attention back to Kim.

  He extended his hand to offer her a seat on the bed. Kim sat down. Her tears flowed, and she became incoherent.

  “Kim, we need to find Jared. No one has seen him since last n
ight. Do you know where he is or anything about Liza’s death?” Melody asked gently. “Please, Kim? We need to resolve this case as soon as possible.”

  Kim took a breath and steadied her voice.

  “After the fight last night, I went back to my room. From the window, I saw Jared outside. He was so angry! When he gets riled up, there’s no stopping his rage until he indulges his basic instincts and takes his anger out on something or someone, usually me.” She pulled up one of the sleeves of her dress and showed them bruises in the shape of fingerprints embedded in her arm.

  “Kim, I’m so sorry that you have been married to this monster for so long!” Melody was enraged by the marks on Kim’s arm.

  “I didn’t want to ruin her wedding by telling her that Jared was putting his hands on me. She already hates me, and after this, she’ll never speak to me again – I’m sure of it!” Kim stopped, overcome with tears once more.

  Melody went to Kim’s side to console her as she continued her story.

  “I could see him outside, kicking bushes and knocking over cigarette cans. He even kicked the side of someone’s car. He was completely enraged. Then, I saw someone walking toward him. It was Liza. She was consoling him, trying to calm him. She kissed him! But that’s when I saw Maxwell arguing with them. He was drunk and calling Liza names. Then, they all disappeared inside.” Kim stopped abruptly, giving her audience time to think.

  “Stay here, Kim. We need to find Jared and get to the bottom of this – and we’re not done discussing your domestic violence situation. Please, stay here and lock the door,” Alvin said just before he, Melody, and Smudge left her to find Jared.

  As the three headed back down to the main lobby, Alvin called Wilbur.

  “If you see Jared Anders, you are to detain him immediately. He’s a primary person of interest. Kim’s story lines up with Maxwell’s except for a few details that could be skewed due to them both being intoxicated. The stories are close enough for us to look at Jared. I think Jared followed them back into the inn. When Maxwell blacked out or left, Jared snuck into the kitchen and killed Liza, probably in a jealous, drunken rage.”