Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1 - 4) (Lexy Baker Cozy Mysteries Boxed Sets)

by Leighann Dobbs

  The two women stared at each other for a few seconds.

  “Hey, you’re that nosy baker. What are you doing here?”

  Nosy baker?

  “Umm...my dog got away.” Lexy pointed to Sprinkles.

  “Yeah but what were you doing here in the first place? Were you spying on me?” Candice stood, taking a step forward, her eyes narrowed to slits. Lexy felt her heart clutch in fear.

  “No, we were taking Sprinkles,” she said, pointing to the dog again, “for a walk and then went for a drive and ended up here.” That was mostly true Lexy thought, mentally crossing her fingers. Candice did not look convinced.

  Lexy glanced around the living room of the small condo. It was full of boxes and clutter. “Are you moving?”

  Candice snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Of course I am. My employer was murdered so now I have no job. So if you don’t mind leaving, I’ll get back to packing.”

  She spat the words out with such venom that Lexy backed up a step and stumbled against one of the boxes. It teetered over, the shoes inside threatening to spill out. Lexy put her hand out to stop the box from falling and couldn’t help but take a peek at the shoes. She noticed one pair on the top, a gorgeous purple suede with pointy toes. Too bad a brownish stain had ruined one of the toes. The stain was just on the tip of the toe and extended underneath the bottom of the shoe where the tan sole showed the true color of the stain—red. Red like blood.

  Lexy felt a chill trickle up her spine. She clutched Sprinkles closer, putting her finger on her eye to keep it from twitching.

  “Why are you still here?” Candice asked, waving her hands at Lexy to shoo her out the door.

  Something on Candice’s hand caught Lexy’s eye. It was a large shiny ring, a ring with a canary-yellow cushion-cut diamond—just like the one in Chastine’s brooch. Lexy backed out the door without a word and bolted for the car.

  “I...think...Candice is...the killer!” Lexy could barely get the words out between gasps.

  Cassie’s eyebrows shot up. “What happened out there?”

  Lexy took a few deep breaths. “I ran into Candice—Sprinkles was in her condo! She’s packing to move.”

  “That hardly makes her a killer.”

  “That’s not it.” Lexy took another deep breath. “While I was there, I noticed some shoes with blood on the tip and she had a ring that had the same yellow diamond as the brooch that was missing from Chastine’s blouse!

  “Wow! That does sound convincing. Should we call the police?”

  Lexy grabbed her purse out of the back seat and rummaged in it for her phone, then punched the speed dial number for Jack. She felt her breathing going back to normal as she listened to it ring, and ring, and ring. She snapped the phone shut when it went to his voice mail.

  “No answer.”

  Cassie whipped out her phone. “Let me see if I can get them.” Lexy watched her punch in a few numbers then put the phone up to her ear.

  “Hi John...good...no, actually I’m calling because Lexy seems to have uncovered the murderer of Chastine Johnson. Yes, she has evidence. Okay, see you in a bit.”

  “Who was that?”

  “John Darling. He said to come in right away so they could take a statement.” She turned to Lexy, an innocent grin on her face. “You’re not the only one with an in at the police department.”

  15

  “Lexy, what are you doing here?” Lexy saw the look of surprise on Jack’s face as his eyes traveled from her to Sprinkles to Cassie.

  “You didn’t talk to John?”

  “I didn’t catch up with him yet.” John’s voice boomed from down the hall.

  Jack spread his hands “What’s this all about?”

  “I know who killed Chastine!” Lexy blurted out.

  She saw Jack’s eyes narrow. “What? I thought I told you to stop investigating the murder.”

  Lexy felt her cheeks burn. “I was...well I mean…we were just taking Sprinkles for a walk when we saw Bronson. We followed him and ended up at Candice’s condo.”

  “Lexy, you aren’t making sense. Come on down here and tell me the story from the beginning.”

  Jack turned down the hall and Lexy started to follow. Cassie touched her arm, “I’ll stay back here,” she said tilting her head in John’s direction. Lexy nodded, thinking Cassie probably mistook her eye twitch for a wink. She put her finger up to her eye, wondering if she had a big mascara smudge underneath from jabbing at it, trying to stop the twitch.

  Jack stood in front of the door to a room, motioning for her to enter. Inside was a long table with two metal chairs, one on either side of the table. It looked like the interrogation rooms she always saw on TV. She took a seat, setting Sprinkles down on the floor.

  Jack leaned on the edge of the table in front of her and swiped at her cheek gently with his finger. “You had a smudge of mascara there...now, tell me what this is all about.”

  “Sprinkles got away from me, chasing after a cat. I followed her and, just by chance, she happened to have run into Candice’s condo. I went in to get Sprinkles and noticed Candice had a pair of shoes with blood on the tips.” Lexy saw the look of disbelief on Jack’s face. She had to admit it did sound a little far-fetched.

  “What were you doing near Candice’s condo...and how do you know it was blood?”

  Lexy felt her heart speed up. How would she explain what she was doing there without getting Jack mad at her?

  “Well...” Lexy saw Jack’s eyebrows raising even higher and decided the best course of action was to come clean.

  “OK, we followed Bronson; but we weren’t going to do anything, just see what he was up to. Only, Sprinkles got out and ran off so I chased after her. The part about finding Candice in her condo really did happen by accident.” Lexy looked up at him sheepishly, her heart leaping when she saw amusement instead of anger in his eyes.

  “What about the blood?”

  Lexy told him about the box of shoes. Jack’s expression changed as she described exactly what the blood looked like. He took out his notebook and started jotting things down.

  “Well, that does sound like blood, but of course it could be plenty of other things. She could have stepped in it anywhere. I’m afraid it’s really not much to go on.”

  “There is one other thing...” Lexy looked up to see how interested he was in hearing it. Jack bent in closer. “I noticed she had on a ring…a ring with a very distinctive stone in it...”

  “A canary-yellow cushion-cut diamond.” Jack finished the sentence for her.

  Lexy nodded. “You knew about the pin?”

  “Of course,” Jack said giving her a sideways look, “and we know Bronson tried to pawn it...without the stones. It’s not looking good for the two of them.”

  Lexy felt a bubble of happiness. She had found the killer! Or killers. Either way, the case would be solved and she could get paid. Most importantly, Jack didn’t seem mad at her.

  “I’ll have to get the paperwork rolling. We’ll need warrants and statements if we want to bring them in tomorrow. That could take all nigh-” He broke off the last word and looked at Lexy.

  She cocked an eyebrow at him. “What?”

  “We were supposed to go out on a date tonight.” He said.

  Lexy felt her stomach drop. She knew what was coming next. If they went on their date, he might not get the paperwork done. She wasn’t sure which she wanted more.

  Jack put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re more important to me than this job. I can fill out paperwork tomorrow and bring them in for questioning the next day.”

  Lexy looked into his honey-brown eyes, warmth spreading through her body. She wanted to go out with Jack, but on the other hand, Candice was packing—tomorrow could be too late.

  “I have an idea.” She reached up and played with his collar. “Maybe you could do the paperwork tonight, and then when it is done come by my house for a nightcap.” Skip the date and go straight to the good stuff.

&n
bsp; Jack smiled, pulling her close. “That sounds like a very good idea.” He lowered his lips to hers making Lexy forget all about murderers, bakery equipment and overdue bills—if only for a few, delightful seconds.

  16

  Lexy padded into the kitchen, her bare feet making slapping sounds on the linoleum. The sun streaming through the window lit up the room. She smiled when she saw Jack’s coffee cup neatly placed in the sink, a warm glow of contentment filling her.

  She felt happier than she had in weeks. Soon the killer would be behind bars, she’d get the payment she needed for the bakery and best of all, Jack and she were back together. What more could she ask for?

  Sprinkles danced happily at her feet. Lexy squatted to pet her. “It’s a beautiful day today. What do you say we go visit Nans, then take a walk in the woods to retrieve your leash?”

  Sprinkles increased the pace of her dancing. Lexy didn’t know if that was a yes to the walk or a sign the dog was hungry. She filled the ceramic dog bowl, setting it on the floor.

  While Sprinkles munched contentedly on her dog food, Lexy scrounged in the fridge for breakfast. She ignored the eggs, milk and fruit, reaching straight for a small banana cream pie she had stashed in the back. She figured it was the closest thing to a balanced breakfast because it had fruit from the bananas, protein from the cream and carbs from the crust.

  While she ate the pie, she rummaged in the drawers for Sprinkles’ old leash. The new one, an expensive retractable model, was still tangled in the woods and Lexy needed to use the old leash for their visit to Nans. Sprinkles was good at staying with her unless a cat or squirrel wandered into view, but she still wanted to make sure the dog was safe and didn’t wander around the retirement center unattended.

  She saw the frayed material of the old purple leash shoved in the back of a drawer; grabbing it with her fingertips, she pulled it out. It was beaten almost to shreds with some very thin areas, but it would have to do. She shoved it in her purse then headed upstairs to shower and change.

  “Sprinkles!” Ida shouted the dog’s name from the other side of the Retirement Center lobby. Sprinkles wagged her tail, straining at the end of the leash—she couldn’t get over to greet the four women fast enough.

  Lexy let the dog pull her toward them, then perched on a chair while the older women lavished Sprinkles with attention.

  “Are you going to bring her around to the other residents?” Ruth asked as she bent forward to stroke the dog’s ears.

  Lexy occasionally brought Sprinkles to the Retirement Center to visit some of the elderly patients who couldn’t get out and she was always a big hit. “Not today,” Lexy said, “I’m in a bit of a hurry, but I wanted to stop by and tell you some big news about the case.”

  The four ladies switched their attention from the dog and sat up straight in their seats staring at Lexy expectantly.

  “I found the killer!”

  Lexy heard four sharp gasps. She saw eight wrinkly eyes narrow. Four grayish-blue heads bent forward across the table.

  “Well...who is it?” Helen asked.

  “Candice.”

  “Candice?” Nans, Ruth, Helen and Ida echoed in unison.

  Lexy nodded, then told them all about the previous day’s events. “She’s probably at the station being arrested right now...and maybe even Bronson too.”

  “That’s fabulous! Another case solved by the Ladies Detective Club.” The other ladies nodded in agreement.

  Solved by the Ladies Detective Club? Lexy wrinkled her brow thinking she had done most of the work.

  “Now dear, don’t give us that look. Sure, we sent you off to do all the legwork, but we did do the investigation to find out who pawned the brooch.”

  “And eliminated the people from Texas and Trixie as suspects when we found they had alibis,” Ida added.

  “And pushed you in the right direction,” Nans said with a firm shake of her head. “Of course, we couldn’t have done it without you, though.” The others nodded their agreement.

  “Yes, Lexy, nice work,” Ruth said. “But I wonder—why would Candice want to murder Chastine?”

  Lexy chewed on her lip. That was a good question. Of all the suspects, Candice was the one without a motive. “She probably was in on it with Bronson. He had a pretty good motive with Chastine on the brink of marrying into family money.”

  Ruth tilted her head, apparently thinking about Lexy’s theory.

  “Well, I just wanted to stop by to let you know the good news. Sprinkles and I are heading back to the walking trail. It’s such a beautiful day...and I need to retrieve her leash. It got tangled in the vines yesterday and we had to unhook it and leave it there to run off and follow Bronson. It was expensive and this leash won’t last much longer.” She held up the frayed end of the purple leash.

  Lexy got up, hugging Nans she bid the other women a good day, then she picked up Sprinkles and headed out the door.

  Emerging from the building into the warm sunshine made her feel like singing. Everything was going her way—it was a beautiful day and soon her life would return to normal. For the first time in weeks, she felt relaxed, looking forward to the future. Nothing could possibly go wrong now.

  17

  “When we find those shoes we’ll have the evidence we need, so you might as well confess now and save us all some trouble.”

  Jack sat across the table from Candice, who squirmed in her hard metal chair. Jack could see her eyes starting to fill with tears, her hands were clasped in her lap, but he could see them trembling. She hung her head.

  “I...didn’t...kill...her.” She said softly.

  “I think the evidence says otherwise. If the DNA on your shoe matches Chastine’s, and the stones in your ring are from her brooch, then I’d say we have the case locked up.” Jack almost felt sorry for the girl. She didn’t seem like a killer, but then he’d met quite a few who didn’t. He suspected, however, that she didn’t act alone and he wanted to nail the accomplice too.

  Jack stood up. Putting his palms flat on the table, he leaned across it, his face close to Candice’s. “It could go a lot easier on you if you tell us who helped you.”

  Candice looked up; he could see the fear in her eyes. She’s afraid of the other person.

  He started pacing around the room trying to find an angle, a wedge he could use to get her to tell him the truth.

  “The thing is, we can’t figure out why you did it. If someone forced you to do it, or if you were an unwitting accomplice, you might get off if you tell us who the other person was.” He spun around to see if she would take the bait. She remained silent. He could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, trying to figure a way out. They were always like this at first, but it never worked out the way they hoped.

  A light tap on the door made Candice jump out of her seat.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Jack opened the door a crack and slid out into the hall. On the other side, John Darling was leaning against the wall, leafing through a file.

  “Did you get the lab results back from the shoes?”

  “No, but I have Bronson Toliver in the other room. He seemed quite agitated when I told him we were also holding Candice. He denies having anything to do with killing Chastine.”

  Jack glanced through the small window in the doorway into the other interrogation room. Bronson sat straight-backed in the chair, his finger tapping nervously on the top of the table.

  “Let’s see if I can get anything out of him,” Jack opened the door. He walked over to the table letting the door slam behind him. Pulling out the chair opposite Bronson, he turned it around and straddled it, sitting facing Bronson with his arms leaning against the back of the chair.

  “We’ve looked at your files—we know you have a violent past. Why don’t you just tell us what happened? What did you kill her with and where is it?”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Bronson said the words calmly, but the twitch in his jaw let Jack know he was anything
but calm.

  Jack tried another tactic. “How did you get Candice to go along with you?”

  “Candice? What’s she got to do with it?”

  “We know you pawned the brooch and her ring has the same stone in it. Those stones are laser inscribed with a serial number. My guy is working on tracing the number right now. I bet it leads us straight back to Chastine’s brooch.” Jack saw a look of genuine surprise flicker in Bronson’s eyes.

  “That doesn’t prove either one of us murdered her.”

  “No, but we have a pair of shoes from Candice’s condo with blood all over them. And when the tests come back from the lab proving it’s Chastine’s blood...well,” Jack shrugged, “that’s as good as a confession.”

  Jack stood up. Turning the chair back around, he shoved it under the table. He walked toward the door, then turned, looking straight at Bronson. “Once we have her nailed, we’ll offer her a deal to turn you in. If she does, her testimony along with your violent record and Blake’s testimony will put you away for a long time...even if we never do find the murder weapon.”

  Jack saw Bronson’s eyebrows knit together. “Blake’s testimony?”

  “Yes, according to Blake...” Jack took his notebook out and flipped through a few pages, “…he saw you coming up the stairs at two-thirty in the morning. The time of death is listed as two-fifteen so the timing would be perfect for you to kill her, hide the murder weapon, rip her brooch off her blouse and then skulk up the stairs to your room.”

  Bronson bolted out of his seat; Jack saw anger flash in his eyes. “Blake said that?”

  Jack made a show of looking at his notes again. “That’s what it says.”

  “That...little...liar. That’s not true—it was the other way around. I was in my room and saw him coming up the stairs at two-thirty in the morning.

  Jack leaned against the door in the hallway. So Bronson was trying to point the finger at Blake...interesting.