A Perilous Cake Pop

by Fiona Grace

  “I think you’ll agree that solving a murder is more important than feeding people with macaroons,” came Detective Elton’s thin reply. “Besides, we’ll need to close the store, so you won’t be getting any customers anyway.”

  “What?” Ali cried, her mouth falling open with disbelief. “Why? The crime scene is in the alleyway out back, not in here!”

  “It’s not just you, we’ll have to close all three,” Detective Elton replied, entirely unphased by Ali’s anguish. “You and the Italians.” She looked down at her notes. “Now, back to this call with your sister. How long did it last?”

  Ali set her jaw firmly. She was furious, and simply couldn’t understand why Detective Elton had decided to stretch the boundaries of the crime scene to include the three stores. It almost felt like she’d done it purposefully to screw with Ali. Which, now Ali thought of it, was actually quite likely; she’d not exactly had anything pleasant to say about her back in the alleyway.

  Ali folded her arms, all her defenses going up.

  “I don’t know how long the call lasted,” she replied, narrowing her eyes. “A while.”

  “A while is very subjective,” Detective Elton said with a hint of a condescending smile. “Especially depending who the other person on the line is. If I’m speaking to my lover, then I might consider all evening to be a while. But to my mother—I’d give it half an hour…”

  Ali said nothing. If that was Detective Elton’s attempt at humor—or bonding—she’d long ago missed the boat on that one. Ali’s perception wasn’t going to shift now after the way the female detective had treated her in the past.

  But realizing the detective wasn’t dropping it, Ali sighed with defeat. “I’d have to check my cell phone’s call log,” she muttered.

  “Then please,” Detective Elton said. “Go ahead.”

  Ali huffed. The detective’s attitude was really irking her. But she did as she was commanded, reaching into her purse and pulling out her cell phone.

  Immediately, Detective Elton held her hand out, palm up, and started making an impatient beckoning gesture with it.

  Ali hesitated, reticent to actually hand her phone over. But she decided it was not worth the fight, so she placed it in Detective Elton’s outstretched palm. At which point, Detective Elton whipped an evidence bag from her pocket and slid the phone inside. It took her a matter of nanoseconds, leaving Ali blinking with surprise.

  “Hey!” she exclaimed. “That’s not what I meant!”

  Detective Elton completely ignored Ali’s protestations and pocketed the evidence bag. “Now tell me, what else did you do with your evening?”

  “Now hold on a minute,” Ali said. “You can’t just take my phone as evid—!”

  “What else did you do with your evening?” Detective Elton repeated, sternly, talking right over Ali as if she hadn’t even heard her.

  Ali opened her mouth, then closed it again. She was so astonished by the detective’s behavior, she didn’t even know what to say. She’d gone completely blank, as if her mind had turned into an empty void.

  As she tried to find her words again, she realized a small crowd of people was starting to form outside the window. At first, she thought they might be customers waiting for her to open up for the day, but by their curious expressions and the way they were craning their heads to catch a glimpse inside while talking out the corner of their mouths to one another, Ali deduced they’d actually been drawn to the bakery by the sight of the numerous cop cars still flashing their lights outside. Like moths to flames. Or gossipers to drama…

  Ali felt her heart rate spike at the thought of the news of Arlo’s death spreading. She knew when the store failed to open that morning it would make the rumor mill start churning on overdrive.

  Her feelings of stress and pressure mounted, and she quickly glanced over to the clock on the wall to see how long she had until opening time, only to discover she was already five minutes late. She’d been so wrapped up in everything going on around her she’d lost all sense of perspective on time.

  Then another thought hit Ali. A new, more urgent one. Where is Piper?

  A sudden fear gripped Ali as a million thoughts collided in her mind. A body was found in the store’s dumpster and the person who’d been on shift that night — Piper — had failed to turn up to work that morning! Was Piper in danger? Was she out there too, in the dumpster, lying dead underneath Arlo and Ali had just failed to notice her? What if she’d witnessed Arlo’s murder? What if the person who’d killed him had killed her too?

  With her thoughts racing at a million miles a second, Ali suddenly cried out, “Piper!”

  In the seat opposite her, Detective Elton remained poised and silent. She’d been quietly observing Ali over the last minute, watching her becoming increasingly flustered.

  “Piper?” she asked.

  “I need my phone!” Ali continued. “Now!”

  “Why?” came the detective’s calm reply.

  “Not to tamper with evidence or whatever it is you’re thinking!” Ali shot back, her panic over Piper making her snappy. “My employee was meant to be here fifteen minutes ago. What if she’s been hurt? Killed? What if she witnessed the murder and Arlo’s killer killed her too?” Her mind was starting to run rampant with theories, and her heart was galloping with panic. “Please give me my phone. I need to call her!”

  Detective Elton pursed her lips. “I’ll call her,” she said.

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out the evidence bag, then tore off the top and tipped Ali’s cell onto the table. It landed, face up, at the exact same moment the screen lit up with a newly delivered text message.

  Ali’s heart leapt with hope that it would be from Piper. “Is that her?”

  Detective Elton began to read off the screen. “Running late boss,” she said in a dry voice. “I’m literally a minute away. Hooked up with a guy last night and his condo is way further away than I realized.” The detective raised her gaze to meet Ali’s, flashing her an unimpressed look. “I guess she’s alright, then.”

  Relief flooded through Ali. Piper was alive.

  But no sooner had the relief come, it was replaced by frustration. Of all the days for Piper to be tardy! Just how stupid had Piper made Ali look in front of Detective Elton?

  “Yeah,” she muttered. “I guess she is.”

  Detective Elton smirked as she returned the phone to the evidence bag and pocketed it. “I need to ask you about this review,” she said, switching the conversation right back to where it had left off. “And your run in with Arlo on the streets. We’ve spoken to a lot of witnesses, and they have some very interesting things to say about it...”

  Ali’s stomach swirled. Of all the things that made her look bad, her blow up with Arlo was certainly top of the list.

  “What do you want to know?” Ali asked tensely.

  Detective Elton opened her mouth, but before she had a chance to say anything, the door swung open, and in marched Detective Callihan. Detective Elton turned in her seat and looked sharply up at him.

  “You’re done already?” she asked with an air of judgement.

  “They both had alibis,” Detective Callihan explained.

  He looked down at Ali with a look of concern. Ali could guess what that expression meant — of the three local store owners with access to the dumpster where Arlo had been discovered, she had the flimsiest alibi. Which put her firmly in Detective Elton’s crosshairs.

  Just as she thought it, the female detective fixed her dark, suspicious eyes on Ali. There was a small triumphant smirk tugging up the corner of her lips. Ali’s stomach sank. She was a suspect.

  Just then, the door flew open, and Piper burst inside. Her cheeks were red, and her pale green eyes were round with shock. A stunned expression was plastered to her face.

  “Ali? What the heck is going on?” she asked in a panicked voice. “Why are there cops outside?” Her gaze found the two detectives. “And inside?”

  Detective E
lton stood from the table, taking it upon herself to command the situation. “There’s been a murder. You’re the assistant, I take it.”

  She flipped to a clean page in her notebook, immediately poised to take down every word that fell out of Piper’s mouth. A mouth which was currently hanging wide open with shock.

  “A murder?” Piper repeated, lowering herself into a chair. “In our bakery?”

  “We don’t know where the killing took place,” Detective Elton said. “But the body was dumped in the trash outside.”

  “In our trash?” Piper squeaked.

  Ali reached forward and patted Piper’s hand. Her assistant’s eyes were now brimming with tears.

  “We’re going to have to close up for a bit while they work,” she explained, nodding her head to the bunch of crime scene investigators filing past.

  Suddenly, Piper leapt out of her seat. She moved so quickly and suddenly that Ali’s first thought was that she’d been stung. But then she began backing to the door, her face blanching of all color.

  “IS THE BODY STILL OUT THERE?” she cried, quite clearly terrified.

  Through the window behind her, Ali immediately saw a change in the crowds that had gathered. Of course they’d all been whispering and rumoring to one another about what the heavy police presence could be about, but now they’d all overheard Piper’s cries.

  Ali’s stomach plummeted to her toes. It was out there, for all and sundry. Seaside Sweets was embroiled in a murder case.

  Just then, she noticed a familiar face in the crowd. It was Miriyam, the rival baker from Kookies, craning her head to see what was going on. She had a look of glee in her eyes.

  “Anyone who needs baked goods, follow me!” she cried. “My bakery is just at the other end of the boardwalk. And I promise if you don’t like them, I won’t murder you like some people!”

  She cast a scathing look at Ali, then lured away all her customers, leaving a small crowd of nosy busybodies behind.

  Ali watched them go. Now that Miriyam knew a body had been found in her dumpster, she’d spread the news round town like wildfire. Ali may as well kiss goodbye to her profits.

  Detective Elton snapped her notebook shut. “Okay, my team is going to need the bakery now. I need you to leave. But don’t go too far,” she added, with relish. “We’ll probably need to speak to you again very soon.”

  “How far is too far?” Ali asked.

  “How about you just stay in town for now,” Detective Elton said with a sinister sneer.

  Ali immediately understood what she meant. It was very clearly a warning.

  With a grimace, Ali staggered outside, not sure where to go or who to turn to, knowing only that her life as she knew it had been tipped upside-down.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Ali emerged from her bakery feeling dazed. Her world had been tipped upside-down by Arlo’s murder and she felt like the very ground beneath her feet had become unstable. The bright sunshine and the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles made her feel even more disoriented.

  “Is that her?” she heard a voice whisper nearby.

  Ali looked around to see who had spoken, and her gaze found a large group of people standing behind the police cordon, watching her intently. Added to the cop cars, ambulance and crime scene truck, Ali saw there were also several different news crews. One by one, people spotted her, and started pointing.

  Ali’s heart pounded. She needed to get away from all those prying, judgmental eyes. But where was safe?

  She decided on Delaney’s, and scurried toward the cordon, before ducking under it and making her desperate dash in that direction.

  “Miss Sweet? Miss Sweet?” a woman called.

  Suddenly someone stepped out from behind a vehicle, blocking her path. A microphone was shoved at her face.

  “Miss Sweet,” the news reporter said. “What can you tell us about the murder?”

  Ali blinked at the microphone and the woman staring at her, and the camera crew coming rushing up behind. She shook her head. “Nothing. No — no comment.” She tried to pass them, but they would not move.

  “Is it true you and the deceased were in a heated argument?” the reporter continued, firing another question at her.

  Ali started to feel increasingly panicked.

  Then suddenly, she spotted Seth rushing along the boardwalk toward her. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him running to her rescue.

  He pushed his way through the crowd and elbowed the reporter and camera crew aside. “Miss Sweet has no comment,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her after him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Ali put up no resistance. She allowed Seth to tug her away from the ruckus and toward the beach.

  As they went, she peeped over her shoulder to see the news crew were following. She quickened her pace, only to find them quicken theirs as well.

  But when they reached the sand, the crew stopped. The thick cable running from their car to the camera was stretched to the limit. They could follow no more.

  Letting out a brief sigh of relief, Ali and Seth hurried down the beach toward the shoreline, leaving the commotion behind them.

  “Are you okay?” Seth asked, the moment they were safely alone.

  He took her in his arms, cocooning her in safety. Ali nodded into his chest, comforted by the feel of his arms around her, grateful for his presence.

  “Thank you for rescuing me.”

  “What’s going on?” he asked, moving out of the embrace and peering at her with dark, concerned eyes.

  Ali relayed the whole thing to him, about her discovery of the body and the cops with the guns and the detectives arriving and questioning her. It was only now as she spoke about it all aloud that it began to sink in what was really happening.

  Once she was done, Seth whistled between his teeth.

  “Why don’t you come back to mine?” he suggested. “I can make you something to eat. I’m guessing you’ve not had a chance to eat breakfast yet?”

  “Are you sure?” Ali asked. Seth would have plenty of customers to attend to soon enough. It was a tall order to take time away from his work for her.

  “I’m positive,” Seth replied.

  “Then that would be great,” Ali replied, grateful for his support.

  But as Ali turned toward the direction of Best Hot Dogs, she suddenly felt Seth slide his arm around her midriff. She flinched away from him.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I figured if you’re coming back to mine...” Seth began, before his voice faded out and his face dropped. “Oh. I think I’ve misunderstood.”

  Ali’s cheeks immediately flamed red as she realized what exactly Seth had been proposing. When he’d said they should head to his for breakfast he’d meant his house not his hot dog restaurant! Seth thought she’d just given him the green light for romance!

  As the embarrassing misunderstanding became more apparent, Seth’s arm dropped back to his side. He looked dejected by her reaction to him making a move.

  But Ali didn’t even know what to think. She was surprised he’d make a romantic move considering the circumstances. She always thought Seth was chivalrous. Courteous. She’d never expected him to use her moment of vulnerability as an opportunity.

  “I’m not in that kind of head space,” she stammered.

  “I understand,” Seth replied. “I shouldn’t have… I just thought…”

  He jammed his hands into his pockets, and they both fell silent.

  As they stood in awkwardness, Ali’s attention was drawn to the golden-hued skin of a dark-blond man walking along the beach.

  ‘Oh no!’ she thought.

  As if things couldn’t get more awkward, they had. It was Nate!

  A sudden swirl of panic overcame her at the thought of the two men coming face to face with one another.

  “I’m really sorry,” Seth said.

  “It’s fine,” Ali said, gazing furtively over his shoulder at the a
ppealing figure of Nate.

  “It’s not,” Seth said. “I shouldn’t have even asked. And I think it was just wishful thinking on my part. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to apologize,” Ali said, distractedly. She wasn’t really listening to Seth right now, because she was too panicked about the ever-approaching Nate. She needed to get rid of Seth. “It’s fine.”

  “Let’s grab breakfast in a completely non-creepy manner, as friends and—”

  “—Sorry, no,” Ali said, a little too bluntly. “I want to be alone.”

  Seth studied her for a moment. Then he nodded. “I understand. You know where I am if you need to talk.”

  Then he turned on his heel and began to head the opposite direction… right toward Nate!

  Ali watched on apprehensively as the two men in her life passed by one another on the beach. Luckily, they didn’t seem to notice one another, but it still made Ali extremely uncomfortable. Her love life had really gotten way too complicated, and now that she was a suspect in a murder, she really didn’t have the mental energy for any of it anymore.

  Just then, Nate spotted her.

  “Ali!” he cried as he jogged toward her, kicking up sand beneath his bare feet. “Are you okay? What the heck is going on at your store?”

  Ali took a deep breath and explained the whole thing all over again. As she recounted it for a second time, she realized just how bad things looked for her. Added to that was the fact that Detective Elton seemed to have it in for her.

  “Arlo’s dead?” Nate cried when she was done.

  Ali nodded sadly. “Turned up dead in my dumpster.”

  Her stomach turned at the thought.

  “I just thought it was something to do with the fight,” Nate said. “The cops are questioning witnesses. Did the two of you really have a huge blow out?”

  Ali recalled the moment with shame. She nodded. “We argued. In the streets.”

  She already felt bad enough about the fight, but now that Arlo was dead, she felt even worse. Would the fight that was witnessed by plenty of people and documented on the internet for all to see give Detective Elton enough grounds to arrest her?