Teaberry Baking Contest

by R A Wallace

  “Well, yes. I didn’t do all of them, of course. There were a lot of entries.”

  “What was the process?” Megan asked, trying to get a visual image in her head.

  “We had tables set up at the entrance to the multipurpose room. The contestants came part way into the room, just far enough to hand over their entries to us at the tables. Then we documented the entries, adding them into our tablets so they were in the computer system and were assigned random identification so the entries could be matched up with the baker after the testing.”

  “So, you guys knew which entries went with each contestant?” Megan asked.

  Trina made a face. “Sort of. I mean, there were so many, the line went on forever, and the IDs we gave them were randomly generated, not something that made sense.”

  “But the contestants could have remembered specific entries and tied it back to someone else, right?” Megan asked.

  “Well, I’m not sure what you’re asking. I know that the contestants sounded like they were all friendly to each other but some of them were pretty competitive. I mean, if they saw you carrying in a sponge cake, they’d remember that. But there were a lot of sponge cakes, you know what I mean? And everyone was using generic tins.”

  Megan thought that someone in the baking world would still be able to differentiate and they certainly waited in line long enough to check out each other’s entries. Then she had another thought. “Were the contestants allowed into the multipurpose room past your tables?”

  Trina’s answer was quick. “No, there was no way. We would have seen anyone trying. You know the room is one big, wide-open space. And I stayed until the very end and checked Lauren in. She was the last one in line. After that, the doors were locked until the judges were allowed in.”

  Trina jumped at a sound only she could hear. She excused herself and came back a moment later holding a still sleepy Jasmine. When she sat back down, the curly headed Jasmine examined Megan with interest, then thrust her pudgy baby arms toward her, straining against her mother’s hold to get to Megan. Surprised, Megan accepted Jasmine onto her lap and held the cuddling child, still warm from sleep. The same feeling stole over her that she remembered feeling when she held Lauren’s children. If she had to use one word to describe it, she’d say it was contentment.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Justin Dempsey pulled the car into his garage and marveled that the two children bickering in the back seat were the same two children he’d just had at the playground in the park all morning. Seven year old Mia and five year old Noah had been the best of friends all morning. In addition to playing together like the BFFs he hoped they’d be when they were older, Mia had been Noah’s champion, coming to his defense when an older kid had tried to push Noah away from the slide so the other kid could go down first.

  Mia had set that kid straight immediately. Justin had been proud of the way Mia had defended her younger brother. The same brother she was now arguing with. Justin turned the car off and looked at his squabbling children in the rear-view mirror. Maybe he’d just tired them out too much. Maybe a nap was in order.

  Except, he knew he’d never get that to happen by simply suggesting it. “Hey guys, how about we watch a movie together?”

  “Princess!” Mia yelled.

  “No! Dinosaurs!” Noah argued, his face screwed up in anger and disgust at the thought of being forced to watch a girl show.

  Justin got out of the car and opened the door in the back to let the kids out. “How about we let Daddy pick one? We can watch one of Daddy’s movies together. What do you think?”

  Both children were now reunited in their dislike of this new development. Daddy had never suggested they watch one of his movies before.

  ***

  Lauren had spent the morning trying to cheer herself up. She didn’t want to make herself sick dwelling on any of what had happened with the baking contest. She was happy about her ribbons, of course. Lauren looked across her work kitchen and smiled at the display her husband, Justin, had mounted for her. It held the three ribbons she’d won at the contest, one of each color.

  She was proud that she had won but concerned about the rumors she was certain would be flying around town. She’d hoped to have heard by now if the police had determined which food had made Charlotte sick. Realizing that she was indeed dwelling, she took out more ingredients and began another batch of cookies. If all else failed, baking would make her feel better.

  She had a wedding coming up this weekend. Thankfully, they’d placed their order with her before the contest and hadn’t called to cancel. Lauren hoped that was a good sign. She could make the cookies for the wedding in advance and freeze them. She would wait until later in the week to work on the cake. She was measuring out some ingredients when Justin came into the kitchen and slipped one arm around her from behind. He was holding the small cooler with his dinner with the other and he had his nursing scrubs on.

  “I can’t believe it. They both fell asleep watching television,” Justin said with a yawn.

  “It must have been a really bad show. It sounds like you could fall asleep too.”

  “I wish. Taking a nap sounds better than going in to work right now.” Justin looked down at the cookie dough. “These don’t look ready.”

  Lauren smiled. “I already put some in your cooler from the first batch.”

  “Good, I think I’m going to need a lot of sugar to stay awake at the hospital this afternoon. My mom should be here any minute.” He set the cooler down on a counter.

  “Hopefully the kids will sleep until the changing of the guard.”

  Justin went over to one of the refrigerators and got out two bottles of water. “You need to stay hydrated.” He uncapped one and set it near Lauren. “Have you heard from Megan yet?”

  Lauren shook her head as she rolled out dough. “No, and I was hoping to at least have heard the results of what made the judge sick.”

  “We know it wasn’t your cooking.” Justin uncapped the other bottle and took a drink.

  Lauren shrugged. “That’s just it. We don’t know that. Someone could have tampered with the food after I dropped it off.”

  “How could that have happened? I mean, wasn’t all of that controlled? Who had access to what and when?” Justin asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess. You would think so, right?” Lauren said, setting down the rolling pin. She picked up the water bottle and took a drink.

  “We have to trust that Erica or Megan will figure it all out.” Justin leaned in for a kiss. “I have to go to work. You need to stop fretting. Erica is on this. Megan is helping. They’ll figure it out.”

  Lauren watched her husband grab his cooler and head out to the garage. She turned back to her cookies and wondered what Erica and Megan were doing right now and if they had learned anything to solve the puzzles.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jessilyn arrived back at her office after lunch with Seth and thought about her day so far. She was surprised when he’d suddenly shown up at the feed store. If she hadn’t known better, she would have said he seemed jealous to find her speaking with Jax. At any rate, they had a very nice lunch together and he even talked about the possibility of working with Jax in the future. Jessilyn was settling back down to the work on her desk when she heard a tapping and looked up to find Megan Bennet at her door.

  “Hey, Megan. What brings you in?” Jessilyn turned from her computer to face Megan.

  “I was wondering if you could give me a list of some names of local contestants,” Megan said as she took the seat across from Jessilyn.

  Jessilyn raised her eyebrows at Megan. “Aren’t the police looking into all of this?”

  Megan shrugged and smiled.

  “I know. You’re just trying to help, right?” Jessilyn turned back to her computer.

  Megan heard the printer on the credenza behind Jessilyn a few seconds later and took the list that was handed to her. She looked it over. “I recognize several names. Do you know
if any of the people on this list won ribbons?”

  “That’s in the last column,” Jessilyn pointed. “There’s an indicator there and the legend at the bottom explains if it’s first, second, or third, and what the class and categories are.”

  Megan looked down at the legend and matched it up with some names. “Okay, I understand. Thanks.”

  “Are you planning to talk with them?” Jessilyn asked.

  Megan smiled brightly and pulled her camera from her bag. “Well, I thought they wouldn’t mind having their picture taken for the town web site. Maybe tell me a little about their entries.”

  Jessilyn nodded with understanding. “Very sneaky.”

  “Can you confirm for me that the multipurpose room was locked after the last entry was dropped off and that it wasn’t unlocked until the judges entered it?”

  “Yes, that’s correct. It would have been Saturday afternoon, after the judges had lunch with the mayor and her husband,” Jessilyn said. “The police spoke with everyone who had a key on Sunday, after the… well, you know. After the death.”

  Megan thanked Jessilyn for her time and went back to her truck. She started it up to let the air run, then took out her phone and texted Erica. She needed to know if everyone who could have had access to the multipurpose room was accounted for.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Megan parked her truck in front of Max DeWitt’s house. She had organized her list based on where people lived and had mapped a route that would allow her to stop at several places before the afternoon was over. She had practiced her story on the way to the first stop. She was here to take their picture for the web site and get a brief story about their experiences being involved in the baking contest. Satisfied that her story should be believable, she got out of the truck.

  For being on the edge of town, Max still had a nice country feeling going for his place. His property was actually two lots in size compared to the other places in the area. He had a small orchard on the one side of his house and what looked like a large garden in the rear. The place was meticulously cared for. Megan was walking up the front walkway to the house when a man rounded the corner.

  He looked to be around sixty, Megan thought. He had little hair left on the top of his head and the rest was salt and pepper in color. He was not a tall man, maybe around five foot nine, but he looked fit.

  “Can I help you?” Max asked, his intelligent blue eyes taking Megan’s measure, just as she’d been taking his.

  Megan introduced herself and explained her visit. Max offered her a glass of homemade lemonade and a comfortable chair after she’d taken his picture in his orchard. He thought it would be a fitting tribute to the trees that had produced the fruit for his baked goods.

  “What made you decide to enter the baking contest?” Megan asked as she took the glass of lemonade from Max.

  He sat down in the cushioned seat across from her on the stone patio behind his house. “I thought it would be fun to see if I still had it in me. I used to cook in the service. The guys always said I was pretty good at it. I thought it would be fun, you know, to relive my youth in a way.” Max shrugged and smiled.

  “What did you think of the contest?” Megan had considered her line of questioning for the contestants on the way to her first stop. She was hoping she could prompt them to talk about their interactions with the other contestants.

  Max smiled. “It was interesting. I mean, I’m glad that I did it. It got me out of the house, gave an old guy something different to do.”

  “Did you meet many people?”

  “Yeah, I had a chance to speak to a few people while I was standing in line or waiting for the results. That was nice,” Max held up the pitcher to see if Megan wanted more lemonade.

  Megan shook her head and smiled. “Were you expecting the level of competition that you found?”

  Max set the pitcher down and chuckled. “It was competitive, alright. You would think the prize was a million dollars. Maybe that’s how much bragging rights cost though.”

  Megan smiled with him. “Maybe. It did seem to be taken very seriously by everyone including the sponsors. The food was protected like it was gold.”

  “That’s for sure. They locked the food up tight after we dropped it off. No one had access but the judges. Well, except the other cook.” Max shrugged and used a napkin to wipe the condensation from under his glass.

  Megan stilled. “Other cook?”

  “Yeah, I forgot about it until you said something. No one thinks twice about the cafeteria cook going into the kitchen, right?”

  “Allison Germaine? You saw her going into the kitchen?” Megan forced herself to relax her posture and smile at Max. She didn’t want to telescope the importance of his response. The kitchen was another way into the multipurpose room.

  “Well, she works there right? I mean, she had keys and was wearing a white, institutional-type apron. It’s just like the postal workers. No one thinks twice about them delivering mail and that’s why they’re often the culprit in the old classics.” Max chuckled at his reference.

  ***

  Megan pulled up to Sasha Germaine’s house and sat in her truck for a moment thinking about what Max had said. It certainly seemed like an important piece to the puzzle. She’d be touching base with Erica later and would pass that along. Glancing over at Sasha’s house, Megan pulled Niles Abbott’s comments from her memory. He was certain that he hadn’t put cinnamon on his winning pie. And he’d described the woman that jostled him in line as tall and wearing a colorful apron.

  Megan wasn’t certain, but the description could fit Sasha. She was around five foot ten and she had always preferred colorful clothes, even back in school. They had been in the same grade, she and Sasha. Megan tried to remember back to that time in her life. By the end of her school days, she’d already been dating Josh. Megan realized now that part of her attraction to him was the fact that he was her best friend’s brother. Another part was that he’d been the one to pursue her. She’d simply gone along with it, ignoring all of the glaring signs foretelling his promiscuity after their marriage.

  Sasha answered the door after several rings. Megan glanced down at the colorful apron Sasha was wearing as Sasha explained that she’d been in the kitchen.

  “I’m here to get a picture and some comments from you for the town web site. We have a special section for the baking contest and I’m getting some post-contest material,” Megan delivered her practiced speech.

  Sasha glanced impatiently back toward her kitchen. “Well, I don’t have anything in the oven right now.” She led Megan to a living room near the front of the house.

  Megan tried in vain to get Sasha to open up about her experiences in the Teaberry Baking Contest. Finally, realizing that she was getting nowhere fast, she opted for a more direct route.

  “I’ve been talking with others and they’re suggesting that perhaps there may have been some professional assistance given to other entries? Such as the cinnamon?” Megan looked directly at Sasha and raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

  Sasha’s face crumpled. “I knew I’d get caught. Oh, I feel so stupid.”

  Megan waited for Sasha to compose herself. “Why don’t you tell me about it?” she suggested gently.

  Sasha raised a tissue to her face and lowered her eyes, the perfect image of abject misery. “I did it. I sprinkled the cinnamon on that man’s pie. I was certain it would turn the judges off of it. But instead, he ended up winning.”

  “Well, in this case, no harm was done,” Megan said sympathetically. She was certain Sasha was more clear-headed now and understood that what she had done was wrong.

  Sasha looked up quickly. “What do you mean? I lost! If I’d have left his pie alone, the judges wouldn’t have liked it as much and I would have won.” She stared at Megan defiantly.

  Well, Megan thought, perhaps Sasha didn’t see the error of her ways.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jennifer Parker walked into the Station Pub &
Grill and headed directly for the bar. It was early for lunch yet, but she’d had an early start to the day, had just finished a case, and wanted to take her break now. Besides, she hadn’t seen Jim since Saturday night. She’d enjoyed her time tending bar with him and had thought that he might have given her a call between then and now. She’d been wrong. But that had happened before, and she’d learned early on it was best to correct her mistakes. In this case, rather than waiting for him to make a move, she would.

  She found Doug behind the bar. Jim was nowhere in sight. She took one of the stools and tucked her soft briefcase beside her. Doug finished serving someone and walked over to Jennifer with a big smile. “I hear you’re quite the mixologist behind the bar.”

  Jennifer smiled in return. “I’ve had some experience.” She looked pointedly around behind the bar.

  Doug took the hint. “Jim is finishing up some paperwork in the office. He’ll be right out to take my place.”

  Jennifer asked for a glass of iced tea and a sandwich. She was just finishing her lunch when Jim appeared behind the bar. He seemed drawn to her like a magnet, passing several people trying to get his attention as he walked the distance behind the bar to reach her. Doug watched in amusement then waited on the others.

  “Hey, I was hoping you’d stop by. I wanted to thank you for your help the other night.” Jim rested both hands on the bar as he stood in front of Jennifer.

  “Well, you could offer to take me to dinner,” Jennifer suggested with a smile.

  Mesmerized with her smile, Jim nodded and agreed. “I could.” Then, appearing to understand that more was expected. “Oh, I could. How about Wednesday night? The weekends here are pretty busy, as you know.”

  “Wednesday is good, yeah. I can do that.”

  Doug walked over to clear Jennifer’s lunch plate then told Jim he was headed out. He had his own plans to make.