Bake Sale for Murder

by Harper Lin

  The thought of Meg hanging out in the cold, dank woods with a couple of boys, smoking pot, broke her heart. She couldn’t bear the thought of it.

  “It’s not going to happen.” She gripped the steering wheel tightly until her knuckles throbbed. When she got home, the house was quiet except for Meg talking on the phone upstairs.

  Thankful the kids didn’t see her come home with no groceries or bag of cilantro, she locked the front door, dropped her purse in the kitchen, and went to the basement door.

  “Hey, Adam?”

  “Yeah, Mom.”

  Amelia carefully descended the stairs.

  “How’s it going down here?”

  “Fine.” He was becoming a real man of few words.

  “About your dad and Jennifer.”

  Adam spun around in his computer chair and looked at his mother.

  “Your dad doesn’t know you know?”

  Adam shook his head.

  “Okay, well, I need to talk to him about this, and it can’t wait until he decides to spring this news on you officially. Can I tell him you overheard Jennifer talking?”

  “I guess,” Adam replied.

  “How do you feel about that? Being a big brother again?” Amelia tried to put a little excitement in her voice.

  “I’ve got Meg. She’s really almost too much.” He snickered.

  “Maybe this will be a little boy,” Amelia urged. “You could teach him how to pee outside and use cuss words like a good big brother would.”

  “If Jennifer has a boy, that’s it for me. Dad will forget my name in a week.” Adam chuckled bitterly.

  “Of course he won’t. You are his first born.”

  “I know that means something to you, Mom. But it doesn’t mean all that much to Dad.” He folded his arms, reminding Amelia of Guy standing there acting tough in the woods when, in reality, he was only a senior in high school and not that intimidating.

  “Why would you say that?”

  “You know how when you like a girl and you just know in your gut that she doesn’t really like you but is just trying to be nice?”

  Amelia shrugged but nodded.

  “That’s how it is with Dad.”

  “I think you are wrong, Adam. I think your father might be lost. He might be unsure or even scared. But he loves you. You are the spitting image of him. How could he not?”

  “Mom, do Meg and I have to go to Jennifer’s baby shower?”

  “Does Meg know about all this?”

  “No. I haven’t told her.”

  Amelia let out a sigh of relief. “Why? Don’t you want to go?” she asked playfully. “Play all those baby-name games and guess the sex and see all the outfits and diapers she’ll get as gifts.”

  “No. I don’t. I don’t think Meg will want to go, either.”

  “Well, if you guys get invited, maybe there will be some event at Lila’s that we can say was planned months ago that we can’t get out of. Will that work?”

  Adam smiled and nodded as his computer started to ping and blink.

  Amelia kissed him on top of his head and headed back upstairs. The smile she gave her son quickly morphed into a grimace as she debated whether or not to call John then or wait until morning.

  “Sleep on it, Amelia,” she said to soothe herself.

  Chapter Eight

  The next two days went by without any groundbreaking clues rising to the surface. Beatrice Mooch was working out better than Amelia or Lila could have hoped. She was on time every day, wore sensible clothes, and insisted on a pastry chef’s hat to keep her hair not only out of her way but also out of the food. In her hat and apron that she’d brought from home, she dashed around the Pink Cupcake like a hummingbird sipping nectar from the most delicate flowers. When she hopped off the back of the truck for her break, her gait reminded Amelia of Charlie Chaplin’s with the toes pointed out and each step abnormally high.

  “Who cares how she walks?” Lila laughed. “The girl can bake and knows her way around a kitchen. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked her for ideas she might have for some new cupcakes.”

  “Did she have any?” Amelia asked.

  “She said she’d write them all out on cards for us to review tomorrow.”

  “Great. I regret I haven’t been able to keep up with that. Half of our allure is that our cupcakes are so unconventional.”

  “What’s the other half?”

  “Our charming personalities, of course.” Amelia bumped Lila playfully with her hip. “Uh-oh. I see two familiar faces headed this way. They look hungry.” She pointed out the order window and waved.

  “Hi, Mom,” Meg chirped. “Hi, Aunt Lila.”

  “Hi, Mrs. Harley,” Katherine said.

  “Hey, ladies. What are you guys up to? Need a lift home? I’ll drive you in the truck.”

  “Sure. That would be great.” Meg smiled.

  Most teenagers felt embarrassed by their parents. Even the ones who drove Lexuses and Mercedes-Benzes. The fact that Meg enjoyed being seen in her mother’s giant pink food truck warmed her heart. It might not last. The next day, she might be mortified that her mother drove around in that giant pink monster. But right then, she liked it.

  “Fine. Katherine, you hitching a ride with us?”

  Amelia could sense something was up. Normally, Katherine’s mouth was running like a motorboat. She stood next to Meg with her hands clasped in front of her.

  “Sure” was all she said. Amelia looked from Katherine to Meg and back again. Now they were both acting suspicious.

  “Okay, you two. What’s up?”

  “Well, Mom, um…”

  “Ask her.” Katherine didn’t know how to whisper. “Just ask her.”

  “Ask me what?” Amelia’s right eyebrow shot up to her forehead.

  “Well, you see, there’s a football game tonight, and normally, Katherine and I would never go because we aren’t into sports or jocks or anything. But this one is being held especially for Brian, and we were kind of wanting to go.”

  “You know, to show our support?” Katherine added.

  “Is that all?” Amelia was shocked by the request. Surely there was more, like she wanted a new outfit to wear or wanted Amelia to quickly bake one hundred cupcakes or something equally expensive.

  “Well, can Katherine stay over? We know it’s a school night, but her parents already said yes. They said you could call her mom to verify. We promise to get our homework done, and we’ll go to bed after the game.”

  Amelia let out a deep sigh as if this were a huge inconvenience. Lila smirked and folded her arms in front of her.

  “Yeah, I guess…”

  Before Amelia could finish her sentence, she was being smothered in hugs and kisses from both girls.

  “See? I knew your mom would be okay with it. You know, Mrs. Harley, it’s like the entire school is going to be there, and we are playing against Bloom Central. They are like the best in the state. So everyone is hoping we’ll win because, you know, it would be a big deal to win it for Brian. It’s sort of like that story about the little guy with the slingshot against the giant.”

  “David and Goliath?” Lila asked.

  “Yeah. You know, I read that there might have been actual giants on Earth at one time. They said they uncovered bones in some country like Sweden or Norway that made scientists think people in that region were huge. Funny, right?”

  “Hilarious.” Amelia smiled. That was more like it. “Why don’t you girls take a cupcake and sit outside until we are ready to leave.”

  Without hesitation, they did as Amelia asked and took a seat well out of hearing range but close enough for Amelia to keep an eye on them.

  With Beatrice back, they finished several more batches of cupcakes, and they sold every one.

  “With you here, Beatrice, I think people get their cupcakes while they are super fresh. I think they like that.”

  “It would contribute to the whole cupcake-eating experience,” Beatrice replied as she proceeded
to start the cleanup routine. “It probably brings back memories of birthday parties and grade-school treats when allergies and obesity were nonissues.”

  “You might be right,” Lila replied. She finished the receipts for the day. All the paperwork and money filled two bank bags. “If we keep this up, we might need to get the assistant an assistant.”

  “That should be our biggest worry.” Amelia smiled, told everyone to have a good night, whistled for the girls, and before the ovens were totally cooled, they were on the road, heading home.

  Adam was already there, scouring the kitchen for food. He’d gotten a lift home from Amy Leonard. She lived down the street, and she and Adam had become close friends although they were reluctant to say they were dating. They hung out after school. They met in between classes. They went to each other’s family events.

  “No. We aren’t dating. We’re just friends,” Adam always said.

  Amelia didn’t push it. She liked Amy and saw no need to pry.

  After everyone had eaten a quick meal of pancakes and bacon, Adam decided that he wanted to go to the football game, too, and asked if it would be all right if Amy came with.

  “Why not? The more, the merrier.”

  It had been a long time since Amelia had had a carful of kids to take anywhere. She could honestly admit to herself that she hoped it would be an even longer time before she had to do it again. The chatter was nonstop. Meg took control of the radio, changing every song Adam said he liked and singing loudly with Katherine to every song he didn’t like. They laughed and teased each other as if they hadn’t seen one another in years.

  Amelia drove, relishing the fact that they were all happy and not really paying any attention to her. It gave her some time to focus on Brian’s death. When they pulled into the school parking lot, it was packed. From the looks of it, every student in the entire school was there. It was a needle in a haystack, but maybe she’d get lucky and stumble over a clue.

  To her surprise again, Meg and Adam wanted Amelia to sit with them. Amy and Adam were on her left, and Meg and Katherine were on her right. They squeezed together, talked around each other, and pointed and waved to fellow classmates before the game officially got started.

  “It looks like the whole town is here.” Meg gawked. “Even when the Warriors are undefeated, they don’t get this kind of turnout.”

  “Maybe someone should have died sooner,” Katherine replied, looking around as if she hadn’t said anything wrong. Amelia rolled her eyes and just stayed quiet. When she looked at Adam, he was in a deep conversation with Amy, who was nearly in tears from laughing so hard. What he was saying, Amelia didn’t know. But she took pride in the fact Adam’s sense of humor came from her. John didn’t have a sense of humor.

  The loudspeakers began to crackle as the game was about to begin. Everyone stood for the national anthem, sung by a tiny girl Meg said was a senior in the choir. Her voice cracked only once. She received wild applause and cheers. Then the announcer requested a moment of silence for Brian Richtman and his family, to whom the game was being dedicated.

  With so many extra people in attendance, it was truly heartbreaking as everyone fell silent. Even the opposing team and their fans stood respectfully silent. There were a few sniffles, and when Amelia looked down on the field, she saw two cheerleaders embracing a third, whose cheeks were wet from crying.

  Amelia didn’t want to think about it too much. The idea that, just a week before, that boy was alive had to be the hardest part for the parents to accept. Brian’s friends and teachers would all get over it. They’d have new friends and new teachers throughout life. But Mr. and Mrs. Richtman would feel that hole in their hearts and their lives forever. Nothing would ever fill it. As a mother, Amelia couldn’t bear the thought of losing her children. But if she had to lose them only to John, only having them live in another place but still be alive and healthy and, who knew, maybe even happy, she’d accept it.

  But accept it only if it were the best for them. They were not going to be indentured servants for John’s wife.

  Once the moment of silence was over, the teams flipped a coin, the players got ready, and the crowd erupted with excitement.

  “So what’s the deal with the cheerleaders?” Amelia asked Meg. “Did they all date Brian?”

  Only a few were really doing the cheers. A handful were comforting that girl who was crying.

  “You’d think so.” Meg rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah,” Katherine piped up. “The one crying is Stacy Arlings. She and Brian had been dating since sophomore year, from what I heard. They were always together, holding hands and making out. They were supposed to be prom king and queen, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. The other girls are crying because it’s like that chain reaction with babies. One starts to cry, then they all cry. I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but Stacy is the one who really knew him. I overheard more than one conversation where those girls would toss Stacy over in a heartbeat to get a chance to go out with Brian. I don’t know why. He was cute, but well, let’s just say the light was on, but no one was home.” She tapped her temple and bobbed her eyebrows.

  “Is she nice?” Amelia asked.

  “She’s a cheerleader. They aren’t usually known for their humanitarian efforts,” Katherine replied.

  “It’s true,” Adam added, taking a quick break from entertaining Amy. “She’s in my math class. She’s a typical cheerleader. A lot of hair flipping and giggling. It’s pretty lame, but I never heard of her teasing anyone until they cried or anything.”

  Amelia nodded and decided that Stacy was probably the person she needed to talk to. She kept an eye on the girl as she made her pitiful attempts to cheer on the team that was playing on the field as if this were the Super Bowl. When the girl started toward the concession stand, Amelia made her move.

  “You guys want some junk food?”

  “Sure. I’d like some nachos,” Meg said.

  “A hot dog for me,” Katherine replied.

  Amelia turned and asked Adam and Amy as she started to inch her way down the bleachers. They added a bottle of water and an ice-cream bar to the order.

  Just as Amelia reached the bottom of the steps, she saw Stacy. She was buying a bottle of water and two Hershey bars.

  “I can’t believe how much chocolate I’ve been eating,” she whined.

  “People do that a lot when they are sad,” Amelia offered.

  “That’s me. Sad. And mad. And frustrated.” She looked at Amelia. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

  Of course, all Amelia saw was another version of Meg. This girl didn’t look like her daughter, didn’t sound or act like her. But she was someone’s daughter, and she was in pain. No mother wanted to see this kind of heartbreak on their own child’s face or anyone else’s.

  “It’ll get better, honey. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but it will,” Amelia said soothingly.

  Stacy looked up at her with red eyes lined in thick black liner and flipped her blond hair behind her. She nodded without saying anything.

  “Did you know Brian well?”

  “He was my boyfriend,” Stacy muttered and looked out at the football field. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the team.

  “Well, I’m really sorry for your loss.”

  “You know, the police asked me if Brian had any enemies. But I don’t think they believed me when I told them he did. They just scribbled in their notepads and didn’t say anything.”

  “Really?” Amelia imagined Dan interviewing this girl, his face stony and serious. Yup. She could see why the girl might think that. She was too young to see the method behind his madness. “I’m sure it just seems that way. The police have to be careful. They know what they are doing.”

  “Oh yeah? Then why is Joe Smarman still walking around a free man?”

  Amelia looked at the field then back at Stacy.

  “Joe Smarman. Number thirteen.” The girl pointed just in time for Amelia to see a large boy
in a white-and-red football uniform, screaming as he clunked his helmet to one of his teammates’ after an interception. “He’s the guy they need to arrest.”

  “Why do you say that?” Amelia asked.

  “Joe hated Brian. If you saw Brian play, you’d know why. He was better at everything. Better at football. The college scouts were paying attention to him. Not to mention that Brian was better looking. He got better grades.”

  Amelia nodded, not letting on that according to Adam, Brian wasn’t the brightest bulb. If Brian was smarter than Joe, Joe might be in for a long, difficult road ahead of him if this football thing didn’t work out.

  “It just boils down to jealousy. But no one seems to care. As long as Joe keeps winning, they won’t do a thing to him. He’ll get to walk away a free man.”

  “Do you really think Joe is responsible for Brian’s death? I heard the police thought it was just an accident.” Amelia didn’t want Stacy to know she knew too much about the case.

  “So it looks like he has you fooled too.” Stacy smirked then looked at the football field again. The rage on her face radiated heat Amelia was sure she could feel. This wasn’t just the opinion of a heartbroken girl. There was a real sense of injustice here. “Enjoy the game.” She huffed and marched back to the other cheerleaders.

  Amelia looked at number thirteen. He was a good ballplayer, from what she could see. As she sat through the game with her kids, she saw a boy who was playing a great game. There was nothing else on his mind, and he was the center of attention. There might be something to what Stacy said. But how would she find out?

  “Mom, can Katherine help with the bake sale?”

  Amelia snapped her fingers and slapped her thigh.

  “Yes. Of course she can.”

  “What are you doing?” Meg asked with her eyebrows pinched together.

  “I just had an idea. You know I was kicking around that idea for cupcakes with cilantro, and I think I know what might put the recipe over the top.”