Lexy shuffled closer to the body. Slowly she bent over to look at the lapels of the fuchsia silk shirt. She felt her breath catch in her throat - the right lapel had a tear in it, as if someone had ripped the pin right off her.
“Lexy?” Jack’s voice interrupted her from across the room. She straightened abruptly wobbling on her high heels, almost toppling onto the body.
She looked over at him, eyebrows raised.
“We’re not quite done here.” He said, motioning for her to join him.
Lexy picked her way over to him. He was standing with John and Blake. Blake was explaining that his father normally slept in so he wouldn’t be around this time of morning. He had sent Bronson upstairs to wake him. Suddenly the air was split with an anguished wail.
“Looks like Bronson has given Dad the news.” Blake said raising his glass to his lips and swigging down the rest of his drink.
Chapter Three
“What took so long? The rest of the pastries have been ready for an hour!” Cassie, Lexy’s assistant and best friend, stood in the doorway to the kitchen, hands on hips, her pink hair ruffled up into an angry spike.
Lexy blew out a breath, “You won’t believe what happened!”
Cassie lifted her eyebrows in response. “What?”
“Chastine Toliver’s been murdered!” Lexy blurted out. She watched Cassie’s face run through a gamut of emotions - surprise, confusion then disbelief.
“No, that can’t be....what will we do with all these pastries?” She spread her arms in the direction of the kitchen which was loaded to the brim with baked goods - cinnamon buns, eclairs, banana and pumpkin breads, brownies and Lexy’s signature pastry -cupcake tops loaded with creamy frosting.
Lexy stopped short. She hadn’t considered that. What would they do with all the pastry? What would happen to her big catering job now that there would be no wedding.
Feeling light headed, Lexy plopped down in one of the tall kitchen chairs. She took a deep breath. The familiar scent of flour, sugar and cinnamon acted as a soothing balm and kicked her brain into gear.
“I hadn’t thought about that.” She tapped her front teeth with long, red nails. “With Chastine dead, there won’t be any wedding...and I spent the money from the job on the new kitchen equipment.”
The girls looked around the bakery kitchen. Brand new appliances gleamed in every corner - commercial ovens, mixers and a walk in refrigerator had just been installed to replace the old, used ones they had been making-do with.
Lexy had opened her bakery, The Cup and Cake, barely a year ago on a shoe string budget. A loan from her parents who had sold their home to travel the country in an RV had helped her buy what she needed, but she had to stretch each dollar and had only been able to afford older, used equipment. That equipment didn’t work up to par and broke down quite a bit which made it harder to get the work done. New equipment would be more efficient and allow her to be more productive, which would make the bakery more profitable.
Her business had been growing nicely, but she wouldn’t have been able to afford all new kitchen equipment if it wasn’t for the Toliver’s big catering job. If she lost all that money, she would have a hard time paying the equipment bill which would be coming any day now.
Lexy felt her stomach drop. Her business could be at risk if she didn’t collect at least part of the payment - for several parties she’d already catered for him - including this mornings. Xavier had promised her the partial payment today, but considering the circumstances she doubted that would happen.
“We need to get whatever money we can from this job or we could be in big trouble.” She said, feeling tears threaten.
“Jeez, Lexy, I’m not sure how you can do that...I mean you can’t just breeze in on the day the guys fiancee gets murdered and present him with a bill.”
“Yeah, that would be rude,” Lexy agreed. “I couldn’t do it, but I know someone who could. Can you hold down the fort here for a little while?”
Cassie nodded.
“Great - I’ll be back in a bit.” Lexy said, stuffing a raspberry scone into her mouth as she slid off her chair, grabbed her purse and ran out the back door.
***
Lexy whipped her yellow VW beetle into the first parking spot she found at the Brook Ridge Retirement Community. Her grandmother, or Nans as Lexy called her, had recently moved to the upscale community for retirees to be closer to friends and not have to worry about driving. She had given the old craftsman style bungalow she lived in for most of her life to Lexy.
Lexy had called ahead to make sure Nans was around - with all her senior activities the woman could be impossible to get in touch with, but today Lexy had lucked out - Nans was waiting for her inside.
Breezing in through the large glass doors to the comfortably furnished lobby of the retirement center, her eyes scanned the room. They found Nans at a round table with her three closest friends. The four of them could usually be found at that same table, talking, having coffee and, as Lexy had discovered earlier in the summer, solving murders with the help of their iPads.
Lexy rushed over, swallowing Nans in a big hug. “Morning ladies,” she addressed the group. Ida, Ruth and Helen murmured greetings. They looked ready for anything in their polyester print shirts and fresh blueish gray perms.
“I can see something is bothering you,” Nans stated, her intelligent green eyes studying Lexy’s face.
Lexy took a deep breath. “I was delivering food to the Toliver’s this morning for a brunch and I discovered Chastine Toliver’s body in the kitchen.”
The ladies gasped, then leaned forward. “Murdered?” Ida asked with a gleam in her eye.
Lexy nodded.
“How?” Ruth chimed in.
“Well, I’m no expert on bodies, but it looked like she’d been stabbed in the chest.”
The four women exchanged excited glances. Lexy was afraid this might happen. At the beginning of the summer when her ex, Kevin, had been poisoned, Lexy had turned to Nans for comfort and discovered the four ladies had an odd hobby. They solved murders. They even had a name for themselves - The Ladies Detective Club.
They didn’t go out roaming the streets in trench coats - well, not usually. They preferred to stay in the retirement center gathering clues from the internet which they accessed through their iPads. They had been instrumental in helping her find Kevin’s killer but she didn’t need help solving a murder right now, she only wanted to collect the money for the catering jobs she’d done for Xavier Toliver.
“Tell us everything you know about it.” Nans demanded.
“Nans, I didn’t come here to try to solve the murder, I just wanted to ask you a teensy, tiny favor.” Lexy held her hand up, her index finger and thumb a tiny space apart.
“Oh, anything for you dear,” Nans said. “I’ll do whatever you want...right after you tell us everything you know about the murder.”
With a sigh, Lexy pulled out a chair, flopping into it. The four ladies leaned in towards her. Lexy told them about how the door had swung open when she knocked, how she had let herself in and discovered the body in the kitchen.
“No one was there?” Helen asked, the wrinkles on her forehead doubling.
“What was she wearing?” Ida asked.
“Did you see the murder weapon?” Ruth added.
Lexy bit her lower lip trying to remember. “Come to think of it, I didn’t see the murder weapon...I don’t know if they found it.”
The women nodded knowingly.
“That’s the first thing you should look for.” Helen said.
Lexy held up her hands. “No, no...I’m not trying to find the killer on this one, ladies.”
Trying to ignore the looks of disappointment on their faces, she went on, “I do have one little problem though.”
Nans cocked her head to one side, “Go on, dear.”
“As you know, the Toliver’s hired me to cater all the events leading up to and including the wedding. Obviously there will be no w
edding now, but I desperately need to collect at least the money for what I have done so far. I was supposed to get paid half now and the rest after the wedding, but with the murder now I’m not sure how to collect my money.” She looked at Nans, “That’s the favor I wanted, I was hoping you could go over there with me...you know...to give your condolences to Xavier and maybe give him a hint about the payment.”
“Of course, Xavier and I have been great friends since grade school so I should go over and give my condolences. He must be crushed...you know, he really did care for her. We can go right now, if you want.”
Lexy looked at her watch, several hours had passed since she was last at the mansion which gave Xavier a bit of time to process the information. She stood up, pushing her chair in. “Now would be perfect.”
Ida, Ruth and Helen were already pulling out their iPads - presumably to Google the Tolivers and start their investigation.
As Lexy made her way across the lobby to the door with Nans she heard Ida yell out after them, “Don’t forget to question anyone who is there, inspect the crime scene and bring us back some clues!”
Chapter Four
Lexy approached the big oak door with butterflies in her stomach for the second time that day. Unlike earlier, though, the door didn’t open on its own when she tapped the brass knocker.
After a couple of seconds, it did swing inward revealing Blake. His face registered surprise when he saw Lexy. “What brings you here again? Not that it isn’t a pleasure to see you,” he said, his eyes making a round trip down her body then back up to her face.
“I think you know my grandmother, Mona Baker?” she gestured towards Nans.
Blake's eyebrows shot up. “Of course, Mona...how are you?
“Oh, fine dear. Lexy told me about Chastine. I’ve come to give my condolences to your father. How is he holding up?”
Blake opened the door wider, inviting them inside. “He’s doing as well as can be expected. I think a visit from you might cheer him up.”
He ushered Nans and Lexy into a large library. She hadn’t seen this room on any of her previous visits. It was impressive. Oak bookcases filled with leather bound books lined the walls from floor to ceiling. The floor was covered in a sumptuous oriental rug with rich red and blue colors. It smelled of old books and cigars.
A large fireplace sat at one end of the room flanked by two leather chairs on either side of an expensive looking tufted leather couch. Xavier Toliver reclined in one of the chairs at the end of the room, a box of tissues by his side. His eyes were red rimmed. He looked haggard and older than his seventy eight years.
Nans rushed to Xavier's side. “Xavier, I just heard about Chastine - I’m so sorry!”
“Thank you Mona, it’s been such a shock.” His voice broke on the last word. He dabbed at his eyes with a tissue.
Nans patted his knee. “I know you really cared for her, Xavvy,” she soothed.
“I don’t know who could have done such an awful thing to such a lovely girl...and right in my own kitchen!”
Lexy heard a snort come from behind her, she turned to see Blake.
“Dad, it could have been plenty of people. Chastine pissed off lots of folks.”
Nans turned to Blake. Lexy could practically see the wheels in her mind turning with the hint of a good clue.
“Who could she have made that angry?” Nans asked, her face a mask of innocence.
“Well most of the staff hated her, she treated a lot of Dad’s friends rudely, anyone who ever waited on her at a store or restaurant...” He let his voice trail off indicating the suspect list could be very long.
“But, surely, most of those people wouldn’t go to such lengths.” Nans said.
Blake shrugged in response leaving them to sit in silence, each of them contemplating who might have been mad enough to kill Chastine.
Hushed, angry voices drifted in from the hallway. Everyone turned towards the noise. Lexy strained in her seat to hear what they were saying.
“...not leaving... care ... do with it.” The last words were spoken sharply, accentuated by the clicking of high heels hurrying away from them down the hall. Bronson appeared in the doorway, his eyes growing wide when he saw all four of the occupants of the room staring in his direction.
“Who was that?” Blake asked Bronson.
Lexy thought she saw Bronson’s face grow red under his dark complexion. “Oh, just Candice...she was getting some of her things out of Chastine’s office.”
Blake looked at his brother sideways. “Sounded like there was more to it than that...” he said under his breath. A warning look from Bronson caused him to snap his mouth shut and go back to staring at the ice cubes in his drink.
“Who is Candice?” Nans asked.
“Candice is...was...Chastine’s personal assistant.” Xavier said.
Lexy and Nans exchanged a knowing look. The personal assistant of the murder victim trading angry words with the son? That was a clue the Ladies Detective Club will love to hear about.
Nans looked back at Xavier. “I don’t want to take up any more of your time, I just wanted to come to give my condolences - and to thank you for hiring Lexy to do all your catering. Speaking of which, we were wondering if Lexy should bill you right away for the remainder...considering...”
“Bill?” Xavier threw his hands up dramatically, “I couldn’t even think about paying a bill now. Not while the murderer of my Schmoopie is still running around loose. I can’t consider such mundane activities until that person is behind bars!” He said, then collapsed in a torrent of tears giving Lexy and Nans their cue to make a hasty retreat.
Chapter Five
“I’m sorry, dear,” Nans looked over at Lexy from the passenger seat, “Xavier was so distraught I couldn’t push him about paying you.”
“That’s OK, Nans. I’ll figure something out to keep my cash flow on the positive side.”
“Oh, you won’t have to worry. The Ladies Detective Club will get right on it, and we’ll have the murderer figured out in no time. Then you can get your bill paid!”
“That’s exactly what I was afraid you’d say.” Lexy poked at her eye, which had started twitching again.
“Oh now, come on...we’ve had some good successes - even Jack admitted we helped him in a few cases.” She looked at Lexy sideways. “Speaking of Jack, are you two still a hot item?”
Lexy felt her cheeks grow warm. Were they still an item? She didn’t know the answer and had more pressing problems to think of. Luckily, they had arrived at the Brook Ridge Retirement Center so she could avoid the question by changing the subject.
“Here we are...we might as well go and fill the ladies in.” She opened her car door and climbed out, waiting for Nans to do the same.
They headed for the lobby. Lexy wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Ida, Ruth and Helen waiting for them at the usual table, their iPads at the ready. The three ladies peppered them with questions as soon as they sat down.
“What did you find out?”
“Did you get a look at the crime scene?”
“How is Xavvy holding up?”
“Whats wrong with your eye?”
Nans filled them in on Xavier and the argument they heard in the hall.
“Xavier was so upset when I asked about paying Lexy’s bill that I never got a chance to look at the murder scene.”
“We’ll need to look into this Candice person.” Ruth clicked on her iPad. “Do you know her last name?”
Nans and Lexy shook their heads to the obvious disappointment of the others.
“Lexy,” Helen said, scooting her chair in, “Do you remember what the murder scene looked like?”
Lexy thought back to the morning. “There was a lot of blood...and Chastine was laying on her side...I don’t remember much else.”
“I can help you remember. Sit, back and relax. Close your eyes.”
Lexy did as she was told.
Helen continued in a calm soothing voice. “Picture yours
elf walking into the kitchen. What do you hear? What do you smell?”
Lexy pictured the kitchen in her minds eye. “The clock is ticking but otherwise it is very quiet. I smell pastries...and copper.”
“Do you see the body, how is it positioned?”
“I saw her feet first - I noticed the shoes because they were a pair of Steve Maddens I’ve had my eye on. The rest of her was hidden by the counter. Then I peeked around and saw all the blood.”
“Go on, what did the body look like? Remember, you’re safe here with us.”
Lexy felt like she had been transported back in time. She could see Chastine perfectly.
“She was laying on her side, the blood was coming from a big gap in her chest. Really big. Her hair was perfectly coiffed. She had on a blue skirt and fuchsia shirt. They looked great together and she had all her nice jewelry - her bracelet, rings, earrings...wait! Her pin!” Lexy’s eyes popped open.
“Yes?” Ruth prompted.
“She always wore a gorgeous pin. I’d admired it several times because it had an unusual stone in it - a canary yellow cushion cut diamond. The pin was missing...a hole ripped in the shirt where it should have been!”
The ladies exchanged excited glances. Ruth tapped something into the notepad app on her iPad.
“That was great, Lexy. It could be a valuable clue which might help us find the killer.” Helen said.
“Great!” Lexy felt happy about helping, then her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Wait a minute, did you just hypnotize me?”
Ruth nodded. “Yes, that skill comes in handy for a lot of things. I can also help you get rid of that annoying eye twitch.”
“You can?” Lexy’s finger went up to her eye. She would have to consider that, the eye twitch was getting pretty annoying.
Dying For Danish A Lexy Baker Bakery #2 Page 2
