A Cake Caper

by Constance Barker

  “Candy, I hoped it was you.”

  A bright pink poodle shot through the door, tail wagging madly when she saw Rose. She jumped up excitedly and Rose sat on a kitchen chair, pulling Candy into her lap.

  “I thought it was weird that she wasn’t here, but I thought at first that maybe the police had taken her away to a kennel somewhere. But Logan would’ve told Coco that, right? But then I realized that she must have been at her doggy spa, and they always drop her off in the back garden when she comes home.”

  My heart rate returned to normal and I ruffled Candy’s ears. She whined happily and wiggled her body. Vivian released the bagels and the others came forwards to scratch Candy’s ears.

  She was enjoying the attention from the five of us, and I was about to get the notebook out to show everyone when we froze again. The rattle of a key in the front door lock interrupted our chattering and we all looked down the hall. Even Candy quietened down.

  I swallowed hard. Now what?

  Chapter 9

  We stared at the door until the key scratched in the lock again and the door handle started to jiggle. Then, we sprang into action. None of us could afford to be caught in a dead man’s house with no explanation, especially not Rose.

  Rose grabbed Candy, who thankfully stayed silent, and Vivian and Stella wrenched open the back door and took the lead into the back yard. I was the last through the door and closed it just as I saw the front door opening.

  Stella scanned the yard and gestured to the fence where a few loose planks were hanging limply. We raced over and pushed through into the neighbor’s garden, letting the planks fall closed behind us.

  We were so busy congratulating ourselves on our escape that it took a moment for us to notice the teenage couple lying together on the sun lounger staring at us, wide-eyed. There was a heavy silence as we all regarded each other.

  “We weren’t doing anything,” the boy spoke first, blushing furiously.

  “Uh huh. Yeah, we totally see that,” Masie said, nodding seriously.

  “We were just chatting...about...pigs,” the girl added. She shrugged defensively as the boy looked down at her incredulously.

  “Pigs? Oh, I do love pigs, what are your favorite kinds?” Vivian asked brightly, sticking her tongue out in response to Stella’s eye rolling.

  “I like...the spotty ones. But Mickey likes...the ones with the...stripes?” The girl tried valiantly despite her beau’s frantic head shaking.

  “I don’t think you can get stripy pigs, my dear,” Stella said kindly, but Vivian interrupted before the poor girl could turn even more crimson.

  “Yes you can, British Saddlebacks and Hampshires both have stripes, sort of. We used to have a few back in my special ops days. Ever so useful, pigs are. Did you know they’ll eat just about anything?”

  The teenagers regarded Vivian with a healthy degree of wariness and confusion. She smiled at them and clasped her hands together before continuing.

  “Listen now, you two are clearly just talking about pigs while sitting a very respectable distance from each other and we are clearly just...well let’s say we clearly aren’t here. I think we can all agree on those two points, can’t we?”

  The teenagers hesitated for a second before looking at each and then nodding enthusiastically.

  “Excellent. I’m glad we can all agree that telling anyone anything else would absolutely be a waste of everyone’s time.”

  Oliver’s back door opened, and Rose waved furiously at everyone to be quiet. I crouched to look through the fence panels and was soon joined not just by my party but by a very excited Candy and a wildly curious pair of teenagers. The eight of us peered through the fence and saw Laney standing on the patio, lit up by the back porch light.

  “Candy? Candy, are you out here? Candy?”

  Candy squirmed a little, but Rose held her firmly. Candy licked Rose’s ear affectionately as we all held our breaths and hoped that she wouldn’t bark. I had no idea how we’d explain our current situation if anyone found us.

  “Candy, come here,” Laney tried again, rubbing her arms in the cold evening air. She stayed out there on the porch for another few minutes, calling for Candy. But finally, she gave up and went back into the house.

  I scooted a little way down the fence and peeked over. I could just make out Laney’s form leaving through the front door, locking it behind her. She walked down to the road and called Candy’s name once more, before getting into her car and driving away.

  We all breathed a sigh of relief.

  “That was nice of her, to come looking for Candy. She must know that the police hadn’t found her. She was pretty considerate to come all this way at night,” Masie suggested, scratching Candy’s ears.

  Rose didn’t look convinced. “How would she know that Candy wasn’t found? And why was she looking for her in the first place?”

  “Well they probably told her. She is Oliver’s girlfriend after all, and they probably would have given Candy to her anyway if they had found her earlier. I think it was pretty nice.”

  But I agreed with Rose. I thought it was suspicious that she’d come all this way. And wouldn’t she have known that Candy goes to a doggy spa? Surely she would’ve told the police that if they’d mentioned Candy to her earlier?

  “We should leave, before anything else happens,” Stella suggested, and we all agreed. She turned and shook the teenager’s hands solemnly.

  “I hope you enjoyed your chat about pigs,” she commented.

  “I hope you enjoyed being somewhere other than here,” the girl replied, smiling.

  We left the garden and crept back to the car, Rose still holding Candy firmly. Vivian and Stella dropped us back at Masie’s house and we settled on the sofa with a pot of tea.

  “Well that was a lucky escape,” Masie said, laughing suddenly. Rose and I both joined in.

  We all felt exhilarated from our near miss with Laney, and it took me half an hour and several celebratory cookies to remember the notebook I had pulled from Oliver’s bedroom. I flipped it open, and the three of us crowded around it.

  “It’s a list of dogs. That’s weird, right?” Masie commented.

  “I think it’s a list of the Barkskateers. You know, that group of show dogs. And look, a list of their owners too,” I replied, studying the list intently.

  “What’s all this over the page?” Rose flipped the page where a new list began.

  We were all puzzled until I laughed suddenly. “Oh look, it’s a list of ways to beat them in competitions. I think Oliver was using this to sabotage them or something.”

  “No way. Is the weird and wonderful world of dogs shows really that cutthroat?” Masie asked.

  “You’d be surprised. I’ve had more than one person drop their dog off and ask me if I’ve ever slipped with the shearers on their competition, in a way that’s more interested than it should be. I’d believe sabotage was at play,” Rose replied.

  I ran my finger down the list. “Hey look, this one’s underlined. Terry Arbuckle?”

  “He’s the local electrician,” Masie supplied.

  “Maybe he knows something. Or maybe Oliver sabotaged his dog, so he decided to get revenge.”

  “Bit harsh to kill him over a dog show though, isn’t it?”

  I bit my fingernail absentmindedly. “I don’t know. Maybe I should go and find out.”

  Chapter 10

  By the time I finally got home that night I was exhausted, and almost fell into bed without even getting changed into pajamas. When I woke up the next morning I smiled before I remembered poor Rose and the troubling situation we’ve found ourselves in.

  It was then that I realized I was late to open the Mad Batter.

  I managed to drag myself out of bed, hurriedly shower and get dressed, and throw myself into Daisy in a very impressive 22 minutes. When I got to the bakery, I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that it was already open. Good ol’ Scooter must have gotten here early and opened up when I didn’t make a
n appearance.

  “Good of you to finally join us, Coco Bear,” Scooter called cheerfully from behind the counter as I slunk in sheepishly.

  “Yeah well, I had a rough night last night. Thanks for opening up Scooter, you’re wonderful.”

  “Laney helped,” he said, pulling out a muffin and turning the coffee machine on. On hearing her name, Laney came through from the back of the shop and smiled at me.

  “Hey Laney, good to see you. How’re you doing?” I asked her cheerfully, trying to hide my nerves. If she did see us at Oliver’s house last night, I guessed I was about to find out.

  “Hmm? Oh. I’m fine I guess.”

  I frowned in concern. Laney seemed distracted and nervous, and I wondered why. “Is everything okay Laney, you seem a little off? Are you feeling okay?”

  “What? Oh yes, I’m fine. I’m just upset about Oliver, that’s all.”

  I smiled and patted her shoulder, but as she went back into the back room I frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to me. If she was looking for Candy last night, then surely that would be why she’s distracted and worried? And wouldn’t she have said so if that was the case?

  Behind me the door opened, and Masie entered to start her shift. I filed Laney’s suspicious behavior away in my mind to think about later and turned to Masie and Scooter.

  “Listen, guys, do you think you could take the lead on the quinceañera client meeting, with Mrs. Riviera? She’s coming in this morning, but I really need to track down a specific linen my cousin wants for her photo shoot later. They’re shooting the dinner party baked goods for the recipe book and she’s panicking that she doesn’t have anything suitable.”

  Scooter’s face lit up as I spoke, thrilled with the extra responsibility I was entrusting him with. Over his shoulder Masie also nodded, and I beamed at them both.

  “You are stars. I’ll be back soon, I’m sure, but just show them what we’ve done so far, make sure they’re happy and make sure they tell us if they want any changes.”

  “We got this Coco, don’t worry. Go get your linens,” Scooter said enthusiastically, shooing me towards the door.

  “Bye Laney,” I called through to the back but received no answer. Shrugging it off I headed back to my car.

  I did have something important to do today, but it wasn’t getting my cousin’s linens.

  I drove across town and pulled up outside the electrician's shop. As I entered, Terry looked up from behind the counter and beamed at me.

  “Coco, it’s good to see you. How are you doing?”

  I couldn’t help but smile back at him. Terry was a huge and loud man but one of the gentlest people in town. He couldn’t possibly be a murderer...could he?

  “I’m fine Terry, although I’m still a bit shaken up about all the deaths recently. And now Oliver has been killed, did you hear?”

  Terry looked down at his computer before answering. “Yes, I heard that. Terrible news. Anyway, what can I do for you today?”

  I walked up to the counter slowly, thinking hard about how I could investigate him subtly. I didn’t think I was imagining the small smile playing across his lips when I mentioned Oliver’s death.

  “Oh, I wanted to talk to you about some lights for a photo shoot. And I’m thinking of getting some new lights in my house...because I want to get a dog,” I said in a sudden flash of inspiration.

  Terry’s eyes lit up. “Oh I love dogs, nothing beats them.”

  “Really? Do you have one, Terry?”

  This seemed to be all the encouragement Terry needed to whip out his wallet and soon I was flicking through scores of pictures of a tiny black and tan chihuahua.

  “Her name is Mutton Chop. I’ve had her three years now,” Terry said proudly.

  I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling at the name. It seemed like everyone around here had some weird and wonderful names for their pets.

  “She’s lovely. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog so small.” I tried to imagine Mutton Chop being carried by Terry. She must get lost in his arms.

  “Oh, she’s wonderful. I entered her into the dog show that’s coming up you know. I’m hoping everyone else will love her too and she’ll win the big prize.”

  Result. He’s moved the conversation onto dog shows so I just had to think of a way to bring up Oliver and his tendency to win at any cost.

  “I bet she’ll make you proud. Have you entered her in any before?”

  “Eh, a few but it’s always been hard to get a look in.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Well, Oliver’s always dominated the competition. His poodle won everything and nobody else ever really had a shot.”

  I held my breath and hoped he’d continue. Maybe if I stayed quiet Terry would keep talking about Oliver and the competitions, and I might be able to suss out some motive for his death.

  “Who knows? Maybe now that Oliver’s gone and he can’t enter his dog more entrants will have a shot. And one of them is Mutton Chop,” he finished with a smile as he picked up the photographs and put them back into his wallet.

  I debated prying more but decided against it. I didn’t want to look suspicious and there was surely only so much I could talk about Oliver before Terry asked me why I wanted to know.

  Instead I turned the conversation back to photo shoot lighting, and Terry enthusiastically gave me some pointers. As I left the shop, my head whirled.

  Terry was such a good guy, so honest and open. There was no way he could possibly be a murderer, especially over something as small as winning a dog show.

  Could he?

  Chapter 11

  I managed to squeeze in my quinceañera cake client, Mrs. Riviera and her family, into my busy day. As expected, they wanted revisions to the cake design. I worried where I would find the time, but I assured them I would be able to make the changes.

  Next, I had to set up the party treats I wanted pictures of for the book. This brought me out into the front of the shop where the lighting and backgrounds were better.

  I set up the treats on a cute doily. I was adjusting them, trying to get them just right. Stella and Vivian walked into the shop to get their sweet fix.

  They spotted Laney at the counter and immediately went over. I kept an ear on their conversation, knowing they were up to no good.

  “Hello, dear,” said Stella, greeting Laney. “How are you today?”

  “I’m fine,” Laney said, politely. “How are you? Is there something I can get for you?”

  “Oh, I think just the weekly cake,” Vivian said.

  Vivian leaned over across the counter and kept talking. “How have you been holding up, darling? It’s just terrible about poor Oliver.”

  “Oh, I’m managing,” Laney said. “It’s hard, but you just have to take it a day at a time.”

  “It really is quite terrible,” Vivian continued. “What’s going to happen to his poor dog?”

  “Oh, I’m taking her. I’ve been planning to have her move in with me for a while anyway.”

  “Really? How interesting.”

  “That’s a champion dog,” Stella said. “Are you excited to be winning more competitions?”

  If Laney knew they were questioning her about her motives for the murder, she didn’t care. I wondered if she knew what they were doing, however, she just kept answering their questions.

  “Oh, I suppose so. She’s a great dog.”

  “You don’t seem too broken up about this at least. I know some of the people around here, when they lose a partner, they’re entirely taken by grief. We saw that after another murder, didn’t we, Viv?”

  They were skirting too close to the edge. I didn’t need them derailing Laney for the whole day. I went over and leaned across the counter.

  “It’s lucky that Laney is so strong,” I said. “She knows when to move on.”

  I put extra emphasis on the last two words so they’d get the message. I got a side eye from Vivian in response.

  Clive walked into the shop
, interrupting any further attempts I might have made at my veiled message.

  “Coco. I’m glad you’re here,” he said.

  I walked further down the counter and Stella and Vivian went back to talking with Laney. Clive slapped the paper down on the counter in front of me.

  “There it is,” he said. “I finished the obit.”

  I picked up the paper and read the article. It was incredibly mean-spirited.

  I didn’t even know that there were rude obituaries. Clive’s work read more like a hit-piece than an article meant to honor the dead.

  “Wow,” I said, struggling to find the words. “It’s...”

  “I know,” he said. He seemed very pleased with himself. I wondered how such a thing could have made it to print.

  “I didn’t realize you and Oliver were on such bad terms,” I said. “You can really feel it in the article.”

  “He was my neighbor,” Clive said. “I’ve never had a worse one in my entire life.”

  “What did he do?”

  “What didn’t he do?” Clive asked. “His dog was always hassling my cat. I’m so happy to be rid of that thing.”

  I nodded and gave him a forced smile. I didn’t know what else to do. I had been on the receiving end of his unflattering articles before, and I didn’t want it to happen again, especially not with my obituary. At the rate people seemed to be suddenly and mysteriously dying in Haverfield, I might be next and I didn’t want the word “onerous” or any of the other four dollar words Clive used in this obit to reappear in my writeup.

  Clive’s cat-that-ate-the-canary smile was too weird for me. I know he wasn’t the only person in town celebrating Oliver’s death, but I bumped him up on my mental suspect list with a shiver, shake, and a wish to be anywhere but there at the moment.

  “Anyway, I just wanted to show you that, Coco. I have to run now though,” he said, checking his watch.

  “Yeah, I’ll see you later,” I said. I could see Stella and Vivian watching us out of the corner of my eye.