“With no autopsy, we’ll never know. But the nurses and doctors there must have thought she died from natural causes or they would have sent the body to the coroner instead of straight to the funeral home,” Lexy said.
Nans narrowed her eyes. “They might have just assumed it was natural causes … or they might be trying to cover something up.”
“Do you think the police will believe us now?” Ruth asked.
“I don’t know. Jack didn’t seem to think there was any foul play in Bertram’s death, but I can talk to him tonight. Maybe in light of this new death, he’ll start to take notice,” Lexy said.
“Great. I know you have certain persuasive powers with him.” Nans winked at Lexy, causing the other women to laugh. Lexy felt her cheeks grow warm again.
“If we could only figure out why someone killed them, we’d have a much better chance of convincing him.”
Nans pressed her lips together in a thin line. “That’s true. We need to find the motive.” She spun around to face the other women. “Girls, I fear we may all be in danger. The killer has struck twice this week already. If the police aren’t interested in helping us, we’ll just have to speed up our efforts to figure out who it is --before they have a chance to kill again.”
Chapter Four
Lexy opened the back door to The Cup and Cake. Taking a deep breath she let the intoxicating aroma of sugar and butter permeate her senses. She never tired of that smell. Nor did she ever tire of being there. It had been her lifelong dream to open a bakery and she’d been able to fulfill that over a year ago.
“Is that you Lex?”
Cassie’s voice rang out from the kitchen. Lexy poked her head in. Cassie, Lexy’s assistant and best friend, was rolling out pie dough, her face flushed. Flour dotted her apron and black jeans. Her pink-tipped spiked hair bobbed up and down like a bird as she worked the dough.
“Hi.”
“Hey, how did they like the recipe?”
“What? Oh, the biscotti recipe. They loved it.” Lexy had almost forgotten the reason she had gone to Nans’s that morning.
Cassie beamed a smile at her. Which was unusual considering she didn’t smile often. Lexy noticed Cassie was really working the dough, making exaggerated movements with her hands. What was up with that?
Ignoring Cassie’s odd behavior, she blurted out, “Something else happened while I was there.”
Cassie looked up from her dough rolling, eyebrows raised.
“There was another murder.”
Cassie gasped. “What?”
“Yep, another seemingly healthy person turned up dead in the nursing care section. Ruth assured me that this person wasn’t sick. I think it’s rather suspicious considering Bertram Glumm died there just a few days ago.”
Cassie set down the rolling pin. “That does seem suspicious, but you know these people are pretty old. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
Lexy pursed her lips into a thin line. “Maybe, but Nans and the girls sure don’t think so.”
“And you’re going to help them investigate?” Cassie asked, her thumb on her chin.
Before Lexy could answer, she was blinded by a sharp glare of light. The glare was coming from Cassies’s finger, where a huge diamond ring glowed like it was plugged into an electrical outlet. Lexy felt her eyes grow wide. Her mouth fell open as she stared at Cassie.
“You’re engaged!” Lexy pointed at the ring.
Cassie giggled and held her hand out to show it off. “I was wondering when you were going to notice.”
Lexy felt her heart grow warm for her friend and she rushed over, smothering her in a hug. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks.” Lexy saw Cassie’s cheeks turn a faint shade of pink.
“Let me see.” Lexy grabbed Cassie’s hand, bringing the ring up towards her face. It must have been close to two carats, boasting a big round clear diamond center stone surrounded by a frame of black diamonds. “It’s gorgeous. The black diamonds are perfect for you." Cassie’s tastes tended to be on the Gothic side.
“John picked it out himself.”
Lexy smiled thinking of John Darling, Cassie’s boyfriend—fiancee now—picking out a ring. The long-haired detective was Jack’s partner and didn’t seem to be very sentimental, yet he’d done a fine job picking a ring that suited Cassie perfectly.
“Wow, you guys have only been dating a few months, haven’t you?” Lexy switched her attention from the ring to Cassie’s face.
“Six months, but when you find the one, you know it.”
Lexy thought about her own relationship with Jack. They’d been dating for close to a year. She glanced down at her naked ring finger. Maybe Jack didn’t think she was the one.
“I was hoping you’d be my maid of honor.” Cassie startled Lexy out of her thoughts.
“Of course. I’d be honored,” Lexy said.
“Great. We’re not going to have anything traditional. And, of course you’ll make the cake?”
Lexy nodded. “Of course.”
“Perfect. Now tell me about these supposed murders.”
Lexy took a deep breath. “Well, I don’t know very much about them. Both victims were in the nursing care facility, but neither of them had serious illnesses. They’d both recently had an operation and were recovering there until they could manage on their own. From what Nans and the ladies say, they should have had a full recovery, but instead, they ended up dead.”
“Does Nans have any idea why someone would want to kill these people?”
“That’s the strange part. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between the two. They have no idea what the motive could be.”
Cassie narrowed her eyes. “Maybe it’s some sort of deranged serial killer that picks elderly people because he knows the police will just brush it off as being a natural death.”
“That’s a little far fetched, isn’t it? I mean if it was, he could target anyone in the retirement community, not just the people in the nursing center.” Lexy felt a chill walk up her spine thinking that Nans could be in danger.
“Maybe. But I’ve heard of it happening before.” Cassie snapped her fingers. “Or a mercy killing. Didn’t you ever hear of those nurses that go around killing sick people to stop their suffering?”
Lexy thought of Nurse Rothschild. She didn’t seem like the merciful type. A serial killer, maybe, but not a mercy killer.
“I don’t know, I thought that stuff only happened on TV. Plus, neither one of the victims was suffering. Either way, Nans is determined to get to the bottom of it, especially since the police seem to think both deaths were natural.”
“Well, what do you think?”
“I’m not sure whether the deaths were natural or not at this point. But I am sure that Jack’s not going to be too happy if I start helping Nans investigate another murder.”
“Yeah, that could be a problem,” Cassie said. “How have things been between you two since we got back from Vegas.”
Lexy felt her cheeks grow warm. Things had been good. Very good. Jack had spent the last three nights at her house, even though he lived in the house right behind hers. It had felt good to wake up next to him every day…but did she want to wake up next to him on a permanent basis for the rest of her life?
“Things have been really good.”
Cassie wiggled her eyebrows. “Well, maybe you don’t want to rock the boat and get him all pissed off then.”
Lexy watched the light glint off of Cassie’s ring. Not if I want one of those, she thought. But if Nans needed her help, she’d help her no matter how mad Jack got—even if it meant risking never getting a ring she wasn’t even sure she wanted in the first place.
Chapter Five
Lexy wedged herself through the front door and prepared for the barrage of white fur and paws that usually greeted her. Sprinkles, her little Shih Tzu-Poodle mix came running from the kitchen, jumping on her and pawing at her legs. Lexy bent down and scooped her up, her heart warming at the greeting.
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She dropped her purse on the couch, then released the dog, who immediately raced back towards the kitchen.
“I bet you’re hungry.” Lexy followed the dog, but instead of standing near her food bowl, Sprinkles was pawing at the back door.
“Oh, you want to go see Jack. I think he spoiled you when I was gone." Lexy glanced out her kitchen window to see if Jack was home. She mused about how convenient it was to have her boyfriend live in the house right behind hers … well, most of the time.
When she’d gone to Las Vegas to compete in a bakery contest the previous week, Jack had watched Sprinkles for her. In the four days since she’d been home, the dog had wanted to go over to his house every night.
“Well, I suppose Jack won’t mind if we pop over. Maybe we’ll stay at his house tonight." Lexy opened her back door, feeling the tingle of excitement she always felt when she knew she was going to see Jack. Pulling her jacket tight around her, she picked her way through the few leftover snow mounds in the backyard with Sprinkles in tow.
Peering through the window of Jack’s kitchen door, she tapped on the glass. She saw him peek out from the living room. The smile on his handsome face when he recognized her made her stomach do cartwheels. His long legs crossed the room in three strides, and he opened the door for her.
“Hi,” He said, enveloping her in a hug, then brushing his lips teasingly against hers. She was about to pull him in closer when Sprinkles interrupted with a bark.
“Hi Sprinkles.” Jack bent down to pet the small dog who wagged her whole body in response. “What brings you guys over here?”
“Sprinkles was scratching at the back door, so I figured we could hang out over here tonight instead of my place.” Lexy started toward the living room, but Jack caught her by the waist pulling her to him and distracting her with another kiss.
“Want some tea?” He dragged her over to the table. Did he glance nervously into the living room or was it her imagination?
“Sure.” Lexy peered around his shoulder into the living room.
Jack pushed her down into one of the chairs and started making tea. Sprinkles stood about a foot away from him waiting to spring on any errant crumbs that might fall on the floor.
“I brought Nans some biscotti today from my new recipe … and I found out something disturbing.”
Jack turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised. “What?”
“Another seemingly healthy person has died over there.” Her stomach lurched when Jack made a face.
“Lexy, you’re not going to start in on this murder stuff again, are you?”
“Nans and the ladies seem to think the deaths are very suspicious.”
Jack came over to the table, setting one mug in front of her and taking the opposite seat. He put his mug on the table in front of him and settled his hand on top of hers.
“Honey, the people over there are old. It makes sense that there would be a high ratio of deaths.”
Lexy felt her back stiffen. She hated it when Jack patronized her, but she realized she needed to keep her cool if she wanted to convince him the deaths were not natural.
“I know, but Nans seems adamant that something funny is going on. They didn’t even do an autopsy on either of the people who died, so how can you say for sure?”
“Well, I assume the staff over there is competent enough to know when a death is natural or not. After all, murders are usually a bit messy.”
“But, what if the murderer was very clever and made things look like they were natural?”
Jack chuckled. “Now you’re getting overly dramatic. Why would someone go to all that trouble?”
Lexy furrowed her brow. That was the problem, she couldn’t figure out why. “I’m not sure, but I think you should look into it.”
Jack let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, but I’m flat out busy at work right now. In fact, I have to go back in about an hour. But I’ll tell you what, if another supposedly healthy person dies over there, I’ll see what I can do.”
Lexy felt her heart sink—it was clear Jack didn’t believe her and was just trying to placate her.
Jack started rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb which made her feel tingles in all the right places. She started to forget all about the murders. Peering into his honey-brown eyes over the rim of her mug, she thought about luring him upstairs. He did say he had about an hour.
The klaxon of Jack’s cell phone broke the spell and he removed his hand from hers to pull it from his pocket.
“Perillo.” Lexy heard him bark into the phone. She tuned out the subsequent “uh-huh’s” and “yep’s”.
Cutting her eyes towards the living room, she got up out of the chair and started in that direction. Just before she reached the threshold, Jack caught her hand and reeled her back in.
“That was work, I gotta go.” He planted a kiss on her lips and propelled her towards the back door.
“Sorry,” he said. “Maybe I can make it up to you with dinner tomorrow?”
“OK,” she replied uncertainly.
“Great,” he said, then turned her by the shoulders to face him. “I know how much you love Nans and like to help the ladies investigate, but I’m asking you not to get involved in it. Just in case there is something going on, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Lexy’s eyes narrowed and she felt her face getting warm. Who was he to tell her what to do? Before she could voice her feelings, he brushed his lips against her forehead, opened the door, and pushed both her and Sprinkles outside.
Lexy stood on the other side of the door fuming for a few seconds before she followed Sprinkles back over to her own yard.
Opening her kitchen door, she glanced back at Jack’s house. Her eyebrows knit together as she wondered two things--why she let him infuriate her so much, and what the heck he had in his living room that he didn’t want her to see.
Chapter Six
Lexy surveyed the pastries in the bakery case. Should she move the eclairs to the right, or put them behind the cannoli? She tapped her fingernail on her front tooth, debating the best placement. Lexy was particular about how the pastries were displayed. She felt that her attention to detail is one of the things that made The Cup and Cake so successful.
“We’re almost out of K-cups.” Haley’s voice broke into her thoughts from the other side of the room where she was cleaning the self-serve coffee station.
“I’ll order some today,” Lexy replied, her heart swelling with pride as she turned towards Haley’s voice and surveyed the front area of the bakery.
She glanced through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, marveling at the beauty of the waterfall which the town was named for. Brook Ridge Falls was a quaint New England town and Lexy had been lucky to secure this space in the historic downtown section.
She had setup tables and chairs next to the window so her customers could enjoy the view while they sipped their coffee and ate their pastries. Haley, her part-time employee kept the place spotless.
Moving behind the pastry case, Lexy slid open the glass door and bent inside to get the eclairs. She picked up the tray, eyeing the chocolate covered pastry. One of these would taste mighty good right now.
Lexy’s mouth started to water just thinking about how puff pastry filled with custard and topped off with a dab of chocolate would taste on her tongue. If she just took one from the plate, it wouldn’t hurt the overall look of the display. She started to reach for the top eclair, then stopped. Remembering how she’d had to shoehorn herself into her jeans, she jerked her hand back with a sigh.
Lexy felt grateful when the sound of her cell phone distracted her from the pastry.
“Hello?”
“Hi dear, are you busy today?” Nans’s voice sounded anxious.
“Umm…sort of. What do you need? Don’t tell me there was another death.” Lexy felt her heart plummet.
“No, nothing like that. We just might need your help on something to do with the case is all…” Nans let her voice drift off.
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Lexy felt a spark of interest. She couldn’t help it, she loved helping out with Nans’s investigations, even if Jack disapproved.
“What is it?”
“We found out where Nurse Rothschild worked before she came here. We tried to look through the obituaries from there, but it didn’t tell us anything meaningful. We figure we have a better chance of getting the real dirt by talking to the people that live there.”
“Uh-huh. So, where do I fit in.”
“We need an excuse to go there, of course. So, we figure we’d call them up and arrange a pet visit with Sprinkles. You know how the people in retirement centers love to see pets.”
Lexy thought about Nans’s proposal. What if Nurse Rothschild was some kind of weirdo killer? Maybe she left the other retirement center under suspicion. Or maybe her mode of operation was to move to a new one every year or so before too many people died and she got caught.
They wouldn’t find out anything by looking at newspapers and company records. Nans was right, the only way to find out if any suspicious deaths happened when Rothschild was there was to ask the residents.
Her mind drifted back to Jack’s warning and she felt her stomach tighten. He’d be mad if he found out that she’d been “investigating,” but Nans needed her help. Besides, what harm could come from a simple pet visit to a retirement center?
“OK, count me in.”
Chapter Seven
“The residents here aren’t as sprightly as the people in our retirement center.” Lexy heard Ida whisper into Ruth’s ear as they approached the door leading into the Sunny Acres Retirement Home.
Looking through the glass doors, she could see why Ida might think that. The lobby was dotted with elderly, frail people dozing in chairs. A couple of them were lined up in the hall in their wheelchairs. They did seem “less sprightly” in contrast to the Brook Ridge Retirement Center where Nans and the ladies lived, which was always bustling with active seniors.
3 Bodies and a Biscotti (A Lexy Baker Bakery Cozy Mystery) Page 2
