Wedding Cake Killer: A Fresh-Baked Mystery

by Livia J. Washburn

  “Yeah, well, it’s not like you took it easy on me when it came to grading. Anyway, there’s about to be a bail hearing, and I asked if I could come get you for it. It’s pretty irregular, but the sheriff agreed.” Mike paused. “I’m not sure he thought Eve should have been charged, at least at this point, but he’s not going to come right out and say that.”

  “I don’t imagine deputies’ mothers get arrested and have to be bailed out very often.”

  “It’s not real common,” Mike said. “Let’s go.”

  As they stepped out into the corridor, he added, “Have they treated you all right?”

  “Oh, yes, everyone’s been very nice. Chuck Murphy was one of the deputies who brought me in. Do you remember him? He’s a few years older than you, but I think you dated his little sister a few times in high school.”

  “Yeah, I know Chuck,” Mike said.

  “That’s right, he mentioned that you were friends,” Phyllis said. “I have to say, he turned out better than I expected. He was always the class clown, you know.”

  “Yeah, Chuck’s a good guy.” Mike’s voice was starting to sound a little strained again, so Phyllis decided this probably wasn’t a good time for reminiscing.

  There were a couple of courtrooms in the jail building that could be used for bail hearings and other proceedings, and that was where he took her. As Mike had said, Sam and the others were all waiting there for her.

  Sam started to reach out and put a hand on Phyllis’s arm, but Mike gave him a little shake of the head, indicating that he shouldn’t do that.

  “No touchin’ the prisoner, eh?” Sam said. “Are you all right, Phyllis?”

  “I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m ready to get out of here, though.”

  “Can’t blame you for that.”

  Juliette said, “This shouldn’t take long. The bail should be very manageable.” She looked at Mike. “Can I take custody of my client now?”

  “Of course, Counselor,” he told her. Juliette took Phyllis’s arm and led her to the defense table, which was smaller than the one in the courtroom where Eve’s arraignment had been held. There was barely enough room for both of them to sit there.

  A few minutes later, a man came into the courtroom and went to the prosecution’s side. Phyllis looked over and recognized him as one of Sullivan’s assistant district attorneys. She wondered if the presence of the ADA, instead of Sullivan himself, meant anything.

  There was only one row of seats for spectators. Sam, Carolyn, and Eve sat there, while Mike stood to one side. After a few more minutes, the clerk, bailiff, and judge came in, one right after the other. The judge didn’t have a bench like in the other courtroom, just a table of his own. He wore a suit instead of a robe.

  As soon as the judge, a tall, horse-faced man in his forties, had called the court to order, the ADA got to his feet and said, “If I may, Your Honor?”

  “Go ahead, Mr. Fisher,” the judge said.

  “The State waives reading and moves to dismiss the charges against Mrs. Newsom.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Motion granted,” the judge said. He banged his gavel and added, “You’re free to go, Mrs. Newsom.”

  Juliette stood up and said, “Thank you, Your Honor.”

  Phyllis noticed that she didn’t thank the ADA, Fisher.

  Since there were no other bails to set, the judge adjourned the court and left the room, taking the clerk and bailiff with him. Mike came over to the defense table, where Sam, Carolyn, and Eve were already gathering around Phyllis.

  Juliette smiled and said, “When I told you it wouldn’t take long, I didn’t know it would go quite that fast. That was the best scenario we could hope for.”

  “That varmint, Sullivan, didn’t have the nerve to show his face after what happened at the courthouse,” Sam said. “That’s why he sent that other fella to take care of it.”

  “Having Phyllis arrested backfired on him; that’s for sure,” Carolyn said. “It just made him look foolish.”

  “Yes, and it’s liable to make him madder than ever,” Mike warned. “Mom, I think it would be a good idea for you to be very careful until all this is over.”

  Phyllis said, “By all this, you mean Eve’s murder trial?”

  “Well . . .”

  “I’m not going to stand by—”

  Eve interrupted her. “What you’re not going to do is get yourself in trouble again because of me. You were lucky this time, Phyllis. Juliette’s taking care of everything, and I have confidence in her.”

  “I appreciate that, Mrs. Porter,” Juliette said, “but if Mrs. Newsom has found out anything that might help with your defense . . .”

  “Let’s all go back to the house,” Phyllis suggested. “I don’t have much that might help, but I’ll tell you everything that I’ve found out. All that time I spent behind bars might as well be worth it!”

  Chapter 31

  When they got back to the house, Phyllis was surprised to see a strange car parked at the curb. After a second, though, she recognized the vehicle. It belonged to Tess Coburn.

  She would have known that a second later, because Tess got out and came toward them. Phyllis had driven her Lincoln to the courthouse square, and Sam had taken his pickup. Juliette parked her SUV in the driveway behind the pickup. Everyone converged in the garage, since the doors were still open.

  “Tess, it’s good to see you,” Phyllis greeted the private investigator. “What are you doing here?”

  “I knew that Mrs. Porter’s arraignment was this morning,” Tess said with a nod toward Eve. “I wanted to find out how everything went.”

  In a voice edged with chilly dislike, Eve said, “Phyllis, you act like you’re friends with this woman. I assumed she’d left town by now.”

  Phyllis took a deep breath. “There are things you don’t know, Eve. Tess has been working with me, trying to help clear your name.”

  “Why would she do that?” Eve asked with a frown.

  “Because I want the truth to come out,” Tess said. “I know my part of the case is over, but I’m not going to be satisfied until I’m sure we know what happened. I think I owe that much to my former clients.”

  Juliette said, “Excuse me, but what’s going on here? Who is this woman?”

  “I planned to explain all of that to you when we got back here,” Phyllis said. “Now that Tess is here, that’ll make it easier. Let’s all go inside.”

  Eve still didn’t look happy that Tess was there, and Juliette seemed to be both confused and annoyed that things had been kept from her until now, but the way to solve both those problems was to get everything out into the open, Phyllis thought.

  It was the middle of the day, so as they went inside, Phyllis said to Carolyn, “Let’s get some coffee going and make some sandwiches. Then we can all sit down in the living room and discuss the case.”

  She could tell that Carolyn didn’t like having Tess there, either, but hospitality won out over irritation, as Phyllis had known that it would. Carolyn nodded and said, “All right.”

  “Sam, if you’d get everyone settled . . .”

  “Sure,” he said.

  Once Phyllis and Carolyn were alone in the kitchen, Carolyn asked, “What’s going on here?” Before Phyllis could answer, Carolyn’s eyes suddenly widened. “Oh, goodness! Have you solved the case?”

  Phyllis shook her head. “I wish I had. I’m no closer to knowing who killed Roy than I was when I started looking into this.”

  And yet she had the oddest feeling that wasn’t true. A persistent voice in the back of her head told her that she did know—she just couldn’t prove it. Some of the things she had seen and heard fit together in a certain way to point in the direction of the killer, but Phyllis just couldn’t quite grasp them. When she tried, they slipped away like smoke.

  “Phyllis?”

  Carolyn’s voice brought her out of her momentary reverie. “I’m sorry. I was tryin
g to think . . . Sandwiches. We need sandwiches.”

  She busied herself getting lunch ready, thinking that if she distracted her mind from the problem plaguing it, she might be more likely to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. By the time she had plates of Cobb wraps made, she still hadn’t figured out what it was she was missing.

  The atmosphere in the living room was a little strained when Phyllis and Carolyn came in with the food and coffee. Eve and Juliette were on the sofa, while Sam and Tess sat in armchairs. Phyllis put the plates on the coffee table and told everyone to help themselves.

  When they all had food and were sitting down, Tess said, “I’ve explained to Ms. Yorke who I am and what my connection to the case is, but I haven’t told her about the things we’ve found out over the past few days, Phyllis. I thought maybe you’d want to do that.”

  Phyllis nodded. “All right. What we’ve been trying to do, Juliette, is to come up with other possible suspects who had a reason to want Roy Porter dead.” She saw Eve wince slightly and hurried on, “I’m sorry to have to be so blunt about all this, Eve, but it’s your freedom we’re talking about, not to mention your reputation.”

  “I’m too old to give a hoot about my reputation, dear,” Eve said. “I’ll admit, though, that I’d hate to be locked up in prison. Those outfits they make convicts wear . . .”

  Phyllis knew that Eve was trying to mask her own worry with humor. She nodded and went on, “Before she ever came to Weatherford, Tess found out a lot about the things Roy did in the past.”

  Juliette said, “I know about some of that. Eve told me. She had a hard time believing it.”

  “I still do,” Eve said with a sigh. “But the evidence seems incontrovertible.”

  “It is,” Tess said. “The man you knew as Roy did all those things, Eve. I wish it could be different, but it isn’t.”

  Eve said, “All right, let’s agree that Roy was . . . the sort of man he was. But doesn’t that just make it seem more likely that I killed him?”

  “Only if you found out what he was planning,” Phyllis said. “I think we all know from your reaction when you first met Tess at the cemetery that that wasn’t the case.”

  “I had no idea, and I’ll swear to that in court.”

  “You may have to,” Juliette said. “Unfortunately, we just have your word for it.” She looked over at Phyllis. “I suppose you’ve been thinking that some of the women Roy scammed in the past are possible suspects? You’re trying to establish reasonable doubt?”

  “Won’t that help?” Phyllis asked.

  “It certainly won’t hurt anything. All we have to convince is one juror for a mistrial, and if we can get that, Sullivan might not push for a retrial. If we can convince all of them, we might get an outright acquittal, but that’s going to be hard. Those women might have had a motive, but what about opportunity?”

  Phyllis and Tess exchanged a glance before Tess said, “That’s where we have something. One of the women was at the bed-and-breakfast at the same time Roy and Eve were.”

  Eve looked shocked as she said, “Oh, dear. Who?”

  “Ingrid Pitt,” Tess said. She explained who Ingrid was and how Roy had swindled her years earlier.

  “I spoke to that woman several times while we were there,” Eve said. Her eyes were wide with amazement. “I can’t believe she was one of . . . one of Roy’s . . . victims.”

  Tess nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “It does seem like she’d be a viable suspect,” Juliette said, “but that’s only one. It’s suspicious, her being there, I’ll grant you that, but I’m not sure it establishes reasonable doubt.”

  “There were other women who could have been there,” Tess said. She went on to tell them about Becky Tuttle, Samantha Hogan, and Mary McLaren. “It really reflects badly on me as a professional investigator that I let it slip to them about Roy’s location, especially since I hadn’t gotten here and made sure it was really him yet,” she concluded, “but I can’t worry about that now. I’m trying to establish if any of them could have been in this area at the time of Roy’s murder.”

  Juliette nodded slowly. “This is starting to sound more promising,” she said.

  “And that’s not all,” Phyllis said. “There’s also the matter of Jan and Pete Delaney.”

  “They’re such sweet people,” Eve said. “Wait a minute. You don’t mean . . .?”

  “Let me explain what Jan told me. And I’m sorry, Eve, but this is going to be unpleasant for you, too.”

  Eve took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “Go ahead, dear,” she told Phyllis. “I think I’m getting used to these shocks.”

  Feeling uncomfortable despite what Eve had said, Phyllis launched into an account of what Jan Delaney had told her about Roy making a pass at her. Eve’s lips tightened a little in hurt and anger, even though Phyllis tried to phrase things discreetly.

  “So what it comes down to,” Eve said when Phyllis was finished, “is that my husband was a wolf as well as a rat.”

  “I wouldn’t put it that way—”

  “I would,” Carolyn said. “Or worse.”

  Tess said to Juliette, “You’ll be able to cross-examine both the Delaneys. If you can manage to raise the subject without the district attorney objecting and the judge shutting down that line of questioning, there’s no telling what you might be able to get out of them.”

  Juliette nodded. “I can try. I can always call them as hostile witnesses, too, but I’d rather bring out the information on cross so there’s no chance of Sullivan getting wind of what I’m trying to do.”

  “That’s what I thought, too.”

  They had been eating and sipping coffee as they talked. Now the conversation died down as everyone concentrated on lunch. When they were finished, after Carolyn had freshened everyone’s coffee, Juliette said, “This has certainly been helpful. I think it would be a good idea, though, if I officially hired you as an investigator, Ms. Coburn. That is, if both you and Eve agree.”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” Eve said. She summoned up a weak smile for Tess. “I’m sorry, dear. I suppose I fell prey to blaming the messenger, and that’s not fair to you.”

  “That’s all right, Mrs. Porter, I understand,” Tess told her. “You’ve been through so much, of course you’d be thrown for a loop.” She turned to Juliette and went on, “I’d be fine with making it official.”

  “Good. I’ll draw up a simple contract retaining your investigative services, unless you have one you’d prefer to use.”

  “No, that’s fine, you go ahead,” Tess said. She took another sip of coffee and went on, “If you’ll all excuse me, I think I need to visit the ladies’ room.”

  Carolyn started to stand up, saying, “I’ll show you—”

  “Oh, that’s all right. I’ve been here before.”

  Carolyn settled back in her chair. “That’s right,” she said with a note of disapproval in her voice. “Phyllis snuck you in while Eve and I were upstairs.”

  “It wasn’t exactly like that,” Phyllis said, letting her own irritation show. She loved Carolyn, but the woman was as stubborn as a mule and quick to hold a grudge.

  Tess smiled and held up her hands as she stood. “Let’s just call a truce,” she suggested. “After all, we’re all working toward the same goal, aren’t we? We want to uncover the truth and clear Mrs. Porter’s name.”

  “Well, I can’t argue with that,” Carolyn said grudgingly.

  “I’ll be right back,” Tess said. She left the living room and went upstairs.

  When Tess was gone, Carolyn said quietly, “I’m sorry, I just don’t like that woman, and I never will.” She looked at Eve. “But she’s right about all of us needing to work together.”

  “It’s good that everything’s out in the open now,” Juliette said. She looked at Phyllis. “Everything is out in the open, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know anything else to tell you,” Phyllis said. “I wish I did.”

&nbs
p; “Like I said, this is a good start. And we’ve got some time. It’ll be a couple of months, anyway, before the case comes to trial. We’ll have time to dig out everything we can about Roy’s background.” Juliette put a hand on Eve’s arm. “I know it’ll be uncomfortable for you . . .”

  “Do what you have to do,” Eve told her with a decisive nod.

  “I always do,” Juliette said.

  A moment of silence passed, and Carolyn broke it by saying, “Can you believe that it’s only been a little over a month since Christmas? So much has happened since then!”

  “And only a little more than a month since the shower,” Eve said with a wistful note in her voice as she remembered that afternoon. “That was such a wonderful day, even with that huge crowd here.” She smiled at Phyllis. “I’m sorry about that, dear. I really wouldn’t have invited so many people if I’d had any idea all of them would show up like that!”

  “It was no problem,” Phyllis assured her.

  Carolyn snorted. “It almost was when it looked like Loretta Harbor and Velma Nickson were going to get in a catfight right in the middle of the living room!”

  “Oh, that was scandalous, wasn’t it?” Eve said with a laugh.

  “Not to be indelicate, but it probably put a strain on the plumbing, too,” Carolyn went on, “that many ladies trooping in and out of the bathrooms. And this is an old house.”

  Phyllis remembered. She’d had to point out both the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms a number of times . . .

  Her breath froze in her throat. She looked over at Sam, who had been quiet during the lengthy conversation about possible suspects. She knew from the intent expression on his face what he was thinking, too, and so she wasn’t all that surprised when both of them exclaimed at the same instant, “The letter opener!”

  “What?” Carolyn asked.

  A smile began to spread across Sam’s rugged face. He said to Phyllis, “You just solved the case, didn’t you?”

  She returned the smile, even though she was upset by what she had figured out, and said, “I think we both just did.”