Murder, Money & Marzipan (A Lexy Baker Bakery Cozy Mystery)

by Dobbs, Leighann

“And Saunders was in on it with you…you killed her so you could have all the money to yourself.”

  Westmore laughed. “That bitch. She wasn’t in on it; she was blackmailing me! Demanding money every week. She was bleeding me dry. That morning, I met her with a payoff. She was so smug…I just couldn’t let her continue. I handed her the money, but when she turned to leave, I grabbed an apron from the hook and choked the life out of her. Then I took my envelope of money from her, shoved her body under the shelving, turned down the thermostat, and left.”

  Lexy’s eyes went wide. The scrap of paper in Saunders’s hand was from an envelope, not a piece of paper.

  “That’s why it was so cold in the freezer; you knew the body wouldn’t smell,” she said.

  Westmore sneered.

  “But why did you use my apron to kill her?”

  “That was just coincidence. I merely grabbed the closest one. Of course, I had no idea it would cause you to continuously stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong.” Westmore tightened his grip on her arm. His eyes looked past her at something on the wall. “If it wasn’t for your meddling, the body might not have been discovered until the contest was over. And now, unfortunately, I’m going to have to kill you, too.”

  He reached past her grabbing a necktie hanging on the wall. Lexy pulled back and kicked out. She heard him grunt as her steel toed stilettos connected with his shin. His grip loosened enough for her to wriggle away. She turned to run.

  Pain exploded in her head as he grabbed her pony-tail, yanking her back toward him and leaving her neck exposed. He threw the tie around her neck, wrapped both ends tightly in his hands, and pulled.

  Lexy felt like her esophagus was being crushed. She clutched at the fabric around her neck, her vision going gray around the edges. She heard a big bang just as she was beginning to black out and wondered if that was what death sounded like.

  “Let go of her, Westmore!”

  Lexy figured she must have gone to hell when she heard the voice of Detective Nik Stone blaring in her ears. She felt the tightness loosen around her neck as she dropped to the floor. She inhaled a big gulp of air and opened her eyes.

  The room had burst into a hive of activity. Nik Stone had Westmore up against the wall. Two police officers were inspecting the office. Jake Ryan scrambled to her side.

  “Are you OK?” he asked.

  Lexy’s hands went to her raw, bruised throat. “I…think…so.” The words came out in a croak.

  Jake helped her up as they watched Nik roughly handcuff Westmore and hand him over to Styles and McManus, who escorted him out the door.

  Lexy felt a quiver of fear as Stone fixed her with an angry glare. “You’re OK?”

  Lexy nodded.

  “What did you think you were doing, coming in here?” Stone demanded.

  Lexy swallowed. “I suspected Westmore was embezzling money.” She pointed to the black book on the top of the desk. “That book has coded transactions…a second set of books for accounting.”

  Nik raised an eyebrow. “And you thought you would come here and catch him all by yourself?”

  Lexy felt her cheeks burn. It did sound kind of stupid now that she thought about it. “I just wanted to find more proof to show you. I thought I could compare the ledgers in the filing cabinet and find out for sure.”

  Nik sighed. “Well you did do one thing for us. You let us catch him in the act of trying to kill you.”

  “How did you guys know I was in here?” Lexy wrinkled her brow, marveling at the precise timing. A few minutes later and she would have been a goner.

  “We had Styles and McManus following you, but we might not have been here if Conners didn’t raise my suspicions by telling me that she saw Westmore the night your cake was sabotaged.”

  Lexy felt her eyes grow wide. “So Corinne had nothing to do with this?”

  Nik shook her head. “We don’t think so.”

  Lexy looked at her watch. “Oh, no, the contest! I have to get back-the cupcake challenge has already started!”

  Lexy shook off Jake’s hand which was still resting on her arm and bolted out of the room. As she ran down the hall she could hear Nik yelling after her: “Wait! We still have some questions for you!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lexy skidded to a stop beside Cassie just as she was about to place the sugar sculptures on top of the first batch of cupcakes.

  “Wait…don’t put those on.”

  Cassie turned in Lexy’s direction, her brow wrinkled. “What?”

  “Just put them out without the sculptures. The judges are only two booths down.”

  “I think we still have time-“

  “No,” Lexy cut her off, “let’s just get them on the stands and out to the table.”

  Cassie shrugged and turned her attention to stacking the cupcakes neatly on the tiered stands they had bought especially for the cupcake presentation.

  “Did you find what you wanted at Westmore’s office?” Cassie asked.

  “And then some. Westmore caught me in the act and tried to kill me! The detectives showed up just in time and arrested him. Lexy whispered sharply, her hand going to her throat.

  Cassie spun to face her, concern flooding her blue eyes. “What? Your neck is bruised! Are you OK?”

  Lexy nodded, “I’m ok. Detective Stone saved the day just in time, but the important thing is Westmore admitted to being the murderer. He’s also the one who ruined our cake.”

  Cassies eyes went wide. “Why did he kill Amanda?”

  Lexy lowered her voice. “She caught him embezzling money from the contest and was blackmailing him.”

  “Holy crap.” Cassie opened her mouth to say more but was interrupted by the judges appearing at their booth.

  “Your cupcakes make a lovely presentation with the paper and the stand,” Judge Lutner said. Lexy felt her heart warm as the others nodded their approval.

  “The cupcakes themselves are nice but perhaps a little plain,” Grace Harvey said.

  Lexy watched the head judge Tim Gartner purse his lips while he looked the cupcakes up and down, then jotted notes on his notepad.

  Finally the judges smiled, nodded, and moved on.

  Lexy felt like she had been holding her breath the whole time.

  “Looks like we did OK,” Lexy said.

  Cassie shrugged. “Judge Harvey did say they were plain. Those sugar sculptures would have jazzed them up.”

  Lexy glanced back wistfully at the refrigerator where the sculptures were. They would have improved the appearance, most likely giving her high points for aesthetics, but Lexy had her reasons for leaving them off.

  “Well, hopefully we will make up for it in the tasting portion of the challenge.”

  “If we make it that far.”

  Cassie leaned her head toward Lexy. “Tell me more about Westmore…what happened in there?”

  Lexy explained how she had gone to the office and found the ledger, only to be surprised by Westmore, who admitted to killing Saunders before he tried to kill her.

  “I hate to admit it, but Nik Stone saved my life,” Lexy said.

  “Lucky thing. Maybe Jack is right about not getting involved in these investigations.” Cassie raised a pierced eyebrow at Lexy.

  Lexy felt her cheeks flush but was saved from further admonitions by the sight of Tim Gartner heading toward their booth.

  “You’ve made it to the tasting round, so please bring your cupcakes over,” he said.

  Lexy and Cassie sprang into action, loading the cupcake displays onto a stainless steel cart, which they wheeled across the stadium to the taste judging area.

  On the other side of the stadium, Lexy was pleased to see that Corinne was one of the contestants who had made it to the tasting round. Lexy wheeled her cart over and took her place in between Corinne and another baker she had only met fleetingly. Corinne cast a worried glance in Lexy’s direction, but Lexy smiled at her reassuringly.

  Lexy shuffled her feet nervously as sh
e watched the judges take their places at the table across from them. The area behind them was filled with various spectators. The camera crew was already recording the activities.

  Lexy watched Tim Gartner take the podium, marveling at how quickly the contest had adjusted after the excitement of Westmore’s arrest.

  As Gartner made the usual introductions, Lexy’s thoughts turned to Westmore. Her hand went to her throat; the skin felt raw and she rubbed it uneasily. She felt her stomach churn as she realized how close to death she had come. Maybe Jack was right…maybe she should stop meddling in murders. She hated to admit it, but it was becoming somewhat of a fun hobby and she loved working with Nans and the Ladies Detective Club. Perhaps she would just try to be more careful in the future.

  “…wonderfully light lemon filling.” The words took Lexy out of her thoughts and she smiled at the judge’s compliment.

  “The taste combination is perfect and your chocolate espresso is rich and moist - one of the best cupcakes I have tasted today,” Judge Harvey said.

  Lexy smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

  With a start, she realized she hadn’t even paid attention to what the judges had said about the other contestants’ cupcakes-she had been too lost in her own thoughts.

  Gartner stepped to the podium, the scorecard in his hand. Lexy felt her mouth go dry realizing they were about to announce the winner of this challenge.

  “The judges have scored each cupcake on aesthetics and taste.” He waved the cards in the air. “I have the results here and am happy to announce the third-place ribbon. With 3 points for aesthetics and four points for taste, the ribbon goes to…”

  Lexy bit her bottom lip as he paused dramatically.

  “Marg Rupert.” Lexy heard a burst of applause as the baker went up to collect her ribbon. Since this was the last challenge, there were only three finalists, so that left Lexy and Corinne in the running for first place. She glanced sideways at Corinne, who was fidgeting behind her cart of cupcakes.

  “Lexy, Corinne.” Tim nodded at each of them in turn. “It was a tough decision between the two of you. In the end, one of you won by a hair with a better presentation.”

  Another dramatic pause jangled Lexy’s nerves.

  “The second-place ribbon, goes to the baker who won 5 points for taste and 4 points for aesthetics: Lexy Baker! Which means Corinne Conners is the winner with 5 points for both taste and aesthetics!”

  Lexy swelled with pride as she and Corinne went to the podium to accept their ribbons. She should have been disappointed she lost by a small margin, but in reality she was happy the other woman won. She felt her heart grow when she saw the smile on Corinne’s face, which was flushed with excitement, and she knew she had made the right decision. But when Corinne glanced over at Lexy, her smile faded.

  “Congratulations ladies,” Tim said, as Lexy and Corinne made their way back to stand behind their carts.

  “As you know, this is the last challenge in Bakery Battles. We will now pick the overall winner by adding up the scores from all the challenges. The baker with the highest score will win the grand prize of $100,000 and a spread in American Baker Magazine.”

  Everyone applauded loudly, including Lexy and Corinne.

  “There is also a generous second prize of $20,000 and a third prize of $2000. We will break for an hour and then announce the winners right here.”

  Tim stepped down from the podium. The camera crew stopped filming and the crowd started to break up. Everyone would take a short break and return in an hour to hear the final judging.

  Lexy saw Corinne turning to leave and called after her.

  “Corinne, wait up!”

  Corinne turned stiffly to face her and Lexy’s heart dropped when she saw the stricken look on her face. She forced herself to walk over to the other baker - she had some unfinished business that needed to be taken care of before the final winner was announced.

  ###

  “Congratulations!” Lexy said, opening her arms to hug the other baker. She saw that Corinne was near tears. Corinne covered her face as Lexy put her arms around her.

  “Oh, Lexy, I’m so sorry.”

  “Why?” Lexy asked.

  “I didn’t mean to cheat…I only wanted to peek at your wedding cake,” Corinne said through tears.

  “Oh, that? Don’t be silly. You didn’t see anything I was trying to keep secret anyway.”

  Lexy’s heart lifted when she saw Corinne’s face brighten.

  “Really?”

  Lexy nodded.

  “So you’re not mad?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Corinne returned Lexy’s hug, a big smile on her face, the blue ribbon clutched in her hand.

  “I was afraid you would be mad at me. When the police questioned me about it, they thought I ruined your cake. I swear I didn’t touch it!”

  “I know. Westmore did it. He confessed to me,” Lexy said.

  Corinne’s eyes opened wide. “I saw him that night. He was walking toward your booth. But why?” She looked around. “Come to think of it, where is Westmore?”

  Lexy explained the whole story to Corinne, who listened wide-eyed.

  “Wow. I had no idea.” Corrinne looked around. “Hey, I have to go freshen up to get ready for the final announcement.” She shook her hands out. “I’m so nervous!”

  “Me too! I think we both have a good chance. Good luck!” Lexy said, genuinely meaning it.

  “Good luck to you too,” Corinne said, giving Lexy a quickt hug.

  They walked off in opposite directions. Lexy felt like bats were flying around in her stomach. In less than an hour, the whole contest would be over and one of the bakers would be $100,000 richer with a great opportunity ahead of them. Lexy wanted to win, but she was also rooting for Corinne. The other baker needed the money a lot more than she did, plus she had three young kids to support.

  Lexy smiled to herself, certain she had made the right decision, as she sped off to her room to freshen up and then gather Nans and Cassie for the final announcement.

  ###

  Lexy took in a deep breath and eyed the entrance to Bakery Battles Stadium for what would probably be the last time. In a few minutes, the winner would be announced, the kitchens would be packed up, and everyone would be on their way home and back to their normal lives.

  “Good luck, dear.” Nans gave her a hug.

  Cassie held out her fist for a knuckle tap. “Good luck!”

  “Thanks.” Lexy smiled, her stomach rolling over like a cement mixer and feeling just as heavy.

  She broke off from Nans and Cassie to go to the far side of the stadium where a special section was setup for all the bakers. In the preliminary finals, there would be no taping, and the majority of the bakers would be eliminated. Only the seven bakers with the most points would continue on to the taped finale. Nans and Cassie would be waiting in the spectator stands.

  Lexy scanned the crowd. Locating Corinne over in the corner, she waved a greeting and proceeded to make her way over just as Tim Gartner started to address the crowd of bakers.

  “First of all, on behalf of Bakery Battles, I’d like to thank all of you. As you know, the contest has had its challenges this year.”

  A murmur went through the crowd, and Lexy could see many of the bakers nodding.

  “The baking has been top-notch and you’ve all done such a wonderful job that it’s been hard to choose the finalists,” he continued. “But, only one baker can win and it is time to narrow down the group to the top seven who will go on to the grand finale.”

  Tim held up a piece of paper. “This card has the names of those lucky seven bakers. I’m going to read them off. If you are one of them, step over here to the right. Everyone else can start packing up their kitchens. Thank you for participating in Bakery Battles and good luck.”

  Lexy clenched her hands into fists, her shoulders tense. She thought she had done well enough to make it into the top seven, but she still felt
anxious to hear her name.

  The room fell silent, all the bakers holding their breath as Tim read the names.

  “Rudy Abru, Hanna Anderson, Jason Bach, Lexy Baker, Corinne Conners, Mandy Hudson, Bill Salida. Congratulations - you’ve made it into the top seven!”

  Lexy let her breath out in a big whoosh and clapped with the rest of the bakers. She made it!

  She joined the other six bakers on the right. Amidst high fives and hugs, they watched the remaining bakers file out.

  “If you are all set, we can go into the other area now. The camera crews are ready to start taping. Congratulations to all of you - you did a fine job.” Tim made the rounds, shaking hands with each of them, then they followed him out into the other room where the camera crews and spectators were waiting.

  Lexy took her place in line with the other bakers facing the judges. She could feel her pulse beating in her neck: her throat dried up and her hands got clammy. Could this really be the final judging for Bakery Battles? It seemed surreal to think that in a few minutes one of them would have an extra $100,000 and a magazine opportunity.

  Tim walked to the podium. The cameras started to roll. Lexy listened while he announced that the final judging was taking place and then said a little bit about each judge and how the entries were judged on taste and appearance with the scores from all the challenges being tallied up to produce the grand-prize winner.

  “I’d like to add, that Bakery Battles has been proud to host the finest bakers in America.” He waved his card at the group of bakers. Lexy smiled and nodded with the rest of them. “I’d like to give all of them the grand prize, but of course, only one can win.”

  “First, I’d like to announce the four runners-up. Each will receive $250 worth of equipment for their kitchens from our sponsor, the Bakery Connection. They are…Rudy Abru, Hanna Anderson, Jason Bach, and Mandy Hudson!”

  Lexy felt relief and excitement. She was in the top three!

  The clapping died down and Tim continued on. “For the third-place prize, including a check for $2,000, please congratulate…Bill Salida!”