She thought she was doing a good job of holding it together, but caught her hands shaking as she put water on to boil for some soothing herbal tea. Melissa was more of a coffee drinker, but circumstances being what they were, she doubted the need for more caffeine. Britney immediately began barraging her with rapid fire questions about what had happened and explaining her shock at showing up for work expecting to be chastised for being late yet again but instead finding the place cordoned off by police tape. Not wanting Logan to hear her retelling the story so as not to upset him even more, Melissa gave Britney the “shush” sign by placing her finger over her lips and motioning for her to join her on the deck.
Taking a few sips of her hot chamomile tea, Melissa filled Britney in on the events as they had transpired that morning – finding the back door to the shop open, finding the dead body of Linda Stevenson inside, and the hostile police interrogation. Shock was apparent on the young woman’s face. After taking some moments to compile her thoughts, Britney burst out, “Well, that’s just ridiculous! Why would they treat you like that? You didn’t kill her!” Melissa didn’t allow her to continue ranting for fear Logan would hear.
In a softer tone, Britney speculated who would want to murder Linda. Sure, she wasn’t the nicest lady in town and had gone out of her way to be spiteful towards Melissa when she came back to Kill Devil Hills, but that didn’t seem to make her a target for murder. The young woman seemed more alarmed that the cops had kept Melissa for questioning so long, than the actual fact that a woman had been found dead in the bakery.
Although Melissa didn’t think it would do any good, Britney insisted on talking to her boyfriend, Eddie (Edward Johnson, III to be exact) to get his daddy – billionaire shipping magnate and top dog all along the North Carolina coast – to set the police department straight. While appreciating the gesture, Melissa knew it would probably do more harm than good to have the elder Mr. Johnson make a call on her behalf.
She was saved from more of Britney’s broad declarations of getting the cops off her back when the doorbell rang announcing another guest. Not really excited about hosting a small gathering, when she just wanted to crawl back in bed and pretend this day had not happened, she reluctantly answered the door. Luckily, it was her good friend Cheryl who owned the one and only soup and salad restaurant immediately across from the Kill Devil Delicacies. Cheryl had been Melissa’s best customer since opening day by ordering daily deliveries of breadsticks and artisan bread loaves to serve with her soups and salads. They both volunteered at the local soup kitchen twice a week and provided Meals-on-Wheels as well. Their friendship had blossomed over the last couple of years. Cheryl, and their other friend Maria whose husband owned the other bakery in town, insisted that Melissa get out at least once a month for a girls’ night. At first she had resisted, but Cheryl wouldn’t allow her to sit at home by herself every night watching crime dramas or reality television. Her pestering finally worked and now Melissa looked forward to their nights out on the town. Today especially, she could use her friend’s support. At least she could count on Cheryl not to become hysterical which was close to what Britney was doing.
Seeing the frustration in Melissa’s eyes, Cheryl took charge of the situation. After a few more minutes, she had somehow convinced Britney that she should go in order for her weary boss to rest after her ordeal. Even as she was nearly shoved out the door by Cheryl, Britney continued proclaiming that she would tell the cops what was what and warn them to leave her friend alone. As the door shut behind her, both women rolled their eyes at the younger woman’s dramatics and let out simultaneous sighs of exasperation. There had been many times throughout their acquaintance that Cheryl had asked her, “How do you deal with that little tart?”
Checking on Logan, who had fallen asleep with his feet dangling off the edge of the bed and his hair still damp, Melissa kissed him softly on the forehead and pulled the covers over his lankly teenage body. She returned to the kitchen to find Cheryl warming up some of her famous bacon and cheddar potato soup on the stove. “Figured you could use some comfort food,” she ordered Melissa to take a seat and relax.
“Don’t think I will be relaxing anytime soon. Actually, what I really need to do is call my brother to let him know how Logan is holding up. Would you mind…” but before she could finish her question, Cheryl shooed her out of the kitchen to make her call. John David was concerned about them both. Surprisingly, he didn’t insist on driving out to pick up Logan and haul him back to Charlotte for the remainder of the summer but rather wanted him to remain there to support her. Part of her thought it was a sweet gesture, but the other part wondered if it had more to do with not wanting to be burdened with the drive and having to deal with a rambunctious teenage for the next three months. After years of desperately trying to have a child with her late husband and being disappointed, Melissa could never understand how her own brother and sister-in-law so nonchalantly cast their one and only child aside while they furiously focused on their high-profile banking careers.
Not feeling much better after her conversation with Logan’s father, Melissa returned to the kitchen to find Cheryl had ladled out the scrumptious soup into whole wheat bread bowls and had replaced Melissa’s cup of tea with a glass of red wine. “Thought you could use something a teeny bit stronger,” she quipped with a small grin. The two ladies sat at the table silently enjoying their soup.
It wasn’t until the soup was gone and Melissa was picking off bits of bread that she opened up to Cheryl about her experiences that day. She assumed someone had contacted Linda’s family. Her two children, Andrea and Charles (aka Chuck) were living in Atlanta and New York, respectively. Her husband was out of town at a teacher’s convention in Raleigh but was on his way back. The locals were gossiping and speculating about what had happened but no one seemed to know why Linda Stevenson had been in Melissa’s bakery or how the pleasantly plump, platinum blonde ended up dead. The cops had not yet released any information, but Cheryl expected there would be something on the evening news at least.
More relaxed now, Melissa and Cheryl continued their conversation out on the deck. A couple hours later, Logan made an appearance with his disheveled hair covering his eyes. His aunt knew without lifting the hair away that the boy’s eyes were red and swollen from crying. He was trying to give off the “I’m a big boy and can handle anything” vibe but wasn’t fooling anyone. Cheryl jumped up to fetch some soup for the young man. He ate the meal with gusto. Despite the morning’s events, there was no holding back a teenage boy’s appetite; Logan had no trouble packing away the food. Not to mention it was Cheryl’s special recipe.
Realizing the two needed their space, Cheryl made an excuse and left a little while later. At first, the aunt and nephew sat quietly out on the deck in their over-sized Adirondack chairs. Melissa was the first to break the silence by explaining that she had contacted his father. Logan didn’t seem surprised his parents intended to leave him there. Actually, he was glad. He loved his Aunt Mel dearly. Every summer she made him feel more loved and cared for than he ever felt when with his parents. He certainly didn’t wish to leave her now.
Not wanting to worry him, Melissa tried to steer the conversation away from Linda’s unfortunate demise. A few failed attempts later, they agreed to move inside and veg out in front of the television together. The sun was starting to set, but the little time spent outside had left Logan’s fair skin pinker than before and his nose more freckled. Besides, the mosquitos were relentless this time of year. They were both scratching at bites as they made their way inside.
Clicking the remote to turn on the 32 inch flat screen television she had purchased a few months back, they settled in their respective spots – hers in the oversized, well-worn chair with her feet curled underneath her and his on the matching sofa. Deciding against their usual crime drama series, Melissa sought something with a lighter fare, perhaps a comedy sitcom. Unfortunately, the chosen show was interrupted by a local news special report live from Kil
l Devil Hills, NC.
A smiling and attractive young woman from the local news station was broadcasting live from in front of Melissa’s bakery. “This is Sonya Patterson from News Channel 12 reporting from the scene of a gruesome murder in the quiet seaside town of Kill Devil Hills. Channel 12 has learned that the shop just behind me is a bakery owned by Melissa Jones Maples and is where her competitor Linda Patterson was found dead this morning. Local residents are shocked. The police took Mrs. Maples and her nephew into custody this morning for questioning when they responded to a 911 call. Both were later released.” Video footage showed Melissa and Logan being ushered to a waiting police car. It did indeed look like they were being “taken into custody”.
The reporter continued, “Police have not released details of the murder or discussed any evidence that was obtained from the scene. However, this reporter spoke briefly with the husband of the victim this afternoon.” A picture appeared on the screen of Mr. Stevenson as well as a telephone icon. The recording played was of a distraught husband in shock but Melissa was shocked at his words. He basically told the reporter that his wife was a saint and had never understood why Mrs. Maples despised her so much. He elaborated that the two had a fierce rivalry since high school, but his wife had tried to patch things up with her when the woman came back to town after her husband’s questionable death in an airplane crash a few years back. However, she had been rebuffed and constantly subjected to gossip orchestrated by her rival. In his mind, there was no doubt that Mrs. Maples had something to do with his wife’s death.
Shocked and outraged, Melissa tried to turn off the television but in her haste hit the volume button instead of “off”. The last thing she and Logan heard was the reporter signing off her broadcast saying, “The police have not commented but it is clear to everyone else in town that it is not a coincidence Mrs. Stevenson was found in the Kill Devil Delicacies bakery. We hope to have more information for our viewers tomorrow when the police chief gives his news conference briefing at 10 AM.”
The TV went dark and all was silent. Neither Melissa nor Logan could find their voice to say anything. Apparently, the public had made up their minds that she was to blame for Linda’s death. The woman had been found in her shop, after all. However, the malarkey about there being a fierce rivalry and that Linda had tried to be nice to her when she returned to town was ridiculous! Melissa had done her best to simply ignore the woman’s unveiled attempts at hostility for years. Frankly, she could’ve cared less about being in competition with the woman. As she saw it, they each had their own niche of the bakery market, thus there was no professional rivalry. The allusion that Kevin’s tragic death in the Cessna experimental aircraft was “questionable” was even more absurd!
With dread she looked over at Logan who had gone ashen white despite his earlier pinkish tinge. Melissa started to say something in an effort to comfort her nephew. Before she could even think of the right words to say, he unexpectedly jumped up. With anger growing in his voice and his hazel eyes flashing with gold flecks, he began to rant about the stupidity of the entire situation. How could anyone believe his Aunt Mel had anything to do with that crazy woman’s death?! That reporter should be fired immediately and Mr. Stevenson is obviously in need of a shrink if he believes even half of the bull---- coming out of his mouth! She allowed him to continue to pace the living room and rave about the lack of sense and justice being shown by this little “hick” town.
Listening to her nephew, dread built up in Melissa’s mind. If folks really believed she was guilty of killing Linda she was in trouble. Even the detective from earlier today was ready to write her off as the killer so he could waltz over to his retirement party. If the town had already made its mind up against her, and the cops weren’t going to do their job and find the real killer, that left her only one option. Find the killer herself, before they locked her up for a crime she did not commit.
Chapter 4
Although neither slept well, or really at all, that night, Melissa and Logan were both up before the sun. Coffee mugs filled to the brim, they headed out to the bakery before any of the locals were up and about their day. She had tried to convince Logan to stay home that day and not to worry about her, but the young man was on a mission. “No one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to railroad my Aunt Mel!” he had declared. Aunt Mel was grateful he believed so strongly in her, but she didn’t want him getting messed up in this craziness. However, if left to his own devices, Logan was more apt to get himself into trouble while “investigating” her case. Not seeing another way out, she decided that keeping him close was probably the best course of action.
Logan had noticed a news van parked on the other side of the house earlier that morning, so they crept out a side door and kept to the shadows until they were well out of sight. They hurried along the seven blocks from the house to the bakery. The more she thought about it, the more Melissa realized she couldn’t trust the police to handle the investigation properly. It was a shame she had such little faith in them, especially since the one with the kind brown eyes was somewhat attractive and seemed trustworthy. Well, kind eyes or not, she couldn’t count on the cops to save the day. This wasn’t “Castle”, this was real life. And in real life, the police don’t always get their man or woman.
The back of the building was still blocked off with police tape that read “Do Not Cross”. However, the front was devoid of the tape so Melissa let herself into her own shop through the front door. The place was dark and smelled of something that was not in line with a bakery. She suspected that stench was Linda’s blood but didn’t want to say anything to Logan about it. Wouldn’t do any good to creep the kid out. She was creeped out enough for them both. The boy moved to turn on the lights but Melissa stopped him. The last thing she wanted was for others to notice the lights and come over to confront her invading a crime scene, even if it was her own store. Instead she used the flashlight app on her phone to see her way around. Truth be told, she knew the place so well she could operate an entire day in the store while blindfolded.
Motioning to Logan to stay behind her and not touch anything, Melissa first inspected the front windows and door to see if anything was amiss. Then she moved around the few tables in the place with the wooden chairs still piled on top from when the bakery had closed two nights earlier. Nothing seemed out of place. The customer counter and display cases showed signs of a white powdery substance she suspected the cops had used to dust for prints. The glass enclosed shelves that normally held breads and pastries were empty and cleaned – not even a crumb. She never served anything that was not made fresh that day. Anything not purchased at the end of the day was delivered to the local soup kitchen. With Logan here for the summer, that was one of his duties.
The cash register had also been dusted for prints. Melissa grabbed a pen in a cup next to the register to punch in the code to open it without leaving any fingerprints. It was empty. All cash was removed nightly and placed in the safe in her back office or taken to the bank night depository. Thinking back, she remembered that Britney had offered to take the deposit bag the evening in question and had offered to close up the shop for Melissa so she could get home early to cook a decent meal for Logan. Despite loving to bake, and having graduated with honors from a culinary program, she was not big on cooking everyday meals. A thorough sweep of the front of the shop revealed nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fingerprint dusting powder that the cops had not cleaned up during their initial investigation.
Beginning to think this was a big mistake to come down to the bakery to check things out on her own, Melissa eyed the back of the store. Knowing that was where the crime occurred so that would be where any evidence had been left, she dreaded walking back there. Even more so, she dreaded what she would find even though the cops had most likely taken anything of significance. Taking a deep breath, she used her hip to push open the door leading to the back of the store.
It was pitch black in this area of the shop. The door to
the front obscured all light from the outside and should shield any light from the back of the store from anyone walking past outside. Considering her options, walk around a crime scene using the tiny flashlight app on her phone or risking turning on the lights, Melissa chose the latter. The overhead lights flickered briefly and then hummed on fully.
Too late, she realized Logan probably should’ve stayed out front. The scene before them was disturbing. Pots and pans and baking utensils had been strewn all over the counters and floors. But the disturbing part was the blood splattered on the corner of the countertop she used for cooling breads fresh from the oven and the blood that had dried into the concrete floor. She doubted bleach was going to get that stain out, ever. The police had left the taped outline of Linda’s body as it had been discovered. The blood stain appeared to begin at the head and then flowed in an outward pattern. There were specks of dried blood on the walls as well with a smudge of it caked on the door knob leading to the alleyway behind the store.
Trying not to allow herself to focus on the gory scene that used to be her favorite place in the world. The place where she hummed Bon Jovi songs while making her masterpieces on a daily basis. It was truly the one place where she always felt at home since Kevin died. Melissa doubted she would ever feel that way again. At least, not here.
Logan reached over to pick something up off the floor, but Melissa stopped him. If it had any value as evidence, she was sure the police would’ve bagged it and taken it away, but just in case she didn’t want to contaminate the crime scene. Instead she used her phone to snap a few pictures. Looking around, there didn’t seem a lot that could be useful, but being an amateur investigator Melissa was afraid to overlook anything so she took pictures of everything.
A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1) Page 2
