Bake, Battle & Roll (A Lexy Baker Bakery Cozy Mystery)

by Leighann Dobbs

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  Sylvia stood in front of her, eyes wide, mouth forming a surprised “Oh.” She held something behind her back. A chef’s knife? Images of herself as the next victim flashed through Lexy’s mind and she took a step backward into the hall.

  “What are you doing here?” Lexy asked.

  “What are you?” Sylvia’s eyes darted around the room and out into the hall.

  “I came to ask Prescott about … something.” Lexy leaned to the left to get a view of what Sylvia had behind her back.

  Sylvia whipped her hand out from behind her back in one fluid motion and Lexy’s heart jumped into her throat.

  “I came to drop off this invoice,” she said, indicating the piece of paper she’d been holding behind her back.

  Lexy’s shoulders relaxed and she leaned against the doorjamb. Sylvia shot nervous glances at Prescott’s door.

  “Hey Sylvia, I was wondering something,” Lexy said.

  “What?”

  “When we were out by the dumpster, you said something about hiding Dugasse’s body. Why would you say that?”

  Sylvia’s eyes jerked over to Prescott’s door again before she louvered them back at Lexy.

  “I did? I must have been so distraught that I didn’t know what I was saying.” Sylvia shrugged. “Why would I want you to hide the body?”

  “That’s what I was wondering,” Lexy said, then she narrowed her eyes at Sylvia. “Did you get the head chef job … to replace Dugasse?”

  “Yes. Prescott … I mean, Mr. Charles promoted me to head chef.”

  “Congratulations. So it looks like Dugasse’s death was good for you in that respect. But I bet you miss him.”

  Sylvia wrinkled her brow and Lexy leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “I heard you were very close with someone here.”

  Sylvia’s face turned red and her eyes did more darting around. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Well, you know sometimes men in a position of power can be very attractive … even if they are married.” Lexy gave Sylvia her best ‘you can confide in me’ look.

  Sylvia’s eyes grew wide. “What did you …”

  “Well, sometimes things go wrong and people get hurt. And that might cause the wounded party to do something they wouldn’t normally do … you know out of passion.”

  Sylvia glared at her. “Are you implying I killed Chef Dugasse because I was mad at him?”

  “Oh no, I’m just saying bad things can happen sometimes when you get involved.” Lexy’s heart leapt into her throat when she saw the menacing look on Sylvia’s face.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about but I do know that Dugasse got what he deserved … it just wasn’t at my hands.” Sylvia spat out the words, then brushed past Lexy and stormed off down the hall in the opposite direction of Prescott Charles' office, the invoice apparently forgotten.

  Lexy stared after her wondering what she meant by ‘Dugasse got what he deserved’. Was Dugasse involved in something that got him killed?

  Lexy stood in the hall, her lips pursed going over her exchange with Sylvia when she thought she saw a shadow moving under the door to Chef Dugasse’s office.

  Who would be in there?

  She crept down the hall. The door was open just slightly and she craned her neck, her heartbeat picking up speed at what she saw inside. Brad Meltzer had one of the desk drawers open and was rummaging through it.

  Lexy held her breath. She stood off to one side and prayed Brad wouldn’t look over and see her. She watched as he pawed through the drawer, then moved on to the next drawer, then the next and finally started leafing through cookbooks that were stacked on the desk.

  What was he doing?

  Lexy stepped closer to the door and pushed it open. Brad jumped away from the desk, jerking his head in her direction. His eyes narrowed when he saw Lexy standing there.

  “Looking for something?” Lexy asked.

  She saw a ripple of anxiety cross Brad’s face, then he composed himself and looked down at the desk.

  “I needed the schedule … chef made it out on Monday.” Brad picked up the sheet of paper that had been lying in plain sight on the desk and then started out of the room brushing past Lexy who was standing in the doorway, arms crossed against her chest. She stared after him as he went off down the hallway toward the kitchen.

  Looking back into the room, she felt an icy chill run up her spine. All of Dugasse’s notes and personal effects were in here and, in light of the fact that he had been murdered, she didn’t think anyone was supposed to be in his office … much less rummaging around in the drawers. The schedule was important, but it had been sitting on the top of the desk, surely Brad didn’t need to rummage around to find it.

  Which begged the question … what exactly was Brad looking for?

  Chapter Ten

  Deena had the day off, and Lexy was able to whip up the tarts for that evening’s dessert at record speed since she didn’t have to take time out for giving instructions. Once finished, she threw her apron in the laundry basket and headed off for some well-deserved beach time.

  At her cottage, she changed into a white and blue striped one piece and threw on a long sleeved white shirt as a cover-up. Tossing Sprinkles a treat, she shoved a towel in her oversized beach bag and headed down to the small beach at the end of her street.

  The beach was dotted with colorful blankets and beach umbrellas. Kids played at making sand castles, parents sat in beach chairs next to coolers and teens ran through the water laughing and diving.

  Lexy spotted Jack lying on a lounge chair about ten feet from the edge of the water. She slipped off her flip flops to feel the warm, course sand on her feet and started toward him.

  “Hi handsome, is this spot taken?” Lexy spread her towel down beside Jack who peered over the top of his book at her.

  “I suppose you can sit here, but only until my wife comes down.”

  Lexy laughed, then bent over to kiss him before plopping down on the towel.

  “So how was your visit with the widow?” Jack asked.

  “Interesting.” Lexy dug in her beach bag for suntan lotion. “She said Dugasse was worth more to her alive than dead.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

  “Well, he was a shoo-in to win that Chili Battle. You know, the one they are having here at the fairgrounds.” Lexy pointed in the direction of the open field in the middle of the resort. “Anyway, I guess winning that means you get a lot of money thrown at you.”

  “Hmmm.” Jack pursed his lips.

  “Oh, and she also said that she thought Dugasse was having an affair because he snuck out in the wee hours of the morning.”

  “But she was there the morning he was killed, right?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, but she said she didn’t kill him.”

  “They all say that.” Jack dog-eared a page and then closed his book. “But she might have a point about him being worth more money. Does she have an alibi?”

  Lexy’s brows mashed together. She dumped out the contents of her bag, still unable to find the suntan lotion. “I don’t know. She didn’t seem very hospitable after Nans practically accused her of killing Dugasse, so we got out of there fast.”

  Jack laughed. “Well, maybe you could check the hotel. Or maybe Payne has already done that. The room keys record when people come and go so if she was back in her room at the time of death, it would show that.”

  “Well, I don’t think Payne is going to share any of that information with me. He’s not as nice as you are with that sort of stuff.” Lexy grabbed the copper colored bottle of sun tan lotion and opened the top. Squirting some on her arm, she started rubbing it in. “But I don’t think the wife is the killer.”

  “Oh, why not?”

  “I ran into Sylvia Spicer when I was at the dining lodge and she was acting really funny. Nans and the ladies were thinking she might be the one Dugasse was having an affair with, so I kind of hinted around about that
and she got really mad.”

  Jack chuckled. “Well, wouldn’t you, if someone was hinting around that you had an affair and murdered someone?”

  “Yeah, probably.” Lexy pressed her lips together. Maybe Sylvia was only reacting to her accusations. “But I found out some other strange things today too.”

  “What?” Jack took the bottle from her and started rubbing lotion on her legs, venturing into parts that were already covered by her suit and causing her to almost forget what she was saying.

  “What? Oh … when I was at the dining hall I talked to Prescott Charles, the manager, and he was acting kind of strange about the whole Dugasse thing and then I caught Brad Meltzer sneaking around in Dugasse’s office!”

  Jack finished with the lotion and looked at her. “Well, it sounds like you have a lot of things to follow up on before you can get a picture of what is really going on.”

  “Right.” Lexy bit her bottom lip. There was a lot to figure out … could she, Nans and the Ladies Detective Club handle all that?

  “You know what I’d do?” Jack prompted.

  “What?”

  “I’d start with one clue and follow it through to the end. Knock off each of your questions one by one until they are all resolved and then you’ll know the truth.”

  “You make it sound so easy.” Lexy opened her bag and started putting the contents that she had spilled on her towel back inside it.

  “It’s not that hard if you take it one at a time,” Jack said. “Did you ever get back to that other trail?”

  “No, I was planning on doing that later today. Wanna come?”

  “I wish I could, but I’m going fishing.” Jack peered over his sunglasses at her. “You’re not going alone, I hope.”

  “Oh no, Nans and the ladies will be with me so I’ll be perfectly safe.”

  “That’s great. I’m sure you won’t get into any trouble with them,” Jack said dubiously as he pushed his sunglasses up on his face and flipped over on his stomach.

  Lexy leaned back on her elbows and watched the lake lap at the shore. A little bird ran along the edge of the water pecking for food. Out on the lake, people paddled on kayaks and canoes. The occasional motor boat sped by in the deeper waters. It was calm. Relaxing.

  Lexy’s stomach twisted to think a murderer could be running loose right in this very resort. And, since Payne didn’t seem to be doing a very good job, it might be up to Lexy and the Ladies Detective Club to catch the killer.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lexy had just finished showering and was wrestling Sprinkles into her harness when Nans, Ruth and Helen appeared at her cottage door.

  “Where’s Ida?” Lexy asked.

  “Oh she begged off,” Nans said.

  “Claimed she had to do something with Norman before he went out fishing tonight.” Ruth giggled.

  Lexy made a face and held her hand up. Considering Ida’s comment earlier that day about the two things fishermen were interested in, she didn’t want to know anymore.

  “Will you guys be okay? This could be a long walk and a lot of it is uphill.” Lexy realized the three women were clutching their giant patent leather old ladies purses. “You’re not bringing those purses, are you?”

  “We bring these everywhere,” Helen said.

  “They’re loaded up with all kinds of useful items,” Ruth added.

  “You never know when something in here is going to come in handy.” Nans opened her purse and angled it toward Lexy.

  “They look heavy,” Lexy said. “Why don’t you leave them here and you can pick them up on the way back? You’ll be able to walk the path easier without them.”

  The three women looked at each other. Nans held her purse out by the handles as if judging the weight, then nodded.

  “You may be right, dear,” she said and put her purse on the table. Ruth and Helen did the same with theirs.

  “Okay, let's get this show on the road.” Nans opened the door, leading the way outside.

  They followed the same path Lexy and Jack and followed the other day. When they got to the top of the hill, Lexy had to stop to catch her breath.

  “You guys don’t even seem winded.” She stared at Nans, Ruth and Helen.

  “Oh, that’s nothing,” Nans said. “We do yoga, Pilates and water aerobics … a little hill like this is child’s play.”

  “Maybe you should consider joining us in our regular workout.” Ruth frowned at Lexy. “You seem a bit out of shape.

  Lexy looked down at her slim body. Out of shape? Well, sure she was a bit winded after the climb but she still looked good. At least that’s what Jack had said down at the beach.

  “You’re not in your twenties anymore,” Nans added looking her up and down. “And you won’t be able to keep that cute shape without having to work at it for long.”

  “Yeah, you don’t think our girlish figures come without a price, do you?” Helen ran her hands up and down the sides of her body and everyone laughed.

  “Okay, where’s this path?” Nans asked.

  “Over here.” Lexy pulled Sprinkles to the end of the path and walked the short distance to the back of the dining hall where the trails intersected.

  Nans glanced over at the dumpster, still marked with crime scene tape. “Is that where …?”

  “Yep, that’s where I found him.” Lexy shivered despite the warm afternoon air.

  Ruth walked right up to the crime scene tape. “Maybe we should take a little look around. The police may have overlooked a clue.”

  “Good idea,” Helen said. She held the tape up while Nans and Ruth scooted under, then ducked under it herself.

  The smell of old fish, sour milk and rotting cabbage assaulted Lexy and she pinched her nose shut.

  “Can you guys hurry up?” she said, except it came out as ‘hubby up’.

  Nans bent down, scuffing at the debris under the dumpster with her shoe. “Come take a look at this.”

  Ruth and Helen bent over to take a look. Lexy pinched her nose even tighter and got as close as she dared, craning over the crime scene tape to see what they had found.

  “Is that …?” Ruth asked.

  “I do believe it is,” Helen replied.

  Nans worked at something with her shoe, sliding it out from under the dumpster. She pulled a kleenex out of her pocket, then bent over to pick up the item. She stood holding it in the air, careful to touch it only with the kleenex.

  “Is that blood?” Lexy asked. The item Nans held up looked to be a swatch of fabric—plaid flannel. It was about one inch square and a rust colored smear on it that looked suspiciously like blood. But, whose blood?

  “I think so,” Nans said. Wrapping the fabric in the tissue, she slid it into her pocket.

  “Is that Dugasse’s blood?” Ruth asked.

  “It could be. But the fabric was wedged under the dumpster so it could have been there before he was murdered.”

  “Or it could have come from the killer.”

  “I wish we had our own forensics lab.” Nans pressed her lips together. “I don’t trust that Detective Payne not to fumble this up. He didn’t even find that fabric when he searched the area!”

  “True. He seems like a dope,” Ruth said.

  “I don’t see anything else. Do either of you?” Helen asked.

  “Nope. Let’s move on,” Ruth answered and the three of them scurried under the crime scene tape and then joined Lexy at the intersection of the paths.

  “So which path?” Nans looked at Lexy.

  “Well, this one goes to the front parking lot so I doubt the killer used that one,” Lexy said pointing to the path on the left. Then she turned and pointed to one of the middle paths. “And this is the only other one I haven’t walked on.”

  “Well, let's go!” Ruth started in the direction of the path in a power walk and Lexy trotted after her.

  “We should slow down and look for clues … you know anything unusual,” Lexy said remembering Jack’s advice.

  “
Yes, we know what clues are, dear,” Nans teased.

  They walked leisurely letting Sprinkles make her various pit stops. They were only about twenty feet down the path when Sprinkles found something she must have thought was irresistible. Lexy tugged on the leash, but Sprinkles insisted on sniffing whatever it was she had found under a small shrub.

  “What have you got, Sprinks?” Lexy bent down to investigate hoping it wasn’t a dead animal. It wasn’t. Lexy picked it up and held it out for the ladies.

  “What is it?” Nans narrowed her eyes at the thin strip of leather with stainless steel spikes sticking out of it.

  “I think it’s a bracelet,” Ruth said.

  Lexy wrapped it around her wrist and it snapped closed with magnetic clasps on each end. Ruth was right. “Who would wear a bracelet like this?” Lexy asked.

  “Maybe one of the teenagers?” Nans said. “Their ever changing fashions always baffle me.”

  “Maybe.” Lexy put the bracelet in her pocket and started forward. “I’ll just keep it … it could be a clue.”

  The ladies nodded and followed her down the path. Like the previous day, the tall trees provided welcome shade. The birds chirped, chipmunks scurried in the leaves and the smell of the woods made the walk relaxing and pleasant. Until they came to a section that became very dense … and dark.

  Lexy hesitated, looking at the others. “Is it getting dark out?”

  “No, it’s just the woods are really thick here.” Nans looked back behind them. “The trail narrows, but it keeps going.”

  Nans forged ahead and Lexy followed. They had to walk single file since the trail was so thin and dense forest on either side made it impossible to stray. They walked in silence, Lexy’s nerves getting more jittery with every step.

  Nans stopped abruptly and Lexy almost rammed into her.

  “There’s a clearing up ahead.” Nans pointed. Lexy craned around her to see. It looked like the path ended in a clearing with a small camp in the middle.

  “Let’s check it out,” Helen whispered.

  They scuffled up to the end of the path where they could get a better view of the small house. A picnic table sat in between the path and the camp and there was a large campfire pit in front of it. Six motorcycles were lined up next to the house. No one seemed to be there except a large Boxer dog that lay snoring on the porch.