“So how do you get Ivor out of that?” Betts asked. “It sounds to me like the evidence is pointing at Natalie.”
“Maybe they did it together,” Kim suggested. “Maybe they planned the whole thing and carried it out to get Pat out of the way.”
Chapter 9
Kim woke up bright and early the next day and cleaned her whole house with a smile on her face. Sweeping, mopping, and wiping down the counters reminded her of mornings opening her bakery. With any luck, she would be back there in a day or two, just as soon as she showed Aaron the padlock on her loading door.
Her heart fluttered when she made the phone call. “Hi, Aaron. It's Kim. Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for asking. Hey, I wonder if you might want to meet me at my cookie shop later. I have something I want to show you. Yeah. I think I found the evidence you need to clear my name. Great. See you there.”
She hung up and wiped the sweat off her palms. What if it really worked? What if he took one look at the lock and cut the cordon tape to let her back into her shop? Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of it. In her mind, she designed a billboard to match Ivor's. Of course, she wouldn't have to do much to get her customers back if he was in prison instead of her.
At nine o'clock, a knock sounded on her door. “Betts!” She jumped up and ran to answer it.
But she cried out in surprise when she opened the door. “Dad!”
Jack Harris grinned at her. His bald head gleamed in the morning sun, and his rotund belly hung down in front of him when he leaned forward to peek into the living room. “Your mother and grandmother aren't anywhere around, are they?”
Kim held the door open for him. “You're safe here. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
“At breakfast this morning your mother told me she wanted to talk to me about something,” he replied. “That's the signal for me to make myself scarce.”
“What did she want to talk to you about?” Kim asked.
“That's why I'm here,” he replied. “She wants to talk to me about you. I thought I'd better warn you she's up to something.”
Kim groaned. “That's all right. I already know what she's up to.”
“What is it?” he asked. “I need someone to tell me what is she up to?”
“She's trying to clear my name,” Kim replied. “She thinks I'm not doing enough to fight back against the murder charge, so she's decided to do it for me.”
“What is she doing?” he asked. “Does she fancy herself some kind of detective or something?”
Kim chuckled. “Maybe she does. She has come up with some useful information, but not a lot. I think her major contribution to the case has been to browbeat me into submission. She wants to give orders and wave her sword at the enemy. That's all.”
Jack nodded and sighed. “It's the same old story. What are we going to do about her?”
“Nothing,” Kim replied. “She's always been this way, and she always will be. There's nothing to do but live with her.”
“You're a lot more compassionate toward her than I would be,” he replied. “I can't stand all that drill sergeant stuff.”
“You don't do anything about it, either,” Kim pointed out. “Look at you. You're here to hide from her. She's my mother. I can't hide from her. She doesn't even knock when she comes over here.”
Jack patted Kim on the shoulder. “I know you've had a much worse time of it than I have. I don't know how you stand it. And now, with this murder charge hanging over your head, you've got more on your plate than one person should have to deal with.”
“I can handle the murder charge,” Kim told him. “I think I've found the crucial piece of evidence to prove my innocence. I'm meeting Aaron Walker in a little while to show him. In a few hours, I could be a free woman.”
“I'm sure you will prove your innocence,” Jack replied. “I always knew you would.”
“I'm glad somebody believes in me,” Kim muttered.
“I'm sure Aaron believes in you, too,” Jack told her. “He's always liked you.”
Kim spun around. “Why do you say that? Why does everybody keep talking about Aaron liking me?”
Jack waved his hand. “He thinks the sun rises and sets on you. Everybody knows that. It's written all over his face. You could tell he liked you all the way back when you two were in high school together.”
Kim shook her head and turned away. “You're imagining things.”
Jack shrugged. “So what was the evidence you found?”
“Someone tampered with the padlock on my loading dock,” Kim replied. “I noticed it last night. One of the screws is missing. Someone messed with the lock to get into my shop when I wasn't there. I wish I'd taken a closer look at the lock when Pat turned up dead. I could have cleared my name right away and saved myself days of worry.”
Jack cocked his head to one side. “Maybe that locksmith lost one of the screws.”
Kim froze. “What locksmith?”
“The one that re-keyed your lock,” Jack replied. “I came by to get some cardboard boxes out of your dumpster. I saw that locksmith working on the lock to make a duplicate key.”
Kim stared at her father. “What are you talking about? I never had my lock re-keyed.”
Jack's eyes darted one way and then the other. “But I saw it with my own eyes. I thought it was a little strange, because it happened right at sunset. Most locksmiths work during the day, but I figured you ordered one of those twenty-four hour services to come out and do it. I thought maybe you lost your key or something and needed a new one to open up the next day.”
“When did you see it?” Kim asked. “When did you see this locksmith?”
“Monday evening,” Jack replied. “She was standing right there next to your loading dock.”
“She?” Kim repeated.
“Yes,” Jack replied. “It was a lady locksmith. That's what made it extra unusual.”
“How do you know it was a woman?” Kim asked. “Did you talk to her?”
“No, I kept away from her,” Jack replied. “She was too busy, and I didn't want to get into her way. I assumed you were getting a duplicate key made for your back door. I took me a minute or two to realize it was a woman, because she had a baseball cap pulled down over her eyes and she had those blue coveralls covering her from her neck to her feet. But you know it's not too hard to notice a woman's hips, even under her clothes like that.”
Kim scrubbed the kitchen counter extra hard. Her heart raced. “Just wait until I tell Aaron about this. That's another piece of the puzzle that will get me clear of this murder charge.”
“That locksmith wasn't part of the murder case, was she?” Jack asked.
“I don't know for certain,” Kim replied. “But I do know someone tampered with my padlock. It could have been…...well, never mind.”
At that moment, Betts arrived. She shook hands with Jack. “Have you come to watch the fireworks?”
Jack stood up and headed for the door. “I think I'll take a walk down to the docks. I don't want to be anywhere nearby when the rubber hits the road.”
“Just don't go too far into hiding,” Kim told him. “I'll need you to tell Aaron what you just told me. I'll need you to testify that you saw somebody working on my lock.”
“No problem,” Jack replied. “You tell him to come find me, and I'll sing like a canary.”
“How's he supposed to find you if you're making yourself scarce?” Kim asked.
“I can go down to the station and find him if he wants me to,” Jack replied. “I'm not afraid of the police. It's your mother who keeps me awake at night.”
Kim hugged her father, and he walked out the door. Betts sat cross-legged on the couch and scratched Winslow while Kim finished cleaning. “What time are we meeting Aaron?”
“Ten-thirty,” Kim replied. “He had a meeting with his Captain this morning, so that was the earliest he could come.”
Betts laughed. “I can't wait to see his face when you show him the padlock.”
/> “I can't wait to see Ivor's face when Aaron tells him about the padlock,” Kim countered.
“You've still got it in for Ivor,” Betts pointed out. “What happened to Natalie?”
“I caught him messing with my lock,” Kim replied, “but my dad saw a female doing the same thing. It could have been either of them, or both of them.”
“I've still got my eye on Natalie,” Betts told her. “She's a lying cheat.”
Kim shook her head. “Cheating on her husband doesn't make her a murderer.”
At ten, Kim put her broom away. “It's time.” They started for the door, but Winslow ran ahead of them. “You stay home, kitten. This is serious business.”
He didn't listen. He pressed his face against the door and whined to go out. Kim stared at him. “You can't come, sweetie. There won't be any cookies for you.”
“Why don't you let him come?” Betts asked. “He hasn't been to the shop in days. Maybe he's lonesome.”
Kim snorted. “He's lonesome for cookies.”
They set off for the shop with Winslow in the lead. He trotted down the sidewalk with his tail swishing from side to side. “Just look at him,” Betts remarked. “You'd think he was the one being cleared of murder.”
Betts giggled. “He looks like a plum pudding. Look at the way his belly jiggles when he walks.”
“I've tried putting him on a diet,” Kim replied. “I thought he'd die of a broken heart if he couldn't have his daily cookies.”
“How's he been holding up since the shop closed?” Betts asked.
Kim blushed. “I had to make him a batch at home yesterday,” Kim admitted. “He wouldn't even look at me until I did.”
They came to the bakery and Winslow disappeared around to the back. Kim and Betts circled the building after him, but they stopped dead in their tracks when they found Natalie there before them. “Natalie! What are you doing?”
Natalie let go of the padlock. “Oh! I was looking for you, Kim.”
“But you know I'm not working at the shop right now,” Kim replied. “The shop's closed.”
Natalie shrugged, but she wouldn't look at Kim or Betts. “I know that.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Kim asked. “What are you doing with my padlock?”
Natalie glared at her and didn't answer. She shifted her purse under her arm and started to walk away. Kim darted into her path. “Wait a minute, Natalie. I'm meeting Aaron Walker here in a few minutes. Maybe you'd like to talk to him, too.”
Natalie frowned. “Why would I want to talk to him?”
“I heard you two meet a lot,” Kim replied. “I heard you two like to meet on a bench outside the courthouse to discuss the murder case.”
“Who told you that?” Natalie shot back.
Kim looked up at the sky. “A little bird told me.”
Natalie waved her free hand. “I don't want to see him. I'm leaving.”
Kim pulled the screwdriver out of her pocket. “Is this what you came around looking for?”
Natalie's eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”
“I found it on the ground,” Kim told her, “right over there. Did you drop it there on Monday evening when you came to copy the key?”
Natalie humphed and pushed forward with a sweep of her arm. Kim tried to cut her off again, but Natalie didn't stop. She dodged around Kim, so Kim put out her hand to block her. She planted her hand flat on Natalie's chest. Natalie bounced off and stumbled backwards a few steps.
She gnashed her teeth at Kim. “How dare you? I'll have you arrested for this.”
“You already did,” Kim replied. “If you want to get me arrested again, you can report me to Aaron in a few minutes, just as soon as he gets here. Why don't you stick around and tell him what I just did?”
“Get out of my way!” Natalie roared. “I'm leaving, and you can't stop me.”
She made a rush to get past Kim again. Kim tried the same trick, but Natalie was too strong and too quick for her. She deflected Kim's hands and knocked Kim out of the way. Kim spun away and pitched forward onto the loading dock.
Kim glanced back over her shoulder. She couldn't let Natalie get away. She had to find a way to stall her until Aaron showed up. She caught Betts's eye, and Betts made a dash to intercept Natalie, but Natalie saw her coming a mile away. She shoved Betts away with both hands. In desperation, Betts grabbed two handfuls of Natalie's jacket and tried to wrestle her to the ground.
Natalie fought back. She batted at Betts's face. Betts leaned as far back as she could to get away from Natalie's blows without letting go of her jacket. Then Natalie tried to pry Betts's fingers off her jacket. She peeled one finger back after another. As soon as she got one free, she started on the next one and Betts pinned the first finger down again. Then they started all over again.
They might have gone on like that all day if Kim hadn't recovered from her fall and flown to help Betts. She tackled Natalie from behind and wrapped her arms around her neck. She dragged Natalie backwards, but Betts still tried to drag her the other way by the jacket, so Natalie didn't have any trouble staying on her feet.
Back and forth they surged. Natalie worked first at Betts's hands, then at Kim's arms around her neck. Then she changed her mind and went back to working Betts's hands off her jacket. The three women grunted and groaned and cursed and exclaimed.
All at once, a flying flash of fur sailed out of the bushes next to the loading dock. Kim saw it coming and gasped for breath to call out. “Winslow!” Why did she bother to call him? He couldn't help her.
He didn't pay the three fighting women any attention at all. He kept his eyes fixed on the cookie shop. That loading door meant only one thing to him, and he wouldn't accept anything less. He ran straight for it, right under Natalie's feet. She tripped over him and staggered backward into Kim.
Kim lost her balance and fell backwards. At the last moment, she caught herself and got her feet under her. She stood up against Natalie, but her weight sent Natalie the other way. She toppled against Betts, who grabbed at Natalie's jacket for support. Her weight pulled Natalie farther toward her and Kim along with them. All three women fell in a heap on the ground. Natalie's purse flew out of her hands, and the contents scattered across the ground.
Winslow managed to extricate himself from the melee and spring clear. He made first for the loading dock, but when he found it still firmly locked, he sought refuge in the bushes again to wait for the shop to open.
Kim fought her way out of the tangle of arms and legs to the top of the heap. She stuck her head up for fresh air, but Natalie clawed her back down again. Betts struggled to get up and stepped on Natalie's hand. Natalie pushed her away and kicked Kim in the face. Kim raised her arm to defend herself and knocked Betts down again.
They kicked and fought and bit and pecked for several long minutes. Then, out of nowhere, Aaron strode around the corner. The happy, purposeful expression melted off his face. He stopped in front of the heap of women and stared at them.
Kim puffed and panted and gasped for breath. She tried again and again to get to her feet to greet Aaron, but every time she tried, one of the other women tried to do the same thing, and they all collapsed together again.
Aaron watched with a stunned expression on his face for some minutes. When no one gained the upper hand, he smiled and stepped forward. He caught Natalie by the arm and lifted her out of the fray. As soon as Natalie got clear, Kim bounced to her feet. Betts managed to pick herself up not long after.
“I'm glad you're here, Aaron,” Kim panted. “There's something I want to show you.”
Aaron didn't let go of Natalie's arm. “Let me guess. It's something that implicates Natalie for Pat's murder.”
Kim gasped. “What makes you say that?”
“What's she doing here?” Aaron asked. “I came here to meet you. If she's here, she must have something to do with the murder.”
“She tampered with the padlock on my shop to get access to the frosting,” Kim tol
d him. “Don't you remember I told you I caught Ivor messing with it the day Pat was killed?”
Aaron frowned. “If you caught Ivor handling the lock, how do you know Natalie tampered with it?”
Kim pointed to the door. “A screw is missing from the lock, and my dad will testify that he saw a female locksmith back here when I wasn't around. She copied the key to get into my shop.”
Betts stepped forward. “Ethel Harris saw Natalie hanging around the shop the night before Pat's murder. We saw Ivor kissing Natalie when he left her house. They had an affair, and they must have planned the murder together.”
The breeze caught a piece of paper from Natalie's upset purse and blew it against Aaron's leg. He picked it up and studied it. “Well, what do you know about that? Here's the purchase order for that billboard with the cookie-making witch, and the name on the invoice is Natalie Malloy. She planned Pat's murder and ordered the billboard three weeks ahead of time. Ivor had nothing to do with it. It was Natalie all along. She planned to kill Pat with the rat poison from Ivor's donut shop and cash in on ruining Pembrooke Bakery.”
Kim's eyes widened. “And then she would cash in a second time by suing me for the insurance money. It all makes sense now.”
Natalie struggled to pull her arm out of his grasp. “Let me go!”
“Not a chance,” Aaron replied.
Betts bent down and picked up a plastic box from the clutter at her feet. “Here's the screwdriver set she used to open the padlock. Look. The smallest one is missing. I wonder where that could be.”
Kim drew the screwdriver from her pocket. “Oh, look at that! Here it is. It fits in the smallest space perfectly.” She handed the whole set to Aaron.
“That settles it,” Aaron replied. “You're free to go, Kim.”
“We still haven't explained why Ivor came around to handle the lock after the murder,” Betts told her. “If Natalie tampered with the lock, what was Ivor doing here, too?”
A feral growl issued from Natalie's throat. “That spineless weasel!” The friends spun around to face her. “I'll kill him for this.”
Murder in the Oven: A Camellia Cove Mystery Book 1 Page 7
