Cupcakes and Conspiracies

by Katherine Hayton

  Holly couldn’t imagine why he needed to travel to Christchurch in the middle of the night. There was no advantage to leaving at this late hour if his purpose, as stated, was to visit Brian.

  A shocking thought occurred to her. “Mr. Masters hasn’t taken a turn for the worse, has he?” she asked, fearing the answer Humphrey might give her.

  “Brian? No. He’s the same. The longer that he stays in his coma, the less chance there is he’ll come out of it.” Humphrey rubbed a hand over his face. “If he doesn’t wake up soon, then he might never get there.”

  “Poor Derek,” Meggie said, taking Holly’s arm and squeezing it. “I can’t imagine having to face the decisions that would entail. I couldn’t give two hoots for Brian Masters, but for Derek’s sake, I sure hope he wakes up soon.”

  “Me, too,” Holly agreed.

  They waited while Humphrey found the key to unlock the front door. Make that keys. He undid three different locks and pressed a series of numbers into a keypad before the door opened. Sure, Holly had locked her door before coming out, but this? She raised her eyes at Meggie, who shrugged back at her, nonplussed.

  “Here we go,” Humphrey said finally, waving the two women inside. He stepped one foot into the entrance hall, then turned and fiddled with the locks again. “Go through to the living room. It’s comfier in there.”

  Holly followed Meggie through into the room, flicking on the light. It was beige. Everything. Curtains, carpet, sofa. The only point of difference was the black wide-screen television mounted on the wall.

  “What was that?”

  Meggie turned as the door slammed shut. They both ran through into the foyer to see it was empty. From the crunch of gravel on the path outside, Holly tracked Humphrey’s progress toward the car.

  “Quick,” she said. “Open the door!”

  Meggie struggled with it, twisting knobs and turning handles but to no avail. He’d managed to lock them inside while he effected his escape.

  “The garage!” Holly ran to a side door and breathed a sigh of relief when it opened. She reached around the wall for the light switch and flicked it on, then scanned for an automatic door opener.

  “Oh, my goodness.” Meggie stood in the doorway, a hand to her mouth.

  “What?” Holly turned and looked around her. A spare car, tools in neat lines, a workbench. “What is it?”

  After a minute, Meggie grabbed hold of Holly’s head and turned it where she wanted it to go. Holly still failed to grasp the significance for a second, then her eyes widened.

  The spare car in the garage was a four-wheel drive. The front bumper was caved in, the light busted, and a long scrape ran down the side. Exactly as though it had driven into another vehicle, forcing it from the road.

  The police took forever to turn up.

  “They’re only around the corner,” Meggie stated for the third time. To have pushed her from the usual cheerfulness into annoyance was such a massive task that if asked previously, Holly would have sworn it couldn’t be done.

  “Perhaps you woke them up?”

  “I’m sure I woke them up. That PC was yawning all the time I was on the phone. It doesn’t excuse their lateness. I mean, imagine if we were being murdered out here!”

  “Then I’m sure your dead body would weigh heavily on their consciences forever.”

  Meggie turned to her with a frown, then burst into giggles. Almost the moment she did so, the familiar crunch of tires on gravel alerted them to the police car pulling into Humphrey’s drive.

  “We’ve put out an alert on his license plate number,” Sergeant Matthewson said as he stepped out of the vehicle. “And I’ve sent an officer out on the main road to see if he can catch up since Humphrey didn’t have much of a head start.”

  He must have been imagining what questions they’d ask on his drive over. With the wind taken out of their sails, Meggie and Holly stepped closer together, Meggie pointing to the garage. “The car’s in there.”

  “I’ll secure it tonight and wait for the forensic team to come up in the morning,” Matthewson said. “You haven’t been touching anything, have you?”

  “In the garage, I touched the light switch and the door opener, just so we could get out of there. Do you need my fingerprints?”

  The sergeant nodded. “No hurry, though. Pop by the station tomorrow, and we’ll take care of it. They just use oils nowadays, so you don’t need to worry about getting black marks everywhere afterward.”

  He walked over to the garage and ran vibrant police tape from one side to the other. “That should hold it. Now”—he walked back toward the pair and put his hands on his hips—"would you like to tell me what you were doing here after midnight in the first place?”

  Meggie looked to Holly who nodded and stepped forward half a pace. “I’ve been looking into some discrepancies between the accounts that Humphrey has been filing for the bakery and the ledgers that my father and sister were keeping for themselves.”

  Holly hesitated before voicing the next bit, but it had to be said. At the very least, Dale already knew she’d found out about it.

  “I’ve also discovered some documents that indicate Humphrey owed Brian Masters a great deal of money.”

  “From what?” Matthewson’s voice was very sharp, and Holly withdrew in surprise.

  “I can’t say for sure, they’re written in code, but I think they’re to do with gambling. From what I can figure out, they’re playing poker and money is owed to Brian Masters from a few people.”

  “Who else?”

  When she didn’t answer immediately, Matthewson gave her a sharp look. “Who?”

  “Alice from the Bean There, Done That café and PC Raggorn.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “No, I said that. Look.” Holly pulled her phone out of her back pocket and flicked to the pictures she’d already stared at for hours. “Here.” She tapped the shield on the picture. “I think he was using this symbol to represent Dale, but that’s just my best guess.”

  Matthewson studied the photograph with an intent gaze, expanding it out to catch more of the details. Holly’s stomach tightened as he did so, scared he would dismiss it out of hand, or laugh and offer her the correct explanation.

  Instead, he grabbed the radio off his belt and walked back toward the patrol car for some privacy. Straining her ears to listen, Holly took a step closer, then almost cursed as the sound of gravel under her feet drowned out the words.

  Then a gust of wind caught and order and delivered it to her, music to Holly’s ears. “Pick up Alice Hodder while you’re at it. I think it’s time she and I had another talk.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Once again, Holly sat in the police station waiting for news. At least this time, Meggie kept her company. Each time that one of them started to flag, the other chatted until they both perked up.

  PC Raggorn wasn’t anywhere to be seen. When Matthewson walked inside and told the two women to wait, Dale hadn’t been seated at his desk. It felt so strange to see the station unmanned. Holly wanted to ask if he’d been sent out to do something or left when he saw the way the wind was blowing. Each time she built up her courage to try, it faded away before she did anything.

  Despite their best efforts, both women were close to a doze when Matthewson walked out of the back office. He stamped his feet extra loud, Holly thought it was probably to wake them up.

  “I’ve got somebody here who will be very pleased to see you,” Matthewson announced, stepping aside to reveal Crystal hiding behind him. She ran across before Holly managed to stand, almost knocking her all the way down again with the ferocity of her embrace.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Crystal said. “I can’t believe that I’m free to go home tonight after spending most of the evening thinking I’d spend the rest of my life behind bars.”

  “What’s happened?” Holly asked. “What did you find out?”

  “I’ll let you know more in the morning,” the sergeant said
, then checked his watch. “I’ll tell you later this morning, I mean. There’re still a few things we need to get cleared up.”

  “Did your men track down Humphrey?” Meggie asked. “I still want to give that man a good piece of my mind!”

  “He’s on his way back here now,” Matthewson said, then yawned, the gesture spreading around the tired group like a virus. “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, he’ll still be locked up down here by the time you have a sleep and write down everything you want to throw at him.”

  “The kitchen sink, for starters,” Meggie said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe that he let me pay him to take me to the edge of bankruptcy.” She clenched her fist and shook it, words unequal to the task of expressing her frustration.

  “I still don’t understand,” Holly said. “What did Alice tell you that convinced you to let Crystal go?”

  The sergeant mimed a zip being pulled across his lips and pointed to the door. “Later,” he said. “And count yourselves lucky that I bother to fill you in at all.”

  With that hedged warning ringing in their ears, the trio walked outside. The night air was brisk, refreshing after the warm stuffiness of the station. “Do you want to come and spend the night with us, rather than walking home?” Holly said to Meggie. “I’m so tired right now, I’ll happily fall asleep on the couch.”

  “You go on, I’ll be fine,” Meggie said, veering off to the street that led to her house. “And I expect you to call me as soon as Matthewson spills the beans. I want to hear how that one goes down with my own ears!”

  “Did he tell you anything?” Holly asked.

  Crystal shook her head. “I thought you’d know more than he told me. When the sergeant let me out and locked Alice up, all he said was that I had my sister to thank!”

  “Poor Alice,” Holly said. “Does she have any family in town to visit?”

  “I don’t care,” Crystal answered. “If she had something to do with hurting poor Derek’s father and letting the blame fall on me, then I’m not feeling sorry for Alice. Much as I’d like to extend my sympathy, my self-protection kicks in first.”

  “Of course.” Holly hooked her arm through her sister’s and squeezed it against her side. “I can’t imagine how horrible this night has been for you. Did you get any sleep in the station at all?”

  “Not. A. Wink.” Crystal said. “I’m amazed that my hair’s not standing up in a bird’s nest with my nails twisted into claws. That’s how it felt like things were going.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I can’t tell that you’ve had a rough time at all. You just look as gorgeous as usual, while I can already feel the bags growing under my eyes.”

  They turned through the squeaky front gate and walked up to the house. As Holly unlocked the front door, an image of the fortification from Humphrey’s home flicked up into her mind. She shook her head. If that was how the man at the heart of whatever conspiracy was operating in town acted, then Holly didn’t want to bother locking the door behind her ever again.

  “Sleep!” Holly ordered when Crystal tried to worry about the baking they’d need later in the day. “You can be as concerned as you like about that when you open up in”—she checked her watch—“three hours time.”

  “Three hours sleep,” Crystal muttered, walking down to her bedroom. “Sheer luxury.”

  “Did the sergeant explain how he knew your secret?” Holly asked over breakfast. It didn’t feel like there’d been enough of a break between going to sleep and waking up, so the meal in question was ninety percent coffee.

  Crystal rolled her eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh. “I told you, he didn’t tell me anything. Just wait until he drops by.” She giggled. “You’re even more impatient than me, and I always want everything now!”

  They’d decided that working in the bakery for the day wouldn’t do anybody any good. Holly set off to put an additional sign under the standard closed to explain it would be, “ALL DAY LONG – BACK TOMORROW.”

  As Holly turned back onto her street, she saw the police car pull up outside, and Sergeant Matthewson emerge.

  “We have so many questions,” Holly said, her tiredness evaporating as she ran up to him. “Come inside.”

  When the sergeant was settled with a cup of tea, the two sisters sat opposite, hands clasped together and eyes fixed in concentration. Under their scrutiny, Matthewson abandoned the attempt at a leisurely drink and put his cuppa down.

  “Okay. The first thing that I’ll tell you is going to break in the news shortly in any case. We’ve arrested Humphrey Wilkins, Alice Hodder, and Dale Raggorn for conspiracy to commit murder.”

  “Dale?” Crystal asked in shock. Holly’s face stayed still but inside, her stomach was in turmoil.

  The sergeant’s face was dark with shadows as he nodded. “I’m afraid so. It’ll be in the news for a while, so best you be prepared to field a lot of questions for some time to come.” He paused, swallowing hard—his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with the effort. “I’ve known and worked with the Raggorn family all my life. This is going to be a blow to our law enforcement, I’ll tell you that.”

  “But how did they do it?” Holly asked. “Did Alice prepare the cake?”

  “Oh!” Matthewson stood up from the table suddenly. “That reminds me. One moment.”

  He jogged back out to the car to fetch something off the back seat. Bringing it back inside, Holly saw it was her father’s recipe book.

  “It seems that Humphrey lifted this from your store one day, thinking it was some kind of ledger. With these recipes in hand, he was able to have Alice cook up a cupcake to the exact same directions as your bakery, so nobody could easily tell the difference.”

  Crystal’s face transformed into a dance of fury. “You can add stealing industry secrets to those charges then. How dare they? It took my father a lifetime to perfect these recipes.”

  Crystal snatched the book and held it to her chest as though it was a baby, rocking it to and fro.

  “Why were you and Dad keeping the ledgers?” Holly asked her sister. “Did you already suspect Humphrey of wrongdoing?”

  “Dad didn’t tell me, but I found the book one day when I was trying to search for this one.” Crystal put the recipe book down on the table and patted it. “After he died, I tried to figure out what was going on. I couldn’t square the figures away with the accounts that Humphrey gave me each month to sign off, so I kept it going.”

  “Is that what you were going to tell me?”

  Crystal frowned, and Holly jogged her memory. “Before my accident, you hinted that you suspected Humphrey of wrongdoing but wouldn’t say more until you were sure.” Holly paused for a moment. “I really wish you had confided in me.”

  “Like you confided in me about the notebooks in Brian Masters’ house?”

  They glared at each other for a moment, then Holly’s lip twitched. “You’re so stubborn,” she said.

  “You’re such a child,” Crystal said, poking her tongue out. They both burst into giggles.

  Sergeant Matthewson stared from one to the other, a puzzled expression on his face. After waiting so long to hear the truth, Holly now couldn’t stop her merriment bubbling up long enough to listen to him.

  Finally, when to carry on one moment more would have been ridiculous, Holly sat bolt upright. “Oh, goodness. I’ve forgotten to give Meggie a ring and tell her that you were here. She’ll kill me.”

  Hunching her shoulder over for privacy, Holly quickly made the call.

  “Meggie will be here in five minutes.”

  “That long?” Crystal said, looking at her watch.

  Meggie must have run the whole way, judging by her arrival ninety seconds before time and the way she could barely catch her breath.

  “I don’t want to miss a minute of it!” she said between pants. “What’s he told you so far?”

  Matthewson gave her a quick rundown to catch her up.

  “Who planted the empty packet in the bakery?’ Megg
ie demanded. “That misdirection should be worth an extra charge, at least.”

  “Dale admits to placing that in the bakery.”

  “What about the box from our trash? Where did that disappear to?” Crystal asked.

  The sergeant looked surprised. “Oh, that. We never told you. Derek thought that after the argument with his dad on the street, it might look suspicious if you had those in your rubbish, so he stole them to protect you.”

  “Derek!” Holly looked over at Crystal, who shrugged.

  “One day, I’ll tell that boy that he nearly gave me a heart attack by doing that.” Crystal shook her head. “Seriously, when you looked in the trash, and it was empty, I started to think that I must have done it and just blocked the whole crime out.”

  “Don’t be too hard on the lad,” Holly said. “He nearly sent you skipping around the bend to crazy town, but it was with the best of intentions.”

  “Well, at least wait until his dad’s recovered,” the sergeant said. “Apparently, his father is awake and aware this morning, for the first time since.”

  “Really?” Crystal clapped her hands. “That’s such good news. It would have been devastating for him, otherwise.”

  “We’ll have a good few questions regarding Brian Masters’ business affairs when he’s back on his feet, but yes, it is good news. Lucky, too.” He glanced at Holly. “If you and Meggie hadn’t called in that tip when you did, we never would have caught up with him. Although we’ll probably never be able to prove it, there was a bottle of peanut oil in a container of wet wipes. We think that he might have been taking another shot at dispatching his debt.”

  “That’s awful!”

  “People do some terrible things when they’re desperate,” Sergeant Matthewson agreed.

  “What about the accounts?” Crystal asked. “Now that you know he’s been fiddling them, does that mean we get back the money he stole?”

  The sergeant shrugged, but his face told another story. Gone. All the money that Humphrey had siphoned off to pay his gambling debts would be gone.

  “Why did you arrest my sister?” Holly asked. “You said at the time you had new information. Where did that come from?”