The Sweet Baked Mystery Series - Books 1-6

by Katherine Hayton

  “Do you want me to go and see if she’s still awake?” Holly asked as the police officer pounded on the door.

  Brian just stood in the lobby, his shoulders slumped, not responding to her or the door.

  “You can’t just ignore the police,” Holly said firmly. She edged past Brian and pulled the door open. “Hello, Sergeant Matthewson. How can we help?”

  He brushed past her, walking inside as though he’d been issued an invitation. Holly stepped back, a pulse beating high in her neck as she observed the stern expression on the officer’s face.

  “I’m here to see Sophie Allington,” Matthewson said. “Where is she located?”

  Before Holly could offer the information, Brian stomped in front of the policeman, waggling his finger in the sergeant’s face.

  “You can’t just barge in here—”

  “I have a warrant for the arrest of Sophie Allington,” Matthewson interrupted, completely impassive in the face of Brian’s anger. “If she’s on the premises, then please tell me her exact location.”

  When Brian raised his finger to point in Matthewson’s face, the policeman knocked it aside.

  The door opened behind Holly and another two men strode through, looking around with quick movements that reminded her of birds.

  “I’m here to arrest Sophie Allington, and these men are here to remove Matthew Willoughby into care. Please either tell us her location or step aside.”

  Holly stared in horror at the two men. “Surely, Matthew can just remain here while his mother is being questioned,” she said. “He doesn’t need to go through the trauma of being processed into care.”

  “That’s not your decision to make,” Matthewson said, turning on her. “And I suppose I know better than to ask what you’re doing here, right in the middle of trouble once again.”

  “I’ll go and fetch her,” Brian said, holding his hands up in surrender. “Just give her a minute to get properly dressed.”

  While he rushed upstairs, Holly turned to the sergeant with a pleading stare. “I know that Amber has accused Sophie of hurting her, but surely taking away her son is overkill. She’ll be out on bail shortly. Can’t you just turn his care over to someone in this house, since he’s living here already?”

  Matthewson stared up the staircase, not moving in the slightest to indicate he’d even heard. Holly took a step back, reaching for the door handle to leave. If she couldn’t help here, then she was better off out of the way.

  “You—” The sergeant turned and fixed her with a steely eye. “Stay where you are!”

  “But I just popped in to get some contact details,” Holly protested. “I don’t have anything to do with this.” She waved her hand. “Whatever this is.”

  “I need to question you further about the events you observed at the funeral on Wednesday,” Matthew said, returning his stern gaze to the stairs.

  “You’ve already questioned me,” Holly protested.

  “Briefly,” the sergeant answered. “And that’s no longer good enough. I want another interview, a fuller statement, and I want your signature on it to say that’s exactly what you observed on the day.”

  “But you don’t need that tonight, do you?” The fight with Aidan, the terrible accusations in the surgery center, and the unexpected arrival of the police culminated in a feeling of exhaustion. “I’m happy to stop by the station tomorrow.”

  “How long has he been up there?” the sergeant asked, turning to her with raised eyebrows. “Is it just my imagination, or should Miss Allington have made an appearance now, even if she had to take the time to get fully dressed?”

  Holly nodded, then shrugged. “They have been a long time, but I’m sure it’s innocent.” She gave a little laugh. “It’s not like there’s another exit down the back or anything. If they wanted to escape, they’d have to shimmy over the roof!”

  As the sergeant stared at her, they both heard it. The strange creaking overhead that denoted a heavy weight.

  As heavy as a person.

  The sergeant sprang into action, taking the staircase three steps at a time. As soon as he’d disappeared out of sight, Sophie came out from a different angle, running downstairs with her eyes and hair as wild as a bird. When she saw the two men waiting downstairs, her step faltered, her lower lip wobbled, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “Um, Sergeant?” one of the social workers called up. Then louder, “Sergeant Matthewson. Your suspect is now downstairs!”

  There was a muttered invective from upstairs, and a few seconds later, Matthewson appeared at the top of the staircase, his hair mussed up and his shirt collar pulled awry.

  “Miss Allington,” he called out as he neared her. “I’m placing you under arrest for murder—”

  “Murder!” Holly gasped. “Did Amber die?”

  The sergeant gave Holly a glare that spoke volumes about how much he liked being interrupted. He ignored Holly and continued his caution while escorting Sophie down the remaining stairs.

  “Your son, Matthew, will be taken to a place of safety by these Children, Young People, and their Families workers—”

  “Please don’t take my son away,” Sophie begged. “Matthew won’t cope if he’s away from me.”

  Holly moved forward. “Can’t Matthew remain here, with the people he already knows and trusts? You know Brian and Derek would take good care of him.”

  Sergeant Matthewson cocked his eye at Holly. “Is this the same Brian Masters who’s currently perched on the roof, pretending to be Miss Allington making a getaway?”

  Holly stepped back, shaking her head. She reached out a hand toward Sophie, wanting to comfort her, then dropped it back down to her side. The woman was distraught with fear about her son—a kind touch wouldn’t help.

  “You never answered my question,” Holly said in a low voice. “Did Amber die from her injuries? We were just visiting her, and she seemed to be on the mend.”

  “Amber’s doing well,” the sergeant agreed.

  Holly stared at him, puzzled, then held up her hands. “Then what’s the murder charge about?”

  Matthewson cocked his eyebrow at her, and for a long second, Holly was sure that he wouldn’t tell her. Then he sighed. “It’ll be on the radio news by now, I suppose. The tests came back to the pathologist’s office in Christchurch. Steven Willoughby was murdered.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Monday morning, trade at the bakery was brisker than it had been for much of the week before, but still slower than Holly had grown used to. She leaned on the counter, Crystal beside her—there was no use baking up more treats when they still had to sell the ones on hand.

  “It’s lucky that we’ve still got our deliveries, or this would be back to a single person job,” Crystal grumbled.

  “Are there any other businesses in town that we could try to sell in bulk to?” Holly turned to her sister and caught her mid-yawn. “Maybe if we tried a dedicated sales approach we could get things to pick up.”

  “Go write up a plan of attack, then.” Crystal pushed across a pad and pencil. “Add in an online store while you’re at it.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Holly said, then caught the flash of her sister’s smile before she ducked her head to hide it. “What?”

  “We tried it, Dad and I.” Crystal looked up and rolled her eyes. “I thought it would be the next big thing to save us from the brink of bankruptcy. Instead, we just ended up with a whole lot of customers ignoring our delivery boundaries and trying to order fresh products to be delivered within the hour to Auckland.”

  Holly burst out laughing. “I suppose it would only work locally.”

  “Yep,” Crystal agreed, stretching out her back. “And I’d rather have them coming directly in here if I’m honest.”

  “Okay. Just the local businesses.” Holly opened the yellow pages on her phone and went to work.

  “Hey, guys,” Meggie said, wandering in for her usual morning break. “How’s it all going?”

 
“Slow,” Holly and Crystal said in unison, then both laughed.

  “I saw you out on your date with Aidan on Saturday,” Meggie said.

  Holly went very still, her breath catching in her throat. “Did you?” she said, at last, her voice as noncommittal as she could make it.

  “Yeah. You were wondering out of the cinema hand in hand.” Meggie sighed. “I yelled out, but you didn’t even turn in my direction. Ah, young love.”

  As Crystal joined Meggie with a laugh, Holly tipped her head forward to shield her expression. Thank goodness Meggie hadn’t been out and about an hour later.

  She still hadn’t told Crystal about what happened.

  “Your usual, Madam?” Holly said to Meggie in a posh voice. Without waiting for a yes or not, she swept out the back where she could recover for a moment with only the coffee machine and ovens to stare with curiosity at her reddening face.

  “Here we go.” A much more composed Holly placed a trio of coffees down on the table. “I’ll just fetch something to eat, as well.”

  Crystal bent over to take her coffee, then turned to head into the bakery. “Why don’t you stay, love?” Meggie asked. “It’s not like you’re being rushed off your feet.”

  They all took a seat at the small table, quieter than usual.

  “Did you hear anything more about the funeral family?” Meggie asked after a few too many minutes silence. “There was something on the radio about the father having a cocktail of drugs in his system.”

  Holly had heard the same article and nodded.

  When she didn’t speak to add anything, Crystal gave her a worried glance and then filled Meggie in, “Holly was around at Brian Masters place when they arrested the new partner for murder. The sergeant dragged her down to the station to give a formal statement and all.”

  “He didn’t.” Meggie’s turned a concerned face toward Holly. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Holly forced a weak smile on her lips. “It was a late night, but I wasn’t the one being hauled over the coals.”

  The station house was so small that Holly had clearly heard Sophie’s weeping voice in another room while she gave her statement. The low sobs had sent a shiver down her spine as she read over a summary of her words and signed her name.

  “Her son was taken away by two social workers,” Holly added. “Poor Sophie was utterly distraught.”

  “It’s probably for the best.” When Holly turned a shocked face toward Meggie, her friend looked grim. “It’s not as though they could let him live with her in prison, is it?”

  “She’ll be out on bail soon, I’m sure.”

  “But do you think she’s innocent?” Meggie stared intently at Holly, who fumbled for an answer.

  “Yes,” she said at last because she still couldn’t imagine the petite and meek Sophie doing something so dreadful. “I do believe that she’s innocent.”

  “In that case, who did it?” Meggie sat back with raised eyebrows while she sipped at her coffee.

  “Samuel seems the next most likely suspect,” Holly said with a surreptitious glance at Crystal. Either her sister didn’t recognize the name or was a master at keeping her emotions in check. Probably the latter.

  “He’s the elder son, right?” After a second’s pause, Meggie tapped her forefinger on the table. “Why do you reckon he might have done it?”

  Holly shrugged. “I don’t reckon—” she smiled at Meggie “—that he’s done anything. I just suggested him as a candidate because otherwise, you’re running into complete strangers.”

  “Or Amber,” Crystal said. When the two women turned to her, she laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know. Since we’re suggesting candidates at random…”

  “She stabbed herself?” Meggie’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  “That poor girl,” Holly said. After the terrible events of Saturday, she’d buried her head beneath the covers all yesterday, trying to pretend the world didn’t exist. But how much worse off was Amber?

  Crystal cocked an eyebrow. “You haven’t called her that before.”

  “I just thought of her alone in a hospital bed in a strange town. The funeral was bad enough, then she’s stabbed and fighting for her life, then she finds out her father was murdered.” Holly shuddered. “I can’t imagine what emotions must be going through her head.”

  “Visit her, then.”

  Holly turned to Meggie in surprise, about to protest all the reasons she shouldn’t. Before she said anything, though, she understood all of them were just flimsy excuses.

  “You’re right,” Holly said. “I should.”

  With nothing else to occupy her evening, Holly made the visit to the surgery center that same night. Although she tried to be as pleasant as possible and Amber appeared to try to be polite, the visit was stilted. Perhaps if they both hadn’t been trying so hard, it would have made the time pass easier.

  As Holly hesitated by the door, about to leave, she turned back and gathered all her courage up into one big bunch. “Did you really see Sophie attack you?”

  Amber stared straight at Holly with with brilliant hazel eyes and nodded. “Yes. I saw her.” For a moment, her lips trembled then she sighed and shook her head. “I really wish that I hadn’t.”

  Feeling guilty that she’d even asked the question, Holly stopped by the station on the way home. Sergeant Matthewson wasn’t pleased to see her exactly. His expression was closer to conceding defeat.

  “Can I visit Sophie?”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Miss Allington is now considered a high-risk suspect, so visits are restricted to her lawyer or close family.”

  “She’s being represented by Marshall Brent, I take it?” Holly asked, but Matthewson just stared back at her impassively, not giving any hints away.

  “Am I allowed to inquire about her son?”

  Matthewson’s lip twitched. “You’re allowed to. I’m not at liberty to disclose any information, but you go right ahead.”

  At a dead end, Holly said goodnight to the sergeant and returned home.

  If Sophie’s lawyer was Marshall, and Holly couldn’t imagine that frail woman having someone else on hand that she could turn to so quickly, then he might be a better bet.

  Not tonight, though. It was headed toward nine already, and at this time of year, Holly got out of bed well before the dawn.

  Although the day before hadn’t gone particularly well, Holly stopped by to revisit Amber the next night. The thought of having to sit in still and silent boredom for much of the day with nobody around to talk to would be a nightmare scenario for Holly.

  As she crossed the street to avoid the back of a head that looked suspiciously like Aidan’s, but turned out not to be, she amended that. At times, not knowing anybody in town would be a godsend.

  “Have they said when they’ll let you out of here?” Holly asked, handing over a bag of cupcakes because she hadn’t thought early enough that she should bring something in. Amber seemed pleased enough with the gift that she immediately stopped worrying.

  “Another couple of days, according to the surgeon. And I have to continue to lie as still as possible.”

  Amber gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. “It’s ridiculous! I broke my arm once in high school and was in and out in a few hours.”

  “I guess being stabbed in the stomach is a bit more of a big deal.” Holly patted the covers. She wanted to reach out and stroke Amber’s hand in reassurance but didn’t feel confident enough of the response to attempt that. Placating cotton sheets would have to do in the meantime.

  “It shouldn’t be,” Amber grumbled. “My arm hurt a lot worse.”

  “It’s good that you’re not in too much pain, then,” Holly said brightly. “Has your brother been in to visit?”

  “I don’t even know if he’s still in town.”

  Holly guessed that meant no.

  “Besides,” Amber said after a long pause,” I suppose it’s time I got out of the habit of thinking
of him as my brother.”

  Holly stifled a gasp at the lack of emotion in that sentence. “He’s still your half-brother, though, isn’t he? Besides, sibling relationships have a lot more to do with growing up together rather than just being related by blood.”

  Amber tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. “The trouble is, we didn’t spend a lot of time together when we were young. Dad had very set ideas on gender roles, and I was to be kept in the house as a spoiled princess while Samuel was to be out on the land, learning how to order people about.”

  Holly gave a laugh, thinking that Amber had the most ordering-people-about personality she’d come across in a long while. “How’d that work out, then?”

  Amber started to giggle. “Pretty terribly. I used to sneak out the back door and follow them around all day.” She sat back, staring up at the ceiling. “Maybe if I’d spent that time indoors learning stuff I would have made a better job of my career.”

  “Didn’t you enjoy school?”

  Holly had loved the place herself. It was a refuge and an escape from the crazy ups and downs of real life. She always knew where she was with a textbook. They never let her down.

  “In one ear and out the other, as my mother used to say.” Amber scratched behind her ear as she frowned at a memory. “It always ticked me off that Dad rewarded schooling with money, but business acumen was a dead zone for financial contributions.”

  “What do you mean?” Holly leaned forward. The room was so hot that she was on the verge of falling asleep and needed to move about to keep awake.

  “Dad financed all of Samuel’s not inconsiderable education. He paid for his university fees for four years and then another while Samuel tried to get a master’s. Along with that, he stumped up the bill for a student flat. It easily cost him in the hundreds of thousands.” An expression of great loss passed over Amber’s face. “When I asked him for a small loan to start-up by business, he told me no. Said I needed to learn how to generate money myself if that was the road I chose to go down.” Amber sniffed and turned her face away.