Crumb Cake, Corpses and the Run of the Mill

by Rachael Stapleton

Kaden nodded and finished chewing a slice of salami. “Yeah. He hasn’t had a chance to study the skeleton yet, but the coroner said that he thought it was a young woman.”

  “I guess he would know,” Juniper said. As the sheriff-coroner, the man had probably seen his share of skeletons.

  “We promise that anything you tell us will be kept in complete confidence.” Jack added.

  “I’ll count on that,” Kaden said, “because I don’t want one word of this getting out. I know how things operate in this town.”

  “You mean the Mabels?”

  “Exactly,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s amazing how fast news travels around here.”

  “Well, if anyone hears anything, it didn’t come from either of us.”

  Kaden grabbed a cracker full of hummus and popped it in his mouth. He chewed slowly and appeared to be internally debating something.

  Jack gave Kaden another nudge. “So, what did you want to tell us about Belinda?”

  “The coroner said that her skull was crushed in.”

  Juniper winced.

  “Did you give him the necklace?” Jack asked.

  “Yeah. If there’s a trace of DNA on the surface, he’ll find it.”

  “And did you find anything else down there besides the necklace?” Jack asked.

  His eyes narrowed. “Like what, exactly?”

  “Like remnants of clothing or personal effects?”

  “Good question. But no.”

  “Blood,” Juniper said immediately. “Or semen?” Juniper thought about that for a second.

  Kaden shook his head and sat back in his chair, “I’m worried that this case has gone completely cold. Evidence has a way of disappearing after this many years. The cops working the case have retired, died, or moved away. Memories fade, so it’s going to be hard to find anyone who can shed new light on what happened.”

  “That’s true.”

  He checked his notes. “So, Jack, you said Belinda had a boyfriend at the time. Patone, right?”

  Juniper thought of her run-in with Frank in town. And just thinking about him brought back the anger and fear. “I hate that guy.”

  “Why?”

  Juniper sighed again and reached for a sip of wine. The anger was still so fresh, she could barely swallow. “Oh, let me count the reasons. He’s pushy, vain, obnoxious, and he blames me for everything bad that’s happened to his family.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t make him a murderer.”

  “I guess. Still, what if Frank heard that his brother-in-law was giving away the old sawmill? If he was Belinda’s killer, he would’ve kept tabs on the place, right? He would want to get back here and make sure that the police didn’t find anything that incriminated him.” Juniper gave Kaden a hard stare. “He gives me the creeps. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised to find out that Frank Patone killed Belinda.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  J uniper woke the next morning feeling groggy and out of sorts from the three glasses of red wine. She glanced at her cell phone on the nightstand. Jack was still asleep, buried under the fluffy white duvet, his back to her. Yawning, she rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, turning yesterday’s events over in her mind.

  “What time is it?” Jack grumbled from beside her as he rolled over and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

  “Early. How did you sleep?” Juniper asked.

  “Like a log.” Despite a serious case of bedhead and drowsy eyes, he looked completely awesome and outrageously attractive in striped pajama pants with no shirt.

  “I don’t think logs sleep.”

  Jack reached out and tickled her side, pulling her closer to him.

  “What would you think about getting up and coming out to the Mill with me?” Juniper asked.

  “Really? I thought we couldn’t get back in there yet?”

  “No, I don’t mean the actual mill. We’re starting on the house today—gutting and tearing down the wallpaper. The crew is helping and I know it’s your day off but I’d feel better if you were there,” Juniper confessed. “First a ghost and now a dead body. Who knows what we’ll find next.”

  “Of course, I’ll come. Spending the day working with you sounds like fun to me.” Jack rolled over and pinned Juniper to the bed. “Unless you want to play hooky! Ghosts and dead bodies be damned. Let someone else find them.”

  Juniper chuckled and weaseled her way out of his grasp, grabbing a sports bra, a shirt and a pair of folded denims from the armoire. “I think not, Mr. Young. I have too much to do and you already kept me up way too late last night.” She walked to the window, pulling on her clothes as she did and opened the blinds to look outside. Clouds filled the morning sky, luckily, they weren’t expecting rain.

  Turning from the window, Juniper walked to the bathroom weaving her hair back into boxer braids as she went. By 8 am she was pulling on her white sneakers. It sounded like Jack was on the phone with Kaden so she scribbled a note and ducked out for a coffee. She was just crossing the road when Jack sent her a text telling her that the dental X-rays had confirmed that it was Belinda they’d found at the mill.

  Ugh. She shook off the news and decided a box of doughnuts for the crew and possibly for herself was in order. A little dough and Nutella for breakfast was just the sort of pick me up she needed today.

  “Nobody can pull off floral and work boots like you.”

  Juniper whirled around to see who was talking. “Mr. Stone!”

  “Oliver.” He corrected.

  They both laughed and Juniper gave him a hug. “How are you?”

  “Hungry,” he said. “You?”

  “Same.”

  “Come on then, let’s get inside.”

  Oliver Stone was a forty-five-year-old retired musician who made a living giving music lessons to the teenage population of Bohemian Lake. He was also the son of the retired Captain although their relationship was estranged. He had scruffy hair, a nice smile and wore horn-rimmed glasses. It was hard to picture Oliver as a guitar player in a rock band, he was more like an older good-looking nerd. Juniper knew him because he’d hired Spirited Construction to remodel his kitchen a few months ago. He also happened to be boyfriend to Eve’s equally outrageous sister, Michèle.

  “Good morning, Oliver!” Juniper heard as soon as they stepped inside the shop.

  Ugh. Juniper’s mood changed instantly. She looked over at Pike behind the counter and noticed the irritated look on her face. Barbara Monroe was Pike’s oldest, worst enemy from high school. She’d been best-friends with Kaitlyn Patone and her posse of rich, snotty girls had taken great pleasure in tormenting Pike growing up.

  As usual, Barbara was overdressed, in stilettos and a bright pink pant suit. She might as well have been carrying around her dreamhouse.

  “Hey Barbara, where’s Ken?”

  “Oh, hi Juniper.” Barbara said, looking her up and down as her face wrinkled in disgust. “Who’s Ken?”

  Pike burst out laughing.

  Juniper swallowed back her laughter and turned back to Oliver. “Anyway, I should get going… make sure my crew is well fed and knows what they’re doing.”

  “How are you, Oliver?” Barbara asked, interrupting again. “How’s Eve’s half-sister?”

  “Michèle’s fine and you don’t need to refer to her as Eve’s half-sister. I know who my girlfriend is,” Oliver said tersely. “She’s working today.”

  “She’s so dedicated to wrinkle city, isn’t she?”

  “If by that offensive comment you mean the Bohemian Retirement Community, then yes.”

  “By the way, Oliver,” Barbara said. “Did you hear they found human bones in the mill?”

  “What?” He looked from Barbara to Juniper. “Is that true?”

  “It’s true,” Barbara said, her head bobbing affirmatively. She looked inordinately proud of herself.

  “That . . . that’s awful.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I know. Junie’s the one who found them. Again. Honestly, she spends so much time w
ith dead bodies, she should have been a funeral director.”

  Oliver gave her another horrified glance.

  Juniper frowned at Barbara.

  “I heard it was gruesome.” Barbara looked positively giddy. “And that’s not even the best part. You’ll never guess.”

  “Barbara,” Juniper said in warning.

  She shot her an evil look but kept talking. “They found a necklace, too.”

  Juniper knew what she was doing. She was showing off to Oliver and the rest of the world, trying to prove that she knew more about what was found in the old mill than Juniper did. Because someone had obviously told her Juniper was there.

  “Barbara,” Juniper said again.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “Detective Bones swore us all to secrecy. So, if something leaks out, I’ll be sure to let him know who was talking about it.”

  Barbara tossed her hair back and turned, deliberately ignoring her as she grabbed Oliver’s arm to get his attention. “They think the bones were—”

  His cell phone rang at that moment and he held up his hand to stop Barbara.

  Saved by the bell, Juniper thought.

  “Hello?” Oliver said, and smiled. “Hey Mitch. Everything okay? What?” His smile disappeared. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Is Michèle all right?” Juniper asked. “Is she hurt?”

  “No. The police just stopped by my place,” Oliver whispered, his face turning paler by the second. He turned to Barbara. “They think the remains of the body they found in the old sawmill were Belinda Battams’.”

  Oliver dash toward the exit.

  Pike handed Juniper a box of coffee and two dozen doughnuts just as Juniper checked her cellphone for the time. “How much?”

  Pike rolled her eyes. “Just go get to work on my house! Oh, and we’ll be there in an hour to pick you up. I hope you brought a change of clothes.”

  “Pick me up? What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t tell me your forgot. You are not getting out of this again!”

  “Forgot what?”

  “We’re going shopping... for your wedding dress.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  J uniper smoothed the material of the lace applique wedding gown over her slim hips and frowned at her reflection in the three-sided mirror. Her blonde hair piled loosely on top of her head accentuated her high cheekbones and highlighted her light eyes. She’d tried several different dresses and finally decided on the mermaid style.

  She turned first left and then right to check out the fit from every angle. Squinting at the mirror, she wondered if the gown was too big on top. She grabbed it from the top and hefted it upwards to give herself a little more cleavage. The deep vee of the last dress had been cut almost to her naval and had been much more flattering to her modest chest.

  But had it been too revealing?

  The stones on the top of her gown reflected dazzling light and made her feel a bit like a city scape at night. Her brow creased slightly as she looked down—she wasn’t sure she wanted to be quite so sparkly. She liked the feathery corset dress, but how would she ever move in a train like that? Sure, she used to model a gazillion years ago but the designers dressed her. The only thing she wore anymore was made of jean, cotton and/or leather. Plus, it was even more sparkly.

  Glancing up, she realized that the brilliance of the stones were most likely magnified by the humongous chandelier dangling from the twenty-foot ceiling.

  In the mirror, she could see Jack’s mom, Ginger seated on the white tufted sofa right behind her. Beside Ginger was Eve who refused to miss out, and Pike who smiled and gave her a thumbs-up as they all munched on cookies from the cafe.

  “Do you guys like it?” Juniper asked them over her shoulder.

  “It’s gorgeous dear, but I still like the last one better.” Ginger said, sipping her tea.

  Juniper looked down at her chest. “You didn’t think the plunging neckline was too revealing?”

  “Nah.” Pike shook her head, her blonde bob flowing from side to side. “It didn’t even hit your bellybutton.”

  Eve snorted with laughter, “Exactly. You ain’t got that much to reveal, dear. Now that one,” Eve gestured to one of the more well-endowed brides across the room. “She needs a high neckline. You, my sweet girl, could wear anything.”

  “Keep your voice down!” Pike said, elbowing Eve in the ribs.

  Juniper’s gaze drifted to the showroom behind her with its theme of sparkle on white. White rugs, white overstuffed couches, white walls, white wedding gowns loaded with satin and lace hanging on racks around the room and thrown over chairs. She wasn’t ready for this. The room was aglow with crystal accents, the lights reflecting in the dozens of mirrors, each with a bride in front of them doing exactly what Juniper was doing. But they looked like they were having fun. Juniper just felt overwhelmed.

  “I have to go.” Juniper said, suddenly darting for the change room.

  “Junie?” She heard her name being called.

  Ginger followed her inside the room and helped her to get out of the oversized doily. “I’m sorry, Ginger. I just have too much else on my mind right now to choose something so important.”

  “It’s okay, dear. We’ll figure it out. You do still want to get married, don’t you? It’s not cold feet is it?”

  “Oh, no. My feet are perfectly hot to trot. It’s just the planning. I guess I always assumed my mom would be around to help do this but she’s halfway around the world. Weddings have never been my thing, and I’m just overwhelmed right now with work.”

  Ginger waited for her to put her clothes back on and then she pulled her in for a hug. “Well, of course you are. Your plate is full. Don’t you worry about anything. Jack’s not going anywhere and it will all work out. If your mom doesn’t step up, you just say the word and let me at it.”

  Juniper’s heart filled with appreciation for her future mother-in-law.

  ***

  The sky was not as gloomy as it had been earlier that morning. By the time Juniper made it back to the mill, patches of blue had pushed aside the gray clouds. Jack and the crew were already hard at work, so Juniper quietly join in. Now, this was more her element.

  She stuffed some old towels along the floor edges and started steaming at the bottom of the wall. Jack asked her once if she’d found a dress and she said she’d found three. He didn’t say too much after that. That was one of her favorite things about him, he always knew when to give her space. Instead of thinking about wedding planning, she zoned out, occasionally contemplating what might have happened to Belinda Battams. Wallpaper removal was the perfect job for that, mind you it was also the worst task of all when it came to rehabbing a house. Especially a heritage home like this one, which was built in an era when wallpaper was worshiped and applied to every room in the house. Juniper was surprised they hadn’t tried to use it as flooring, she’d certainly seen it on ceilings.

  After a few hours, curiosity got the best of her and she broke the rules and crossed the yellow police tape into the mill. She made her way up the staircase. Her hand holding onto the oak handrail as she walked up the wood steps. Still hot from scraping, she tied her buffalo plaid shirt around her waist, revealing the white tank top beneath, and walked to the window. The sun was shining, and the upstairs was spook free, she let out a big sigh of relief and laughed at herself. She’d been expecting a shock. And of course, that was the moment she got it. When she turned around to come back down the stairs, she smelled cinnamon. Again, she came face to face with the ghost of the mill.

  After the initial gasp and retreat, she gave a little nod in greeting. “Good afternoon, Doctor.” She clasped her hand to her chest to slow her breathing.

  The Doctor smiled. Then much to her shock he spoke to her. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Yes, I’ve been busy. We found a body downstairs yesterday.”

  “I didn’t do it.”

  “I know that. You were already dead
but you must have seen it happen. She died twenty-eight years ago and you’ve been here much longer. So, do you know who killed her?”

  “Probably,” he leaned back and whistled in a suspicious manner.

  “Well, who?”

  “Thing is, my memories are foggy and hard to nail down.” He reached for his crumb cake and took a bite. Pausing to lick some sugar from his thumb, “It’s difficult to explain how time works now. Perhaps, if we could solve my own case then I could focus on someone else’s.”

  “Albert? Are you bribing me?”

  “I’m negotiating, dear.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  T he next morning Juniper found herself once again across the road at the café. This time sitting at the counter with her foreman’s, Bear and Queenie, juggling crew assignments, ordering supplies, and lining up subcontractors. Her cell phone rang as they were just finishing up.

  It was Kaden’s number and she braced herself in case they’d found more.

  “Hey, Junie,” he said. “Just wanted to let you know that the Mill is no longer a crime scene. You and your crew are free to start work there whenever you want.”

  “Thank you so much, Kaden.” They chatted about nothing in particular for another moment; then Juniper hung up and shared the news.

  “It’s about time,” Queenie said, packing up her notebook. “I know you’re anxious to get back to work there, and Pike must be chomping at the bit.”

  “That’s for sure,” Juniper said, relieved to know that Pike’s old mill was finally on the road to becoming a real home for her.

  “Hey Pike. That was Kaden. We have full access again.”

  “That’s great news. Do you mind if I come check out those paint swatches, then?”

  “I don’t see a problem with that. Oh, and the landscaper is stopping by later, so it might be good if you’re there to hear his suggestions.” Juniper paused as Queenie and Bear said their goodbyes, then she turned back to Pike. “Hey, it’s only Mabel left in here. Why don’t you come take a break?”

  Pike nodded and walked to the coffee machine, which had just finished brewing a fresh pot. She poured herself a decaf coffee, added a splash of cream and cinnamon and walked back to the counter to catch up. She’d just leaned against it when the front door’s bell chimed.