Murder and Matrimony

by Danielle Collins

  Turning, she didn’t see anyone there. She turned back and made her way to the car. Her keys had slipped to the bottom of her purse and she fought the other contents in order to seek them out.

  Then she heard it again—footsteps. They stopped when she looked up.

  Something about the lonely parking garage made her hands shake and her pulse quicken. Someone would have to be a fool to attempt anything in the garage, though. There were cameras everywhere. She tried to calm herself with that knowledge, but the instant she found her keys, she nearly jumped into her car and locked the doors.

  After turning on the car and pulling out of her space, she saw a flash of movement. She was already past the spot before she caught the shape of a tall man in a trench coat with a hat on, pulled low, making his way back to the stairwell she’d come from.

  A trench coat? In this weather?

  It made no sense, but it did accomplish one thing. It made her start to question everything about the case with Adam. Every. Single. Thing.

  5

  Margot felt helpless to do anything other than make croissants and religieuse and try to keep her mind on her business for the morning. She still hadn’t heard from Dexter by the time she drove back from D.C., so she’d called him on the way. He’d reminded her, gently of course, that what he did took time. It was time they didn’t have, she’d wanted to say, but she’d managed to keep that part to herself.

  Still not having heard from him by the time she got home, had dinner, and was ready for bed, Margot went to sleep feeling anxious and unsettled. Now she was at work feeling like she should be doing something. What, she wasn’t sure, but anything felt more productive than glazing her caramel pecan cinnamon rolls. Then again, they did make her think of Bentley and that made her smile.

  The back door opened and Dexter came in smiling. “Morning, Margot!” He sounded chipper and that gave her hope that he’d been able to find out something.

  “What did you find out.”

  “Good morning to you too,” he said, pulling off the satchel that held his laptop. She was almost positive he didn’t go anywhere without at least one computer.

  “Dexter—” she started, but he held up a hand.

  “I know. This is Adam we’re talking about, and I don’t mean to make light of that.” He slid onto one of the barstools that she kept under the large, metal table in the center of the kitchen. “I didn’t find much, but what I did find had me making calls faster than I can type—and you know that’s fast.”

  “Calls? To who? What did you find?”

  He grimaced. “Okay, so there are some things that I’m really not at liberty to say.”

  “Dexter, what are you talking about?”

  “I did work for the FBI once, remember? Every once in a while, I come across something that I know I shouldn’t. That’s when I call Peter.”

  Margot’s eyes widened. “Peter?”

  “Yep. And then I started talking with Danielle and…well, they are on their way here.”

  “What?”

  “Of the things that I can talk about, I’ll tell you that it looks like Adam might be on the bad side of something a lot bigger than you or I understand. The connections I found were—” Dexter pretended to suppress a shudder. “—deep. When I talked with Peter, he said he could get on that case and that he wanted to help. Then Danielle got wind of the fact we were talking about you and Adam and she insisted that you couldn’t plan your wedding and solve your fiancés recent foray into crime—her sarcastic words, not mine—so they are coming down. Should be here in an hour or so.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Margot,” Dexter said, putting his elbows on the table, near the flour, and staring her down, “there are a lot of people you’ve helped and a lot of people who care about you and Adam both. We’re all in, all the way.”

  Margot felt emotions rush through her at Dexter’s words. She’d felt so alone and so helpless the night before, but now she was beginning to see how her friends wouldn’t leave her alone. They would help.

  “Then let’s get baking because I’m going to want to talk to Peter the moment he gets here.”

  “You got it,” Dexter said with a smile.

  They prepped the shop for the morning rush and were just finishing up when Rosie came in, all smiles and reassuring hugs. While Adam’s arrest still wasn’t public knowledge, those closest to Margot and Adam knew. His neighbor who was watching Clint had been filled in on some of the details, but only a select few knew the majority of it.

  Margot knew that a circle of few was about to be widened, but she also knew that adding Peter, an FBI agent, was going to be vital to the investigation. If he could get past the red tape that would likely block his way.

  “Margot, they’re here.” Dexter came out into the front room where she had been helping Rosie with the rush of morning customers.

  “You got this, Rosie?”

  “Sure thing, sugar. You know I do.”

  “I do,” Margot said, squeezing the woman’s arm as she passed her. “Call for Dexter if you need help.”

  Rosie gave her a look that said she never needed help and Margot made her way to the back patio where Danielle, Dexter’s sister, and her husband and FBI agent Peter Graham sat.

  “Margot!” Danielle shot to her feet and pulled Margot into a tight hug. Memories flooded Margot of living in Maine for a few weeks as Dexter’s baking assistant and how they had searched high and low for Danielle.

  “It’s good to see you. To see you both,” she said, turning toward Peter. He had left the life of an FBI agent to become a detective in the small town of Portland, Maine, but, according to Dexter, he’d recently rejoined the agency with Danielle’s full blessing.

  “Sorry for barging in like this, but—”

  “We’re not barging,” Danielle said, cutting her husband off, “we’re here to help. Aren’t we, Peter?”

  “Yes, dear,” he deadpanned. They all smiled but Margot felt the pressing urge to remind them that Adam was being held on charges of murder.

  “What do you think you can do?” Margot asked Peter.

  “After some of the information that Dexter shared with me last night, I think I’ll be able to work on the case with the local department. If nothing else…” He paused as if trying to decide how much information he could legally share. “It’ll be beneficial to me and my efforts of late.”

  It was a careful way to say that the case he’d been working on could somehow be connected. That made Margot remember the mention of a smuggling ring. It was possible the smuggling went all up and down the Atlantic coast. It wouldn’t be unheard of.

  “Well, I appreciate you both coming.”

  “I’m going to head to the station now and talk with the chief. I’ve got to see what I can help with.” He put help in air quotes and Margot smiled knowing that Chief Hartland wouldn’t appreciate the bureau sticking its nose into his department’s case. She hoped for Peter’s sake that they could find common ground.

  “Okay, I’m off,” he said, kissing Danielle’s cheek and nodding to them. “I’ll let you all know when I know something.”

  Margot turned back to Danielle and offered her a tired smile. Before she could say anything, Danelle rushed at her with another hug.

  “It’s going to be all right. I know it is!”

  “Come on, Dani,” Dexter said, prying his sister’s arms away from Margot. “Let’s get back to doing what we’re good at. Want to bake something?”

  Danielle got a twinkle in her eye but quickly looked back at Margot. “Shouldn’t we be doing something?”

  Margot felt the same way, as if she should be doing something, but they wouldn’t have anything to go on until they got an update from Peter. Until then, Margot would focus on what they did well. For them all, that was baking.

  “Let’s go take out our frustrations about not being able to do anything on some dough. Who’s with me?”

  “Count me in,” Danielle said.

/>   “And me,” Dexter added.

  Feeling more encouraged than she had the night before, Margot led the way back into the sanctuary of her kitchen

  After the fourth batch of unneeded pastries, Margot called a halt to the baking. It was fun to bake with friends and to try out new recipes, but they were nearing lunch and past the point where they would sell most of the pastries that day. She didn’t mind, the baking time had sufficed to take her mind off of everything but the feeling of dough and a few tricks she could teach Danielle for her own bakery in Maine.

  “All right,” Danielle said, untying her apron after they finished the last of the cleanup. “The time has come for you and I to talk about the important elephant in the room.”

  Dexter’s eyes went wide.

  “And that is?” Margot said, unintimidated by Dexter’s sister. She had a way of telling it like it was that Margot admired.

  “Your wedding, of course.”

  Dexter let out a dramatic sigh. Had he been thinking about his relationship with Julia? Margot continued to notice how close the two were becoming and she hoped to hear news of an engagement soon, as she was sure Danielle did. But that wasn’t the topic of the hour.

  “Grow up,” Danielle said, laughing at her brother. “But really, what can we help you with?”

  “Yes, what can we help with?” Julia said, coming back in from the front room. She’d joined them after the baking was in full force and offered to staff the front of the shop while Rosie went to an appointment.

  “Actually,” Margot said, turning toward Dexter and Julia, “there’s something I promised Adam I’d take care of. Something I should have figured out ages ago.”

  “She’s finally going to ask,” Julia said, looking at Dexter with humor in her gaze.

  “What?” Margot asked.

  “Come on,” Julia said. “You don’t have a wedding cake. The baker doesn’t have a cake. Like, how is that even possible?”

  “Well, I was just waiting and…”

  “And nothing. The wait is over,” Dexter said with a widening grin. “Julia and I would like to do your cake.”

  “Really?” Margot felt herself smile.

  “Of course,” Julia said. “We’ve been planning it since we found out that your friend couldn’t do your cake.”

  “How did you know?” Margot asked, bewildered.

  “She called and wouldn’t leave a message,” Dexter said. “I managed to get it out of her.”

  “You’re a bad influence on us, boss,” Julia said with a smirk. “We investigate everything now.”

  Margot laughed alongside Dexter and Danielle, but she also felt relief at their ready acceptance. “Are you both sure?”

  “I’ve done one cake before,” Julia said. “And Dexter isn’t terrible with decorative roses. We’ve both been practicing. Don’t worry, your cake will be perfect, just like your wedding.”

  “Thank you, both of you,” Margot said, once more overcome with emotion. She really had the best friends.

  “Why don’t you head home?” Dexter asked, stepping up beside his sister and putting his arm around her. “We’ll take care of the shop and you can get some rest. We promise to let you know the minute we hear from Peter.”

  Margot hesitated. She wanted to be there when they heard back from Peter, but she also knew that it would take time for him to convince Chief Hartland to let him work the case as well as connect with Les. Just the thought of waiting for all that exhausted her, reminding her that she hadn’t slept well the night before.

  “All right,” she agreed. “You’ve convinced me. But please, call me the moment you hear anything.”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  “You were never a scout, were you?” she asked, eyeing the Vulcan symbol he’d formed with this right hand.

  Dexter shrugged and gave her an incorrigible grin. “Nope. But I was a Trekkie.”

  “That’ll work,” she said, flashing them one last tired smile before she took her purse and headed out the back door.

  Large, impending clouds were gathering on the horizon as Margot got into her car. The scent of a summer storm was on the warm breeze and she wished, for what felt like the millionth time that day, that Adam was with her. They loved sitting on her covered porch during storms and drinking iced coffee while watching the lightning.

  Sighing, she rested her head back against the cushion. She was too close to this case. She had to either let it go or push her personal feelings aside. She was hesitant to step back, knowing that she didn’t do that easily. But she also knew it would be extremely difficult to keep her personal feelings from this.

  Then again, wasn’t that what made her good at what she did? It wasn’t a job for her, it was a passion. She cared about the people she thought were wrongly accused and she did everything in her power to find the truth.

  She kept her head back, eyes closed, and thought about the details of the case so far. Detective Karlsson had arrested Adam in D.C. as if he’d known he would be there. Adam was accused of the murder of a Sid Lawrence—someone whose history forced Dexter to contact the FBI. Sid’s body was found on the shore in North Bank, not Washington, D.C., and the boat that he was said to have come on had Adam’s prints all over it. Also, Sid’s body was handcuffed after he had died.

  That part troubled Margot. Was it that the killer had known it would show up as happening after death, or was it to incriminate Adam? And what evidence did they have on Adam? Was it just his fingerprints—or something more?

  She contemplated calling Anthony but hesitated. She didn’t know what his role in all of this was. If what he knew was only because of his brother, then it could put him at risk to involve him further. If he was somehow in on some of this, and Margot couldn’t begin to guess what that would be, then she could still get him in trouble or compromise him in some way.

  Her eyes flew open as her frustration mounted. She was still parked in front of the bakery and she looked around to see if anyone had noticed that she was still there. Sighing, she turned on the car and pulled out. She wouldn’t do anyone any good if she was too tired to think, and her thoughts were becoming sluggish after her intermittent night of sleep. Her worry and anxiety were still high, and she wasn’t sure if she could rest when she got home, but she’d try.

  She turned a street early in her tiredness and let out a sigh. It was only then that she noticed a large, black SUV behind her. She narrowed her eyes and thought back to where she’d been parked near the bakery. Hadn’t that same SUV been parked a few cars behind her when she’d gotten into her car?

  Margot chided herself for jumping to conclusions, but she was unwilling to risk anything. She made another turn that wasn’t in her usual route home and watched as the SUV followed. Were they looking for her home?

  Executing more turns, the SUV stayed with her. She was beginning to get worried and almost ready to call the police when the SUV turned down another street and disappeared. She tried to find out where it had gone, but by the time she’d circled the block, they were gone.

  The feeling of uneasiness settled on her shoulders, but she tried to remind herself that it was possible she had imagined that the SUV was following her. Then again, she was observant and usually noticed things like that.

  Resolving herself to the fact that she either had an overactive imagination or someone was trying to unnerve her, she made her way back home taking a circuitous route. There was still no sign of her tail, so she pulled into her parking spot and rushed up the steps. Letting out a sigh as her door opened, she stepped inside and flipped on the light.

  The sight before her took her breath away. Her house had been ransacked!

  6

  “You think this SUV was following you?” Les asked, looking down at his notepad and then back up at Margot.

  “I…I can’t be sure, but it seemed so.”

  “Right. You didn’t get a plate?”

  “Sadly, no. They were too far back for me to see.”

  “It’s
okay, Margot.” He looked around the room. “We’ll get whoever did this to you.”

  Margot followed his gaze and felt part of her heart sink lower. Her lovely white couch cushions were ripped to shreds, the glass on most of her artwork was smashed, and every drawer or container had been turned upside-down. It looked like utter chaos.

  “I hope so.” She said the words but didn’t feel any hope in them. How could they find whoever did this if they couldn’t even find fingerprints? She had a feeling whoever had broken in had worn gloves.

  “And you haven’t noticed anything missing?”

  She shook her head. “I looked for all of my valuables and they are there. Honestly, it looks like someone wanted to scare me.” And they were doing a good job of it, she thought.

  “I’ve assigned a protection detail to watch your house. They’ll be there around the clock so this won’t happen again. I’d also suggest you get Clint over here to keep you company.”

  Margot nodded, thinking that Clint Eastwood, Adam’s large and loveable mutt, would not only be good company but an added measure of protection.

  “I’ll see if Tamera can come with me to pick him up.”

  “I’d say that’s a good idea.” Les flipped his notebook closed and looked at her. “You’ll be okay, Margot. I promised Adam I’d look after you and I’m going to do just that.”

  “When did you promise that?” she asked, feeling the warmth of the notion surround her.

  “We both promised it to each other. He looks after my wife, I look after you—no matter what. I trust that guy with my life and I would do anything for him, just as I know he’d do the same for me. So don’t you worry.”

  She nodded, more to herself than to Les. “Thank you. You’re a good friend and a good partner.”

  He grinned and turned to the other officers to finalize their investigation. It was late, but Margot pulled out her phone and called Tamera. She answered on the second ring and promised she’d be there in less than ten minutes.