Gingerbread to Die For

by Valerie Tate

Completely tied up with his own worries, he ignored her comment and went on, “I keep waiting for a knock at the door or a police car to pull up here with officers with a warrant for my arrest.” He seemed to be getting more panic-stricken by the minute.

  Rushing to reassure him, she said, “We’re doing all we can, Magnus. Something will turn up, I’m sure of it.” She gave him a quick hug. “Try not to worry too much.”

  He nodded before adding, “I can’t thank you and your husband enough for trying to help me. I don’t know what I’d do if I were in this all alone. You give me hope that this nightmare will end and my life will go back to normal, at least as normal as it can be with Davina gone and the future of the show up in the air. Promise me you’ll let me know if you find anything, okay?”

  Her heart melted. He looked like a small boy begging for a treat. “I will, I promise, first thing. Now you go and do something to get your mind off things and let me get back to trying to find out who killed Davina.”

  Getting back to her plan, she glanced around for Eric Braxton. There was no sign of him but Fiona James was hanging around a table laden with coffee and pastries. When she saw Alicia, she grabbed her coffee and headed for the kitchen. Alicia was debating whether to follow her or continue to look for Eric when the latter walked into the room.

  She strolled towards him and said, “Morning, Eric.”

  “Alicia, nice to see you, as always. Still busy herding cats?” He sniggered at his own joke and then headed for the table with the coffee.

  Alicia bristled a little at his attitude towards people who were her friends and neighbours but kept a smile on her face as she said, “That’s my job. Any news about a decision concerning the fate of the show?”

  That wiped the smile off Eric’s face. The hand that was reaching for the coffee stopped in mid-air and he said, “Nothing yet but they’ll have to make the decision soon. The crew is getting antsy. They want to know if they’re out of a job so they can start looking elsewhere. There are a lot of shows being shot in and around Toronto.”

  It was a perfect segue into what she wanted to learn.

  “So it’s pretty easy to get a job in television or movies here?”

  He nodded. “If you’re good at what you do, and our people are the best.”

  “Do you think some will jump ship?” she asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee and trying to sound casual.

  “Not while they’re still being paid but I’m sure many of them are putting out feelers just in case.”

  She took a sip of the coffee and then reached for the cream. “If it’s that easy to get another job, I wonder that some of them hadn’t already planned on leaving, with Davina being… difficult.”

  “Oh, I’m sure some of them were already looking but this is… was a top show. That meant security and, in this business … well, sometimes it’s a case of ‘a bird in the hand’, if you know what I mean. Now, Fiona, she was probably looking.” He leaned in close and dropped his voice. “Between you and me and the lamppost, she was on a bit of a banana peel with Davina.”

  “I can’t say I would have blamed her if she left,” Alicia said earnestly. “I saw how Davina treated her.”

  “And it was getting worse. But personal assistant isn’t exactly a skilled trade or in demand so she wouldn’t have quit until she had something else in the bag.”

  It was time to take the bull by the horns and ask the uncomfortable but extremely pertinent question. “What about you? Were you one of the ones who was looking?”

  Eric raised his eyebrows, then took a step back and dropped his folksy manner. “I’m the director. I don’t need to look. Davina and I had our disagreements but she knew that a big part of the show’s success was due to me. The Divine Miss Dove was an infuriating diva and frankly, it’s amazing no one has bumped her off before now. But in case you’re wondering, it wasn’t me who did it. In fact,” he paused, looking a little shame-faced, but then continued relentlessly, “if you really want to know who had the best motive, just look a little closer at Fiona. She wasn’t just on a banana peel; Davina fired her right after the show was taped.”

  Wow! That was a bombshell! But maybe just a little convenient. She looked at him suspiciously. “Why haven’t you said anything about that before now?”

  “Because Fiona begged me not to.” That explained the guilty look, she thought. “But this is a murder case and I’m sick of being a suspect. Ask her if you don’t believe me,” he added. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a coffee.”

  Oops! She hadn’t handled that very well. She’d have to find another time to ask about the argument. But she had learned something important. Fiona James was staying on the top of her list of suspects. She’d let Marcus know what Eric had said about her getting the sack from Davina. And if she could get Fiona to stay in the room with her, perhaps she could find out what her plans were for the future.

  Setting out to look for Fiona, Alicia passed a few of the camera crew who were talking about where they should go for lunch. Thinking fast, she walked over and said, “I heard you wondering about places to eat. Have you tried The Stockyard on the main street? It’s a great place for steaks and burgers.”

  Their eyes lit up and they thanked her for the suggestion.

  As she walked on, she took out her phone and put in a quick call to Chris.

  “Hi, honey, how would you like to go to The Stockyard for lunch today?”

  “Do you even have to ask?” She could hear the laughter in his voice.

  “Silly me!”

  “What time to you want to meet me there?”

  “I can’t go. I’m stuck here until four o’clock. But a bunch of the guys from the show will be there.”

  “How do you know that?” he asked suspiciously.

  “I suggested it. I thought it would give you a chance to pump them about anything they know.”

  “Great idea. Do you know what time?”

  “No, but I’ll call you when I see them leave.”

  “Okay. See you later.”

  She found Fiona in the kitchen, chatting with Magnus. A little nod from her, and Magnus drifted away leaving Fiona stranded and, Alicia hoped, vulnerable enough to answer some questions.

  Fiona’s eyes widened in alarm as Alicia approached her, then she took a breath and schooled her face into something that looked a little more friendly.

  “Hi, Fiona, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, any time.” It was obviously a polite lie. Fiona’s face looked stressed at the question.

  “Let’s go out into the hall where it’s a little less crowded.”

  Fiona nodded affably but looked pale. Alicia didn’t want to spook her. She might just clam up entirely which was just what Alicia didn’t want to happen.

  “I saw you talking to Magnus just now. How does he seem?” It was a ploy she’d seen television cops employ to put a suspect at ease - ask them something unexpected and non-threatening. It worked.

  “I think he’s very worried.” Fiona replied eagerly. “I was trying to reassure him that things would be fine for him.”

  “I hope you’re right. How are you doing? This must be very hard on you, too.”

  Fiona sighed and nodded. “It is, but I’m hanging in.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. I couldn’t help noticing things were difficult between you and Davina.” That was putting it mildly!

  Fiona froze briefly, then shook her head vehemently. “Things weren’t that bad. She was just under a lot of stress. We were fine, really.” The quiver in her voice belied her assertion.

  Worried that she was losing Fiona, Alicia changed tracks. “I asked Eric about the future of the show and he said it’s still up in the air but, of course, that doesn’t affect you. Do you have any leads on a new job?” She practically oozed compassion.

  Fiona glanced around and then said quietly, “Confidentially, I do – with another television show.” Her smile was smug as she went on, “I’ll be assistant to the produc
er. It’s a big step up.”

  Personal assistant to associate producer? That was a shocker but Alicia put on a big smile and said heartily, “That’s great! Congratulations! Which show?”

  Fiona looked around again before saying cautiously, “I can’t say yet. They’ve asked me not to say anything until they’ve made the announcement.”

  “Well, congratulations again. It must be a big relief. Finding yourself without a job like that must have been very stressful.”

  “It wasn’t, really, because I already had the new job,” Fiona said with more confidence than Alicia had ever seen her display. “I was going to tell Davina after the holidays.”

  That sounded awfully convenient, Alicia thought, the new job coming just when Davina fires her. Or perhaps Davina had heard about the job offer and that’s why she fired her. Either way, did it make it more or less likely for Fiona to have killed her boss? She still couldn’t answer that one.

  She had one more question for Fiona. “About that argument that Magnus and Davina had before the show on Wednesday, I didn’t hear it. Did you?”

  “I certainly did. It was so loud I don’t know how you missed it.”

  “Really?” Alicia asked, wide-eyed, trying to appear guileless. “Do you know what it was about?”

  “No, they were in one of the rooms along the hall so I couldn’t distinguish words, except at one point when Davina shouted ‘Absolutely not!’. It could have been about anything. Magnus says it was just the ‘same old, same old’. Do the police think it’s important?”

  Playing dumb, Alicia replied, “I don’t know, maybe. Who knows what they’re thinking?”

  Fiona looked at her if she didn’t believe her professed ignorance of police matters.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Alicia saw Saanvi at the rotunda door trying to get her attention and it looked urgent.

  Turning back to Fiona she said, “Well, I’m very happy for you about the job. It all sounds extremely exciting. Now, I’d better get back to work.”

  She turned and hurried towards Saanvi and then they walked into the rotunda together.

  “Have you learned something important?” Alicia asked hopefully.

  “No, it’s not that. The mayor’s arriving.”

  Looking out the window, Alicia spotted the mayor’s car pulling up in front of the main doors. No chance that she’d walk from the parking lot.

  Mayor Wright emerged from the car, her short, blond curls looking even tighter than usual. She was wearing a camel-coloured wool coat, belted at the waist, with a patterned scarf around her neck filling in the v-necked collar. Ankle-height fashion boots in brown leather completed the look.

  Dressed to the nines she might have been, but one look at the police tape that still surrounded the large gingerbread house and her face took on a sour look that Alicia knew only too well. It was quickly replaced by her stock, politician’s smile as she walked up to the doors.

  She made a grand entrance, shaking hands with visitors and then slowly made her way from table to table, complimenting the bakers and sampling their wares with oohs and ahs of appreciation. When she finally reached the table with the winning entries, she made a great show of appearing astounded at the creations and insisted on having her picture taken with the winners. She motioned for Saanvi to come and use her phone. With those done, she walked with Saanvi to where Alicia was standing.

  “It’s a huge success with the public, as I knew it would be,” the mayor asserted. “I think we should make it an annual event, although,” she glanced outside at the police tape, “perhaps, without the television show.”

  Gritting her teeth, Alicia forced a smile and nodded agreement. “It is definitely attracting a lot of visitors… and press.”

  The mayor eyed her grimly. “Yes, well, the right publicity is good for the town. What we’ve been having is unfortunate but, once this unpleasant business has been resolved, that will all die away.” She grimaced slightly at her slip of the tongue with ‘die’ but went on, “Have you made any progress on determining who the responsible party was?”

  Alicia took delight is asking, “You mean the killer?”

  “Yes.” The mayor’s tone and look were positively frigid.

  “Not yet. We’re still gathering information. We hope to know soon.” That was optimistic!

  “I hope so. If someone had to,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “kill Davina Dove, why did they have to do it in Dunbarton?! Why couldn’t they wait until they got back to Toronto?!”

  Putting aside her distaste at the mayor’s self-serving sentiment, Alicia thought she’d made a good point. Why indeed? Why the urgency? Was it just a moment of passion or did it have something to do with why they were here? Or had something happened that made it imperative that she die right then? Things to keep in mind.

  “Now, Saanvi, I need you back at the office,” the mayor ordered. “There are a lot of requests for information that need to be responded to. Alicia can handle things here. I’ve left it all on your desk.” With that, she turned and made her way to the door.

  As she watched the mayor stride away, exasperation overwhelmed Alicia and she turned to Saanvi. “You’re not her secretary!” she exclaimed, unable to contain her frustration any longer. “You’re the deputy mayor! You can’t let her treat you like that. You have to stand up to her. She can’t fire you. You’re elected.”

  “I know,” Saanvi said wearily. “Ramesh is always telling me the same thing.”

  “He’s a smart man. You should listen to him.”

  “I am listening. Really.”

  “You just have to tell her ‘No’. I have and I lived to tell the tale. You will too.”

  “I will. I’ll do it.” Saanvi sounded firm but then she spoiled it by grabbing her coat and hurrying after the mayor.

  Alicia wished she believed her but she’d done all she could. Now it was up to Saanvi.

  She sighed and then turned back to the crowd. Eric was standing by the door to the kitchen looking morose. Should she try talking to him again? The thought didn’t fill her with confidence, after the way their last conversation ended, but there was still the question of what the argument was about to be answered. Taking a deep breath, she headed across the room.

  His face took on a guarded look as she approached.

  “What do you want now?” All pretence of goodwill was gone.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long. I was just wondering about that argument that Davina and Magnus had before the show on Wednesday. Do you know what it was about?”

  “Well aren’t you the nosy little miss,” he said snidely. “No, I don’t know what it was about. As soon as I heard the screeching start, I went the other way. All too common lately and I didn’t want any fall-out landing on me. Now, if we’re done, I’d like to get some fresh air.” He stalked out of the room with none of his usual good-natured pretence as he passed visitors and crew members.

  If Marcus wanted any more information from Eric Braxton, he’d have to get it himself, she decided. She doubted the director would ever speak to her again. But at least she had her answer, not that it did them any good. Perhaps some of the others would have heard something.

  She soon discovered that Eric’s reaction had been the standard one amongst the crew. No one had wanted to be in Davina’s cross-hairs when she’d finished with Magnus, so they’d all melted away like the Cheshire Cat when the row had started. It seemed she had no luck to report to Marcus about the substance of the big fight.

  Looking around to see if there were any fires that needed to be put out, she noticed the guys from the camera crew heading for the door. She quickly pulled out her phone and called Chris to tell him it was time to go to The Stockyard for an accidental meeting.

  *****

  As much as Chris loved the tea room and its finger sandwiches, he loved The Stockyard Bar and Grill with its meat, meat and more meat even more. Located on the main street, its rustic charm, good food and big-screen televisions that
were turned to sports day and night, made it a popular watering-hole for both the locals and tourists alike. It hadn’t always been that way, though. Before Ben Stone, the big, burly young owner, had bought it, the place had been a dive that women walked their children past quickly while their husbands looked longingly at the signs for pool and beer. The pool and beer were still there, but the décor had been softened, the menu now included salads and other light meals, and the rough and tumble clientele of the old days had been sent packing. Despite his formidable appearance, Ben was a family man and he wanted to run his place in a way that made other families would be comfortable.

  Seeing the crew from the show sitting near one of the big televisions, Chris took a seat at the next table. Once the waitress had taken his order for a bacon cheeseburger with fries and coleslaw on the side (as a concession to eating healthy), he pretended to notice the television crew for the first time.

  “Say, don’t you guys work on that cooking show that was shot at the community centre?” he asked, doing his best ‘local yokel’ impression.

  The four men eyed him warily but nodded.

  Chris edged his chair over. “I saw you there yesterday. That whole business of the murder was crazy, wasn’t it. Is that why you’re still in town?” Really, he should get an award for his acting skills.

  A guy with a bushy brown beard and shaggy hair swallowed and replied, “Yeah. We can’t leave until the cops give us the go-ahead.”

  “That’s tough,” Chris said, sounding full of sympathy at their plight.

  A burly fellow with curly black hair shrugged. “We don’t mind. We’re getting paid.”

  “But we have to be home for Christmas,” a young man with short blond hair and glasses said. “My mom will be really upset if I’m not there.”

  “Surely they’ll have this solved before Christmas!” Chris said, truly appalled at the possibility of things dragging on until then. “Have you heard how the investigation is going?”

  ‘Shaggy’, as Chris mentally dubbed him, shook his head. “They don’t tell us anything. Just come and ask questions. They took the sous chef in for questioning but let him go. I think we’re all suspects but that’s just nuts. Why would we kill Davina? She was the reason for the show. Now, unless they decide to replace her, we’re all out of work.”