Death by Strawberry Cupcake

by Rose Pressey

  Just as I turned the corner, I saw Finn standing over a woman. She immediately screamed.

  “Get away from me,” she yelled.

  What was I seeing? Finn held his hands up and backed away from her.

  “He knocked me down. Run for your life,” she said.

  That was certainly out of character for Finn. Maybe she had just fallen and thought he pushed her down. What was he doing back here anyway? Where was the man? She pulled out her phone. “I’m dialing 911.”

  “Is that really necessary?” I asked.

  I peered down the alleyway to see if that man that I’d seen was anywhere around. It was more likely that that weird man had knocked her down than Finn. I raced over to him.

  “What is going on back here?” I asked.

  “When I came around the corner, she was being knocked over by the man that I was chasing. He sprinted down the alleyway and I came over to help her. In the process I guess she was confused and thought I was the one who knocked her down.”

  “Well, she's calling the police, and this isn’t going to look good.”

  “Should we get out of here?” he asked.

  “I know you,” she said. “I’ve seen you on that show.”

  “I think that’s probably not going to work at this point,” I said. “We have to make sure she’s all right too.”

  We stood there as the woman stared at us. Well, this was kind of an awkward scene now. What had been a lovely dinner had now turned into a weird scenario. Seconds later, sirens sounded, and police pulled up to the alleyway. Finn and I stepped back over to the side so that we could talk with the police. But to my chagrin, the detective walked up to us. He had a suspicious look on his face.

  “What exactly is going on here?” the detective asked.

  Finn and I started talking at the same.

  “Whoa, one at a time,” the detective said, holding up his hand.

  I stood there with my arms crossed in front of me as I listened to Finn explain the situation. He honestly wasn’t doing a good job of it. I glanced over to the left and spotted a surveillance camera on the brick building across from us.

  “Excuse me for interrupting but perhaps you could check out that video from over there and that would have caught the entire thing.”

  The men looked in the direction of my pointing finger. I smirked, proud of my suggestion.

  “Stay here, I’ll be right back,” Alex said.

  “Good thinking, Scarlet. You may have just saved me,” Finn said.

  The police had guided the woman passed us over to the police car. She was sitting in the back still talking to them. I could give them a description of the man who had pushed her. Why he did it, I had no idea. Maybe she’d just gotten in his way. Or maybe he had wanted to harm her like he had Rhonda. I was convinced that that was the killer.

  Soon I spotted Alex headed back over to us.

  “We got the whole thing on the video, and you’re right, it wasn’t you,” the detective said.

  “You caught the guy on video who actually did it? That’s the one from the truck,” I said excitedly.

  Now I felt as if we were on to something.

  “We have the video and we’ll see if we can identify him from that. We’ll show the video to the woman so she can maybe remember something about the man,” the detective said.

  “Thanks for saving Finn from this,” I said.

  “Yes, thank you, detective,” Finn stuck his hand out toward the detective.

  “You’re welcome.” He shook Finn’s hand.

  We stared at each other for an awkward moment.

  “I guess I should take you home,” Finn said, breaking the silence.

  “Yes, it’s getting late,” I said.

  “Take care of her.” Detective Bailey locked his stare on Finn.

  After a couple of seconds of staring, Finn nodded. I tossed my hand up in a wave as we walked away from the detective. I tried not to glance back at him as we walked away. The temptation was too great, and I peeked over my shoulder. The detective watched us still. Though now he turned and walked toward his car. I just needed to get home and to bed.

  Chapter 17

  Maybe I would regret this, but I’d made a decision to go back to the candy shop owner’s house. I just wanted to take another look around and see if I had missed anything. Plus, what if the police had missed something. I was sure they had checked the place thoroughly but hadn’t really looked that well in the backyard. That was the one spot where I didn’t get a good look. I had been too scared to step out there. But now I felt a bit safer doing that. It was a good thing I just wanted to look in the backyard because it was unlikely that I would get inside.

  After turning onto the street my anxiety grew as I got closer to the house. I could do this, I reminded myself. I had to be brave and just suck it up, Buttercup. I pulled up near the house, but I stopped short because I didn’t want to park right in front of it.

  I sat there for a bit before getting up enough nerve to actually get out of the car. It was hard for me to even open the car door. But I was brave, and I got out. Now I was headed down the sidewalk toward the house. It felt like forever since we’d found his body, yet it seemed like it was yesterday. It really hadn’t been that long. It was all still fresh in my mind.

  I sure hoped that the neighbor wasn’t outside tending to her rose bushes. Not that she wasn’t nice, and I didn’t want to talk to her, but how would I explain that I was poking around in the murdered man’s backyard? It was one thing to lie about being interested in the house across the street, but this would be totally obvious.

  The house came in to view, and luckily, I didn’t see the neighbor outside. I hurried around the side of the house hoping that the gate wouldn’t be locked.

  The backyard had been well tended to previously, but it was starting to need a mow now. Weeds were popping up in the flower beds. I wasn’t sure who would be taking care of the house. Did the couple have children? It wasn’t clear to me, but it didn’t appear that they did. There were no signs of that in the house when I poked around. Did they have other family in town?

  A few lush oak and magnolia trees lined the perimeter of the backyard and some flowers around the landscaping at the back of the house. A patio table, chairs, and open umbrella were just waiting for somebody to sit underneath and enjoy a glass of lemonade. I stopped by the back door, looking around on the ground. Maybe the killer had dropped something. Sadly, there was absolutely nothing. I made a few more steps into the yard and scanned the rest of the backyard.

  I headed across the thick green grass toward the back gate. It had been open that day. As I walked, I checked over my shoulder just to make sure that nobody was watching me. I was fairly certain no one else would come back here. Therefore, I didn’t think anyone would look for me. Unless someone had seen me slip back here.

  I stopped by the gate. A big tree was next to me. When I peered down, I saw a shiny gold and diamond ring. I picked it up and examined it closer. Was this ring the killer’s? When a voice caught my attention, I whipped around. Someone was coming. The thought of being caught sent me into a complete panic. I darted behind the big tree, pressing my body against the rough bark. My heart beat faster as I reminded myself to breathe. I gripped the ring tightly in my hand. I’d thought for sure no one would know I was back here.

  I desperately wanted to peek around the side of the tree and find out who was coming. But it seemed as if the voice was coming closer, so I didn’t move. I was almost positive the person was coming into the backyard. They had to be looking for me. I had to know who it was. It was risky but it had to be done.

  With a racing heart, I peeked around the edge of the tree. My breath caught in my throat when I spotted the next-door neighbor Sally. What was she doing that here? Had she seen me come back here? She was being snoopy if that was the case. Maybe she was just watching out for the house though. After all, there had been a murder there so I guessed I couldn’t blame her for being a bit on
edge. Now I just wanted her to leave so that I could get out of there. She was talking on her cell phone. Perhaps she was talking with the police. The detective maybe?

  She moved even closer now and I pressed my back against the tree again. Thank goodness she hadn’t noticed me yet. Her side of the conversation was clear to me now and it didn’t sound as if she was on the phone with the police. That was good news for me. But now I was curious as to who was on the other end of the line. And why she was standing in the backyard having this conversation?

  Sally spoke into her phone. “Well, I just came back here to check on things. I just had a bad feeling about it.”

  A bad feeling about what?

  “No, I don’t think they know what happened. And I don’t think they ever will figure it out. That’s a good thing for us, right?”

  Oh my gosh. What did that mean? Panic completely took over. That sounded like Sally had something to do with the murder. Could the neighbor be involved with the murderer somehow?

  I just needed her to leave so that I could get out of there. I didn’t know what to think about what she’d said. It would make sense that she could be involved maybe. I mean she lived next-door. However, she had been in her front yard when this happened. That didn’t mean she wasn’t involved though. She could totally be covering for the person. If she was involved, then she was a good actress because she had seemed genuinely upset.

  I was so confused I didn’t know what to think. At least the talking had stopped now. I didn’t know that meant though. Had she left the backyard? Or was she was still creeping around looking for me? I had to peek over the side of the tree again. Which caused me even more anxiety.

  I eased over the side of the tree and realized that she was no longer in the backyard. Whew. Now I had to get out of there. I hunkered down as if dodging bullets and ran across the yard. Did I really think this would keep me from being spotted? I wasn’t hiding from anyone or anything by being out there in the wide open, but I did it anyway. Thank goodness I made it out of that gate and halfway around the house when the talking sounded again. Oh my gosh. She was coming back. There wasn’t time to run all the way back to that tree, so I had to find another hiding spot.

  I quickly scanned my surroundings and dove behind a huge bush at the side of the house. This was crazy. Anybody coming back there they would surely think I’d lost my mind. I just hoped that the detective didn’t find me. I couldn’t believe I was hiding for the second time. And Sally might be able to see me hiding. This wasn’t exactly as good of a spot as the tree either.

  But thank goodness I didn’t hear her now. I peeked out from behind the bush. To my relief there was no sign of her. I had to make a run for it again. It was now or never. I could be stuck here for a long time if I didn’t go now.

  I jumped out from behind the bush and ran across the front yard. Of course, I glanced over at the neighbor’s to see if she was in the front yard, but there was no sign of her. I hoped she was inside to stay for a while. At least until I got out of there. My car never looked so good. I managed to race around the hood and then jump behind the steering wheel.

  With a shaky hand, I cranked the engine. Looking at the house, I still saw no sign of Sally. Maybe she was still talking on the phone. I couldn’t stop thinking about what she said on the phone and I wanted to know what she had meant.

  I pulled away from the curb. As drove down the street I looked over at her house. Thank goodness I didn’t spot her peeking out a window. For all I knew she could be inside looking out the front window though and I just couldn’t see. Would she recognize my car? Maybe not. It was a common color and model.

  Maybe I’d just driven by again to look at that house for sale. That seemed like a good explanation. She couldn’t be too suspicious of that. But at least I was out of there now. And I had the ring still. I was surprised I hadn’t lost it in the bushes. I shivered at the thought of having to go back and find the thing. I’d just made it off the street when my phone rang.

  When I glanced down at the screen, I saw that it was the detective’s number. Uh-oh. Did he know? I felt as if he knew. Oh my gosh. What if the police had been watching the house and saw me do all of that? How extremely embarrassing would that be? How would I explain that one?

  “Detective Bailey,” I said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “Scarlet,” he said in a somewhat stern voice. “Can you meet me at the coffee shop?”

  I was in serious trouble.

  Chapter 18

  I whipped my car into the parking lot. The detective was getting out of his car. Would I ever call him by his first name? Alexander. I liked that name. I supposed he would always be Detective Bailey to me. As soon as I got out of my car, our eyes met. Still I couldn’t read what he was thinking. I supposed that was what made him a good detective. My mind kept telling me that this meeting wasn’t good though. With little success, I tried to push those bad thoughts out of my head. The detective met me as I walked toward the door.

  “You made it,” he said with a smile.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t show up?” I asked.

  Maybe he thought I’d run after what I’d done. Should I tell him about the ring I’d found? I’d left it in the car. Maybe I should get it. I’d think about it and make a decision before we left the coffee shop. That was if he let me leave the shop not in handcuffs.

  “I never know what Scarlet Baker will do. You always leave me guessing.” He opened the coffee shop door for me.

  I was surprised by what he’d said. He thought I was unpredictable? I supposed that wasn’t the first time someone had said that about me. Maybe it was true and I’d never realized it until now. Was it such a bad thing? The detective and I stepped into the coffee shop. The strong smell of coffee encircled us. The display case of baked goods beckoned me.

  “I’ll order or us. The usual?” he asked.

  We’d been here so many times to discuss my involvement in crimes that he knew my usual order.

  “Yes, please,” I said feeling a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. “I’ll get us a seat.”

  He glanced around the empty room. “Sounds good.”

  I was glad that we’d come at a time when there were no other customers. It was quiet. Plus, if he arrested me, I wouldn’t have the embarrassment of a crowd witnessing the whole scandalous scene.

  After a minute, the detective turned from the counter and walked over toward me. Now my anxiety spiked. Before I had been distracted by ordering coffee and small talk. Once he sat down I figured he would get right to the point. I guessed it was better to get this over with though. He might as well lay it on me. How much trouble was I in?

  He pulled out the chair and sat down. “Coffee should be ready soon.”

  “Thank you.” I wondered if he detected the nervousness in my voice. “I hope this table is all right?”

  I had purposely chosen a different table than the one we’d sat in last time. Another one of my unpredictable moves? Probably.

  “I guess you’re wondering why I asked you to meet me here?” He studied my face.

  “The thought had crossed my mind,” I said.

  The barista called out his name. He’d given his first name. Alex. I guess it made sense that he wouldn’t make them write Detective Bailey on the side of the cup.

  Now I had to sit in suspense even longer as I waited for Alex to return to the table. Maybe I’d secretly call him Alex. He wouldn’t have to know. Alex had a drink in both hands as he headed back over to the table. He tried to balance the scones in his hands as well. I jumped up and hurried over to help him.

  “I forgot about the scones,” I said as I took one of the drinks and a scone.

  “How could you forget about the blueberry scones? That’s the best part,” he said with a grin. “You got me hooked.”

  “You tried them based on my recommendation?” I asked.

  “Well, the way you went on and on about them I figured I had to try. Plus, you are the cooking expert,”
he said.

  I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. “I didn’t realize I talked about them that much.”

  “I think it’s cute,” he said as we sat down.

  Now I really was blushing. Did he just say he thought I was cute? I was acting like a teenager. Get ahold of yourself, Scarlet. I took a sip of my coffee to keep from talking. Right now, I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

  “Where were we?” Alex asked and he took a bite of his scone.

  “You were telling me how much you love the blueberry scones,” I said with a slight smile.

  “No, what we were discussing before we got the scones,” he said after he finished eating his bite.

  “Oh, right, you were going to tell me why you asked me here, I suppose.” My heart beat a little faster as I waited for his response.

  “I checked those notes for fingerprints,” he said. “We got nothing.”

  “Really? That’s disappointing,” I said.

  Thank goodness he hadn’t asked me here because he’d seen me at the house. Though maybe he was just telling me this first to give me a fast sense of security.

  “I really hoped you’d find something so that I don’t have to keep looking over my shoulder,” I said.

  “Are you looking over your shoulder?” he asked.

  “Of course, I am,” I said. “What makes you think I wouldn’t?”

  “I worry that maybe you don’t take this seriously enough.”

  I took a drink of my coffee and stared at him. “I completely understand what you’re saying. Yet that doesn’t make me want to stop what I’m doing. I have to stop trying to find out what happened. I’m not going to live in fear.”

  ‘Fear can be a good thing,” he said. “It keeps us from being hurt.”

  “And I am looking over my shoulder. I’m also looking for the killer and trying to find out if it’s the same person leaving the notes for me. It’s probably the same person.”