Lexy felt her eyes grow wide. “You know why Kevin was murdered?”
She blurted it out without thinking. The man backed away from her in a hurry. Beating a hasty retreat out of the room, he threw one last warning over his shoulder, “Stay out of it, or you’ll be sorry.”
Lexy dropped her cookie on the table, starting after the man, but he had disappeared. She scanned the adjoining room, standing on her tiptoes to get a good view, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Who she did see, though, was the last person she wanted to run into - detective Jack Perillo.
Jack stood in the corner, watching the people at Kevin’s wake. He had given his condolences to the family, but he always liked to hang around for a while to observe the behavior of the people attending. In his experience, you could find out more by watching what people did rather than listening to what they said.
Sudden, sporadic movements in the adjoining room caught his attention. He felt his eyes narrow when he recognized who was making the commotion; it was Lexy Baker bouncing up and down on her toes, apparently looking for someone in the crowd. What’s she doing here?
Jack caught Lexy’s eye, giving a short wave. She didn’t wave back. Instead, she turned away, skirting the edge of the crowd. She seemed to be making a beeline for the back of the house.
From his vantage point, Jack saw Kevin’s mother, Ellen, looking at Lexy. He saw Ellen’s eyes grow big and round, her face turning an unhealthy shade of red. He watched Ellen raise her arm, pointing at Lexy.
“What’s she doing here?” Ellen’s voice rang out through the entire funeral parlor. All conversation came to a halt. Heads swiveled toward the loud voice.
“She killed my Kevin!” The sentence ended in an anguished wail. Jack saw Ellen lunge toward Lexy, who was standing frozen like a deer caught in headlights.
Jack sprung into action, making his way over to the distraught woman in order to diffuse the situation. It was already turning into a free-for-all with two people holding Ellen back. Lexy stood against the wall looking as if she wished she could disappear into it. All eyes were on the two of them.
Jack took Ellen’s arm. He addressed her in a soothing voice, “Ellen, we don’t know who the killer is. There’s no evidence to say Lexy did it.”
Ellen turned confused angry eyes on him. “She was never any good for him. Always acting like she was better than him.” Jack felt grateful she wasn’t yelling anymore.
Jason appeared, wrapping a soothing arm around his mother who dissolved into tears. Addressing the other mourners he said softly, “Mamma’s under a lot of stress; she doesn’t know what she is saying.”
A sympathetic murmur ran through the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Lexy start to back away. He released Ellen’s arm, and then took one long step towards Lexy. Grabbing her by the elbow, he propelled her toward the back door, her shorter legs moving at double speed trying to keep up with him.
“What are you doing here?” Jack demanded in a low voice.
“I wanted to give my condolences.” Jack could tell by her voice it wasn’t the only reason she was there. His right eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch.
“Really. Jason and I have been friends for a long time and I knew Ellen pretty well.” Her look of innocence didn’t fool Jack, but it did distract him. His thoughts turned to her pouty lips and wide eyes instead of the investigation at hand.
“Yes, it seems she was a big fan of yours,” Jack said sarcastically.
“She never really did warm to me. I guess no one was good enough for her little boy.” Lexy’s soft green eyes looked up into his, causing Jack’s heart to melt a little. “Thanks for sticking up for me in there.”
Jack nodded in response. He looked down at her, the detective in him wanting to ask more questions about why she was at the wake and to find out if she knew something about the case. The man in him wanted an excuse to spend more time with her. He quickly came up with a way to satisfy both.
“Have you eaten supper yet?”
Lexy looked at her watch. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I guess I am kind of hungry.”
“Great, let’s go to my favorite place and grab a burger.” Jack threw the invitation out casually as if it was no big deal, wondering why, if it really was no big deal, he felt so nervous.
He saw Lexy hesitate. He thought she might be about to say no, but after a second she smiled. “Sure, why not. Maybe you can tell me more about your progress on the case and let me know when I can finally get my business opened.”
“Great, we can take my car and then I’ll drop you back here after.” He set off toward the corner of the parking lot and Lexy followed. Leading her over to the passenger side of his Ford SUV, he opened the door for her and watched her climb in. He glanced appreciatively at her curvy calves as she pulled them up into the cab, his glance lingering long enough to notice her stiletto heeled shoes. His provocative thoughts about her shapely calves were interrupted, his mind going back to the crime scene and the unmistakable heel prints left around Kevin’s house.
8
Ten minutes later, they were seated in a cozy booth at the Burger Barn, a family restaurant located in an old renovated barn. Jack liked the quaint atmosphere. Antique signs and farm memorabilia decorated the barn board walls and the lighting was moderate—not too dim and not too bright. The seating was comfortable and the burgers were the best in town.
Jack glanced over at Lexy. Judging by the way she was shoveling her burger into her mouth, she either agreed they were delicious or she hadn’t eaten in a very long time.
“Good burgers,” he said, smiling at the gob of ketchup she had on the side of her mouth. “You have some ketchup here…” he pointed to the side of his mouth with his finger.
“Oh!” Lexy picked up a napkin and swiped at the side of her mouth. “Thanks,” she mumbled around her mouthful of burger, her face taking on a sheepish grin.
“They are good,” she agreed after finishing chewing. She picked up a sweet potato fry and nibbled on the end. “So, detective, is there anything more you can tell me about the case?”
Jack looked over at her smiling at him from across the table. Hey, shouldn’t I be asking the questions?
“Well, I can’t talk too much about the details, but I do know they are sifting through the ingredients from your bakery now. You should be able to open soon.” Jack’s answer seemed mechanical—impersonal. He mentally kicked himself for not being more entertaining.
Jack prided himself on being a good conversationalist. He was usually able to charm any woman on a date. But this wasn’t a date. Did he want it to be? No, he definitely didn’t want it to be a date; he just wanted to find out what Lexy knew about Kevin’s murder. He got the distinct impression she knew something he didn’t.
Jack had to admit he felt a strong attraction to Lexy, but dating just wasn’t in the cards for him. His work was his main focus and women just seemed to get in the way of that. His last girlfriend had dumped him because he spent too much time at work and not enough time with her and he just didn’t need that to happen again with Lexy, especially since her house was practically right in his back yard.
“What about a motive?” Lexy’s question pulled Jack’s attention back to the moment.
“Motive? You sound like you’ve been brushing up on detective-speak,” Jack said with a laugh.
“Well, the murderer must have had a reason to do what they did.”
“Well sure.” He put on his most charming smile. “Of course, you have the usual reasons—jealousy, anger, revenge.”
“But this was premeditated, so it wasn’t a…what do they call it?” Lexy looked up and bit her lower lip searching for the term. Jack could almost see the light bulb go off over her head as she remembered it. “Crime of passion!”
“Sure, so it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. It must have been something someone planned. Do you know anyone who would have a reason for wanting Kevin dead so much they would plan to kill him?” Jack tried to
slip the question in casually to catch her off guard, just in case she did have some idea who did it.
“No, do you?” She smiled at him sweetly. Jack could have sworn she was batting her eyelashes. Was she flirting with him? Jack was surprised to discover he didn’t mind if she was.
Jack decided to throw Lexy a little bone in the hopes she might reciprocate. “We haven’t come up with much, but we do know Kevin may have been involved in some sort of blackmail scheme.”
“Blackmail?” Lexy looked perplexed. “Who in the world would he be blackmailing?”
“Well if we knew that,” Jack said, “then we’d already have our killer.”
Lexy looked deep in thought and after a few seconds she said, “A strange man threatened me at the wake today.”
Jack leaned forward, listening intently. This could be the clue he was looking for. “What did he say?”
“He warned me not to mess around looking for Kevin’s killer. He said if I did I’d be sorry.” Jack could see Lexy give a little shiver as she said the last words.
“What did he look like? Did you get his name? How did he know Kevin?” Jack slipped into detective mode, rattling off the questions in quick order.
“He looked disheveled. He wore rumpled clothes and he hadn’t shaved in days. Medium height, dark hair with a tinge of gray. He seemed nervous. Honestly, it all happened so fast I didn’t find out anything about him except he said he knew Kevin well.”
“Oh.” Jack was a little disappointed with the lack of information, but interested at least that someone out there had answers; now it was up to Jack to try to find him.
Jack looked over at Lexy, his face becoming serious. “Lexy, you’d be smart to heed that guys’ warning. Messing around in this case could be very dangerous. I hope you’re not taking things into your own hands.”
“Oh, no...I wouldn’t know the first thing about looking for a murderer,” Lexy said.
Jack felt his eyes narrow. She sounded a little too sincere he thought. He didn’t think she was lying to him… not exactly…but he did get the distinct impression Lexy Baker was crossing her fingers behind her back when she implied she wouldn’t be meddling in the investigation.
They rode back to the funeral parlor in comfortable silence. Lexy was surprised and a bit dismayed to discover she had actually enjoyed Jack’s company.
She’d even liked flirting with him, although she told herself she did it to try to get information. It had paid off too because now at least, the blackmail angle gave her something to go on. She felt a little bad about not telling Jack that Kevin had been asking about her but she figured it might not be smart to tell him things that could cast suspicion on her.
Jack parked near her car, then jumped out to open the door for her. They walked over to her car slowly, enjoying the warm summer evening, the sound of peepers chirping and the honeysuckle-scented air.
Lexy unlocked her car turning to face Jack. “Thanks for supper. I can’t believe I’ve never been there before. The food was wonderful!”
“You’re welcome,” Jack said, then reached into his pocket producing the key to her bakery. “Here’s your key. I’m sorry you can’t open it for business yet.”
Lexy reached out to retrieve the key and her fingers brushed his as she took it, causing a tingle of excitement.
Lexy looked up at him, her stomach flip-flopped at the way he was looking at her with his gorgeous golden brown eyes. Was he going to kiss her?
Jack leaned in toward her. She felt her breath catch in her throat. His lips met hers. Soft. Casual.
Lexy snaked an arm around his neck, pressing her body closer, wanting more. She felt his strong arms snake around her waist, pulling her in tighter, his lips pressing harder. His tongue probing.
The shrill ring of Jack’s cell phone broke the spell. He pulled away, wrenching the phone from his pocket.
“Hello,” he barked the greeting into the phone. “Yes. Where? Darling. I’ll be there.”
He turned to Lexy. “I’m sorry; I have to go out on a call. I’ll call you later?” The last sentence was more a question than a statement.
Lexy, managed a nod, still too breathless from the kiss to speak. She watched him get in his car and speed off.
Lexy stood in the parking lot for a moment, her lips still burning from his kiss. What the heck had she been thinking?
Even though she couldn’t deny the warm tingly glow she felt when she was near him, kissing the handsome detective could add a bunch of complications to her life which she just didn’t need now—and who had he called darling on the phone?
Her eyelid started to twitch nervously. The last thing Lexy needed was to get involved with a guy who had a girlfriend. Better to keep her hormones in check and stay away from detective Jack Perillo.
She hopped in her car. Being in an empty funeral parlor parking lot at night creeped her out. She couldn’t help but think of the man she had talked to at the wake. She wasn’t sure what he had meant or if his words were a warning intended to keep her safe or a threat intended to scare her off.
9
Lexy slipped into her chair, delicately balancing a chocolate croissant in one hand and a caramel latte in the other. She glanced around the room in the contemporary style cafe noting the modern purple and green colors, comfortable booth seating and scrolling architecture design. Maybe I should get chairs that are more comfortable for The Cup and Cake.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips at the thought of her bakery, wondering how long it would be until she could open it again and how much being closed would hurt business. Having to buy all new ingredients wasn’t going to help her bank account any. She felt a rush of anger at the police department.
“Why so glum?” Cassie slid into the other side of the booth.
“Oh, I was just thinking about the bakery and wondering when we can open again.” Lexy said, her heart feeling a slight squeeze at her predicament.
Cassie nodded in sympathy, dipping her tea bag into a steaming cup of water. “Maybe what I found out from Tom McGraw will cheer you up then.”
Lexy raised her eyebrows. “You talked to him? What did he say?”
“He said Kevin had been acting a little cagey lately…withdrawn. He also said it looked like Kevin had come into some money, but that he was keeping pretty quiet about it.”
“Really? That’s interesting, because last night Jack said they thought Kevin might have been involved in some sort of blackmail scheme.” Lexy thought back to the previous night feeling her cheeks grow hot at the memory of Jack’s kiss.
“Jack?” Cassie raised a pierced eyebrow.
“Detective Perillo. I saw him at the wake and then talked to him…after.”
“Oh, that hunky detective who came to the bakery?” Cassie’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute, you’re being kind of cagey yourself—what’s going on?”
Lexy rolled her eyes. Her old friend could always tell when she was trying to hide something from her. “There’s nothing going on. I saw him at the wake and we grabbed a burger. Did I mention he is also my neighbor?”
“He is? You forgot to mention that. So have you known him long? You never said anything about him before.” Lexy saw Cassie’s mouth form a smirk and she knew her friend was picturing a romance between Lexy and Jack.
“No; actually, I met him the night before he came to the bakery. I saw him at the wake and took my opportunity to get information from him.” Lexy said nonchalantly, purposely leaving out the part about the kiss. “Anyway, I think he has a girlfriend.”
“Oh, too bad. All the good ones seem to be taken.” Cassie said with a sigh. “So, anyway, did you find out anything at the wake?”
Lexy told Cassie about what she had learned. How Jason said Kevin had mentioned her; how the lady with the expensive red shoes had been bawling her eyes out, and the warning from the disheveled man. When she got to the last part, she saw Cassie’s eyes widen and heard her take in a sharp breath.
“Oh Lexy, you’d better be
careful! Maybe looking into this stuff isn’t such a good idea,” Cassie said with concern softening her jet black eyes.
“Oh, I’ll be careful.” Lexy’s heart warmed at her friends care, she didn’t want her to worry. Even though Cassie looked tough on the outside, she was a marshmallow on the inside. “Besides, once the bakery is opened I can just drop the whole thing. That’s all I really care about.”
“Speaking of which,” Lexy added, “can you remember who might have bought cupcake tops the day Kevin died? The murderer must have come in to the shop to buy the cupcake tops or sent someone in to get them.”
Both girls were silent for a few minutes, trying to remember.
“It’s so hard to remember,” Cassie said. “Every day seems to just blend into the next. I know we have the regulars, but I don’t remember anyone who would stand out...wait! I do remember someone who seemed a little off...he smelled like booze and looked a little grungy. I remember wondering why someone like that would be buying cupcakes instead of food.”
Lexy thought back to the man at the wake—he had smelled like booze. “The man who threatened me at the wake smelled like booze. I also remember seeing someone with expensive shoes come in, but I can’t remember what day. I didn’t get a good look at her, though. I was too busy admiring the shoes.”
“I guess that’s not much to go on either way.” Lexy said, feeling disappointment settle in her stomach like a heavy brick.
She shoved the last piece of croissant in her mouth. “I guess we should get going. I need to get to the bakery and accept the deliveries so we can restock the pantry. Nans called; she wants me to come over later to update the ladies on our progress,” she said with a wry smile.
Lexy felt like they hadn’t made much progress at all. Sure, they had a few clues but Lexy didn’t feel like they were any closer to finding the killer or getting her bakery open. She felt anxious and scared but she looked forward to meeting with Nans later that day. Maybe the Ladies Detective Club would have made better progress than Cassie and her.
Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1 - 4) (Lexy Baker Cozy Mysteries Boxed Sets) Page 4
