A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1) (4 page)

Chapter 5

After sneaking back into her own house to avoid the news crew camped outside, Melissa urged her nephew to get some rest. He lumbered off to his room without complaint. Contemplating her options, she started a pot of coffee brewing and sat down at her kitchen table with the recipe box she had just pilfered from her own shop. She didn’t really need the cards anymore. Every recipe was burned into her memory long ago but she liked to keep them around anyway. However, it was odd that some of the cards had been strewn around her office. “Why would anyone want my recipe cards?” she thought.

After 1 ½ large mugs of strong coffee with a splash of French vanilla creamer, the cards were back in their original order. However, a couple were missing. The recipes for her scrumptious Cranberry-Orange bread and her Rosemary Sea Salt bread were not there. Both were big hits with her customers. Melissa even had orders for these breads from tourists that visited their quaint little seaside town during the summer months. The Murphy family was due in town next week and had pre-ordered enough of the Cranberry-Orange bread to feed a small army. The Lucas matriarch from Morgantown, WV paid a year in advance to have the Rosemary Sea Salt bread delivered every three months to her home. Yes, these two particular artisan breads earned her bakery the most profit, aside from the daily breadsticks and bread bowls for Cheryl’s restaurant. She had even planned to enter one of the breads into the first annual Outer Banks Regional Bake-Off to be held next month. The contest boasted that the winner of the artisan bread category would earn a guest spot on a nationally televised cooking show on the Food Network. 

Despite not needing the recipes in order to bake any of her breads, Melissa decided to call the police department, at a more reasonable hour, and ask if any recipe cards had been taken into evidence. She couldn’t imagine why, but it didn’t hurt to ask. Her curiosity was piqued. Mulling over everything that had transpired she wondered:

• Why was Linda in the Kill Devil Delicacies after hours in the first place?
  
• Was Linda the one that broke in or did she discover the intruder?
  
• If Linda did break into her shop, why?
  
• How had someone gotten past her office door security lock, as well as known the location of her safe?
  
• Who had been in the shop earlier that morning when she and Logan were hiding in the office?
  

Melissa resolved to find out what information she could from the police but knew she would need to careful. It would not do her any good to let on that she had been in the shop snooping around even with the police tape still cordoning it off. That would certainly add to their suspicions that she was involved in Linda’s death. Rubbing her temples to sooth the migraine threatening to come on, she decided that a quick, hot, steamy shower followed by a short nap were in order.

As she was exiting the shower with her hair wrapped up in a plush, pale yellow towel Melissa heard the shrill ring of the house phone. She tripped over a pile of clothes on the floor as she tried to get to the phone. Too late to answer it, the answering machine kicked on just as she made a grab for the handset. The message surprised her immensely. A deep but feminine voice introduces herself as Janice Littleton, an attorney with Dewitt, Pendleton, and Schwartz. The voice continued by stating that she was aware of the “incident” in the bakery and wished to inquire if Mrs. Maples was in need of legal representation. With a slight southern drawl, she ended the message by leaving her contact information.

Melissa was shocked! She had not even considered the possibility that she would need a lawyer. However, following her treatment by the local police yesterday and the obvious interest in her as evidenced by the news van camped outside her home, perhaps obtaining a lawyer was a good idea.

If she wasn’t already convinced, the knock on her front door would certainly lead her to that conclusion. Having difficulty getting her clothes on as her body was still damp from the shower, Melissa cursed to herself as she rushed to answer the door. Looking at the clock above the living room fireplace mantle, it was still quite early for visitors. When she opened the door she was greeted by a police badge shoved in her face. Detectives Payne and Reynolds were on her front stoop. The one looking apologetic for disturbing her so early the other looking even grumpier than he had the previous day. The knot in Melissa’s stomach became more pronounced as she greeted her guests.

The nicer, and more attractive, gentleman immediately apologized for bothering her so early in the morning, while his partner scowled. Melissa asked what she could do for the officers and if they would like to come in for some coffee. She didn’t really want to entertain them but felt kindness would get her more points than outward signs of agitation at their presence. Detective Payne accepted and she moved aside to allow them entry into her home.

Logan had been awakened by the phone ringing and came lumbering out to see who was now at the door. Rubbing his eyes, he was jolted further awake by the sight of the cops in the house. Melissa gave him a reassuring look and encouraged him to get his shower while she spoke with the detectives. She hoped her attempt to appear unflustered by their presence worked. Inside her stomach was in knots and the pain behind her eye increased dramatically.

She offered them coffee and to have a seat at her kitchen table. “Grumpy”, as Melissa had decided to refer to him inwardly, took out a notebook and pen as he sat down with the wooden chair creaking underneath his weight. “Mrs. Maples, we have more questions regarding the murder of Mrs. Stevenson in your bakery,” he stated while giving her a stern look. “Particularly, we would like to know why you subverted a police barrier this very morning to enter your shop.”

Trying to appear nonchalant about the matter, instead of horrified they knew about her visit to the bakery, Melissa smiled as she sat their coffee cups down on the table. Before answering she sat down too. Otherwise, she was afraid her quaking legs would give out from under her. “Detective,” she began, “I wasn’t trying to ‘subvert’ anything. I merely needed to retrieve something from my office since it doesn’t appear the police are going to allow me to return to my business anytime soon with all the tape around the shop and the place still a mess. I fully intended to call the precinct later to ask a few questions of my own, specifically to see when I can go in to clean up. It really is a disaster in there. There’s no way I can re-open anytime soon.”

She continued talking, nervous at first but gaining her courage as she went along. “After everything yesterday, no one has told me anything. What happened? How? Why? Does anyone have any idea why Linda was in my bakery in the first place? Do you have any suspects?” Melissa immediately regretted that last question as Grumpy’s eyes lit up. Of course they have a suspect – her. Although why they would suspect her, she had no idea.

The nicer one, Detective Payne, kindly answered, “Mrs. Maples, I’m sorry but the investigation is ongoing and we can’t release any information. However, we understand your concern since this did happen in your bakery. Of course, you would wish to check out your own shop afterwards to assess the damage and such.” With a small grimace he added, “Unfortunately, your place is the scene of a brutal crime that we are still investigating. You cannot cross a police line. By doing so you may have compromised evidence. That, in and of itself, is a crime. We cannot have potential evidence being tampered with, intentionally or unintentionally.”

Melissa wondered how she was going to get herself out of this situation. She thought by going there so early that no one would find out. Of course, she hadn’t meant to compromise anything. She just needed to see her shop for herself.

Still trying to appear undisturbed, she reassured the officers that she had not meant to jeopardize their investigation at all. Even playing a little dumb, Melissa stated that she hadn’t realized that was a possibility and had assumed the police had already obtained all the evidence they needed before they had left the place. She simply needed some of her personal items. If they had explained to her that she could not go back to her own shop before she left the precinct the previous day, Melissa would never have considered it. With a small smile, she looked up hoping to see them convinced she was just ignorant of police procedure and not trying to thwart their investigation. She really wanted them to succeed and find the real killer. However, the skeptical look she was getting from Detective Reynolds clearly said he did not believe her for a second. “This guy really is ready to throw the book at me and he hasn’t even tried to find the true culprit,” she thought with aggravation.

Luckily, Detective Payne was more receptive of her explanation. He smiled back and calmly told her that they could overlook the trespass this time, since she was not explicitly informed she could not go back to her place of business until the department officially gave the approval. He even added, “We realize all this is upsetting and confusing. We are working relentlessly to determine what happened so justice can be served. Unfortunately, that means your life has be upturned since the crime did happen in your bakery. We are sorry for the disturbance to your business, but in the meantime we ask that you refrain from visiting there.” With that last statement, he made to leave.

Melissa found she was sorry to see him go. He was nice and nice looking. Not to mention his voice had a soothing, velvety quality. However, his partner, was quite the other story. He didn’t appear nearly satisfied with her response about not knowing she wasn’t allowed to cross a police line. Melissa could hardly wait to see the door shut behind him. As they walked out, she decided to push her luck just a little. “Officers,” she inquired, “Could you at least tell me if anything was taken from my shop or if you have any idea when I may be allowed back in my shop? The bakery is my livelihood after all and there are bills to pay.” The tall, good-looking detective sadly shook his head.

Chapter 6

Well, if she wasn’t sure before she was now. The cops weren’t going to be helpful at all. The one had already made up his mind. Even if the surly Detective Reynolds hadn’t before, discovering that Melissa had essentially broke into her own bakery…well, that should’ve cinched it. Muttering under her breath at being so stupid, she didn’t hear Logan return to the living room. “That bad, huh?” he finally asked to get her attention. Nodding, she continued to pace the floor.

She kept pondering the same question over and over in her mind. “What should she do now?” The victim was found dead in her bakery. There was known to be animosity between her and the victim. They were considered professional rivals even if they specialized in vastly different areas. She had violated the law by entering her own bakery. She knew money was missing from her safe and a couple recipe cards were now gone but nothing that would add to the death of Linda Stevenson. Of course the cops were going to suspect her. But how could she prove she was innocent and get them to focus on finding the real killer?

Melissa concluded that “The good Lord helps those who help themselves”. She had an active interest in finding the real killer. Otherwise, she could end up in jail. She could lose everything. Well, she wasn’t going to be able to work for a while. At least not until the cops gave her “permission” to enter her own shop. So, she had the time and the motivation. Melissa was determined to resolve this mystery, with or without help from the actual cops.

While she had been mulling over her options, Logan had fetched the morning paper from the front stoop. Just as he walked back in, a high-pitched female voice broke into Melissa’s concentration. “Oh dear!” she fretted, “I forgot all about Britney! The poor girl was probably just as confused as she was, and wouldn’t know that she wasn’t supposed to go to work.”

With her strawberry blonde hair neatly pulled back in a ponytail and dressed for work, Britney waltzed into Melissa’s home. The young woman always seemed to be dancing or walking on air. Maybe it was from years practicing ballet or more likely from her recent interest in ball room dancing. Now that Britney was in a serious relationship with the son of one of the wealthiest men on the east coast, she had developed a keen interest in everything the country club set would do. It was starting to annoy Melissa as Britney’s practice around the bakery usually led to spilled ingredients all over the floor.

“Hey, boss lady, did you know we’re not allowed back in the bakery? Just tried to open up the store and some old geezer with a badge stopped me. Said I was breaking the law or something. Is that crazy or what?” Britney didn’t appear too put out that she would be unable to work today. The girl was probably more concerned that she wouldn’t be paid.

“Come on in, Brit. Yes, I’m aware. Just had a visit from the same ‘old geezer’ reminding me to stay away.” Melissa offered the young woman some coffee and they sat down to discuss what to do next. Logan, who had a massive crush on Britney, tried acting cool and non-interested in their conversation but Melissa saw him glancing their way a little too often as he ate his bowl of granola on the sofa. It had not escaped his aunt’s notice that when Britney came in, he had quickly put the box of sugary kids’ cereal back and had taken out the “more adult” granola instead. “Poor kid,” she thought, “too young to understand he would never stand a chance with a woman like Britney. Even if he wasn’t just a kid, he wasn’t from a wealthy family. Rich, trust fund heirs were more her type.”

“So now what do we do? Sit around and twiddle our thumbs waiting on the cops?” Britney asked while rolling her eyes to show her personal opinion about the situation. The poor woman had never had a favorable opinion of the police, ever since growing up on the edge of being a juvenile delinquent herself. She had managed to keep her nose clean but had hung out with a bad crowd in high school, including an ex-boyfriend currently doing time up in Raleigh for a robbery spree last year. After growing up poor and taking care of herself since her mom had been too busy boozing it up to be a parent, Britney had recently tasted the good life with her new beau and she wasn’t about to mess that up.

Melissa answered carefully, “Actually, I’m not feeling highly confident that the police are going to look further than yours truly for a suspect.” She proceeded to fill Britney in on her conversations with the cops and how, at least the one, seemed more than ready to cuff her for the crime and call it a day. Melissa had never been one to just let things happen to her and had already concluded she would have to investigate on her own if she had any hope of remaining free. Inwardly she wanted to rant about the injustice of the whole scenario. How could anyone believe she would do such a thing? Why was she being treated like a suspect rather than a victim since it was her bakery that had been broken into? However, it just wasn’t her style. Instead she would rather focus her energies on finding the truth, even if the cops weren’t interested in it.

The young woman’s blue eyes fairly sparkled with excitement at what her boss intended to do and she wanted in! The two women sat around the table for the rest of the morning concocting a plan. They will need to find out what evidence the police have in custody. Also, someone should speak with Mr. Stevenson to determine why he said all those outrageous lies to the news reporter and see if he knew why his wife was at Melissa’s bakery in the first place. Logan tried to appear as if he wasn’t listening in but couldn’t resist commenting. “Shouldn’t we compile a list of possible suspects? Who would have it in for Mrs. Stevenson? Who would also have it in for Aunt Mel?”

“Oh no! There is no way you are involved in this, Logan!”  Melissa was not about to allow her beloved nephew to get his hands dirty. Besides her brother would have a heart attack if he found out and his wife would have Melissa’s head on a platter if her son got in any sort of trouble. Too bad the boy inherited his stubborn streak from his grandpa, the late Frank Jones and former mayor of Kill Devil Hills. It was the same stubbornness showcased by his Aunt Mel and Uncle Charlie, who was currently serving his fifth tour of duty with the Army in Afghanistan. Whether she wanted his help or not, Logan was in.