A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1) (7 page)

Chapter 11

Despite it being mid-afternoon on a hot summer day, Melissa felt chilled as they entered the bakery. Unlocking the front door, she felt more than saw the multitude of eyes staring at her from along the street. Logan, being less intimidated, turned around and stared at all the gawkers causing them to quickly turn back around and get back to their own businesses.

Flicking on the lights, nothing seemed out of place in the front of the bakery. There was still powder residue on the counter and cash register from where the police took fingerprints. The real story was in the back.  Jason asked them not to touch anything. If they needed to check anything or pick something up, he would do so with latex gloves so as not to contaminate the scene. Melissa gave him the code to open the cash register. Nothing in there but she informed him that Britney had taken the cash, all except what was kept in the safe, to the bank depository the night in question. Finding nothing out of the ordinary in the front, the trio approached the door to the back room with hesitation. To be honest, Melissa was not looking forward to seeing dried blood all over her floors. It brought fresh images to her mind of finding Linda’s body.

The back room was much like Melissa remembered from the other night. Jason asked if she noticed anything out of place. Well, of course she did! Everything seemed out of place! Utensils and bread pans littered the counters and the floor. She was a neat freak when it came to her cooking area so the scene before her was a nightmare. He informed her that most of the items that may have contained a trace of blood or a fingerprint had been confiscated and were now in the evidence room at police headquarters. Looking around at the mess that used to be her sanctuary, Melissa felt nauseous.

Finally, they walked over to the office. Melissa indicated where the safe was located. Opening the safe, she restated that she always kept $1,200 in the safe as a petty cash fund or for emergencies. Clearly, there was no money in there now. Reluctantly, she also told him about the recipe box, explaining that she had taken the box and what cards she found home under the guise that she may need the recipes in order to bake at home if she wasn’t allowed back in her own shop. After sorting the cards at home, she discovered two were missing from her stack – Rosemary Sea Salt and Cranberry-Orange breads. Jason agreed to check the evidence log to see if these were the particular cards that had been found on the deceased woman’s person. He also chastised her for removing potential evidence from the scene even if he did agree they probably weren’t important to the case.

He felt the missing money was more of a legit reason for the break-in. But that raised another question – Who besides Melissa knew about the cash and the location of the safe? Britney knew where the safe was but did not know the combination. Anyway, if Britney was interested in money, she had access to a lot more cash than $1,200 since she deposited over $5,000 that night at the bank. If she needed money, she could easily have taken that. Besides, the young woman also had an extremely wealthy boyfriend to take care of all her monetary needs.

There was still the biggest question of them all – Why had Linda Stevenson been inside the Kill Devil Delicacies bakery at all?

They didn’t have time to mull the question over as Jason’s phone unexpectedly rang, startling all three. Melissa and Logan had a good laugh as they were surprised to discover Jason’s ring tone wasn’t the normal tones found on any cellular phone. No, his was “Kick Start My Heart” by Motley Crue which didn’t seem to fit his clean-cut cop persona. Jason answered the phone and carried on a short conversation. Afterwards, he gave Melissa a worried look. “Sorry to have to cut this short,” he explained, “I’m needed back at the precinct. Seems your assistant has been brought in for questioning. Apparently, Mr. Stevenson suspects she was snooping around his house today.”

Chapter 12

“Miss Williams, please just answer the question,” Detective Reynolds implored. The poor man was quickly running out of patience with the young woman. “Attractive or not,” he thought, “she’s a real piece of work.” After receiving the call from Mr. Stevenson, he had immediately sent a couple of rookies over to Britney’s house to bring her in for questioning and another cop of two years over to the Stevenson house to get a statement from Mr. Stevenson and any other visitors that witnessed Britney’s irregular visit to the home. Lloyd Stevenson was raging mad and throwing around all sorts of accusations that the woman was there for some nefarious purpose and probably sent there by her boss. Personally, Detective Reynolds was glad he able to stay here instead of dealing with the grieving man. Lloyd wasn’t someone you wanted to deal with on a regular basis, even if in a happy occasion. The death of his wife would make the usual hostile man only worse.

Unfortunately, the woman wasn’t proving very helpful. She wouldn’t say a word except “I will not say anything without my lawyer present.” He figured she probably learned that from watching some silly cop show on television. Anyway, he was forced to wait for her attorney who was in no hurry to arrive apparently. When Peter Andrews, a Johnson Family’s lawyer, finally did arrive the detective was more annoyed. Of course, Edward Johnson Jr. would send one of his dad’s fleet of attorneys to protect his little precious snowflake from the big bad cops. Sitting across from Miss Williams and the oversized buffoon that was this hot-to-trot lawyer in the cramped interview room, Larry rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache. “I’m too old for this,” he mused to himself.

Every question he asked, she looked over at Mr. Andrews, the lawyer, who would nod or shake his head for her to answer. The entire process took over three hours and he didn’t glean much information from it. Yes, she was a bakery assistant at the Kill Devil Delicacies owned by Mrs. Melissa Maples. Yes, she had been at the Stevenson house with her boyfriend offering their condolences to the family. Yes, she had encountered the Stevenson daughter as she searched for a bathroom. No, she had not spoken with Mr. Stevenson as she did not see him when she was there. They left the house within 45 minutes to an hour after arriving.

Not a lot to go on for the tired detective. Larry had to hope the cop at the Stevenson home found some evidence of something or this was just another dead end. He was just wrapping up the interview when his partner finally decided to show up. As he walked the attorney and young woman out, he noticed the younger Mr. Johnson waiting anxiously. As if on cue, Andrew’s voice raised a couple octaves as he chastised the police for wasting his client’s time. Larry almost laughed since it was obvious the lawyer was putting on a show for the benefit of the lazy, entitled Mr. Johnson Jr. but thought better of it since being sued right before retiring was not on his personal bucket list.

Jason also thought it was a bit of overkill since the woman had not been harassed at all, just questioned in an ongoing case. It certainly made sense to interview her. She was an employee of Melissa’s and had access to the bakery. The attorney was making an ordinary police procedure into a bigger case than it was. Britney wasted no time in running over to her beau as if she had just undergone the inquisition. With a stern look to the detectives and a friendly handshake with the designer suit attorney, Eddie escorted the fair “damsel in distress” out of the precinct and sped away in his prized Audi.

Before following his client out the door, the Mr. Andrews turned around with a final warning that he would be on the lookout for any ill treatment or harassment of Miss Williams and her boss in the future and the police department had better take more care. Stunned, the detectives both processed this final statement differently. Jason questioned why Eddie Johnson Jr. and Britney were so jumpy. What did they have to fear? Larry’s mind latched onto the part that mentioned Britney’s boss as well. The interview had been about Britney and her visit to the Stevenson’s house. He had never mentioned her boss, Mrs. Maples, so why did the big shot lawyer?

Chapter 13

In the meantime, Melissa and Logan were arriving home after their visit to the bakery. The news van was still parked around the corner. Before she had a chance to react, a young twenty-something female in a smart suit and holding a microphone ran up to them followed by a heavy set man carrying a large camera. Melissa tried to get the front door open but dropped the keys in her haste. Desperate to get Logan away from the prying eyes of the news, she didn’t even hear the barrage of questions flying out of the reporter’s mouth. To Melissa, she sounded like the teacher from the old Peanuts cartoons. However, she did hear Logan loud and clear, “No comment! Leave my aunt alone!”

They were miraculously saved when a booming voice from the direction of the sidewalk ordered the news people to leave now before he called the cops and had them arrested for harassment. Melissa had never been so glad to see Luis in all her life. Luis was a giant of a man at 6’4” with the body of an aging WWE wrestler. He also owned the only other bakery in town, next to Melissa’s and Linda’s. He specialized in traditional bakery fare – cakes, cupcakes, pies, and the best marzipan to be found on the east coast. Melissa was also good friends with his wife, Maria. At least once a month the two women, usually joined by Cheryl, would have a ladies’ night out.  Also, the two women were old friends from high school. Maria had been thrilled when Melissa moved back to town.

As Luis used his hulking frame to shield them from the reporters, Melissa snatched her keys off the ground and the group bolted through the front door, slamming it on the nosy cameraman who was still trying to get video footage. Luis issued a string of curse words but then looked apologetically over at Logan. The look on the young boy’s face was priceless. His aunt was a bit worried there were much worse words floating around in his head than what came out of Luis’s mouth. In the melee, she hadn’t even noticed that Maria was with her husband.  Now safely inside she gave them both a hug of thanks.

“Luis, you are an angel!” she proclaimed. The big man just shrugged off the praise. Maria, on the other hand, began fussing over Melissa and Logan. She was always the mother hen type. Before she knew it, Maria had taken over her kitchen and was fixing them all some tea and sandwiches. Melissa, for perhaps the first time since this ordeal began, relaxed on her comfy, oversized sofa.

With everyone taken care of, Maria sat down with the group in the living room. They discussed what had happened to Linda, of course. Melissa filled them in on the events from her vantage point with Logan interjecting with a few quips here and there, mostly about the incredibility that that anyone would believe Aunt Mel had something to do with the situation. His aunt smiled fondly at the boy. He was being very overprotective. She just hoped he didn’t take it too far. He was sometimes a hot-headed teenager after all.

Maria and Luis expressed their confidence that the cops would come to their senses and wrap the case up soon, exonerating Melissa in the process. However, they had come over to warn her about the trouble Mr. Stevenson was causing. He had spoken to nearly a dozen news stations in North Carolina and even one national news outlet. What he had to say about Melissa was beyond slander. He outright accused her of being the one to kill his wife because she (Melissa) “despised and hated Linda all her life and had purposefully come back to Kill Devil Hills to ruin his wife’s business.” The whole idea was preposterous! Melissa couldn’t comprehend how anyone would think that of her. So they didn’t get along after high school? So they weren’t big buddies when she moved back to town? How does that add to wanting to kill someone? The four agreed it was bizarre. Perhaps the man was so grieved by her death he was lashing out at the first person he could think of, which would be Melissa since Linda was found in her bakery.

Looking up, Melissa noticed a strange expression on Maria’s face. She knew something else but was hesitant to say it. Taking the hint, she instructed Logan to freshen up with a nice long shower since it had been such a long day already, and it wasn’t over yet. At first the boy resisted but seeing the purposeful look on his aunt’s face, he decided to make himself scarce for a little while.

“Okay, there’s something you are not telling me, Maria. What is it?” What she heard sounded even crazier than the idea that she had something to do with Linda’s death. Yes, it was true that Linda had never welcomed Melissa back to town with open arms and she was aware that the woman gossiped about her behind her back. She had heard a few of the stories – Melissa supposedly envied Linda since high school and had always tried copying her and being better than her at everything and since moving back to town she was still doing it. Well, that was nuts! Melissa never wasted her time on envy or thinking twice about Linda after their falling out in high school. Apparently, that was not the case for Linda. There had also been a rumor started, she assumed by Linda, that Melissa was too selfish of a person to even have children and that was why she remained childless. This had really infuriated Melissa when she heard that one after being back in town for a few months. Melissa and Kevin had desperately wanted children and had spent most of their life earnings and savings trying to get pregnant to no avail. Yet had it angered her enough to want Linda dead? No. Absolutely not.

Maria then asked Melissa if she had entered the Outer Banks Regional Bake-Off. She had, of course. It was quite an opportunity since the winner would be a guest on a nationally televised cooking show. As soon as she heard about the contest, she had sent in her entry form. Her friend informed her that Linda also planned to enter the contest. It wasn’t unusual since Linda always did like the spot light and had even been on a televised cooking contest a few years back. However, it was strange given that this particular contest was targeted toward artisan breads, not wedding cakes which were Linda’s specialty. Although a wizard with cakes, Linda didn’t even offer breads in her bakery. For her to enter a contest for artisan breads did seem a bit odd. Luis added that while at the grocery store a couple weeks back he had overheard Linda say she intended to beat Melissa at her own game. From the sound of the conversation, it sounded like her primary goal was simply to humiliate her rival. Melissa couldn’t understand Linda’s continued outright hatred of her all these years. Sadly, she wondered if perhaps there was a little something “off” about the woman. Did mentally healthy people hold on so tightly and so bitterly to what to most would be considered minor grudges?

This information got Melissa to thinking. Could the bake-off be related to why Linda was in her bakery when she was killed? Could this be tied to the missing recipe cards? Both breads were known to be Melissa’s very best and she had intended on entering one into the contest. It seemed so silly that this whole fiasco was over a baking contest, but she couldn’t rule anything out.

“There’s something else you should know,” Luis began. “We don’t know this for a fact. It’s more gossip at this point, but there has been some talk that Linda and Lloyd were having marital problems.” Melissa was stunned. The couple always appeared to be the epitome of the happy-ever-after husband and wife. They were never seen in public when they weren’t holding hands. Besides, Linda would tell anybody and everybody that would listen just how happy they were together and how blessed she felt. How Linda’s marriage fit into this story was unclear but again, it was something to go on.

Logan came back into the room as the trio were speculating if and how this information played into the other woman’s demise and the break-in at the Kill Devil Delicacies. Melissa vowed to call Jason the next morning about the information, but neither Luis nor Maria thought it was a good idea. Well, if not the detective, she decided she should at least let her newly hired lawyer know. The adults turned the conversation to more amiable subjects for the boy’s benefit. He never let on that he had overheard everything. It was enough to whet his curiosity and he fully intended to find out more.

Later that evening, Melissa made the mistake of turning on the television after the group had enjoyed a wonderful, authentic Spanish meal compliments of Maria. There on her 32 inch Sony flat screen was video of Lloyd Stevenson holding a press conference in front of his home. He was railing against the police department for dragging their feet and not arresting someone for the brutal murder of his sweet wife. According to him, everyone knew who was guilty of the crime and there was no excuse for why that woman was not behind bars that very second. He went on to detail how the “guilty party” had even gone so far as to send in her employee to snoop in his own home as his family grieved. In the background, his adult children were clearly visible with his daughter sobbing and his son standing stoically holding her hand.

Before they had a chance to watch the entire scene play out, Luis grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. Melissa was shocked into silence. Not the case for Logan. The boy was beyond angry at this point. “How dare that man attack my aunt?!” He ranted and raved for several minutes before collapsing on the sofa next to Melissa, near tears. Dumbfounded, she took his hands in her own. Without words, the two consoled each other. Luis and his wife stayed a couple more hours to care for their friend and her distraught nephew. Neither believed Melissa was guilty of doing any harm to Linda. Neither could understand Lloyd Stevenson’s public display of outrage, even for a supposed grief-stricken man. The situation was spiraling out of control fast. They just hoped somewhere along the line common sense would prevail before their friend ended up in jail for a crime she could not possibly have committed.