Wedded Blintz (14 page)

She took a deep breath and shoved the key in. It’s no good being afraid of walking into your own home, she thought as she shoved the door open. Her breath came out in a whoosh of relief—the house was exactly as she left it.

“Lexy! Is that you?” Vera’s voice echoed across the entire neighborhood.

She turned and poked her head out the door to see Vera running across the lawn, her arms loaded with mail, Sprinkles racing along beside her.

“Hi Mom,” Lexy said.

“I got your mail … the box was overflowing.” Vera handed Lexy the pile.
 

“I guess I must have forgotten about it, the past couple of days have been so busy,” Lexy said grabbing the mail. “Come on in.”

Lexy felt exhausted. The stress of the past few days was catching up with her. She collapsed on the couch, throwing the mail on the coffee table. Sprinkles jumped up beside her and she hugged the small dog, her heart surging at her unconditional love. Giving the dog a kiss on the head, she turned her attention to the mail.

“Let’s see what’s in here.” She sorted through the pile, throwing each piece down on the table after she looked at it. “Bills, bills, bills, catalog, letter …”

“Why are there always so many bills and never any checks?” Vera joked.

“I know.” Lexy laughed. “Well none of this needs immediate attention.” She frowned at the letter. She didn’t recognize the handwriting or the name on the return address. Probably someone sending her wedding wishes.

“You look exhausted,” Vera said. “I have some beef stew cooking in the crock pot, why don’t you come over and eat with us?”

“That would be great, Mom.”

“Oh good.” Vera clapped her hands. “We only have a few more days together until you go on your honeymoon and we take off again in the big rig, and we want to see as much of you as we can.”

“Me too.” Lexy got up and hugged her mother as they started out the door. She was careful to close it and lock it before turning to follow her mother to the RV. She was just starting across the lawn with Sprinkles running circles around her ankles when something at the end of the street caught her eye.
 

Her stomach lurched—was that the tail end of a black car disappearing around the corner?

Lexy hesitated then realized she was just being paranoid. How many black cars were there in Brooke Ridge Falls? It was probably just one of the neighbors driving home. She followed Vera into the RV, stopping at the door to cast one last nervous glance over her shoulder, to make sure the street was empty before she went inside.

Chapter Twenty

Lexy plumped her pillow and rolled over to face the windows. The sun streaming in through the leaves on the big oak tree out front created a kaleidoscope of light on her floor and bedspread.
 

It was going to be another beautiful day. Lexy smiled as she reached under the covers to pet Sprinkles. Today was the day before her wedding and, now that the messy triple murder was soon to be resolved, she could relax and focus on starting her new life as Mrs. Jack Perillo. Which meant she better get going—she had to run some last minute errands or there might not
be
a wedding tomorrow.

She jumped into the shower, and then changed into a pair of comfy jeans and a plain black tee-shirt. Tying her hair in a ponytail, she grabbed her white hoodie, put Sprinkles into her harness and then headed out the door with the little dog at her side.

Lexy drove downtown, glancing every few minutes in the rear-view mirror. She was still a little spooked by the black car she
thought
she kept seeing, but no one followed her. Maybe Davies had already arrested the killer.

“Are you ready for a spa treatment?” Lexy asked Sprinkles as she pulled up in front of the
Pretty Paws
dog grooming. Sprinkles looked out the window then eyed Lexy dubiously. Clearly, the dog was not fooled by the word ‘spa’.

Lexy got out of the car and came around to the passenger side to collect Sprinkles. She opened the door and tugged on the leash. Sprinkles hopped out grudgingly.

“You’re gonna like this Sprinks. I promise,” Lexy said as she pulled to dog into the groomers.

Lexy handed Sprinkles over to the girl behind the desk and walked out to the sidewalk, enjoying the sun warming her shoulders. It was already seventy degrees—she wouldn’t need her hoodie today. She unzipped the sweatshirt and threw it into her car, then opted to walk the three blocks to the caterer where she finalized the appetizer selection and gave the menu her final approval.

She took her time on the way back, looking in the shop windows. She spotted a Gucci bag she would have loved, but couldn’t quite afford. She stopped in front of the chocolatier, her mouth watering at the fancy chocolates in the window and the smell of rich chocolate that filled the air.
 

She was debating on whether she should buy a hunk of almond bark when she saw the reflection of a black car in the window. Her heart froze and she whirled around just in time to see it disappearing around the corner.

Was it the same car she’d seen before?

She hadn’t gotten a good enough look to be sure but she hurried back to the safety of her car anyway. Sitting inside, she adjusted the rear view mirror to look at the traffic. After a few minutes with no black car in sight, she relaxed.
 

Probably just my overactive imagination.

She glanced at her watch. With two more hours until she could pick up Sprinkles, now was the perfect time to check in at the bakery. She pulled out of her parking spot and pointed her car toward The Cup and Cake.
 

***

“So Davies doesn’t think you’re the killer anymore?” Cassie asked after Lexy had filled her in on the information the ladies had dug up.

“Well, she hasn’t exactly
said
as much, but since she hasn’t arrested me, I feel pretty confident that she’s ruled me out.” Lexy poured herself a french vanilla coffee from the self-serve station in the café section of
The Cup and Cake
, then sat down at the table across from Cassie. The girls had spent the last two hours baking a batch of pies and were now taking a well-deserved break.

“But the killer still thinks you know something … or have something, right?” Cassie narrowed her eyes at Lexy over the steaming mug of herbal tea she held up to her lips.

Lexy looked across the street at the falls. The soothing motion of the cascading water contrasted with the feeling of uneasiness that was creeping into her chest. “I’m not sure. I have no idea what they were looking for in there.”
 

Cassie’s phone chirped and she dug for it in her pocket. “It’s a text from John. Let me text him back and see if he knows anything about the case.”

Lexy sipped her coffee while Cassie used her thumbs to message John. A few seconds later, her phone chirped again.

“No one has been arrested,” Cassie said.

“Do they have any suspects?” Lexy asked.

Cassie thumb typed into her phone again, then set it on the table and took a bite of the cannoli she’d swiped from the case.

The phone chirped again and Cassie picked it up. “He says he doesn’t know if there are any suspects but he said he heard Davies say something about putting a tail on
you
.”

Lexy’s brow creased.
Was it Davies in the black car she kept seeing?

“That’s crazy, why would they want to follow me?” Lexy asked.

Cassie shrugged. “Maybe she thinks you are going to lead her to a clue … or incriminate yourself somehow.”

“Incriminate myself? But I didn’t do anything!”

“Well
you
know that and
I
know that, but Davies … I’m not so sure what she knows.”

Lexy chewed on her bottom lip and tapped her finger on the glass tabletop. What if Davies still thought she was involved and arrested her before the wedding … or told her she couldn’t leave town on her honeymoon? Perhaps she’d been too hasty in assuming Nans’ information would give Davies what she needed to arrest the real killer.

She stared out the window at the falls. The sun was just at the right angle so that it reflected like jewels off the rushing water. With a start, Lexy realized it was late afternoon. She pushed herself away from the table.

“I better get going. I have to pick up Sprinkles at the groomers and then go home and get ready for the rehearsal dinner.”

 
“Rehearsal dinner? Oh, is that tonight?” Cassie scrunched her brow and tilted her head at Lexy.

Lexy had a moment of panic … then realized her friend was teasing. “Very funny. You and John will be there, right? I mean you are the maid of honor and best man.”

“Of course,” Cassie said. “Eight o’clock on the dot.”

“Okay. See you then,” Lexy said and then downed her coffee before rushing out the door to her car.

Chapter Twenty One

The reception area at
Pretty Paws
was packed full. Lexy tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for her turn. In front of her, a woman tried to keep the leashes of her two Yorkies from getting tangled as they zigzagged in between her legs. In front of the Yorkies, a man jerked the leash of his Golden Retriever to distract it from growling at the Great Dane that was in front of
him
.

Lexy had been taking Sprinkles to
Pretty Paws
for years now and she’d never seen it so crowded. Shannon, the harried woman at the reception desk, seemed like she could barely keep up.

“Are you giving away free grooming? I’ve never seen it so crowded here,” Lexy said when it was finally her turn.

Shannon sighed, brushing wisps of hair that had escaped from her ponytail out of her face. “I know, it’s been crazy. Guess I won’t complain though because business is good.” She frowned at Lexy. “What brings you back here?”

“I’m here to pick up Sprinkles. I dropped her off earlier, remember?”

“Yes, of course, but your sister picked her up about fifteen minutes ago.”

Lexy’s forehead pleated. “Sister? I don’t have a sister. You must have me confused with someone else.”

“Let me double check.” Shannon rifled through some papers on the desk, pulling one out and handing it to Lexy.
 

“Yep, right here. Your sister Lavinia picked her up,” she said as she motioned for the person behind Lexy to hand over their dogs.

Lexy frowned at the paper, her stomach sinking.
Lavinia? Who the heck was Lavinia?
 

“
No, really. I don’t have a sister. This must be a mix-up.”
Totally understandable given the chaos that was going on right now
, Lexy thought.

Shannon gave her an exasperated look as she tried to separate a Wheaton Terrier and Springer Spaniel that were having a spat.
 

“Honestly, Lexy. I distinctly remember handing Sprinkles to her. Medium height, fluffy dark hair. You can go back and check the kennels if you want.” Shannon jerked her head toward the back of the store then turned her attention to the next customer.

Medium height? Fluffy dark hair?
 

An uneasy feeling crept into Lexy’s stomach just as her cell phone went off. She yanked it out of her pocket. A number she didn’t recognize flashed on the screen, but something told her to answer the call. She turned away from the reception desk and flipped the phone open.

“Hello?”

“Listen up, Baker. If you want to see your precious pooch alive, then do exactly as I say.”

Lexy’s heart twisted. She could hear Sprinkles barking in the background. “Who is this?”

The menacing laugh that came out of the phone chilled Lexy’s blood. “Don’t you recognize my voice? It’s your old enemy … and yes, that
is
Sprinkles you hear barking. Now, if you don’t want her to get hurt, bring your wedding dress to six four three East Pearl at six-thirty p.m. Enter by the door on the side … and come alone.”

“My dress? Why would you want
that
?” Lexy’s question was answered with the hollow click of the call being disconnected. But she’d recognized the voice and she knew who was on the other end. Ramona.

Panic gripped her as she shoved the phone back into her purse.
 

Sprinkles was in trouble!
 

She ran out to her car and called the first person she could think of to help—Nans.

***

Tears blurred Lexy’s eyes as she looked through her cell phone contacts for Nans. Pressing the number, she could feel her heartbeat pounding with each ring.
Please answer.

“Hi, Lexy I was jus—”

Lexy cut her off. “Ramona’s kidnapped Sprinkles!”

Nans gasped. “What?”

“She pretended to be my sister and picked her up at the groomers,” Lexy said.

“Why would she do that?”

“She wants me to bring my wedding dress to some building on the pier tonight. She says she’ll hurt Sprinkles if I don’t. What should I do?”
 

“Ahh. It all makes perfect sense now,” Nans said. “Especially with what Millie just told me about the stones Philippe told her to sew into the gown.”

“Huh? What stones? This doesn’t make
any
sense to me,” Lexy said feeling even more confused than before.

“Well I don’t have time to explain it now,” Nans said. “How quickly do you think Vera can sew up a wedding dress?”

Lexy felt her brows knit together. “I don’t know. Why?”
 

“Because I have an idea on how we can catch our killer. But we’ll have to hurry. We need to get Vera to work on the dress pronto
and
pay a visit to Detective Davies … and we don’t have much time.”

Chapter Twenty Two

Lexy’s heart hammered in her chest as she stood in front of 643 East Pearl Street clutching the wedding dress decoy her mother had made. East Pearl was in the seedy section of town, the streetlights had been smashed years ago and she could barely make out the numbers in the dim light.

Resisting the urge to run, she reached out for the knob and turned. The door opened into a dark warehouse.
 

“Hello?”

“Woof!”
 

“Sprinkles!” Lexy’s heart surged and she ran toward the sound.