1 Death by Chocolate (9 page)

“It’s too bad there was nothing unusual about that morning that could help you,” Lizzie commented.

“I know.”  My stomach growled.  “You know we should think about something for dinner.  Can you stay David or do you have to go?”

“I can stay unless I get called for something.”

In the kitchen, I took stock of the frozen dinners in the freezer and then opted to make my famous pasta.  I went to the cabinet and pulled out a jar of Ragu.  I got the water boiling for the pasta and grabbed the loaf of bread.  A few minutes later I had buttered some slices and sprinkled them with garlic.  I got the plates out to set the table and Lizzie came in as I poured the pasta into the water.

“Hey, I’m gonna run,” she said and then whispered, “I’ll swing back around midnight.  That way you two can have a nice dinner without me as the third wheel.”

Then I remembered Mark’s visit to the bakery. “Run!  Lizzie you’re the best!”

“I know, but why this time?”

I went back into the living room and Lizzie followed. I told her and David about the odd visit that Mark made to the bakery yesterday. He looked as though he had already gone running, though he claimed he was just heading out.  I remembered the soggy money and excitedly recounted that he asked about business.

“So, you think Mark killed Barbara to keep you in town?” David said in an ‘I’m trying-to-understand you’ sort of tone.

“I know it sounds a bit weak when you say it like that, but yes, I think he wants me to succeed in town and to stay here.  What better way than to make me the only bakery in town?”

“Mark can lose his cool,” Lizzie chimed.

David sighed.  “Well, it might not hurt to check him out.”

“Look, maybe I’m reaching, but he could have been establishing an alibi by coming into my bakery.”

“I’ll do some checking. I promise, but can’t it wait until after dinner?” he smiled and I melted.

“Right, so you two have a nice dinner, I’m gonna go.  I’ll talk to you later, MB.  See you, David,” Lizzie hurried to the door and gave me a thumbs up sign as she left.

“I’ve got to go check the pasta before it boils over,” I said and went into the kitchen.  He followed me into the kitchen and I could feel him watching me as I fished a piece of pasta out to check.

When I dumped the pasta into the strainer at the sink, David came up behind me and kissed my neck.

“We’ll get you out of this mess, you know,” he whispered.

I turned around and looked into his pale blue eyes.  I felt like I could be lost in them forever.  He pulled me close and leaned in to kiss me.  He felt strong and solid and I let myself be held, supported and swept away. 

His phone beeped, but neither of us moved to pull apart.  Another minute went by and it beeped again.

After it beeped a third time, he gently pulled away and checked his phone.  I busied myself by running water over the cold pasta and put the jar into the microwave.  I tried to keep my legs from quivering too much.

“It looks like…”

“You have to go, right?”

“No, it looks like it wasn’t something that I need to take care of right now. “

I smiled and felt my face get hot. “I just thought that you would have to go take care of Police business.”

“Personal business, first.  Besides,” the microwave beeped. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had homemade pasta sauce.”

We both laughed and finished getting the meal ready.  We ate, talked and laughed. I completely forgot about everything.  The night flew by and I nearly forgot about the next part of the evening.  Lizzie texted at 11 and it reminded me to get back to reality. After a lengthy goodbye, I went to answer the text and tell Lizzie that the coast was clear.

Just before midnight Lizzie and I set out for the bakery clad in black, armed with our phones, a butter knife, lobster pick and a small set of jewelry screwdrivers.

We walked along the water and kept looking over our shoulders to make sure no one followed us.  Neither of us spoke until we got close to the bakery.  A twig snapped under my feet and we both scrambled for the nearby trees.  My heart pounded and it took several deep breaths to get myself under control. 

“So, we definitely win the bravery award,” Lizzie hissed in a near hysterical whisper.

“You ready?”

“I am if you are.”

We quickly jogged down the street and slipped behind Barbara’s Bakery Brilliance.   As we caught our breath, we searched for a possible way into the building.  The back door had no window and had a key lock, probably a deadbolt and the doorknob lock.  There were two other windows; one to the left of the door about shoulder height and one that appeared to be a basement one on the ground.  The higher one had a single pane and no way to open it.  We’d have to break it to get in that way and the basement one seemed small and a bit narrow.

“I think that one is it unless there’s one on the side or something,” Lizzie pointed to the basement window.

We split up and checked the sides of the building.  My side had the large windows with display cases in them and Lizzie’s had one boarded up window that evidently didn’t lead anywhere.  Without a saw or something to pry off the boards, that wasn’t an option and it probably had a shelf or something against it on the inside.

I felt a sense of urgency now that we’d wasted a bunch of time looking for a way to get inside.  I knelt down and pushed at the casement window.  I hoped it would be unlocked and just push easily, but that didn’t happen.  I swiped my phone and picked the flashlight app to size up the window.  It looked like there was an old lock on the top –the kind that slid to the side to unlock. I could slip my baby finger into the gap, but couldn’t quite reach the lock.  Lizzie tried with her long piano playing fingers and couldn’t do it either.  I took the butter knife and slid it into the gap.  It reached, but moving the lever proved harder than expected. After several tries it moved ever so slightly.  Encouraged, I attacked it with renewed energy and finally it shifted aside.  I handed my phone to Lizzie while I shimmied through the narrow window. My feet dangled into the darkness as I lowered myself into the basement.  I dropped down onto something solid, but it wobbled and I fell hard onto the floor.

“Are you okay?” hissed Lizzie and she shined the phone light back and forth.

“I think so,” I said trying to figure out which way was up in the inky blackness.

I finally got up and felt my way back to the wall to reach up to the window.  Lizzie reached in with my phone and the light. 

“I’ll make my way upstairs and let you in the back.”  I told Lizzie. The light only worked for a short distance, but at least it helped me avoid boxes and other obstacles except the low beam near the top of the step.  I clunked my head really hard and muffled my shout.  Luckily, the door to the upstairs wasn’t locked and I stepped into the kitchen area.  The place had an eerie feeling and for a second I considered taking my chance in court.  Then I saw Lizzie peering through the window next to the door and got back on track.  After all, if my best friend risked getting arrested to help me clear my name, then I needed to step up.  I went to the back door and unlocked it.  She carefully maneuvered around the crime scene tape marking the door.

“So, we’re actually doing this, huh?”  Lizzie said.

“Yeah, but if you want to bail, I’ll understand.”

“What and let you have all the fun in this creepy, dark bakery, not a chance, MB.”

“Okay, let’s get started,” I said and with that a car pulled up outside.  Lizzie eased the door closed. I crouched behind some boxes and Lizzie slid into a space beside the door.  Thudding from my heart filled my ears and I took a deep breath and silently prayed that no one was actually coming.  Then a spotlight shone in the window and played over the walls, scanning. 

“Did someone see us, MB?”

“I don’t know.  It might be the Police.”

The light went off, but the car engine didn’t change.  They weren’t gone. My feet started to fall asleep from my crouching position.  Neither of us moved or talked.  Just as I considered moving, the light snapped on again. 

“Lock the door,” I whispered to Lizzie and she moved a tentative hand to turn the deadbolt.  It slid into place, but clicked. The click seemed to echo as if cymbals crashed. She froze.  The light didn’t come back.  Then I saw her hand dart back to the door.  She turned the handset lock and had just withdrawn her hand as the knob jiggled.  I wobbled and tried to lean back more into the shadows.  I heard a small “eek” noise from Lizzie.   I hoped Lizzie pushed the window closed in the basement after I went inside.  Finally, after what seemed like hours, a car door closed and the car drove off.  I had been in that squatting position for long enough that I wasn’t exactly sure if I could move again.

“You think its okay?”

I stretched my leg out and moved my foot.  “I hope so.”  All the waiting had made me feel a little calmer, but I wanted to get out of there.

We crept out of our hiding spaces and carefully began to look around.  The lights on our phones cast a much dimmer light than the spot.   I went to the front window and peered out.  Nothing moved and there were no cars on the road.  We split up.  I took the front part of the shop since I’d already gone to peek out the window and as I stood just a few steps from where I’d been yesterday morning when I saw Barbara on the stretcher and then I moved the phone-light a step ahead of me and the tape outline of the body shone bright white.  I traced the outline and saw a few chocolate cake crumbs on the floor near where I presumed her hand had been. My stomach began to hurt.  Anger and fear tied my intestine in knots.  Focus, I told myself. I had to find something to help.  I glanced at the door and saw the small note taped on it. Yellow crime scene tape crisscrossed the window. I went over to take a closer look.  The narrow lined paper looked like it came from a tablet and it stuck to the door with a single piece of tape.  I wondered if there were any fingerprints on it.

“Hey, MB.”

I walked over to the counter where Lizzie stood. 

She pointed to the calendar and it had two entries for the night before.  “Ron @ moms and $ for Willie.”

“Okay, so that means she knew Ron wouldn’t be opening and the argument with Willie was about money for something. Keep looking in these papers,” I passed my light over a pile of papers on the side of the counter. “Maybe there’s something about what she needed to pay him for.”

I went back toward the front and looked at the floor around the body and at the door again.  For some reason the signs on the door kept bothering me.  I looked at the other signs.  There were two that were handwritten on the door besides the note saying that the shop would open late.  I tried to get a better look at them.  One had been written in marker and so the letters were a bit more distinct and the second one had been written in pen as the tablet page. The script on two had a rounded look to it and used uppercase and lowercase lettering, but the script on the note paper from the morning of the murder looked more angular and had been written in all caps.

A car turned the corner and it headed toward the shop. I hurried away from the door and slid behind a chair from one of the café tables to warn Lizzie.  My light cast a slight glow on the floor and something sparkled. I snagged the small screw and put it into my pocket.

“Lizzie,” I called in a raspy voice barely a whisper. “Someone’s coming again.” I heard a thud as I hurried to get to the back of the shop again.  I fully expected to be caught in the spotlight as I bent low and tried to run.  I made it to the back near the basement door.  Lizzie leaned against the boxes that I had crouched behind before.  We listened for the car and any doors opening or closing, but it seemed quiet. 

“Do we dare look?” Lizzie asked barely in an audible noise.

A jiggling of keys in the lock of the front door answered that question.  I pointed to the basement door and we moved as fast as we dared toward it.  Once in the stairwell, we closed the door and slowly descended the stairs.  The door opened and the bell tinkled.  We froze. Another tinkle meant that the door closed again.  Neither of us moved.  Get a grip, I told myself and tried to breathe.  I felt Lizzie’s arm next to mine and it shook, but she stood as still as a statue other than that.  I looked over at her, but we were in total darkness so I saw nothing. We heard a creak on the floor, but no footsteps or talking.  Then there was a beep from a phone and Lizzie grabbed my arm. I jumped, but stayed quiet.  I took a breath and tried to think.