Adams Grove 03-Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes (21 page)

“He got called out on a bust while I was there.” She eyed the bag. Were these answers to some bigger puzzle? “I was walking back through the alley, and it caught my eye. It was tucked next to the shed out back of Mac’s bakery.”

Connor picked up Mac’s business card off Carolanne’s desk. “Derek’s name is written on the back of this. Looks like a cell phone number.”

“I saw that. There’s an address in the little book there from up in New York. That’s where Derek is from, isn’t it? Maybe she knew him from up there.”

“It would make more sense why she came to town.”

“And how she was here for like two weeks with hardly anyone noticing her.”

“Two weeks?” Connor looked surprised. “How do you know she was here for that long?”

Carolanne pulled receipts out of the pile. “Look. These are all local, and they span almost two weeks.”

Connor picked up the phone. “Well, let’s see.” He dialed the number from the back of the card.

Someone answered on the first ring.

“Is this Derek Honeycutt?” Connor asked.

“Sure is. Who’s callin’?”

“This is Connor Buckham.”

“Hey, man. How’d you get this number?”

“You got a few minutes? I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“Sure. I’m down at the bakery. I’ll be here all night.”

“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Connor ended the call. “Our first lead.”

Carolanne was relieved Connor wasn’t going to sit and wait for Scott to get the time to look into it. She tried to hide her excitement, but it wasn’t easy.

“I’ll just ask Derek a few questions on my way to take this stuff down to Scott at the station.” He went into his office and came out with a Piggly Wiggly bag.

“What’s the plastic bag for?” Carolanne asked.

“I’m not carrying that girly pocketbook down Main Street. What would people think?” He stuffed the tote bag inside the Piggly Wiggly bag and headed for the door.

She started to call him back and tell him about Gina being at her dad’s that night, but something stopped her.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything, Connor. Please find something that’ll prove it doesn’t even matter.

Chapter Eighteen

Carolanne was kind of sorry she’d made the commitment to meet Anita at four o’clock today. Yoga seemed like the last thing she should be spending her time doing, but then again, if she ever needed some help relaxing, today was the day.

She changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a T-shirt, then grabbed a water bottle and headed down the block. Feeling a little nervous, she tried to imagine herself stretching into those poses Anita had done that afternoon. She’d made it look so easy, but Carolanne had a feeling it was going to be harder than it looked.

When Carolanne got to the bright-orange building, the doors were shut. Good. She hoped that meant Anita had cranked up the air-conditioning. The other day it had been hot when she’d stopped in. Hot yoga wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time.

She reached for the door and pulled, but it was locked.

The gray paint bucket that had propped the door open the other day was just inside the door. Carolanne cupped her hands on either side of her face and peered into the space. She knocked on the door and waited.

She checked her watch, but she wasn’t early. Maybe Anita was just running late, or maybe she was down at the bakery with Mac.
Carolanne turned and headed for the bakery. She saw Connor coming up the block.

“Hey, wait for me.” She ran to catch up with him. “I thought you’d have already come and gone from here by now.”

“I got hung up talking to Teddy. When did you change clothes? Are you getting ready to work out?”

There was no mistaking her outfit for anything else. “Don’t look so surprised.”

“Sorry, but I am.”

“I met Anita the other day. She’s really sweet. I was supposed to meet her today at four down where she’s opening the studio. She offered to teach me some yoga moves that I could practice until she starts classes in August.”

“You?”

“Yeah, me. It was your idea. You said I needed to find some interests.”

Connor looked skeptical. “But you never listen to what I say.”

“That is not true.”

“Did you already quit? Doesn’t look like you even broke a sweat.”

“No. She wasn’t down there. I’m betting she lost track of time, and she’s down here with Mac.”

Connor opened the door to the bakery, and Carolanne stepped inside in front of him.

Derek wheeled a cake on a cart toward the back door. “Come on in. Good timing, Connor,” he called out. “Come give me a hand. It’s way easier with two people.”

Connor handed the Piggly Wiggly bag off to Carolanne and stepped around the counter. He held the back door open for Derek to wheel out the cake. “Where’s this cake headed?”

Carolanne hung back and waited as Derek moved the cart slowly on the bumpy pavement. “This one is for a guy up near
Richmond. Dad absolutely hates the animated cakes, but I love making them. A perfect blend of carpentry and confectionery.”

“Well, that cake you made for Garrett was pretty awesome. I want you to make my cake if I can ever snag a bride.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Don’t think a guy like you would have much trouble in that area. But I’m ready whenever you are.” He pulled a single key on a key chain from his pocket and unlocked the back doors of the van.

“A rental?”

“Yeah, had to rent a van. Dad and Anita took off in ours. They left me kind of high and dry. Not only do I have to deliver everything, but I had to finish the two cakes he hadn’t completed when he left. Sure wish he’d give some notice when he’s going to pull that crap.”

“Where’d they go?”

Derek shook his head. “Heck if I know. He was supposed to open the store Saturday morning, and when I got here that afternoon as I’d promised, the place was locked up tight as a tick. I had no idea he’d gone out of town. It must have been last minute. Anita’s always pulling stuff like that. She left a message on my voice mail.”

Connor watched as Derek pumped the hydraulics pedal on the cart to line it up with the height of the back of the van. “I thought you two were close—you and Anita. Your dad was talking about that.”

“Whatever. I’m just nice to her because Dad seems to like her and all the attention she gives him. She’s a little loopy with all the yoga stuff. She keeps trying to get us to make gluten-free and sugar-free stuff. I’m like, it’s a bakery, not a health-food store.”

“I hear ya.” Connor grabbed his end of the fabric-covered board and helped Derek slide it into the back. “You used to live in New York, right?”

Derek said, “Yeah.” Then he moved the cart out of the way and positioned wax paper–covered foam blocks on each side of the cake board.

“Did you ever live on Flatbush Avenue?” Connor watched for a reaction. Sometimes just leaving enough quiet space would lead folks to say more than they should, but Derek didn’t say anything.

“No. We lived in Bushwick. Nowhere near Flatbush Ave.”

“Did you hear about that girl they found at the pond?”

“I did. Everyone is talking about it.”

“I think it was a friend of yours.”

Derek stopped and turned to face Connor. “Of mine? I don’t have many friends around here. Who?”

“Gina Edwards.”

Derek dropped the key. “Shut up. No way. She was just here the other day. Friday, I guess.” He scooped up the key and closed the doors of the van.

“It was her.”

“She was really nice. I didn’t know her all that well. She’d been hanging around for a week or so, mostly asking questions about Dad and the town. That’s messed up she wound up dead.”

You got that right.
Connor followed Derek back into the shop, where Carolanne was waiting. “I think you got stood up for yoga, Carolanne.”

Derek said, “Don’t feel bad. It’s not personal. She’s always doing stuff on the fly. They left Saturday. I have no idea when they’ll even be back.”

Carolanne looked disappointed. “Well, darn. I was really looking forward to it, too. I hope your dad gets back in time to do the cake for Jill’s grand opening, if they’re still going to have it.”

“He’s already got the decorations started. Don’t worry about the cake. If he doesn’t make it back, I’ll finish it up,” Derek said.

Connor took the bag from Carolanne. “Gina had your cell number in her bag.”

“Yep. That’s hers. She made that tote bag. Where’d you get it?”

Connor lifted the huge yellow-and-silver bag. “This? She made it?”

“Yeah. That was her thing. She’d sit and fold wrappers and turn them into those bags. They’re pretty cool. She made me a case for my iPad out of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups wrappers. I always have a ton of them because I like to use them in the cupcakes. People love them. She asked me to save them for her. I thought she was a nut, but then she came back the next day with the iPad cover for me. It’s really cool.” He gazed off like he got lost in the memory for a moment.

“Sorry, man,” Connor said.

“Me, too.”

Carolanne saw the pain on the boy’s face. “Any idea what could’ve happened to her? Was she afraid? Worried?”

“Mostly sad. Quiet. I can’t imagine her being the type to make anyone mad. Like I said, she was nice.”

Connor’s phone rang. He gave Derek a nod. “I’ve got to get this. We’ll catch you later,” he said as he answered the phone.

Connor and Carolanne headed out of the bakery and down the block as Connor talked on the phone.

Carolanne spotted Scott getting out of his car and nudged Connor.

He ended his call and yelled out to Scott. “Hey, man. We were just coming to see you.”

Scott held the front door open for them. “Come on back. There’s a call I need to take, but come with me.” He led the way and punched the speakerphone button on his desk.

A gravelly voice came on the line. “Medical examiner.”

“It’s Sheriff Calvin. What’ve you got?” he said into the phone.

“Got some information for you on your Jane Doe,” said the medical examiner.

Scott winked at Carolanne. “Our Jane Doe has got a name now. Gina.”

“That’s good,” said the medical examiner. “The cause of death was drowning.”

“Ha,” Connor laughed out loud, then whispered, “don’t need a degree to figure that out.”

Carolanne nudged and shushed him.

“Got anything useful? We found her floating in the pond with a turtle perched on her leg. That was sort of a dead giveaway,” Scott said.

“Good one. Dead giveaway,” said the ME with a booming laugh. “I’m going to use that.”

Scott made a face. “The humor is free. What else did you learn?”

“Your girl was unconscious before she went in the water. She didn’t fall in. She was dragged down to the water. The bruises tell that story pretty clearly.”

“That changes things,” Scott said. “Not an accident?”

The ME’s voice lost the silly undertones. “The car hitting her may have been an accident, but her ending up in the pond and drowning—no, there was no accident about that.”

Scott picked up the pen from his desk and rolled it between his fingers as he spoke. “So she was hurt and maybe unconscious before she got dragged to the pond?”

“Yes, she was alive when she went under. Probably unconscious, but the injuries she sustained could have been fatal, too, if she didn’t get immediate care.”

“What kind of damage are we talking?”

“Injuries to her rib and chest area that resulted in a torn aorta due to blunt force and some extremity injuries. It’s not uncommon for pedestrians to sustain primary injuries from the impact of the vehicle. Secondary injuries occur when the impact with the vehicle forces the pedestrian into contact with the road or something else. Looks like she got it good, and she was facing the vehicle when it hit her. It broke her pelvis. Looks
like she tried catching herself when she fell backward, which explains the bruising on her back and tailbone and the broken wrist, too.”

Carolanne rubbed her wrist.

Scott glanced over his notes. “You’re speculating that she was hit by a car or injured, but not dead? Then dumped there in the pond? Drowning was the cause of death.”

“Injuries are consistent with that.”

“Guess they weren’t taking any chances.” Scott tapped the pen against the wooden desktop. “It also means it could have happened anywhere.”