One Cup Of Flour Two Cups Of Murder (Winnona Peaks Mysteries Book 2) (8 page)

Chapter 15

Christy comforted Fiona as they walked out to her truck with the boxes.  “Hey, everything is going to work out.  Don’t worry, just concentrate on the championship round tomorrow.  If you need anything you just come over to Vanessa’s booth.  From what I can see, she has enough supplies for three bake-offs.”

“Thank you,” Fiona whispered.  “I just don’t know why she would do that.  I just want to work hard and bake for people.”  Putting her box of utensils in the bed of the pick-up, Christy hugged her shoulder.

Gregory tried to do the same as he put his box in the back and picked his pie up off the top.  He held it up as a thank you and said, “Yea, go home and get some rest.  You’ve got a big day ahead.”

Christy could tell he was still fuming about Cornelia. He had popped in another piece of gum and was either going to chew that to oblivion or punch a brick wall.

Fiona agreed with them and thanked them again with tears rolling down her cheeks.  Her truck barely started and as she turned right off of Main Street, the backfiring commenced. 

The sound faded into the distance with Christy and Gregory standing in the middle of the street holding his pie.  “So are you going to be
partners
with Fiona when this all settles down?”  Christy mused.

“What do you mean?” he questioned.

“I didn’t get free pie.  Before Cornelia got there, I’m not sure Fiona even saw me.”  Christy answered as they meandered to his car.

“Well, you could give me a free pie if you wanted to.”  He winked.

“I’m sure if I did, Fiona would up the ante and toss in a year’s supply of cupcakes.  I’m not sure I can compete with that.” Christy answered.   They both noticed that Cornelia and Terrance were watching them through the window of Fiona’s bakery.

“Oh, you know that I don’t like cupcakes
that
much.  I’m sure we could work out something if
you
wanted to be my partner.  Fiona wouldn’t stand a chance.” Gregory teased.

“Mr. Binks, you’re horrible,” Christy shook her head and was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see her blush.  “Say, do you know anything about EZ Eddie’s from the Casino?”

“Not really. Just seems like one of those scams that cheats people out of a chunk of the cash with a huge fee.”

“Why would a Westbrook need to use EZ Eddie?”  Christy asked.  They were both watching Cornelia and Terrance who seemed to be searching for things around Fiona’s bakery. 

“What makes you think the Westbrook’s are using EZ Eddie?”  He asked.

“In all the moving around, I noticed a pen in the lapel pocket of the polo Terrance was wearing.  It’s a pretty easy logo to remember.  I remembered it from the day I searched Lily’s car.”

“Now, I’m not a cop anymore, but
how
did you exactly get permission to search her car?”

“Never mind that now.  All I know is that Lily was using EZ Eddie. Something about being buried in student loan debt. It’s not adding up.  I can see how Lily might get mixed up, but why Terrance Westbrook?”

“Because they’re broke,” a voice mumbled in the darkness. 

Christy jumped.  Gregory went for a gun on his hip that wasn’t there. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” A shadowy hulk stepped out from behind a tree.

“Travis?” Gregory asked.

“You know him?” Christy asked. The hulk stepped out of the shadow with a fitted straw hat and a toothpick in his mouth. 

“Pardon the fright, Ma’am.  Travis Dillard at your service, but you can just call me Travis.”

Christy shook his outstretched hand that made hers look like a kindergarten mitten.  She was glad Gregory was there.

Watching Fiona struggle that much was killing Travis Dillard.  He just didn’t know what to do to help her without insulting her pride.  He was no rocket scientist when it came to business.  He was really just the errand boy with a Super Bowl ring, but hanging around his mother and his agent had taught him a thing or two about keeping a poker face even when the cards you’re holding are a bust. Travis watched the entire fiasco with Cornelia and Terrance and it was killing him that he couldn’t just go stomp on Cornelia and throw Terrance through the window.  That was how he got tossed in jail the last time so it didn’t seem a likely option.  Still, it didn’t keep him from considering it.  He’d do anything for Fiona and he was torqued that people were taking advantage of her.  

Problem was that you have to learn the business skills of keeping a poker face.  If you didn’t, then you were better off keeping with your day job and keeping your money in your pocket.  The fact was that Fiona wore her heart out on her sleeve everywhere she went. Travis knew that Cornelia was just the first in a very large crowd of crooks that were going to be lining up to take Fiona’s money, except Cornelia was just a lightweight.  Still, it wasn’t fair.  He wasn’t going to say anything to Binks and his girlfriend as they stood there in the darkness, but they were there to help Fiona.  He couldn’t help himself, even if he spooked Binks’ girlfriend.

“So how do you know they’re broke?”  Christy Roberts inquired in the darkness.

“It’s called due diligence.  I’m thinking about buying the Westbrook Manor and some things popped up in the audit.  It’s unofficial, but for all the airs they are putting on, they need to sell Westbrook Manor to plug some holes in their financial statements.  Turns out that Terrance isn’t the only Westbrook in history to be bad with money.”

“Buy the Westbrook Manor?  What are you some kind of movie star?”  Christy asked.

Binks laughed.  “Christy, you are looking at an all-pro offensive guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even has a championship ring to prove it.”

“Ex-all-pro offensive guard. Binks is the real hero here with doing all his tours in wherever he was serving.  It’s one thing to have a three hundred pound defensive lineman hit you, but it is quite another to have the defensive lineman using machine guns.”  Travis said.

“So Terrance is at EZ Eddie’s because he’s broke?  That doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh, Terrance being broke is just something I knew from my audit.  I know about EZ Eddie because I was young and stupid when I got out of the league.  EZ Eddie isn’t so easy if you owe him money.  He preys on ex-football players.  First, he gets them in deep with a gambling debt or something and then he hires them as goons to collect debts from other customers.  He pays them a pittance, which most of them feel guilty, but they end up stuck.  I was just fortunate that I didn’t get in too deep with him.  I got him paid off and my mother chewed me a new one about wasting what I was given.  I’m guessing a personality like Terrance is in really deep to EZ Eddie.  Not sure about Lily.”

Christy nodded. She pointed to the door.  “Hey!  They’re closing up.  Stand in the shadows so they don’t see us. When they get in the car we’ll follow them.  Travis stepped back behind the tree and all three of them watched as Terrance hissed things at his grandmother she couldn’t hear.  They were looking up and down the street.  After they loaded Fiona’s baked goods into the trunk of their car, Cornelia got in the back seat and Terrance got in the front.

“Let’s follow them.”  Christy said, stepping out of the shadows and walking toward Binks’ car. Binks agreed.

“Mind if I ride along?”  Travis sighed.

“Not at all. We might need some hired muscle. Binks keeps telling me he just sells coffee.” Christy said.

“Hey, now just wait a minute!”  Gregory teased.

“Sounds like a plan,” Travis said, following.  He was picturing how awkward it was going to be in front of the escrow agents if Terrance was there with a broken nose when Travis bought the place.  They really shouldn’t have hurt Fiona.  Business or not, he’d do anything for her.  He kept his encounter with Lily to himself.  No need to bring up his entire history to an ex-cop. Binks was a good guy and Travis wanted to keep it cordial. 

Chapter 16

Alexander knew that he wasn’t supposed to be on the fairgrounds property after the competition was over so he paid the security guard $100 to look the other way. 
Who
cares?
  He just couldn’t believe that Fiona Clyde came anywhere near his adjustments to Anna’s recipes.  He had studied at Le Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in Paris.  There was no way that Lily or Anna or any of them were going to get in his way.  He only agreed to be Anna’s baker so that they would let him into the bake-off.  He’d tried years before, but they kept citing that his recipes didn’t meet the basic requirements.  Him?  Alexander Mackey not meet the basic requirements? 
That was just absurd.
  He was sure it was because that old buzzard Westbrook woman didn’t like him.  

He thought it was bad enough when the Parisian guild of bakers got together and patted each other on the back each year.  As far as he was concerned, they were only interested in chefs born and bred in Paris.  There was no way to break into that circle, but Winnona Peaks? Not breaking into that circle was like being chosen last for a softball team in second grade―when you are already in the fifth grade!

Alexander stroked his chin. 
What should he do first?  Oh, yes.  Little Fiona didn’t have enough sugar yesterday.  Well, why not just add a touch of salt?  That way she’ll have plenty of sugar in her sugar bin.
Alexander couldn’t wait to see the judges’ faces when they bit into whatever concoction she would bake.  That should be enough to take her over the edge.

What should I do to Mrs. Jefferson, now that Lily is out of the picture?
  Alexander thought that Vanessa was eliminated as a threat that first day when she was frantically trying to get registered. 
Who knew that her sister was such a good baker?  Not to worry!  The best way to screw up a day’s pastries is to start by having to clean your station.
With that, Alexander proceeded to dump dirt and garbage all over the prepping surfaces.  Leaving the bucket on top of the heap he told himself, “There, that should do it.  Even if Anna isn’t here tomorrow, they’ll let me finish the contest because I can bring in Felipe from the restaurant.  The $5,000 will do wonders for my reputation.  Maybe next time they won’t be so flippant about tossing me out on my ear before the contest starts.  Don’t meet the basic requirements.”  Alexander was going to show them basic requirements.

~~~

Christy Roberts couldn’t stop fidgeting.  The clues were tumbling in her head like tennis shoes in the dryer, but she didn’t want to process too much in front of Travis Dillard.  He may be Gregory’s famous friend, but it didn’t make any sense that he was standing across the street from Fiona’s bakery at this hour.  Sure, she shouldn’t have this fear of Frankenstein moment, but looking at him scrunched up in the back of Gregory’s car didn’t comfort her in the least.   She was grateful that Gregory had been a cop because he knew the exact distance to leave between them so that Cornelia and Terrance wouldn’t know they were being followed. It was about half an hour of following the limousine.  It would slow down in front of different properties and then speed up again. 

One time, it stopped entirely and Terrance got out and gingerly nudged a homeless man in the doorway.  Holding his nose and shaking his head, he pulled out his cellphone and started arguing with someone.  Pretty soon he got back into the car and they headed down the street.  They ended up at the original Westbrook Pastries and it appeared this was their final destination.  Not only did they stop, but then Cornelia got out and ordered Terrance to open the trunk.

“We need to get a closer look,” Christy urged, starting to get out of the car.

“Wait a second.” Gregory said, putting his hand on her knee.  He quickly pulled it away and Christy nodded.  “Let then unload the car.  We’ll get further if we can watch them undetected.”  She decided he was right, but it felt like an eternity watching them.

“I’ve got an idea.” Travis said. 

“Shoot, Dillard,” Gregory said.

Christy hated it when men started to pay attention to each other like it was automatic that they had the right answer.

“They know I’m coming into town to look at Westbrook Manor.  I’ll just saunter up when they are unloading and act like I was just finishing up down the street and happened to be in the neighborhood.” Travis said.

“You think they’re going to buy that?  What is it, pushing 9:30 at night?”  

“They’re going to buy it because they need me to buy Westbrook Manor.  You’d be surprised when people will accept things no matter what the hour.” Travis said.  “You two stay here a bit and let me soften them up.”

“It’s not the worst idea.” Gregory offered.

“It’s not the best idea.  I still don’t know why he was outside Fiona’s bakery.” Christy said.

“Fiona’s my cousin.  She’s a stubborn mule and won’t let me help her.  It runs in the family.  I had just finished dinner and didn’t want to stay cooped up in the hotel.  I took a walk and ended up walking past Fiona’s bakery.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Christy said.

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, these cars weren’t built for offensive lineman.  I need to get out and stretch,” Travis said and with that he was out of the car and strolling across the street to the bakery. 

In a couple of beats, Christy and Gregory saw him chat up Cornelia and Terrance on the street and enter the bakery.  When the trio entered the building and found the lights, Christy and Gregory followed at a safe distance.  The lights didn’t really offer hope of a bakery being opened the next morning.  All the fixtures and cases were covered in dust.  An ancient brass cash register with a levered handle sat on the counter next to the display case.  Wallpaper peeled gently off of the corner and a cracked tile was covered with pieces of plaster that had dropped from the ceiling.

“How are they going to open tomorrow?” Christy murmured.  They were looking through the big picture window from the curb. Travis was blocking their view of Christy and Gregory. Besides, Travis was right. They were so enthralled with keeping his attention they weren’t really looking about outside. 

“Fiona did say it was a strange fantasy she had.” Gregory said in response. 

Cornelia was all smiles and it looked like, in an attempt to impress Travis, she took the faded plastic cakes that were in the display case and replaced them with one of Fiona’s triple layer raspberry delights.  In a flash, the back of the case opened and closed and Christy saw something.

“Call 911!” Christy gasped. 

“What did you see?” Gregory asked.

“Just
call!”
With that, Christy broke into a run to get into the bakery.