Brownies, Bodies and Bad Guys (2 page)

Lexy saw Nans’s eyebrows shoot up. “Ransacked? I wonder what they could have been after … and if they found it.”

Lexy started to hear warning bells go off inside her head. She could tell when Nans got a bug in her ear about investigating a murder, and it appeared this was shaping up to be one of those times.

“Nans, you’re not thinking about looking into this yourself, are you?”

Nans shrugged, but Lexy recognized the bright sparkle in her eye.

“I don’t think you should go messing around with this. I heard he had ties to organized crime. This could be related, and that would be very dangerous.”

Unfortunately, Lexy’s words of warning seemed to pique Nans’s interest even more.

“That’s right, it could … I wonder if the mob had him rubbed out?” Nans grabbed her giant old lady purse and started rummaging around inside it. After a few seconds she pulled out an iPad, placing it on the table in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Ruth asked.

“Just looking up some stuff on mob activity.”

“You can find that stuff online?” Lexy looked at Nans with wide eyes.

“If you know what to look for.” Nans winked at Lexy.

“Well, the man was eighty-five years old,” Ida said. “I highly doubt he was active anymore,
if
he was ever in organized crime in the first place.”

“Was he?” Nans raised her eyebrows at Ruth.

Ruth waved her hands. “Oh, I don’t know. He didn’t tell me everything he did, you know.”

“Well, can you think of anyone else who would kill him and then toss his condo?” Nans asked, looking back down at the iPad screen.

“Not really. Everyone seemed to like him. It’s such a shame. His whole family is in town for a big family reunion to celebrate his eighty-fifth birthday this week.”

Nans jerked her head in Ruth’s direction. “His whole family? Did everyone get along with him? Did he have a will?”

Ruth looked taken aback. “I don’t really know. I wasn’t privy to that sort of information,” She said primly.

Nans looked up at the ceiling and Lexy could practically see the wheels spinning in her head. Lexy knew she was making a mental list of suspects as well as a list of possible motives. Now would be a good time for her to leave before she got roped into helping with an investigation.

Lexy went over to the sink and washed out her cup. “I need to get back to
The Cup and Cake
. I left poor Cassie to man the fort alone all morning,” she said, making a big show of looking at her watch.

“Oh, wait dear. I was just going to make a list of possible motives … don’t you want to help?” Nans asked.

Lexy squinted at the four older women. “Do you guys really want to get involved in something like this? I mean, if there really is an organized crime connection, then this is nothing to screw around with.”

“Lexy might be right,” Helen said. “We could end up at the bottom of Brook Ridge falls wearing cement shoes.”

Ida looked down at her feet. “Cement shoes? That really wouldn’t go with my outfit,” she said, causing the four older women to collapse in a fit of laughter.

“Come Lexy, now you sound like Jack. You’re not going to turn into a stick in the mud now that you’re getting married to him, are you?” asked Nans.

Lexy bristled at the comment. “No … I just don’t want you to put yourselves in danger. Can’t you investigate something less dangerous, like who put bubble bath in the fountain downtown?”

Jeez, she really did sound like Jack, she thought, as she heard the words coming out of her mouth.

“Pfft … that’s kid’s stuff. Not exciting enough for us.”

Lexy sighed. “Well, I really do have to go. I can’t tell you guys what to do, but I’m not sure I want to get involved in anything that has to do with Nunzio Bartolli.”

“Okay. Well thanks for the ride,” Nans said, as Lexy made her way toward the door.

“And for springing me out of jail,” Ruth added.

Lexy turned at the door and nodded to the women. “You’re welcome. Now try to stay out of trouble.” She opened the door slipping out into the hall.

“We’ll keep you posted.” Lexy heard Helen yell as she closed the door.

Lexy felt her shoulders tense as she hurried down the hall toward the parking lot. She didn’t have time to get involved in an investigation right now. She had a wedding to plan and a bakery to run.

Plus, Jack wouldn’t be too keen on the idea of her investigating a murder with Nans. He never was, and this time she feared he might be justified—messing around in Nunzio Bartolli’s death could prove to be very dangerous.

Chapter Three

“Ruth was sleeping with a mobster?” Cassie held an eclair in the air halfway to her mouth as she stared at Lexy, wide eyed.

“No … I mean, I don’t know. She was apparently involved with this guy and the rumor is he has ties to organized crime. I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

“Oh. Well it sounds like something fishy is going on.” Cassie bit into the eclair, making nummy noises that caused Lexy’s stomach to growl. In all the excitement, she’d forgotten to eat lunch. Lexy eyed the brownies in the bakery case, then reached in and grabbed one for herself.

Gooey chocolate covered her taste buds as she bit into the confection. The brownie was so fudgy that she didn’t even have to chew it. She closed her eyes and swirled it around in her mouth, enjoying the rich, dark chocolate taste as well as the instant sugar rush.

It was mid-afternoon and Lexy realized she probably should eat a proper lunch, but she was having an early dinner with Jack and didn’t want to fill up. The brownie was just about perfect, she thought, as she shoved the rest of it into her mouth.

Thinking about dinner with Jack reminded her about the blonde she had seen him with earlier. She
had
tried not to think about it all day, but it kept nagging at her.

Lexy eyed Cassie tentatively. Cassie was married to Jack’s partner, who was also his best friend. If there was a reasonable explanation for the blonde, Cassie probably knew about it. More than likely it was something so innocent that Cassie didn’t even think to mention it. Lexy was just about to ask when the bell over the door chimed, signaling the arrival of a customer.

Looking over at the door, Lexy saw Brant Millet from the bookstore approaching the pastry case. Brant was tall with a long neck and gangly arms and legs. He reminded Lexy of a giraffe. She suppressed a giggle, picturing a spotted giraffe face on top of his long neck. He studied the case, his chin resting in between his thumb and forefinger.

“What can I get you today, Brant?” Lexy asked.

Brant squinted into the case then pointed at the lemon squares. “I’ll take two.”

Lexy boxed the squares up and handed Brant the box while Cassie rang up the purchase.

Lexy was considering how to phrase her question about the blonde to Cassie when the bell announced another customer. Another regular, this time a woman Lexy knew only as Susan, who came in three or four times a week. She slunk over to the case, her sleek black hair cascading over her shoulders as she leaned over to examine the pastry. She too, reminded Lexy of an animal … a black jaguar.

Susan picked out a variety of cupcakes which Lexy boxed up, then rang up the purchase.

Lexy was still thinking about the blonde in the back of her mind, but before she could ask Cassie, the door opened again and two men Lexy had never seen came in looking out of place in dark suits. One was gigantic, tall and wide … he reminded Lexy of a gorilla. The other very thin, with a long neck and small head, made Lexy think of an ostrich. They ordered a dozen brownies which Cassie boxed up and gave to Lexy to ring up.

The next two hours were filled with a steady stream of customers who cleaned out most of Lexy’s inventory while the two girls took turns serving them and ringing up their purchases.

Finally, the rush was over. Lexy glanced up at the clock … she had just enough time to close up the shop, rush home and get ready for her dinner date with Jack.

Lexy went over to the door and flipped the sign to the “Closed” position while Cassie started cleaning off the cafe tables. Now was the perfect time to ask about the blonde.

“Hey, Cass … I was wondering if you knew anything about a blonde woman that Jack might know.” Lexy feigned disinterest, pretending she was engrossed in cleaning the top of the pastry case, while her heart thumped in her chest waiting for Cassie’s answer.

“Uhh … you don’t know?”

Lexy looked up, narrowing her eyes at Cassie. “Know what?”

Cassie stood there staring at Lexy, the wide-eyed, nervous look on her face made Lexy’s heart drop.

“Cassie, what is it?” Lexy felt a jolt of panic.
What could be so bad that Cassie didn’t want to tell her?

“That woman you saw with Jack? She’s his ex-girlfriend.”

Chapter Four

“Should I wear the black dress, or the lavender top and black pants?” Lexy stood in front of the mirror, holding the two outfits on hangers in front of her.

Sprinkles, her white poodle and Shih-tzu mix sat on the bed watching her intently.

Lexy choose the lavender top and slipped it over her head, then wriggled into the tight black jeans. Turning back to the mirror, she angled herself left and right to inspect the outfit from all angles. The top hung just below the waist, accentuating her slim hips, small shoulders, and generous breasts. The pants were just tight enough to show off her assets, but not so tight that she couldn’t breathe. She had to admit, she looked pretty darn good.

Staring at her face, she inspected her makeup for smudges. The small amount of dark brown eyeliner and mascara accentuated her green eyes and the teeny bit of blush highlighted her high cheekbones. A swipe of raspberry lip gloss and she was good to go.

“Not too bad, huh, Sprinkles,” she said to the dog.

“Woof.” Sprinkles wagged her tail.

“I just hope it’s enough to make him forget that blonde.” She turned back to the mirror, eyeing her brown hair that fell just below the shoulders. Her gaze traveled down her body to her legs which appeared short and stubby compared to the other woman’s.

“I know just the thing!”

Lexy opened the door to her walk in closet and headed straight for the shoe rack. She had a weakness for designer shoes and had amassed quite a collection over the years. Her closet was outfitted with special shoe boxes arranged by color. She went to the black section picking out a pair of 6” high Jimmy Choo strappy black suede stilettos. They were sexy and elegant at the same time. She didn’t wear them often—they had cost her almost nine hundred dollars—but were worth wearing tonight if it helped her compete with the blonde ex-girlfriend with mile long legs.

Lexy did a mental head shake. She wasn’t in competition with anyone. She was way better than some blonde ex-girlfriend. That’s why
she
was Jack’s fiancee and the other woman was his
ex
.

But, it made Lexy wonder, why hadn’t Jack mentioned the other woman to her? Maybe he hadn’t had a chance, or maybe it just wasn’t a big deal to Jack and he didn’t even think it was worth mentioning … or maybe he was hiding something from Lexy.

Lexy pushed the thought out of her head. That was ridiculous. She trusted Jack. Her imagination was just making a big deal out of nothing.

She grabbed her purse and ran downstairs, Sprinkles hot on her heels. In the kitchen, she peeked out the window at Jack’s house which was on the street behind hers. Their backyards abutted each other and she could see his driveway was empty. He was probably on the way over to pick her up.

Lexy threw Sprinkles a treat and dashed out the front door. She was sure Jack would fill her in on the blonde at dinner, but even if he didn’t she was determined not to act all clingy and mistrusting. The last thing she wanted was for Jack to know that she was jealous of one of his old girlfriends—if Jack didn’t mention the woman at dinner, then neither would she.

###

Lexy took the top of the bun off her burger, piled onion rings on top of the patty, smothered it in ketchup and dropped the bun back on top. Lifting it she opened her mouth as wide as she could to accommodate the giant sandwich.

Ketchup squirted out the side and dripped down her hands. She wiped it off as she chewed, savoring the delicious combination of sweet onion rings, salty ketchup and charbroiled meat.

Across from her, Jack was creating his own mess by digging into a plate of ribs. He smiled up at Lexy and she felt her stomach flip. Jack had a great smile. Lexy tried not to think about him bestowing that same smile on his blonde ex.

“I guess you must have heard about Ruth,” Lexy said taking a sip of her beer.

“Yeah, who knew she had such an active social life?” Jack looked up from his ribs and winked at Lexy, causing her to blush.

“I heard Nunzio was involved in organized crime. Is that true?”

“I don’t know. The way he was killed and the way his place was ransacked didn’t look very professional to me. He might have been involved with organized crime once, but I don’t think his death had anything to do with it.”

Jack, put his ribs down and used his tongue to pick rib meat out of his teeth. Lexy watched him thinking he was probably the only man alive who could look sexy doing that.

“So, do you have any suspects? I mean, why would someone kill him like that? I don’t like the idea of Nans living in a place where people get shot in their sleep.”

Jack shrugged. “Right now we’re looking into the family. That’s usually the best place to start.”

“Really? Why would someone in his family want to kill him? And what would they be looking for in his condo?”

Jack put down his utensils, his honey brown eyes drilling into Lexy’s. “I hope you and Mona aren’t thinking about investigating this one.”

Lexy felt a tingle of annoyance. Jack had an aversion to her investigating murders. She knew it was only because he wanted her to be safe, but it still got her hackles up when he tried to tell her what to do.

Lexy looked down at her burger, removing the top of the bun and cutting into it with a knife and fork. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of getting into that. I don’t have the time. I even tried to talk Nans out of it, but you know how she is.”