Death by Strawberry Cupcake Page 15

  “Well, we can’t go into the shop after them so what will we do now?” Finn asked.

  “I guess we’ll hang out in the parking lot like weirdos,” I said.

  “What if he’s opening shop? We could go in.”

  “Do you think he’s opening?”

  “I don’t know he has to at some point, right?”

  “Unless he’s selling the place,” I said.

  “Well in the meantime he might open.”

  Finn and I stood toward the edge of the parking lot talking as the man and woman went inside.

  “Well, I suppose that’s over now we’ll never know what’s going on,” I said around a sigh.

  “Don’t be so negative,” he said. “You never know what might happen.”

  I released a deep breath. “Yeah, I suppose things could change. You’re absolutely right I should keep a positive attitude.”

  “There you go. Think positive and good things will come.”

  Finn and I were just about to turn around and head back to the car when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

  “Here they come,” I said.

  We had no time to race back to the car. They would be right behind us on the sidewalk. I grabbed Finn’s arm and pulled him behind a car. We kneeled down.

  “Oh, this isn’t obvious at all,” Finn said.

  “They didn’t see us,” I said. “Remember, stay positive.”

  “Hey, that’s what I told you.”

  “Well, I’m reminding you now.” I peeked out over the edge of the truck’s hood.

  “What are they doing?” Finn asked.

  He didn’t wait for me to answer before leaning up and peering over the hood as well. They were walking toward the car. At least I knew this man wasn’t driving the truck that had almost run over me. Though I wasn’t convinced that he didn’t have a truck somewhere.

  The couple got into the car. After a few seconds, she pulled away. Finn and I watched as she drove away. About a minute later, Finn and I stood from behind the green truck. That was when it hit me. I spotted stickers on the back of this green truck.

  “You know, this looks just like the truck that tried to hit me.”

  Finn frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure it looks like the truck, but I can’t be positive that it’s the actual truck. What if the guy is around here somewhere?”

  “I think we should leave.” Finn pulled on my arm.

  “Not so fast,” I said, holding my hand up.

  “I'd like to take a look around this truck a little bit.

  Finn slumped his shoulders. “Oh no. Just when I thought we wouldn't be arrested.”

  “There are no police around here.”

  “There will be when some stranger comes out and sees us in his truck. He will call the cops and tell them we're stealing it.”

  “Oh, you’re just being dramatic now,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Besides if it’s the guy who tried to hit me then I have reason to call the cops myself.”

  “Even more reason we should get out of here.”

  “Just a little quick peek in the window.” I leaned close to the driver’s side window trying to get a glimpse of anything inside that might reveal the identity of the owner.

  “Do you see anything?” Finn asked.

  “Nothing but trash. This guy needs to clean out his truck. Maybe I should open the door and take a closer look.”

  “No,” Finn yelled.

  I glanced over at him. “Okay, Calm down. No need to freak out.”

  I moved to the back of the truck and snapped a photo.

  “Now what are you doing?” Finn asked.

  “Recording the license plate so I can give it to the detective.”

  “Well, I suppose that’s all right,” Finn said.

  “Thank you.” I shook my head.

  This new lead made me optimistic. And to think I’d run up on this truck by chance. Or was it? There was no way that the guy driving this truck would know we were headed to the candy shop. Unless it was somehow connected to the murder of Rhonda. Nevertheless, I kind of felt proud of my detective skills at the moment.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” the guy yelled.

  I looked to the left and saw some big guy with a lot of muscles headed our way. I moved back a few steps, standing beside Finn as we stared at the man.

  “Get away from my truck.”

  Was this the killer? If so, then he certainly wasn’t using this opportunity to come after me. And although I’d never gotten a good look at the guy behind the wheel, I was kind of thinking this guy wasn’t him.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as he stepped up to the truck.

  Maybe it was time for Finn and me to run away. That probably would have been the wise thing to do, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the thing that I decided to do. Much to Finn’s chagrin.

  “I’ve been looking for a truck like this,” I said, crossing my arms in front of me.

  “Well, it’s not for sale,” the guy said.

  “I don’t want to buy it,” I said. “Whoever is driving this truck has been trying to hit me.”

  The guy lifted an eyebrow. He looked at Finn. “Is she all right?”

  “Yes, she’s just fine,” he said.

  Finn grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away.

  “Obviously, this is the wrong truck,” Finn said.

  I suppose, but I was still suspicious. I wanted to let this guy know that if he was trying to hit me then I had my eye on him. I wouldn’t back down and let him think he had scared me. Finn pulled me over to another car. The guy got in his truck and drove away, but not before giving us another dirty look.

  “You almost got me beat up,” Finn said. “That guy would probably get me in a headlock and never let go.”

  “You got muscles. You could take him.”

  “I have some muscles. He had enough to make Arnold Schwarzenegger look small.”

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” I said with a wave of my hand.

  “You’re going to get me killed, I just know it.”

  “I’m not going to get you killed… I don’t think.”

  “Very funny,” Finn said. “Do you go after every green truck you see?”

  “In my defense that was the first time,” I said.

  Of course, it was the first time I’d seen another green truck like that.

  When my phone alerted me to a text message, I jumped a bit.

  “Wow, you are on edge,” Finn said.

  I pulled the phone from my pocket and saw that I’d received a text from Detective Bailey. He wanted me to call him right away. Anxiety rushed through me. I looked around as if maybe the detective was somewhere watching us. This will be hard to explain away. Maybe he had some good news for me now. Had they already found the killer? No, I doubted that because I was pretty confident that I was on the right track to finding the killer myself. However maybe they had tracked down the truck information.

  “Everything all right?” Finn asked.

  I really didn’t want him to listen to my conversation with the detective.

  “Just peachy,” I said.

  Chapter 26

  “I just need to make a call,” I said.

  “The detective?” Finn asked.

  Before I answered his question, my phone rang. The detective was calling.

  I waved my phone. “I’m hoping he found that truck that was trying to hit me.”

  “You should answer the phone,” Finn said.

  “This is Scarlet,” I said when I answered the call, trying to sound professional.

  As if I thought Finn and I had been doing something wrong. Okay, I supposed technically we had been doing something wrong. Unfortunately, I received no response.

  “Hello?” I asked. “Detective Bailey? Are you there?”

  There is still no response.

  “The call must have been dropped,” I said.

  “After all this time you still call him detective
Bailey Finn asked.

  “He never told me to call him anything else.”

  Finn smiled as if he thought this was a wonderful thing. I wouldn’t bother to tell him that in my mind I called the detective by his first name. Was that weird? Probably so.

  I looked at my phone. “I suppose he’ll call back soon.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if he was calling because he knew what we have been up to.

  “What do we do now?” Finn asked. “They already left in the cars.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, staring at the candy shop. I wish I could go look in that shop. There was something I thought about the day I found her, and I’d like a closer look.”

  “Something like a clue?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Possibly. But I doubt there’s a way we can get in unless we break in.”

  “And I can’t encourage that,” Finn said.

  “I wasn’t going to suggest that,” I said.

  “I really don’t want to go to jail.”

  “No, you’re right, I don’t want to either. I don’t suppose there’s a way that they left the door open, do you?” I asked.

  “Isn’t that the same as breaking in?” Finn asked.

  “It’s not breaking in when they leave the door open. For all the police know we were looking for candy.”

  “I’m pretty sure the police would know you weren’t looking for candy,” Finn said.

  “Well, it doesn’t hurt for us to walk over there. We can take a peek in the window.”

  Finn looked around as if someone might be watching us. “They could have surveillance around here to see if the killer comes back.”

  “I think the chances of that are pretty low. I’ll take the odds,” I said. “Are you here to help me or not?”

  “Don’t put me in that situation.”

  “Okay, well, you stay here, and I’ll go over there,” I said as I started to walk away.

  I’d only made it a few steps when I heard the click of shoes against the pavement behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Finn walking beside me.

  “Of course, I’m not going to let you do this alone,” he said.

  I smiled. “Thank you.”

  Though I could do this by myself. When we reached the sidewalk that led to the entrance we paused. Finn and I scanned the surroundings to see if anyone was watching. It looked as if the coast was clear. I stepped up to the big glass window and cupped my hands around my eyes so that I could get a look inside. Everything looked exactly as it had the morning that I had found Rhonda. Nothing had changed. Not that I expected it had. Finn was standing beside me looking in the window as well.

  “Notice anything?” he asked.

  I moved around Finn and over to the door. I looked around again to see if anyone was watching. I casually pulled on the handle. It opened. I immediately let go and gasped.

  “What did you do?” he asked.

  “The door is open.”

  “Is there an alarm going off?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t hear anything.”

  “Maybe it’s a silent alarm. We should definitely get out of here.” He pulled on my arm.

  “Hold on just a moment.” I held my hand up. “I doubt they installed an alarm after she was murdered. So if there wasn’t one before do you think they added one now? We would see it, right?”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea, Scarlet.”

  “No, I suppose not. How about you be the lookout and I’ll go in real quick, take a look at the thing I wanted to see and then run right back out.”

  “Make it quick,” he said.

  I mustered up all my courage and pulled the door open. I ran inside and retraced the steps as I had that day when I found Rhonda. There was no time to look back. Finn watched me from the other side of the window. I’d never been this nervous. I was in a race against time. I still heard no alarm though. But I wasn’t going to let that give me a far sense of security. I dashed behind the counter and over to that door. Just reliving all of this was terrifying.

  I pushed through the door, even though I didn’t want to do it. I ran into that back room just as I had. Immediately my gaze traveled to the spot where I had seen her body. I was standing there frozen in the spot just looking at that spot. What was I doing? I had to move quickly. What if the cop showed up? Detective Bailey would not find this humorous at all.

  Finally, I managed to make my legs move. I rushed to the left, looking at the shelves that I’d seen on the day I discovered Rhonda. I’d only gotten a glimpse at the time, but I remembered a photo being there. It was in a frame hanging on the wall by the shelves.

  Yes, it was of Rhonda and her husband. And that other woman. Was the husband living with this woman? I peered closer at the photo. The woman was wearing the ring I’d found Rhonda’s home. That meant she had to have been in that back yard, right? That couldn’t be a coincidence. She probably had no idea that she’d lost the ring there. Maybe she didn’t realize she’d lost it at all. I knew I’d seen her before. And this was it, but I had to know who she was. It wasn’t listed on the photo. But at least I knew they knew each other.

  I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of the photo on the wall. What good that would do I had no clue. I stopped myself from taking the actual photo. Finn would probably never talk to me again if I did that.

  I knew that Finn was probably out there panicking waiting for me to come back. Well the feeling was mutual because I was panicking on the inside as well. I put my phone back in my pocket and raced back toward the door. So help me I looked back over my shoulder at the spot where I’d found the body. Why was I punishing myself like this?

  I pushed the swinging door and was relieved to see that there were no cops in the parking lot. Although Finn was pacing outside in front of the door. I raced around the side of the counter but unfortunately lost my footing and slipped, landing right on my rear. Unfortunately, at that moment was when Finn looked to the door and saw me as I fell. I swear if he laughed at that I’d let him have it.

  Finn rushed through the door and helped me to my feet. And to his credit, he didn’t laugh about me falling on my backside.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

  We ran for the exit and thank goodness got out of there before being handcuffed and tossed in the back of a police cruiser. No cops are around. Whew. That was a close one. We raced across the parking lot to the street and then across to the car. I practically fell behind the wheel and then jumped in like we had been dodging bullets.

  “Did you get anything?” he asked.

  “I took a picture of a picture,” I said as I started the car.

  “I didn’t look for anything else since I just wanted to get the heck out of there.”

  “A picture of a picture? All right, I’m perplexed,” he said.

  I pulled away from the street before I explained. I needed to get away from there. As took off down the street I had no idea where I even was driving. Maybe I would go back to the studio parking lot.

  “I remembered seeing a photo in there and it was of the woman that he just met.”

  “The one he’s staying at her house?” Finn asked.

  “That’s the one. It was of the three of them together, so apparently, they knew each other. I just have to figure out who this woman is.”

  “Do you think he killed his wife? And this woman is involved?”

  “That’s what I’m guessing,” I said. “Now I just have to prove it without getting us killed in the process.

  Finn groaned as I made a left turn. “Are you going to get us killed?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “Don’t you have any faith in me?”

  “You are putting us in danger.”

  “We made it out of there,” I said.

  “It was scary.”

  “But did you die?”

  “Not yet,” he said. “Red light!”

  Immediately I slammed on the brakes.

  “I saw th
e light. No need to panic.” I tapped my fingers against the steering while as I stared at the traffic light.

  After all this, it seemed as if there was nothing else Finn and I could do at the moment. I’d left a message for Alex. Why wasn’t he returning my calls? In the meantime, I’d drop Finn off at his car. Maybe I’d hang out at my parents’ house for a while. They always knew how to cheer me up. Though baking always made me feel better too. Perhaps I should just zone out and practice that new recipe I’d been working out. I could use the kitchen at the studio.

  Chapter 27

  I’d tried Lucille’s number again, but she still didn’t answer. I hoped that she came home soon. If I didn’t see her soon then I would tell the detective. For the time being, I wouldn’t panic.

  Finn reluctantly left after I dropped him off at the studio. I was working on a new recipe. Sure, I could do this at home, but the kitchen here was so fabulous that I really wanted to spend some more time here. And it was so quiet too. I had everything I needed. I was trying out a new peach cupcake.

  I wasn’t sure if it would work out like I wanted it too, but I would give it a shot, adding actual peach inside the cake. It sounded like a fantastic idea, but in reality, it might not work. Regardless, I had all the ingredients I needed and was ready to get to work.

  I had to admit it was kind of creepy being in here all alone. I looked around as if someone was watching me. No one was in there with me. I dumped the flour into my bowl and set the measuring cup back onto the counter. What sounded like footsteps came from somewhere to my left. I paused with my spatula in midair. My heart beat a little bit faster.

  Looking around, I still didn’t see anyone in the studio with me. It was probably just noise from the hallway outside carrying into the room, I reminded myself. No reason to be paranoid. I would go back to my recipe. I added in the sugar next. I couldn’t wait to see how these turned out.

  I was in the middle of stirring the ingredients when all of a sudden, the lights went out. My breath caught in my throat. Okay, don’t panic, I reminded myself again. Okay, that was easier said than done because it was pitch black in here. The only light came from above the door that led to the hallway.