A Case for the Cookie Baker Read online

  “What is it?”

  She turned to face me. “I can’t lose her too, Ainsley. I’ve only known her for five months, but I adore her. She’s like the little sister I never had. If anything happens to her, I just—can’t.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug. I’d never been much of a hugger—that is until I moved to Sweet River. People in Texas were fond of hugs.

  “We’ll find her. I’m sure she’s okay,” I lied. I was, however, hoping very hard she was just scared and hiding out somewhere. “How about her home? Do her parents live nearby?”

  “They have a ranch in Round Top.”

  I squeezed her again, and then let go.

  “Well, I know where we will be having lunch. But if we don’t stop and pick up Shannon and Jasmine, they will never forgive us.”

  “I don’t feel much like eating,” Lizzie said.

  “Trust me, you will when you walk into the restaurant. Then we’ll go find Becky’s mom and dad.”

  Lunch with the girls would help take her mind off of things.

  I just prayed we found the adorable Becky alive.

  Chapter Six

  An hour later, Shannon, Jasmine, Lizzie, and I were finishing our meal at Teague’s Tavern. It was good to get out of town for a bit and this was one of my favorite restaurants ever.

  Life was just better after some shrimp and bacon grits, and I was proud that I said no to the molten chocolate cake. I mean, the grits probably weren’t the best for blood sugar and I didn’t want to push it. I didn’t have time to pass out today.

  “Can I get anything else for you, ma’am?” the waiter asked. It always made me feel so old when people said ma’am, but it was another one of those Texas things.

  “We’re good. You wouldn’t by chance know where the Relehan ranch is do you?”

  “No, ma’am. I can ask the boss. He pretty much knows everyone around here.”

  “Thanks, I’d appreciate it.”

  A few minutes later, Don Teague—the owner—came out and waved hello. We’d met him a couple of times. Shannon and I always ate here when we went shopping in Round Top, which was a lot. And it was also our favorite place to double-date with our guys.

  “Ainsley and Shannon, it’s good to see you again.” He shook my hand and then Shannon’s. “I see you brought some friends. Thank you for that.”

  I smiled. He’d been a news guy and had traveled the world, but he was as friendly as they came.

  “These are our friends Jasmine and Lizzie.”

  They waved and said hello.

  “Todd says you need to know where the Relehan ranch is. I don’t normally give away personal information about my customers.”

  I explained the situation.

  “You’re on the case? That last one you solved was a doozy. You should write a book or something.”

  I snorted. My brother still thought I was writing one. That was my excuse for being so nosy about his investigations. Every once in a while he’d say, “How’s that book going?” And I’d just nod, like things were good.

  “We are worried about Becky. She works for Lizzie and she hasn’t been answering her phone. The poor girl had such an awful experience on Friday night, and we’re her friends, as well.”

  “Please.” Lizzie had the best puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen. I would never be able to tell her no.

  “All right,” he said. “Let me make a call. I’ll be right back.” He left and we settled our tab with Todd.

  Then Don came back. “I wrote down the directions for you. I called out there but no one answered. It’s Sunday, so they might be in the pool out back or in the barn. They love their horses.”

  “Thanks.” I picked up the paper, and soon we were on our way. The great thing about Round Top is it doesn’t take long to get anywhere. We pulled up the long dirt road about five minutes later.

  “So, barn or house?”

  “Let’s try the barn,” Shannon said. “If she’s a horse girl, and she’s upset, that’s the first place to look.”

  It seemed a bit odd to snoop around private property, but it wasn’t like Shannon and I hadn’t done this before.

  We found Becky, and the tight band that had been around my chest let go. It was like I could breathe for the first time in hours.

  She was in khaki shorts and rubber boots, cleaning out one of the stalls.

  “Becky,” Lizzie called out. But she didn’t acknowledge us. “Becky,” she said again. That’s when I noticed the AirPods in her ears.

  I pointed and Lizzie nodded. She walked over to the stall and was about to touch her on the shoulder when Becky screamed and turned around with the pitchfork pointed at Lizzie.

  All the color drained from the poor girl’s face.

  “It’s me, Becky. I’m sorry I startled you,” Lizzie said. It was a good thing she was fast on her feet or she might have been wearing that pitchfork.

  “I—” Then Becky sobbed. Poor thing. After everything she’d been through, we snuck up on her and scared her to death.

  Lizzie took the pitchfork from her hands and set it against the stall wall. Then she took the girl in her arms.

  “I’m sorry,” Becky said, as she took the AirPods out of her ears. “You scared the pee out of me.”

  Lizzie smiled. “I didn’t mean to but you couldn’t hear us. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. You haven’t been answering your phone.”

  “Oh. I turned it off because some reporter kept trying to call me. I just turned it back on so I could listen to music. I did text you back, though.”

  She showed Lizzie the phone.

  “We were eating lunch and I didn’t see it. Are your mom and dad here?”

  “They took the trailer to Austin to pick up a horse. I’m sorry I worried you. I didn’t have anyone to pick me up at the hospital, so I called my parents. They wanted me to come home for the weekend, and since I didn’t figure the bakery would open for a couple of days, I did.”

  She glanced around and saw the rest of us standing there. “Uh.”

  “We took a road trip,” I said.

  She smiled and nodded, but that smile did not reach her eyes. That was very un-Becky-like.

  “Would y’all like some tea? Mom made me a batch before she left. And a giant pot of stew. They didn’t know if they’d be back tonight and my mom’s love language is food. It’s a lot cooler in the house, come on.”

  “Sure,” I said. “Tea sounds good.”

  The ranch house was made from Texas stone, which is the same sort of limestone my building is made out of. She took us through the back door and into the large, modern kitchen.

  We settled in at the breakfast area with our tea. “I’m sorry you came all the way out here to check on me. I just had to get away—it still doesn’t feel real. Do the police know who did it? And who was that guy? He’s dead, isn’t he? They tried to block me from seeing but there was a lot of blood on the floor.”

  She shivered. I’d done the same thing when I’d seen all that. She’d been gone since Friday, so she probably hadn’t heard any of the gossip or read anything online. “The police don’t know yet who killed him.” I motioned toward Lizzie.

  She sniffed and blinked several times. “He was someone I knew,” she said. “He wasn’t supposed to be in town until today. My guess is he saw you in there and thought it was me.”

  The pained terror on Becky’s face said it all, as she tried to process the information. Lizzie hadn’t mentioned who the victim was to Becky. Maybe she wanted to protect her privacy, though the truth would come out soon.

  “I keep saying this but I’m so sorry, Lizzie,” Becky cried. “I…should have done something. I don’t know what. Everything is so hazy. I was bored Friday night, so I thought I’d get a head start for Saturday. I stayed later than I told you I would.

  “I can’t remember exactly what happened. I know amnesia is dumb. You see it in movies or in books and it seems unreal. But I swear, when I try to think about that night it
’s just darkness. When I woke up in the freezer, I thought Mrs. Whedon was dead, and I had a panic attack.”

  “It had to be very traumatic for you,” Jasmine said. “Waking up like that. It’s no wonder you can’t remember every detail.”

  “She’s right,” Shannon added. “I’ve been in a similar situation with Ainsley, and it’s so shocking that you can’t wrap your head around it.”

  Becky rubbed her head. “Maybe I don’t want to remember. I mean, I do. But the doctor told me that I might have seen something that scared me so bad I’ve pushed it away to protect myself. I couldn’t stop shaking that night and it wasn’t just from being in the freezer for so long. Mom had to put the electric blanket on me.”

  She’d probably been in shock. I could relate. I was surprised the hospital released her with a head injury and shock.

  I nodded. “I don’t want to force you to do anything, but my brother did an exercise for me and it helped me remember a few details. Do you mind if we try?”

  Becky frowned and rubbed her head again.

  Lizzie touched her shoulder. “You don’t have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable,” she said. “I’m just glad to know you’re okay.”

  “No. I want to. He was your friend. We need to find out who…hurt him. I’ll try. But honestly, I’ve been trying to remember and it’s like that part of my brain is just gone.”

  “We’ll just try it for a minute,” I said. “You never know when the smallest detail might help.”

  “Okay,” Becky said uneasily.

  “Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”

  She did what I asked.

  “Think about what you were doing right before your memory went blank.”

  “I locked the door after Lizzie left, or at least, I think I did. I shoved the keys in my pocket. Then I started gathering ingredients to make fruit kolaches. Lizzie likes to have everything ready first thing. I thought I might be able to sleep in a little if I did it the night before. I love working at the shop but it’s so early every day. Not that I’m complaining.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at Lizzie.

  “I know,” she said. “Close your eyes.”

  “Okay, then what happened?” I asked gently.

  “I couldn’t remember if I’d made enough bread dough before I left. So, I opened the freezer door to see what we had on the slab. It looked like enough, but you can never be sure, especially on a Saturday morning. I decided to make some more so it could rise overnight. That way, Lizzie wouldn’t have to stop everything to make dough. She works too hard.”

  Lizzie smiled at the girl and shook her head.

  “I finished and was coming out of the freezer when I heard a noise. At first, I thought maybe I’d knocked something over inside, so I turned back around—and there’s something. It’s like right there on the edge of my mind.” She raised her hand as if trying to grab a thought.

  Then she screamed—and well, we all screamed, and a dog started barking.

  Becky’s eyes flashed open and tears streamed down her cheeks. “He said, ‘I’m going to get you, girl,’ and then his hands wrapped around me.” She started sobbing.

  We all shivered, and then Lizzie took the crying girl into her arms. “It’s okay. You’re safe,” she whispered. The rest of us stared down at our tea. Poor Becky had been attacked. No wonder she couldn’t remember anything.

  I ran to find the bathroom so I could get her some tissues.

  When I came back, she’d calmed down. I handed her the tissues so she could wipe her face.

  “You were very brave,” I said. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded but didn’t look terribly certain about that. “Everything goes black after that. I woke up with poor Mrs. Whedon in my arms. I’ll be honest, I thought she was dead. My head hurt so bad and I felt sick. Kind of like I do now.”

  “You went through a lot,” Shannon said. “Ainsley is right. You are so brave. I’d be way more of a mess than you are. Other than the bump on the head, did the doctors find anything else wrong with you?”

  The young girl shook her head. “The bump wasn’t that bad. I honestly don’t remember going into the freezer but I was fine—other than being more scared than I ever had before.”

  “That makes sense,” Shannon said. I understand why she’d asked that question. A man attacking a woman—I was just glad nothing else had happened. The poor thing had been through enough.

  “Do you know when you’ll open the bakery back up?” she asked.

  “You don’t worry about that, hon,” Lizzie said. “And I understand if you need to quit. It’s going to be tough for you to go back in there.”

  The stricken look on Becky’s face surprised me. “No. I mean, I want to come back to work. It’s the best job. I’m learning so much from you on how to bake and run a business. I know it won’t be easy, but I’d like to stay.”

  “Of course, you can stay. I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to work there. You’ve been through a lot.”

  “It’s okay. We have a lot of good memories there. And the doctor said it might help me to remember more details, if I’m in familiar circumstances.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure. I have to get things—uh—back in order. I thought maybe on Friday, if it’s okay with the sheriff, we could get back to it.”

  Becky smiled. “That sounds good. I think I just need things to get back to normal.”

  “I promise we’ll get out of your hair. But I have one more question for you.”

  Becky glanced at me warily. “Okay.”

  “Your friend next door mentioned a boyfriend. I was curious why you didn’t call your boyfriend.”

  She stared at me strangely. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I didn’t even know anyone lived next door. I sometimes hear water running. I don’t know why anyone would say that.”

  Some people liked to be part of the drama. I’d seen it before.

  “Becky, your memories will come back,” Jasmine said. “That happened for me. Don’t stress about it and they’ll come faster.”

  “She’s right,” I said. “Hang out with your horses and enjoy your day. Relax, and you never know what might happen.”

  I left out what was rolling around in my ear like an earworm.

  It’s okay, Becky, even if you are a killer.

  Chapter Seven

  A few days later, I was working in the back of the shop when Lizzie stopped by with a box of something that smelled so good I wanted to eat the air.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked Lizzie.

  “I brought you a treat.”

  I cringed. “I’m supposed to cut back on sugar.” I started to hand the box back, but she waved it away.

  “You and half the country. Lots of people need sugar-free treats, so I wondered if you could be my taste-tester for these chocolate chip cookies. No sugar, or gluten. Though, I can’t be totally gluten-free in the shop because we use so much enriched flour. But try it.”

  I’m not a big fan of sugar-free anything, but I’d do just about anything for a friend.

  I took a bite. The cookie was still warm, and the buttery, chocolate goodness melted in my mouth.

  “Yum.”

  Lizzie clapped her hands. “Yay. I thought this batch tasted pretty good, but I wasn’t sure. I’ve been working on them all afternoon.”

  “I can’t tell they don’t have sugar. They are just as good as your other ones.”

  “Awesome. I’m slowly going to add them into the regular menu. Everyone deserves a treat. I, um, had another favor to ask you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you go to Morton’s funeral with me? Please? I know it’s a lot to ask. Funerals pretty much suck. I just—I don’t want to go alone. The truth is I need a buffer. If I’m alone, his mom’ll pull the daggers out in front of her friends. But if I’m there with someone she’s more likely to behave. Though, she should be grieving for her son, instead of picking on me.”

  I’d be
en trying to figure out a way to ask if she was going. The family was quite prominent in these parts, and there had been a long obit in the paper. After everything, it was weird seeing his face. Funerals were a great place to get some info about the deceased, and I needed it.

  Mrs. Whedon still hadn’t regained consciousness, and the police were low on suspects. That reminded me. Kane had never called me back.

  I’d been curious if he figured out how tall the killer was and if that matched the person I’d seen in the park.

  “I’d be happy to go with you. I’ll even drive,” I offered.

  “Oh, that’s sweet of you. I appreciate it. Like I told you, we had a long history. I really did love the guy and I’m going to miss him. I need this chance to say goodbye.”

  She blinked as if she were holding back tears.

  I glanced down at the cookies. I’m terrible about crying when others cry these days. I never used to be that way. But now, even commercials get me sometimes.

  “I’m going to close the bakery tomorrow, and the funeral is at eleven in Buda.”

  That was only about forty minutes away.

  “I’ll pick you up a little before ten. Is that okay?”

  She nodded.

  After she left, I called my friend Kane, who is the medical examiner. Greg had put the word out to keep me out of things but I had my ways. My call, like all the others lately, went straight to voice mail.

  “You’re avoiding me. But I know where to find you. Call me please. I just have one question. One. And I promise I won’t bother you again.”

  “Today,” I said as I hung up. I didn’t like to make promises I couldn’t keep.

  *

  Later that evening, I had just let George out when my phone rang.

  “Greg says I can’t tell you anything—for real this time,” Kane said before I could even answer hello. I chuckled.

  “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  He sighed. “What is it?”

  “Do you have any idea how tall the assailant was?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Those frying pans are heavy. I asked Lizzie about the one you guys have in evidence. It’s one of the larger ones that can hold a lot of biscuits. She said she can barely lift it with two hands.”