Leighann Dobbs - Lexy Baker 09 - Ice Cream Murder Read online

  The yard was a hive of activity. Two ambulances were parked and EMT’s were looking over Nans and the other ladies. Firefighters rushed around, aiming hoses gushing loudly with water at the barn fire.

  Lexy walked over to Nans, Ruth, Ida, Helen, Norman and Olivia who were in a cluster ten feet away. Surely Jack didn’t mean she couldn’t walk ten feet?

  “Are you okay?” she asked Norman, who was being tended to by an EMT.

  “Yep,” he grinned. That little dog showed me a trapdoor in the main barn and we got out through the basement. He reached out to pet Farfel’s singed fur.

  Sprinkles barked and Lexy bent down to pet her, then turned to Nans. “How did you guys know we were in there?”

  Nans smiled down at Sprinkles. “Actually, it was Sprinkles that told us.”

  “Huh?”

  “We were driving down the road and saw her running around loose,” Nans said. “We knew you’d never let her loose so we called Jack, then came to investigate.”

  “Well, thanks. And thanks to you, too, Sprinkles.” Lexy kissed the top of the dog’s head then stood and hugged Nans.

  “You saved our lives.” Lexy turned to face Ruth, Ida and Helen. “All of you.”

  “Gosh, it was nothing, Lexy,” Ruth stammered.

  “But, what were you doing driving down this road?” Lexy’s brows dipped as she studied the ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ looks on the ladies faces.

  What had they been up to?

  She never got her answer because just then Jack joined them, his phone up to his ear. “They’re putting out an A.P.B. for Cora. Are you sure no one else was inside?”

  Lexy nodded. “It was just us three in the silo and then Nans and the ladies came to our rescue. Everyone is out.”

  “Call Mike and tell him not to come,” Jack barked into the phone. “Thankfully we won’t need a medical examiner here today.”

  “You can say that again,” Nans said.

  “Yes. Thank goodness everyone survived,” Ruth echoed.

  “Oh, that, too. But that’s not exactly what I meant.” Nans shot them a sheepish look. “I was glad he wasn’t coming because I haven’t had a chance to bake him that apple pie yet.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Look at this—a page one article with my byline and everything!” Norman held up the front page of the Brook Ridge Tribune, his face alive with excitement.

  It was the day after the fire and they’d gathered in the front room of Lexy’s bakery—Norman, Lexy, Jack, Anna, Nans and the three ladies. Even Olivia, Larry and Evelyn had joined them. Lexy had put out a tray of pastries and the aromatic smell of rich coffee filled the room.

  “That’s wonderful, Norman,” Nans said.

  “I’m just glad the headline doesn’t read ‘Killer Caterer Murders Millionaire’,” Anna joked.

  “Me, too,” Lexy said. “That could have really killed our businesses.”

  Anna laughed. “Yep, but I knew we didn’t make the mistake and that you and Nans would figure it all out in the end.”

  “And, hopefully this is the first of many front page articles.” Norman nodded to Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen in turn. “As well as the beginning of collaborating on many cases together.”

  “Here, here!” The four ladies raised champagne glasses filled with thick green juice and clinked them against Norman’s glass.

  “And don’t forget that you were the hero of the day,” Olivia gushed, referring to Norman’s heroic rescue of Farfel from the clutches of the fire.

  A blush crept up Norman’s neck. “Yeah, I guess I did finally do something heroic and it’s great that both dogs have a clean bill of health.”

  “Don’t go getting too big for your britches.” Ida wagged a finger at him. “You still owe us a cleanup after coffee. And you too, Lexy.”

  Lexy grimaced. “That’s right. Too bad our cars are at the bottom of the pond. It might be a while before I can get over to Nans’.”

  “They did pull the cars out of the pond, actually,” Jack said. “But I don’t think you guys are going to want them back. That pond has a very muddy bottom and your cars are full of it. I hope you had good insurance.”

  “Well, at least you caught Cora,” Olivia said.

  “Yep, we got her at the airport right before she headed off on a one-way trip to Mexico.” Jack reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “We found Wolf’s computer and the folder with the photographs of the birthday party in her apartment. They’re still at the police station as evidence, but we took the liberty of printing out the pictures for you.”

  Olivia slowly took the envelope Jack was holding out toward her. She flipped open the flap and thumbed through the pictures inside.

  “These are the pictures from the birthday party. The last pictures of Daddy.” She sniffed as her eyes filled with tears.

  Larry put his arm around her, glancing in at the pictures. “It’s great that we’ve got these of Daddy and Winston, too. I’m sorry they’re gone, but we still have each other.”

  Olivia beamed up at him.

  “Well, Larry, I’ll admit this juice is tasty.” Nans took a sip from her glass, then puckered her lips. “But I have to say I prefer coffee.”

  Larry chuckled. “I wanted to bring you some seeing as the juice almost made me a murder suspect.”

  Nans blanched. “Well, it did seem like the perfect way to poison him.”

  Larry shrugged. “I always brought fresh juice to the club on Wednesdays, trying to get people on the health band wagon … and drum up business for the market. So, naturally I brought some that day for Winston to drink.”

  Nans nodded. “What were you two arguing about that day?”

  Larry’s face fell. “After I talked to you about him at the Farmer’s Market, it got me thinking that maybe I should try to help him with his gambling and anger problems. But, he wouldn’t even admit he had them. It got kind of heated and we argued.”

  “Now, that’s not your fault.” Evelyn patted Larry’s arm.

  “Right, let’s look on the positive side.” Larry put his hand over Evelyn’s. “The three of us get to control the company now and we can put the corporate resources to good use.”

  “That’s right,” Evelyn nodded. “We can stop the retail development of that beautiful land on Meadow Road and use it for a community organic farming initiative instead.”

  “And branch out into the herbal dog food business.” Larry winked at Olivia.

  Olivia’s smile widened. “And now that Steve and I will have corporate backing for the dog food line, we can start production right away instead of waiting for an investor. And get a proper facility instead of fiddling around in secret in the back rooms of the K9 Center.”

  “We’re going to be able to do a lot of good with that company now. Change the way it operates and instill a new company culture and traditions,” Evelyn said.

  “And start new family traditions, too,” Larry added giving both Olivia and Evelyn a hug.

  Lexy’s heart surged for the three of them. It looked like this whole nasty business had a silver lining after all. Olivia and Larry were going to get the close relationship they both had said they missed and Larry and Evelyn were free to become more than just in-laws.

  “Looks like all’s well that ends well.” Ida summed up Lexy’s feelings as she bit into her lemon square.

  “Except for the part where I have to go on a date with Stan,” Helen said. Everyone laughed. Lexy had almost forgotten about the big sacrifice Helen had made for the sake of getting information on the case.

  Jack slid his arm around Lexy’s shoulders. “I hope you ladies have had enough sleuthing for a while. Especially you, Lexy.”

  Lexy chewed on her bottom lip, eyeing Nans and the other women’s expectant faces. She knew none of them would want to take a break from sleuthing, but the truth was she could use a little less excitement in her life for the moment.

  “Well, I do need to focus on the bakery,” she said. “
I’ve been neglecting it while chasing leads on this case, so some down time might not be a bad thing.”

  Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen nodded.

  “We wouldn’t want to run out of pastries to bribe our suspects with,” Ruth joked.

  “And don’t forget, we have a lot of work to do packing up my house,” Jack reminded her. “In fact, I’d like to claim your spare time for the rest of the summer.”

  Lexy smiled up at Jack. Giving him all her spare time didn’t seem like such a bad idea at all. Of course, she could think of much more interesting things they could be doing than boxing up old dishes, but maybe they could fit some of those interesting things in in-between packing and cleaning.

  Yep, now that she thought about it, taking a break from sleuthing to get Jack’s house ready for sale didn’t seem like such a bad idea at all.

  After all, what trouble could she possibly get into while cleaning decades of clutter out of an old house?

  The end.

  ***

  Want to read about more of Lexy’s and Nans’ adventures? Get the rest of the Lexy Baker series for your Kindle:

  Save 30% when you buy the Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Boxed Set:

  Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1-4)

  Or buy the books separately:

  Killer Cupcakes (Book 1)

  Dying For Danish (Book 2)

  Murder, Money and Marzipan (Book 3)

  3 Bodies and a Biscotti (Book 4)

  Brownies, Bodies & Bad Guys (Book 5)

  Bake, Battle & Roll (Book 6)

  Wedded Blintz (Book 7)

  Scones, Skulls & Scams (Book 8)

  Lemon Squares Recipe

  Lemon Squares Recipe

  I found this recipe tucked inside one of my mom’s old recipe books from the 1960s. It was handwritten on a thin, yellowed piece of paper and dotted with stains (probably lemon juice). She made the best lemon squares—I hope you enjoy them as much as I used to when I was a kid!

  For the crust:

  1 cup flour

  1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

  1/2 cup butter or margarine

  Blend the above ingredients and press into a 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 (f) for 20 minutes.

  While baking, mix the following together for the topping:

  1 cup sugar

  2 eggs

  2 tablespoons lemon juice

  1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  1 1/2 teaspoon flour

  Pour the mixture over the top of the baked crust layer. Bake at 350 (f) for 25 minutes, cool and cut into bars.

  Note: you can reserve some of the crust mixture and sprinkle it over the top of the filling.

  If you want more bars, double the ingredients and cook in a 13x9 pan.

  Snickerdoodles Recipe

  Snickerdoodles Recipe

  This is another recipe from my mom’s collection. She used to use Crisco like it was going out of style, so that’s what she would have used for the shortening ingredient. You can substitute butter for that if you want.

  Ingredients:

  1 cup shortening, softened

  1 1/2 cups sugar

  2 eggs

  2 3/4 cup flour

  2 teaspoons cream of tartar

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  2 tablespoons sugar

  2 teaspoons cinnamon

  Procedure:

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).

  Mix the shortening (or butter), sugar and eggs together thoroughly.

  Sift the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt together and then stir into the shortening mixture. Mix thoroughly.

  Roll the dough into teaspoon sized balls. Roll each ball in the sugar and cinnamon.

  Place balls two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

  Bake for about 8 minutes.

  A Note From The Author

  Thanks so much for reading my cozy mystery “Ice Cream Murder”. I hope you liked reading it as much as I loved writing it. If you did, and feel inclined to leave a review, I really would appreciate it.

  This is book nine of the Lexy Baker series. You can find the rest of the books on my website http://www.leighanndobbs.com.

  Also, if you like cozy mysteries, you might like my book “Dead Wrong” which is book one in the Blackmoore Sisters series. Set in the seaside town of Noquitt Maine, the Blackmoore sisters will take you on a journey of secrets, romance and maybe even a little magic. I have an excerpt from it at the end of this book.

  This book has been through many edits with several people and even some software programs, but since nothing is infallible (even the software programs) you might catch a spelling error or mistake and, if you do, I sure would appreciate it if you let me know - you can contact me at [email protected].

  I love to connect with my readers so please do visit me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/leighanndobbsbooks

  Signup to get my newest releases at a discount and notification of contests:

  http://www.leighanndobbs.com/newsletter

  About The Author

  Leighann Dobbs discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty. When she’s not reading, gardening or selling antiques, she likes to write romance and cozy mystery novels and novelettes which are perfect for the busy person on the go.

  Find out about her latest books and how to get discounts on them by signing up at:

  http://www.leighanndobbs.com/newsletter

  Connect with Leighann on Facebook and Twitter

  http://facebook.com/leighanndobbsbooks

  http://twitter.com/leighanndobbs

  ***

  More Books By Leighann Dobbs

  Lexy Baker

  Cozy Mystery Series

  * * *

  Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1-4)

  Or buy the books separately:

  Killer Cupcakes (Book 1)

  Dying For Danish (Book 2)

  Murder, Money and Marzipan (Book 3)

  3 Bodies and a Biscotti (Book 4)

  Brownies, Bodies & Bad Guys (Book 5)

  Bake, Battle & Roll (Book 6)

  Wedded Blintz (Book 7)

  ––-

  Mystic Notch

  Cats & Magic Cozy Mystery Series

  * * *

  Ghostly Paws

  Blackmoore Sisters

  Cozy Mystery Series

  * * *

  Dead Wrong

  Dead & Buried

  Dead Tide

  Buried Secrets

  ––-

  Kate Diamond

  Adventure/Suspense Series

  * * *

  Hidden Agemda

  ––-

  Contemporary

  Romance

  * * *

  Sweet Escapes

  Reluctant Romance

  ––-

  Dobbs “Fancytales”

  Regency Romance Fairytales Series

  * * *

  Something In Red

  Snow White and the Seven Rogues

  Dancing On Glass

  The Beast of Edenmaine

  The Reluctant Princess

  ***

  Excerpt From Dead Wrong:

  Morgan Blackmoore tapped her finger lightly on the counter, her mind barely registering the low buzz of voices behind her in the crowded coffee shop as she mentally prioritized the tasks that awaited her back at her own store.

  “Here you go, one yerba mate tea and a vanilla latte.” Felicity rang up the purchase, as Morgan dug in the front pocket of her faded denim jeans for some cash which she traded for the two paper cups.

  Inhaling the spicy aroma of the tea, she turned to leave, her long, silky black hair swinging behind her. Elbowing her way through the crowd, she headed toward the door. At this time of morning, the coffee shop was filled with locals and Morgan knew
almost all of them well enough to exchange a quick greeting or nod.

  Suddenly a short, stout figure appeared, blocking her path. Morgan let out a sharp breath, recognizing the figure as Prudence Littlefield.

  Prudence had a long running feud with the Blackmoores which dated back to some sort of run-in she’d had with Morgan’s grandmother when they were young girls. As a result, Prudence loved to harass and berate the Blackmoore girls in public. Morgan’s eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape route.

  “Just who do you think you are?” Prudence demanded, her hands fisted on her hips, legs spaced shoulder width apart. Morgan noticed she was wearing her usual knee high rubber boots and an orange sunflower scarf.

  Morgan’s brow furrowed over her ice blue eyes as she stared at the older woman’s prune like face.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t you play dumb with me Morgan Blackmoore. What kind of concoction did you give my Ed? He’s been acting plumb crazy.”

  Morgan thought back over the previous week’s customers. Ed Littlefield had come into her herbal remedies shop, but she’d be damned if she’d announce to the whole town what he was after.