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

“I can handle things here if you want to go talk to Nans.”

  “Oh, no. I feel bad leaving you.”

  “It’s no problem. Haley will be in to help with the customers out front. Besides, I think you might do more harm than good here.”

  “Why?” Lexy frowned at Cassie.

  “Because, I was watching you measure out the ingredients and you measured out two cups of salt instead of sugar.”

  ***

  “Lexy, what brings you here?” Nans stood in the doorway of her apartment at the Brook Ridge Falls Retirement Center, her brows raised at Lexy.

  “For heaven’s sake, Mona, can’t you see she has a box of pastries?” Ida leaned back in her chair at the dining room table and nodded at the white bakery box Lexy balanced in the palm of her left hand. “Let her in.”

  “Oh, of course. Come in, dear.” Nans stepped aside and Lexy entered the spacious apartment. As she suspected, Mona, Ida and Ruth were gathered around the dining room table with full cups of coffee and their iPads at the ready. Nans had already brought the large standing whiteboard from the spare room into the dining room so they could use it to write down suspects and clues.

  “You’re just in time,” Ruth took the box from Lexy and peeked under the lid. “Oh, I love lemon squares.”

  Helen pulled out a chair and gestured for Lexy to sit. “Do you want some coffee? We were just discussing the Regis Banks case.”

  Lexy sat while the ladies busied themselves refreshing their coffees, getting small plates and selecting lemon squares. Nans put a steaming mug in front of Lexy and she sipped the brew, sighing as the caffeine made its way into her bloodstream.

  “So, I take it you’re going to join us in the investigation,” Nans said to Lexy. “Last night, I got the impression you weren’t too sure.”

  “That was before Norman Shea threatened to write an article dubbing me the Killer Caterer.”

  “What? Who is Norman Shea?” Ruth asked around a mouthful of lemon.

  “He’s a reporter for the Tribune and a former high school classmate,” Lexy said. “He thinks this is some sort of big story that will launch his career.”

  “Oh, dear,” Nans replied. “That can’t be good for business.”

  “No kidding,” Lexy said. “Anna’s already called three times worried about this whole thing. Anyway, I figure it’s best if we get to the bottom of how Regis got the wrong ice cream so I can clear myself of any wrong doing.”

  Helen broke off the edge of her lemon square. She’d picked an end piece as she usually did. She took a small nibble from the doughy end. “We haven’t gotten very far … did you learn anything from Jack?”

  “He said they didn’t suspect foul play. They’re ruling it an accident and aren’t going to investigate any further.”

  “Really?” Nans face puckered. “With all that money involved, I don’t see how they can say that.”

  “He said that because Regis was so old anyway, it doesn’t make sense that someone would take the risk of killing him. Odds are he didn’t have much time left.”

  “Good point.” Nans rubbed her palms together to rid them of crumbs and stood at the whiteboard, taking a big marker in her hand. “Well, let’s get started with what we know.”

  “I scoured the tabloids and there’s not one whiff of a girlfriend,” Ruth said.

  “So I guess we can rule out a jealous lover,” Ida giggled.

  “The next logical place to look is at the family,” Helen said. “I assume his children would gain financially from his death.”

  “One would think.” Nans wrote Winston, Lawrence and Olivia on the white board. “Ruth, did you pick up anything interesting on either of them?”

  “It seems Winston was cut from the same cloth as Regis. A tough businessman. He is a vice president at Banks Development, Regis’ company. It’s said they were tough negotiators and would do anything to win a deal.”

  “What does the company do?” Lexy asked.

  “Commercial real estate development. Big stuff like malls and office buildings.”

  “Go on, Ruth,” Nans prompted.

  “Lawrence, on the other hand, was the opposite. Hates big business and is very ecology minded. He opposed a lot of the company’s business plans. He thought they were ruining the planet by turning fields and forests into buildings and parking lots.”

  “Interesting,” Nans wrote under Lawrence’s name. “So, do you think he hated what the company did enough to kill his father?”

  Ruth shrugged. “Who knows? It’s certainly something to look into.”

  “What about the daughter?” Ida asked over the rim of her dainty china coffee cup.

  Ruth looked down at her iPad. “She doesn’t seem to be interested in the company too much. Your typical rich girl socialite, going to parties and dressing in expensive clothes. Has the usual upper class hobbies, the latest of which seems to be raising dogs.”

  Lexy remembered Olivia’s expensive clothes and shoes at the party. “Seems like she already has a lot of money, judging by the way she dressed. I doubt she’d kill her father for money.”

  “Well, that depends.” Nans turned to face them. “We don’t know what kind of money she has and if her needs outstrip what she makes.”

  “Does she even have a job?” Helen asked.

  “No. Just expensive hobbies.”

  “So she must have been living off of Daddy’s money.” Ida took another lemon square from the box. “We know Winston worked at the company, but what about Lawrence?”

  “Believe it or not, Lawrence works at the Farmer’s Market. He’s a manager.”

  “What?” Nans scrunched up her face. “That can’t pay very well for a multi-millionaire’s son.”

  “I’m sure it doesn’t,” Ruth said. “But maybe he gets an allowance from Regis to supplement his income, just like Olivia.”

  Nans pursed her lips and tapped them with the end of the marker. “I heard Regis was a miser—maybe that allowance wasn’t enough.”

  “But would one of them kill him because of that? Like Jack said, he was one-hundred already. How much longer could he live?” Lexy asked.

  “Good point.” Nans said. “That means it would have to be someone with an immediate need for the money.”

  “Right,” Ruth agreed. “Someone who couldn’t wait for Regis to die.”

  “And given his advanced age, they probably figured that if they fed him peanut butter everyone would assume he died of natural causes and there would be no investigation,” Helen added.

  “As far as we know, only three people would benefit financially from Regis’ death,” Nans said pointing to the three names on the whiteboard. “We just need to figure out which one of them needed money so badly that they’d murder their own father for it.”

  Chapter Five

  Lexy thought about Nans’ theory later that day as she drove with Sprinkles to the Fur Fun K9 Center. Would one of Regis’ kids really have killed him to get their inheritance? The thought made Lexy shudder. As if sensing her thoughts, Sprinkles whined in the passenger seat, giving Lexy a worried look.

  “It’s okay, Sprinkles. We’re going to have fun at agility class.” She reached over and scratched the dog behind the ears.

  Lexy turned her mind to happier thoughts. The death of Regis at the party hadn’t affected her sales at the bakery one bit. In fact, Lexy had been so busy ringing up sales after she’d gotten back to the bakery from Nans that she’d worked late and had to rush home.

  “Hopefully we won’t be late for the class,” Lexy said to Sprinkles as she turned onto Meadow Road, the dirt country road that ran out to the K9 Center.

  Glancing up into the rear-view mirror, Lexy noticed a car had pulled onto the desolate road behind her. An old, beige Plymouth Sundance. Uneasiness pricked her stomach. She’d seen that car somewhere before.

  Sprinkles was looking out the window, focused on the passing scenery. She stood on hind legs with her front paws on the arm rest, her nose making wet marks on t
he glass. Suddenly she erupted in a chorus of barks, pulling Lexy’s attention away from the car behind her.

  “What is it?” Lexy looked in the direction of Sprinkles’ attention, but all she could see were large fields and woods. The area was completely undeveloped. The fields, once lush with rows of vegetables, were now overgrown, but still had a peaceful beauty to them. A rabbit hopped along an old stone wall. Birds flitted in the twisted branches of the rugged old oak trees that lined the property. A rundown farmhouse and barn sat off in the distance, their roofs sagging with age. A tree grew out of one of the farmhouse windows, a sad reminder of the progress of the times.

  Lexy didn’t see any movement. The place looked like it had been abandoned for decades, so she had no idea what had attracted Sprinkles attention.

  She glanced back up at the rear-view mirror. The road behind her was empty. The Sundance had turned off. Lexy relaxed, laughing at herself. All this talk of murder had her afraid of her own shadow.

  She turned a corner and the big sign for the K9 Center came into view.

  “We’re almost there,” she announced to Sprinkles, who wagged her tail happily.

  She parked and got out, coming round to the passenger side to take hold of Sprinkle’s leash and lead her into the parking lot. The setting sun cast long shadows from the trees. She could hear the peepers chirping in the fields that surrounded the facility. Lexy inhaled a deep breath of country air. There was nothing like being in the middle of nowhere, and this place surely was.

  She checked Sprinkles’ harness and headed for the main door.

  The facility was gigantic. Lexy had heard it was the largest indoor agility facility on the East Coast. They hosted many competitions, but also had a dog grooming center, doggy day-care and a boarding facility. She followed the signs for the agility class, her mouth hanging open in awe as the path led her to a giant stadium. She’d had no idea a big facility like this existed way out here.

  Several people were clustered to the left of the door with their dogs. Lexy figured she’d found the agility class. She trotted over, introduced herself and took her place in between a hyped up Jack Russell Terrier and a more sedate, medium sized black and white mixed breed. Sprinkles made friends with the dogs, while Lexy did the same with their owners.

  Agility training turned out to be a lot harder than Lexy thought it would be. After the instructor showed them the various pieces of equipment and explained how they were used, she put the dogs—and owners—through a short agility course that left Lexy gasping for air. She was glad when the break came, although Sprinkles, who seemed to be in better shape than Lexy, acted like she could have run the course all night.

  In her mad rush from the bakery, Lexy hadn’t brought any water and the activity had made her thirsty, so she headed off in search of a vending machine. Following the signs to the refreshment area, she must have taken a wrong turn because she found herself in a darkened maze of hallways that didn’t look like they were part of the main facility.

  This probably leads to the offices and storage, she thought. She started to turn back, but then hushed voices coming from one of the hallways caught her attention.

  “We can’t let anyone find out!” The woman’s voice piqued Lexy’s natural curiosity.

  “Shhh. You don’t want anyone to hear us.” This from a man in the same hushed tones.

  Lexy flattened herself against the wall and slid toward the hallway opening where the voices were coming from. She strained to hear, inching closer, but they were talking in whispers now.

  Sprinkles sat on the floor in front of Lexy, her head tilted to one side, her ears moving like tiny radar dishes. She sniffed the air. Once. Twice. Then her eyes slid over to the hallway and she took off at full speed, jerking the leash out of Lexy’s hand.

  “Sprinkles. Come back!” Lexy tried to step on the end of the leash before it disappeared into the hall, but Sprinkles was too quick. Lexy lunged into the hallway, diving for the leash.

  “Farfel!” The woman’s voice, this time tight with panic.

  At the end of the leash, Sprinkles rolled around the floor with a small ball of orange fur. Was it a dog? Lexy could hardly tell. The fur must have been a foot thick.

  From her crouched position, Lexy could tell the dogs were just playing. She tugged the leash. “Sprinkles! Come!”

  A pair of Jimmy Choo stiletto’s skidded around the corner. Lexy recognized those shoes. Her gaze drifted upwards, her eyes confirming who was attached to them. Olivia Banks. And she was running toward them with an unpleasant scowl on her face. Behind Olivia, Lexy could just make out the broad shoulders of a man with longish, dark curly hair disappear down the other side of the hall.

  Olivia zoned in on the orange fur ball and scooped it up in her arms.

  “Farfel! Are you all right? Don’t scare Mommy by taking off like that, you naughty girl!” She held the dog out at arm’s length, apparently inspecting it for damage.

  “I think they were only playing,” Lexy said as she reeled Sprinkles in.

  Olivia looked in her direction, her impossibly blue eyes narrowing. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”

  “Sort of.” Lexy stuck out her hand. “I’m Lexy Baker, I was one of the caterers at your father’s birthday party the other night.

  Lexy’s composure wilted under Olivia’s glare. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned the party. Did Olivia think Lexy had been the one that screwed up and served Regis peanut sauce? Lexy pulled Sprinkles closer, ready to make a hasty retreat if the other woman took offense.

  Olivia surprised her by tucking the orange fur ball under her arm and accepting Lexy’s handshake. “I’m Olivia Banks … but I guess you already knew that.”

  Olivia’s handshake was cold and firm. Lexy’s gaze drifted to the dog. A small, foxlike face peered out from inside a large puff of fur. The dog almost seemed to be smiling at Lexy. “Your dog is such a cutie.”

  “Oh, thanks. She’s a Pomeranian with keen agility skills. I think she could be a show-dog as well, don’t you?”

  Lexy nodded and Olivia slid her eyes toward Sprinkles.

  “Oh, this is Sprinkles. She’s a Poodle Shih-Tzu mix,” Lexy said. “We’re doing the agility class, but just for fun. Do you compete?”

  “I should say so.” Olivia nodded. Her perfectly cut blonde bob swayed like silk. “We’ve won lots of awards.”

  “Congratulations.” Up close, Lexy could see the woman had crow’s feet and neck lines that belied her age, though she did have to admit she looked pretty good for sixty. Even so, she probably owed a lot of that to expensive skin creams, Botox and Juviderm. She must have to spend a lot of money to keep her face looking so youthful.

  Olivia smiled proudly, then her gaze turned suspicious. “What are you doing down here, though. The agility class is clear on the other side of the building.”

  “I must have gotten lost. I worked up quite a thirst in class. I was looking for a vending machine.”

  “The vending machines are that way.” Olivia thrust her chin toward the hallway Lexy had come down, then glanced behind her. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

  Lexy followed Olivia into the hall, admiring the other woman’s silk shirt and designer jeans. This was probably her grunge outfit and it cost more than Lexy’s entire wardrobe.

  “I’m sorry about your father.” Lexy couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get any information she could from Olivia. She realized even the most innocently seeming piece of information could lead to a clue about who would want Regis dead. “Did he have agility dogs, too?”

  Olivia snorted. “Daddy? Are you kidding? If it didn’t have to do with constructing some monstrous building, he didn’t want to know about it.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll miss him,” Lexy ventured as they turned down another hallway.

  Olivia’s face hardened. “Daddy barely noticed me. He had more in common with Winston, even if Win was acting like a jerk lately and had that strange fear of germs.”

&
nbsp; “Germs?”

  “Yes, always washing his hands and using those towelettes after he touches anything. He can’t stand my dogs, says they’re loaded with germs.”

  “You said he was acting like a jerk … I noticed he did seem strange at the party,” Lexy said.

  Olivia glanced at her. “Yes. He’s starting to take after Daddy, I’m afraid. Bad temper and such. His poor wife suffers the brunt of it—just like my mother did. Maybe that’s why Daddy seemed to like him best. Probably left everything to him, too.”

  “Oh, I doubt that. I mean, surely he would have divided it up evenly?”

  Olivia shrugged. “Maybe. Daddy was all about the business. He didn’t approve of my dogs and he and Larry certainly didn’t get along. I mean, Larry is about as anti-business as they come. It was Winston that he was closest with.”

  “But I’m sure he loved you all the same.”

  “Daddy let Winston live in an estate property the family owns. I was lucky to get a small townhouse and a yearly stipend.” She waved her hand in the air. “It was barely enough to keep my Poms in kibble.”

  “Oh, so your family wasn’t close?” Lexy asked as they came to the end of the hall.

  “We used to be close back when Mother was alive. Those were good days. But now …” Her eyes got glassy as she let her voice trail off, then she sucked in a breath and waved her hand. “Well, one can’t wish for things that aren’t going to happen. Besides, dogs make better family than any humans, don’t you think?”

  Lexy looked down at Sprinkles. “I can’t argue with that.”

  “Well, here are the vending machines.” Olivia gestured to the far side of the room where a bank of machines sat. “Nice to meet you, and good luck with your agility training.”

  Lexy watched Olivia clackety-clack away on her stilettos. She certainly didn’t seem upset about her father’s death. But if she really didn’t think he would leave her much money, she would have had no reason to kill him.

  Lexy doubted Regis left all the money to Winston, though. What father would leave money to just one kid?