CHAPTER ONE
Asking her grandmother's friend Ruth for a ride to drop off pastries for a client hadn't been one of Lexy Baker-Perillo's brightest ideas. Who knew getting a ride in Ruth's 1970s Oldsmobile would include being stuffed into a cab with four senior citizens just in order to retrieve the darn thing?
Lexy shifted position, trying to get comfortable, which was nearly impossible considering that she was wedged between her grandmother, Mona Baker—or Nans, as Lexy called her—and Nans's friend Ida. As one of four occupants in the backseat of the small cab, she was practically suffocating in the mingled scents of White Shoulders and Chanel No. 5.
To make matters worse, the driver was using fast, jerky maneuvers to navigate the morning traffic, making Lexy wonder if he'd just gotten his driver's license yesterday as she listened to the cream puffs slide around inside the bakery box that rested in her lap. She'd made the cream puffs fresh in her bakery—The Cup and Cake —that morning, and she was trying to deliver them to the Ladies Auxiliary for their luncheon. The Ladies Auxiliary was an important, albeit finicky, client because, if they liked her pastries, they'd spread the word. She could only imagine the damage being done to the once-perfect pastries as they smashed against the side of the box.
"Shouldn't be much longer, ladies," Ruth said cheerily from the front seat of the cab. Easy for her to be cheery—she wasn't mashed in like a sardine. Ruth half turned to look back at them. "Everyone comfy?"
"Well, if you don't count the fact I've got an elbow in my ribs," Ida quipped, giving Helen, who sat on the other side of her, a glowering look. "And, Mona, could you scoot a bit more toward your door? Lexy is practically in my lap. Though I wouldn't mind holding that box of pastries." Ida eyed the box, and Lexy could tell she was trying to figure out how to get inside without messing up the perfectly tied bakery twine that held it closed.
"We each have an equal portion of the seat," Nans said, ever the patient leader of their octogenarian group. "It's only a little while longer."
"I just hope my precious Olds survived the winter in good condition." Ruth searched through her enormous beige patent-leather purse. Lexy could only guess for what. Over the years, she'd seen the ladies pull everything from weapons to wet wipes out of their purses. "Poor Nunzio always said she was a cream puff."
"Yes, poor Nunzio, the crime boss." Helen gave an imperious sniff, her tone decidedly sarcastic. "I think you're far better off with him joining the dearly departed.
Especially considering your narrow brush with the law over his death."
Lexy gave the wary-looking cab driver a small smile. "It's not really what it sounds like. Ruth was eventually cleared of all charges in his murder."
The cab driver gave her a wide-eyed stare then accelerated fast, probably eager to get these crazy broads out of his taxi. Unfortunately, Lexy was used to the reaction by now. She sighed and settled back into her seat and smiled.
Overall, life was good. She and Jack were happily married and enjoying life together in Nans's old house with all of the things Lexy loved from her childhood. Plus, there were new pictures coming in daily from her parents of their exploits on the road. They were traveling the US in an RV, stopping along the way at every attraction that caught their fancy. There'd been the Corn Palace and the World's Biggest Ball of Twine. A few days ago, they'd sent Lexy snapshots from a place called Peavy's Monster Mart in Arkansas, where her mom and dad had gotten their pictures taken with their heads stuck through a huge painted Sasquatch.
Fun times.
Of course, things around her little corner of the world in Brook Ridge Falls were going splendidly too. The ladies were currently living the high life in the local retirement community. At first, when Nans had sold her house to Lexy for only a dollar, Lexy had objected. But now, seeing how happy her grandmother was in her own private condo on the second floor of the retirement community, surrounded by her friends and with activities galore, Lexy realized it had been for the best.
The other ladies' condos were close by, though they often used Nans's as the center of operations. Especially when it came to their amateur sleuthing business, a business that had come in handy more than once for Lexy. The only snag was that Jack didn't always approve of their nosy methods, though even he had to admit the ladies had helped him out on a case a time or two.
The only fly in the ointment for Lexy right now was her beloved VW Bug. The old thing wasn't doing so well. In fact, it had died on her three times recently and was at the shop right now, which was why she had asked Ruth for a ride and, consequently, ended up stuffed into this cab in the first place.
"What's that cute hubby of yours up to today?" Helen piped up from her side of the car.
"Oh, I'm sure he's very busy." Lexy toyed with the pretty pink-and-white twine holding the bakery box closed. That was the other fly in the ointment. Jack had been working a lot more than usual lately. Probably busy with investigations. She shouldn't take it personally, but… "Seems there's always something going on around town."
As a homicide detective in tiny Brook Ridge Falls, New Hampshire, Jack was indeed busy. There always seemed to be some sort of dubious shenanigans happening around town, despite its small size and population, and more often than not, Lexy and Nans and their friends were somehow involved. Much to Jack's chagrin.
She gazed out at the passing scenery, sunshine warming her face and love warming her heart. Marrying Jack had been the best decision of her life, and not just because she was head over heels for the man either. They'd gotten off to an unusual start, having met when Lexy's shih tzu-poodle mix, Sprinkles, had decided that Jack's shrubs were the perfect place for her "business." Of course, the subsequent murder investigation of Lexy's ex, who had eaten a poisoned cupcake from her shop, didn't do much to improve things, especially with Lexy being the prime suspect and Jack the chief investigator. But it had all worked out. Lexy had been cleared, and now they were happily married.
Funny how the worst situations could end up yielding the most wonderful results…
Lexy watched as Ruth pulled a pair of white leather racing gloves from her bag. She put them on, waggling her fingers in front of her like an Indy car racer preparing for the 500. The charm bracelet around her wrist jangled merrily.
"You aren't planning to do anything too dangerous, are you?" Lexy asked the older woman, giving her a warning look. According to Nans, Ruth had been a real hellion in her younger days. Dark and exotic and beautiful, like a hothouse lily, she'd drawn the attention of all sorts of men—good and bad alike. Now, at nearly eighty, she still seemed to draw masculine attention like a bug to a zapper, even when it was unwanted.
"Goodness no, dear." Ruth gave her the placid grin of a woman thirty years younger. All the ladies, in fact, looked and acted like women half their age—all spryness and sparkle, and woe to anyone who tried to slow them down. Ruth folded her hands demurely in her lap, belying the spark of mischief in her dark eyes. "I'm just itching to drive. You know I always store the Olds through the winter. Nunzio always said I should take care of it, and he was right. But with spring now upon us, it's time I get her out of storage and rev her engine."
"Hmm," Nans scoffed. "I doubt you have anything to worry about, Lexy, dear. We all know Ruth can barely see over the steering wheel, and her top speed is twenty-five."
"Yep. And that's on the highway." Ida snickered, her wit as sharp as the knives in Lexy's bakery kitchen. She'd always reminded Lexy of a magical imp—short and sweet and always ready for fun, with her lavender-tinged white hair, mischievous blue eyes, and quick steps.
The cab driver turned into the paved parking lot of Stan's Storage, zooming past a long stretch of storage bay buildings on his way toward the automotive section near the back of the large area. Seconds later, they screeched to a halt outside an overhead door, the look on the driver's face a mix of determination and relief. "Here we are, ladies. That will be ten fifty, please."
Lexy paid the fare then got out behind Nans while Ida and Helen scrambled out the other door and Ruth jumped out of the front. It was before eight in the morning, so the place was nearly deserted, except for a rusted out old orange Jeep parked a short way down.
Ruth smoothed her hand down the front of her old lady pull-on stretchy jeans then walked over to her storage unit, key in hand, only to stop short. "Well, that's odd."
"What's wrong?" Lexy asked, coming up beside her.
"The padlock on the door." Ruth pointed. "It's not on there."
"Could the owner of the storage facility have removed it for you?" Nans asked, now standing on Ruth's other side. She was a few inches shorter than Lexy and Ruth both, at five feet one.
"Maybe," Ruth said, frowning. "I did tell Stan I was coming over this morning to get my Olds."
"Too bad he didn't stick around to help you open the door too," Helen said, staring dubiously at the storage bay, her demeanor regal despite their location. "That thing looks like it weighs a ton."
"Nonsense." Ruth stepped forward and grabbed the handle. "There's nothing to it. Besides, I've been working out, pumping iron in the gym at the retirement home."
"And flirting with that man who wears the nice hats," Ida added with a raised brow. "What's his name again? Harold? Hugo?"
"Herman. Herman Conti." Ruth grabbed the handle on the door and lifted it with one hand, shooting Ida an annoyed stare, as if to prove her point. "See? Easy as pie."
Inside the storage bay sat a 1970s blue Oldsmobile parked head in, the paint and chrome still sparkling like brand new. The thing was a huge four-door sedan and took up most of the space in the unit. It was so large, in fact, that the ladies all had to sidle in carefully just to reach the doors. Nans and Lexy took the left side while Helen and Ida took the right. Ruth had already run up to the front of the car and stood inspecting the exterior like a seasoned pro.
"Oh, shoot," Ruth said, bent over the front bumper.
"What's wrong?" Nans asked, stopping halfway down the side of the enormous vehicle.
"I've snagged my bracelet on the front fender." Ruth tugged several times then scowled as a metallic tinkling echoed through the storage bay. "Darn it. The clasp broke."
She bent further to retrieve it from the ground then froze. "Oh dear."
Lexy did not like the tone in her voice.
Slowly, she and Nans and the other ladies inched their way toward the front of the vehicle.
"Is your bracelet broken?" Ida asked.
"No. It's not that. It's…" Ruth pointed beneath the vehicle. "There's…"
"What? An oil leak, perhaps?" Nans pulled out her cell phone. "I can give Jeffries Auto Body a call and have them send someone."
"I don't think a mechanic's going to help," Ruth said, the color draining from her cheeks.
"A flat tire then?" Helen crossed her arms.
"No."
"Transmission fluid?" Lexy suggested, her nerves completely on edge now. She needed to get these cream puffs delivered pronto, but given poor Ruth's slightly dazed expression, whatever was happening under the car was quite awful. Maybe the radiator had burst. She wondered if she should put in a call to the cabbie—he must not have gone very far yet.
"No."
Nans flapped her arms as she finally rounded the front of the car. "Oh, come on, Ruth. What is…"
Nans stopped short, and Lexy almost ran into her. Lexy followed Nans's gaze to the floor just under the grill of the car where a pair of black wing-tip shoes were sticking out.
Nans squatted down and peered under the car. "Ruth's right. It's too late to call a mechanic. This guy is dead."
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