A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 18

Melissa hadn’t slept all night. The jail cell was tiny but neat. She had not seen or heard cockroaches roaming around during the night. From her standpoint, that was the highlight of her stay. Janice arrived early in the morning with a fresh change of clothes and her toiletries. Her nephew tagged along with her attorney. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Her closest friends – Maria, Luis, and Cheryl – also showed up to support her at her bail hearing.

If the whole situation wasn’t so dire, the whole thing would seem downright comical. Her? A lonely 44 year old widow and aspiring baker spent last night in jail for murder?! It was a nightmare!

With dark bags under her large, almond-shaped hazel eyes and her damp hair pulled back in a ponytail, Melissa emerged from her cell. She tried to smile but just couldn’t pull it off. The guard escorted her back to the interrogation room where Jason was waiting. He looked weary as well, but there was something else about him she couldn’t place at the moment. Surprisingly, the detective asked the others to join them in the room for a few moments before heading across the street to the courthouse. It wasn’t until after Jason finished explaining his plan to the group that Melissa realized, that look in his eyes was determination and excitement. It felt really good to know that he believed in her innocence and intended to prove it. She doubted his partner was aware of the plan or would like it if he knew. Yes, she was sure Detective “Grumpy” Reynolds would be dead-set against it.

The group walked solemnly over to the courthouse with Jason formally escorting the prisoner. Melissa’s heart pounded loud and fast. She hoped her small endeavor into the drama club in high school helped her play her part now.

The bail hearing went rather smoothly until Detective Reynolds burst into the courtroom. Apparently, someone had told him the wrong time for the hearing. He was out of breath and red-faced. Jason didn’t appear too happy with the arrival of his partner. With the look Larry gave him, Melissa suspected Jason had told him the wrong time. Not a good start for the plan to prove her innocence.

Despite the loud harrumphing from the older police officer and a few weak arguments by the assistant district attorney, the judge granted Melissa to be released on her own recognizance. Sweeter words had never been heard, at least not in the last week. Jason ushered her back to the precinct to pick up her things. Luis offered to drive her and Logan home. After congratulations from the others, they parted supposedly separate ways with Jason declaring he had a lot of paper work to catch up on. He gave her a sly wink as he turned back to his desk and she walked out the front door. As the door was closing behind her, Melissa heard the distinctly angry blustering of Detective Reynolds. For the first time in a while, she felt a genuine smile turn up the corners of her mouth. Logan barely contained his glee at the detective’s bad mood.

Melissa hoped Jason’s plan worked and his surly partner would be the one to leak the false information he intended to let spill. After dropping her off at home, the others went to fulfill their roles as well. There was nothing left for Melissa and Logan to do now but wait for nightfall.

Chapter 19

After some rest and a decent meal, Melissa felt recovered enough to pull off her end of the plan. Actually, she was excited about it. Her heart thudded in her chest and she felt…alive. More alive than she had in a long time, probably since Kevin’s death. Sometimes she really thought her heart had stopped and had died along with her husband after his plane crash. Today though, her heart somersaulted in her chest and adrenaline pumped through her entire body.

During the day, Jason filled his partner in on some “new information” he obtained overnight. His “source” stated that evidence had been overlooked at the bakery. This evidence, however, exonerated Mrs. Maples entirely. It could be found in the bakery office, but would not be easy to locate. He also informed Larry that the crime lab determined that one of the smudged fingerprints obtained did not belong to Melissa or anyone else associated with the bakery. It also didn’t belong to Mrs. Stevenson. The lab claimed they lacked sufficient resources to get back out to the bakery until the following day to perform a thorough search for fingerprints that matched the smudged one. Additionally, they extracted a partial fingerprint from the bloodied cheese knife that matched the other smudged print. According to the forensics department, someone else had been in the bakery and had at some point held the suspected murder weapon. That someone wasn’t Mrs. Maples.

Larry seemed more than a little skeptical with the news. Jason found it rather odd when the older cop hurried off to his desk to make a phone call immediately after being given this news. However, it was what he expected. After he wrapped up his call, Larry made a speedy retreat out to his car and left on “an errand”. Jason took the opportunity to check his partner’s desk phone to view the call log. The last outgoing number belonged to Lloyd Stevenson.

In the meantime, Melissa had been sworn to complete silence on the matter. She wasn’t even allowed to tell Britney the truth. That was difficult since the young woman ran over to Melissa’s house as soon as she heard about the outcome of the bail hearing. She was as vivacious as on any given normal day, but today Britney acted as if she had consumed five large espressos and an entire baker’s dozen of donuts. She was hyped up. Neither Melissa nor Logan had ever witnessed her in this state. Playing out his part in the charade, Logan told her the fabricated tale of the additional evidence at the bakery, as well as the fingerprints. They both hated lying to the woman, but Jason firmly held that the story had to remain the same in each telling and re-telling for the plan to work. Melissa chalked up Britney’s agitation to being nervous about working with a possible killer or losing her job if her boss gets thrown in prison for the rest of her life. Perhaps she was sensitive to what her socialite boyfriend and his family would say about her working for a murderer.

Luis, Maria, and Cheryl carried out their end of the bargain. They repeated the same story to just about everyone who came into their shops. It made for quite the gossip and spread just as fast. By noon, even the tourists were well acquainted with the tale.

Later that evening, the streets of downtown Kill Devil Hills were quiet. The only light came from a flickering lamp post. Melissa insisted Logan stay home, but the boy wasn’t very good at following orders. He promised to stay out of sight, but he fully intended to be there to watch over his Aunt Mel.

The police tape still remained around the back door, but this time Melissa ignored it completely. She entered the building using a small flashlight to see where she was going. She made her way to the office. She planned to wait there until an ‘expected’ visitor arrived. If no one did, then the plan failed and she really faced jail time. The determined baker refused to go down without a fight though. Her life and her freedom were at stake. Besides, Jason was so certain the plan would work.

It wasn’t until after the town clock tower struck 1:00 a.m. that Melissa heard the creaking of the back door as it swung on its rusty hinges. Her heart pumped so loudly in her chest she was sure whoever was there heard it. “Oh my! It worked! It really worked!” she thought with barely contained excitement. Footsteps came closer and closer to where she was hiding in the office, behind the tall metal file cabinet. Logan had stuffed his lanky legs into one of the cabinets under the cash register to stay out of sight, especially since he wasn’t even supposed to be there. Moments later, the office door knob rattled as someone turned it to gain access to the room. Once the door clicked shut again, the interior lights switched on almost uncovering her hiding spot in the corner. She thanked her lucky stars she had the foresight to pile up boxes along the file cabinet to further conceal her.

She overheard drawers open and close. Items in and on the desk were shuffled around. Books and knick-knacks on the bookcase clattered as they were knocked over. Melissa peeked out from her hiding spot. She saw the backside of a man, not quite six feet tall with broad shoulders and an athletic build. Definitely, not Lloyd Stevenson.  He wore dark clothes and latex gloves covered his large hands. When the man turned around, she clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping in shock. A mere three feet away stood Eddie Johnson Jr., Britney’s boyfriend!

Just as Eddie was within inches of discovering her, the office door banged open. Jason charged into the tiny room with his pistol drawn and shouted, “Police! Hands up!” The weathered cop looked more than a bit surprised to find the young man standing in the office. By the expression on Eddie’s face, he was shocked to be discovered. However, he quickly did as he was told. Just a few moments later, another cop entered pushing Britney into the office with her hands already cuffed behind her back. He found her waiting outside in Eddie’s prized Audi. Jason cuffed Eddie. The cops moved the suspects to the outer room to await a squad car to take them to the station.

Clearly, Eddie seemed bewildered and lost. The spoiled rich kid recovered quickly enough and demanded his lawyer. He also issued threats to the police. “Don’t you KNOW who my father is?” he repeated over and over. Melissa wasn’t a cop or a lawyer, but she was fairly certain his father wouldn’t be able to get little Eddie out of this scrap. He eventually fell silent as he realized his proclamations were for naught.

Jason came back into the office to inform Melissa it was over. As she walked out to face Britney and Eddie, she heard the scraping of wood as Logan extracted himself from his own hiding place. The look on the cops’ faces were clear. They were not happy the minor nephew tagged along for this adventure.

Melissa saw the horror on Britney’s face as reality dawned on the young woman. The other officer read them their Miranda rights when she blurted out the whole sordid story. Jason stopped her and asked if she really wanted to talk without a lawyer present. Eddie muttered under his breath for her to “Shut up”. As tears streamed down her face, Britney shook her head ‘yes’.

The story she told was stranger than even the one that suggested Melissa was a murderer. Based on the severe facial expressions from Eddie, there was little doubt as to the truth of her tale. The night in question, Britney left the bakery to take the proceeds to the night bank depository. Eddie planned to pick her up a little while later for a big party at the golf club in Kitty Hawk. It wasn’t until she was already at her small rental house that she realized she left her cell phone and personal wallet at the bakery. Using her roommate’s phone, she called Eddie to ask him to swing by the bakery and pick the items up. Although aggravated at the request, he agreed.

At this point, Eddie saw no point in remaining quiet so he added to the tale. When he arrived at the Kill Devil Delicacies that night to retrieve Britney’s things, the back door was wide open. He suspected Melissa was still inside so he walked right in. Instead, he found Linda Stevenson turning the place upside down. Pots and pans covered the counters and floors. The woman appeared near wild as she frantically tried to unlock the office door. At first, she didn’t even realize she was no longer alone. He called her name a few times. Still she didn’t respond at all. Finally, he grabbed her from behind. The wild look in her eyes as she turned around terrified him.

According to Eddie, the woman struggled to get away and fought him like an alley cat. He was certain he should keep her there until he could call the cops to pick up the intruder. She managed to knock him over the head with a large blunt serving spoon. The injured young man shoved her away from him. This gave her an opportunity to grab some sort of knife laying on the counter. He couldn’t tell what type of knife. It all happened so fast. Mrs. Stevenson slashed at him with the knife. He overpowered her and grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the cooking item, now turned weapon. She thrashed around some more. Not even sure how it happened, Eddie claimed that in the scuffle he brought her arm up behind her head. She tried to jerk away from his grasp but instead the movement backfired. Instead of freeing herself, the motion caused the blade to puncture the back of her neck, just below her head.

Melissa inwardly cringed at the young man’s description of Linda’s death. Britney filled in the rest of the story. Eddie had called her in a panic at home. She literally ran the five blocks to the bakery and found him cowering in the corner with Linda’s dead body bleeding out in the middle of the room. His large body shook uncontrollably and he whimpered something about what his daddy would do to him if he found out.

The young woman credited her “street smarts” with being able to manage the situation. She got Eddie out of there quickly. As he calmed down at her place, she went back to clean up any evidence of either of them being there. Almost as an afterthought, she attempted to make the scene look like a robbery. With a guilty look, she revealed to Melissa that she had watched her open the office door enough to figure out the security code. She also had found the safe late one night when she had been desperate for cash to pay off a bookie. There had been a number of times she had broken into the safe to abscond with cash. The repentant woman begged her to believe that she always put the money back as quickly as possible.

Britney swore that she never intended for Melissa to be suspected of the crime. However, Eddie believed that the police would figure it out eventually and come after him. The two decided, after Britney’s snooping escapade at the Stevenson’s house, that it would be easy to make it look like a long-held rivalry turned deadly. Before the cops brought Britney in for questioning, the two conspirators agreed to plant evidence to make it look even more like Melissa committed the crime. She planted the evidence at Melissa’s home when she and Logan had gone back to the bakery. Eddie planted the bloodied knife at the bakery later that day. When they heard about new evidence at the bakery, the duo knew they had to find it before the cops or their whole plan would backfire. Britney claimed repeatedly that she never dreamed it was enough to have her boss arrested. The young woman cried as she apologized and begged her boss to trust her.

Logan started to tell her where she could take her apology, but Melissa held up a hand to shush the young man. She walked over to stand directly in front of Britney. She appeared calm, but rage burned in her heart and flashed in her eyes. Jason was concerned that she would strike Britney or the now stoically silent Eddie. Not that they didn’t deserve it, but it could cause legal issues for the case. Instead, she glared at her once valued employee of the past three years and simply stated, “You’re fired.”