A Flaky Alibi Read online

  A Flaky Alibi

  Eryn Scott

  Kristopherson Press

  Copyright © 2019 by Eryn Scott

  Published by Kristopherson Press

  All rights reserved.

  www.erynwrites.com

  [email protected]

  Facebook: @erynscottauthor

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  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover by Mariah Sinclair

  For Bestamor.

  Thank you for letting me hang out in your kitchen, perched on the counter like a little bird. I loved watching you bake, and how you sprayed whipped cream into my mouth whenever Bestafar wasn’t looking. Miss you.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Recipes

  Untitled

  Also by Eryn Scott

  About the Author

  1

  Hadley James closed her eyes as she took a bite of the delicious cherry pie. Being a judge for a baking competition sure had its perks. The tartness of the dark fruit danced together with the sweetness of the sugar in a beautiful equilibrium across her tongue. It was a balance she knew well as the owner of a jam business.

  That was part of the surprise, really. In a life where delicious-tasting confections surrounded her every day, that pie—with its flaky golden crust and impeccably decorated top—had to be the best thing she’d eaten in a long time.

  Such a good feeling shouldn’t have been accompanied by the stomach-dropping sensation of worry that Hadley experienced next. When she opened her eyes, she focused on jotting down the last line of scores on her card. If she looked up, she would be tempted to make eye contact with the contestants, specifically Mickie, a woman she considered more family than a friend.

  In a small town like Stoneybrook, they couldn’t find judges without personal ties to the bakers, so it wasn’t against the rules for them to be friends. But at that moment, Hadley wished it was. Now they were down to the last five bakers; the competition was heating up, and it was becoming clear that her friend might not win.

  Aware of the audience’s attention resting on her, Hadley put down her fork and headed toward the room behind her. The market and competition took place in the main hall of the community center. The large space was also used as an indoor court for basketball, volleyball, and other racquet sports in the winter months. The hall afforded them room to house both the farmers market booths and the baking competition in the same area. Sunrise Living Magazine often used smaller side rooms for staging or setup, and an official-looking printed sign proclaimed the room Hadley entered as the Grande Bake-Off’s Official Judging Room.

  Luke and Sandy were already inside, staring down at their score cards. They sat around a conference table. Olivia Stone, Sunrise Living Magazine’s resident baking expert, stood in the corner, tapping her high-heeled shoe.

  While Grande County’s annual baking competition was going on its eleventh year, the prestigious Pacific Northwest lifestyle magazine had swooped in to sponsor the contest five years ago. And while aspects like Olivia, the contestants’ supplies, and the grand prize had become much more posh, others such as the location and localized judging remained. The resulting juxtaposition of small town and big money was odd, to say the least.

  As if to illustrate that very thing, Hadley swung her hip into the old door to make sure it latched. That same door had been sticky even back when her Girl Scout troop met there when she was little.

  Olivia opened her dry-erase marker and clicked over on her too-high heels to grab Hadley’s scores. She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow, and then with a turn that included so much more hair flipping than was necessary, went to add her totals to the others on the board.

  Luke winked at Hadley. She tried to breathe through the terrible tumult happening in her gut. Her scores were submitted. That was that.

  “Hard decision,” Luke said, reading her hesitation.

  She blinked. “Very.”

  The last judge, Todd, walked into the room, and Olivia snatched his score card.

  Luke exhaled as Olivia added up the points, and the totals spoke for themselves. Grady’s exquisite cherry pie—along with his practically perfect puff pastry during the baking fundamentals challenge that morning—had earned him the title of top baker that week. Hadley held her breath as she read down to the bottom of the list.

  Willow Hunt.

  She sighed in relief. Mickie was safe for another week. Armed with that knowledge, Hadley joined the other judges and left the judging room.

  The air in the Stoneybrook community center was thick enough that Hadley felt the urge to swat it out of her way as they left the judging room to rejoin the rest of the town in the main hall. That’s what they got, though, sticking the whole town plus part of Cascade Ridge in there for hours on end along with multiple ovens.

  The Grande Bake-Off took place in January and the first part of February during Stoneybrook’s year-round farmers market. As it was always in the winter, the competition happened right within the community center where they held the market during the colder months. Before the magazine’s sponsorship, the contestants used to bake in the high school’s home economics room and bring their finished products down to the market for judging. The portable baking stations had been a large cost up front, but the magazine had seen it as a great investment, sure to draw more of an audience.

  From the size of the crowd, they’d been right.

  Hadley followed Olivia forward to where the five bakers stood behind the table, the pies that had taken them the last few hours to create, displayed in front. Mickie Burbank had felt like family long before Hadley had made it legal by marrying Mickie’s cousin Tyler. And even though it had been almost a year since Hadley and Tyler’s divorce, Mickie was still the older sister Hadley never had. She owned the local bakery, Bake and Flake, and had never met a stick of butter she couldn’t melt, cream, or roll into a deliciously flaky dough.

  Beside her stood Grady Fines, Willow Hunt, Ian Yellowlees, and Erica Sutton, their eyes locked onto Olivia with equal parts hope and worry. Well, everyone but Grady, that was. He smiled, almost smugly, which made Hadley want to run back and scribble out the scores she’d given him. Usually she found his cleft chin and cocky grin slightly intriguing, but right now they only added to his smugness.

  The polished Olivia cleared her throat. “Welcome to week five of the Grande Bake-Off!”

  She flourished her hands in a way that made Hadley expect a magic trick or at least a poof of smoke. Instead, her gesture produced sporadic clapping from the gathering crowd as the last few shoppers left the booths and settled in to see the results of pastry week.

  “For those of you in the audience who are just joining us this week, these bakers are competing for the chance to have one of their creations featured on the cover of Sunrise Living Magazine, five thous
and dollars in prizes from our sponsors, and a year of baking supplies.

  “The competition is intensifying as the numbers of bakers dwindle,” Olivia continued in a practiced tone. “Between their puff pastry foundations challenge this morning to this afternoon’s pie showcase, one baker has proven they have what it takes to be the top.” The host glanced at her note card as if she thought she might forget what name to say. “This week’s top baker is … Grady!”

  Hadley hated how Grady’s face didn’t register a hint of surprise. She hated even more how he bowed to the crowd, feigning humility. But what she hated the most was the way Mickie’s face tightened with disappointment before creasing into a congratulatory smile.

  As the applause died down, Olivia shoved her shoulders back and spoke up again. “Unfortunately, we cannot take every one of you with us, and we have to eliminate a baker before moving on to next week. This week, that person is …”

  The entire building seemed to hold its breath.

  “Willow.”

  Each week, the eliminated baker’s face was a unique car crash, something Hadley didn’t want to see, but couldn’t avoid watching. Whether their features crumpled in with sadness, reddened with anger, or brightened into a false smile, none of it got easier to watch.

  Olivia didn’t seem at all affected by Willow’s creased forehead, saying, “I’m so sorry. The judges just couldn’t find the balance between the lavender and the blackberries in your pie, added to the difficulty you had with the puff this morning, and we have to say goodbye.”

  But Willow’s disappointment didn’t morph into acceptance as the other bakers’ had. Instead, the young woman’s pale face flushed.

  “Seriously?” Willow’s voice shook, or maybe that was her slight body. “This whole thing is a joke. And he’s cheating.” She pointed at Grady, sneering at the man as if this were something much more serious than baked goods.

  “Now, Willow …” Olivia said as if talking to an angry child. She clicked forward two steps, not even wavering on her four-inch heels.

  Willow’s face, now red, contorted into a humorless laugh. “Don’t pretend to care about me, Olivia. Don’t pretend to care about anything other than yourself.” Wrestling the golden, Sunrise Living apron off her body, Willow tossed it at Olivia and stormed through the stunned crowd.

  Everyone jumped as the door to the community center slammed a few moments later.

  “Well.” Olivia huffed, crumpling the apron into a heap on the nearest countertop and checking that her hair was still okay. “That’s all for this week,” she announced, much louder. “Please join us next week for the semifinal competition! Same place, same time.”

  The smile stayed frozen on her face for a few seconds as if she were waiting for a cameraman’s signal they weren’t on the air anymore—even though the only cameras in sight were of the photo variety.

  Audience members approached Mickie to give her their congratulations for making it another week. A few of the Sunrise people moved forward to cut the rest of the contestants’ pies into bite-sized pieces so the audience could come up and take tastes.

  Mickie wasn’t the only one approached by spectators. A young man and woman raced over to Grady. While today’s top baker had only those two visitors, Hadley recognized them from previous weekends and wondered if they were related.

  Erica celebrated by hugging a woman who looked like a shorter, older version of herself. The older woman held on to Erica’s baby, George. Hadley guessed it was someone related to the new mother, there to support her while helping out with the baby. She’d also seen Erica with a few of the volunteers over the weeks, but none shared the same familial resemblance.

  Ian was surrounded by a rowdy group, by far the loudest of the audience members. That was, until the young man standing next to Grady exclaimed how the other bakers didn’t stand a chance against him, cutting through the surrounding noise. Hadley narrowed her eyes.

  Grady put up a hand. “Now, now. It was pie week. Everyone in the valley knows I bake the best cherry pie.”

  The young woman she’d seen hanging around Grady stared at him in admiration.

  Luke sidled up to Hadley. “At least he’s humble,” he murmured.

  “Right?” She shook her head as the audience dispersed.

  The bakers packed their supplies and cleaned off their stations. A few volunteers cleaned the dishes and wiped the countertops. The magazine also allowed each baker to bring in specific tools or personal supplies to help them with their bakes. The four remaining bakers loaded their special pans and favorite whisks into totes and then headed downstairs into the community center’s basement. There were lockers for them to keep their stuff safe over the week. Some bakers even locked away their recipes, sure someone might try to copy their big showcase piece.

  As they disappeared down the stairs, volunteers pushed their clean stations off to the side, so they’d be out of the way for the community activities during the week.

  Hadley sighed. “Well, I’d better go pack up.”

  “Can’t wait for next week. Cake is my favorite.” Luke rubbed his hands together before waving goodbye.

  His involvement as a judge in the competition was thanks to his reputation for being someone who’d always appreciated food. The decade he’d spent in Seattle had only refined his tastes, settling him in the foodie category.

  Hadley waved goodbye to Luke and walked over to her farmers market booth.

  Her best friend, Suzanne, sat behind the booth next to Hadley’s. Her face was taut and focused as she counted through her till.

  “Everything okay?” Hadley asked.

  Suze looked up, her face softening. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I keep getting interrupted and lose my count.”

  Hadley laughed. “Sorry. I’ll leave you to it.” She pulled out her own cashbox.

  She was glad to see the money spring up as she opened the lid. Including the baking competition in the farmers market not only gave the audience something to do while they waited for the bakers to get through their hours-long bakes, but it also boosted sales for the vendors during the slower winter months.

  After pulling out the box hiding under her tablecloth, Hadley loaded the few jars of jam she had left. She eyed the large piece of art Suze was wrapping. It was almost as tall as her.

  “You need help with that?” Hadley asked. It had been harrowing getting the piece inside, what with the icy sidewalks and parking lot.

  For her friend’s sake—and her’s—she’d hoped the painting would’ve sold so they wouldn’t have to cart it back.

  Suze said, “Paul’s on his way to help. He just finished his shift.”

  Hadley smiled, loving how her best friend’s cheeks still grew pink every time she mentioned her fairly new boyfriend who also happened to be Hadley’s twin brother. And although they’d kept their relationship a secret from Hadley at first—weirdly, they thought she would get too excited and put too much pressure on them or something—she couldn’t be happier to see her two best friends together.

  A scream coming from the other side of the hall quickly erased both the smile on Hadley’s face and the glow from Suze’s. Everyone stilled and turned their attention to the stairs leading down to the basement as the Bake-Off’s host, Olivia, staggered out into the main hall, her face ashen.

  Hadley and Suze raced forward, along with half of the vendors. They waited as Olivia blinked and found her voice.

  “Grady’s dead!”

  2

  “Dead?” The word left Hazel Smith’s mouth at the same time it did so many others in the community center, but the outspoken quilter was the loudest. Her bouncy, graying curls shook as she shivered.

  Olivia nodded, looking a color reserved for printer paper and hotel sheets. “He's been poisoned.”

  Breathing through her surprise at Olivia’s declaration, Hadley focused on the second sentence more than the first. Poisoned. How did Olivia know?

  “Has someone told the police?” a voice called out
.

  “No need.” Hadley’s twin brother, Paul, made his way through the crowd, his deep voice matching his tall, thick frame. He still wore his deputy sheriff’s uniform, having just come from the station. “What’s going on?” He scanned the crowd, his gaze falling on Olivia.

  She pointed a shaky finger down the stairs. “Grady. He’s—” Olivia shuddered, then looked around, holding out her hand in search for a place to sit.

  Paul pressed the button on his radio and called in for his partner to come meet him. “I need everyone to stay back, but don’t leave. Kevin and I will need to talk to each of you.” Before heading downstairs, Paul made eye contact with Hadley and Suze.

  They nodded, knowing he wanted them to make sure no one left the building.

  “Do you think he’s actually dead?” Suze asked Hadley as they kept an eye on the crowd. “I mean, Olivia doesn’t seem like the type who would know the ins and outs of medical emergencies.”

  Hadley couldn’t concentrate on what her friend was saying. She was too focused on Olivia who—unable to locate a chair—had latched on to Luke standing nearby. And while Luke held her a few inches away from his body, an uncomfortable heat settled on Hadley’s shoulders and rose up her neck.

  Suze snapped her fingers in front of Hadley’s face. “Focus, Had.” Then she noticed what Hadley was staring at. “Ugh. She just happened to fall into his arms?” Suze snorted. “At least Luke looks about as pleased as a cat getting a bath.”

  Hearing her friend make the same observation calmed her, a bit. Hadley huffed. She and Luke Fenton had been getting along well; being judges together for the last five weeks had been a lot of fun. But she wasn’t jealous of Olivia for being all over Luke. Was she?