There were two customers ahead of Mavis in line at the bakery. Connie and Beth sat down at a table while Harriet and Lauren examined the offerings in the display case.
“How can I help you?” Sunny asked Harriet when she’d boxed up Mavis’s choices.
“I’ll have one of the double lemon and a peppermint patty.”
“I’ll have the same thing,” Lauren said and handed Harriet a five-dollar bill.
Sunny began picking cupcakes from the case and putting them on two plates.
“What we’d really like is to talk to you for a few minutes,” Harriet said as she handed her the money for their purchases.
Sunny took a step back. “What about?”
“Could you just come over to the table and talk to us?”
Sunny pulled the disposable glove from her right hand and tossed it in her wastebasket before following them to the table where Beth, Mavis and Connie sat. Harriet pulled two chairs from another table so they could all sit.
“Is Jade Meyers staying with you?” she asked without preamble.
Sunny pulled her head back and looked confused.
“I heard she left town to go work with her parents.”
“I know that rumor is circulating around town,” Harriet pressed, “but what I’m not hearing is you saying no.”
“I’m saying it now—no. Why would she be?”
“Weren’t you two friends?” Lauren asked.
Sunny blew out a breath and shook her head.
“We ran around together in high school. It wasn’t a healthy relationship…for me, anyway.”
“Because she sold drugs?” Harriet asked.
“That was a long time ago. It was a phase for her. She’s not into that anymore.”
“I thought you weren’t friends.” Lauren said.
“We’re not friends, but this is a small town. We run into each other once in a while.”
Harriet cut her cupcakes into fourths and slid the plate toward her aunt.
“Have you seen Jade in the last few days?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t. What’s this about?”
Harriet got to the point. “Are you being blackmailed?”.
Sunny adjusted her hairnet.
“Why would you think that?”
Beth cleared her throat.
“Our friend saw you holding a letter made up of letters cut from magazines and pasted on a page.”
“That was just—”
“Sunny, stop,” Harriet said. “Whatever lie you were going to tell us, don’t bother. Several business owners in downtown have been blackmailed, and now most of them are dead or have had attempts made on their lives. In Jade’s case, her business was burned and an attempt made to steal her horse.
“Our friend saw you holding a blackmail letter in your hands. I have to ask myself, Why is everyone else who got letters being attacked while you remain untouched? Could it be because you were a holding a blackmail letter before sending it to yet another business?”
Sunny’s eyes widened, a shocked look on her face.
“No…no! You have it all wrong. I was being blackmailed. When I couldn’t afford it anymore and was going to lose my business, I called my brother. I didn’t want to, but the blackmailer said if we called the police we’d regret it.”
Lauren pulled her tablet from her bag. “What’s your brother’s name?”
Sunny sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “You don’t have to look him up. He’s Wah Ching.”
Lauren tapped.
“The Asian gang Wah Ching?”
“He’s an enforcer,” Sunny said. “I’m not proud of that. It broke my mother’s heart when she found out. After people started being killed here, I didn’t know what else to do. He came immediately.”
“So, where is he?” Beth asked.
“He’s staying with me. He stays in during the day. As you might imagine, he’s got tattoos that might draw attention on the streets of Foggy Point. He went out the first couple of nights he was here to the local bars and wherever else his type hangs out, and put the word out that if anyone came near me, they’d regret it.” Tears started to fill her eyes. “Are you going to tell the police?”
Harriet considered for a moment.
“If you’re honest with us about Jade, I don’t see why you or your brother needs to come into this.”
Sunny closed her eyes and let out a breath. “I feel like I’m throwing her under the bus.”
Connie took Sunny’s hand.
“Just tell us the truth. If Jade has been killing people, she needs to be caught before anyone else dies. She needs help.”
“She’s not the killer,” Sunny protested. “She could never do anything like that.”
“If you say so,” Harriet said. “If not, she is in grave danger. She needs to talk to the police and let them protect her.”
“She’s afraid. Our letters all said no police or we’d regret it. She’s afraid if the killer can’t get to her, they’ll kill her horse.”
Harriet ate a bite of her lemon cupcake.
“They’ve increased the security at the stable, but I’m sure Jade knows that, because I know she’s been staying there.”
“So, why don’t you talk to her there?” Sunny asked.
“Because she isn’t there anymore,” Harriet said. “She disappeared.”
The color drained from Sunny’s face. “Do you think the killer has her?”
Harriet paused and went over to the cooler adjacent to the front counter for a glass of water.
“I don’t think the killer got her. I think the stable manager helped her leave without being seen. But she needs real protection.”
Sunny pulled a cell phone from her pocket and scrolled through her recent calls, holding the screen up so Harriet could see, as if that made what she was saying more believable.
“She calls me every night so we can be sure we both survived another day, but her number is blocked.”
Harriet thought for a moment.
“Would you be willing to talk to our detective friend? We won’t tell her about your brother, and will leave it up to you if you even want to tell her you’ve been a victim of the blackmailer. Maybe she can talk to Jade when she calls you tonight, maybe talk her into coming in.”
Sunny looked Harriet in the eye.
“Swear you won’t tell her about my brother?”
“If you don’t want her to know you’re a victim, that’s your business. As for your brother, that’s none of our business.”
Sunny rubbed her hands over her face.
“I can’t promise she’ll call. Can you ask your detective friend to come buy cupcakes like she’s a regular customer? Tell her to come just before closing, and that Jade will possibly call.”
Lauren turned her screen lock on and slid the tablet back into her bag. “We can do that.”
Sunny stood up.
“Would you like some coffee to go with your cupcakes?”
Connie smiled. “That would be nice, honey.”
Harriet pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped in a text message to Detective Morse. Have a lead on Jade. Can you be at the bakery just before five? she typed, and pushed send. Her phone rang before she could put it away.
“What have you got?” Jane asked.
Harriet explained what Sunny had told them.
“Tell her I’ll be there,” Morse said, and hung up.
Harriet picked up her empty plate and carried it to the counter.
“Detective Morse will be here just before five,” she told Sunny.
Sunny took the plate and set it on the pass-through ledge that connected the sales area to the kitchen.
“What do you think she’ll say to Jade?”
“I don’t know. She’ll probably ask if she knows who is doing this and why she’s hiding at the stables instead of coming to the police.”
“That isn’t going to go anywhere. Jade will say the same as I did—the note said ‘no police’. And obviously, she’s hiding to avoid being killed. I asked my brother if he’d protect her, but he said he’s already exposing himself helping me. His people, or whatever they are, understand protecting blood, he says. They’re already worried he’s too conspicuous to be operating in a such a small town. He says a clever policeman could cause him problems.”
“You’re right. Hopefully, Morse has a better plan than just asking Jade to fill out a report about her blackmail.”
“Could you and Lauren come back when the detective comes? She scares me.”
“I can come back, but the Foggy Point Police have made it very clear I’m to stay out of police business.”
Sunny gave her a weak smile. “Still, I’d feel better if you were here.”
Harriet sighed.
She could hear Morse echoing in her head, but she needed to ask Jade about Becky, didn’t she? Surely, Morse would be able to see that. Besides, Lauren would be disappointed if they didn’t come back, and she couldn’t let her friend down, could she?
“Let me check with my family and see if they have any plans for us.”