Television viewers in Northeast Wisconsin were greeted early Sunday morning with the startling announcement of another gruesome murder. A woman savagely cut down in her prime. People preparing to go to church were greeted with this shocking news:
DCI agents were called by local police to the home of Antoinette Frances in Crivitz last night. She was found on her patio brutally stabbed with a butcher knife. Her husband, Bernie, arrived home from his fishing trip to this dismal scene. Bernie Frances is not a suspect at this time as he was in Canada with several other local fishermen. There is speculation that the Frances’ murder is similar to the crime in Wausaukee almost three weeks ago.
Nell sat down and George and Newman immediately climbed up on her lap. Even though she was ready for church, she let them remain. Nell was numb. She wondered if the paper would have anything more about the murder. She retrieved the newspaper from her stoop and scanned it briefly. She found a short blurb about a woman being killed in northeast Wisconsin, but no specific details.
According to his last post on her blog, Northwoodsman no longer thought Nell was her real name. That poor woman was stabbed with a butcher knife—a chef tool, just like a meat cleaver. Nell wondered what this Antoinette did for a living. Please let it not be food related. Let this be a copycat crime and not someone mistaking another woman for her.
Driving home from church with new information, Nell’s mind raced. Antoinette Frances owned and operated her own cakery, Antoinette’s Let Them Eat Cake in Crivitz. Nell had even ordered a cake from her shop and met the outgoing woman when she picked it up. She wasn’t sure why her name hadn’t registered earlier. Probably because she didn’t know her last name. She couldn’t believe there had been another food-related murder.
The phone was ringing when she rushed into the door where the dogs were waiting for her. Nell checked and saw from the caller ID it was Sam.
“Hello, Sam.”
“Nell. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s been another murder.”
“I know.” Nell sat down on the couch. “I saw it on the news and heard about it at church.”
Sam continued, “Really weird about the cake frosting things.”
“What cake frosting things? I didn’t hear anything about that.” Nell stood back up. This was something new.
“You know those things that make the decorations on a fancy cake?” Sam asked.
“You mean the decorating tips?” She strained to think of a way tips could be involved.
“Yeah, well, her face—ears, nose, and mouth was stuffed full of them.”
“What? Oh, my gosh! That is creepily similar to the meat thermometer in Nell from Wausaukee. Different location in the body, but it still gives me a chill.” Nell shivered and paced around the room.
“Sure makes it seem like the same assailant, Nell.” Sam’s voice was soft.
“Agreed, and I have more bad news. I came home last night to another entry on my blog from Northwoodsman, Sam.” Nell couldn’t hold back anymore. She whimpered as she fought off the tears that had started to form in her eyes.
“He wrote that he thinks Nell isn’t my real name and that he knows who I really am and he will meet me soon. Then this Antoinette is killed. I’ve met her, too and been to her shop. She was a very talented cake decorator.”
“I think it is time for you to talk to the police department that is investigating the murders, not your local Bayshore police,” Sam advised. “This is serious.”
“Yes. I agree. I went to my police station because the phone call came to me at home. But now I’ll call the number that was mentioned on the news and ask them to connect me with the right person.” Nell stopped pacing and sat back down.
”Good idea. Call me when you have any news.”
“OK, and thanks for telling me.”
“Nell, are you okay? Do you want me to come and stay with you for a while?”
“Thanks, but no. I’m fine. George and Newman are here to protect me. I’ll call you later.”
Nell thought about what she was going to say to the police. It was a little early for lunch, but she was so upset she was famished. She finished the leftovers from Sam’s last night. The shrimp and sauces were truly delicious, even after being in the fridge overnight but her tastebuds didn’t appreciate it. She was still numb from the news, putting herself in the victim’s place.
When she called the number from the newscast and was connected with the proper authorities, Nell could tell they were interested. She quickly learned Officer Kirby was the right person to talk to about her information. Nell told him all of her concerns over the phone. The officer said he would like to talk to her in person and would call on her at home. This time she knew something was going to get done about her situation.
After the call, she needed some serious loving. She gave the boys some quality time by taking them outside and throwing the ball around for a while. After tiring the boys out a bit, they went back in the house. Nell thought she needed to walk to get her head on straight, so she brought out the leashes and the boys suddenly got a second wind.
The three of them went for a long walk, but slowly, as the boys smelled every blade of grass as usual. All of them were a little tired when they returned, but Nell still felt uncomfortable and unsettled.
What can I eat? She was ravenous. Her emotions were in high gear, henceforth her appetite was going wild. She wanted food. Food that would take this pain away, however briefly. In vast quantities. Real fattening, horrible-for-her food.
It was stupid, because she knew better, but Nell hopped in the car anyway and drove down to the local burger joint. She ordered a huge double cheeseburger, large fries, and a strawberry shake. She wasn’t in the drive-thru long before her bag was handed to her. She reached in and ate a few fries on the way home.
She gave a few fries and the last bite of the sandwich to the boys, but otherwise it all went into her expanding tummy. She immediately felt the effects. And the feeling was rotten. She was stuffed and uncomfortable. It was fattening and horrible food. And the pain did go away for the few minutes it took her to eat. But a larger pain immediately took its place. So yes, she had achieved her emotional goal towards food, but now she felt even worse.
She’s do better tomorrow.
Nell called Elena to lift her spirits. “Hello.”
“Hi, Elena. I’m so glad you’re home. Are you busy?”
“No. I listened to the news and was planning to call you. Another murder, but this victim is not named Nell, so it looks like you’re off the hook,” she chirped happily.
“I wish that was true,” Nell said with a sniffle. “Yesterday Northwoodsman left a message on my blog saying he doesn’t think Nell is my real name. He said he knows who I am and will see me soon. Then last night this woman who also worked with food was murdered with a butcher knife.”
“Oh, Nell. This is terrible,” Elena sputtered. “It didn’t say on the news that she worked in the food industry. What did she do?”
“She was Antoinette Frances and owned Antoinette’s Let Them Eat Cake in Crivitz. I’ve met her and bought a cake from her. Real neat lady. Why is all of this happening again, Elena? Oh, and added to that, her face was stuffed with cake decorating tips.”
“Her . . . face? No, I don’t want to know. Oh, Nell, that’s like the meat thermometer.”
“I know.” Nell walked to the bathroom for a tissue. “I got that extra info about the tips from Sam. He suggested that I get in touch with the police. I spoke with one of the DCI detectives. He is planning on meeting with me personally.”
“That is a step in the right direction. I would lay off the blogging for a while,” Elena suggested. “Let Northwoodsman think he killed the right woman this time. It will give you a few days of relief.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks, Elena.”
Within an hour of hanging up the phone after talking to Elena, there was a knock on Nell’s front door. “Sorry, Mrs. Bailey, for disturbing you at home, but you have some important information.” said Detective Kirby.
“That is quite alright, Officer. Come on in the house. Actually I was relieved when you called and said you could see me so soon. I want you to be aware of all of my concerns.”
After they were seated in the living room, Nell blurted out the details to Detective Kirby. She didn’t hold back. He was very receptive and thoughtful as he took notes.
“It’s interesting that you’ve met both Nell Norton and Toni Frances,” commented the detective as he looked over his notes. “Could you tell me more specifically what the circumstances were in each case when you met them?”
“I met Antoinette first. I attended a wedding of a local couple and for days afterward couldn’t stop thinking about the wedding cake. I had picked up a business card for “Let Them Eat Cake” from the cake display table. I called the cakery and ordered an ordinary layer cake using the same flavors,” Nell related as she nervously tapped the arm of her chair.
“When I picked up the cake, I talked to the owner, which as you know was Antoinette, and asked what the jam flavoring was between the layers. She gave me the name of it somewhat reluctantly. I suppose she didn’t want people to start making their own at home. The cake was light and tasted of lemons, berries and some other fresh flavor I couldn’t quite place. I ate the whole thing.”
Why did I tell him that? Good grief!
“Not at one sitting, of course.”
“Of course not. Was she unpleasant about giving you the flavor of the jam?”
“No. She was very friendly, but she hesitated a second. I could be overthinking that part. Anyway, once I came home, I went online and searched for the jam. Lots of specialty food shops were listed as places to buy it, but mostly in tourist locations. No supermarkets, though. Wouldn’t you know it? Makes it harder for the average person to buy it. Happily, I found it at Nell’s Nibbles. A week or so later I drove to Wausaukee to check out the food specialty shop and bought a jar. That’s when I met Nell Norton.” Nell paused for breath and to gather her thoughts. She needed to be strong and tell him what she knew. Thank goodness she stopped herself from blurting out that she couldn’t wait to make something with it, but ate all the jam straight out of the jar.
“Hmm . . . Interesting. Did you have any other contact with either woman?”
“No, never. I haven’t had a need to visit their stores again.”
“I guess that will be it for now, Mrs. Bailey. I may have more questions for you later. In the meantime, we’ll have the local PD put your neighborhood on their watch.” Detective Kirby stood up and leisurely walked over to the sliding glass doors and looked out at the back yard.
“I’ve already spoken to Paul Carson at Bayshore PD. They’re patrolling the area. Of course, the sooner this murderer is brought to justice the sounder I will sleep at night.” Nell stood by the detective and looked outside, too.
“Thank you so much for contacting us. You have provided some important information. Here’s my card if you think of anything else. And please remember, Mrs. Bailey, these murders may not have anything to do with you. I hesitate to ask this because I’m here on such a serious matter, but . . . could you tell me the name of the jam that’s so good? My wife loves cake and I’m sure she would love the jam, too.” He gave her a tentative grin.
“That’s okay, I will. It was called Berry Bomb and it almost had the texture of a lemon curd, but with mixed berry flavors. I no longer have the jar, but I did take note of who made it. J and J’s Jams and Jellies.”
“Thanks again, Mrs. Bailey.” He was then on his way.
The conversation made Nell think about where to buy the tasty Berry Bomb jam now. Never mind that her life was being threatened. Food was all important and she needed to find a source.
She went online to explore J and J’s Jams and Jellies.
J and J were Jim and Jill Hanson out of Green Bay. She hadn’t realized that the product had been from such a close local business.
Let’s see. . . they had a big listing of Jim’s Jams and Jilly’s Jellies. Cute. They offered a huge assortment of flavors, all made from Jill’s grandmother’s secret recipes. There it was—Berry Bomb. Nell took a look through their photo gallery. There were several pictures of the fruits being processed, packaged, and the finished sweet products. The last was a picture of the owners, Jim and Jill.
Hmmm . . . Nell knew she had seen them before somewhere. Especially Jill. She hoped this was just a senior moment and she’d remember where it was and the circumstances.
Next she came across a statement from the owners:
With the development of this website, we’re now selling exclusively online and no longer will have our products in stores. We hope this will be a more convenient way for you to enjoy our wonderful jams and jellies, taking advantage of delivery right to your door.
That seemed so odd. Nell thought having customers see the product in stores would be good for business. A lot of these places even let people sample the products which often prompted them to buy it. Once you coaxed the proprietor of an establishment to give your item shelf space, the hard part would be over. She wondered why they were no longer selling in stores. Or how long it had taken to collect their wares from stores where it was offered. Apparently they must not have done any online business before.
To her way of thinking, having both online sales and in various stores would be ideal. Made it easier for her, though. Now she didn’t have to drive somewhere to make a purchase. Just a click of her finger and Berry Bomb could be on its way.