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“Oh, no.” Momma sank into a chair and started digging in her purse for her cell phone. “Lordymercy, Lavender’s gonna have a come apart. We’ve got to tell her.” She looked at Jake. “It is okay for me to call her, isn’t it?”
Jake looked at Hunt. “What do you think, boss? Your call.”
Hunt let out a long breath. “Well, since we know something was actually stolen, and this isn’t just some random teenage prank, we’re gonna have to treat this like a crime scene.”
“I’ll get the kit out of the cruiser.” Jake headed out the door.
“Can I call Lavender or not?” Momma asked Hunt a little more insistently.
“Yes, go ahead and call her. It shouldn’t take us long to get the place dusted for prints and take some photos. Jake’s got a small forensic kit in the cruiser for this type of situation.”
Momma pulled up a list saved in her phone of contacts for everyone associated with the bake-off, found Lavender’s number and made the call.
“Will we have time to get everything cleaned up before people begin arriving?” I asked, still feeling antsy about continuing with the competition as scheduled. “Do you think we should postpone the final judging and awards until this afternoon?”
Hunt thought for a minute. “Unless some something drastic happens, we should be out of here in plenty of time for you to get things tidied up and still start on time at 10:00.”
“Lavender’s not answering!” Momma’s stress was coming through loud and clear. “I tried her cell phone and I even called Josie and had her ring the room phone. I think I should drive out to the motel.”
“Right now? Momma, as soon as Jake finishes, we have to get this place cleaned up.”
“Gloria Lynn, we cannot wait and let Lavender find out when she shows up for the judging. It wouldn’t be right, and, besides, it’s not going to be a pretty sight when she finds out her recipe book is missing.”
When Momma used my full name, I knew there was no use arguing. It was gonna be Momma’s way or the highway. I looked at Hunt and he just smiled and shrugged. I grabbed my purse and keys. “I’ll go with you. We’ll take my car.”
****
AS SOON AS WE TURNED in to the parking lot of the Lakeside Motel, Josie came out of the motel office and met us in front of Lavender’s room.
“I got worried after you called, and I’ve been knocking and trying to get her to come to the door ever since we hung up the phone, but no luck.” Josie’s brows furrowed in worry as she pulled her hair to tighten up her ponytail.
“Maybe she’s just in the shower and can’t hear us,” I said hopefully.
“If she is, she’s frozen by now. The hot water doesn’t last more than fifteen or twenty minutes when I’m booked up with guests.”
I pounded on the door and called out, “Lavender! Are you in there? It’s Annie and Glory. Let us in!”
Still no sound from inside.
“Josie, do you have your master key?”
She nodded. She took a stretchy coil off her wrist, selected a key and turned the key in the lock.
I gave one more knock for good measure and stepped into the room. My eyes immediately landed on the open bathroom door.
There, lying face down on the floor, was Lavender Twist. She was wearing jeans and a black hoodie but there was no mistaking those long, auburn waves flowing out of the sweatshirt’s collar.
I hurried around the bed and across the small motel room. “Lavender! Can you hear me?”
“Glory, is she breathing?” Momma asked, her voice catching in her throat. I could see tears already puddling up in her eyes.
I knelt down and moved her hair out of the way just enough to feel for a pulse on her neck. I looked up at Momma and Josie and shook my head. I didn’t want to disturb the body. I could see from her blue lips lying against the cold tile floor that she was gone.
Momma covered her mouth and let out a sob. “Oh, this is so horrible. Bless her heart. I know people weren’t fond of her, but I don’t think anyone would have wished this on her. You think she might have had a heart attack or something?”
“I don’t know, but I need to call Hunt. Momma, are you okay?”
She gave a slow, very unconvincing nod as Josie wrapped her arm around Momma’s shoulders.
I took a deep breath and tried to look away from the body. I found Hunt’s number and made the call.
“Hey. Did you find Lavender?”
“Yes, we found her, but Hunt, something terrible has happened,” I said, willing my voice to stay calm. “She’s dead.”
“Dead!? Are you sure? Never mind. I’m on my way. Stay with the body and don’t touch anything.” The line went dead.
I guided Momma and Josie back out onto the long porch that ran the length of the motel and they sat down in two Adirondack chairs outside the door while we waited on Hunt. I took the opportunity to go back inside and have a careful look around.
It really didn’t look like there were any obvious signs of a struggle. In fact, the room looked spotless. Not much trash, just a broken, single rose had been tossed in the bin. The bathroom was clean other than a toothbrush lying in a travel case by the sink and a bottle of women’s multi-vitamins. At least we know she was healthy when she died. On the table next to the window was the welcome basket that Macy and I put together for all the contestants and judges. The clear wrapping had been opened and it looked like several of the sweets that were included were missing.
“Where’s the bottle of wine?” Josie asked, from the doorway giving me a start.
“What wine?”
Josie walked to the table and looked around the room. “That London guy had a case delivered last week with a note instructing me to put one in each room before the bakers arrived.”
****
“THERE’S HUNT!” MOMMA yelled from the front porch, flailing her arms in the air as if he couldn’t see her standing ten feet in front of Jake’s squad car as he pulled in. “In here!” She pointed to the door then led him into the room.
He looked at the four of us trying to cram into the tiny room and shook his head. “I’m gonna need for y’all to step outside. Glory, you can stay and tell me about finding her.”
Momma and Josie pouted a little, but reluctantly went back out onto the porch to wait. The coroner, who had just arrived, joined me and Hunt in the room.
“Okay, tell me what happened.” He ran a hand through his close-cropped hair and took a pencil and pad out of his pocket.
“When Momma and I got here, Josie met us outside and said she had already been trying to get Lavender to the door. I suggested that maybe she was in the shower, but Josie said she didn’t think so. When I tried again and didn’t get a response, Josie used her master key and let me in.” I took a deep breath and continued. “That’s how I found her. Oh, Hunt, look at her.” I buried my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through this. And your momma, too.”
I stepped back and looked up at him. “What do we do about the competition? Is this linked to the break-in at the school? It has to be, right?”
“We don’t even know how she died, yet. It may have been from natural causes. I’m not going to jump the gun and assume anything just yet.”
“You’re right and she does look peaceful. It almost looks like she just lay down on the floor and went to sleep.”
“What I am going to do,” he looked at me pointedly. “just to be on the safe side, is ask you to postpone the final judging until we can get some answers. At least for now. You’ll need to contact all your bakers and let them know. Just don’t volunteer any unnecessary information.”
I nodded and walked out to inform Momma of Hunt’s decision.
“Momma, Hunt said we’re going to have to postpone the judging until we can get this cleared up. I guess we need to start calling everyone.”
Josie looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Why are you calling people? They’re all right here!”
I mentally slapped myself in the head. Of course, they were. All the bakers were staying there except for Martha Jean. Josie began rattling off room numbers for the guests. Momma called Martha Jean and the judges while I knocked on each door and explained the situation giving them as little information as I could get by with. It didn’t matter, though because they all came outside and stood in the parking lot gathering in small groups. Several of the ladies stood off to the side consoling one another. Emmitt sat alone in one of the chairs on the porch with his face in his hands, sobbing. Dennis Whitlow and Sarah were huddled away from the others deep in conversation.
“Did you get in touch with Martha Jean and the judges?” I asked as Momma joined me on the porch by the door to Lavender’s room.
“I did. Martha Jean was understandably upset. I’m not sure it’s registered with her yet that she may be the number one suspect.”
“Well, I hate to say it, Momma, but if this turns out to be murder, I have a feeling that’s the first place they’ll be looking.”
“Glory, you know Martha Jean would never do anything like that! She’s all bark and no bite and everybody knows it.”
“I know it and you know it, but she made a huge scene in front of a lot of people yesterday, and she as much as threatened Lavender in front of witnesses.”