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I collapsed on the sofa in the front living room away from the frenzy of the scene in the kitchen as the adrenaline rush came crashing to a halt. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my anxious heart after the last hour of chaos. I heard faint conversations. Hunt was taking Ivy’s statement. Jake escorted a hand-cuffed Lavender past me and out to the squad car. I breathed a sigh of relief when Paul gave me a faint smile and a weak thumbs up as the EMT rolled him past me toward the ambulance. Other officers had arrived and one of them would escort Ivy to the morgue to identify her mother’s body. She stopped and took a seat beside me on the sofa.
“Thank you, Glory. You were right. I’m glad I didn’t do anything stupid.” She managed a weak smile.
“I know she would be proud of you.” I hugged her tight and said a silent prayer for this young girl who faced a new future without her mom.
I felt a warm presence next to me and a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into the eyes of the man I loved. He took my hand pulling me up from my seat and into his embrace in one motion.
“Why do you do this?” His tone a strange mixture of frustration and love.
“Do what?” I took a step back and looked at him with as innocent a look as I could manage.
“Simultaneously scare the life out of me with your hard-headedness and melt my heart with your compassion for others at the same time?” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ll need to go to the station and wrap up the case with some final paperwork. If it’s not too late, can I come by and say goodnight in person?”
“I’d love that.”
I got in my car and sat for a minute until the heat defrosted the sleet that had iced my windshield. I took out my phone and texted Macy to tell her I was headed home. She informed me that Kelly and Momma were still there. They had refused to leave until they got the whole story. Jake had given Kelly a heads-up earlier that something was going down at the lake house.
The warm fire was a welcome sight. Momma met at the door with a mug of hot coffee, and Macy and Kelly ushered me onto the sofa, anxious to hear all the details of the last few hours.
“So, Dennis and Sarah won’t be charged?” Macy asked, after I had finished telling them the few details that I knew.
“That’s something we’ll have to ask Hunt and Jake. I’m not sure how that works. All I know is that my heart goes out to Ivy. I’m hoping that when Paul is fully recovered from this ordeal, he’ll still be interested in buying the fruitcake recipe and Ivy can take that money and start over somewhere. Start a new life with a bright new future.”
Kelly turned on some Christmas music and we relaxed in front of the fire in welcome silence for a bit until a soft knock came at the door and Hunt and Jake let themselves in. “Evening, ladies,” their tired voices said in unison.
“Mind if we join your club meeting?” Hunt smirked.
We scooted around to make room for the two guys in our cozy circle by the fire.
“We were just wondering what Dennis and Sarah would be charged with, if anything,” Kelly said.
“I know they intended it as a practical joke, but drugging someone is a felony,” Hunt answered. “What they did, technically did not kill Rosemary, but it did make it easier for Lavender to kill her. They have both contacted their lawyers, but they could be charged with involuntary manslaughter.”
“In any case, you’re going to be short two bakers and a reporter tomorrow,” Jake said. “Momma, if it’s not too late, you can contact all your people and finish up your fruitcake thing.” He smiled mischievously, knowing his choice of words would likely throw her into a hissy fit.
She cut her eyes in his direction, then smiled. I guess she was so excited to let everyone know the contest was back on, she didn’t have time to make a fuss.
“Guess I better get to calling,” Momma said as she grabbed her coat and purse. “I’ll see y’all tomorrow.” She looked at me. “Glory, I’ll see you at the school in the morning, right?”
“Absolutely! Be careful driving home,” I called after her, but she was already out the door.
Kelly and Jake got up to leave just as Macy’s phone buzzed.
“This is Tony. I’m gonna go back to my room and get ready for bed,” Macy said as she answered the call and walked down the hall to her room.
“We’re going home, too. It’s been a really long day.” Kelly handed her laptop to Jake as she slipped on her coat and turned to me. “I’m really glad you’re safe and things can get back to normal around here.”
I smiled and said good night. Hunt moved over next to me on the sofa. “Normal.” I snuggled up close to him and rested my head on his shoulder. “It seems that normal around here is getting more abnormal by the minute. Were you able to talk to Paul at all?”
“Yes. He was able to give us a statement as they were bandaging his head. He admitted to breaking into Lavender’s motel room looking for the recipe book. He saw you hide it in the drawer at the school and went back that night to get it. He trashed the place and even opened the cooler in hopes that it would get blamed on vandals. He also said that he never intended to marry Lavender, but that was the only way he could get her to agree to sell him the recipe. He got the idea to steal it so he could back out of the wedding.”
“Will he be arrested?”
“He’ll be charged with breaking and entering and property damage, but since the book is back with its rightful owner, Ivy agreed not to press charges for theft. He’ll spend the night in the hospital, but his lawyer is on his way from wherever now, so he’ll probably be out on bail in time to finish the judging tomorrow with no more than a slap on the wrist.”
I let out a long sigh. “I’ll be glad when the contest is over so we can relax and enjoy the rest of the holidays. I’m so relieved that the case is closed. I was beginning to wonder if this was going to ruin our trip to Texas.”
“I have to admit, the thought crossed my mind, too. I know Mom and Dad would be so disappointed and so would I. I’m just thankful you’re safe. I’m so ready to celebrate the holidays with you.” He pulled me into his arms, and I knew it was right where I wanted to be.
****
MOMMA CLAPPED HER HANDS loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Welcome! Welcome! We’re so excited to finally complete the last two phases of competition.” She turned to the judges’ table. “Judges, if you would begin making your way around the room and completing the presentation and tasting portions of the contest.” She motioned around the room where each contestant had creatively plated four slices of their cake—one for each judge to sample. The judges carried bottles of water with them in order to cleanse their palates between contestants and scribbled notes on their clipboards after each tasting.
After tasting the eighth and final cake, the judges returned to their table, heads together deliberating the final winner. Finally, they nodded in obvious agreement and Paul London, bandaged head and all, slowly stood and moved to the center of the room.
“Before we announce the winner of this year’s competition, I would like to say a few words.” All eyes were glued to him. “I would like to apologize, first of all, to this group. These bakers who came here for a wonderful experience and ended up sequestered by police. Secondly, to the citizens of this wonderful town. I regret my behavior and extend my deepest apologies.” He nodded toward Momma with a somber smile.
“And without further ado, the winner of this year’s Southern Fruitcake Appreciation Society Bake-Off is... Mr. Emmitt Baker.”
****
EVERYONE CROWDED AROUND my small dining table scrambling to get the first look at the December issue of Deep South Eats. Featured on the cover was my beautiful Macy standing on the grand staircase surrounded by the stunning Christmas décor. Inside, there were several more pictures of the bakery and the beautiful tree along with a very flattering article detailing her restoration of the old furniture store.
“It’s fabulous, Macy! Thank goodness Dennis submitted his article before he ended up in jail.” I slid the magazine around to Momma.
She looked up from the table. “You know, I still don’t know how or why they did that to poor Rosemary.”
“Sarah said in her statement that she had gotten so tired of hearing Lavender this and Lavender that,” Jake explained. “She complained to Dennis, who couldn’t stand Lavender either, so they thought it would be funny if Lavender accidently overslept on Saturday morning for the last phase of the competition.”
“Sarah figured the dog valium would be less potent than human valium, not more potent,” Hunt explained. “Lavender’s room shared a back deck with Sarah’s, and when Lavender left the sliding glass door unlocked, they grabbed their chance to prank her. The bottle of wine had already been opened, so all they had to do was add some of the drug and wait until Lavender had her nightly glass of wine.”
Jake continued. “They were watching when Rosemary banged on the office door and lied to Ed so he would give her the extra key to Lavender’s room. Of course, they thought it was Lavender and their big joke would soon be complete, so Dennis went back to his motel room for the night. They didn’t realize until they heard you knocking on Lavender’s door the next morning that the whole thing had gone terribly wrong.”
“Of course, they didn’t kill Rosemary, but it is a felony to drug someone,” Hunt reminded me. “It’ll be up to their lawyers to come up with the best plea deals to keep them from too much jail time.”
“Everyone take a seat,” Momma announced. “I have a surprise for you! You all have to close your eyes and hold out your hands.”
Laughing, everyone found a seat and did as she instructed.
I cracked one eyelid open just the least bit and peeked out. Amused, I watched facial expressions as Momma handed everyone at the table a small plate and fork. Each held a generous slice of Granny’s fruitcake.
“Okay, open your eyes!” she said.
Jake’s nose wrinkled up like he smelled a chicken house in the middle of a July heatwave.
“Momma, do we really have to eat this?” He held it out from his body like it was the plague.
Kelly gave him a hard punch in the ribs with her elbow. “Of course, we want to try your cake, Momma. I’m sure it would have won the contest if you hadn’t been so nice and bowed out.”
Momma gave Jake the stink eye and then announced, “I’m anxious to hear how you like it. It’s my own new twist on Granny’s recipe. I call it Cake with a Kick.”
Macy and Tony were always game for trying anything, keeping their chef minds wide open.
Hunt cut his eyes over at me and cocked an eyebrow.
I just nodded and smiled. “You’d better at least try it if you want to stay on her good side. Come on, we’ll do it together,” I cajoled.
He held his breath like a child taking medicine and we both placed the first bites in our mouths.
Momma was standing in the center of the circle, awaiting everyone’s reaction, proud as a peach. I barely got the fork out of my mouth when the alcohol kicked in. It burned up into my nose and all the way down to the bottom of my gut. I looked over at Hunt, his eyes bugging out of his head. Everyone in the room broke out in a sweat.
“Momma,” I said between coughs. “What exactly did you add to Granny’s old recipe?”
“I decided it was time to kick it up a notch, so I sneaked over to the liquor store in Baileyville and got a bottle of Vodka. I used a turkey baster to inject it into the cake! What do you think?” She beamed as she took her own first bite. I watched her eyes get wide as she ran to the kitchen to find a trash can.
Hunt cleared his throat and looked at Momma. “I may have to run you in for serving liquor without a license!”
“Whew!” she said taking a swipe at her forehead. “I might have underestimated the power of that stuff. Sometimes you just can’t improve on a classic. Just look at me!” She propped her hand on her hip and wiggled a little. “It’s probably a good thing I didn’t enter that cake in the contest. I might have been excommunicated from the Baptist Ladies’ Group!”
The room roared with laughter.
“How did Martha Jean take losing the contest to Emmitt Baker?” I asked as I collected plates all round.
“Oh, she was fine with it,” she said, licking some leftover cake off her finger while no one else was looking. “Emmitt baked a great cake. I don’t think it would been the same without Lavender there, anyway. Almost like Alabama beating Auburn with their star quarterback on the bench with a broken arm. It just doesn’t mean as much. Emmitt on the other hand was thrilled. I think he saw himself as winning one for the coach.”
“Anyone want a refill on coffee to douse the fire in your stomach?” Kelly offered as she poured herself a cup.
Everyone nodded and she rounded the table with the carafe.
“I heard Paul’s big-time lawyers got his charges dropped down to practically nothing,” Macy said.
I nodded. “But at least he did the right thing and made Ivy a very generous offer for the recipe he tried to steal. She’s gonna have quite a nice nest egg to start over somewhere.”
Tony pulled a list from his pocket and unfolded it. “I’m working on the menu for Christmas dinner and I thought if you all wanted to take a look, you could write your name by the items you want to bring.” He slid it across the table to Kelly.
“And since the bakery will be closed that day,” Macy announced, “I thought it might be fun to host it there. I want to enjoy the decorations for as long as I can, since they’ll have to come down soon. What do you think?”
“Great idea!” I chimed in as the list made its way around to me. I jotted my name beside a couple of items. “Hunt and I will be back from Texas on the twenty-third, so that will give me plenty of time to cook and get ready for the party.”
Hunt grinned and rose to his feet. “Speaking of Texas, we’re heading out early tomorrow morning, so I think I’ll get on home. Still got a little packing to do.”
I got up and walked him to the door for a quick kiss. Everyone else took that as their cues to call it a night, so we all said our good nights and Macy walked Tony to his car. With my packed luggage sitting by the bedroom door, Izzy and I hit the sack.