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Mia spotted the reporters camped out in downtown Bear Corner as soon as she arrived. It didn’t take long for word to spread. They were standing around, clustered in small groups, reminding her of those waiting for the parades during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Being wary of the reporters, she rushed toward the bakery, hoping to avoid the vultures.
When Mia saw a man standing near the bakery, she prayed he was just waiting for her to open. Dread filled her as he walked towards her. Paul Adams called out, “Miss, can I talk to you a minute, please?”
Shaking her head as she tried to ignore the man, Mia briskly walked to the front door, “Miss, please. I won’t take up much of your time. I just want to ask you a couple of questions.”
Mai shook her head in disapproval and told him, “I don’t have anything to say.”
She was almost at the door when he stepped in front of her, “Please I just want to ask you a few questions about the possible missing woman.”
“You probably know more than me,” she answered, which was most likely true. She had waited for Chad to return to her house last night, but he called to say he would be tied up most of the night and that she should go back to bed. She tossed and turned last night thinking about what the poor woman’s family must be going through.
“I can get your name in the paper and give you some free advertising for your new bakery.” He persisted.
“I have nothing to say.” Once inside the bakery, she locked the door. Hopefully, by the time she opened, he would have given up on wanting to talk to her.
A buzz of activity filled Mia’s this morning. The reporters loitering around downtown found their way in here. But at least the reporter from this morning had left her alone. People were waiting, elbow to elbow, to place their orders. The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. Mia had a hard time keeping the display cases filled with goodies.
After two hours had passed, customers were still pouring into the bakery. From lifting all the dough and standing hours on end cooking, her back was vehemently protesting. Business had been fantastic today, she was almost sold out and she still had two more hours before closing.
When the customers dwindled down, she finally had a few moments to get caught up on a few things. As she opened her mail, Mia’s blood ran cold. She read the letter a second time, trying to make sense of it.
Soon my love we shall meet. My mission is almost done. There are only a few left that must be saved. What I have done, I have done for you.
Along with the note was a necklace with a small diamond pendant. A chill ran through her body as she read the note. Without hesitation, she called Chad. She needed to tell him about this note, especially with the bodies that had shown up recently and now a missing woman.
He answered on the first ring, “Picou.”
“Chad, it's Mia. I know you are busy, but I just received a note in the mail and I think you may want to see it. I’m not sure if it has something to do with what you are investigating or not.”
Chad’s curiosity was piqued, “What kind of note did you get?”
“I got a note from a secret admirer informing me that he only has a few more souls to be saved. There’s something else. When I was living in New Orleans I would get these little trinkets in the mail. I always thought they were from fans of mine at the restaurant. The owner was big into making his chef’s presence known so it never bothered me. Which was why I thought nothing of the trinkets when I started getting them here.”
Chad asked her, although he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer, “Just how many trinkets are we talking about?”
“I’d have to count for sure, but at least fifteen, maybe more.”
Chad thought back to the number of bodies he had to identify and, unfortunately, that figure fit. “I don’t suppose you still have the trinkets do you?”
“The ones that I received here are at the bakery in my desk, and the ones from New Orleans are at the house.”
Chad asked, “Are you at the bakery right now?”
“Yeah, I’m working later than normal today. We had a few orders come in right before closing.”
He informed her, “I’m on my way over right now. I am bringing a forensics tech with me so he can take your fingerprints to compare with those found on the note and other packages.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be here.”
***
AS PICOU HEADED TO Mia’s bakery, he wondered what her connection was to the killer if it was indeed the killer contacting her. He didn’t like this one bit.