17

  Hadley focused on shop renovations the rest of the week, surprised by how much slower everything went without her father. So when he called on Friday to tell her he’d finished the table and would be back to help her on Monday, she was more than a little relieved.

  With all of that alone time, she’d also had more than enough time to think and had finally pushed aside any lingering ideas of Luke being more than just a friend. It was obvious that what he and Gretchen had was complicated. But he’d said it himself that sometimes what two people had together was enough to withstand time and misunderstandings. She didn’t want to stand in the way if that was the case with Luke and Gretchen.

  By the looks of her showing up at his place that night—not to mention him rushing her out—it was.

  Hadley and Luke were friends. And she was glad to have her childhood friend back.

  It was a thought that put a smile on her face as she pulled into the community center’s almost-empty parking lot that Saturday morning. Since the Bake-Off began, she and Suze had been loading their supplies into the Jam Van on Friday evenings and driving separately. That way, Suze could still arrive at the normal time even though Hadley had to be there an hour earlier to prepare for judging.

  At first, she and Luke had scoffed at the idea that they needed to arrive so early, but once they realized how intense the judging job was, they appreciated the extra time to brush up on the days look-fors.

  Olivia clicked around the room, distributing the list of the characteristics the judges would be looking for in the cakes that day.

  “Their fundamental challenge this morning is a Swiss roll. For this cake, we are looking for a thin sponge, but it should remain light and fluffy. We don’t want it to split in the rolling process. That could signify that the sponge was dry or overbaked.” Olivia read off her copy of the paper they held before them.

  Hadley nodded, thinking Olivia Stone would make the perfect headmistress at a school, ala Dickens or Brontë. All she needed was a riding crop to hold on to just in case any of her pupils got out of control.

  She glanced down her nose at Hadley. “Is there something funny, Hadley?” Olivia arched an eyebrow.

  “Uh, no. Sorry. I’m just excited for cake week.” She ducked her head and focused on the information in front of her until Olivia and the others looked away. She felt Luke’s attention linger on her more than the others, but dared not glance up because she knew he would no doubt make her laugh even more.

  “Moving on to the showcase,” Olivia said, directing their attention to the bottom half of the paper. “We've asked them to prepare a tiered cake, three or more. For this, they must choose a closer textured cake, at least for the bottom tier, if it’s to hold up the weight of the other cakes on top. The key with large cakes like these is they still need to be baked all the way. Layers of something like butter cream are almost essential to break up the large sections of cake. As for their decorations, they have full artistic license there, but it should be appealing and any frosting or fondant should be flawless.” She clicked her high heels over to Hadley and Luke’s end of the table, eyeing them as if this might be a problem for them. “The taste look-fors are listed as well. Overall, it must taste divine, any flavors mingling together perfectly.” Olivia made the last word sound like three with the way she emphasized each syllable.

  Chancing a glance over at Luke, Hadley caught his eye. He grinned and mouthed per-fec-tly, giving her a significant look. She pressed her lips together, not wanting to get in trouble with Olivia again. Plus, the next part was always her favorite. Olivia opened a few containers and set them in front of the judges.

  Samples.

  Luke rubbed his hands together, proving it was one of his favorite things as well. They spent the next half an hour trying different pieces of cake together and using their score cards to calibrate how to judge each sample. Some of what Olivia brought was perfect, some were purposefully dry, others underdone. And so by the time they finished, each judge had a solid understanding of what to look for that day.

  Finally, with a half hour before the market started and the fundamental baking challenge began, they were released. Hadley stood, ready to set up her booth.

  “Need any help?” Luke asked, sidling up beside her as she opened one of the boxes of jam jars.

  Hadley nodded. “Sure. Free labor is always welcome.”

  Luke got right to work setting up her table and chairs, unloading her jars onto the table after she spread out her tablecloth, and hung her sign off the front. They were so efficient; they finished in record time, even setting up Suze’s table for her before she even arrived.

  Without Hadley to keep her on time during the Bake-Off weekends, Suze had been skirting in minutes before the market opened each week. The woman was notoriously late and hadn’t changed, even with her new early rising schedule. Luckily, her art prints made for a quick setup.

  Suzanne scurried by as they finished unfolding a chair for her.

  “Morning,” she trilled, setting down her box of wares and pulling out a tablecloth in one motion.

  Just as Suze, Hadley, and Luke sat down behind the two tables, the bakers entered. Erica was first, propping her baby on one hip while she showed the Sunrise Living Magazine people the specialized tools and ingredients she’d brought for the showcase. Erica’s mother, who came to watch the baby for her while she baked, bustled in after her. Hadley reflected back to what Luke had said last week about Erica being intense. Life as a single mother had to be demanding, though, so she didn’t really think anyone could blame the woman.

  Next came Ian, stoic and focused as ever. Hadley considered the link between Ian and Grady, that they’d gone to school together and obviously had a falling out. As quickly as it came, the conclusion left her. They’d maintained that there was no way for any of the bakers to put that pie in Grady’s locker. She would have to figure out who else could be suspects. The thought reminded her she wanted to look into the man and woman who seemed to know Grady, if they showed.

  Mickie was the last in, stopping to have her bag of ingredients checked and documented at the door. Hadley waved at her friend as she made her way toward the basement along with the other bakers. Because the judges already knew the focus of the fundamentals challenge, the bakers weren’t allowed to chat with anyone before that round of baking started.

  “They’re not kidding around about checking all of their ingredients,” Luke said, watching Mickie disappear down the stairs.

  “Especially now.” Hadley nodded.

  Luke waved goodbye as he left to go help his sister man their Fenton Farms stand. The Sunrise people finished setting up the three baking stations, having to roll the portable kitchen islands into the competition space in the middle of the market, and taping down all extension cords coming off the islands from any electronics and their oven/stove combinations.

  A trickle of excitement wound through Hadley’s gut, and she wasn’t quite sure if it was a positive reaction to how close her friend was to winning the Bake-Off, or if it was because she was feeling nervous about the fact that one baker had been killed only one week earlier. Either way, the bakers emerged from the basement, clad in their yellow Sunrise Living aprons. The market opened, and a stream of customers flowed into the community center.

  “Good morning, and welcome to the semifinals of the Grande Bake-Off.” Olivia’s voice filled the large space, helped by the portable PA system the magazine’s crew brought with them.

  Olivia waited until the majority of the people present were focused on her, but Hadley couldn’t help but watch the front entrance to the community center as more customers arrived. With all other avenues at dead ends, she needed to find out who the man and woman were she’d seen talking to Grady each week. They weren’t represented anywhere in his sparse social media presence, but they’d been there for the whole competition each week, talking solely to Grady, not to any of the other contestants. They were the only unturned stone.

  “I’m going to let our amazing bakers get going on their fundamentals bake this morning, but stay tuned. As they work, we will be getting to know our final three a little better.” Olivia winked and froze as if she were the last frame of a sugary-sweet nineties sitcom. Her smile flattened, and she turned serious. “Bakers, the judges and I would like you to make a chocolate Swiss roll. Your identical ingredients are in front of you on your baking stations. You have seventy minutes.”

  Olivia led the crowd in a round of applause after starting her large countdown timer. Mickie smiled confidently and got to work measuring out her ingredients. Customers walked through the farmers market booths, so Hadley couldn’t give her full attention to the baking competition.

  As Hadley finished a sale of two jars of her cranberry-orange jam to a rosy-cheeked older gentleman, Olivia’s voice came through the speakers once again. All three of the bakers had put their cake in the oven and were now working on the marshmallowy filling for the spiral cake.

  “As you heard me mention earlier, today is our semifinal bake in this year’s competition. So let’s get to know our final contestants a little better.” Olivia’s wide smile seemed even more fake surrounded by the handcrafted, hand-grown wares of the farmers market. She clicked over to Mickie’s station. “Mickayla Burbank, known to her friends as Mickie, has had a lifelong passion for baking. She learned how to bake from her grandmother, and though she didn’t attend any formal culinary schooling, she considers growing up baking with her nana to be the best education she could’ve received.” Olivia read her lines off a note card. “She owns the Bake and Flake here in Stoneybrook and hopes to invest in her business if she wins this year’s competition. In her free time, Mickie is an avid hiker and white-water rafter. She says she has to work off all the cake and scones somehow.”

  A laugh rang out from the crowd.

  Olivia added, “Mickie says her biggest supporters are her friends and the people of this lovely town she’s lucky enough to call home.”

  Mickie paused her work to smile and wave at the audience as Olivia finished reading. People clapped, and a few—namely Hadley, Suze, and Luke—even let out a cheer as Olivia stepped over to Erica’s workstation.

  “Erica Sutton grew up baking as well. Her passion for it only increased as she grew. Sure it was what she wanted to do with her life, she attended the Washington Culinary Arts College with a focus on bread and specialty desserts. She works for a personal chef service in Cascade Ridge and loves the flexibility it gives her as a single mom. A master of the side hustle, Erica also dabbles in other artistic endeavors. If she won the competition, she would love to invest in getting her baked goods into the local markets and cafés. She enjoys spending time with her son, George, and says her biggest supporter has always been her mother, Rachel, who is the woman you’ll see looking after George during the competition.” Olivia paused as the audience applauded, and Erica waved, blowing a kiss to her mother sitting in a chair off to the side of the room.

  “Last but not least, we have Ian Yellowlees. A master of all culinary pursuits, Ian spent the first few decades of his life focusing on the art of cooking. Believing the two go hand in hand, he loves combining his love of cooking and baking. Ian is the head chef at The Grill in Cascade Ridge. His dream is to open a bakery that focuses on savory baked items. He says winning this competition would be one more step toward helping him achieve that dream. In his free time, Ian enjoys skiing and playing chess. He says his biggest supporter is his mom, Nell.”

  The crowd applauded, and Ian gave them the customary wave. Hadley wasn’t looking at Ian. She had caught sight of two people entering the community center. The very two people she had been waiting to see.

  18

  As it turned out, Hadley wasn’t the only one waiting for those two individuals to show up to the market. Before Hadley could even turn to ask Suze to watch her booth while she went over to question the man and woman she’d seen with Grady the last few weekends, Olivia’s voice came through the large speaker once more.

  “Oh! Perfect timing, you two,” Olivia exclaimed, her focus on the same two people.

  The man and woman smiled, waving as they walked toward the Sunrise Living baking expert.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to our final announcement before I let the bakers finish up their fundamentals challenge in peace.” She walked forward, meeting the couple halfway and setting her hand on the woman’s arm in a gesture that looked more maternal than she thought Olivia capable of. “As many of you know, last week we lost one of our bakers, Grady Fines. Grady was not only a lovely person, but a past winner of the Grande Bake-Off. In fact, he used the winnings from his first year toward opening his bakery up in Cascade Ridge. I wanted to introduce everyone to Jenny and Ben. These two were Grady’s employees and had been with him since he opened the shop.” At this, Olivia paused, letting the two young adults wave at the crowd.

  Hadley held her breath. It seemed as if she wouldn't have to corner them to learn their connection with Grady. Employees!

  “They’ve come today to let everyone know they’ll be holding a celebration of Grady’s life at the bakery tomorrow. They would love for anyone to come and remember their talented boss. Sunrise Living will provide food and refreshments for the event.” Olivia looked to the two as if asking if they wanted to add anything.

  Jenny took the microphone from Olivia. “Hi, everyone.” Her voice was so quiet, so tentative compared to Olivia’s loud, confidence. “Ben and I also wanted to announce that we’ll be keeping Cascade Valley Bakery open, so please spread the word. We want to keep Grady’s legacy alive. Thank you.” Voice quavering at the end, Jenny handed the microphone back to Olivia before stepping back next to Ben. He gave her an approving sort of nod as well as a sad smile.

  “Okay, and with that, our bakers have just half an hour remaining on their clock. I can’t wait to see how these cakes turn out. Stay tuned for the results.” Olivia waited a moment and then clicked off her mic, turning back toward where the production staff sat around a foldable table.

  Hadley picked a few pieces of polish off her left pinky, watching Ben and Jenny wander around the market booths. After a deep breath, she turned toward Suze.

  Her friend held up a hand. “Go ahead. I know you want to go question them.” Suze turned her raised hand into a shooing motion. “I’ll watch the jam.”

  “Thank you.” Hadley clasped her hands in front of her in gratitude before slipping away, walking counterclockwise to Jenny and Ben’s clockwise rotation around the market.

  As they walked and she closed in on them, Hadley realized they would meet up right about at the Fenton Farms booth. She locked eyes with Luke, who already seemed on the same page. He gave a quick nod and walked over to straighten the produce in the section closest to Grady’s employees, stopping them with a greeting.

  Hadley approached just as Luke was letting them know they could ask him if they had questions.

  “You’re a judge, right?” Ben asked Luke.

  “I am. In fact, so is Miss James,” Luke said, gesturing as Hadley stepped closer.

  They glanced over as Hadley stretched her hand out toward them in a greeting. “We’re so sorry about what happened to your boss.” She shook her head.

  Ben and Jenny’s faces fell in tandem.

  “And,” Hadley added, trying to avoid making them so sad they might not want to talk. “And I wanted to let you know I would be happy to donate any of my jam to the celebration tomorrow, if you think you’d have a use for it.”

  Luke chimed in. “Me too. If you two need any help, please let us know.”

  “Thank you very much,” Jenny said with a smile. “Honestly, the magazine has everything covered—which, I guess, makes sense.” She glanced over at Olivia and the production crew.

  Hadley leaned in closer, wanting to ask why. Was it because he’d died during a competition the magazine hosted or something more? But before she could ask the question, Luke beat her to it with one of his own.

  “Are you two having to purchase the bakery to keep it open?” He watched them carefully with his sharp blue eyes.

  Ben glanced oh-so-quickly at Jenny before answering. “Uh, actually … because Grady didn’t have any family left, the business falls to his estate. He’d instructed his lawyer to split his estate between the two of us, since we were really all he had.” Ben shrugged. “And instead of selling and taking the cash, we decided Grady would’ve wanted us to keep it running.”

  “Oh, that’s cool.” Hadley forced her tone to remain calm, knowing excitement was buzzing inside her at the news.

  “Congratulations.” Luke motioned over to Olivia. “Had, it looks like we’re just about up.”

  Hadley confirmed Luke was right by checking the countdown clock. The bakers had a few minutes left on their cakes. Excitement and worry wound tight around her heart as she checked on Mickie’s progress. She was just pouring the chocolate glaze over the top of hers and seemed cool as an ice cream cake.

  “Right. Well, good to meet you.” Hadley smiled at the two as they walked on. She took a step toward Luke. “Getting control of a successful business, or at least half, could be a motive for murder. Don’t you think?” Hadley whispered.

  “You wanna text Paul or should I?” he asked with a conspiratorial narrowing of his eyes.

  The audience counted down the last ten seconds of the baking showcase timer. Despite the glorious scents swirling through the community center, Hadley’s stomach was in knots. She surveyed the beautiful tiered cakes sitting at each baking station. After Mickie’s superb Swiss roll that morning, she was in good standing for top baker that week, but she would need to nail the showcase to be considered for the final. Hadley loved the look of her gorgeous white cake with fondant flowers cascading down the side and hoped it would be enough.

  Erica’s fundamentals bake hadn’t shown as tight of a spiral as Mickie’s, so she’d come in second. But judging from the beautiful, sunset-colored ombré-frosted cake standing in front of her, she had brought her A game to the showcase.

 

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