Unlike the other two, Ian’s day seemed to go all wrong. His Swiss roll had not only cracked, but collapsed into folds instead of a smooth spiral. And now in the showcase, he’d gotten his cakes stacked mere minutes before the time had run out, leaving them precariously balanced. Ian kept eyeing the cake as if worried it might fall over at any second; in fact, by the way it was leaning, Hadley decided he was right to worry.

  She watched it warily as she and the other judges approached Ian’s baking station.

  “Hello, Ian. Would you tell us about your cake?” Olivia asked, pulling the smallest tier off with a cake server.

  Swiping his forehead with a towel, he said, “All three tiers are the same. It’s a rosemary sponge with lemon-butter-cream frosting in between the layers and a quilted fondant on the outside.”

  Hadley thought he deserved at least twenty points for not cringing at the end of the sentence. That “quilted fondant” was less quilted and more—well … lumpy.

  “Okay,” Olivia said with a thin smile. “Let’s see how you did.” She cut into the cake, pulling out a slice that looked good on the inside, considering the mess on the outside. Nodding, Olivia said, “Lovely even layers. Let’s see how it tastes.”

  One of the production assistants, Jack, cut the piece into five long slices so each of them got a little of each layer as well as some of the fondant frosting. Checking her score sheet, which each of them held on a clipboard so the bakers couldn’t see their scores, Hadley took her first forkful.

  The first thing that hit her tongue was the intense taste of rosemary. Actually, as she moved the bite around in her mouth, that was it. All she could taste was the rosemary. Gathering some more of the butter cream on her fork, Hadley tried that, but she could only taste a whisper of the lemon Ian had mentioned. She kept a poker face as she scribbled on her score card, seeing his points decline with each new judging look-for.

  Chancing a glance at Luke, she noticed he was using his fork to flake off pieces of the sponge cake as they often saw Olivia do to check if the bake was airy enough. Ian’s cake was close-textured, though, and it didn’t crumble as much as squish as Luke did this.

  “Judges, take one more minute to mark your scores and then we will move on.” Olivia led the group over to Mickie once they were done with Ian.

  Hadley switched out her score card to Mickie’s and resisted the urge to smile at her friend. She didn’t want to show favoritism.

  “Mickayla, please tell us about your cake.” Olivia went through the same process of taking down Mickie’s top tier and placing it on a plate in front of her.

  Mickie grinned. “This is my peaches-and-cream cake. There’s a simple white cake on the inside with peach butter cream. I’ve used Italian meringue for the frosting because I love the creamy, marshmallow texture it gives.” She pressed her hands on the counter as Olivia cut out a slice.

  It looked beautiful inside. The color of the peach butter cream was a lovely combination of pink and orange. Jake sliced each judge a small piece and Hadley dug in. It was delicious. The peach taste was strong, but the frosting balanced it perfectly. Hadley checked down her score card. Texture-wise, the sponge was substantial, giving it good structure while not being too close.

  “Thank you. And now we’ll move on to Erica.” Olivia led them over to Erica’s baking station. “Please tell us about your cake, Erica?”

  “Yes.” Erica smiled. “This cake is my ode to Sunrise Living. It’s a tropical sunrise cake. There’s pineapple sponge inside, layered with coconut butter cream.” She winked.

  Hadley hated to admit it, but it was a cute idea. Olivia cut a slice, and Jack dished up one for each judge. As she took her first bite, Hadley almost expected it to taste like a bottle of sunscreen or a bad mixed drink, but it was light with just the lightest of flavors. Nothing was too overpowering, instead working together in tropical harmony. She noticed Luke’s eyebrows twitch as he took his first bite. Anyone else wouldn’t have been able to tell what he was thinking, but she knew that expression. He had been surprised as well.

  Focusing on her score card, Hadley went through the rest of the categories and rated Erica’s cake. Her scores were so close for Erica and Mickie. She wasn’t terribly worried that Mickie wouldn’t go through, but then again, she and the other judges had marked bakes differently in the past. Oh well, she thought. What’s done is done. It’s up to the scores now.

  Hadley followed the other judges into the judging room, ready to find out her friend’s fate.

  19

  Once they added up the scores, it became clear Ian hadn’t made it into the final round. Hadley’s heart felt light knowing that Mickie had made it. She hadn’t even been the one to score Mickie’s cake the highest.

  Now she waited anxiously for Olivia to total Erica’s scores. The whiteboard marker Olivia was using squeaked as she wrote out the final score at the bottom of the board. Then she stepped aside so they could see the results.

  Excitement flushed through Hadley’s face. Mickie had come out three points higher—a narrow lead, but a lead all the same. She looked over at Luke, whose face was bright and happy. They both quickly schooled their expressions, not wanting to give the other judges or Olivia reason to doubt that. As much as they loved and supported Mickie, their scores were impartial.

  Olivia clasped her hands in front of her body and nodded resolutely. “Okay, let’s go tell them.”

  Hadley wasn’t sure if the wince that crossed Olivia’s face was from fear of another outburst by one of the contestants or the memory of the last one. Regardless, they exited the judging room and approached the gathering crowd and waiting contestants. It was silly that Olivia even had to read out who was going home. Ian’s face said it all.

  “Welcome!” Olivia announced, waiting for the audience to quiet before she launched into the prepared speech she said each Saturday about the competition guidelines and prizes. Once she was finished with that, she paused. “And now, for this week’s top baker. This person is the only baker in front of me who has yet to win this honor.”

  Mickie’s features softened in disbelief.

  But Olivia only smiled and continued. “And what a week to win it. Your cake was a decadent masterpiece, Mickayla. Congratulations. You have made it into the final next Saturday and are still in the running for the title of Grande Bake-Off Champion.”

  Cheers erupted from the crowd. Hadley noticed that most them seemed to come from the outer edges of the community center, from the Stoneybrook locals and Mickie’s business peers.

  Once the din died down, Olivia brought the microphone up to her lips again. “Now for the hard part. Based on today’s scores, the person who will not be continuing on to the final next weekend is …” She waited, looking from Erica to Ian before saying, “Ian. I’m very sorry.”

  The whole crowd seemed to exhale in what sounded a lot like acceptance. Everyone who’d seen his performance today knew it was coming. Ian bobbed his head, trying to pull his mouth into a wan smile.

  “Thank you for the opportunity, I—” But Ian didn’t get to finish his sentence because a yowling exclamation interrupted him.

  “Ridiculous!” A volunteer walked forward out of the crowd. Her face was red, her body almost humming with anger.

  Olivia’s face tightened just as it had when Willow had yelled at the end of last week’s competition. She lifted her slender chin and pushed back her bony shoulders as the woman advanced.

  “Ridiculous!” the woman, who appeared to be in her sixties, yelled again.

  Hadley thought—for a silly second—that she sounded like she was in Professor Lupin’s class at Hogwarts and was trying to put a spell on a Boggart.

  “Ian is talented,” the woman said. “How can you put him through nine weeks of this competition and not take any of his other performances into account? One bad week and you throw him out?”

  Murmurs tiptoed through the audience. Ian’s face looked like it was trying to pass for a red velvet cake. Olivia opened her mouth, but before she could respond to the angry woman, someone else did.

  “Mom, it’s okay. They make it very clear in the rules that each week stands alone. The only time they’ll use past scores is if there’s a tie.” Ian turned toward the woman, toward his mother.

  Half of the audience looked to the lacquered floor of the community center, embarrassed for the poor guy. A quarter of the audience—some of the more spirited mothers, it seemed—lifted their heads higher, even nodding in some instances to support their fellow matronly protector. The better part of the remaining quarter seemed to be squarely in that frozen-bystander camp.

  Hadley was there too. She could only blink and look back and forth between Ian, his mother, and Olivia.

  But as everyone quickly realized, there was a reason Olivia Stone was the face of the Grande Bake-Off. There was a reason Sunrise Living had let her run with the idea of hosting such a contest in a small Northwest county. It was the same reason she insisted her judges be trained the morning of each competition, the reason she double-checked all the scores and personally checked through the ingredients each contestant brought each week. She was in charge.

  “Excuse me, Nell. Can I call you Nell?” she asked sweetly.

  Nell nodded, her brow furrowing in confusion.

  “I’m very sorry you do not agree with our decision, but I can guarantee you we followed the process outlined in detail in the contract your son signed upon his acceptance into the competition.” She snapped her fingers, and Jack appeared at her side holding a thick stack of papers stapled together. Olivia walked toward the woman. “Here’s a copy for you. I urge you to go through, and let me know if you see anything unfair in the terms your son agreed to. I would be happy to share my judges' score cards as well if you see the need.”

  As she talked, Olivia put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and turned her around, toward the front door of the community center and walked with her, so by the time she finished, they were mere feet away from the door. In that moment, Paul stepped through, his dark eyebrows rising as he appraised the almost silent room and then Olivia and Nell standing almost in front of him.

  “Oh, good. Deputy James. Mrs. Yellowlees, here, was just going to take a little time to cool off outside. It got a little heated in here for her. Would you see that she finds a calm place to sit and read?” Olivia’s nose scrunched sweetly, and she patted Nell on the back, but none of it seemed condescending or forced.

  In that moment, Hadley believed Olivia cared about the mother and her worries about her grown son. Either she was a much better person than Hadley had given her credit for, or she was a fantastic actor.

  Paul said nothing for a few seconds. Then, as if coming out of a fog, he gestured for Nell to follow him. Once the door shut behind them, Olivia turned around and clicked back over to the competition. She patted Ian on the shoulder as she passed by him.

  Pivoting to face the crowd once she was in her preferred spot once more, she tipped the microphone back up to her lips and said, “I hope to see all of you here next weekend for our grand finale! It’s bread week, and believe me, these two talented bakers will have their work cut out for them. Thank you, and have a wonderful day.” She waved as if nothing odd had happened.

  Vendors returned to their booths, and customers either made one more lap around the booths or left. The Sunrise production team cleared the baking stations, cutting up pieces of cake for those who wanted to taste.

  Hadley slumped into the seat behind her table, still unsure what had happened.

  “So that was crazy,” Suze said, shaking her head.

  “Yeah.” Hadley blinked.

  “Olivia’s kind of a boss, don’t you think?” Suze said, gathering her smaller prints into one of her containers once she realized most of the people left were just there for cake samples.

  “Yeah, I kinda do.” She sighed and packed her remaining jars of jam away.

  Luke walked by on his way back over to his family’s booth, and though he didn’t stop to talk, the look he gave Hadley—all wide eyes and disbelief—said he was just as bowled over by the last few minutes as everyone else.

  “So …” Suze dragged out the word for a few seconds, making Hadley cringe even though she knew Luke was out of earshot.

  “So …” Hadley said in return, stalling. She hadn’t yet talked with Suze about her time with Luke at Annie’s party, or tell her all about Gretchen showing up at his house the other night. “Wanna grab coffee after we’re done packing?” Hadley asked.

  “Sure!” Suze smiled. “I’ve got to run to the post office before they close, but I can meet you there.” Suze set her bag and her box of supplies aside so she could take down her table and chair.

  Hadley waved a hand at her. “You get going. I’ll put those away for you.”

  “Thanks! You’re the best. I’ll see you in a few.” Suze blew Hadley a kiss as she grabbed her stuff.

  After packing up her own box and breaking down her table, she started on Suze’s.

  “Can I give you a hand?”

  When Hadley glanced up, Jack stood in front of her. The man was probably only a few years younger than her. He had kind, dark eyes, and a splash of dark hair that made her feel like he could’ve fit right in with her and Paul. After seeing him every weekend for the past couple of months, she’d also decided that he was one of the more patient people she’d ever met.

  Smiling, Hadley nodded. “That would be great. I just need help getting these tables into the storage closet right there.”

  Jack grabbed one end, waiting until she had a hold of the other end. After depositing the first one, they went back for the other.

  “I think it’s really nice what Sunrise is doing for Grady’s celebration,” Hadley said, glancing over at Jack before they picked up the second table.

  “It is.” Jack smiled. “Just made sense, you know.”

  Hadley furrowed her brow. “Because it happened here? During the competition? Jack, I hope no one at the company feels like they’re to blame. It was a terrible thing that could’ve happened anywhere.”

  Jack put up a hand. “Nothing like that. It made sense because he was one of us.” He hefted up the other end of the last table.

  “A baker?”

  Exhaling a quiet chuckle, Jack shook his head again. “A Sunrise Living employee. Well, he used to be.”

  Hadley almost dropped her end of the table. “What?”

  Jack set his end of the table into the storage closet and motioned for her to let go of her side. Once she did, he slid it into place, slapping dust off his hands. “Grady used to be the manager of our test kitchen, before he left to start his bakery.”

  “I had no idea. How long did he work there?”

  Shrugging, Jack said, “Uh, I’m not quite sure. You could ask Olivia, though. She’s worked there longer.” Jack’s face darkened as he seemed to remember something. “On second thought, maybe don’t ask her.”

  Hadley tipped her head to one side. When Jack didn’t offer up any more, she asked, “Why?”

  Jack glanced over near where the rest of the production crew was cleaning. Olivia was gone. He looked back at Hadley. “They were both writers for years, I heard. Then the position came open for test-kitchen manager, and they both applied for it. Grady got the job over Olivia. Talk is, she was pretty sour about it.”

  Her pulse pounded in her ears at his words. Olivia had a grudge against Grady, and now, when she sees him again after years, he ends up dead. Hadley barely noticed when Jack gathered up the three chairs and took them away. When she finally realized that was it, she waved to him and thanked him for his help.

  Hefting her box of remaining jam onto one hip, Hadley grabbed her purse and turned toward the door. She needed to talk to Paul.

  20

  Paul didn’t answer his phone the first or second time Hadley called, so after dropping off her box at the van, she headed toward the town hall. She called Suze to let her know she’d be a little late.

  “Hello,” Suze answered, the sounds of the coffeehouse in the background.

  “Hey, I’m going to be a minute. I just learned some very interesting information about Olivia, and I need to tell Paul.”

  “Sure, but”—Suze paused—“she’s here. You know, if you wanted to talk with her yourself.”

  Hadley smiled. Her friend had always been one of her best sleuthing sidekicks. And even though she’d been busy lately, and Luke and been by her side more in this case, Hadley was glad to hear things hadn’t changed. She turned around, walking toward the coffee shop instead.

  “On my way.”

  Ice crunched under her boots as she speed-walked down the sidewalk. During this part of the day, people had to be careful when walking on slick sections of the road or sidewalks. The afternoon sun beating down on the icy surfaces during the day melted the top layer while the cold air kept the majority of the patch frozen. The combination was a huge hazard, especially if you were moving fast, not paying attention. So even though she was in a rush, Hadley didn’t dare run.

  The coffee shop was busy when she entered. Warm air seemed to wrap around her cheeks like a grandmother who hasn’t seen a grandchild in a long time. It was wonderful and too hot all at once. Stripping off her jacket, Hadley spotted Suze at their favorite table by one of the large picture windows looking out on the river. She set her coat into the seat across from Suze.

  “For you,” Suze said, gesturing to a second coffee in front of her. “Thanks for getting my stuff put away.”

  Hadley smiled, taking a long sip of the perfect beverage. “No problem.” She looked around. “So where is she?”

  Suze craned her neck, leaning until she could see around the line of customers waiting to order. Then she gestured to the left with a jerk of her head. “Over by the restrooms. Sitting alone.” Suze raised her eyebrows twice.

 

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