Munching on the cookie in her hand, she decided she didn’t care. She would go to that celebration alone tomorrow, and she was going to figure out who killed Grady.

  22

  Hadley didn’t need to have her friends with her to do some investigating … it was just so much more fun when she did. So when she found out that Mickie was also planning on attending the celebration too, it simply made sense that they should drive together.

  “Paul getting any closer to finding who did this?” Mickie asked after picking Hadley up at her house the next afternoon.

  “If he is, he hasn’t told me.” Hadley shrugged. She knew her brother was looking into the Yellowlees family, but she didn’t want to say anything to Mickie until they had actual evidence.

  She stared at the surrounding mountain range as Mickie’s Subaru wound through the curvy valley roads.

  “So that’s why you’re going today,” Mickie said. “You’re trying to help him figure this out.”

  Hadley turned her attention to her friend. Surprise widened her eyes at first, but she supposed she should’ve figured Mickie would guess her motives for coming today. Her thoughts settled on Grady’s two employees, Jenny and Ben. Maybe if she could get them talking, she could figure out if they were hiding something.

  She pulled her mouth into a half smile. “Guilty. What about you?”

  Mickie shrugged. “I figure not coming today would make me look like the killer, especially since so many people already think I did it.”

  Chuckling, Hadley said, “Well, at least you’re honest.”

  “Grady wasn’t my favorite, but I feel like I should at least give him the courtesy of showing up. Right?”

  “Right.” Hadley nodded. “And you can help me talk to Grady’s employees, the new owners of Cascade Valley Bakery.”

  Mickie’s shoulders dropped. “Oh, good. I was hoping someone was looking into them. That’s a good motive, if you ask me.”

  Hadley agreed. And as the other suspects fell away, those two seemed more and more guilty.

  The two women chatted about the new art installation in Fenton Park for the rest of the trip up north. Before long, they pulled into the parking lot outside the bakery. Mickie turned off her car and looked around.

  “Uh, do you think we’re early?” She checked her watch.

  “It’s only five minutes before they said it would start.” Hadley cringed as she took in the other cars in the lot, less than she could count on one hand. Something caught her eye. “I didn’t know they’d opened one of those monstrosities up here.” She pointed to the large shop at the other end of the strip mall, Cookies, Donuts, and Pies! Oh My!

  Mickie rolled her eyes. “A few months ago.”

  While they sneered at the shiny sign above the chain bakery’s front doors, another car pulled up. Olivia stepped out and gave them a little wave. Hadley and Mickie got out of their car and walked over to Olivia, who waited for them.

  “Hey, Olivia.” Hadley gave her a friendly smile. Even though the baking competition host was intense, and Hadley hadn’t gotten off on the best foot with her, she had really grown to respect and even like the woman.

  Olivia pulled them both into a quick hug. “So nice of you two to come.”

  “You and the magazine are the ones who are nice,” Mickie said. “Donating to this celebration is really generous.”

  A smile settled on Olivia’s face. “Well, shall we go in?”

  They nodded and followed the competition’s host inside Cascade Valley Bakery. Like the cars in the lot, Hadley could’ve counted the guests on her fingers. At least I’d have to use both hands, though, she thought as she observed the people milling about.

  Having visited the bakery once when it first opened, it surprised Hadley to see the place looking very different. It seemed Grady had already done some updating of light fixtures, the tables, and the countertops near the front register. The place smelled like Mickie’s, though, like a doughy, sugary dream. Sunrise Living had also set out an array of charcuterie and crudités as the celebration fell after lunch.

  Other than a few people she didn’t recognize, Hadley spotted Ian, Jenny, and Ben all talking around a round table in the corner.

  “It’s nice that Ian showed,” Mickie whispered, taking off her jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair.

  Hadley did the same. “I guess they were friends at some point. It’s too bad Erica isn’t here, though.”

  “She probably had no one to look after her baby. That’s got to be difficult.”

  “True.”

  “At least you won’t be fighting crowds to get a chance to talk with those two.” Mickie tipped her head toward Jenny and Ben.

  Hadley agreed. If there was a silver lining to the lack of people here, she supposed that would be it.

  She got her chance a half hour later. After Ben made a short speech about Grady, Jenny thanked Sunrise Living, and people milled about the refreshments: Hadley saw they were alone. Mickie was embroiled in a deep conversation with Olivia a few tables away, but she didn’t want to risk waiting for her and losing her chance. She wandered their way.

  “Hello,” Hadley said as she caught their attention.

  “Hi,” Jenny said.

  Ben smiled.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss. Grady was a talented baker.” Hadley glanced around at the bakery. “He’s changed the place up since I was here when it opened.”

  Ben flinched, his smile turning more sour than sweet.

  Jenny, realizing Hadley had caught the change in her business partner’s expression, said, “Grady tried everything.”

  “Everything but listen to us,” Ben said wryly.

  Hadley blinked, surprised to hear dissent from the people who’d been so positive about their boss until then. “I’m sorry. Listen to you about what?”

  Ben jerked his head to the right. “I’m sure you noticed that ridiculous excuse for a bakery across the parking lot.”

  “I did.” Hadley followed his gaze out the large window.

  “Well, once they moved in, things went downhill here. Fast.” Ben’s jaw clenched tight.

  Jenny clasped her hands in front of her. “Advertising, changing up our menu, he even brought in a consultant.” She sighed. “The redecorating was the latest fix he tried.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Hadley said. “I’m a big advocate for small businesses, and I hate to see people driven out of town by chains.” Her breath caught in her throat. “Wait. That’s why Grady was contemplating opening a shop in Stoneybrook, wasn’t it?”

  Ben exhaled. “Yeah, but he would’ve had to sell this place first to get enough capital.”

  “He sunk a lot of his money into trying to get sales back up to where they were.” Jenny’s face tightened with obvious discomfort.

  Ben amended, “Most of his money.”

  It took a moment for Hadley to organize all of that information in her mind. “So he wasn’t ever going to open a second shop; he was just hoping to move it.”

  The two new owners nodded.

  “Well, he said winning the Bake-Off would help. He was counting on that,” Jenny added.

  “But then you inherited a failing business.” Hadley’s eyes widened as she realized what it meant for them. Their grim faces told her everything she needed to know. “Which is why you didn’t liquidate the estate and take the money. There wasn’t any.”

  Jenny cringed. “Right. We think we might be able to save things. Grady wasn’t a fan of social media, so he wouldn’t try any of our suggestions about running ads there and trying to boost our sales that way. Ben and I learned how to bake from the best, and we think we’re up to the challenge.” As if she’d inspired herself, Jenny smiled.

  “I hope you guys can do it.” Hadley matched Jenny’s hopefully smile. “You seem like a great team.” She paused. “And you’re not worried about anything like an ex-wife coming in and claiming a stake in any of this?” Hadley knew Grady hadn’t married, but wasn’t sure how else to ask about his dating life. She still wasn’t ruling out the possibility of a scorned lover.

  Jenny and Ben looked at each other and shook their heads.

  “Oh, no,” Jenny said. “He wasn’t ever married.”

  “Barely dated,” Ben added.

  “There was a woman about a year or two ago, right when we opened the bakery. But we never met her, and we figured things just didn’t work out.” Jenny lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “He was here so much there was no way he could’ve made a relationship work, honestly.”

  Hadley pressed her lips together. “That’s so sad.”

  The two bakers nodded solemnly, then thanked Hadley for coming, excusing themselves to go replenish the pastries. Hadley wandered back toward Mickie, who had just popped one of them into her mouth.

  “Good?” Hadley asked. She hoped Jenny and Ben were right about their baking skills. It was tough to own your own business. She didn’t even have to worry about the big corporate competitors, and it was still hard.

  “Very,” Mickie said around a mouthful of flaky pastry.

  Hadley smiled. “You ready to go soon?”

  Mickie leaned close. “You learn anything from those two?”

  “I did. I think I just learned why they’re innocent.” Hadley waved to Olivia as they headed toward the door.

  “Seriously?” Mickie asked, holding the door open for them and letting in a gust of icy air.

  Hadley pulled on her jacket and dipped her chin once.

  “So who does that leave?”

  “Good question,” Hadley said.

  A sense of frustration weighed on her chest as she climbed into Mickie’s car. While it excited her to learn that Jenny and Ben were not killers, she felt like they had fallen further than ever from finding Grady’s killer.

  23

  Hadley had called Paul right away when she’d returned to Stoneybrook after the celebration of life. He’d thanked her for the information and said he’d look into it on Monday.

  Throughout the next few days, Paul confirmed Jenny and Ben’s claims about Grady’s finances, officially removed them from the suspect list, and could pull up the Yellowlees’ bank account histories.

  “I couldn’t find any cyanide products anywhere in the records. That, plus both Nell and Ian have two of the more solid alibis for the time someone killed Grady,” Paul told Hadley on Thursday afternoon when she stopped by his office to see about an update.

  “Right,” Hadley said with a sigh. “Ian was with Olivia. Where was Nell?”

  “With Erica. She was helping her take care of the baby, had been whenever Erica’s mom couldn’t make it. They were in the north conference room. Nell had the baby in there while it took a nap, and Erica headed there right after she put away her supplies, knowing it would be time to feed the baby.”

  Hadley nodded. “So we’re without any other viable suspects.”

  “I’m afraid so, but I’ll keep digging to see what we can find. There’s got to be something we’re missing.”

  “Okay, well let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” She gave her brother a squeeze on the arm as she stood and went back to the jam kitchen.

  Hadley and her dad had almost finished with the renovation work, so they’d decided to cut out early and finish strong on Friday. She was ready for a long bath to soothe her aching body. Building, sanding, and staining used a different set of muscles than jam making.

  No new snow had fallen for a few days at that point, so the streets and sidewalks were clear, piles from plows and shovels sitting along the edges. The afternoon sun shone down, and Hadley removed her hat, loving the feel of the warm rays on her scalp. She tipped her face up as she walked, closing her eyes for just a second.

  “Oomph!”

  All the breath rushed out of her as she ran right into someone else. She clutched her victim, trying to keep them both standing.

  “Oh! Hadley! I’m so sorry.” Jolee, Luke’s older sister, wavered on her feet, but grabbed on to the streetlight to her right.

  Hadley took a step back. “You? I was the silly one walking around with my eyes closed. The sun just felt so good.” She shook her head.

  Jolee chuckled. “No worries. I was standing here waiting for Mom, and I could’ve stepped off to the side so I wasn’t in anyone’s way.”

  Smiling, Hadley’s love for her small town grew. The kindness of the people of Stoneybrook was something she got to experience daily, but it was times like these that showed her how really lucky she was to live in a place where she knew everyone so well.

  “Sorry I didn’t get to talk to you last week at your mom’s party.” Hadley smoothed back her hair, mussed from her collision.

  Jolee waved a hand. “Oh, no worries.” Her face broke into a grin. “I saw you and Luke head out into the barn together, though.” She lifted her eyebrows conspiratorially.

  Despite the winter chill, Hadley’s face grew hot. “Jo, we—I mean—there’s nothing—”

  Annie's arrival cut Hadley's stammering short. Luke's mom had a big smile on her face.

  “Hello, Hadley,” Annie said, pulling her into a quick hug. She pulled back. “Why do you look like you just swallowed a bug?”

  Jolee snorted out a laugh. “Because she’s trying to convince me she doesn’t have a thing for Luke, and she’s failing miserably.”

  Annie’s face lit up, but she schooled her features back into indifference. “Oh, Jo. Try to have a little more tact, dear,” Annie scolded her daughter, then she turned to Hadley. “I’m sorry. We just get excited about seeing you two getting along so well again.” Annie reached out and squeezed Hadley’s hand.

  The gesture took some of the heat out of her embarrassment. She tried to smile.

  “Sorry, Had.” Jolee laughed. “I’m just giving you a hard time.”

  “No worries.” Hadley croaked the words out.

  “I think having Gretchen around really freaked all of us out, and we’re a little giddy now she’s gone.” Jolee shrugged.

  “What?” Hadley’s mouth hung open for a moment. “You—uh—Gretchen left?”

  Jolee’s lips peeled into an even bigger smirk than before as she took in Hadley’s expression.

  Annie elbowed her daughter and said, “Luke told us he would ask her over Wednesday and let her know there wasn’t anything between them anymore, that he’d moved on.”

  Hadley gasped. Wednesday night. The night Luke had shooed her out and she’d passed Gretchen’s car. He was trying to get rid of her because he was going to tell Gretchen to leave?

  She shook her head. “But then what was he talking about?” She muttered the question to herself almost involuntarily, realizing all too late that Jolee and Annie had heard.

  “Talking about when?” Jolee leaned in close.

  Hadley’s face felt lava hot all over again. She didn’t really want to be having this conversation with Luke’s mom and sister, but she also had a hunch they knew a lot more than she did about Luke’s relationship with Gretchen and was ready for some answers.

  She cleared her throat. “Oh, um. He was talking all about how some relationships were strong enough to withstand misunderstandings. I figured he was talking about whatever happened between him and Gretchen, and her coming to find him had made him remember what they had.”

  Annie and Jolee’s eyebrows arched in the same way, at the same time. There was no question the two were related. After a quick glance at each other, they both looked left and right to make sure no one was near.

  “Had, do you know what happened between Luke and Gretchen?” Jolee asked.

  Hadley shook her head.

  Jolee wet her lips. “She was just using him for his money.”

  “Money? What—oh …” Her face softened as she remembered.

  Hadley constantly forgot that Luke’s tech startup, GroWorks, had done so well, and he was basically loaded. She still saw him as Luke, the farmboy who lived a few roads away and rarely wore shoes in the summer. The fact that he still drove an older truck and dressed in the same flannel shirts, worn boots, and faded jeans, didn’t help.

  “How’d he figure it out?” Hadley asked after a moment.

  Annie’s face wrinkled. “Well, he’d been out with a couple women who were only interested in him for his money, so when he met Gretchen he didn’t tell her he was the owner of GroWorks, just that he worked there.”

  “I told him it was dumb to lie to her,” Jolee inserted. “But I kinda get why he did it.”

  Annie nodded, continuing with the story. “He came clean with the truth after the first handful of dates went well. She told him she didn’t care, and that she wasn’t someone who cared about money.”

  Hadley thought back to the first time she’d seen Gretchen. She’d been dressed sensibly, modestly. She couldn’t blame Luke. Gretchen seemed down to earth, as much as she hated to admit it.

  Jolee picked up, saying, “They got along well for the better part of a year, Luke said. But when Christmas came around, and Gretchen gave him a super-expensive watch, he got suspicious. She worked at a local outdoor supply store, and even though she made enough to afford her own place, a watch like that would’ve been completely outside of her budget. When he wore the watch to work for the first time, his assistant told him she had hoped he’d be happy with that model.” Jolee paused, taking a deep breath. “It turned out that Gretchen had used Luke’s assistant to buy the watch.”

  “I don’t get it … I don’t see anything bad about her asking his assistant what kind of watch he would want.” Hadley shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, feeling the cold air bite at her fingertips. “Assistants often know what their bosses like, right?” she asked, looking from Annie, back to Jolee.

  They shook their heads simultaneously, smiling at someone passing by on the sidewalk.

 

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