My Bakery

She read the article over and over again. They had obviously made a mistake. Her bakery did not make a poisoned cake. She ran to the phone and called the police. She looked at the picture. It was definitely a beautiful cake. And yes one slice was missing. It looked like a death by chocolate cake, but it wasn't. The dispatcher answered the phone. Anna tried to sound calm. Hello this is Anna from Delicious Delectable Desserts, we made and delivered the cake but we did not poison it. We did not put poison in the cake. The dispatcher asked Anna to hold. Anna repeated her presentation to a young male detective. He tried his best to assure her that she was not going to be arrested. They had tested the cake no traces of poison were in it. Anna felt faint with relief. Well no harm done they did not mention my bakery. No one will be boycotting me. It's just that I recognized the cake. The detective thanked her for calling.

She was curious. She looked up the customer's name. She was wondering if it was the same as the victim's. The customer was Jane Stockton. The victim was the governor. Jane Stockton according to the internet was a famed news writer. She wrote for Newsweek and other publications. She had a condo here but it was not her primary residence. She had not written anything about the Governor. The Governor had been voted out of office. He would have been packing up and moving out soon. To Anna, this didn't make any sense. But the poison had not been in the cake or frosting.

She went into her kitchen and cut a slice of chocolate cake. She always had one on hand. The perks of owning a bakery. If taste could kill this would. Feeling a grain of relief she settled into her cake-eating experience. To only have her thoughts tainted. She quickly called Peter her delivery boy. He had not heard about the death. The doorman didn't allow him to deliver the cake. He left it with him. No one else entered the building while he was there. She hung up the phone and finished her slice of cake.

Business was about the same the next day. Nobody seemed afraid to buy a slice of chocolate cake. Anna felt calm when she returned home. The terror had passed. She had made no deliveries today, bad for her business but good for her nerves.

The night flew by, nothing unusual. She finally found the courage to watch the news, as she got ready for bed. She slipped into her bed, as she fell asleep she thought she heard something about death by chocolate. It's just a bad dream, she told herself as she floated into sleep.

Saturday was usually a busy day. She was wearing a tennis outfit and had her hair pulled back. The weather was pleasant. No rain. Almost everything was ready, The last thing she had to do was put a copy of the local paper on the counter. People could read it while they waited. She threw it on the counter and then froze. On the front page was a picture of one of Joanne's cupcakes with a bite taken out of it. And again the headline was Death by Chocolate.

It was about time to open. She opened the shop door and left it ajar. She wondered what the police were doing. She couldn't help herself she called Joanne. A cheerful lady answered the phone. Her tone quickly changed once she realized who it was. She stammered" It was my cupcake." Anna tried to reassure her. "Joanne call the police. They will most likely tell you that there is no poison in the cupcake. It was my cake the other day and that's what they did with me." "Is it going to be a new bakery every day?" Why don't they let the public know that there was no poison in the cake? Joanne was numb. Anna was confused why the police weren't trying to find out information from the bakeries. It was the killer's signature even if it was not a weapon. Anna asked Joanne if a customer named Jane Stockton came in yesterday. Joanna seemed taken aback. The journalist, no she didn't come in yesterday. About a month ago she ordered a cake, I have her name and address, but I don't remember seeing her yesterday. Can I verify her phone number? When I called the number I have no one answered. Joanne went over to her computer, 336-555-4444. Anna knew that was not the number she had. She wrote it down and after hanging up, called the number she had. She jumped in shock someone actually answered it. A young girl's voice came through the receiver. She must have run to answer the phone because she sounded out of breath. Anna introduced herself and asked the girl if she had ordered a cake. The girl seemed surprised. No, she replied I just got back in town."

"Is this Jane?" Anna asked.

"Oh no," she replied, "it was Jane I was visiting. We were in Boston. "

" So there was no one at this number the past few days?"

"Just my cat and the man who feeds him. I know he didn't order a cake. He makes a delectable dark chocolate cake. He would have just made his own." "You must know him well." "He's my brother's roommate, a politician. My brother still hopes I'll marry him. I hear about him weekly." Anna felt slightly confused but responded. " Well, I hope you had a good trip, thanks for your time."

Anna wanted to hear more about this gentleman. She was very suspicious. She was upset that she had not inquired about the girl's name. She thought about writing an editorial. Something stating that the cakes had not been poisoned.

It was a very slow day. She hid the newspaper and did not mention it to any of the customers who came in that day. She had maybe earned her lunch money. Once she had cleaned up she dug out the paper and read the story. No real evidence was presented. She wished she had paid more attention in her government class. Usually, the Lieutenant Governor would fill in for the governor. But yesterday's victim had been the Lieutenant Governor. They were talking about the speaker of the house. It was a lady. The new administration was supposed to start in a few weeks. It just sounded like mass confusion.

Anna looked up Jane Stockton on Facebook. She was a public figure, so her information was available. Then she entered the number she had called into her computer. The number belonged to LeeAnne James. She was not married, so her brother must have the same last name, James.

LeeAnne had a profile on Facebook. She had some public posts about her two brothers. Andrew lived locally but he didn't have much to share with the public on Facebook. Anna could not think of a reason to send him a friend request. Anna was stuck, so she summarized her facts into a document, printed it, and trotted down to the police station.

Once she entered she began to doubt herself. They led her over to a young man who was in charge of the case. Minutes later they were on Andrew's Facebook page. In one picture was a man who looked familiar. Anna froze. He looked like the guy she had beat in the cake-making contest. She had won by one vote. It was that money that she used to start her shop. It made her future. She told the policeman the story. When they signed on to the young man's Facebook page they saw a different version. That loss had also altered his life. He had given up baking and gone into politics. But why kill the governor. The policeman scanned the page. they read every post. He did not have a significant other male or female. She thought about the conversation she had had earlier. Maybe he wanted to marry his roommate's sister. Maybe her rejecting him had somehow spurred the killing. The policeman appeared doubtful but they reviewed her Facebook page, no talk of politics or romance.

Anna knew they were halfway there. She called LeeAnn. She was on her way out but she had a moment. The policeman took the phone, introduced himself, and asked about Andrew's roommate (Tom), LeeAnn had a flood of information. He had worked for the deceased Lieutenant Goveroner's campaign. He had brought a female friend with him to a party at the campaign office. They were just friends, but the young lady had ended up dating the Lieutenant Governor's son. According to LeeAnn, Tom hadn't seemed upset, he hadn't quit. He never said anything about it. Anna saw possible reasons but not a solid why. She left the policeman all her data and returned home. That night no more bakery murders were on the news.

The next morning she went to her bakery and went through her usual setup routine. As she put the newspaper on the counter she noticed that on the front page, there was a picture of Tom. He had been taken into custody last night. He had confessed, but the article in the paper didn't say anything about his motive. And most importantly the article did say that there was no poison in the cake or cupcakes and it was safe to buy goods from the town's local bakeries. She sighed in relief. Anna finally felt peace.