Scones, Skulls & Scams by Leighann Dobbs Read Free Book Online

ring!”
    “Seriously? What did she think your motivation for doing that would be?”
    “Beats me.” Lexy bit into the burger and then licked the ketchup that had oozed out of the side from her lip and started chewing.
    “Did you get the door fixed?”
    Lexy nodded, still chewing.
    “And you didn’t find anything missing?”
    Lexy swallowed the bite of burger and went for a french fry. “Nope. The only thing I found was someone had messed with the cookbooks and recipes, but I don’t think they took any of those either.”
    “Why do you think someone would do that?” Jack asked.
    “I have no idea. The only thing I can figure is Caraleigh wanted my scone recipe, so she could make a batch and try to win the contest.”  
    “You seem pretty sure it was this Caraleigh person.”
    Lexy felt a stab of panic. She couldn’t tell Jack why she felt sure it was Caraleigh, because she couldn’t tell him about the conversation she’d heard out by the dumpster. Not only would he frown on her dumpster-diving activities, but even worse, he’d know she’d lied to him about going out to dinner with Cassie and she didn’t want him to lose trust in her.
    “Well, I can’t think of anyone else and her ring was there.” Lexy shrugged then changed the subject. “Nans and the ladies wanted me to ask if you guys found out any more about the skull they dug up in the sewer.”
    “We didn’t find anything,” Jack said. “Those old sewer tunnels are a mess. Big sections have caved in and blocked off the entire tunnel. It’s dangerous down there, which is why they are putting in new tunnels and blocking off the old ones. Those old tunnels could flood at any time and half the concrete would go with it.”
    “So that’s it? You’re not going to do any more investigating down there?”  
    Jack drained his glass of milk. “Nope. It’s an old cold case and no one really cares about it, especially since we have so many current matters that need attention. Plus this whole bicentennial celebration is taking up a lot of our time. Which reminds me, I have to work the evening before and morning of the bicentennial. We’re so shorthanded even we detectives have to pull a detail. But I’ll be there in the afternoon to see you win a blue ribbon for your scones.”
    Lexy’s heart swelled at his confidence in her as he cleared the empty dishes from the table, taking them to the trash and scraping before loading into the dishwasher. He turned to look at Lexy.
    “I hope you and Nans don’t have some harebrained idea about going down into the sewers to investigate the mystery of the skull,” he said. “It’s very dangerous down there and once they are done most of the old exits will be sealed off. Those old tunnels could fill up with water and you could be trapped in there.”
    Lexy could see genuine concern on Jack’s face, but she felt her back stiffen. She hated anyone telling her what to do. Still, he did have a point.
    “So, just where are the remaining entrances?” Lexy asked innocently.
    “When they are done, the only manhole cover will be in the town center. But you can’t open it, so don’t get any ideas. It’s too heavy—you need a special tool.”
    “Wait, I thought you said there were other entrances.”  
    “There’s supposed to be a few under the downtown area, but no one seems to know exactly where they are. The old records aren’t that great,” Jack said. “Then again, we didn’t look too hard. And you shouldn’t either.”
    “Of course not,” Lexy said to appease Jack.  
    “That’s my girl,” Jack said.  
    Lexy smiled. Better to keep the peace now … she was pretty sure she was going to do exactly as she pleased later on.  
    Feeling a change of subject was in order, she stood and grabbed Jack’s hand. “Let’s go over to our place. I have dessert.”  
    Jack smiled, the glint in his eye telling Lexy his idea of dessert probably consisted of more than the frosted brownies she’d left on