Free Bake, Battle & Roll by Leighann Dobbs Page B

who had gotten around to sniffing each other’s back ends. Lexy thought the dogs seemed to be making friends a lot easier than their owners.
    “Hey, looks like Brutus found a friend,” the smaller guy said.
    The big guy narrowed his eyes at the dog, lowering the gun slightly then jerked it back up in Lexy’s direction. “Who sent you?”
    Lexy’s brows mashed together. “Sent me? No one.”
    The two guys exchanged a glance. The smaller guy put his knife away and shrugged. 
    “They’re grandmas,” he said pointing his chin in Nans direction.
    The big guy nodded, but kept his gun trained on Lexy. “I suggest you take your dog, get on out of here and don’t come back.”
    Lexy ran over and grabbed Sprinkles leash. “Right. No problem. Sorry.”
    She turned and sprinted back toward the path, making sure Nans, Ruth and Helen got away ahead of her.
    She glanced back over her shoulder every twenty steps and her heart didn’t stop racing until they were a full five minutes away.
    “What was that all about?” Nans asked. 
    “I’m not sure but it seemed like a gang of unfriendly bikers to me,” Ruth answered.
    “Do you think they could have had something to do with Chef Dugasse’s murder?” Helen asked.
    “I bet they either had something to do with it, or they know something,” Lexy said.
    “Just because they are bikers and acted like they didn’t want us in their camp is no reason to assume they are killers,” Nans admonished.
    “It’s not just that.” Lexy pulled the bracelet she’d found at the head of the trail out of her pocket and held it up in front of her. “The guy with the knife had this exact same bracelet on and, since this one was found only twenty feet from the dining hall, I think it’s safe to assume one of them has been to that kitchen at least once before.”
     

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
    Lexy dipped her spoon into the thick custard and brought it to her lips. The sweetness from the sugar and the unmistakable flavor from the real vanilla bean she’d added danced on her tongue. The creaminess of the custard was like velvet in her mouth. Perfect.
    She pulled over a tray of the small puff pastries she’d made to house the custard and set the bowl of chocolate she’d drizzle on the top next to her. Spooning the custard into a piping bag, she picked up a pastry, squeezed some custard inside then set it on another tray. She continued until she had one tray completed, then spooned the chocolate on top for a perfect set of miniature bite-sized éclairs.
    She popped one into her mouth letting the flavorful explosion thrill her taste buds. They were just the way she wanted. She pulled another tray of puff pastries over and started repeating the process.
    As she filled the pastries she thought about the previous evening’s excursion with Nans and the ladies. Could the biker gang have something to do with Dugasse’s murder? Why would Dugasse be involved with them? It didn’t make any sense.
    She was trying to figure out how she could find out more about the bikers and what they were doing there when a grating voice cut into her thoughts from across the room.
    “Miss Baker, what a surprise to find you here in the kitchen instead of pestering suspects.” 
    Lexy’s stomach tightened as she watched Detective Payne make his way over to her. He wore his usual plaid Bermuda shorts and had his spiral bound notebook and pencil in hand. His eyes slid from hers to the tray of éclairs.
    “I have no idea what you mean,” Lexy said feigning innocence.
    “You went to visit Victoria Dugasse?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
    “My grandmother and I paid our condolences.” 
    “Hmm … well, she seemed to think you were doing more than that.” Grabbing an éclair from the tray, he stuffed it into his mouth before continuing. “I’d appreciate it if you left the police business to the police … besides the wife didn’t to it. The hotel records show that she was in the hotel gym at the time of