Free A Pinch of Sea Salt and a Dash of Murder (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 1) by Phoebe T. Eggli Page B

corer. It appeared the search was for sharp baking instruments. Then an officer came out of her laundry room with all the dirty clothes from the last few days. Wryly, Melissa hoped they intended to take the clothes to be washed, dried, and folded. The one household task she liked the absolute least was laundry. Every time someone bagged an item, Detective Reynolds would write something down on his notepad and cast a suspicious look her way. Melissa’s patience with that man was about to reach its breaking point.
    Initially, Logan very loudly objected to what the cops were doing to his aunt’s house. She managed to calm him down. Melissa wasn’t happy about the situation either, but was smart enough to realize that arguing would only make matters worse at this point. As her house was being destroyed and her things taken as evidence, she could only look on in horror at the mess her life had become in such a short time.
    Jason informed them that a similar search was being conducted at the bakery. Melissa didn’t understand why they had to search there again. Hadn’t they already discovered whatever there was to discover there when Linda was first found? He shook his head “no”. He quietly explained that a tip had been called in giving very specific information about items that may or may not be in Melissa’s home and at the bakery. Part of his job was to follow up on every lead. Considering she knew she wasn’t guilty of anything, Melissa suspected that the “tip” had been called in by Linda’s husband. He seemed to enjoy causing trouble for her. When she asked Jason, he gave the expected response, “We can’t discuss any details of the case at this time.”
    “Now that’s total bull and you know it! You’re invading my home and treating me and my nephew like criminals. I have a right to know what is going on!” she angrily retorted. Melissa was normally a very mild-tempered person. It took a lot to push her buttons. This really had gone too far. Feeling her blood boil, she didn’t want to make a scene in front of Logan. The boy had really gone through too much for such a young man. It wouldn’t be fair to him if she lost her cool now. She tried to calm herself so he wouldn’t hear the tremble in her voice. Realizing she wasn’t going to get any information from Jason, she continued to sit on her deck and watch as the police turned her house upside down looking for something that couldn’t possibly be found – evidence – because she wasn’t guilty!
    As the police wrapped up their search of her home, Jason’s phone rang. She only heard one side of the conversation, but it didn’t bode well as far as she could tell. The normally calm cop became quite agitated. He brusquely barked orders to whoever was on the other end of the line to “bag everything” and to leave a patrol at the front and back of the bakery.
    With the call ended, he motioned for Detective Reynolds to join him in the kitchen. The only highlight of this entire ordeal occurred as the stouter, shorter officer tripped over some baking pans littering the tiled kitchen floor. Both Melissa and Logan giggled loudly. Even a few of the uniformed cops that remained inside the house found it difficult to suppress a chuckle or smile. As the older gentleman flashed angry glances around the room, his eyes landed on Melissa. The look on his face was easy to read. He was ticked off. For whatever reason he had it in for her. All he had to do was wait for the right piece of evidence so he could lock her up. His malicious stare assured her that he already believed her guilty and would stop at nothing to prove it. She just hoped he wasn’t in such a rush to convict her that he overlooked evidence that would exonerate her.
    That hope was dashed as the two detectives ended their confab in the kitchen. With a sad look on Jason’s face and a gleam of satisfaction from the other detective, they walked out to the deck. “Mrs. Melissa Maples, you are under