Free Death by Chocolate Cake: A Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery by Stacey Alabaster

his hair over his shoulder even though his hair was nowhere near long enough to actually do that.
    "Justin doesn't know what he is talking about," Adam mumbled, not taking his eyes away from the cake display. I thought I could detect a note of bitterness in his voice that wasn't there due to any shame or embarrassment over screwing up his audition. I exchanged a look with Pippa, who seemed to pounce on the tone in his voice.
    "Did you get along with Justin while you were preparing to interview?"
    Adam lifted his head high in the air and pouted. "As well as anyone could get along with that guy. With his ridiculous expectations and his air of self importance."
    Pippa and I were still looking at each other. Whatever Adam's problem was with Justin, it was personal, not professional.
    I cleared my throat and ventured a guess. "Adam, did you perhaps get along a little too well with Justin?"
    Adam was still pouting but he threw me an indignant look. "Whatever it was that happened between us, it was all one way, let me tell you. I turned Justin down and he responded by blowing my audition for me."
    "Adam, I'm sure Justin wouldn't do that."
    "He did. He tampered with my audition piece. I just know it. Left the cake out of the fridge or something so it tasted bad. I've never seen a person spit out one of my creations in my life, and suddenly all the judges are spitting my cake out, saying it was one of the worst things they have ever tasted." Adam shook his head. "No. It was Justin screwing with it. It just had to have been. I'm telling you, he wanted to take revenge on me for rejecting him. That was it." Adam finally looked me directly in the eyes. "Well, now I will have my chance again. A total do-over. With any luck, Justin won't be working at the show by the time the new auditions roll around."
    "Adam," I said slowly. Accusingly. "Why you think that Justin won't be around? What did you do?"
    He didn't answer me.
    "Are you the one that leaked the rumors to the press that Justin was the one who did it?"
    Adam's attention was fixed back firmly on the cake display. "Maybe."
    "Adam!"
    "Well, I had to get revenge on him somehow! He ruined my one big chance to make it."
    I threw my head back in frustration. I had Justin holed up in a hotel room, constantly texting me asking whether I had found the killer yet so that he was off the hook, and the entire rumor was down to a lover's spat.
    Adam kept trying to defend himself. "If Justin is kicked off the show then I will get a fair chance. It's only fair. He deserves it if he’s going to tamper with the outcome of the show!"
    I rolled me eyes a little. "That's a producer's job, Adam. To tamper with the outcome of a show." I stopped and stared at him.
    I had to ask it.
    But Pippa jumped in ahead of me.
    "So it looks like Pierre's murder worked out pretty well for you," Pippa started to say slowly, inching her way towards a squirming Adam.
    "Well, maybe, but only accidentally." Adam straightened up and cleared his throat. "What are you trying to suggest?"
    "Did you kill Pierre so that you could take revenge on Justin? Or Pierre, for that matter. For spitting your cake out."
    "No!" Adam squealed. "I might have been angry about losing my chance, but I would never do something like that. That's insane."
    He held his hand up to his neck to mimic a pearl-clutching motion. Pippa and I looked at each other. I knew we were both thinking the same thing. How can we trust a word this guy is saying?
    Adam looked at me. "Anyway, I'm not the only person making up rumors and selling them to the press," he said pointedly.
    "What are you talking about, Adam?"
    He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to know how the rumor about you and Pierre got leaked to the press?"
    I sighed. I did want to know, but I didn't really want to give Adam the satisfaction that he was clearly deriving from being the holder of this information.
    Pippa nodded at me. A signal to me to drop my pride.
    "Fine, Adam. Tell me who told the