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

she really that angry at me for making it to the next round over her? Unless she did kill Pierre, I can't see why she would do such a thing."
    Pippa checked the time. "It's late. Almost 9:00. Do you think we should go over there tonight?"
    "She has young children, Pippa. They might be sleeping. Besides, if she was really a dangerous menace to society, surely the Belldale Police would be on to her by now."
    We each looked at each other before we burst out laughing. "Well, maybe not." Pippa reached over for her tea and took a big slurp. "Speaking of the police, have you heard from Jackson lately?"
    I shook my head and pursed my lips. "Nope. Ever since I turned him down—I mean as an investigator, Pippa, don't let your imagination run wild—he seems to be avoiding me."
    "Sulking?"
    I sighed. "I don't know. I can't presume to know what goes on in his head."
    "And he's still living with that skinny detective, right?"
    "As far as I know." I was eager to change the subject. "Speaking of living with partners. Have you and Marcello had any luck finding a place to live yet?" I asked hopefully.
    "Ooh!" Pippa jumped up and pushed me off the seat so that she could get to the computer. She quickly brought up a real estate site and excitedly showed me the listing for a two-bedroom apartment at a rock bottom price.
    I leaned forward. "That's half what I pay and it’s double the space."
    "Yep." Pippa nodded as she flicked through the photos. "There's a proper bath as well. And there’s a big yard, if we want to get a dog. The landlord allows pets, apparently."
    "Pippa, what’s the catch?" I suddenly caught the address of the property. "Pippa, this is over the other side of the highway! It's in downtown Belldale," I said, really trying to hide the look of horror on my face. I don't like to be a snob, but Belldale is definitely a town of two halves. I'd only been to this area once before in my life, when Pippa had dragged me to a meeting of her paranormal club.
    "I know," she said cheerfully. "The area is about to blow up big time."
    "It is?"
    She nodded. "So we should grab this place now before rent prices go up."
    I sat in silence for a moment. There was another reason I wasn't that keen on Pippa's new zip code. Well, technically, that side of town shared the same zip code, but it may as well have been on a different continent as far as I was concerned. "But, Pippa, it's so far away."
    "Don't worry," she replied. "I'll still make it to work on time every day."
    "It's not that, Pips. It's that you won't be able to just pop over for a coffee or a chat whenever you want." I stared at the empty sofa. It suddenly hit me that Pippa wouldn't be living on my couch anymore.
    It suddenly hit me that she was married.
    And it didn't seem to be one of her crazy schemes, or something she got sick of and gave up on after a few weeks.
    She really loved Marcello. She was serious about him.
    And she was really going to move in with him.
    "Rach? You okay?" Pippa said with concerned, leaning back to look at me.
    "Yeah," I said quickly, trying to hide the sniffling sound in my voice. "It's just been kind of an emotional day for me, that's all."
    I stood up. "Let me know if you need me for a reference," I said with a big smile. "For when you apply."
    Pippa made an apologetic face. "We kind of already did apply. Fingers crossed, we'll hear by tomorrow."
    "Oh." I sucked in a deep breath. "That's great, Pips," I said before I gave her a big hug. "I'll cross all my fingers. And toes as well."

    * * *
    I heard Pippa make a sort of inhuman cry that I couldn't tell if it was a squeal of joy or disappointment.
    I ran into the front of the bakery from the kitchen, my hands still covered with flour and held up daintily with my elbows bent, as I ran over to Pippa, who ended the call on her cell phone.
    "Well?" I asked, assuming it had been her real estate agent on the phone. In the split second before she answered, I wasn't sure whether I wanted her to get the apartment