The ponchos-they're flame retardant!" Nans yelled.

The ladies whipped off their ponchos and started beating the flames back.

Ruth and Helen laid theirs over the tops of the beams that had fallen and the flames snuffed out enough so that they could step over them and out into the barn. Lexy pushed the older women out first, then she, Norman and Olivia followed.

The seven of them burst out of the barn like bees rushing out of a flaming hive.

Lexy turned to look at the burning barn just in time to see Sprinkles sprint out of the doorway. Her eyes filled with tears as she fell to her knees, hugging the small dog.

The rest of them stood bent over with their hands on their knees, sucking in the clean air as the sound of sirens drew closer.

"Wait ... where's Farfel?" Olivia's voice rose in panic as she whirled around looking for the small dog. "Farfel!"

A faint yip sounded from inside the barn.

"She's still inside!" Olivia turned, taking a step toward the barn but Norman's hand fell on her shoulder before she could continue.

"No, it's too dangerous," he said.

She struggled to get away from his grasp. "I have to get my baby!"

"I'll go." Norman pushed Olivia to the side and ran toward the barn.

"Norman-wait!" Lexy yelled after him.

But it was too late. Her heart crowded her throat as she watched him disappear into the barn, just as the police and fire trucked pulled onto the lawn beside them.

Jack leapt out of his car rushing to Lexy. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. But Norman ran back there!" Lexy pointed to the barn now almost fully engulfed in flames.

"Someone is in there?" One of the firemen looked up from his task of unrolling the hose.

Lexy nodded.

His mouth twisted into a grim line. "I don't know if there's much of a chance, but we'll send someone in."

Beside her, Olivia wrung her hands and whimpered. Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen fended off the ministrations of the EMT's, craning their necks, looking toward the barn for any sight of Norman.

"Look! Over there!" Ruth pointed to the furthest edge of the barn. The landscape dipped downhill, exposing the cellar. A figure covered in soot wriggled out from the window.

Lexy's heart swelled when she recognized the figure. "It's Norman and he's got Farfel!"

Olivia broke into a sprint, running toward them and grabbing Farfel from Norman, then showering the dog with kisses. Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen surrounded Norman, patting him on the back. Lexy could see a blush creeping onto his soot-streaked cheeks.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

With Norman running back into the fire, Lexy had forgotten all about Cora. She whirled around to answer Jack. "Cora's getting away! You have to hurry!" she said with breathless urgency.

"Whoa," Jack put his hands on Lexy's shoulders. "Slow down. Take a deep breath and tell me what you are talking about."

Lexy took a deep breath and told him how Cora was the granddaughter of the farmer who owned the land before Regis' company bought it and how she'd locked them in the silo and set it on fire.

"She's the one who killed Winston and Regis out of revenge for the way they practically stole the land from her grandfather," she finished.

"Do you know her last name?"

Lexy nodded. "Silversteen."

"Don't move." Jack brushed his lips across her forehead, then ran back to the police car.

The yard was a hive of activity. Two ambulances were parked and EMT's were looking over Nans and the other ladies. Firefighters rushed around, aiming hoses gushing loudly with water at the barn fire.

Lexy walked over to Nans, Ruth, Ida, Helen, Norman and Olivia who were in a cluster ten feet away. Surely Jack didn't mean she couldn't walk ten feet?

"Are you okay?" she asked Norman, who was being tended to by an EMT.

"Yep," he grinned. That little dog showed me a trapdoor in the main barn and we got out through the basement. He reached out to pet Farfel's singed fur.

Sprinkles barked and Lexy bent down to pet her, then turned to Nans. "How did you guys know we were in there?"

Nans smiled down at Sprinkles. "Actually, it was Sprinkles that told us."

"Huh?"

"We were driving down the road and saw her running around loose," Nans said. "We knew you'd never let her loose so we called Jack, then came to investigate."

"Well, thanks. And thanks to you, too, Sprinkles." Lexy kissed the top of the dog's head then stood and hugged Nans.

"You saved our lives." Lexy turned to face Ruth, Ida and Helen. "All of you."

"Gosh, it was nothing, Lexy," Ruth stammered.

"But, what were you doing driving down this road?" Lexy's brows dipped as she studied the deer-in-the-headlights' looks on the ladies faces.

What had they been up to?

She never got her answer because just then Jack joined them, his phone up to his ear. "They're putting out an A.P.B. for Cora. Are you sure no one else was inside?"

Lexy nodded. "It was just us three in the silo and then Nans and the ladies came to our rescue. Everyone is out."

"Call Mike and tell him not to come," Jack barked into the phone. "Thankfully we won't need a medical examiner here today."

"You can say that again," Nans said.

"Yes. Thank goodness everyone survived," Ruth echoed.

"Oh, that, too. But that's not exactly what I meant." Nans shot them a sheepish look. "I was glad he wasn't coming because I haven't had a chance to bake him that apple pie yet."

Chapter Twenty-Three.

"Look at this-a page one article with my byline and everything!" Norman held up the front page of the Brook Ridge Tribune, his face alive with excitement.

It was the day after the fire and they'd gathered in the front room of Lexy's bakery-Norman, Lexy, Jack, Anna, Nans and the three ladies. Even Olivia, Larry and Evelyn had joined them. Lexy had put out a tray of pastries and the aromatic smell of rich coffee filled the room.

"That's wonderful, Norman," Nans said.

"I'm just glad the headline doesn't read Killer Caterer Murders Millionaire'," Anna joked.

"Me, too," Lexy said. "That could have really killed our businesses."

Anna laughed. "Yep, but I knew we didn't make the mistake and that you and Nans would figure it all out in the end."

"And, hopefully this is the first of many front page articles." Norman nodded to Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen in turn. "As well as the beginning of collaborating on many cases together."

"Here, here!" The four ladies raised champagne glasses filled with thick green juice and clinked them against Norman's glass.

"And don't forget that you were the hero of the day," Olivia gushed, referring to Norman's heroic rescue of Farfel from the clutches of the fire.

A blush crept up Norman's neck. "Yeah, I guess I did finally do something heroic and it's great that both dogs have a clean bill of health."

"Don't go getting too big for your britches." Ida wagged a finger at him. "You still owe us a cleanup after coffee. And you too, Lexy."

Lexy grimaced. "That's right. Too bad our cars are at the bottom of the pond. It might be a while before I can get over to Nans'."

"They did pull the cars out of the pond, actually," Jack said. "But I don't think you guys are going to want them back. That pond has a very muddy bottom and your cars are full of it. I hope you had good insurance."

"Well, at least you caught Cora," Olivia said.

"Yep, we got her at the airport right before she headed off on a one-way trip to Mexico." Jack reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. "We found Wolf's computer and the folder with the photographs of the birthday party in her apartment. They're still at the police station as evidence, but we took the liberty of printing out the pictures for you."

Olivia slowly took the envelope Jack was holding out toward her. She flipped open the flap and thumbed through the pictures inside.

"These are the pictures from the birthday party. The last pictures of Daddy." She sniffed as her eyes filled with tears.

Larry put his arm around her, glancing in at the pictures. "It's great that we've got these of Daddy and Winston, too. I'm sorry they're gone, but we still have each other."

Olivia beamed up at him.

"Well, Larry, I'll admit this juice is tasty." Nans took a sip from her glass, then puckered her lips. "But I have to say I prefer coffee."

Larry chuckled. "I wanted to bring you some seeing as the juice almost made me a murder suspect."

Nans blanched. "Well, it did seem like the perfect way to poison him."

Larry shrugged. "I always brought fresh juice to the club on Wednesdays, trying to get people on the health band wagon ... and drum up business for the market. So, naturally I brought some that day for Winston to drink."

Nans nodded. "What were you two arguing about that day?"

Larry's face fell. "After I talked to you about him at the Farmer's Market, it got me thinking that maybe I should try to help him with his gambling and anger problems. But, he wouldn't even admit he had them. It got kind of heated and we argued."

"Now, that's not your fault." Evelyn patted Larry's arm.

"Right, let's look on the positive side." Larry put his hand over Evelyn's. "The three of us get to control the company now and we can put the corporate resources to good use."

"That's right," Evelyn nodded. "We can stop the retail development of that beautiful land on Meadow Road and use it for a community organic farming initiative instead."

"And branch out into the herbal dog food business." Larry winked at Olivia.

Olivia's smile widened. "And now that Steve and I will have corporate backing for the dog food line, we can start production right away instead of waiting for an investor. And get a proper facility instead of fiddling around in secret in the back rooms of the K9 Center."

"We're going to be able to do a lot of good with that company now. Change the way it operates and instill a new company culture and traditions," Evelyn said.

"And start new family traditions, too," Larry added giving both Olivia and Evelyn a hug.

Lexy's heart surged for the three of them. It looked like this whole nasty business had a silver lining after all. Olivia and Larry were going to get the close relationship they both had said they missed and Larry and Evelyn were free to become more than just in-laws.

"Looks like all's well that ends well." Ida summed up Lexy's feelings as she bit into her lemon square.

"Except for the part where I have to go on a date with Stan," Helen said. Everyone laughed. Lexy had almost forgotten about the big sacrifice Helen had made for the sake of getting information on the case.

Jack slid his arm around Lexy's shoulders. "I hope you ladies have had enough sleuthing for a while. Especially you, Lexy."

Lexy chewed on her bottom lip, eyeing Nans and the other women's expectant faces. She knew none of them would want to take a break from sleuthing, but the truth was she could use a little less excitement in her life for the moment.

"Well, I do need to focus on the bakery," she said. "I've been neglecting it while chasing leads on this case, so some down time might not be a bad thing."

Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen nodded.

"We wouldn't want to run out of pastries to bribe our suspects with," Ruth joked.

"And don't forget, we have a lot of work to do packing up my house," Jack reminded her. "In fact, I'd like to claim your spare time for the rest of the summer."

Lexy smiled up at Jack. Giving him all her spare time didn't seem like such a bad idea at all. Of course, she could think of much more interesting things they could be doing than boxing up old dishes, but maybe they could fit some of those interesting things in in-between packing and cleaning.

Yep, now that she thought about it, taking a break from sleuthing to get Jack's house ready for sale didn't seem like such a bad idea at all.

After all, what trouble could she possibly get into while cleaning decades of clutter out of an old house?

The end.