"Wait a minute! I think I know just where to ask," Lexy said, remembering the trophies from the pub. "And he did fight with someone, but she's very much alive."

"Who is that?" Jack rinsed off the last bowl and handed it to her.

"Violet Switzer."

"Who?"

Lexy told him about Violet, how she took competing to the extreme and had beaten Tom and Ida and was now Lexy's competition for the desserts contest. "I don't mind admitting that I'm a little intimidated by her already and I haven't even met her yet."

Jack laughed. "Well, she sounds intimidating, but I don't think Tom's grudge against her can be a clue since he didn't kill her."

"No, not her, but Sprinkles found that stub from The Elms Pub in your basement. What if that stub was from the mummy? Tom hung around there, too."

Jack pressed his lips together. "I don't think it was. Davies would never let a dog run off with a clue from the crime scene. I'm sure Sprinkles got that from somewhere else in the basement. But if Tom hung around there, then it is worth asking around to see if anyone who is still there knew him back then."

Lexy draped the dishtowel over the oven handle. "And I should go back to talk to the McDonalds again. They said they were thinking about redoing the basement but never actually had it done, so maybe they can verify the basement had that cement coating on the inside when they bought it."

"Now you're thinking!" Jack let the water out of the sink. "If they can verify that, it would prove O'Keefe was lying and had something to cover up."

Lexy felt a tingle of enthusiasm. Now she was getting somewhere. "Have you been able to get any information out of Davies?"

Jack shook his head. He lifted the corner of the shade with his index finger and looked back out the window. "No, she's clammed up tight. John's been feeding me whatever he can find out but she's not telling him much, either. All I know is that she's considering me as a suspect, but she can't do anything officially until she gets some more solid information. That's why it's so important we find out who did this right away."

Lexy's heart pinched at the worry on Jack's face. It wasn't doing him any good to stare out at the crime scene-she'd better do something to take his mind off it. She grabbed his arm and urged him away from the window.

"Don't worry, we'll sort this out," she said as she pulled him into the living room.

Jack plopped into a chair and pulled her into his lap. "You're right. I'm not all that worried."

He lowered his lips to Lexy's and her stomach did a little flip, but then a flash of light outside caught her eye. She turned her head toward the window, causing Jack's lips to brush her cheek.

Was someone out there watching them?"

She scrambled out of Jack's lap and ran to the window. Across the street sat a bright, red Mustang convertible with a white-haired old lady behind the wheel. And she wasn't just parked there-she was looking in Lexy's window with binoculars!

Lexy ripped the door open and ran out, but she was too late. The car screeched around the corner.

She closed the door and turned to Jack who was still sitting on the chair, his left brow raised at her.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Someone was outside looking in here with binoculars. I think they were stalking me!" Lexy fumed.

"Stalking you? Who would want to do that?"

"I'm not sure ... but I think it was Violet Switzer."

Chapter Eight.

Lexy kept her eye on the rear-view mirror, looking for a red Mustang, as she drove to Nans' apartment the next morning. Pulling into the parking lot, she felt silly. Surely, Violet wouldn't follow her everywhere, and even if she did, what did Lexy care? She wasn't afraid of an old lady.

Her phone chirped and she looked down. Her mother. Lexy debated not answering because she was in a hurry to meet with Nans and the ladies, but guilt took over and she pressed the green button.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Lexy? Is that you?" Vera Baker's voice blasted out of the phone at its usual high volume, causing Lexy to hold the phone six inches away from her ear.

"Yes, Mom. How are you?"

"Oh, good, dear. What about you? Is Jack treating you okay?"

"Yes, he is, Mom. Where are you guys now?" Lexy had given up on trying to keep track of her nomadic parents who were traveling across North America in a haphazard manner. One week, they could be in Nevada, then the next week, Florida, then the next, Canada. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it, but Lexy figured if they were having a good time then who was she to question it?

"We're in the desert of Maine."

"There's a desert there?" Lexy cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder while she reached for the bakery box on the passenger seat, then she got out of the car and started across the parking lot.

Vera sighed. "You never heard of it? It used to be three hundred acres, but now it's about forty-five. You had better hurry if you want to see it, though. They say it will be gone in fifty years."

Lexy frowned at the phone. She'd never heard of any disappearing desert. "Gone? Where would it go?"

"The forest is reclaiming it," Vera said in an exasperated tone.

Lexy could hear clinking and muttering in the background as she opened the glass door and slipped into the lobby. "What's that noise in the background?"

"Oh, it's just your father."

"What's he doing?"

"Oh, he's just tinkering with the RV."

"Tinkering?" Lexy felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her. "Is something wrong with it?"

Silence.

"Mom?"

"It's just a little minor problem, Lexy. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? I could send you some money-"

"Don't be silly! We don't need money ... your father's calling for me. I gotta go."

"Okay, Mom. Say hi to Dad and you guys take care."

"You, too. Say hi to Mona for us!"

Vera hung up and Lexy found herself standing outside Nans door, frowning down at her phone. Was something wrong with the RV? Nans had mentioned they'd been having trouble.

Her gut twisted-even though she'd offered to send her parents money, she'd been glad her mother had refused because she really didn't have any extra. She'd sunk every last dime into renovations at the bakery and was counting on the sale of Jack's house to replenish some of those funds and pay her parents back.

She raised her fist and knocked sharply on Nans' door. She really needed to kick this investigation into high gear-not only so she could clear Jack from the suspect list, but also so she could get the house sold and the money to help her parents.

"Lexy, come in." Nans opened the door and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee floated out into the hallway.

Ruth, Ida and Helen waved at Lexy from their seats around Nans' mahogany dining room table as she crossed the small foyer, then put the box in the center of the table.

"Coffee?" Nans asked from the small kitchen adjacent to the dining room.

"Yes, please." Lexy had rushed out of the house without her morning cup and had been too busy checking her rear-view mirror on the ride over to stop for coffee. She was practically comatose with lack of caffeine.

Ruth pulled out a chair and gestured for Lexy to sit while Nans shoved a mug in her hand. Lexy sipped the steaming brew gratefully.

"What did you bring?" Ida lifted the lid of the bakery box enthusiastically, her smile fading as she looked inside. "Don't you have any scones?"

Lexy narrowed her eyes. "No. Why? What's wrong with the cookies?"

The ladies exchanged a look. Ruth cleared her throat. Helen looked down at the floor. Nans got up and made herself busy in the kitchen.

"What?" Lexy repeated.

"Well, the meringues aren't bad," Ida said.

"But..." Lexy drew the word out.

"They just need more sugar," Ruth shrugged. "I'm sure they'd be perfect if they were just a bit sweeter."

"This is a new batch with more sugar than the last batch."

"Oh?" Ida raised her brows and the ladies all reached in and pulled out a cookie.

Lexy watched as Ida bit into hers and made a face. "Better try again, dear. Still needs more sweetener if you want to beat Violet."

Lexy's spirits sank. "More? I've upped the recipe twice now."

Ida glanced at the others and they nodded.

"Sorry, but it's better we tell you now so you can adjust," Ruth said.

"Yep, you know Violet won't make any mistakes with her meringue," Helen added.

"Speaking of Violet. Does she have a red Mustang convertible?" Lexy asked.

"Yes, I believe she does." Helen folded the half-eaten meringue cookie up in her napkin.

Ida nodded. "She won it in a slots tournament down at Foxwoods."

"Sheesh, is there nothing this woman doesn't win?" Lexy asked.

Ida, Ruth and Helen shrugged.

"Not that we know of," Ruth said. "What about you, Mona?"

"What?" Nans looked in from the kitchen, a yellow gingham dishtowel in her hand.

"Violet Switzer. Have you ever seen her lose anything?"

"Switzer ..." Nan scrunched up her face. "I'm not sure I know her."

"Sure, you do," Ruth said. "The one Ida is always complaining about."

"Oh, right. I don't know anything about her losing anything." Nans sat down at the head of the table. "Why are we talking about her?"

"Yeah, good question," Helen said. "We should be talking about the mummy case."

"Yes, let's get back to business," Ruth added."What's the plan?"

They looked at Nans, who shrugged. "Sorry, I don't really have one. I'm a bit out of the loop."

"Right," Ida took over. "Here's what we'll do. Mona, you and Lexy are going to talk to the McDonalds. Find out if the basement was bare blocks or had that cement stucco on it. Then maybe we'll know if O'Keefe was lying to us or not."

"Helen and I will use our resources' to see if there was any funny financial business going on with O'Keefe," Ruth said.

"Very good," Ida nodded. "Time is of the essence so we'll double up. Let's meet back here and figure out where to go after that."

"Sounds like a plan." Ruth stuck her fist out for a knuckle tap and the others did the same, then Lexy and Nans pushed back their chairs and started for the door.

Lexy opened the door and was just about to step out into the hall when she remembered something important. She turned to look at Ruth, Ida and Helen who were still seated at Nans table. "What about the cookies?"

The three women looked at each other and Ida made a face. "Sorry, dear. They still need more sugar."

Out in the hallway, Nans slowed to a crawl. She slipped on her crystal-studded fuchsia reading glasses and rummaged in her purse. "Why don't you go ahead and get the car. I need to make a quick call."

Lexy sensed Nans didn't want her listening in. Was she calling the mysterious boyfriend? Lexy couldn't help but smile. "Okay. I'll meet you out front."

Nans came out of the lobby doors just as Lexy pulled the car up, and they headed off in the direction of the McDonalds' senior living facility. Lexy was bursting with curiosity about this boyfriend that was causing Nans to act so secretive.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Lexy asked.