Nans stiffened in her seat turning startled eyes on Lexy. "No. What do you mean?"

Lexy shrugged. "I heard you met a nice man ..."

"Oh." Nans relaxed back into her seat, a smile curling her lips as she stared out the window. "Well, that's not anything I want to talk about right now."

"Oh, sorry." Lexy grimaced-she was dying to know about him but didn't want to invade Nans' privacy. Luckily, they'd reached the senior living facility and Lexy could change the subject.

"Have you been here? The place is pretty nice," Lexy said as they walked to the building together.

"Yes, I've visited them a few times." Nans held the door for Lexy, then proceeded in the direction of the McDonalds apartment.

"Do you visit them often?" Lexy asked.

Nans shrugged. "Not too often, but we still keep in touch a bit. All the old neighbors are still quite close."

"Oh, that's nice," Lexy said. "When I talked to them, they seemed a little ... umm ... forgetful."

"Well, that comes with the age. I visited them here not that long ago, and they seemed right as rain," Nans said as she rapped on the door.

The door opened almost immediately and Lois's face peered out, her eyebrows shooting up when she saw them. "Why, Mona, what a surprise! We haven't seen you in ages."

Nans frowned. "I was here the other day, Lois. Remember?"

"Oh, yes, of course. How silly of me. Time does get away from you at my age." She opened the door and gestured them in.

"Hi, ladies," Charles said from the recliner. "You'll pardon me if I don't get up. My hip is acting up today."

"Of course," Lexy said as she and Nans took seats on the couch.

Lois pulled a chair in from the kitchen and perched on the edge. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Nans nodded at Lexy, who said, "I had some questions about the basement in Jack's house ... your old house ... again."

"Oh, right. Terrible thing with that body and all." Lois clutched at Charlie's arm. "Do they know how it got there? Or when? Was it in our basement the whole time we lived there?"

"They're not sure yet," Lexy said. "But, we were wondering about the basement walls. The room was made by building a false wall and covering it with a cement coating. The builder said that the cinderblocks were exposed when he sold it to you. He said all the houses were that way."

Lois's eyes slide toward Nans and then Charlie. "Well, I don't know if I remember. It was so long ago."

"I checked my basement and it's cinderblock," Lexy said.

"Oh, no, we always kept it locked," Lois said. "No one could get in."

"No." Lexy raised her voice a few decibels. "I said cinderblock."

"Yes, I think they are made of cinderblock," Charlie said. "Unless you refinished them and they put some stucco cement coating on it to pretty it up."

"But was yours cinderblock when you moved in?" Lexy asked.

"I'm not sure." Charlie tapped the side of his head. "My memory isn't as good as it used to be. Do you remember, Mona?"

"I remember looking at it after you started the remodel and the walls were stucco, but I'm not sure if it was that way before," Nans said.

Lois's brows furrowed, causing wrinkles in her wrinkles. She looked at Lexy. "Why is this so important?"

"The builder claims the basement was raw cinderblocks when he sold it to you. I was thinking if you remembered that it was stucco when you moved in, it would prove he was lying and make him a suspect."

"Oh, dear." Lois looked at Nans. "Well, I wouldn't want to point the finger at someone who might be innocent if I wasn't sure. Did the police pinpoint the time of death to a date before we bought the house?"

"I haven't heard anything about an exact date, yet," Lexy said. "But it must have happened before you moved in-otherwise, surely you would have noticed."

"Yes, of course," Lois said. "Well, I'm sorry if we can't be much help. Our memories are not so good. And I feel just terrible this has happened in our old house ... and now you and George have to deal with it."

"Jack," Lexy said.

"Did you say track? I don't know if you're on the right track." Lois stood up. "If you could pinpoint the timeframe that person was killed, we might be able to help. It seems there was a stranger around the neighborhood and I wonder if he would have had something to do with it."

"You mentioned that before, but I don't see how it could be relevant to this case." Lexy followed Lois to the door.

"Now, don't be too hasty, dear," Nans said. "We need to consider every angle."

Lexy doubted that would be the case. How could a stranger possibly have made a secret room and put a body in the basement without the McDonalds knowing?

They said their goodbyes, and Lexy and Nans headed to the car. Nans seemed more interested in getting back to the retirement center in a hurry than she was in talking about the case, so the ride back was quiet. By the time Lexy dropped her off and headed back to the bakery, she was feeling a little down in the dumps.

Not only was Nans' lack of interest in the case disappointing, their trip to the McDonalds' hadn't given her any useful information, so she still had nothing concrete with which to nail Tom O'Keefe. She could only hope that her next stop would be more informative.

Chapter Nine.

Cassie was knee deep in customers when Lexy arrived back at the bakery after dropping off Nans. She threw on an apron and rushed out front to help out. She sold several pies, dozens of cookies for take-out and countless scones and muffins for people who wanted to sit at the cafe tables and enjoy the view.

The constant rush of customers and chatter occupied her mind, leaving her no time to think about Nans or the mummy case.

Once the rush subsided, Lexy grabbed a white towel and made her way to the tables to clean up while Cassie re-arranged the bakery case.

"The ladies said my meringue recipe still needs sugar," Lexy complained as she wiped the crumbs from the table into her cupped hand.

"I didn't try the latest batch-"

Cassie stopped abruptly, causing Lexy to look up and see her friend looking at her funny ... no, not at her-over her shoulder. Lexy turned in the direction of Cassie's stare and her heart skidded when she saw a small, white-haired woman standing directly across the street. Not just any white hair woman. Lexy recognized her as the woman in the red Mustang-Violet Switzer.

Lexy's heart thudded as she realized Violet was staring straight at her. Their eyes met, then Violet raised two fingers, pointed them at her eyes, then extended her index finger toward Lexy.

I'm watching you.

Then she turned and disappeared into the haberdashery across the street.

"What the heck was that all about?" Cassie asked.

"That was Violet Switzer!"

"Your competition in the dessert contest?" Cassie's lips quirked up in a smile. "Looks like she's got you all riled up."

"Well, she's following me and it's creepy."

"Look, you're falling right into her trap. She's trying to psych you out. What you gotta do is pretend like it doesn't bother you."

Lexy chewed her bottom lip. Cassie was right. Violet was trying to get her all flustered and she was playing right in to her hands. "Yeah, you're right. I don't know why I'm letting her get to me. I mean, what's to be scared of? It's just a contest, for crying out loud."

"Right. Maybe you should turn the tables on her ... follow her around and see how she likes it," Cassie suggested.

"You know, that's a good idea." Lexy glanced across the street. Was Violet still in the store? Should she rush over and follow her? No, she didn't have time-she had more important matters to tend to. "I'll have to find out more about her. Maybe even pay her a visit ... but first, I have to stop in at The Elms Pub.

"The Elms?" Cassie frowned at Lexy. "Why do you have to go there?"

"Tom O'Keefe, the one who built Jack's house, used to hang around there and I was thinking I might be able to ask around about him. It seems like the kind of place that a lot of old-timers would still hang around at."

"Oh, it is," Cassie shut the bakery case door and moved over to the self-serve coffee station to straighten up the K-cups and pour a coffee for herself.

"You go there?" Lexy tossed her towel over her shoulder and crossed to the counter where she started to assemble a white bakery box.

"Yeah. My brother knows the owner-the grandson of the original owner, actually."

Lexy perked up. "You wouldn't be able to arrange for me to talk to the original owner, would you?"

"Pops? Sure, he's usually there every day. His name is Sam. Just tell him I sent you and he'll treat you like an old friend."

"Great." Lexy reached into the case and took out a tray of white, fluffy meringue cookies. "I'll take some of these meringues as a bribe."

"Is that the latest recipe?" Cassie asked.

Lexy nodded as she transferred the cookies in to the box.

"Let me try one." Cassie picked one off the plate. "We'll see if the ladies are right or if their taste buds are senile."

Lexy watched silently as Cassie took a bite, chewed, then licked her lips and nodded. "Sorry, they are right. It needs maybe just a touch of sugar-like only a teaspoon."

Lexy sighed. She'd have to carve out some time to fiddle with the recipe which meant less time on the case. Glancing out into the street where Violet had been, she felt her competitive nature take over. She knew she could win that dessert contest no matter what kinds of games Violet wanted to play. Besides, she could certainly best an old lady, both in cooking and psychology.

As far as Violet Switzer was concerned, it was game on. But first, Lexy had to find just one clue that would implicate Tom O'Keefe in the decades-old murder. She closed the lid of the box and headed out to The Elms Pub.

The Elms Pub sat on the corner of Elm and Center Streets across from the Mini-Mart gas station in the section of town where suburbia turned into small-town urban.

Lexy stood just inside the door, adjusting to the dim lighting. In front of her, a long, wooden bar ran half the length of the room. It was lined with high-backed bar stools, their brass footrests scuffed and black from years of use. Behind the bar, a few neon beer signs added extra lighting, which, in Lexy's opinion, was much needed.

Tables were scattered around the edge of the room. They looked clean and were mostly empty except for one table with two middle-aged men sipping beers and a booth in the back corner where a white-haired man cooled his palms around a frosted mug of golden liquid.

The bartender looking questioningly at Lexy's white box as she crossed to the bar.

"Hi." She smiled. "I'm looking for Sam. My friend, Cassie Darling, sent me."

"Oh, you know Cassie? She's a good friend. Pops is back there." He thrust his chin toward the white-haired man in the booth.

"Thanks."

Pops watched with curious eyes as Lexy made her way toward him. She stopped beside the booth, resting the bakery box on top of the table and holding out her hand. "Hi. I'm Lexy Baker, a friend of Cassie Darling."

His smile widened and he met Lexy's hand with a firm, warm handshake.

"I'm Sam Barlow. Any friend of Cassie's is a friend of mine." He gestured across the table. "Please sit."

Lexy slid into the booth just as the bartender appeared at her shoulder.

"Can I get you something?" he asked.

"Just a coffee, please."

"Comin' right up."

Sam nodded at the bakery box. "What's in there?"

"Meringue cookies. It's a new recipe I'm trying out for the Brook Ridge Desserts contest." Lexy flipped the top open and angled the box toward Sam so he could get a better look.

"Oh, you're the one that owns the bakery where Cassie works!" Sam said as he picked out a cookie.

"Yep. That's me. I don't know how well those go with beer, though."

Sam nodded, but bit in anyway. "It's good. But you didn't come all the way here to bring me cookies, did you?"

"No. I think you might be able to help me."

His brows raised a fraction of an inch, his gray eyes gleaming with interest. "How's that?"

"I'm sure you heard about the mummy that was found in one of the houses a few streets over."

Sam nodded.

"Well, that was my husband's house, and he's a suspect." Lexy watched as Sam grabbed another cookie. "I'd like to help clear his name."

"Why don't you have Cassie's young man help you? Isn't he a police detective?"