"Do tell," Ida said.

"Last night, I went back to the dining hall to look in Dugasse's office," she started.

"Alone?" Helen interrupted.

Lexy felt a twinge. "Yes, I know it was a bit dangerous but I wanted to see if I could figure out what Brad was looking for."

"And did you?"

"Not really, but I found something very interesting."

"What's that?" Nans asked.

"Sylvia Spicer and Prescott Charles," Lexy said, proud of her late night discovery.

"What about them?" Ruth asked.

"They were there ... in the middle of the night ... in secret," Lexy said. "It turns out Sylvia was having an affair, but it was with Charles-not Dugasse."

"Ohhhh."

"So, she didn't kill him in a fit of passion?" Ida looked disappointed.

"No," Lexy said. "And they both have alibis that can be corroborated by other people."

"Well, darn. We sure are running out of suspects." Helen went over to the white board and erased Sylvia's name.

"So what was Brad looking for in Dugasse's office?" Nans asked.

"I don't know." Lexy shrugged. "The only thing in there is recipes ... so I was wondering if he could be looking for that famous chili recipe."

"Ha! Things are all starting to point to that chili contest. It usually always comes down to money." Ruth shook her head knowingly.

"Maybe ... or maybe not," Lexy said. "I also found out something that might tie the bikers to Dugasse."

"Oh?"

"My assistant told me that the teens hang out in the woods there behind the dining hall and one of her friends said she saw a man that fits the biker's descriptions being let in the back door of the kitchen."

"By Dugasse?"

"She didn't say but it was in the middle of the night about the same time that Dugasse's wife said he was missing from home."

Helen scrunched up her face. "Why would a biker be meeting Dugasse in the middle of the night?"

"Maybe they were having an affair!" Ida wiggled her eyebrows, apparently delighted with the thought.

Lexy scrunched her face together, the image of Dugasse and a burly biker having an affair in the kitchen made her queasy.

"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough." Nans stood up and went over to the fridge. "Are you guys ready to go make some new friends?"

"I guess so," Lexy said, "but I'm curious ... what is it that you think will get them to talk to us?"

"Why, one of my famous mile high apple pies, of course," Nans said, bending over and grabbing something out of the fridge. She turned around holding out a beautiful golden-crusted apple pie.

"No man alive has ever been able to resist my apple pie, and I'm sure these biker gentlemen are no exception."

Chapter Fifteen.

They stopped by Lexy's cottage and Nans got Sprinkles into her harness while Lexy changed clothes.

"Do you have the bracelet that you found on the trail the other day?" Nans asked.

"I think so." Lexy looked around the room for the jeans she had been wearing that day. She found them in a pile on the chair and dug into the front pocket producing the bracelet.

"Here it is." She held it up and Nans reached out and took it.

"You never know when this might come in handy," Nans said, putting it in her pocket. Then she grabbed the pie off the table where she'd set it when they came in and led the way out the front door.

The five of them walked the same path they had the other day. They each took turns holding the pie.

"What, exactly are we hoping to learn from this excursion?" Ida asked and Lexy remembered she hadn't been with them the other day.

"Well, at the end of the path is the biker camp we told you about. In light of the bracelet Lexy found and what Deena told her, it seems pretty likely they are involved or they know something," Nans said handing the pie to Ruth.

"Are they dangerous?" Ida asked.

Lexy chewed her bottom lip. "Well, they did have a knife and a gun ... but they didn't seem too keen to use it on us."

"But they also weren't that happy to see us." Ruth handed the pie to Helen.

"Which is why I baked the pie, to sweeten them up," Nans said.

"Do you think they killed him?" Lexy asked.

"I'm not sure what the motive would be," Nans answered. "But he could have been having an affair with the biker that was visiting him and they had a falling out."

"I can't picture any of those tough bikers being gay." Helen handed the pie to Ida.

"Maybe Dugasse was having an affair with one of the bikers' girlfriends and they had it out over her?" Ruth offered.

"Either way, the best thing to do is just make friends and then use our investigative skills to find out the truth," Nans said taking the pie from Ida.

They got to the clearing where the camp was and Lexy's stomach twisted up in a knot.

The same dog was on the porch and he lifted his head when he heard them approach. Lexy hesitated but Nans forged ahead, walking right up to the door and knocking. Lexy followed, watching as Sprinkles and the Boxer re-acquainted themselves.

The door jerked open and Lexy's heart surged into her throat. A large, bald man growled at them from the other side of the door. Inside Lexy could see five other bikers gathered around a table. She recognized the big guy with the gun from the other day. He came over to the door and peered out at them.

"It's those grandmas!" Another guy said from inside.

The two guys stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind them.

"What do you want?" The first guy eyed them suspiciously, then glanced over his shoulder at the closed door.

Lexy's heartbeat skittered. What was he hiding in there? She could smell something cooking in the air and wondered if they had a meth lab or some other illegal operation going on inside.

"Did he send you?" The guy from the other day asked.

"What? No, we told you no one sent us," Nans replied.

"So you aren't in cahoots with that chef?"

Cahoots?

"What chef? Dugasse?" Ruth asked.

The two guys looked at each other. "You know Dugasse?"

Lexy's heart flipped. "We did."

"And you're not from the other chef?"

"Noooo." Nans drew the word out.

One of the guys looked down at the dogs who were laying side by side watching the conversation.

"Looks like our dogs get along like old friends," he said.

Nans shoved the pie up in their faces. "And we just want to be friends, too."

"Is that apple?" the biggest guy asked.

Nans nodded and his eyes lit up. "That's my favorite."

He glanced at the other guy. "Should we let them in?"

The other guy shrugged. "Okay, but if we find out you are up to something you'll be sorry."

He opened the door and they shuffled in. The bikers that were sitting around the table all stood up and a round of introductions ensued. They seemed like regular guys ... except for the abundance of leather and tattoos. And the names like Snake, Weasel and Rat.

Lexy gave herself a mental warning not to get too comfortable around them-one of them might have killed Dugasse.

The cabin was one large room with a counter and sink unit on one wall, a big picnic table in the middle, and an old sofa and mismatched chairs on the opposite side of the room. A fridge sat against a wall behind them and a stove was at the end of the counter. One of the guys was at the stove stirring the steaming pots with a wooden spoon.

Nans went to the counter and set her pie down. "Do you guys want a piece? I'm famous for it you know," she said proudly.

Snake and Rat practically fell over themselves getting a knife for her. Nans cut the pie and Rat held out paper plates for her to dish the slices out on. He passed them around with plastic forks and the guys dug in.

Snake rolled his eyes back in his head. "This is so good. Just like my Gam used to make."

"Thanks," Nans said. "You know Lexy here is the baker at the resort. She makes the best desserts. I don't recall ever seeing you guys eating there."

"Oh, this isn't part of the resort," Rat said as he crunched down on a piece of pie crust.

"Oh, it's not?" Nans screwed up her face. "That's funny because I know at least one of you has been to the kitchen."

Everyone stopped chewing and stared at Nans. Lexy's stomach dropped. Her muscles tensed.

"What makes you say that?" Rat asked.

"Well, someone saw one of you walk right down the path and go in through the back door late at night," Nans answered.

The seven guys all looked around at each other. Chairs creaked as they squirmed in their seats.

Nans held up her hands. "Now don't get all nervous, if one of you was having an affair with Dugasse we certainly won't tell."

Snake shot up out of his seat. "What?!"

Lexy's heart leapt and she moved to get between him and Nans.

"I'm not saying any of you killed him," Nans continued, then reached in her pocket. "But we did find this bracelet right at the head of the trail not twenty feet from where he was killed."

"Now you look here old lady," Weasel said advancing on Nans, the veins in his neck straining against his spider web tattoo.

"Wait!" Rat jumped up from his chair and grabbed Weasel's arm.

Weasel shook off Rat's arm. "We can't let her say stuff like that about us."

"It's okay," Rat said holding up his hand. "That bracelet is mine."

"You were the one having an affair with Chef Dugasse?" Ida stared at Rat.

Rat shook his head. "I wasn't having an affair with Dugasse, but I did go there to meet him. Several times."

"But why?" Nans asked.

"Because he was my father," Rat looked down at the ground, his eyes moist. "He was teaching me to cook."