Until something rubbed against her leg.

Lexy screeched and jumped back. Looking down expecting to find a giant spider, she breathed a sigh of relief to see it was only Sprinkles. Jack laughed then bent down to pet the dog. "Come on you two, let's go eat."

The three of them went up the stairs. Lexy pulled plates, glasses and silverware out of the cabinets and drawers, then plopped a burger on each plate and set them on the table. Taking the fries out of the bag, she divvied them up between the plates and gave one teensy piece to an overjoyed Sprinkles.

Jack poured milk into the glasses and they settled down at the old Formica kitchen table.

"Did you find out anything more about the break-in at the bakery?" Jack asked as he lifted the burger to his mouth.

"You won't believe this." Lexy poured ketchup on her burger. "Davies brought the ring over to Caraleigh and she admitted it was hers, but said it had been stolen!"

"Caraleigh is the lady that owns the other bakery?" Jack asked.

"Yes. She said she had an alibi for last night and actually had the nerve to accuse me of stealing the ring from her, then faking the break-in and planting the ring!"

"Seriously? What did she think your motivation for doing that would be?"

"Beats me." Lexy bit into the burger and then licked the ketchup that had oozed out of the side from her lip and started chewing.

"Did you get the door fixed?"

Lexy nodded, still chewing.

"And you didn't find anything missing?"

Lexy swallowed the bite of burger and went for a french fry. "Nope. The only thing I found was someone had messed with the cookbooks and recipes, but I don't think they took any of those either."

"Why do you think someone would do that?" Jack asked.

"I have no idea. The only thing I can figure is Caraleigh wanted my scone recipe, so she could make a batch and try to win the contest."

"You seem pretty sure it was this Caraleigh person."

Lexy felt a stab of panic. She couldn't tell Jack why she felt sure it was Caraleigh, because she couldn't tell him about the conversation she'd heard out by the dumpster. Not only would he frown on her dumpster-diving activities, but even worse, he'd know she'd lied to him about going out to dinner with Cassie and she didn't want him to lose trust in her.

"Well, I can't think of anyone else and her ring was there." Lexy shrugged then changed the subject. "Nans and the ladies wanted me to ask if you guys found out any more about the skull they dug up in the sewer."

"We didn't find anything," Jack said. "Those old sewer tunnels are a mess. Big sections have caved in and blocked off the entire tunnel. It's dangerous down there, which is why they are putting in new tunnels and blocking off the old ones. Those old tunnels could flood at any time and half the concrete would go with it."

"So that's it? You're not going to do any more investigating down there?"

Jack drained his glass of milk. "Nope. It's an old cold case and no one really cares about it, especially since we have so many current matters that need attention. Plus this whole bicentennial celebration is taking up a lot of our time. Which reminds me, I have to work the evening before and morning of the bicentennial. We're so shorthanded even we detectives have to pull a detail. But I'll be there in the afternoon to see you win a blue ribbon for your scones."

Lexy's heart swelled at his confidence in her as he cleared the empty dishes from the table, taking them to the trash and scraping before loading into the dishwasher. He turned to look at Lexy.

"I hope you and Nans don't have some harebrained idea about going down into the sewers to investigate the mystery of the skull," he said. "It's very dangerous down there and once they are done most of the old exits will be sealed off. Those old tunnels could fill up with water and you could be trapped in there."

Lexy could see genuine concern on Jack's face, but she felt her back stiffen. She hated anyone telling her what to do. Still, he did have a point.

"So, just where are the remaining entrances?" Lexy asked innocently.

"When they are done, the only manhole cover will be in the town center. But you can't open it, so don't get any ideas. It's too heavy-you need a special tool."

"Wait, I thought you said there were other entrances."

"There's supposed to be a few under the downtown area, but no one seems to know exactly where they are. The old records aren't that great," Jack said. "Then again, we didn't look too hard. And you shouldn't either."

"Of course not," Lexy said to appease Jack.

"That's my girl," Jack said.

Lexy smiled. Better to keep the peace now ... she was pretty sure she was going to do exactly as she pleased later on.

Feeling a change of subject was in order, she stood and grabbed Jack's hand. "Let's go over to our place. I have dessert."

Jack smiled, the glint in his eye telling Lexy his idea of dessert probably consisted of more than the frosted brownies she'd left on her counter.

"That's the best offer I've had all day," he said as he followed her out the door.

Chapter Eight.

Lexy scowled out the window at the WOKQ van parked in front of The Brew and Bake, her fists clenched so tightly the nails bit into her palms.

So, the television station really is doing a piece on the other bakery, Lexy thought as she watched the camera crew unpack the van. Her heart sank when she compared the front room of The Brew and Bake, bustling with customers to her own empty one.

A movement on the sidewalk caught Lexy's eye. A customer? No, it was just the orange tiger cat that lived in Victor Nessbaum's antique store. He was an indoor cat, but sometimes he slipped out when the door was open. Lexy always tried to herd the cat back to Victor's whenever she saw him outside.

She stepped out onto the sidewalk, bending down to try to lure the cat over so she could pick him up and bring him back to Victor.

"Here, Kitty." She stuck out her hand to the cat who eyed her warily.

Behind her, she heard Victor's door open.

"Oh, that's where you are," Victor said to the cat. He pushed the door wide and gestured to the interior of the store. "Get back in here."

The cat turned, flicked his tail in Lexy's direction, and then trotted off into the store.

"He likes to get outside, but then doesn't know what to do with himself." Victor laughed. "Say, I'm glad I ran into you ... I sure would like to taste whatever it was you were baking yesterday afternoon. It smelled delicious in my store."

Lexy stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, you want to taste my baked goods and not those from across the street?"

Victor's brow creased and a sheepish look spread across his face. "Oh, did you see me over there? I was only trying out a sample so I could speak with authority when I said your pastries were the best."

Lexy thawed at the sincere look on the man's face. "Oh, okay, then ... come on over and you can try out my great-grandmother's famous scones. I made a slight variation to the recipe yesterday. That's what I was baking."

"Perfect. I'll just lock up." Victor reached inside his shop, grabbed his cane then flipped the lock on the door before closing it tight.

Lexy held her own door open while Victor shuffled down the walk, nodding to her as he stepped inside The Cup and Cake.

Behind the bakery case, Lexy pulled out the glass pedestal cake plate on which she'd arranged the scones and placed it on top of the case so Victor could get a better look.

"Which one do you want?" she asked.

"Hmm ..." Victor frowned at the pile his eyes inspecting each scone. His brows furrowed and he rubbed his chin. "They all look so good."

His cane fell to the floor next to the case with a clatter and Lexy bent down to pick it up for him.

"Thanks," he said, then pointed to one of the scones on top. "I'll take that one."

Lexy smiled. "If you want, you can take a seat at the table and I'll bring it over along with some coffee or tea ... I'd love to know what you think of it."

"That would be wonderful." Victor turned and made his way to the self-serve station. "I can get my own tea."

Lexy put the scone on a small plate and took it over to the table where Victor sat with a steaming cup of tea in front of him. She slid into the chair across from him, eagerly watching the expression on his face as he took his first bite.

"This is delicious," he said chewing thoughtfully. "I particularly like the crumbly cinnamon and sugar top. You don't normally get that on a scone ... I think you have a winner here."

Thanks." Lexy beamed proudly as the bells over the door jingled to announce Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen.

The four ladies greeted Lexy and Victor before marching purposely to one of the tables and slinging their purses over the backs of the chairs. Ruth gingerly placed several rolled up papers she'd carried in under her arm on the center of the table.

"What have you got there?" Victor asked.

"These are the blueprints for the old sewer system." Ruth unrolled one of them, spreading it on the table and holding down the ends with her hands while Nans, Ida and Helen rummaged in their purses for something to weight it down.

"You don't say?" Victor pushed his glasses up on his nose and leaned over for a better look at the print. "Where'd you get those?"

"Down at the town hall," Nans said producing a small stapler from her purse and plunking it down on one corner of the blueprint.

"Oh, I thought you had to wait ages to get those old prints run off down there." Victor returned his attention to his scone.

"Normally you do," Ida said placing the small rock she'd taken out of her purse on another corner of the print. "But it turns out someone had just recently gotten a copy of these, so Meredith had them right on her desk, waiting to put them away."

"'Course it helps to know someone down there." Helen threw down her purse and grabbed a stoneware mug from the self-serve coffee station, then placed it on the third corner of the blueprint.

"What do you plan to do with them?" Victor asked.

Ruth plunked her smartphone down on the last corner. "We're investigating the murder."

"Murder?" Victor's gray brows met his hairline.

"You know. The skull they found out there." Nans tilted her head toward the end of the street where the sewer work was still ongoing.

"I didn't realize there was an official murder investigation going on about that." Victor narrowed his eyes at Nans.

"Well, there isn't ... I mean not officially. The police don't seem interested in investigating. They said the murder was too long ago. But Ruth, Helen, Ida and I run our own detective agency, so we've taken it upon ourselves to find out the truth." Nans reached into her purse and pulled out a business card, which she handed to Victor.

Victor looked down at the card. "Brook Ridge Falls Ladies Detective Club.' That's impressive ... and sounds like fun. Have you solved any good cases?"

Nans nodded. "We work with the police all the time and have helped them solve lots of cases. But, of course I can't be more specific due to confidentiality and all that."

"Of course, I understand," Victor said, "but what makes you so sure the person who belonged to the skull met with a suspicious death?"

Nans glanced at the others. "Well, we're not entirely sure, but we have it on good authority the skull had a bullet hole in it."

Victor gasped. "A bullet hole? Well, that sure does sound like foul play ... or maybe suicide."

"Either way, we need to investigate," Helen said. "He could have family members that have been wondering about him all these years."

"Of course." Victor slid his chair over next to Helen and bent his head over the blueprints. "So you're looking for a way into the old sewer system then?"

Ruth nodded. "We're hoping we can find some clues as to what happened back then."

"But how will you get in? I hear all the entrances are being sealed off with this new sewer project," Victor said.

"They are," Ida answered. "But we've learned there are some underground entrances and we plan to find out exactly where they are."

"Do you have any idea who the victim is?" Victor glanced at Helen out of the corner of his eye.

"None at all," Helen said. "We only know he's been down there for decades ... maybe sixty or seventy years even."

"Well, this sounds kind of dangerous," Victor said.

"And exciting," Nans added.

"It does sound rather exciting. An old buck like me could use some excitement. But you ladies could get hurt." Victor put his hand on Helen's arm. "Maybe I should accompany you."

"Maybe ..." Helen, Nans, Ruth and Ida exchanged uncertain glances. Lexy could tell they were torn between being polite and not wanting to let Victor in on their plans.

"I'm not sure," Nans said. "Lexy's the only one we ever let help us with our investigations."

"Perhaps we should take a look at these plans first," Victor suggested.

"Yes, let's." Helen re-anchored the corner that had come loose from under the mug and the five gray heads bent over the blueprint.

"This is the downtown section." Nans pointed to something on the upper left. "That's where the manhole cover for the main entrance is."

"Perfect, we'll just go in through there," Helen said.

"You can't," Lexy cut in and everyone turned to look at her. "Jack said it could only be opened with some special tool. It's too heavy for you and besides, it's right in the middle of downtown. What are you going to do? Stop the traffic so you can climb in the sewer hole?"

"We'll just have to find some other way," Nans said picking up one of the other rolls and spreading it on the table.