Apple Assassination Read online

  Yeah, because Pippa had absolutely no agenda of her own. “Well,” I said, trying to appease her. “That is certainly something we can think about.”

  I started the car.

  “Pippa, the victim didn’t actually die here,” I pointed out. “But the police think that she was poisoned by the food she ate at Dough Planet.”

  Pippa’s eyebrows shot up. “Well. We know who is to blame, don’t we?”

  “We-we do?” I asked, confused.

  She said it like it was obvious. “Duh. Alex. The apple thief. If someone is dishonest enough to steal, they are dishonest enough to kill.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure that was true.

  But I was willing to agree, temporarily, if it meant that Pippa would climb on board. And I was willing to tell her that we could investigate on our own, without Blake’s help. “Okay then,” I said. We were still parked in front of Dough Planet. The blinds were still pulled down but I could see a pair of fingers poking through them and maybe a pair of eyes. “Why don’t we start with Alex, then?”

  Pippa sulked for a few more minutes before she came around.

  “Fine,” she said. “I will help, if we keep our investigation separate from Blake’s. But I’ve got the farmer’s market tomorrow and that is all I can think about at the moment. I have to figure out what I can sell, seeing as all my best produce has been baked inside a pie. So this is all going to have to work around that schedule. Let’s put this on pause until after the farmer’s market. I’m going to need at least twenty-four hours.”

  I caught Blake’s eye and shot him a little nod without Pippa seeing. I could play both sides of the fence here. At least for a little while.

  But I had no intention of waiting until after the farmer’s market to investigate. The farmer’s market might be just the right place to find Alex. It would be just the right place to start this investigation.

  The Belldale farmer’s market ran on the first and third Saturday of each month and took place in the public park in the center of town. Even though it didn’t officially open until 9:00, most of the vendors got there well before 7:00 to set up their stalls. Spots were pre-rented and arranged, and Pippa had already paid the fifty dollars rental it cost to get a spot in the back of the park, two rows away from the center, where spots cost a hundred dollars for the day.

  “Maybe if I had more fruit to sell, I could have afforded a more prime position,” Pippa said, scowling at the middle row as we drove into the park. She wasn’t usually one to hold a grudge this deeply, but her fury at Alex had not disappeared at all over night. I was too scared to even bring up the case as we unpacked the truck and set up the stall. We were nearing the end of summer and it was a warm, if not boiling hot day, so I pulled on a hat and applied sunscreen while Pippa placed the signs in front, advertising her organic produces at reasonable prices—fifty cents per apple.

  We were next to a woman selling handmade dolls out of yarn with googly eyes hot glued onto the front. She had priced them all at forty dollars each, which I thought was rather steep, but hey, more power to her. The rest of the fruit and vegetable vendors were in the center of the market, down the hill, all located together in one convenient strip. We were definitely out of the way. Not very convenient.

  And that meant that not only would people not be able to find us, but I wouldn’t be able to find them. I strained my neck for any sign of Alex at that early time of morning but most of the throng of people were down the hill in the center where the popular items were. I couldn’t make out any faces, they were all a blur.

  Pippa was standing behind me talking about apples. But what else was new?

  “At least I still have a few to sell.” She placed the box down with a thud. I reached down to pick up the apples that spilled over the top and onto to the fresh green grass below. Even though it was still summer, the park was always kept well-watered and manicured. “But being all the way back here, I’m not sure anyone is even going to find us anyway. Alex may as well have taken all of the apples.”

  But she was wrong. People not only made the journey up the hill to Pippa’s stall, but they offered to pay double when they saw that the box was emptying quickly. Supply was greatly outstripping demand. People were offering to pay double, triple, if they could cut in line.

  I frowned. What was going on?

  One customer, a middle-aged man, grabbed an apple and shined it like it was made of precious crystal, admiring it in the same way as he held it up to the sun.

  “Do you know how rare one of these babies is right now?” he asked me with a glimmer in his eyes.

  I was confused. Were we talking about apples, or about gold? It seemed like the whole town had gone crazy. Either that or I had woken up in an alternative dimension where apples were now considered a precious mineral.

  “See?” Pippa said as she bagged another half a dozen and handed them to a customer, who snatched them from her hand like it was a lost jewel. “I told you.”

  And after an hour, we had been almost completely emptied out. There were only five apples left in the last box, and Pippa had upped the price to five dollars each, which I thought was daylight robbery. That was a mark up of 1000%. “Are you sure about this?” I asked, before I changed the price on the sign. “I think people might revolt if you go charging them five bucks for an apple.”

  “It’s all about supply and demand,” Pippa said with her arms folded smugly. “If people want the apples, they will pay.”

  Still certain that no one would actually pay that much, I stood back, agog, as the last of the apples actually did disappear until there was only one left. Though I wouldn’t exactly describe the customers as happy about the drastic price hike. “These better be the best apples in Belldale,” a grumpy old lady asked as she held up the last one.

  “They are,” Pippa reassured her.

  “And they are organic, right?”

  Pippa nodded firmly. “Absolutely. You have my guarantee on that, Missus Gilbert.”

  Geez. There really was a shortage of organic apples in Belldale.

  We had been so busy that I hadn’t even have a chance to leave for a bathroom break all morning, much less to speak to Pippa or keep an eye out for Alex.

  “I didn’t know I’d be working today,” I said, puffing as I made another trip up the hill. Pippa had sent me back to the truck to fetch a notepad so we could write one last receipt for Mrs. Gilbert. At the price she was paying for a single apple, she probably wanted to claim it as an expense on her taxes. “Saturday is supposed to be my day off.”

  “Sorry,” Pippa said. She started clearing up, stacking empty boxes on top of one another. We still had half a box of lemons left. There was no town-wide shortage of lemons. “I didn’t realize the stand would be so flat out. I mean, we are usually fairly popular, but it is nothing like this.”

  She stopped talking and dropped the boxes as though she had just seen a ghost. I spun around to see what she was staring at.

  A mid-sized young man with a shaved head.

  “What are you doing here?” Pippa spat. She looked like she might jump over the bench and strangle him.

  Alex placed his hands up in a show of mercy. “I thought I might come and pay for some apples from the stall. Fair and square.” He sighed as he surveyed the empty boxes. “But I can see that I am too late.”

  “That’s right, you are,” Pippa said, fronting up to him. I didn’t want her to get permanently banned from the farmer’s market for starting a fight with a customer, so I tried to stand between them, but Pippa only stomped on my foot.

  “What about all the apples that you stole from me?” Pippa asked. “You owe me for those.”

  Hadn’t Blake already paid her? I tried to say something, worried she was extorting him, but she didn’t listen.

  Alex dug through his wallet and passed over a couple of twenties. “Are we all square now?”

  Pippa shook her head. “Not even close.” Certainly not if she was pricing each individual apple
at five dollars. She did pocket the money, though. I gulped and didn’t say anything.

  “So. I hate to ask this. But do you have any idea where I could find some more apples?” Alex asked sheepishly.

  “Ha. I am not going to lead you straight to the house of some other poor innocent victim,” Pippa said.

  “I am not going to steal them,” Alex replied quickly. “I just need organic apples. And quickly. Blake puts a lot of pressure on me to constantly find fresh organic produce, you know?” There was strain on his face. I hadn’t realized that Blake was such a hard taskmaster. “It’s not like I can just go down to the supermarket to top off supplies when we run low. Everything has to be purchased from a local farm or seller.”

  Pippa laughed haughtily. “Well, I’m sorry to say, but you’re on your own. And don’t even think about paying a visit to my farm. I’ll have the police over in a flash.”

  I was a little confused, however. I turned my attention to Alex. “You’re still baking? Even with Dough Planet shut down?”

  Alex shrugged a little. “Sure. Blake thinks we’ll be open again on Monday. So we’ll be under even more pressure to impress customers. One slip up and we could go under. Hey, I need this job.”

  He seemed pretty stressed out, standing there empty-handed. I almost felt sorry for him. Any guy who would break into a farm to steal apples must have been pretty desperate to keep his job. Just how bad was Blake as a boss?

  “I can’t help you,” Pippa said. “So I don’t know why you’re still hanging around here.”

  Alex slunk away.

  A woman with long blonde hair in a high ponytail wearing a denim jacket was waiting for him at the bottom of the hill. I could only see the back of her. When Alex reached her, she offered him a little shrug and then placed an arm over his shoulder and hugged him. Huh. A girlfriend by the looks of it.

  “That was a little harsh, don’t you think?” I said to Pippa, who was watching Alex with a laser sharp beam. Like she wanted to reach all the way down the hill and annihilate him.

  “No way!” Pippa rolled her eyes and returned to her packing. We still had to take the actual stall apart, which involved folding the tables and taking down the tent cover. “That was me being nice.”

  Why was Alex looking for apples, though? Something didn’t add up. “I have to say, I’m a little surprised that apple pie would still be on the menu after what happened…” I murmured, leaning against the pole of the tent while Pippa took down the umbrella.

  “What are you talking about?” Pippa asked as she wrestled with the yellow umbrella that did not want to behave and go back into place. “Looks like it’s Blake’s bestseller. He should be giving me a percentage of each sale.”

  I thought she was missing the point, big time.

  “Well, Valerie ate the apple pie,” I said, as though this was something Pippa already knew. But as I watched her face fall, it dawned on me—Pippa had stormed out of Dough Planet before Blake had admitted the apple pie had been to blame. And then she’d told me not to discuss the case with her for twenty-four hours.

  Oh my goodness. Did Pippa really not know the apple pie was to blame?

  Pippa was a little unsteady on her feet as she carried the heavy umbrella back to the truck and lifted it into the bed. The weight of it almost toppled her over. Even when it was gone, she struggled to walk back to me.

  “Pippa? Are you okay?”

  “I-I didn’t know that Valerie ate the apple pie…that’s all…” She was very distracted all of a sudden. She dropped half a dozen lemons on the grass and didn’t even bother to pick them up again.

  “Should we take a look at the arts and crafts stands now that we’re done?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood. It was only a little after midday and the market ran until the late afternoon. The food and vegetable stalls usually finished and packed up first, but the non-perishable stalls would be there for the rest of the day.

  “I-I have to go,” Pippa said, lifting the rest of the empty trays and boxes into the truck. “You’ll be alright to find your own way home, won’t you?”

  How was I supposed to find my own way home?

  “Pippa!” I called out as she drove away. The leftover lemons were still on the ground.

  Well. I supposed I was going to have to find my own way home after all.

  Chapter 4

  When I stepped into my kitchen that evening and saw a King Charles Spaniel sitting on the floor, I thought I was hallucinating. It looked up at me with curious eyes and its ears pricked up, asking, who is the person in my house?

  “What is this?” I asked, taking a step back as the creature jumped up and tried to lick my legs.

  “Ooh,” Sue said, racing into the room. “I’m sorry about that. I’m just baby-sitting—well, dog-sitting for my ex for the weekend. I should have asked if it was okay by you. It was all a little last minute, though.”

  “Is he house-trained?” I asked, glancing around for accidents. I’d never actually lived with an animal. But I had lived with Pippa’s husband Marcello, which was close enough. And if this dog was anywhere near as accident prone as Marcello was, there would be accidents to be found.

  “She,” Sue said, correcting me. “And yes, she is house-trained. Very well behaved. Although she does cry a lot…”

  Right.

  The little dog looked up at me with sad eyes like she was begging me not to throw her out of the house. I’d never be that cruel. I just wasn’t used to living with a dog.

  “We adopted Suzy together,” Sue said, looking a little sad as she pouted and reached down to pet the dog. “When we split and I moved in here, there was talk about us sharing custody. But I had the sense to realize that it wasn’t going to work, not in practical terms.”

  “Suzy?” I repeated, sure I must have misheard. “Isn’t that a little close to your own name?”

  Sue laughed. “Yeah, that’s why I choose it.” A little narcissistic. She picked the dog up and smooshed her face into Suzy’s fur. “She’s a mini-me, aren’t you? Yes, you are! Yes, you are!”

  She finally put Suzy back on the ground and looked at me expectantly. That was when I noticed the smell of chicken parmigiana drifting from the kitchen. I had made a short-lived attempt at going vegetarian a month earlier, but I’d gone back to white meat. Part of me wondered if it was a subconscious effort to spite Blake, who was a strict vegan.

  Oh no! That was right! Sue had made plans to cook us all dinner. With everything that had happened, I’d totally forgotten.

  “Is Pippa still joining us for dinner?” Sue asked as she bent over again to pick Suzy up and carry her into the living room. I had to wonder—was Suzy joining us for dinner?

  “I assume so.” I checked my phone again. “Although, I haven’t heard from her all afternoon since the farmer’s market.” I had a bad feeling Pippa was going to totally flake on me, but I didn’t mention that to Sue. She’d been cooking all afternoon—made the marinara sauce from scratch with fresh herbs and even crumbed the chicken herself using real breadcrumbs. I didn’t want to tell her that all her hard work might go unappreciated.

  But when it hit 7:00 pm and there was a knock on the door, I brightened up. Pippa had arrived after all. “She’s probably just not answering her phone because she’s busy out on the farm,” I said to Sue before I answered the door. “And she still likes to go hours without staring at any screens now that she’s off her technology diet. Maybe the weekend is completely blacked out, no screens at all. To be honest, I find it hard to keep up sometimes.”

  I opened the door with a beaming smile, but it was only Marcello standing at the door, holding Lolly in one arm and a bottle of red wine in the other. I glanced down at Suzy, who was winding herself around my legs. Marcello plus a dog sounded like a recipe for disaster. “Pippa is feeling unwell,” he said apologetically. “It came on very suddenly.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible,” I said, taking a step back. I wondered for a second if Marcello might be a carrier for thi
s mysterious illness and considered sending him away. I didn’t want to catch it. Then I remembered that I’d spent the entire day with Pippa and thus, if I was going to get sick, I’d already be infected.

  After the second course, Marcello received a phone call. He passed Lolly to me and asked me to hold her, telling me that he had to take the call. “Just in case Pippa has taken a turn for the worse,” he said, pushing his chair back and scurrying away from the table.

  I sat Lolly on my lap and waited for Sue to bring in the tiramisu for dessert. I didn’t like having coffee so late in the evening, but was just relieved it wasn’t apple pie so I didn’t complain. While I waited, I noticed a foul smell in the air and sniffed a few times. Eww. Suddenly, I knew exactly who the culprit was. Our furry little houseguest who’d been sitting under the table watching and waiting for scraps.

  “Suzy!” I scolded her. I was super annoyed. I knew she’d make an accident on the floor sooner or later and now I’d been proven correct. So much for her being house-trained. I shot Sue a dirty look when she walked back in with a bowl of whipped cream. “I thought you said that…” I started to say, sniffing and looking around, but as hard as I looked, I couldn’t find anything on the floor.

  Then I realized where the smell was truly coming from.

  “Oh no,” I said, making a sorry face at Sue. “I think Lolly needs changing. Like, right now.” I stood up quickly and held Lolly out, making another face. “This is way above my pay grade. I’m going to get Marcello.”

  I found him at the other end of the hallway with his phone pressed against his ear. I was holding Lolly at arm’s length, waiting for him to finish.

  Sounded like he was still talking to Pippa.

  I really hoped there was nothing too seriously wrong with her.

  I paused at the end of the hallway and listened in.

  “Yes, it’s okay, I told Rachael that you were sick.” He paused for a moment and listened. I hid out of the way and hoped that Lolly wouldn’t cry and give me away. I leaned against the wall and kept listening.