3 Bodies and a Biscotti by Leighann Dobbs

things nagged at the back of her mind. Why was Sam so nervous, and what the heck were Jack and Nans up to?

Chapter Twelve

    “My, that certainly is an interesting cake,” Ruth said, as she eyed the triple layer dark chocolate confection Lexy balanced on the palm of her right hand while she walked it to the glass table where Ruth, Nans, Helen and Cassie were seated in the front room of her bakery.  
    “It’s a trial run for Cassie’s wedding cake.” Lexy put the cake on the table and stood back admiring it. It was a triple-tier cake in miniature. The icing was almost black and as smooth as silk. Embedded around the edges of the cake were edible silver-colored studs and spikes.  
    Cassie sat next to Nans, grinning ear to ear. “I love it!”
    “Now, let’s see if it tastes as good as it looks.” Lexy slid a knife into the bottom layer and sliced off five pieces. She put them on plates and handed them around the table.
    “Hey, where’s Ida?” Lexy said, her eyebrows wrinkling together. The ladies always went everywhere together and it was strange to see Nans, Ruth, and Helen without her.
    Nans paused, her cake-laden fork halfway to her mouth. “Her boyfriend has a bad case of gout. She’s back at the center watching over him. He’s in terrible pain.”
    “Ida has a boyfriend?” Cassie’s eyebrows raised up to her hairline.
    Helen nodded. “Us older people have urges too, you know.”
    “Too much information, Helen,” Lexy said, screwing up her face and pushing her cake plate away, amidst laughter from Nans, Ruth and Helen.
    “The cake is delicious,” Nans said, licking frosting from the tines of her fork.  
    Lexy beamed with pride as the others murmured their agreement.  
    “And the design?” She asked.
    “Fits Cassie perfectly,” Nans answered.
    “It’s exactly what I wanted.” Cassie scraped the frosting from her plate with the side of her fork.
    “When is the wedding, dear?” Ruth asked.
    Lexy felt a pinch of envy in her gut when she saw Cassie’s eyes get all dreamy at the mention of her wedding. Then she immediately felt bad because she was truly happy for her friend. Maybe the pinch was hunger pangs—she hadn’t eaten much lately.
    “Two weeks,” Cassie answered, then turned to Lexy. “Don’t forget the rehearsal is on Thursday.
    Lexy nodded, then turned her attention to Nans. “Did you and Jack finish talking about your case yesterday?”  
    “Yep,” Nans said. A sparkle twinkled in her eye as she pursed her lips together.
    Lexy stared out the front window of the bakery, watching the water rush over the falls. She was dying to know what they were up to and had tried to get the information out of Jack the night before but he’d been extremely tight-lipped.
    “Can I take a piece back for Ida?” Helen asked.
    “Of course! Why don’t I box the whole cake up for you guys? I certainly don’t need the extra calories here.” Lexy jumped up to grab a bakery box from behind the counter.
    “It’s too bad Ida had to miss seeing it whole,” Nans said. “But Norman is in terrible pain. They were talking about giving him oxycontin or morphine to make it more bearable.”
    “That’s pretty strong stuff,” Cassie said.
    “Jack said something about oxycontin last night in relation to the case he is working. I guess it’s one of the prescription drugs that this drug ring specializes in. He’s not sure where they get it from.” Lexy turned to Nans. “Is that the case you two were working on?”
    “Nope.” Nans shook her head.  
    Lexy rolled her eyes and sighed. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
    “You’ll find out in good time, dear.” Nans reached over and patted her hand.
    Before Lexy could press the issue further, Nans’s cell phone blared from her purse.
    “Hello?” She yelled into the phone, causing Lexy and Cassie to jump. The phone was turned up loud and they could all hear Ida on the other end.
    “Mona!” Ida gasped, calling Nans by her given