Catch Me If You Candy--A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander

Author:Ellie Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Chapter Seventeen

Wendy’s wide eyes reminded me of our Halloween ghost macarons. “It’s gone. The mahjong set is gone. Someone must have stolen it. I had it right here.” She tapped an empty spot on the dresser. “I was going to bring it out later and show everyone.”

“You’re sure you didn’t move it when you were preparing for the party?”

“No. It was right here. I’m positive I didn’t touch it,” she insisted.

“What about one of the guests? Maybe someone moved it when they came in to drop off their coat or their purse?”

Wendy opened the dresser drawers and began riffling through linens. There was no chance the antique set would fit in any of the drawers, but she searched through each of them anyway. “I suppose one of the guests could have moved it, but why?”

“That I don’t know.”

“Let’s go find out. This party is going to be short-lived. First my vase, now the mahjong set.”

I finished sweeping the broken porcelain and then followed her to the living room. She turned down the music and picked up an empty wineglass which she proceeded to ding with a spoon. “Can I have your attention, please?”

Conversations came to a halt. Everyone turned to Wendy as if expecting her to make a speech.

“Did any of you happen to move my mahjong set in the guest room?”

Guests glanced at each other in confusion.

“It’s fine if you moved it,” Wendy continued. “It’s a very valuable set, and I want to make sure it doesn’t get damaged.”

A few heads shook.

The front door swung open as Wendy was about to speak again. Jax breezed in carrying Pippa in an expensive baby carrier. “Whoa, what’s with the somber mood? I thought this was a party.”

“You invited Jax?” Marcia asked. She was only a few feet from Wendy, but she said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Sorry, uh, I invited her,” Perry responded to Marcia’s comment. “I was told I could bring a friend.”

Jax plastered on a fake smile and moved next to Perry. He and Newell had been talking near the fireplace before Wendy had called for everyone’s attention. This was getting weirder by the minute. Why would Perry invite Jax? Given their interaction at the Glamper earlier, I had gotten the impression that things weren’t great between them. Plus, Perry had to know that Wendy and Marcia were friends.

Wendy was undeterred. “Listen, I don’t have time for this. I need to know if anyone moved the mahjong set in my guest room. It was sitting on top of the dresser.”

“What’s mahjong?” Jax asked.

Marcia shot her a nasty look. She had scooted closer to me.

“Sorry, Wendy. We’ll help you look,” someone said.

Mom jumped in to console her friend. “It will turn up. Let’s go look through the other rooms.” People spread out to search for the missing set.

As the search began, Trey sauntered in the front door. A basket of dog treats tucked under his arm made him instant friends with Wendy’s dog, Cooper, and King George, who greeted him with licks and yappy requests for snacks.

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