Pastry Mystery: Cheesecake Mistake

Chapter Eighteen

Police lines had been set around Barth’s four hundred square feet wooden house near the creek. Sheriff Curtis found Barth Smithson laying cold and stiff on the dining room floor. There was no wound found in his body or any trace of the killer but a half-eaten Japanese cotton cheesecake on the table. The murder motive seemed to be the same as the previous three victims. The killer was back and tried to frame Libby or Toby up again. Or at least, to prevent Pastry Mystery getting back in business.

“Cake At Break also sells cotton cheesecake. Why do you guys only accuse me?” asked Toby with righteous indignation when Sheriff Curtis interrogated Libby and him. He was right though, as Pastry Mystery wasn’t the only place that served the new type of cheesecake. The sleuth yet had summoned Russell and he could easily prove his whereabouts at the estimated time of the murder.

“Are you sure it was because of the cotton cheesecake?” ensured Libby. She didn’t mean to name Russell and put the blame on him but Toby’s idea wasn’t entirely wrong.

“It wasn’t him and yes, Libby, the Chinese, Japanese cotton cheesecake or whatever you call it took another life again. I sent the sample to the lab right away as soon as we found the cake on the table. The same poison was found in it,” explained Sheriff Curtis.

“Who’s been feeding you all this information, Sheriff? How did you find out about all of the murders?” grilled Toby.

Sheriff Curtis gasped—he wanted to tell Libby and Toby but his credibility as a detective would be questioned.

“Someone,” said Sheriff Curtis shortly.

“And does that someone have a name?” added Libby.

Sheriff Curtis shook his head unproudly, “I can’t even track him. He called me and sent me a lot of messages, but he’s like a ghost. He’s just untraceable. He must be a professional.”

“You got to be kidding, right?” scoffed Libby. “He can be the killer, don’t you think so?”

“Of course I know that, Libby. But somehow I really can’t find his location at all. Lindsay has been struggling to find out the mystery caller’s ID for months but we got nothing,” replied Sheriff Curtis annoyedly. He wasn’t contented when Libby underestimated his intuition as a detective. As a matter of fact, he was a hundred percent positive that neither Libby nor Toby was the culprit.

“Barth knew the killer,” spilled Toby. “He wanted to tell us yesterday but he couldn’t because Russell suddenly dropped by at Pastry Mystery.”

“Toby…” whimpered Libby. She didn’t know if it was smart to share such a significant clue to Sheriff Curtis that, according to her, wasn’t compatible enough to deal with the murder case. “Don’t you dare telling anyone about it.”

“What? But why didn’t he just tell you who the killer was? Russell was someone he could actually trust. He bailed him from the jail as well. Why would he hide it from him?” questioned Sheriff Curtis. The two just shook their heads. Nobody, however, could give him an answer. They were off guard and took lightly of the case. The killer learned that Barth found out about his identity and he kept the old man down forever.

*

Libby was glad that at least the cops didn’t lock her or Toby up behind the bars, but she still couldn’t accept the fact that Barth had left her. Yesterday was the last goodbye from someone who was like an uncle for her. Alone in her bakery shop’s kitchen, the last place she met Barth, Libby shed tears—she felt guilty and thought Barth died because of her. If only I called him back that day, he might still be around, she thought. If she could, she would do anything to turn back time and save Barth.

Why didn’t he kill me? she questioned. Barth said that the killer wants to avenge his father’s death that was caused by Daddy, right? Then why didn’t he kill me? Why did it have to be people in my surroundings? What had Daddy done actually? Why haven’t I heard about his rivalry story before? Does anybody else but Barth know about it? Unfortunately, no matter how she queried everything, nobody but Barth could give her an answer. At least, not that she knew of.

“We’ll solve the mystery soon. We’ll find out who the real killer is,” stated Toby confidently before he left to Cake At Break. He didn’t tell Libby his intention to see Russell but she didn’t see any reason to stop him. Russell probably knew something about the killer or whatever it was that’d been bothering his gardener before he got murdered. Barth might have told him something, she assumed.

Libby got up from her seat because sitting and doing nothing only made her feel more miserable. Barth’s last words echoed in her mind—don’t be sad and keep on fighting, and that was exactly what she was going to do. Libby looked around her own deli that was a little bit messy. She needed to set aside more things because tomorrow Stern would begin the renovation of Pastry Mystery. She couldn’t move the heavy furniture and machines all alone, so she headed to the office to pack up some small stuff and documents there. It’s good to clean up. It empties my head, she thought. But first, Libby went upstairs to put on other clothes.

“My god, Toby,” whimpered Libby to see some of Toby’s clothes scattered on his bedroom floor. He was in a hurry until he forgot to close his room and tidy up his chamber. Libby picked up the outfit that was everywhere on the ground. While folding his clothes, a piece of paper accidentally fell out of Toby’s sweatshirt pocket. It was a letter from a seemingly a jewelry store. Maison Jewelry House? Did Toby… No way! she hushed away her ridiculous idea. He wouldn’t get such a letter if he robbed a jewelry shop. But what is this?

Libby was aware that Toby might not be pleased if he knew she found this paper. This was yet the only way to clear up the misunderstanding that had been bothering Libby.

“Good afternoon, Maison Jewelry House. This is Linda. How can I help you?” greeted the customer service on the telephone unenthusiastically.

“Ahem… Good afternoon, speaking with Libby Van… Libby Pettigrew” lied Libby nervously. She thought if she used Toby’s last name they might trust her and told her everything.

“Toby Pettigrew?” asked Linda uncertain. She seemed to be familiar with Toby but she was confused because it was a female voice who called.

“Libby Pettigrew. I’m Toby Pettigrew’s… wife. Yesterday my husband went to your store and… and did he sell some of our jewelry to you?” questioned Libby. She didn’t know how to put it up. There’s no way they’re going to believe me.

“Oh, hello Mrs. Pettigrew,” Linda’s tone changed cheerfully. “Yes, he did, Mrs. Pettigrew. Is there something wrong?”

“Oh no, there’s nothing wrong. But I just can’t find one of the rings that I got from my mother-in-law. I think he accidentally sold it to you…” Libby cringed to hear her stupid lies.

“Oh really? Which one? The one-carat diamond ring? Or which one?”

“One-carat diamond ring?” Libby gulped unable to believe what she heard. “I’m sorry, but how much money did my husband get from selling our jewelry yesterday? You know, guys sometimes lie, right?”

“Of course, I understand, Mrs. Pettigrew. One second, please. Uhm… Mr. Pettigrew received $15.221,80 in total.”

“Fifteen thousand… what?”

*

Toby thought of something slightly different from Libby anyhow. He also believed that Russell might know what it was that Barth had been hiding. Toby though suspected that Cake At Break’s boss was the one behind Barth’s and other victims mysterious deaths—Russell Fontana was the Amaranth Creek killer. His accusation wasn’t groundless. Besides the fact that the murder cases in Amaranth Creek began after he moved in town, Jimmy passed away from a heart attack shortly after that. Russell might be the son of Jimmy’s old rival who wanted to avenge his father’s death. Russell also had been bothering Libby to sell Pastry Mystery to him. After Libby declined his proposal, he suddenly launched Cake At Break. Toby had been wary about those facts for a while but he kept it all for himself. He wasn’t even certain anymore if Russell Fontana really was his real name. His doubt sprang up after a thieve suddenly broke into their patisserie only several hours before Amaranth Creek Food Market. The only thing that Toby didn’t have was just a proof. That was why he kept all his speculations all by himself since Libby was always too close and trustful to Russell. He was now on his way to question his rival the truth about his real identity.

Russell wasn’t unaware of Toby’s sudden visit to his house. Libby’s roommate had called him in advanced but Toby just didn’t tell his purpose to see him. Russell mutually disliked Toby and he found him as a nuisance who kept getting in his way to get close to Libby. As expected, Toby came fifteen minutes later.

“Hey, Toby. How can I help you?” welcomed Russell as soon as Toby got in his office.

BAM! Toby replied him with a big jab on Russell’s cheek. The Italian guy was off guard and he fell on the ground. Toby jumped on top of him in no time, landing his second and third punches to his opponent head. Russell managed to defend himself by kicking Toby away on his stomach.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” cried Russell struggling to get up. He wiped blood that came out of his mouth.

“You killed Barth!” alleged Toby. “You killed the other three victims too! You’re the Amaranth Creek killer!”

Russell scoffed annoyedly, “Don’t talk nonsense! Your allegation is totally groundless and ridiculous.”

“You want to take revenge for your father on Libby and you keep ruining Pastry Mystery, don’t you? You’re the one who put poison in her cotton cheesecake!”

“What are you talking about? What revenge? Are you delusional? Do you have any evidence to prove your stupid accusation?”

“No, not yet. But I’m sure that you know what I’m talking about. You stay away from Libby, I warn you! Your time is up, Russell. I’ve figured out about your game. Soon I’ll throw you in jail and you have to pay for all your crime!” threatened Toby.

“Stop your BS and listen to me. You stay away from Libby. You’re such a nuisance who always give stupid ideas to her. She almost accepts my help and it’s the best for her. And don’t you dare to threaten me to lock me up behind the bars. You’re the one who supposed to be worried about it. You suddenly have a lot of money and everything. Where did you get it from? Illegal business? Drugs? I can make a call to Sheriff Curtis and he’ll catch you in no time,” replied Russell.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Oh, it is. Because you might put Libby in trouble one day!”

“All you want is to destroy Pastry Mystery and Libby. What do you care about her?!”

“Because I love her,” announced Russell unexpectedly. “I want to help her because I care about her.”

“Nonsense!” Toby grabbed Russell in his collars.

“It’s true. I’m not like you who’s only after her inheritance. You’re interfering a lot in her life to secure your position in Pastry Mystery, aren’t you? Because once she accepts my financial aid or the partnership offer, the first thing I’m going to do is to kick you out. Now, get off of me or you’ll be sorry!” Russell tried to push him but Toby didn’t back down. Toby took him down on the floor in a blink of an eye and jabbed Russell over and over again. Russell called out his bodyguards for a help since he couldn’t fight back.

“Give this jerk a lesson!” ordered Russell as the two burly men came in and dragged Toby away.