Death by Chocolate Cake: A Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery Read Online Free PDF

as long as no one knew about it. "And if I solve the crime?" I asked. "I suppose all the credit goes to you."
    Jackson rolled his eyes just slightly again. "Solve the crime? No one is expecting you to do that. We just thought you might be able to offer a few crumbs of help, considering you were at the audition yesterday."
    "You know what?" I asked, sweating in my red coat now but unwilling to take it off. "I have thought about it. And my answer is no."
    Jackson's mouth dropped open as I pushed past him.
    "Now, you'll have to excuse me. I've got some important business to attend to."

    * * *
    A s soon as Pippa and I were back in the car, I yanked my coat off and cranked up the air conditioner. "Geez it's like a heat wave."
    "It is when you're wearing a winter coat." Pippa looked me up and down. "Now, are you going to tell me where we're going?"
    I glanced in my rearview mirror waiting until Jackson became the size of an ant. "We are going to go talk to Justin."
    "Who is Justin again?"
    "The producer of Baking Warriors ." I still had my eyes trained on the rearview mirror. "He was the one who discovered Pierre's body."
    "I knew it!" Pippa gasped, slapping her hands together. "I knew you were going to investigate!"
    I turned to face her. Deadly serious. "Not a word of this to Jackson, understand? In fact, not a word of it to anyone." I leaned back in my seat. "All I'm doing is talking to Justin. I can't make any promises about what will happen after that."
    But Pippa wasn't listening to me, she was already bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement. "I thought life back here in Belldale might be boring after my travel adventures. Especially now that I'm old and married."
    My eyes widened.
    "But investigating the death of a reality show judge?" Pippa shook her head. "Rach, this is far from boring."
    "Just stay calm, Pippa," I tried to say. "I can't guarantee anything."
    "Come on, Rach. You KNOW you're gonna do it."
    I sighed and looked at her.
    "Pippa," I said. "If I take on this case, and I do mean IF, will you help me?"
    "Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed. "The bakery detectives, back together? Just try and stop me."

Chapter 5
    " W ow , this place is pretty flashy," Pippa murmured as we stood in front of the Glassview Hotel. "I didn't even know Belldale had a place like this."
    "I don't think production spares any expense," I said. "On the crew at least." I'd already had a sneak preview of the dormitory I'd be sleeping in if I actually got selected to go on the show. I'd be sharing a room with another contestant, and a bathroom with another four. At least during the first weeks of shooting. If I managed to remain until the end, the herd would thin out a bit and I might get my own room.
    But it was nice to see that Justin was staying in luxury.
    "Who is it?" he whispered from the other side of the door.
    "It's me, Rachael. Who do you think it is?"
    He yanked the door open. "It took you long enough." He stopped when he saw Pippa standing next to me. "Who is this?"
    "This is my best friend, Pippa. She helps me when I do this sort of stuff."
    Justin sighed and made a show of looking down both sides of the corridor. "People have been after me all day.” He pulled us both inside the room and double-checked the door was locked before heading over to the mini bar.
    "Vodka," he announced once he'd found what he was looking for. He didn't offer me or Pippa anything as he took a drink from the tiny bottle. I supposed they were expensive. "Believe me, honey, I need to drink after the twenty-four hours I've had."
    "Justin, are you going to tell me what’s going on? You said that you were a suspect, but you're not being held at the police station."
    Justin began pacing back and forth across the carpet. "No, but I am being held prisoner in this hotel room." He stopped and stared at me. "The press are all pointing their fingers at me, Rachael." He walked over and shook me by the shoulders. "You gotta help me. I know that you’re an