Murder, Money & Marzipan Read Online Free PDF Page B

seat at the bar.
    Lexy looked up at the detective, expecting to get the same lecture Jack usually gave her. Instead she saw him smiling down at her.  
    “Wanna have a seat?” He gestured toward one of the small tables.
    “Sure,” Lexy said glancing over at the bar toward her drink.
    His eyes followed her glance. “We can get you a new one,” he said, then put his hand on the small of her back, leading her over to a table.
    Detective Ryan held out a chair, and Lexy plopped into it. She stared across the table at him. She recognized him from the murder scene - the nice detective who had questioned her first.  
    But she must have been preoccupied then because she hadn’t noticed his boyish good looks. His straight white teeth must have cost a fortune. They were the perfect accessory to his chiseled jaw, which wore a bit of five o’clock shadow giving his baby face a hint of danger. Lexy thought one could easily get lost in his blue eyes.  
    “Do you want another drink?” He jolted her out of her daze.
    Lexy gave herself a mental head shake. She already felt a bit tipsy from her first drink. Considering the way her stomach fluttered when she looked at Detective Ryan, she had better not.
    “Just a coffee, please.”
    He disappeared in the direction of the bar, returning in a few minutes with a beer for himself and a coffee for her.
    “Thanks. I don’t think I got your first name?” Lexy peered at him over the rim of her coffee cup.
    “Jake. Jake Ryan.”
    Lexy smiled at him. “You probably already know my name, I guess. Lexy Baker.”
    He laughed. Lexy noticed his voice had a rich timbre one could easily get used to. “Yes, the body-finding baker.”
    Lexy shrugged. “What can I say, I have a knack for finding bodies.”
    She looked over at Peter Saunders, who was back in his chair with a fresh drink. “Speaking of which, do you think Saunders did it?”
    “What do you think?” Jake held her gaze with his baby blues. Lexy wasn’t all too happy about the fluttering effect this had on her stomach. She took a sip of coffee, hoping the sobering effect of the coffee would stop the fluttering.
    “There’s some talk she may have been having an affair. Maybe Saunders found out and killed her in a fit of passion?”
    “Well, the strangulation could indicate a crime of passion, but there’s no hard evidence to suggest it was him.”  
    “Do you guys have any idea who it was?” Lexy asked.
    “We’re still sifting through the information. So far, we’ve ruled out most of the contestants because we could verify they were in their rooms at the time. We’re going through all the surveillance tapes in the casino and hotel now, so we’ll know who the killer is shortly.”  
    Lexy remembered the confession of Aurea’s room-mate. Should she tell him?  
    “Am I a suspect?” She tried putting on her most innocent face. It usually worked with Jack - hopefully Detective Ryan was no different.
    Jake laughed. “Well, a lot of the evidence we have right now does point to you, but once we sift through all the video tapes I’m sure that will prove you couldn’t have done it.”
    Lexy watched the steam from her coffee waver as she breathed out a sigh of relief. They didn’t think she had done it. She took another sip.
    “I talked to some of the other bakers to see if they noticed anything unusual, and I found something that might be useful to you.” Jake leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with interest. “Go on.”
    “Aurea Pearce - she’s one of the contestants - her roommate said Aurea left the room at 3:25 that morning.”
    “Really?   I don’t remember her telling us that.”  
    “She said she just told you Aurea left before she did, but not the exact time. I hope I didn’t get her into trouble.”
    “No. Thanks for telling me. That’s important to know.”   Jake took a swig from his beer. Lexy realized he had hardly touched it. “Do you have a cell phone?” he asked.
    Lexy nodded. Jake held