Bun for Your Life by Karoline Barrett Page A

my names, although deep down I didn’t think our arrest was imminent. Maybe my desire stemmed from the fact that I couldn’t remember the last time a murder occurred in Destiny, or because, crazy about her or not, I had known Calista, and it wasn’t at all fair she was dead.
    Or maybe it was because the killer had used one of Bread and Batter’s doughnuts and T-shirts to commit his atrocity and I felt sort of responsible for her death, even though logically I knew I wasn’t. I still couldn’t understand why she was strangled, if she was already dead. What was that about? I couldn’t picture two killers coming after her. And of course, I didn’t like the idea of a killer running around loose. The faster this person was apprehended, the better.
    I looked over my notes, sure Jamie hadn’t told me anything he hadn’t already told the police. Since Trey and Blake were still free men, they obviously had found nothing to tie either of them to Calista’s murder. Yet. Maybe I could. But how? That was the question. I pulled into traffic and headed to work.
    I turned onto Lacey Street and parked in back of Bread and Batter. As I hurried up the large alley and turned right, I was surprised to see a group of young people walking back and forth in front of the bakery. Like they were picketing. I stopped and watched for a moment. The two guys wore black jeans, black sneakers, black T-shirts, and what looked like leather dog collars adorned with various sizes of metal spikes around their necks. Their long hair was blacker than a crow’s feathers.
    The two women . . . well, they looked exactly like the guys, except without dog collars, and with thick, dark eyeliner, dark lipstick, and black nail polish. One girl did have a nice pink streak through her hair that looked professionally done. I noticed piercings in all of their eyebrows, ears, and probably other places I didn’t want to know about. And multiple tattoos. Those didn’t bother me, but the piercings through the eyebrows? Ouch!
    However, I went through my own phase of purple hair and wearing clothes that made my parents shake their heads and pretend they didn’t know me, so I’m really not one to judge how people dress, or what color they choose to dye their hair.
    â€œHello there. Excuse me,” I said as I approached the group.
    â€œAre you going in there?” the girl with the pink stripe asked.
    â€œYes. Is this some kind of protest against cupcakes and bagels, carbohydrates in general?”
    â€œNo,” the tallest guy replied. “We’re trying to get a sense of Calista Danforth-Brody’s last moments. You know, the woman who was murdered. Please try not to disturb the aura out here.”
    Was he serious? “What aura? Since her last moments weren’t here on the sidewalk, what would her aura be doing here?I’m Molly. by the way, half owner of Bread and Batter.”
    â€œHey, Molly. One’s spirit is very sensitive after death,” he replied. “We’re waiting to see if Calista’s spirit shows up. We’re trying to sense paranormal activity. Since the murder weapons came from here, Calista’s spirit may show up and want revenge.”
    That was an uplifting thought. “Revenge? We didn’t kill her.”
    â€œI know.” He smiled at me, revealing a mouth full of braces. “But she was killed with things from your bakery.”
    â€œTechnically not. Peanut butter killed her. She was allergic.”
    â€œShe was strangled with one of your T-shirts,” he shot back.
    â€œThat actually didn’t kill her. She was already dead. So you’re—”
    â€œIt’s very nice to meet you, Molly,” the pink-striped-hair girl interrupted. “Since we’re going to be here awhile, you may as well know who we are. Olivia already knows our names. I’m Tiffany, this is Kendra, that’s Jimmy”—she