Chapter 18 A Case of Icing
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Mochi remained on the display table.
Daisy remained standing.
And Penny could hear nothing except the faint ticking of the clock above the bakery door.
Then Daisy laughed.
It was a small, brittle sound.
"That's ridiculous."
Penny didn't answer.
Daisy looked around the room.
"You actually believe this?"
Nelson's face was hard.
Francine looked stunned.
Tess appeared close to tears.
Daisy pointed at Penny.
"She's been obsessed with this from the beginning."
Penny felt her heart pounding.
Daisy continued.
"She blames me because she can't accept that her cake might have been involved."
Penny's expression didn't change.
"Your cake was involved."
Daisy's eyes narrowed.
"Exactly."
"But you were the one who poisoned it."
"No."
Daisy's voice was suddenly sharp.
"No, I didn't."
Penny opened the folder.
"Then let's go through it."
Daisy shook her head.
"I don't have to listen to this."
"You do."
Penny placed the first photograph on the table.
"This was found in my pantry."
Daisy glanced at it.
"The poison packet."
"I don't know anything about that."
"It was hidden behind a bag of almond flour."
"So?"
"So someone deliberately put it there."
Daisy shrugged.
"That proves someone hid poison in your bakery."
"Yes."
"It doesn't prove I did."
Penny nodded.
"You're right."
She placed another photograph beside it.
"This is the torn wrapper."
Daisy stared at it.
"The wrapper was caught in a piping tip I had cleaned before decorating the wedding cake."
Daisy folded her arms.
"That still proves nothing."
Penny looked at her.
"Maybe."
She pulled out another piece of evidence.
"Until you add this."
The earring.
Daisy's face tightened.
Penny continued.
"You told me you lost this near the cake."
"I did."
"And I found it there."
"Because I was helping Melanie."
"You were leaning over the cake."
Daisy nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I told you."
"You wanted to admire it."
Daisy stared at her.
"Yes."
Penny pointed to the photograph of the cake.
"There was a small tear in the fondant."
Daisy's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Penny saw it.
"The cake was flawless when I left my bakery," Penny said. "I know because I made it."
Daisy said nothing.
"Someone opened that fondant."
"No."
Penny continued.
"Someone made a tiny opening."
"No."
"Someone put something inside."
Daisy shook her head.
"You can't prove that."
Penny reached for another photograph.
"I can prove there was a disturbance."
She placed it on the table.
"The tear was almost invisible. But it was there."
Daisy stared at the photograph.
Penny's voice remained calm.
"And your earring was found right beside it."
Daisy looked away.
"Coincidence."
"Maybe."
Penny took a breath.
"Then there's your perfume."
Daisy's eyes snapped toward her.
Penny held up the evidence bag.
"The same floral scent was lingering on the earring."
Daisy's lips parted.
"You could smell perfume on an earring?"
"I'm a baker."
Penny gave a faint smile.
"I remember smells."
Daisy looked unsettled.
"I don't know what perfume you're talking about."
"You wore it that day."
"So did half the women at the wedding."
"Not that one."
Penny paused.
"The scent was distinctive."
Daisy said nothing.
Penny placed the financial records on the table.
"And then we have these."
Daisy's face hardened.
"You went through those?"
"They were hidden in my pantry."
"They weren't yours."
"They were evidence."
"They were private."
"They show George was secretly paying your family's debts."
Daisy's jaw tightened.
Nelson looked at her.
"You were taking George's money?"
Daisy snapped.
"He was helping my family."
"Without anyone knowing."
"He wanted to."
"Until he decided to stop."
Daisy's eyes filled with tears.
Penny watched her carefully.
"He was going to expose you."
"No."
"He was going to tell people where the money had gone."
"No."
"He was going to expose the debt."
Daisy's breathing became uneven.
Penny lowered her voice.
"And that would have destroyed everything you had built."
Daisy stared at her.
"You don't understand."
"I understand that you had a reason to be afraid."
"I didn't kill him."
Penny nodded.
"Then explain something."
Daisy remained silent.
"Why did you start the fire?"
Daisy looked toward the floor.
"I panicked."
The room went still.
Penny didn't move.
Daisy seemed to realize what she'd said.
She looked up.
"I didn't mean—"
"You panicked because you knew about the evidence."
"No."
"You knew I was going to the police."
"No."
"You tried to destroy the bakery."
"I was trying to save my family."
Penny's voice softened.
"You were trying to destroy the evidence."
Daisy shook her head.
"You don't know anything."
"I know enough."
Penny stepped closer.
"You had motive."
She pointed to the financial records.
"You had means."
She pointed toward the poison packet.
"And you had opportunity."
She pointed toward the photograph of the wedding cake.
"You were alone with the cake before it was served."
Daisy's eyes widened.
Penny continued.
"You pretended to be helpful."
Her voice became firmer.
"You stood beside Melanie."
"You smiled."
"You praised the cake."
"You leaned over it."
"And while everyone trusted you, you poisoned it."
Daisy's breathing became ragged.
"No."
Penny looked directly into her eyes.
"George knew your secret."
Daisy's face crumpled.
"He was going to expose you."
"No."
"You panicked."
"I didn't."
"You poisoned him."
"I didn't!"
Daisy suddenly screamed.
The sound startled everyone.
Mochi's ears flattened.
Daisy turned toward him.
The cat was still sitting on the table.
Still watching her.
Still perfectly still.
Daisy took one step backward.
Mochi's amber eyes followed her.
Daisy flinched.
It was tiny.
Barely noticeable.
But Penny saw it.
So did Nelson.
Daisy's breathing quickened.
She looked at the cat as if he were something far more dangerous than a house pet.
Mochi didn't hiss.
He didn't move.
He simply stared.
Daisy backed away again.
"Get that cat away from me."
Penny's heart sank.
Not from fear.
From certainty.
"You've been afraid of him all along."
Daisy shook her head.
"No."
"But he doesn't scare everyone else."
Daisy's eyes remained fixed on Mochi.
Penny understood.
Mochi had smelled something.
Something Penny couldn't see.
Something Daisy carried.
Perhaps it was the same chemical trace.
Perhaps it was simply the memory of danger.
Whatever it was, the cat knew.
And Daisy knew that he knew.
Penny stepped toward her.
"You can keep denying it."
Daisy's eyes filled with tears.
"But every time you look at Mochi, you look like you're afraid he'll expose you."
Daisy's face went white.
Nobody spoke.
Mochi slowly stood.
Daisy recoiled.
Penny watched her.
The confident woman who had walked into the bakery days earlier had disappeared.
The helpful matron of honor was gone.
The charming friend was gone.
All that remained was a frightened woman cornered by the truth.
Penny picked up the final photograph.
The tiny tear in the fondant.
"The cake was your weapon."
She looked at Daisy.
"Your earring was your mistake."
She held up the financial records.
"Your secret was your motive."
Then she pointed toward the door.
"And the fire was your second mistake."
Daisy began to cry.
Penny's voice softened.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore."
Daisy looked at her.
"Because the truth is already here."
Mochi sat down.
His amber eyes never left Daisy.
And Penny knew the final piece was almost in place.
All they needed now was the truth from the woman who had hidden it for so long.