✔Cupcakes to Kill For

8. Uncovering the Truth🧁

Casey dragged his feet across the snow-covered sidewalk, stuffing his trembling hands in his coat's pockets. The wind nipped at his face, stinging his rosy cheeks. With a rough tug on their bakery's door, Casey hurried inside and trapped the cold outside.  

"What on Earth were you doing?" Mr. Lockhart asked. "I had half a mind to chase after you."

"Finding answers." Casey straightened his posture and rubbed his hands together, trying to bring warmth back to them. "August's run-in at the bakery that night was no accident. I got the truth out of him. Veronica sent him to spy on me. On us."

Mr. Lockhart pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't just follow a dangerous criminal like that, Casey. What if he'd lashed out at you? How would you have defended yourself, huh? Don't you see what kind of people we're dealing with here?"

"Standing around doing nothing won't help either," Casey told him.

"We're not doing nothing. We're cleaning up here to get the bakery up and running. Now that your mom's... gone, our main source of income will be the bakery."

"I know, I understand that. But I want to get justice for Mom. Her killer's still out there, probably waiting to strike again. There's rumors on the street that our family has a hit out on us. Have you forgotten that? We're all in danger and the police don't seem to be doing much to keep us safe."

"I get it. Trust me, I want to find this bastard more than anything, but it's not worth putting any of you at risk again." Mr. Lockhart rested a hand on his son's shoulder for a moment. Worry lines creased his forehead as he moved his arm away, stepping aside to grab a broom and dustpan. "Come on, let's get this place cleaned up so we can go home. I know it's scary right now, but we'll get through this. Just have faith in the police, Casey. You know your mom would."

Casey didn't argue any further with his father. While he knew that chasing August down had been dangerous, he needed to figure out his motives. Part of him suspected that Veronica was involved and it turned out he was right. Now, he just needed to muster up the courage and visit her. If only it was that simple.

After they finished up at the bakery. Mr. Lockhart drove them home. Casey scrolled through his text messages, hesitating on creating a new one with August's contact. He spared a glance at his father as he drove them through town, passing dilapidated buildings. A simple text wouldn't hurt, right?

I'm free tonight. Could you meet with me then at Magnolia Cafe?

When they got back to the house, Lani sat up in the living room with Wyatt, watching Frozen for probably the thousandth time. Casey had their silly songs stuck in his head from seeing it so much.

"Hey, how'd things go at the bakery?" Lani asked.

"Everything's good to go," Mr. Lockhart replied. "We'll be able to open tomorrow, hopefully."

"That's great." Lani snuggled up underneath her pink blanket.

"August came by again," Casey told her, making his way over to the sofa. "He warned me not to trust anyone from the Voiceless Rebels."

"What? He came back?" Lani frowned. "I mean, we shouldn't trust anyone from those gangs. That August guy is a creep. You ought to go to the cops if he keeps hanging around the bakery like that, especially with it being closed right now."

Casey bit on his lower lip. "V sent him to spy on us."

"V?" Realization crossed Lani's face. "Ohh. Jeez, I can't believe she'd actually do that, send one of her own people to stalk us? We've gotta report it to the police. It's harassment. Even locked up, that crazy bitch still tries to get under your skin."