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asked.
    Nans face flushed and she looked down at the floor. “Oh, you know, just some errands. What are you all doing?”
    “We’re discussing our new case,” Helen said.
    “New case?”
    “Yes,” Ida nodded enthusiastically. “The basement mummy case. You know, the one Lexy found in Jack’s basement.”
    “Oh, right.” Nans waved her hand. “I heard about that. Very unusual.”
    “I’ll say!” Ruth pulled a chair over from the next table and indicated for Nans to sit. “So, anyway, tell us what you know and we’ll fill you in on what we’ve found out.”
    “Know? Why would I know anything?” Nans asked.
    “You lived there back then. Surely, you’ve thought back and remembered something that might have been amiss,” Helen prompted.  
    “We don’t even know when it happened.” Nans turned to Lexy. “Do we?”
    “Not really. I mean, the police haven’t said anything, but Jack thinks it happened when the house was being built.”
    Nans raised a brow. “Oh, really? So they can’t pinpoint the time of death?”
    “I’m not sure.” Lexy looked around the table at the other ladies. “Can they pinpoint the time of death with a body that’s been mummified?”
    The three ladies shrugged.
    “You lived there before they built the house, right, Mona?” Ruth asked.
    Nans nodded.”So whenever it happened, you were living there. You must have seen something,” Helen said. “Think back. Did you notice any strange activity at night? An odd smell? If you want, I can hypnotize you to help you remember.”
    “Certainly not!” Nans said. “I mean, I don’t need any help remembering. My memory is just fine and I tell you, I never saw anything strange going on.”
    “Well, we’ve found the builder and he lives right here in the complex. We intend to pay him a visit. Maybe you could bake one of your apple pies,” Helen suggested. Nans’ apple pies were famous, and the ladies had discovered long ago that bringing pies or pastry to interrogate …err … visit … a suspect was a great way to get them to open up.
    “Oh, I don’t know.” Nans grimaced. “I have a pretty full schedule.”
    “You don’t know?” Ida gave Nans an incredulous look. “Jack is a suspect and that Watson Davies character could screw things up for him. We have to investigate, for Jack’s sake.”
    “Davies might be a little hard to get along with, but she does a fine job,” Nans said. “Remember how she uncovered the killer when we had that whole fiasco with your wedding dress, Lexy?”  
    “Sure, but I think we helped her on that one. And on the copycat baker case, too.”
    Nans tsked. “Maybe, but she’s perfectly capable of figuring out this old case. Anyway, it happened so long ago, who would even care about it now?”
    Lexy squinted at Nans. “I would think you would care.”
    “Yeah, aren’t you going to investigate with us?” Ruth asked.
    Nans shrugged. “I need to look over the new cases. Maybe if there’s nothing else more interesting. I’m very busy and have to pick my cases carefully. You know, some things from the past are better left in the past.”
    Lexy exchanged a glance with Ruth, Ida and Helen.  
    Since when did Nans not want to investigate every case?
    “But for now, I need to get upstairs. I have some calls to make.” Nans slid the keys across the table to Ruth. “Thanks for the loaner.”
    Nans stood, plucked a meringue cookie from the box and took a bite. She turned to leave, swallowed then looked down at Lexy. “This is good, but it needs a bit more sugar.”
    And with that, Nans shuffled off across the lobby, leaving Lexy, Ruth, Ida and Helen staring after her.

Chapter Six

    “Do these seem like they need more sugar to you?” Lexy held one of the orange and vanilla meringue cookies out to Cassie.  
    Lexy had been a bit concerned the day before with Ruth, Ida and Helen’s unusual silence about the cookies. The three ladies usually raved about Lexy’s baking, so she figured