Chapter 33

THE CRUMBLING COOKIE EMPIRE

Alchemy Bakeries Corporate Office, Los Angeles, California, United States

Ginger Snaps led the three through the storage area, up a set of stairs and to the executive offices. Cocoa Twist, apparently along for the ride at this point, trailed behind them. At the end of their long tour through the winding hallways and warehouse areas of Alchemy Bakeries, that’s where they found the pair they’d asked to speak to. And as Ginger had foretold, they were arguing, although Gen couldn’t make out their words until they were closer.

“You said it was mine,” one man said.

“I did not,” another replied. “I said, I was thinking about it. Alchemy Bakeries has been in my family for a long time. I can’t just give that up.”

“Well, soon you’re going to have a worthless company and you’ll be begging me to buy it,” the first man warned as Gen and the others neared the door to a closed office.

Ginger looked back at them, a pursed expression on her face that seemed to say, “I told you so.” She then turned back around and knocked on the wooden door, making the arguing immediately halt.

A man with a head full of brown hair and wearing a suit answered the door, looking around at the group in confusion. “What’s all this?”

Ginger motioned to the detectives and Gen. “They are here about the murders. They want to question you and Mitch. Open up, buster.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “My name is Eddie and you know that.” The man still pulled back the door, holding out an arm to the detectives. “And please come in. I welcome any resolution to these mysteries that have befallen my company.”

“It’s still my company, Eddie,” another man corrected, when they all entered. He sat behind a large desk and had a head full of gray hair but also wore a suit. “And who are you all?”

The great detective stepped forward. “I’m Sherlock Holmes and this is my assistant, King Rudolf and our colleague, Gen Beaufont. We are here to investigate the series of deaths that have happened at your bakeries.”

“Good,” the man behind the desk said heavily. “Hopefully you can find out what the police haven’t. Stock prices are plummeting in light of this all.”

“Tell me about it,” the other man said.

“I’m sure that’s not your biggest concern with so many of your head bakers having died,” King Rudolf muttered, shaking his head. He pointed to the man with brown hair. “Introduce yourself.”

The man, apparently not used to being pointed at or barked at by a half-drunk fae, flustered. “My name is Eddie Dough. I’m the Quality Control Officer at Alchemy Bakeries.”

Rudolf held up his hands, looking at Sherlock and Gen. “Seriously, who is naming these people? Are we stuck in a game of Clue, or what?”

Sherlock shook his head, looking at the other man with gray hair. “And you? You’re the CEO of Alchemy Bakeries?”

“That’s right,” the man replied. “My name is Mitch Crumb and this company has been in my family for generations.”

“Then why is it that Eddie is trying to get you to sell it?” Rudolf asked, boldly.

“Oh, well…that’s all a very preliminary conversation,” Mitch stuttered. “Nothing has been decided.”

Eddie cut his eyes to the other man. “You know that you want to retire and need the money to pay for things…”

“What kind of things?” Sherlock asked.

“Nothing,” Mitch stated. “I really haven’t decided about the fate of the company. I simply have been entertaining the idea of selling off the Alchemy Bakeries to Eddie.”

“And you are the Quality Control Officer,” Rudolf said to the man with a head full of brown hair. “So you put the levains onto the trucks before they go out to bakeries, is that right?”

He shook his head. “No, that would be Ginger’s job as senior baker. I simply inspect the ingredients to ensure that it meets our strict standards.”

A laugh popped out of Ginger’s mouth.

Eddie cut his eyes to her. “What is it? Is something funny?”

“Oh, just that cost-cutting the quality of ingredients is considered to be meeting strict standards.” She cut her eyes to Gen. “We don’t even get our pixie dust from real pixies. It’s just glitter and gives our customers stomach aches.”

“That’s enough,” Mitch bellowed. “I told you that we weren’t using your ingredients. They are simply too expensive for this aging company.”

“Right,” Sherlock chirped. “So Eddie inspects the levains and you, Mitch, when do you have access to these family-owned and prized parts of the business?”

“Well, all the time,” the owner stated. “I’ve got my hands on every part of this business. That’s how it’s always been. Crumbs have always overseen all parts of Alchemy Bakeries. My father was adamant about that when he turned the company over to me.”

“Which has been the problem,” Eddie stated. “Sometimes one must step back.”

“I think I’ve heard enough from you,” Mitch stated, cutting his eyes to the back of the room. “And you…Cocoa, what are you doing?”

The junior baker straightened suddenly, pulling her hand out of a filing cabinet at the back. “Nothing, sir. I just noticed that was open. I was simply closing it for you.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he muttered, not sounding entirely convinced. Mitch then cut his eyes to Sherlock and Rudolf. “Do you think you can help us to determine what’s happening to our head bakers? I really can’t stand to lose any more.”

“Yes,” Sherlock answered, looking victoriously at his assistant, King Rudolf. “I think we know who is behind this and we’re ready to solve this case.”