Scones, Skulls & Scams by Leighann Dobbs

below.
    Nans looked up at her. “Oh thanks, dear.”
    Lexy descended the rest of the stairs, the smell of mildew tickling her nose and causing her to stifle a sneeze.  
    “Have you ever noticed a door or manhole cover or anything down here?” Nans asked.
    Lexy looked around. She’d only been down here a couple of times. She found it a bit creepy and too musty to store any of her ingredients. The hard concrete floor was dirty and scuffed with age. The brick walls were dark, the mortar falling out in chunks here and there. It was filled with old shelves and metal ducts and pipes from the previous resident.
    “I never really looked down here,” she admitted.
    “Where should we start?” Ida turned around in the middle of the basement, looking for a good starting point.
    “What are we even looking for?” Ruth asked. “A door? A manhole cover?”
    “I’m not sure,” Nans replied. “But it makes sense that whatever it is would be over near the street. That’s where the sewer tunnels are.”
    “That wall over there is the one that faces the street.” Lexy pointed to a wall covered in floor to ceiling metal shelving to her left.
    Nans walked over to inspect it. She ran her finger across one of the shelves, stirring up a cloud of dust. “We’ll need to remove these shelving units so we can see the actual wall of the building.
    Ida tugged on a corner. It didn’t budge. “They’re nailed in.”
    “We’ll need to get some tools,” Ruth said.
    “And our work clothes,” Helen added.
    “And maybe even hard hats.” Ida looked warily at the unsteady shelves.  
    “I don’t get it,” Lexy said. “What does this have to do with Caraleigh sabotaging my food, stealing recipes, lowballing my prices and having television spots?”
    “Isn’t it obvious?” Nans asked.
    “No.” Lexy gave an exasperated shrug and held her hands up.
    “She was trying to put you out of business so she could rent this space. That way she’d be free to come down and explore the sewer for the money without anyone knowing.”
    “So, her whole bakery is a scam? A ruse to get into this basement?”  
    “I think so.” Nans tilted her head and looked thoughtful. “She must have known about this before they found the skull. That’s the real reason she came to Brook Ridge Falls. And if the skull didn’t show up, she would have been able to take her sweet time poking around in the sewer until she found the money, because no one else would have suspected it might be in there.”
    “Right,” Ida added. “She must have found out about it some other way and come to town specifically to get into the sewers. I bet she got those plans when she first arrived in town. Maybe even before she opened the bakery.”
    “Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to just on the off-chance there’s a treasure in there,” Lexy said.
    “That’s just it,” Nans said. “She must know the treasure is there for sure.
    “Which means we need to get in there fast … before she does,” Ida added.
    “Not only that, but now that the skull has surfaced and the sewer is being closed off, she’s sure to know she’ll have to step up her efforts to get to the treasure before someone else does or the access to the sewers is blocked off,” Nans said. “Which means Lexy better be extra careful because, if my guess is right, this Caraleigh person will likely stop at nothing to get in here.”

    ***
    “Let me get this straight … There’s a secret access to the sewers right in our basement and Caraleigh is doing all this to get in there?” Cassie eyed Lexy doubtfully.
    Lexy had to admit, it did sound rather far-fetched, but it was the only explanation that made sense. And the more Lexy thought about it, the more sense it made.
    “I know it sounds crazy, but the money from the robbery could be sitting down there.” Lexy looked out the window toward The Brew and Bake . Was Caraleigh looking out her window toward them ? Had she guessed they’d discovered