Scones, Skulls & Scams by Leighann Dobbs Page B

wrong.”
    “Nonsense.” Nans raised her arms over her head and brought the sledgehammer down on the end of the crowbar. “We’re not stopping until we’ve dislodged every shelf unit. There’s only two more to go.”
    Ruth jammed the crowbar behind the shelf unit and pried it away.  
    “Look!” Ruth pointed excitedly behind the shelf.
    Nans, Ida, Helen and Lexy ran up behind her, jockeying for position so they could see behind the shelf. Lexy’s heart lurched when she saw what Ruth had been excited about.  
    An old wooden door.
    The ladies worked on the shelf with a burst of energy and it crashed to the floor, revealing an old oak door set into the brick wall. In the middle of the door sat a wide plank, which dropped into metal brackets on either side of the door, presumably to keep it from being pushed open from the sewer side.
    Lexy and Nans raced to one side of the plank, Ida and Ruth to the other.  
    “Ready?” Helen asked. “On the count of three … One … Two … Three …”
    The four women pushed the heavy plank up and out of the brackets. It clattered to the floor revealing a large iron door handle.
    Nans rubbed her hands together. “This is it, girls.”
    She reached out and tugged at the handle.  
    Nothing.
    Planting her feet firmly in front of the door, she grabbed the handle again and leaned back.  
    The door did not budge.
    “Let me do that.” Ida pushed Nans out of the way and tried opening the door, but it remained firmly shut.
    “Hold on you guys, I’ll do it.” Lexy pushed Ida out of the way and took her turn.  
    The door did not open.
    “It’s locked,” Lexy said, her heart sinking.
    “Locked? Now doesn’t that figure? We finally uncover the door and it’s locked,” Ruth said.
    “Can’t you guys pick the lock?” Lexy asked. She knew at least one of the ladies had skills in the lock-picking area.
    Ruth bent down to inspect the handle, or rather the keyhole, underneath. It was the type that took an old skeleton key—a gigantic skeleton key judging by the size. “No can do. This lock is too big. We need a key.”
    “Maybe the key is in here.” Lexy looked around the basement, picking up some scraps that lay in piles looking for the key.
    “It’s probably long gone,” Nans said. “But I think I know where we can get a skeleton key that just might fit.
    “Where?” Four heads turned to look at Nans.
    “Victor’s antique shop.”

Chapter Thirteen

    Lexy almost told Jack about the secret door, but she knew he’d give her a hard time about going into the sewer. Maybe he’d even get the police involved. She couldn’t risk them screwing everything up, so she’d managed to keep mum about it all night. Needless to say, she was glad when morning came and she could escape to the bakery.
    Walking in through the back, she glanced toward the basement door, her stomach taut with excited anticipation. She couldn’t wait to get down there and open the door, but Victor’s shop had been closed last night so they hadn’t been able to get a key. Not only that, but she still had a bakery to run and had a ton of things to do, not the least of which was trying one last tweak to the scone recipe. Tomorrow was the bicentennial celebration and she’d need to have the recipe perfected by morning in order to bake a fresh batch in time for the judging.
    Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen had some finishing touches to do on their display for the historical society, so, even though they all were dying to get into the sewer, they’d decided it was best to meet later in the afternoon, get the key from Victor and then get into the sewer once Lexy closed the shop for the day.
    “I could have sworn I saw Caraleigh Brewster looking over here with binoculars when I drove in,” Cassie said as she tossed her coat on a hook and grabbed an apron.
    “What? No way. That would be too weird.” Lexy rushed out into the front room and looked out the window to find the other baker busy behind her display