Doughy Delights

'Careful Jack, glass is everywhere on the floor,' said Tom, the detective, to his colleague, Jack.

'Wonder why chief gave you this low profile case?' asked Jack.

'It happens when you misplace an important piece of evidence of a high profile case.'

'The Burglar in a Bakery. Why this mess over a bread, Tom?'

'Might be the rage. Otherwise, who would risk being noticed while causing such destruction.'

'Might be some psychopath on a rampage. The cash register is as it is. Only a golden crucifix is missing.'

'NO, detective. Come inside with me,' said Mike, the owner of the 'Pane a Diem' Bakery. Someone vandalized the entire bakery and stole something of value. 

'You are saying that the lunatic thief stole your secret bread recipe?' asked Tom.

'Yes, detective. That is why I asked the chief to put his best detective in the town for this case,' said Mike.

'Okay. Jack. Write down the list of missing items. And Mike, don't touch anything. We need to take the fingerprint on that secret locker of yours under the oven.'

'You know what Tom, I doubt that this is the work of someone from the outside. It has to be someone from the inside. Otherwise, who would know about this? Who else with his sane mind would look beneath an over for something?' doubted Jack.

'Don't worry Jack. We will look into it,' said Tom.

'If you have any questions, I will be at my makeshift bakery adjacent to this bakery. I was about to move there next month to renovate this bakery. But now I have to use it,' said Mike

The news spread. Some lunatic robbed 'Pane a Diem' of his secret bread recipe and vandalized the property. 

Out of compassion, customers began pouring into the makeshift bakery to purchase and offer condolence. The sale went through roof.

Days went by but the thief was still at large. 

'Mike, last week we sold double. That means we are selling bread to nearly 80% of the people in this town. Great progress from 40% to 80%.' said Mike's wife to Mike.

'Yes, honey. Emotions helped us. Wonder what our rival must be doing as of now. 'Doughy Delights' will be in shock.'

'Hello, Mike. Looks like the renovation is almost done,' said Tom while entering the newly renovated Bakery. 

'Yes, detective. We will open only after the thief is caught.'

'Then we have a piece of good news. Our network of informers provided us with a crucial piece of information. They say that one of your employees recently joined the 'Doughy Delights'. Is that right?' asked Jack.

'Yes. His name is Jim. He asked for a raise. I told him to wait until this pandemic passes out. But he was insisting and I didn't bulge. He left the job. Recently someone told me that he joined 'Doughy Delights'. 

'He was seen with a man leaving this premise. We will need his finger-print if you have any. We failed to find a match from our database.'

'Yes, as a part of the new rules, I collected all the details including his retinal scan. Let me forward you in the mail,' said Mike and forwarded the details to Tom by email. 

'And one more thing. If you say that your secret recipe is stolen, how come your bread tastes the same? My wife told me to ask you. You are like a celebrity chef in our town,' said Jack.

'It is always locked in here and here,' said Mike while pointing his finger at his head and heart.

'Good. Good. Carry on Mike. Make preparations to move in. Looks like we have a match. It is that of Jim. We are going to interrogate and let you in on that as soon as we have a confession.'

'Thank you, detectives,' said Mike

Jack arrested Jim from the 'Doughy Delights' and people assembled to watch the show as Tom & Jack dragged him to the police van.

'I am innocent. I have done nothing,' said Jim in the dim-lit interrogation room. 

'Yeah, that is the line every thief says in this room.'

'No. I am innocent, It all started with my meeting with Ross.'

'The owner of 'Doughy Delights'?' asked Jack.

'Yes, he asked me to join him. The only condition was that I have to bring the secret recipe with me to his bakery.'

'So, you stole and vandalize your previous employer's bakery.'

'No. I asked for raise to Mike but he denied. Ross offered me a managerial position at his bakery with significant pay on our next meeting.'

'So, after that, you stole the recipe.'

'No, will you listen to me. I didn't steal it. I just pointed out where it was. I don't know how did you found my fingerprint on the locker?'

'Are you sure? You were seen exiting the premise with another man,' said Tom.

'Yes, I went there to talk Ross out of that robbery but he had already vandalized the property.'

'Jack, go with two other detectives and bring in Ross for some chit-chat,' ordered Tom.

Ross was brought in. He confessed but denied taking any secret recipe. There was nothing on the paper. 

'I vandalized the property out of rage. Jim gave me the secret recipe paper but it was blank. I could not fathom that disappointment. The recipe which was on the taste buds of 40% of the town's population was still eluding me even after paying $30k to Jim,' Ross confessed.

'So you confess of the robbery.'

'No, I didn't take anything with me.'

'So, how would you explain this golden crucifix we found in your bakery?'

'I don't know.'

'But, Jim knows and he gave the clue to us. You also planted the fingerprint of Jim on the locker handle to indicate him in the robbery. And then you went in rage to vandalize the 'Pane a Diem'. Is that right Ross?'

'No, Jim gave it to me.'

'Good luck proving that in front of the jury. You are going in and your 'Doughy Delights' will be sealed until further notice,' concluded Tom, who maintained his 100% clearance rate. 

Jim was released from all charges.

Mike moved into his new bakery. The sale was at an all-time high. It was late night and he closed the bakery. He exited from the rear door and went into his car. He reached the parking lot and killed his engine to blend in the silent environment of night. 

'Mike. How are you?' asked Jim by knocking on the window of Mike's car.

'Get in. No time to exchange pleasantries.'

'Heard that Insurance gave you a lot of money for that rampage of Ross. More than enough for renovation. I want a share of that. You didn't mention any insurance benefits. It was not discussed earlier. So, let us revise the deal,' said Jim

'Don't get cocky. I have a recording of our deal. When detective Tom will hear that you approached Ross with this master plan and placed the golden crucifix by yourself. What will they do to you? Add the camera clip of you thieving from my cash register. Just think about the consequence.'

'Okay, Okay. Give me my $50k. I will be out of the town tomorrow morning.'

'Remember, this is our last meeting. I don't want to see your face and your thieving hands near me. I gave you two options when you were caught stealing in my bakery. Go to prison or execute my plan to walk free out of the town. You choose the latter. So, care to stick with it,' informed Mike to Jim.

Jim took the money and never returned to the town where nine out of ten people ate the 'Pane a Diem' bread.