The Sweet Thief

Danny had just finished rounding up suspects for his case when his phone rang with a call from his childhood friend Nicky. They had been best friends in high school but separated when she decided to work in her family-owned bakery. As far as Danny knew, Nicky didn’t have any time in the morning, so he picked up the phone on the second ring, concerned for her safety. 

“Hello, Danny, this is Nicky” she greeted him, 

“Hey, Nicky, How are you? Long time no see. Now I know you're usually busy in the morning, so I can assume this is not for a friendly chit chat”, suspected Danny. 

“You know me so well, yes, this is not a friendly chit-chat call, I actually wanted to see if you could help me with something. If you're free, would you be able to meet me at the bakery, say in 3 hours after the breakfast rush? I hope I am not asking for too much. I can pay you so don’t worry about working for free” 

“Yeah, no problem, I will see you soon then” replied Danny to Nicky’s long rant. Hell, if she would pay him for helping her. She was so sweet during high school, how could he forget the many times she would sneak him free doughnuts from her bakery. Even now when he occasionally stopped by the shop before heading to work, all the food would be on the house. He always wondered how to repay her for her generous nature and it seems he wouldn’t have to look far. All too soon, it was time to head over to Nicky’s, she must be done with her work by now, Danny mused as he drove to her bakery on the other side of New York City.

Arriving at the bakery, Danny parked his car and strode towards the door only to be greeted by an amused Nicky holding a cardboard pastry box. 

As they walked to her office, Danny questioned her “So, what’s so urgent that you called me early in the morning.” As he said it, he noticed the anxiety in her body language. She was playing with her hair nervously while stealing glances at her desk. 

“Promise me, this would stay between you and me” questioned Nicky. 

“I promise, Nicky, you are worrying me, sweetheart, what is it? Are you ok?” Danny asked with panic. 

“I am ok, physically but maybe not my business. There was a break-in, nobody knows but me, if this gets out my business would be ruined” 

“What is missing?” asked Danny. 

“It’s my journal of recipes. Recipes that have made this bakery no 1 in New York City. If this falls into the wrong hands, they could ruin us” replied Nicky sadly. 

“Where did you keep your Journal, Nicky?”

“They were hidden in my safe. The safe is not broken in and that's what’s bothering me. Who could have done this?” 

“Can you show me the safe?”

“Sure” replied Nicky as she stood up and motioned Danny to her side of the desk. Underneath the second drawer was a hollow snatch big enough for a few journals. It seemed to be protected by a thumb impression and a pin code, observed Danny. 

“It could be an inside job or it could be a competitor, you need to prepare yourself for either, Nicky” cautioned Danny as he looked more closely at the safe. “Have you told anyone else about the safe, the pin code?” questioned Danny. 

“No, no one else” replied Nicky shakily. “I mean, my family knows about the hidden compartment but no one knew about the safe, as far as I know. Usually, it’s just me in this office working on papers. My dad occasionally checks in but I am always here. It couldn’t have been him. What could he gain? My mom never bothers with the bakery and Maggie is just starting. She is up in the kitchen most of the time. It has to be a competitor, but how?” ranted Nicky. 

“Hmm, this sure is a pickle, sweetheart, but I will try my best, we will catch the culprit before your recipes become public, let’s hope” Danny tried to sound hopeful for Nicky’s sake. 

“Thank you for doing this Danny, I appreciate it. Now, let’s talk about charges. I know you usually get paid handsomely from your usual clients, so I will make you a deal as well. How about 5k?” 

“That's too much, Nicky, I charge way less than that, and considering you're a friend, how about you throw in free doughnuts for life in exchange for my service and we will call it even” lied Danny. He charged around 20k for a case but he didn’t want Nicky’s money, he would rather have her doughnuts. 

They spent an hour drawing up a list of suspects who had access to the office and knew about the safe. So far, they had her family and the bakery workers. 

Danny then asked to see the surveillance footage of the kitchen and office area for the past week but unfortunately, there was no camera focused on the office, so there was no way to know who had entered the area. Danny took the kitchen CCTV footage and the back door footage located next to the office to his own office/apartment uptown. 

Danny spent the next few hours combing through the CCTV footage for the past week when he stopped halfway through as a man in a cap came through the back door. The man was turned away from the camera so there was no way to see his face and his shirt was a plain light blue, the kind one wears for delivery services. Danny saw the timing on the footage was Wednesday at 6 am. Even though nothing looked suspicious as he was just standing by the door, Danny made a note to ask Nicky before dismissing the man as a suspect. Just halfway through with the footage, Danny took a lunch break, deciding to call Nicky. 

Nicky picked up the call on the third ring, “Hey Nicky, it's Danny. Listen, do you remember who came in early Wednesday morning through the back door close to your office, say 6 am” 

“Hmm, Wednesday, you say, ah, Yes, I remember, it was Cole, our produce delivery guy. He usually comes thrice a week with fresh fruits. Wait, you think it’s Cole?” questioned Nicky. 

“No, not yet, just wanted to make sure you know who comes into your store” replied Danny cryptically, keeping his doubts to himself for the moment. 

“No way it’s Cole, he is too sweet, he gives me extra fruits for free. Just last week, I gave him free doughnuts for his wife’s get well soon party, all from my new recipes. He said everyone enjoyed it” 

Listening to Nicky praise Cole’s sweet nature, Danny felt suspicious, but he didn’t interrupt. Danny decided to further investigate Cole and his family tomorrow when he had looked over all the CCTV footage. 

Instead, Danny said to Nicky “ok, if you say so, I will get back to the footage now, will call if I need any more information, see you soon, bye” 

Danny cut the call and went back to his camera hunting. After learning nothing new from watching the whole footage, Danny went to sleep. He will have to wake up early since Cole worked early morning, to keep an eye on his route. 

The next morning, Danny spent the entire day learning Cole’s routine but nothing jumped out as suspicious. Cole stopped by many bakeries and restaurants, being friendly with all his customers. During the evening, he would stop by his work office to drop off receipts and other paperwork before continuing home. It seemed Cole did live a normal delivery man life, but Danny would be more comfortable following him for a few more days, just to be sure. As Cole entered his house, Danny got a glimpse of his wife, from his research he knew her name was Samantha. He was surprised to see her shaved head, as she greeted her husband by the door. Danny waited outside their residence for an hour before deciding to go home to learn more about Samantha. 

While he made coffee, he fired up his laptop and hacked into the national database for a Samantha Wheeler. Her search came up in seconds, previously worked as a high school librarian, and was currently being treated for breast cancer. Next Danny decided to check over their bank balance, it was quite ordinary for a salary of a delivery man, but Danny’s sixth sense kept warning him that something was fishy. He didn’t trust someone who was too clean, that usually meant they had something to hide. He went over to the hospital to check their records and found they matched with his research. Next, he decided to stop by her high school, where she worked before quitting. The things he found left him in shock, making him second guess his decision to reveal Nicky the truth. 

Meanwhile at Nicky’s 

Nicky went home early that day after thoroughly locking her office door. Usually, Nicky stayed late at the Bakery to work on new recipes but today she was just tired and lost. As she was walking to her room, she heard Maggie talking on her phone, Nicky walked past but almost stopped when she heard her sister say the words “Have you tried the new recipes?”. Nicky was confused but wanted to give her sister the benefit of the doubt, after all, Maggie wouldn’t steal from her own business, would she? Nicky decided to eve-drop on their conversation, leaning close to the door frame so as not to get caught. The call was on speakerphone “I tried one, it turned out a little bitter, maybe I am not using the right ingredients” replied the female voice. “Are you reading the recipes right, I just glanced at the book, but most of it's just chicken scratch” said Maggie. “I am not sure, maybe you can come over tomorrow and we can try again.” replied the voice. “Ok, will see you after school, Ms” Maggie said goodbye and hung up the call, giving Nicky just enough time to walk to her room quickly. 

Nicky decided to call Danny as soon as she was sure Maggie could not overhear their talk. 

“Hey Danny, listen I overheard Maggie talk to a lady about some recipes, I am not sure what kind of recipes but something doesn’t feel right,” said Nicky without waiting. 

“Hey, hmm, I didn’t want to tell you this just yet but I guess you should know, Maggie and Samantha, go to the same high school. Samantha worked as a librarian there and guess what, her last name is Wheeler” Danny said waiting for her to join the two dots. 

Wheeler, that sounds so familiar, wondered Nicky. She racked her brain for a few seconds before remembering typing that name on a get well soon card. 

“I know that name, it's Cole’s last name, Samantha must be his relative” spoke Nicky. 

“You are right sweetheart, she is his wife and it seems Maggie is one of her favorite students” 

“The lady on the phone with Maggie might be her, they were talking about meeting tomorrow,” informed Nicky. 

“We should follow them and see what they are up to, if it’s a family matter we won’t have to inform the police, at least let’s hope”. Soon they hung up, deciding that Nicky would go to work so as not to draw suspicion and Danny would follow Maggie after school. 

The next day, Danny followed Maggie to Cole’s house, informing Nicky as he left her school. Nicky left work to go over to cole’s and see for her own eyes. She arrived just in time to see Maggie being greeted by a bald woman. She texted Danny to let him know she was here and they both decided to approach the house through the backyard. As Maggie walked through the side alley, Danny caught up with her, reminding her that they were trespassing. Luckily for them, the kitchen was close, making it easier for them to listen to Maggie and Samantha. 

“I was trying this recipe, but the main ingredient is bitter so I tried to add extra sugar but that didn’t work, it just tasted weird, here try some” 

“Yuck, it starts sweet but has a bitter aftertaste, that’s not how she makes it.” 

“Here, you take a look at the book, it's all chicken scratch, maybe you can read it since you have seen it all the time” 

“Ok, let’s see, hmm, it’s a little difficult, but I am pretty sure it says to use fresh cherries. Did you use that?” 

“I didn’t have fresh, so I used to the canned ones” 

“Maybe that is what is wrong, lets try again, and this time with fresh ones, not one of these bitter cherries they process in factories.” 

“O, let's try that together” 

As Nicky listened to their conversation, she grew angry by the minute. Danny sensed her emotional turmoil and held onto her hand, stopping her from being reckless.

Nicky inched closer to the window to find them bend over the fryer as they took out doughnuts one by one. 

Nicky swore, getting ready to burst inside and confront them but Danny kept a hold on her, keeping her quiet. 

“This still doesn’t taste the same,” said Maggie, taking a small bite of the hot doughnut. 

Nicky was smiling as she heard about their failure once again. For once she was grateful for her nonsensical handwriting. She knew they hadn’t been able to decode her secret ingredient just yet. If she had any say in this, she wouldn’t let them either. Nicky composed herself, motioning Danny to follow her as she walked through the back door, clearing her throat loudly.

“Hi Maggie and you must be Samantha, I am Nicky and this is Danny” Nicky introduced them to the guilt-stricken ladies hunched over the doughnuts. 

“Nicky, what are you doing here” stammered Maggie. 

“I should be asking you this, Maggie, and what do I see there” Nicky motioned to the open diary, laying on the counter between the four of them. 

“I can explain, this is not what you're thinking” Maggie rushed.

“Oh, please do, I would hate to turn my sister in for stealing” Nicky stated with a serious face. 

“I am the one who stole the diary because I wanted to impress you. Samantha was just trying to help me, she had nothing to do with this burglary” Maggie explained without stammering.

“Why did you have to steal the diary and how did you even manage to do it? Do you have any idea what I went through? I almost called the cops, thank god that Danny was available to help; otherwise, you would be in jail by now. Do you realize how serious this is?” Nicky questioned her sister. 

“I am sorry that you had to go through that, I was hoping to try the recipes and make a fresh batch for you soon, without you even realizing the diary was missing. I was going to return it by tomorrow” 

“Ok, I believe you because you are family, but next time just promise to be open with me, I didn’t know you were serious about the bakery. Though I am still curious, how did you manage to open the safe?” 

“We knew about your diary just didn’t know where you kept it, then I heard mom and dad talk about the hidden compartment in the office desk and thought I would give it a try. When I found it, I couldn’t open it. The thumb impression I got from one of the glasses you touched but the pin was a little difficult. I had to try everyone’s birthday, but that didn’t work and then I remembered you once told me about the day when you were the happiest, the day you started working at the bakery. On a whim, I tried that, and voila! it worked” Maggie ended with excitement. 

Looking at Maggie being excited about the bakery made Nicky proud, she had no clue that Maggie was even interested in being part of the business. She made a vow to teach Maggie everything she knew and maybe now the two sisters could try out new recipes of their own. 

“Well, it seems I would have to change my pin now but I am happy that you are showing an interest in the bakery. Although you should have come to me rather than steal behind my back, Maggie.” admonished Nicky. 

“I know, I learned my lesson, won’t happen again” Maggie promised enthusiastically.

“Well, now that the truth is out, let’s take a look at what you made” Nicky moved to take a bite of the doughnuts and almost choked on the bitterness. “It seems you have a lot to learn, good thing we have our own bakery” winked Nicky. 

Samantha

Samantha chose a bottle of Rosé, the sweetest wine, to welcome her guests and to apologize for being a part of this crime. She felt bad for Nicky and was glad that they were caught before it went any further. All of a sudden she asked Nicky “Hey, now that you know we had been unsuccessful in making those doughnuts, can you tell us the secret ingredient, it was hard to read from the notes” 

“I don’t know, the recipe is a family secret,” said Nicky with mischief. 

“Oh, I promise not to tell anyone,” Samantha said with a pout. 

“I won’t tell you but I will give you a hint, the secret ingredient was” Nicky paused dramatically before saying “in your kitchen, but alas you missed it” Nicky winked before finishing her glass of Rosé, leaving them to guess every possible ingredient in the kitchen.