The Pastry Chef

I’m so furious! 

Bernadette told me what Ingrid said… that I’m a suspect in Yvonne’s disappearance? Why!? Because I’ve been taking sweets to Jimmy? That’s rubbish.

I’m sure she failed to mention that I am a pastry chef. That’s right. I own the County’s prize winning bakery, and I deliver my delicious treats to a lot of people in town, not just Jimmy. That’s what I do! 

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I’ll admit that most of my customers are men – just like Jimmy – but that’s not my fault. The women here are snobs! Except for Bernadette, that is. She and I have been close since Ingrid and Yvonne expelled me from the club. 

They don’t know that, though, and I don’t blame Bernadette for keeping it a secret. Those prima donnas would probably find another petty old rule in those archaic bylaws of theirs and she’d be kicked out in no time, just like me. Where’s the loyalty!? 

After the way those ladies treated me, I shouldn’t give a hoot about what happened to Yvonne… but I do. I mean, I do have compassion. 

And poor Jimmy. Not only is his wife missing, but he’s still the number one suspect. As far as the police are concerned, that is. No one in town believes for a minute that he’d hurt Yvonne.

This whole thing makes me nervous. What if there’s a serial killer on the loose? Who knows?! The only thing I do know is that this town needs to stick together – regardless of the fact that Ingrid can’t play nice.

As far as what happened to Yvonne, Bernadette has a few good ideas, but I can tell you with one-hundred percent certainty that she is totally off base when it comes to Mr. Johnson. 

I’m pretty sure that her negative view of him stems from her androphobia… she’s afraid of men. Especially those that are over 50. Don’t ask me to elaborate. Only her therapist knows the details of her fears.

Bernadette has other phobias too, but none that are as strange as that one. And did you know that she also suffers from a very unique addiction? She’s addicted to activism. Yes, that’s right. She’ll protest just about anything. I think it keeps her mind off of her fears.

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She’s one fascinating lady. That’s probably why I love her so much… I rather enjoy her depth and complexity.

Anyway, I was talking about Fred. That sweet old man couldn’t hurt a fly. He comes to the bakery every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday – without fail – and has a cup of coffee and a heaping plate of my sugar and gluten-free hot apple pie. 

He has diabetes, you know. I make that pie especially for him and he finishes every bite of it. It’s a good thing too, because – if you ask me – it tastes a little like cardboard. But Fred just loves it. 

I sit down with him when I can, and he talks to me while he’s eating his pie. Mainly about his beloved wife Ethel, who is “waiting for him in the promised land.” That’s almost all that he talks about… he misses her dearly.

If you want to know what I think, I’d say that Ingrid must be involved somehow. Bernadette told me what Ernie the butcher said about those two arguing behind the dry cleaners, so I talked to Gladys. She’s one of the seamstresses there.

She said that she not only heard them, she saw those ladies with her own eyes. And they weren’t just having a verbal dispute, they were having a “physical altercation.” Yep. That’s what Gladys said – she saw it herself.

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There’s more going on in this town than anyone would care to admit, I just hope that those investigators can dig up the truth.

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TO BE CONTINUED 

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I hope you enjoyed today’s segment! I’m trying to change up the illustrations by adding backgrounds that were created by Adobe AI.

I’m not sure what program other people use for AI images, but Adobe seems sloppy to me and some of the other AI stuff I see is perfecto. What do you all use? The WordPress AI or something else?

Anyway, that’s all for now I think. Thank you for reading!

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If you enjoyed the story… there’s more!
Read PART ONE
Read PART TWO
Read PART THREE