Chapter 5 - Seventeen Cents
Margaret returned to Bellmont Bakery at three that afternoon.
This time, she did not sit near the window.
She walked directly behind the counter.
Vanessa looked startled.
“Ma’am, customers aren’t allowed back here.”
Margaret continued walking.
“I am.”
Claire Dalton stepped out of the office.
She was fifty-four now.
Her hair was cut into a precise blond bob.
She wore a charcoal blazer and a gold Bellmont Bakery name badge.
“Can I help you?”
Margaret removed her coat.
Claire’s face went white.
“Margaret?”
“Hello, Claire.”
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
Claire forced a smile.
“I didn’t know you were back.”
“Clearly.”
Vanessa looked confused.
Margaret turned toward her.
“My name is Margaret Bellmont.”
Vanessa’s lips parted.
“I founded this bakery.”
The employee immediately straightened.
“I’m so sorry.”
Margaret raised one hand.
“I am not interested in apologies to me.”
Claire stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Margaret pointed toward the basket of day-old bread.
“This morning, two children came in with eighty-three cents.”
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“They asked to purchase a loaf priced at one dollar.”
Claire’s expression remained controlled.
“And?”
“They were ordered out.”
Claire looked at Vanessa.
Then she turned back to Margaret.
“I’ll speak with her.”
“You misunderstand.”
Margaret’s voice remained quiet.
“That is not the entire problem.”
“What’s the rest?”
“The children were Noah and Ellie Carter.”
Claire showed no reaction.
Margaret watched carefully.
“Their mother is Grace Moreno.”
Claire’s face changed.
Only for a second.
But Margaret saw it.
A tiny movement in Claire’s jaw.
A flicker behind her eyes.
Fear.
“You remember Grace?”
Claire recovered quickly.
“Of course.”
“The thief.”
Margaret stepped closer.
“She was never convicted.”
“She was caught.”
“Was she?”
Claire folded her arms.
“Margaret, that was thirteen years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And I think thirteen years may have been far too long.”
Claire stared at her.
“What are you suggesting?”
Margaret picked up one of the small price cards.
DAY-OLD BREAD - $1.
“I’m suggesting that seventeen cents just reopened a question everyone thought was buried.”
Claire’s face hardened.
“You’re making this emotional.”
Margaret looked toward the door Noah and Ellie had walked through.
“You’re right.”
“I am.”
May you like
Then she turned back to Claire.
“And I intend to find out exactly what happened.”
