Chapter Text
Saturday
"So if you take your piping bag and squeeze the base gently-" The woman on the Zoom call drones on and on, "You'll get a perfectly formed spiral on the cupcake."
She's got tightly coiled grey hair, and is wearing a turtleneck and an apron that reads 'Riverside Cupcakes'. Now, Alexa's not always one to judge a book by its cover, but the vibes she's getting off Lillia aren't good.
"I hate this." Alexa hisses, to Madison, out of the corner of her mouth. "We're going to be surrounded by cupcakes for the rest of our lives."
"Play along." Madison hisses back, keeping her eyes on the camera as Lillia squints at the other folk in the call holding their cupcakes up for examination.
"I don't want to-" Alexa starts, but Lillia directs her attention to them, so she holds her cupcake up to the screen. It's not as bad as the ones she did at Clever Cupcakes the day before (those had been gifted to Frodo before they'd come back to the Airbnb), but it's still not great.
Madison's, in comparison, are wonderful.
"Yes, Alexa." Lillia says, disapprovingly, as she pushes her glasses up her nose. "I believe you could stand to be more focussed when you're doing your piping."
Eugh. As if. Alexa pokes her tongue out at the camera when Lillia turns around to get more icing sugar. Madison nudges her in the arm and they have a silent argument, culminating in brilliant grins as Lillia turns back. "So. The next thing we need to talk about are adornments..."
Later, Alexa and Madison are trapped in a one-on-one with Lillia, who's absolutely taken the bait. Madison had spun a story about a wedding - their wedding, of all things - and a need to sit down with a true master of cake baking. Alexa's just terrible with Zoom, but she's just about making it work.
"I have been to many weddings with cupcake trees." Lillia says, a fond look on her face. "There is such a wide array of things you could do with them. Edible gold, luminescent gems, ones that glow in the dark - no-" She stops herself. "That is far too garish for a wedding. Do you have a budget in mind?"
Madison outlines a budget for their fantasy wedding that's - well - very well planned and legit. Alexa's not sure when she came up with it, but it's solid. That's the thing with Madison, though. She commits, and commits well.
Lillia nods. "I can easily work with that."
Well - they are on a fact finding mission. Alexa finally finds a place where she can jump in. "Can we come and visit you at your store? Tasting in person is always the best way to get things done, I've found."
The irritation that flashes across Lillia's face is immediate and swift. It disappears almost as soon as it appears. "I'm afraid, my dear, that my store in Riverside is closed, and I am based at my home in Auckland now. However, I can send out samples."
Great. More cupcakes. Thrilling.
Alexa smiles and gives her Mike's address.
"Thank you so much for your help, Lillia. Your course was amazing." Madison says, and reaches out to squeeze Alexa's hand. "We're so excited to receive your samples."
Madison nudges Alexa in the foot with her own until she jumps and says, "Oh. Yeah. Thanks Lillia. Love the piping things."
“Icing tips.” Lillia says. She, too, doesn’t seem all that fond of Alexa. That’s not too rare. Alexa’s proud to say she’s an acquired taste. (Fortunately, that taste isn’t cupcakes.)
“Yeah. That.” Alexa says. “Thanks Lillia. Tell me. Do you ever use real plants in your creations? I’m sure some wedding folk want- uh- nature’s touch.” She raises her eyebrows at the women to punctuate the depth of the point. It’s mostly cut off by the height of the camera. Eugh, does she hate Zoom. “Rosemary? Oleander? Mint?”
Lillia’s face twists oddly and immediately. She says, “My dear. Oleander is a poison. You don’t want to eat it.”
“Y’know, you’re really not that subtle.” Madison says, later. She’s lying on the Airbnb’s macrame’d couch, bare feet hanging over one end. The couch is a nauseating yellow and orange. Alexa sort of hates it.
“Well, we could hover around the point for days and days or I could just see how she reacts by saying it to her face.” Alexa reasons. She fossicks through the fridge for a snack. There’s nothing, except too many cupcakes. She wrinkles her nose and finds better purchase in the fruit bowl, and starts to peel a banana. “We need actual food in this place. Food other than cupcakes. I become someone else without proper snacks, you know this.”
“There is a perfectly serviceable Woolworths down the road.”
“But I could get lost by myself.” Alexa says, and stares at her for a moment like butter wouldn’t melt. It’s mostly tamped down by the fact that Madison’s not even really looking at her but it’s the thing of the thing.
“You’re lucky I like you.” Madison replies, and grabs her wallet off the table. “Come on, then.”
Saturday, laterer.
The Woolworths is pretty small, in the scheme of things, but small mercies, it does have a decent baking section, and more than enough random vegetables to stash about the place. Alexa doesn’t know how long the Airbnb is booked for, but she reckons this case might have a tail. Small towns. There’s always unnecessary drama.
It’s nice, actually. Shopping is really boring all of the time, but Madison makes it bearable. She makes a lot of things bearable, actually. Always has. Even when Alexa was kinda lukewarm on the concept of having a partner, she’d always admired how good Madison was at doing things.
They talk, they walk. Alexa’s gaze catches once or twice on Madison’s hips as she walks, ‘cause, y’know, she’s not blind, but otherwise it’s perfectly nice-
Till they’re sort of arguing over the milk - it’s a pointless argument but Alexa sometimes just disagrees with things people say cause she likes disagreeing and - she spots Tara over Madison’s shoulder, heading in their direction but clearly having not spotted them yet.
She does two things, really fast.
“Stop me if this is too close.” She hisses, and closes the distance between herself and Mads, leaning up against the fridge next to her. It’s kinda an awkward angle, but from the outside - well, Alexa’s made a habit of throwing people off balance, and she’s sure it looks like they’re seconds from pashing. “Tara, down there.” She says, with an unsubtle jerk of her eyes towards the other woman. “Might wanna-”
“Mhmm.” Madison says, and brushes a thumb across her cheek. She breathes, so close, in a way that’s almost enticing, “I have peripheral vision too. Maybe you should handle this one.”
It takes Alexa a second to pull away. “Tara!” She says, smiling brightly. Mads’ arm curls possessively around her hip. “Sorry I didn’t call you. I would have- but this one-” She nudges Mads in the side, “-keeps me so busy. You know.”
Tara smiles tightly. It seems like she’s not nearly as taken by the moment as Alexa is. “Well. I wouldn’t know.”
“That’s a shame.” Alexa says, and means it. She sneaks a peek at Tara’s basket. It’s chock full of healthy things, and suspiciously no baked goods in sight. “No cupcakes for you?”
“Christ no.” Tara replies. There’s an exhaustion in her eyes that’s almost palpable. “I get enough of the things at home. There’s buttercream in my pores.”
“Mhmm.” Alexa mmms. Mads’ thumb keeps rubbing distractingly across her hip. It takes her a moment to settle her thoughts. “I get ya. Tell you what - I owe you one for being such a nightmare in your class yesterday.”
“You were, rather.” Tara says, but Alexa just barrels on.
“We’ll buy you lunch-” Alexa checks her phone, “We’ll buy you a late lunch?”
“Well…” Tara looks hesitant. She clutches the handle of her plastic basket a little tighter. “I’m not sure if I-”
“Come on.” Mads drawls. “We don’t bite.”
Much, Alexa thinks, and uses one of her very rare incidences of self-control to keep herself from saying it out loud.
“Andre left, and then mum died, and it was just an avenue of shit all the way down.” Tara gesticulates, hands thrown wide. It’s clear that no-one has just listened to her for a long time. “And I’ve had to keep the business afloat this whole time - I don’t even like cupcakes. It’s been a nightmare.”
Wow. What an outburst. In all honesty, Alexa feels a bit sorry for her. “So why do you keep the business going?”
Madison nudges her foot under the table, shooting her a look. Mmm. Yeah. Probably most people would go for the consoling angle, rather than immediate questions. Well. She’s never been subtle.
Mads hurries to add, “Sorry. That sounds awful and I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been. But Alexa’s right - if you don’t like it, why do you keep it up?”
Tara sniffs. Alexa offers her a tissue from her bag. If there’s one thing she’s learned in all her years of work, it’s to be prepared. Tara takes it with a watery grin. “It was mum’s. I don’t like the place, but it was hers. And honestly - I’ve worked in the place for so long that I don’t know what I would be if I wasn’t doing it.”
Well. Alexa certainly understands that. “Why’d your chef leave? Seems like it was the catalyst for a whole bunch of bad stuff.”
“He and mum got into it one day.” Tara says, wiping at her eyes. “I don’t know why. Next day, he was gone. It was a nightmare with his employment paperwork, I’ll tell you that much. I was dealing with all that then.”
Alexa shoots a look towards Madison. Clearly this is something that they’ve got to look into.
Tara sniffs, looking between them. “I’m so rude. I’ve talked so much about myself. What are you two doing in Brokenwood?”
Madison’s tapping away at her phone so Alexa answers. “I have a lot of history here. My ex - he lives and works here. I spent a lot of time here when I was younger.”
“So you brought your new boo to the tiny NZ town where your old boo still lives?” There’s a twinkle of mischief in Tara’s eye, buried deep below the watery sadness. “That’s a… choice.”
Huh. Alexa didn’t really even think about it like that. She laughs. “I guess I did. But I like this town. It’s got a… very specific vibe to it.”
“No kidding.”
“You notice she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring?” Madison asks, later, when they’re back at the Airbnb. “She had it on at the cupcake factory.”
Alexa hadn’t noticed, actually. She wonders if she’s losing her touch. “Really? That’s interesting.”
“Yeah.” Madison’s smile turns a little conspiratorial. “And what was all that about bringing me to the town where your ex is from? ‘Cause I certainly wasn’t told that.”
“We’re not actually in a relationship, Mads.” Alexa replies, stretching her toes out in front of her. One of her socks has a hole in it. Annoying. “But yeah… an ex-fiance of mine. He lives here. And I will absolutely not give you any more detail than that.”
“You do know I could very easily find out, right?”
“And I’d hope you’d use your magnificent technical skill for good and not for evil by finding out where Andre Martins is these days.” Alexa says. She gets up off the couch, and squeezes Madison on the shoulder. “I might be back late. Hopefully not tomorrow. Meeting the ex.”
At Madison’s raised eyebrow, she clarifies, “Not like that. You and I - we’re in a relationship - what would the gossips of this town think?” Madison’s eyebrow seems to raise even higher. “It’s been a while, and he’s got good info about the town. I miss him.” As she says it, she realises it’s true.
Saturday, laterest.
“This yours?” Alexa asks, swirling the wine in the glass gently. She doesn’t really even know what that does, but it feels fancy, so she does it again. “It’s good.”
“Yeah. Those grapes.” Mike gestures out across the expanse of the grape crop with a faintly pleased look in his eyes. “It’s been a hard few years, but I think we’re finally getting into the groove of it.”
“Mmmm. That cupcake case is a bit of a tricky one, isn’t it?”
“You’re telling me.” He leans back a bit in his chair with a sigh. “Alibis were flimsy but we were bogged down and it was clear that the family didn’t want us to push. We try our hardest in this place but there’s only so many resources.”
It’s obvious that it’s weighing on him. So much death - Alexa sees a lot of it, but there’s always a layer of abstraction. She’s not close to anything fresh these days. “Yeah. I feel a bit sorry for Tara.”
“Her husband is a real piece of work.” Mike replies. “I have no idea how they’re still together. More than once I’ve walked past them having a row in the Woolworths. And the stories Jeremy's told me about their fights at church - I've never liked it.”
“Everyone has rows.”
“Not like these rows. This place gets all types but he’s... something else. Speaking of the Woolworths…” He trails off, shooting her a glance that says more than it should. “You and your… controversially younger partner made quite the stir earlier today.”
Small towns. Honestly! The gossip in this place. She’s not missed it. There’s no real point in explaining, especially since she isn’t as unaffected by the ruse as she expresses. “My controversially younger partner and I are doing just fine, thank you.”
“Mhmm.”
It’s not as though he can be all that surprised, Alexa wasn’t exactly shy about the concept of bisexuality even when they were engaged. “Gossip spreads like wildfire here, huh.”
“Oh, I wasn’t judging.” He says. He takes a swig of his own wine, and she watches him, eyes catching on the grey in his hair, the thickness of his chest under his hoodie. He’s changed, like she has, over the years, but there’s still a lot in there that she used to love. “I brought it up because I’m… a little in the same boat.”
“Are you now?” And that is interesting. “Who is she?”
Sheepishly, studiously ignoring her gaze, he says, “He.”
“Oh my God, Mike.” She’s suddenly never been more interested in her life.
Sunday
The final day of the weekend dawns bright and clear, with church bells ringing out all across the city. Alexa groans and buries her head under her pillow.
“There’s coffee!” Madison yells through the wall. “Though it’s definitely your turn to get it tomorrow.”
She’s right. Doesn’t make Alexa want to get up any more, though she’s reluctantly coaxed from bed by the smell drifting under the door. She throws on a robe and joins Mads in the kitchen. Cereal is uninspiring, so she puts some bread on to toast. It’s… nice, actually. Not having to rush anywhere. The domesticity of the moment. She could get used to it.
Not like they don’t have it back in Auckland, but it’s somehow easier here, where there’s no rules, and the only things they have to worry about is the town gossip.
Toast piled high with butter and locally-made jam, she sits down opposite Mads at the table. “So, I was thinking-”
“How was your chat with your ex last night?” She asks, and immediately seems to realise she’s interrupted. She seems to go through all five stages of grief at once. “I mean. Uh.”
“Are you jealous?” Alexa asks, amusement and maybe something a little deeper bubbling up within her. “Oh my God, you’re totally jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.” Mads replies, like a liar. “I’m just curious.”
“Mhmm.” Alexa eyes her suspiciously. “Sure. And it was fine. We’re the talk of the town. He’s sort of in love with the younger man who helps him grow his grapes, but aside from an unexpected turn to bisexuality he’s exactly the same.”
“Small towns, huh. They’re always the most interesting.”
“You know it.”
“Can I ask… how you two ended things?” Mads asks, gingerly. She fiddles with her keep cup, clearly interested, but not willing to push.
It’s been a long time since Alexa’s even thought about it. Longer still since it hurt. They’d both been so young. “He left me at the altar.”
“Alexa.” The other woman looks genuinely shocked; genuinely upset for her, which is really kind.
“It stung then, but we were so young.” Alexa shrugs. She still can bring it to mind, if she chooses, lets the memories float through her head, but it doesn’t have the pain it once did. “Looking back on it, we were definitely better off. I wouldn’t have met Gary if…” Now that one does hurt. “Yeah. People change. We’re both better off.”
“Still.” Mads seems genuinely sorry for her, which is very kind, considering.
“Yeah. Where are we at with the case?”
So far:
Tara Clever - the victim’s daughter - much put-upon, very stressed out, having a terrible time.
“I just can’t see her motivation for doing it.” Mads says. “She’s made her own life ten times harder because of her mum’s death.”
“And she very clearly didn’t want to inherit the business.” Alexa adds. “I can’t think of a reason why she’d go to such lengths for the murder.”
Lillia Kearns - the owner of Riverside Cupcakes - has a clear dislike of the Clever Cupcakes empire, knows what oleander is and knows it is a poison, has reasoning for getting Karen out of the way.
“She lives in Auckland now, which would make getting here and back troublesome. Do you reckon she lived in Auckland when Karen was murdered?” Alexa muses.
“I’m sure that’s something you could ask your detective ex.” Mads replies, looking over her laptop at her.
How- Alexa’s not even sure if she wants to know. “Spying is against the Privacy Act.”
“Your… wedding that wasn’t is public information. It was in the Courier. I did one Google search.”
Alexa sighs. She’s not pissed, not really, but the fact that you can just Google things still sometimes trips her up. “You could have just asked.”
“Would you have told me?”
“No. But I’ll ask Mike about information and camera access.”
Andre Martins - Karen’s chef, who left out of the blue just before her death.
“And Tara seems to think it was explosive.”
“I don’t know why you’d just give up a job that paid that well - and I’m sure it paid well - without a good reason.” Mads says. “It seemed like he was the head chef for the place, and it’s not as though it’s a small company.”
“Did you manage to track him down?”
“Yeah, he’s in Australia. He’s a FIFO chef in Olympic Dam in South Australia.”
Alexa blinks. “That’s… a change.”
“Yeah. Means it’s going to be hard as hell to get in touch with him until he comes off his shift. I’ll give it a go but…”
“Start looking elsewhere." Alexa sighs. "Yeah. How’d you feel like taking a trip to church?”