# The Missing Recipe The morning rush had barely ended when the bell above the door chimed. Flour dust motes danced in the sunlight streaming through the front window of Sweet Crumbs Bakery, and the display case gleamed with fresh croissants and lemon tarts. "I heard you found something strange in Martha's kitchen." "Strange doesn't begin to cover it. Her recipe box was wide open on the counter, and three cards were missing." "Three? Which ones?" "The brown butter shortbread, the lavender scones, and that famous rum cake she always brought to the church social." "Someone broke into Martha Henderson's house to steal *recipes*?" "That's what Sheriff Daniels said. No sign of forced entry, though. Whoever did it had a key — or knew where she kept the spare." "Under the ceramic frog by the back steps. Half the town knows that." "Exactly. But here's the thing that's really eating at me." "What?" "Martha told me last week that someone offered her five thousand dollars for the rum cake recipe. She turned them down flat." The espresso machine hissed into the silence. Outside, a cardinal landed on the windowsill and pecked once at the glass. "Five thousand dollars is a lot of money in this town." "Enough to make someone desperate."