The Great Greenfield Bake-Off Read online

  Leslie told them about the extension cord, then said, “Two teams dropped out. Even with the added time we are giving everyone, they didn’t think they’d finish. Another team got disqualified for running their cupcakes home to cook them.” She shook her head. “They live nearby, but still, everyone was told to stay at their stations.”

  “Seven teams are left.” Benny held up seven fingers.

  “Only three will go on to the finals tomorrow,” Leslie said. She paused to watch Jessie scoop ganache over the warm cupcakes. “You seem to be doing well.” Jessie set marshmallows on the very top. “Those are the prettiest cupcakes I’ve seen so far.”

  “I complimented them,” Benny explained. “You have to tell them they’re adorable if you want them to be.” He whispered so the cupcakes couldn’t hear, “It’s good for cupcake-confidence.”

  “Really?” Leslie laughed, maybe for the first time all day.

  “It works.” Benny nodded.

  “We want to make sure they’re adorable, plus baked all the way,” Jessie said. She asked Leslie to set the cupcakes back in the oven. “Even with the extra time, we need to hurry.”

  Leslie put the cupcakes in to bake, and Jessie started a timer for five minutes.

  Before she left, Benny told Leslie, “I don’t have to tell the cupcakes to be yummy because my tummy tells me that they already are.”

  “Well, best of luck to you,” Leslie said. She started off to help another team with their oven. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to take these out for you.”

  “Four minutes, eight seconds, please,” Benny replied after checking the timer.

  Connor and Emma had their cupcakes at the end of their workstation, ready to be taken to the judging table before anyone else’s. Jessie could hear Connor complaining to the TV crew about the oven problem as she placed her team’s finished s’mores cupcakes on a serving platter.

  “Power!” he said loudly. “This ragtag contest lost power. Have you ever heard of a competition being run this poorly?”

  Even with the issues, Connor had managed to get his cupcakes finished. He went on and on about the electricity for so long that he was still complaining when Leslie announced the judging was about to begin.

  The TV crew thanked Connor for the interview and moved to the judges’ table.

  “We are here, anxiously awaiting the results of today’s second round,” the reporter, a tall dark-haired man, said into the camera. The camerawoman told him to move aside so she could get a good view of the judges’ faces as they bit into the cupcakes.

  The judges carefully examined their cupcakes before they took bites.

  Once the judges had tasted each teams’ cupcakes, Leslie leaned in to hear Mrs. Catalan whisper in her ear. Daniel Prince was leaning back in his chair and smiling. Merry Holiday had a stern poker face. It was impossible to guess what she was thinking.

  “We are not ranking the cupcakes,” Leslie said. “The teams that are moving on are all equal from here on.” She checked her clipboard.

  “Connor and Emma Green. Duke and Daniel Duncan.” Those were the twin brothers that Violet knew from art class. “And Jessie and Benny Alden.”

  “Hurrah!” Henry and Violet were both shouting and cheering from the audience.

  The three teams were invited to the judges’ table while the others returned to their stations to pack up their things.

  “Your cupcakes were delicious,” Daniel Prince told Jessie and Benny.

  “But were they adorable?” Benny asked.

  “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but they were the most adorable,” Mr. Prince whispered.

  “They had cupcake-confidence,” Benny told Mr. Prince, who didn’t really understand what Benny meant.

  “He gave a pep talk to the cupcakes,” Jessie explained.

  Mr. Prince winked. “Ah yes. I do that when I’m baking too.”

  Benny smiled wide. He started thinking about what he’d like to tell the pie they were making the next day. It had to be beautiful, delicious, creative…oh, there was so much! “I’m going to write a wonderful pie speech,” he told Jessie while they walked to where the finalists were going to be photographed for the newspaper.

  Connor put himself in the middle of the photo, not noticing that Emma was stuck behind him. The photographer made him move aside to let her in. He straightened his hat and smiled.

  Benny squeezed Jessie’s hand.

  “What?” She knew it was a sign he had something to tell her.

  All he said was, “Leslie.”

  Jessie saw what he meant. Leslie wasn’t waiting for the teams to go home. She wasn’t sticking around for cleanup either. The contest assistant was leaving. That wasn’t so surprising, but she wasn’t walking home. Jessie and Benny could see her running away from the tent and the competition.

  “I wonder what the hurry is?” Benny asked.

  Jessie didn’t have time to answer.

  “Say pie!” the photographer called out.

  “PIE!”

  Who’s to Blame?

  “So then the power went out.” Benny wiped his face with a napkin. “And that’s the end of the story from inside the tent.”

  “There must be more that happened after that,” Mrs. McGregor said. The family was at dinner. Grandfather was in his seat at the head of the table. Mrs. McGregor was pouring drinks.

  “There’s more,” Henry said, looking sideways at Benny. He filled everyone in on the breakers, the unplugged extension cord, and the conversation he and Violet had heard between Mr. Lin and Leslie.

  “And then we got picked for the next round,” Benny said proudly.

  “Sounds like an exciting day,” Grandfather put in.

  “It was fantastic!” Benny looked under the table at Watch. “Sorry you weren’t there; you’d have loved it!”

  Henry scooped some potatoes onto Benny’s plate, then took some for himself. “We’re so proud that Jessie and Benny made it to the final. But we should try to figure out who’s sabotaging the contest. Mrs. Catalan says that if more things go wrong and the event isn’t successful, she might have to close the bakery.”

  “She put a lot of time and money into the event,” Grandfather said. “It’s nice of you all to want to help her.”

  After dinner Jessie, Benny, Violet, and Henry went to the boxcar to discuss the mystery. Watch came along too.

  “Well, I already know who is sabotaging the bake-off,” Benny said, flopping onto the beanbag chair. “It’s that bossy Connor. He’s mean to Emma. That makes him our number one suspect.”

  “Just because he’s bossy doesn’t mean he’s trying to ruin the contest,” Jessie said. She sat at her desk and spun her chair around to face Benny.

  “Okay, how about this,” Benny said. “Connor was the only one with the right ingredients in round one. Emma went to the bathroom right before the power went off. And he’s mean.” Benny seemed satisfied with his clues. “I think Connor’s the one ruining everything.”

  Violet asked Jessie, “Do you think Connor sabotaged those other teams?” She turned to the others. “Could he have switched the ingredients at every worktable?”

  “I don’t know,” Jessie said. “I don’t want to blame Connor without proof.” She thought for a moment then said, “Remember that Benny saw Emma with a strange baggie.”

  “You thought maybe they were bringing their own outside ingredients, but could it have actually been filled with salt?” Henry asked.

  “It was a little baggie,” Benny admitted. “Not enough to put salt in all the recipes. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t the bad guy!”

  “I suppose he could have made Emma unplug the power,” Violet said thoughtfully. She and Henry were on the small couch. “She was missing from the tent when the power went out. And Emma does seem to do anything Connor demands.”

  “I wonder why,” Benny said. “If he were my brother, I’d never do everything he asked.”

  “Good thing you have a nice brother,” Jessie
said with a chuckle.

  “I feel bad for Emma,” Henry remarked. “I hope she figures out how to stand up for herself.”

  “He wants to win so much that he might cheat,” Jessie said. “Then again, he seemed really mad about the tent losing power. Did you hear him complaining to the TV crew?”

  “That’s true,” Henry said. “He was upset. Connor probably wouldn’t turn off the power to his own station on purpose.”

  “But his cupcakes still cooked nicely because they were in the oven and almost done when it happened,” Benny reminded them all.

  “Are there other suspects?” Jessie asked.

  “Nope,” Benny said. “Connor did it.”

  “Really?” Violet asked him. “We can’t have a mystery with just one suspect.” She pushed Benny to think harder. “Who else might be behind the problems?”

  “Mr. Lin,” Jessie said.

  “He has his own bakery in town, so I don’t understand why he’s hanging around the bakery competition,” said Henry. He repeated the strange conversation Mr. Lin had with Leslie Smallwater. “Leslie asked if this was what he wanted.”

  “That does seem strange.” Jessie began writing notes in her notebook. “Tell me again, Henry, what did Mr. Lin reply?”

  “That he’d end it once and for all,” Henry said with a shrug. “I don’t know what that means.”

  “That leads us to Leslie Smallwater,” Violet said. “She’s the third suspect.”

  “Leslie handles the ingredients,” Jessie said. “She even had something on her shirt around the time we discovered the salt and sugar had been swapped.”

  “She ran away after the competition,” Violet put in.

  “Leslie knows Mr. Lin,” Henry added. “I mean, we all have eaten at his bakery, but she’s the one that was talking to him about the contest problems.”

  “And we know she wanted to be in the contest instead of organizing it,” Violet added.

  “It does seem like she’s hiding something,” Jessie agreed. “When she couldn’t bake, she offered to organize the contest, but she never acts like she wants to be there. She’s always tired and a little grumpy.”

  “I’m sticking with Connor as suspect number one,” Benny said. “He’s the bad guy. I know it.”

  They talked for a few more minutes about suspects and clues, then went back to the kitchen for dessert with Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor.

  Tonight’s dessert was the practice pie Jessie and Benny had baked. It was blueberry and lemon custard. Jessie had found the recipe in a cookbook high up on Grandfather’s shelf. He’d explained that when he was a young boy, he’d loved to bake. His mother had bought him the cookbook. This was one of his favorite pies. Jessie had made some small changes to the recipe, and she and Benny had put delicate almond-paste flowers on top that Violet had taught them to make.

  Everyone dove into their pieces of pie. The room became silent.

  “You’re going to win for certain,” Mrs. McGregor said at last. “This is the best pie I have ever tasted.”

  “Mmmmm,” was all Benny said.

  “I’m happy to report that I agree with Mrs. McGregor,” Grandfather said. “This pie is incredible!” He laughed. “Better than I ever made it, myself.”

  “The flowers look great!” Violet said.

  Jessie smiled. “Wow. I think we have a chance.”

  “As long as no one tries to ruin the day,” Henry said, “you’ll win for sure.”

  Jessie sighed. “We better figure out this mystery soon.”

  Benny took her hand as they went to watch the news about the competition. “Don’t worry, Jessie. We’ll solve it,” he whispered. “I’m watching Connor like a hawk!” He pointed at the screen, where Connor was being interviewed by the TV reporter.

  This was the recorded interview they’d seen happen live in the baking tent.

  Connor was complaining about the power problems and how disorganized the contest seemed. His tall hat filled the TV screen. Emma was in the corner, blocked by her brother.

  “I don’t like him at all,” Benny said.

  “That doesn’t mean he’s sabotaging the contest,” Henry reminded Benny. “You don’t have to like everyone.”

  “But I usually do!” Benny said. “I usually like everyone!”

  That was true.

  “Wait!” Jessie ran over to the TV. They were now showing footage of the bakers at work before the power outage. “Look, Benny, there you are!” The camera showed a close-up of him on the floor telling the cupcakes how adorable they were.

  “It worked,” Benny bragged. “They were the prettiest. Even Mr. Prince said so.” He pointed back to the screen. “There’s Jessie mixing.”

  “Hang on!” Jessie said, moving closer to the TV.

  “What is it?” Violet asked.

  “It’s Leslie,” Jessie said. She moved aside so everyone could see. “She’s leaving the tent.”

  “Impossible,” Benny said. “She had to put everyone’s cupcakes in the oven. She didn’t have time to go anywhere.”

  “Still, she left,” Violet said. Then, there on the news, the camera had caught the lights going out. “I wonder if Leslie forgot something and went to check it out. Or there was something she needed outside the tent.” Violet thought of reasons Leslie might leave for a moment.

  “Or maybe,” Jessie said, “she was the one who turned off the power.”

  The final image of the story was the photo of the contestants who made it through to the final round. The reporter said, “Good luck to all of our bakers!” Then, the weather report was next.

  “There’s a lot more we need to find out before we solve this mystery.” Henry turned off the TV.

  It was time for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day!

  Pie Problems

  “It’s the Great Greenfield Bake-Off finale!” Mrs. Catalan announced. The crowd in the stands was much bigger than the day before. Seeing all those people made Jessie nervous. At the same time, she was really happy so many people were there to support Mrs. Catalan.

  Benny saw that she was shaking a little. “Bake it with a grin. That’s how the Aldens win!”

  She nodded and told herself to stay focused on the pie. If she made it just like the practice pie they ate the night before, they’d have a very good chance of winning.

  Connor and Emma were making a chocolate pie with fudge ripples.

  Duke and Daniel were making a traditional holiday pecan pie with caramel topping.

  “The best part of today is that we get to taste everything at the end!” Benny gushed. “I can’t wait.”

  “Let’s hope nothing goes wrong,” Jessie said.

  “Ditto,” Benny said, meaning he hoped the same thing. He pulled a rabbit’s foot and a penny out of his pocket. “I’ve got luck for us.”

  “Good thinking,” Jessie said with a smile. “We could use the help!”

  “We don’t need luck,” Connor said. His station was close enough so they could hear each other now. With only three teams in the tent, they’d been moved together for the cameras. He adjusted his hat.

  “Is that hat taller than it was yesterday?” Benny asked Connor.

  “It just looks taller because his ego is so huge,” Emma whispered to Benny.

  Connor didn’t hear her. Emma shuffled to her place by the mixing bowl.

  “Leslie?” Duke called from his station. “It doesn’t look like all our ingredients are here.”

  “We are missing pecans, which is the most important thing in our pecan pie recipe,” Daniel said.

  Jessie looked over her own ingredients, which were displayed on the station. “We don’t have blueberries,” she reported. “The pie needs those.”

  “We’re good,” Connor announced. “Nothing is missing. We’re ready to begin.”

  Benny gave Jessie a questioning look. “How come he’s got everything?”

  Jessie shrugged, reviewing the recipe to see what else might be missing.

  Mrs.
Catalan hurried over to the tables. She called Leslie over. “Getting the ingredients was your job. Where are the missing things?”

  “Probably still in the shopping bags.” Leslie pointed to several tote bags in the corner. “I’m still working on it.” She yawned. “I never said the contest was ready to go.” She yawned again.

  “The audience is here. The news crews.” Mrs. Catalan was frustrated. “You came to my shop and asked me if you could be the contest assistant. I agreed. I don’t understand. Why are you running behind? And why are you so tired?”

  “Just give me a few minutes,” Leslie said. She brought the blueberries to Jessie and delivered the pecans to the twins. “I think that’s everything,” Leslie said, pointing at the containers on the stations.

  Jessie checked. “Flour, butter, sugar…” There was a brand-new bag of sugar, straight from the store to ensure there were no swaps this time. “Salt, lemons, eggs, and milk.” The flower decorations were more difficult. “The marzipan that we will cut into flowers is made of almond paste, powdered sugar, and corn syrup.” Jessie turned to Benny. “It’s all here. Even the food coloring we requested.”

  “I’ll taste as we go along,” Benny said. “Up until you add the eggs. No raw eggs for Benny’s belly.”

  The twins seemed satisfied as well.

  With one last big yawn, Leslie asked them, “Are you ready now?”

  Each team got a moment to agree. Connor shouted, “I was born for this!” which was his way of saying he was ready. Benny said, “Yes.” So did the twins.

  “Well then,” Leslie said, turning to the contestants. “Bakers, bake!”

  Jessie found the pie tin and began to make the crust. Benny began to squeeze the lemons to get out their juice.

  “You two doing okay?” Leslie came by to check.

  “So far,” said Jessie. “We’ll call you when we are ready to put the pie in the oven.”

  “Good.” She went over to the twins, then on to Connor and Emma.

  The room was perfectly quiet as everyone concentrated on their pies, until, suddenly, there was a commotion from Connor and Emma’s table.