getting introduced to a drug lord could too.”
“A drug lord?” I asked. “That’s a scary thought. What would a drug lord want with Dr. Bainsworth?”
“He’d want the dentist to transport drugs across the border,” said Scottie.
“So do you think the drug lord would hire Dr. Bainsworth to do that?”
“I think that if Dr. Bainsworth was a willing mule, he and the drug lord would come to an agreement, sure.” He took a drink of his soda.
“I’d heard the dentist was having a tough time financially,” I said. “Maybe he’d decided to do this one bad thing for the money. . . . Maybe he acted strangely because his guilty conscience or the fear of getting caught was overwhelming him.”
“Hard to say,” Scottie said. “People do crazy things.”
AFTER SCOTTIE LEFT, I drove to Bristol to get the rest of the supplies I needed for the quinceañera cake. I needed the staircases to join the two side cakes to the main cake and I needed a tiara topper.
As I drove, I thought about what Scottie had said. Could Dr. Bainsworth have become involved with a drug lord or some other unsavory character while he was in Mexico? Maybe the drug dealer forced Dr. Bainsworth to smuggle drugs into the United States. Being on a medical mission, the dentist would be expected to carry drugs along with other medical supplies. Would that make it easier for him to take the drugs back and forth across the border?
But how could the drug lord force Dr. Bainsworth to smuggle the drugs? Sure, he could threaten him and make him bring them across the border, but how could the drug dealer be certain the dentist would take them to their intended destination? What if he threatened Dr. Bainsworth’s family? Could that be why Dr. Bainsworth had the rapid succession of affairs but still had the photo of Angela on his desk? Maybe he was trying to make the drug dealer believe he didn’t care about his wife.
On the other hand, it was possible that Dr. Bainsworth needed money so badly that he made the fatal error of making what he believed would be a onetime deal with the drug lord. Or maybe the person who needed a smuggler wasn’t a drug lord at all. Perhaps it was a jewel thief.
I pulled into the parking area of the strip mall where the small baking supply company was located. I got out of the Mini Cooper, beeped the door locked with my wireless remote, and nearly ran headlong into Belinda Fremont.
“Belinda, hi!” I said. “Please excuse my clumsiness.”
“No problem,” she said with a smile. “I heard about that dreadful business with the dentist. You have lousy luck when it comes to stumbling upon dead people, don’t you?”
“I certainly do,” I said, returning her smile. “Speaking of Dr. Bainsworth, is Maureen okay? I heard they’d been dating—”
“Oh, please.” She waved away my concern with a flick of her wrist. “There must have been some gaps in that grapevine. Maureen and Jim went out a time or two, but she found out he was a gold digger and dumped him.”
“Good for her. I spoke with her earlier today at the boutique, but I didn’t ask about any romantic involvement she might’ve had with Dr. Bainsworth.”
“He was a real piece of work. He came right out and asked Maureen for money on their very first date—which was dinner at a greasy pizza place.” Belinda shook her head. “I called her when I heard about his death, but she appeared to be taking it just fine. She’s dating Steve Franklin now.”
“Great,” I said. “Mr. Franklin strikes me as a nice man. I think they’ll be good for each other.”
“They’re good to each other,” Belinda said, “and that’s a start. You wouldn’t think of Steve as a suitable prospect for Maureen at first—at least, I didn’t—but he’s hardworking, he makes his own way, and he doesn’t ask for handouts.”
“And, as you said, they treat each other well. That’s the main thing.”
She smiled. “Isn’t that the truth?”
“How are Guinevere and her companions?” I asked.
“They’re doing well.” She reached into her small shopping bag and took out some paper nut cups she’d bought at the bakery supply and party shop. “I bought them these for their snacks. Hilda usually puts their snacks in small glass bowls in their bedrooms, but I thought it would be nice to put some in their sitting room.”
“How thoughtful!”
“Thank you. I thought it was a clever idea,” she said. “You