Rachel had tried to calm herself down with a cup of tea, but her heart was still pounding. What was the word Diana had used? Sabotage. Who on earth would do such a thing, here in Skipley, and at Christmas? She looked over at the gingerbread house she’d spent hours making, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It didn’t look like there had been any damage done to it, but with the crowd in the way, it was hard to tell. And now Diana and Joe had been out in the back room for what seemed like hours, with no word on what was happening. Would the competition be cancelled? Diana retook her place and tested the microphone, the amplified tapping sounding out around the hall. From the determined look on her face, she had an announcement to make. ‘Well, ladies and gentleman,’ Diana said. ‘Thank you for waiting. We’ve inspected all of the entries in an attempt to get to the bottom of this, and from what we can make out, someone has intentionally tampered with at least two of the cakes.’ The volume in the room rose sharply as people chattered amongst themselves, speculating.
