Image description: The YeastEnders village of Walnutford, with baked-goods characters gathered in Almond Square outside The Queen Victoria Sponge.
The front door of the Queen Victoria Sponge closed.
Roxy Rhubarb was behind the bar.
She had been expecting Peggy.
She hadn’t been expecting Bruno Brioche.
“Where is she?”
Roxy put down the glass she was drying.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“Peggy. Where is she?”
“Not here.”
Bruno walked towards the cellar door.
Roxy blocked him.
“You don’t want to do that.”
“Move.”
“No.”
Bruno reached for the handle.
Roxy picked up Peggy’s rolling pin.
Bruno stopped.
“Seriously?”
“I’ve been waiting weeks to do this.”
The cellar door opened behind her.
Peggy appeared.
“Put my rolling pin down.”
Roxy looked disappointed.
“But I had him.”
“You were holding it wrong.”
Phil the Pudding emerged behind Peggy.
“Apparently there’s a technique.”
Bruno backed towards the pub door as Rye-vita, Sticky Nick, Parker Pastry and the others came up from the cellar.
Peggy pointed at him.
“Outside.”
Bruno laughed.
“You don’t give orders to me.”
“Outside my pub, then.”
“That isn’t what you said.”
“I’m improvising.”
Bruno stepped into Almond Square.
Peggy followed.
So did everybody else.
Across the square, Ryean Crust and Chantelle Chia Bun had come out of Ye Olde Crumb and Butter.
Ronnie Roly-Poly joined Roxy.
Grant the Spotted Dick appeared from the direction of the notice board.
Behind him, a new poster had been pinned up.
COMING SOON TO THE QUEEN VICTORIA SPONGE:
ELVIS PARSLEY
Performing his new hit:
RETURN THE LEDGER
Peggy read it.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Grant looked at the poster.
“Catchy title.”
“Grant, somebody’s stolen an actual ledger.”
“Good publicity, then.”
Within minutes, half of Walnutford seemed to be watching.
Bruno looked around.
“You think this changes anything?”
Peggy folded her arms.
“We found Unit Three.”
For the first time, Bruno had nothing to say.
Sticky Nick smiled.
“And the sprinkles.”
A few people in the crowd laughed.
Bruno’s face reddened.
“You have no idea what you’ve found.”
“The old tunnels,” said Rye-vita. “The First Layer. The ledger.”
That did it.
Bruno stepped towards her.
“Where is it?”
Parker Pastry answered.
“Gone.”
Bruno turned on him.
“You were supposed to make sure nobody ever found out about that book.”
“Twenty-three years ago.”
“You failed.”
“And yet here you are, looking for it.”
Peggy held up the scrap of brown leather they had found beneath the pub.
“Somebody got there before us.”
Bruno stared at it.
Then towards the Queen Victoria Sponge.
Sticky Nick noticed.
“You don’t have it.”
Bruno said nothing.
Rye-vita smiled.
“You’ve been testing the tunnels because you were supposed to move the ledger.”
Nick laughed.
“And somebody nicked it before you could.”
A voice came from the crowd.
“So where is it?”
Chantelle Chia Bun stood beside Ryean.
Peggy looked at Parker.
“Good question.”
Parker shook his head.
“Whoever removed it knew exactly where it was hidden.”
Bruno looked towards Ye Olde Crumb and Butter.
For just a second.
Then back to Peggy.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
Peggy stepped forward.
“You brought it underneath my pub.”
“This is bigger than your pub.”
“Everything’s bigger than my pub according to you lot. Yet you keep turning up in it.”
A cheer went around Almond Square.
Bruno raised his voice.
“The Buttered Bunch isn’t going anywhere.”
Sticky Nick stepped out beside Peggy.
“Yes it is.”
Bruno laughed.
“You?”
“Me.”
“You came crawling back.”
“I came back because you threatened my daughter.”
Dot Crumble moved beside her son.
“And that was very silly.”
Bruno looked around the square.
Ronnie and Roxy.
Phil and Grant.
Rye-vita.
Fatbread and Sharon Scone.
Ryean and Chantelle.
Parker.
Dot.
Sticky Nick.
Peggy.
Nobody was standing with him.
Then an engine started.
A black van pulled into Almond Square.
Bruno smiled.
“There’s your mistake.”
The van doors opened.
Three members of the Buttered Bunch climbed out.
Then another van appeared behind it.
Phil counted quietly.
“One, two, three, four…”
Peggy sighed.
“Phil.”
“Sorry.”
Bruno spread his arms.
“You wanted a showdown.”
Peggy picked up her rolling pin.
“No.”
She pointed towards the Queen Victoria Sponge.
“I wanted a quiet afternoon.”
The second van stopped.
Its doors opened.
Nobody got out.
Bruno’s smile disappeared.
Sticky Nick frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Bruno walked towards the van.
On the passenger seat was a black envelope.
He opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Bruno read it.
Then read it again.
Peggy called across the square.
“Anything interesting?”
Bruno slowly lowered the paper.
Rye-vita stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Bruno looked around Almond Square.
For the first time since anyone in Walnutford had known him, the Brioche Boss looked frightened.
He dropped the paper.
Sticky Nick picked it up.
Across the centre were six words.
THE LEDGER IS SAFE. YOU’RE NOT.
Peggy looked at Bruno.
“Well.”
Bruno backed away.
Then the bells above the door of Ye Olde Crumb and Butter jingled.
Chantelle glanced towards the café.
“Must have left the door open.”
And while every eye in Almond Square remained on Bruno Brioche, Chantelle Chia Bun quietly went back inside.
Blindman Makes 
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