Strawberry Donuts and Scandal

by Cindy Bell

  Joyce paused outside the motel room door, and winced. Inside she could hear arguing. Two voices raised, and the anger was getting more intense by the second. She tensed up, even though the voice was muffled by the door the volume of it meant she could recognize it as Mark’s voice. She decided to try to get a closer look. The front window of the motel room had a curtain pulled over it. She tried to peer through the edge of it, but it looked as if it had been taped down along the edges. It was the only window. With no ability to see inside, she lingered near the front door. As she leaned close, she tried to pick up on a few words in their conversation.

  “Joyce? Joyce! What are you doing here?” The cheerful voice sent chills down Joyce’s spine as she looked up to see a familiar face headed in her direction.

  “Oh hi, Sarah. I was just leaving, actually.” Joyce stepped away from the door. Hopefully, the two people inside were too busy arguing to hear the conversation outside, otherwise her cover was blown.

  “Oh, where to?” Sarah followed Joyce away from the door of the motel room.

  “I had a friend coming into town to stay here, but it turns out she didn’t make it.” Joyce frowned. “I’m not sure what happened, but apparently somehow she missed her flight.”

  “Sorry to hear that.” Sarah frowned. “I know that you are always working on that truck, it’s nice to see you taking a break. You know, Joyce, at our age, we should be resting more, not working around the clock.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right, Sarah.” Joyce bit the tip of her tongue to keep from pointing out that there was no particular age when people were expected to turn in a normal life for one of sedentary boredom. Sarah was only a year older than her, but she played up her role as a grandmother, as indicated by the sweater she wore. It featured the words, ‘World’s Best Grandma’. “I’m so sorry that I can’t chat more, but I really should be on my way.” She started towards her car.

  “Oh, I understand.” Sarah waved her hand. “I was just dropping off a flier for the bake sale next week. You and Brenda will donate some donuts, right?”

  “Absolutely. You can send me a text with the kinds you would like.” Joyce glanced past her to the motel room. As far as she could tell no one had come out, but with Sarah distracting her she couldn’t be sure. Was Poppy okay in there alone with Mark?

  “Sure, I’ll do that. Okay, see you later, Joyce.” Sarah waved as she walked off to her car.

  Joyce ached to go back to the motel room and check on Poppy, but she felt Sarah’s eyes on her. Reluctantly, she climbed into her car and started it. Unfortunately, Sarah didn’t pull out as she’d hoped. Instead, she seemed to be waiting to see if Joyce would leave. Frustrated, but eager to get back to a little sleuthing, Joyce pulled out of the parking lot and drove around the block. When she returned, Sarah’s car was gone. She parked again. As she approached the door she had no idea what might have happened while she was gone. Luckily, she didn’t hear arguing. Perhaps they had left, and she would have a chance to have a look in the motel room. As she paused just outside the door, she noticed that she might have a good chance at that. The door wasn’t quite closed. She took a deep breath. Maybe the pair had realized she was outside and left in a hurry.

  Joyce pushed the door open, hoping that the silence meant that they had both left. In the darkness beyond the door, she couldn’t tell for certain if there was anyone else there. Still, she froze after taking just a few steps inside. Though she couldn’t pinpoint why or from where, she sensed someone else’s eyes on her. It was too late to turn back.

  “Hello?” She took another step forward, despite her better judgment.

  “I’m here.” The voice drifted from the corner of the room, and sounded strained, as if the speaker might be hurt.

  “Poppy?” Joyce’s heart began to pound as she fumbled on the wall for the light switch. Her fingertips bumped into the switch. She pushed it upward and anticipated the room flooded in light. Instead the darkness remained.

  “Help.” Poppy’s voice drifted from the corner again, and sounded even weaker. “Please.”

  “I’m coming.” Joyce reached into her purse for her phone as she approached the corner. She just had her hand around it when she caught sight of Poppy huddled, with her arms around her knees and her head down. She looked absolutely tiny. Her bright red hair curtained her face as she looked up at Joyce.

  “I can’t get up. I’ve been hurt, something’s wrong with me.”

  “It’s okay, honey. I’ll help you.” Joyce hit the emergency button on her phone, but left it in her purse as she reached down to help Poppy to her feet.

  The moment Joyce reached down, Poppy lunged forward, and tackled her to the floor.

  “Stop! What are you doing?” Joyce gasped as she tried to squirm out from under Poppy. Despite being tiny, much smaller than Joyce, she was actually quite strong. She ripped the sheet off the bed beside her and used it to wrap around Joyce’s flailing arms. Within moments Joyce’s arms were pinned behind her back. “Help!” Joyce shouted, just before Poppy’s hand clamped over her mouth.

  “Sh. You don’t want to bring any unwanted attention in here.” Poppy tightened the sheet. “If you scream I’m going to have to hurt you, and I don’t want to hurt you. Can you be quiet?”

  Joyce nodded as tears of panic flooded her eyes.

  “Good.” Poppy eased her hand off Joyce’s mouth. “Now, I’m sorry about this. I have a grandmother, it’s not like I’m a monster, but I’ve seen you snooping around and asking questions, and you have gotten yourself into something you shouldn’t have. So, we’re going to have to figure out what to do about this together.”

  Poppy sighed as she stood up and wiped her hands along the back of her jeans.

  Joyce tilted her head to the side and noticed that there didn’t appear to be anything physically wrong with Poppy. She had conned her into coming closer.

  “What do I do with you?” Poppy began to pace back and forth, her figure just a shadow in the darkness.

  Joyce’s mind swirled with panic. Where was Mark?

  “You don’t have to do this, Poppy. Whatever Mark’s made you do, I can help you.” Joyce attempted to meet the young woman’s eyes.

  “Quiet!” Poppy snapped at her. “Mark has nothing to do with any of this. I am so sick of everyone else getting credit for things I do!”

  “Things you do?” Joyce’s throat grew dry as she realized her terrible mistake. It wasn’t Mark who killed Alexa, it was Poppy.

  “I’m the one that does the research, I’m the one that plans the protests, me, it’s always me!” Poppy shrieked and pulled at her own hair. “I am the one that wants to protect us all, and nobody ever sees that!”

  Joyce’s heart raced as Poppy continued to rant. She realized that Poppy wasn’t in a healthy mental state. She was unpredictable, and Joyce had no idea what might happen next.

  Brenda peered out through the window of the truck. Then she glanced at the clock on the wall again. Joyce should have been back already. Again, she regretted letting her go off on her own. She insisted that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, and Brenda knew that she was. The problem was not her physical body, or mental capabilities, it was her determination and risk-taking that made Brenda worry when she was involved in something potentially dangerous. She decided to give her a call just to get an update on where she was. Instead of ringing, she heard a busy signal. In all the time she’d known Joyce she’d never gotten a busy signal on her phone. Either she answered, or it went to voicemail. With her stomach in knots she glanced over at Melissa.

  “Do you think you can handle the truck by yourself for a little while?”

  “Sure!” Melissa’s eyes widened. “I can do it, Brenda, I promise.”

  “I know you can.” Brenda frowned as she grabbed her light jacket. “Give me a call if Joyce gets back, all right?”

  “Yes, I will. Is everything okay?” Melissa watched as Brenda tucked her phone back into her purse.

  “I
’m not sure. Most likely everything is fine.” Brenda pointed to the next batch of donuts. “Make sure you take those out as soon as the timer goes off, all right?”

  “I will.” Melissa nodded.

  Brenda hesitated at the top of the steps. It was quite likely that she was overreacting, and she wasn’t completely confident that Melissa was ready to run the truck on her own, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. As she descended the steps, she pulled out her phone to try Joyce’s number again, but before she could dial, her cell phone began to ring. She was relieved at first as she expected it to be Joyce, but when she looked at the name on the screen, she saw that it was Detective Crackle. She almost dismissed the call as she was more concerned with where Joyce was than what he might have to say. But at the last second, she picked it up.

  “Hi Detective.”

  “Brenda, are you with Joyce?” He sounded breathless.

  “No, I’m not. I was just about to go look for her. Why?”

  “She made an emergency call a few minutes ago, but there was no audio. The operator hasn’t been able to get back through to her. Do you know where she was last?” The urgency in his tone made her heart beat even faster.

  “Oh no, oh no, what’s happened?” Brenda’s mind spun. “The motel! She went to the motel to see Poppy. She thought that maybe if she talked to her, she might be able to find something out.”

  “She went alone?”

  “Yes.” Brenda winced. “I tried to talk her out of it, but—”

  “I’m heading there now.”

  “I’ll meet you there.” Brenda ended the call, and tried calling Joyce’s phone again. This time the call went straight to voicemail. A wave of panic washed over her. Joyce wouldn’t have made an emergency call unless there was an emergency. If she was unreachable that meant something terrible must have happened. She hurried to her car and drove straight towards the motel. The entire time she wondered what she could have done to stop Joyce from going off on her own. She was so determined to get to the truth that she had been willing to risk everything, and Brenda felt as if she should have known that, and stopped her. When she caught sight of Joyce’s car in the motel parking lot, her heart dropped. Why would she be parked there and not answering her phone? She pulled up behind it, just as Detective Crackle’s car sailed into the parking lot from the other side. He stopped right in front of the car and jumped out.

  “Is she in there?” His eyes were wide with fear as he lunged towards the car.

  “I don’t think so.” Brenda tried the doors, but they were locked. She peered through the windows. “Her purse isn’t here either, and no phone.”

  “We need to get inside to get the trunk open.” The detective walked around to the back of the car and rapped lightly on the trunk. “Joyce?”

  “She’s not in there! She can’t be in there!” Brenda held back tears as she searched through her purse for Joyce’s spare key. She had given it to her a few months before when she’d borrowed her car. She’d never got around to giving it back. “Here!” Her hand trembled as she handed it over to Detective Crackle.

  He slid the key into the trunk and lifted it.

  Brenda held her breath as she peered around him at the inside of the trunk.

  “Nothing.” For a moment Brenda was relieved, but that moment passed. Joyce was still missing. “The motel room, maybe she’s in there.” She started to cross the parking lot towards the door.

  “Brenda, wait.” He caught her by the elbow. “You should stay here. I’ll take a look.”

  “No.” She pulled her arm free of his grasp. “Not a chance, Detective. Try to keep up.” Brenda’s eyes flashed as they locked to his, then she turned and ran towards the motel room.

  Detective Crackle mumbled something under his breath then chased after her. Once she reached the door she tried the knob, and found it was unlocked. She held her breath as she started to push the door open. Detective Crackle shoved her away from the door, pulled out his gun, and peeked through the opening. He then nudged the door the rest of the way open. He flattened himself against the wall as he stepped inside.

  Brenda reached for the light switch. After flipping it off and on again she realized that it didn’t work.

  Detective Crackle pulled out a small flashlight and lined it up with his weapon. As the light spilled across the interior of the motel room Brenda followed its path. She saw that the sheet was torn off the bed. One of the lamps was knocked over, but had not broken. It appeared that there had been some kind of struggle. But there was no sign of anyone in the room. Detective Crackle put his finger to his lips, then pointed to the bathroom.

  Brenda nodded as her chin quivered. What if Joyce was hurt? Or worse? She couldn’t imagine her life without the woman who had become one of her closest friends.

  Detective Crackle pushed open the bathroom door, and ducked inside with his gun pointed ahead of him. A second later he stepped back out and shook his head.

  “She’s not here, Brenda, I’m sorry, but she’s not here.”

  “Then where?” Brenda gasped as she realized that not finding Joyce was almost as terrible as finding her hurt would have been. “Someone must have taken her.”

  “Don’t touch anything. I’ve got the crime scene team on the way. Maybe they’ll find something that will point us in the right direction.” Detective Crackle stood in the middle of the room, his flashlight still on. His voice shook as he spoke. “We’ll find her, Brenda, don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

  “Can’t you track her cell phone or something?”

  “I have someone working on that, too.” Detective Crackle frowned. “Unfortunately, until we can confirm that Joyce was abducted, our resources are limited.”

  “I don’t want to hear about limited resources! I want to know where she is! Where is she, Detective?” Brenda gasped out her words as panic threatened to overwhelm her.

  “I don’t know.” Detective Crackle grimaced as his hands balled into fists. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find her!”

  Chapter 14

  “Where are we going?” Joyce looked over at the woman in the driver’s seat. Her red hair fell forward to hide her eyes, but she could see from the way she gripped the steering wheel that Poppy was stressed out.

  “Quiet,” Poppy snapped. It was just about the only thing she’d said to Joyce since they’d left the motel. She’d warned Joyce that if she shouted or attempted to run, she would make sure that she suffered the consequences. She even promised that if Joyce were somehow to escape, she would head straight for the food truck and make sure that Brenda never went home that night.

  Joyce had no reason to doubt her threats. From what she understood, she had murdered her friend. Not just any friend, but her best friend, whom she had known for years. If she could murder someone so close to her, what would stop her from doing the same to Joyce, or to Brenda? The thought terrified her.

  “Please, maybe I can help you figure all of this out. I know you didn’t plan for this.” Joyce did her best to keep her voice soothing. She remembered a lesson her husband had taught her about how to act if she was ever abducted. It was best to be kind, to make the abductor like you. He encouraged her to share personal information. “You know, I have a bunny at home. Her name is Molly, and if I don’t go home to her—”

  “Quiet!” Poppy slammed on the brakes as she suddenly pulled into a parking lot. “I don’t want to hear about your bunny, or what you think you can do to help me. My plan is not going to change just because you stuck your nose in it.” She looked straight into Joyce’s eyes. “You’re a problem, and I am great at solving problems.”

  Joyce trembled as she noticed the coldness in the woman’s eyes. She’d never seen such emptiness before. All of a sudden, she understood that Poppy knew exactly what she would do with her, and her plan did not involve Joyce making it out alive. Terrified, she glanced around at her surroundings for any hint of something that could help her. She realized they were in the pa
rking lot of the new Country Grocery Place. Bright ribbons and balloons hung everywhere to announce the grand opening.

  “This is about Vanessa, isn’t it?” Joyce forced the words past her lips.

  “Of course it is. That criminal. She claims to sell organic, healthy foods, but she is going to get her produce from a poison-infested farm and sell them through a business that supports spreading poison into all of our homes. I gave all of that information to Alexa. She was supposed to expose Vanessa for who she really is, but no. She didn’t do it.” Poppy slammed her hand against the steering wheel. “She had no right! I’m the one that started the vlog, I’m the one that gave her all of the stories to run on it. I didn’t want all of the distraction of the limelight, so I asked Alexa to be the face. When she refused to expose Vanessa, I gave her one last chance to do it, but she wouldn’t. She said that the truth was being hidden from Vanessa, it wasn’t her fault that she was being lied to and she wanted to apologize. But I knew the truth had to come out. That was when I knew that Alexa had become part of the problem. She would rather see our families poisoned than take a stand against a liar and a criminal.” Poppy crossed her arms as she leaned back against her seat. “No guts. She didn’t even stick to only eating organic food. She was never anything but a pretty face. I shouldn’t have let her take all of the credit for everything I did.”

  “That must have upset you so much.” Joyce looked towards the grocery store. She had no idea what Poppy’s plan was, but she knew that as long as she kept her talking, she was distracted. As she slid her hand into her pocket she realized she only had one mint wrapper left. She had no idea whether Brenda was even looking for her, or if she was if she would find the wrappers. But it was the only thing she could think to do to leave a trail. Only Brenda would be able to find it. She closed her eyes for just a moment and wished her friend was there beside her. She was clever enough to figure out how to get out of situations like this.