Vanilla Vices

by Jessica Beck

  “Well, I suppose there’s a first for everything,” Trish replied happily. “Does that mean you all want today’s special?”

  I hadn’t seen what she was offering, but I knew that whatever it was, I was bound to like it. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Make it three,” George said.

  “Stop it. You’re all freaking me out,” Trish said, and then she left to get our orders.

  “Is it that odd that we’re being nice to her?” Grace asked me.

  “I wouldn’t think so,” I said. “Now, what else is new in your life, Mr. Mayor?” I asked him.

  After we’d eaten, there was a debate on whether George was paying for our lunches or not, but Grace and I finally gave in. After all, it clearly made him feel better, and what was so wrong about that? I’d been looking forward to getting outside so we could bring him up to speed on our investigation, but unfortunately, once we were all out on the sidewalk in front of the grill, those plans changed suddenly.

  Emma Blake was hurrying from Donut Hearts toward us, and there was a look of urgency on her face that I didn’t much care for.

  Chapter 8

  “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you, Suzanne,” Emma said as she reached us, clearly a little out of breath.

  “You must not have been looking that hard,” I said. “I’ve been close by all day. What’s going on? Did something happen at the shop?”

  “What? No. Donut Hearts is fine. As a matter of fact, we had an excellent day.”

  “I have a hunch that’s not why you’ve been looking for me, then. If it’s not the donut shop, what is it?”

  “Somebody came around looking for you half an hour ago, and it sounded important.”

  George got a phone call at that moment, and he excused himself to answer it. We’d have to catch up with him later, because he started walking toward City Hall as he spoke, and I had to wonder if he even remembered his promised conversation with us.

  “It’s not about Momma, is it?” I asked. My mother was a woman of a certain age, and though as far as I knew, she was as healthy as an ox, I still knew how limited my time left with her might be. There was no rational reason to feel that way, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d lost my father a long time ago, and I couldn’t bear the thought of being without my mother as well. Grace had lost her parents a long time ago, and frankly, I didn’t know how she did it.

  “No, Dot is fine. As a matter of fact, she and Phillip came by the shop this morning on their way out of town.”

  “They’re leaving? Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “It’s just a day trip to the mountains,” Emma said. She was clearly getting exasperated by all of the conclusions I kept jumping to.

  Grace put a hand on my shoulder. “Suzanne, let the poor girl talk.”

  “Sorry. Go on. Who is looking for me, and why?”

  “Teresa Logan,” Emma said.

  Teresa was a relatively young attorney who’d come to April Springs six months earlier to take care of her dying aunt. She’d fallen in love with our quaint little town, and after Lindsey died, she’d stayed on, opening up her practice and taking on new clients. The ink on her degree had still been wet, but that hadn’t stopped her from setting up shop. It was probably petty of me, but I didn’t care for her, mainly because of the way she acted around my husband. He had to be a good fifteen or even twenty years older than she was, but that didn’t keep her from flirting with him every chance she got. It didn’t help matters that Jake seemed to enjoy the attention. Why wouldn’t he? She was as cute as a puppy and nearly as friendly. “Why would she be looking for me?”

  “I have no idea, but she asked me to tell you to stop by her office as soon as I found you. It sounded pretty important to me.”

  “Thanks, Emma,” I said, not moving.

  “Aren’t you going over there right now?” she asked me.

  “Oh, yes. I’m on my way,” I said as I still stood there. “Can’t you tell? Consider the message delivered. You’ve done your part beautifully.”

  Emma was clearly confused by my behavior, but she knew me well enough not to push it. “I’ll see you later. Are Mom and I still running the shop tomorrow?”

  “Unless you’ve changed your minds,” I said, perhaps a little too hopefully. “Was it bad running things without me?” The new working arrangement had been my idea. I just wasn’t sure how happy I was about it at the moment.

  “Oh, no. We’re having a blast. Thanks again for the opportunity.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said as graciously as I could manage.

  “Well, I’d better get back and finish the dishes,” Emma said.

  “See you later,” I replied, and Grace added her farewell as well.

  Once Emma headed back to Donut Hearts, Grace looked at me and smiled. “So, are we going to go see what Teresa wants?”

  “I suppose we have to,” I said.

  “Suzanne, you can’t seriously be upset with the girl just because she fancies your husband. Doesn’t that mean that she’s got good taste?”

  “Not funny, Grace, not even a little.”

  “Is it too soon to joke about it?” she asked with a smile.

  “It will always be too soon.” I sighed deeply, and then I said, “I suppose that we might as well go see what she wants.”

  “If you’d rather go alone, that’s okay by me. I’m sure I can find something to do while you two are chatting.”

  “We both know that if you don’t go with me, I’m probably not going to go myself.”

  Grace put an arm in mine. “Then let’s go. We can pick your Jeep up later. After all, it’s only a five-minute stroll down Springs Drive to her office.”

  “Fine. But we need a safe word that I can say so you can get me out of there before I lose my temper with her.”

  “How about good-bye?” Grace asked. “That’s always worked in the past, and I take it you don’t care about how subtle we’re being.”

  “Good-bye works perfectly for me,” I said.

  “I understand you wanted to see me,” I said after Grace and I walked into the small office near the courthouse. Teresa looked up from her computer and smiled at us both. She was attractive, I had to give her that much, and her long, wavy chestnut hair had a shimmer to it that couldn’t be natural. She was petite, but that didn’t keep her from dressing to kill. I was glad that Jake didn’t fancy her; it might have been a competition that I wasn’t entirely sure I could win. I knew my husband loved me nearly unconditionally, but maybe I should step up my own game a little. It might not hurt me to put on a dress every now and then instead of my standard T-shirt and blue jeans. I knew that I was most likely just being paranoid, but for some reason, that knowledge didn’t help.

  “Suzanne. Grace. It’s so good to see you both.”

  “Was it something important?” I asked, failing to match her warm welcome.

  Grace stepped forward and shot a quick frown in my direction before she spoke to the young attorney. “Hi, Teresa. Is that outfit new?”

  “This? No, I’ve had it for ages. I can’t believe it even still fits.”

  Her comment was innocent enough, but it simply reinforced the fact that there were a great many clothes from my younger days that I couldn’t wear now. I’d had enough of the niceties of civilized conversation. “What’s going on?”

  “Actually, we have business to conduct, Suzanne,” she said. “Grace, would you mind excusing us?”

  “Certainly,” she said, shooting a smile my way as she turned toward the door.

  There was no way I was going to let that happen. “It’s okay. She can stay.”

  “I don’t want to break your attorney–client privilege,” Grace said happily.

  “We both know that there’s nothing she can say to me that you’re not going t
o hear about the second I leave this office,” I answered.

  “Do you mind?” Grace asked Teresa.

  “No, if Suzanne wants you to be here, I don’t have any issues with it.”

  “Now that we’ve cleared that up, what is this about?” I asked.

  “I thought you already knew. Didn’t he say anything to you about his intentions?” the young attorney asked me, clearly puzzled by my question.

  “It might help if I knew exactly who we were talking about,” I said.

  “Dan Billingham, of course. Suzanne, not only are you his main beneficiary, you’re also listed in his will as his first choice as executrix. Are you certain he didn’t say anything to you about his plans?”

  “Trust me, this is all news to me,” I said. “Why would Dan name me? We were friends, but I never thought too much about our relationship one way or the other.”

  “Well, he had pretty strong feelings about you.”

  “What does this entail?” Grace asked.

  “It’s all pretty straightforward, actually. I’d be happy to help you in any way that I can. First things first. The death certificate has already been issued, so we’re free to move forward.”

  “Is there any rush to do it?” I asked, still surprised by Dan’s last gesture.

  “I suppose it could wait until tomorrow,” Teresa said with a frown.

  “Teresa, would you excuse us for one moment?” Grace asked her.

  “Certainly. Would you like my office?”

  “No, we’ll just step outside. We won’t be long,” Grace said as she took me by the arm and led me out to the sidewalk.

  “Grace, what is this about?”

  “Suzanne, I know this has caught you off guard, but it might be the break we’ve been hoping for.”

  “How so?”

  “If you’re Dan’s executrix, you’ll have access to his shop and his room above it. There might be a host of clues lurking there. Don’t we owe it to him to find his murderer as quickly as we can?”

  “I suppose so. It just feels a little ghoulish to me. The man just died last night.”

  “You’re not doing this for the money. After all, how much could Dan really have? We’re trying to track down his killer. That’s the noblest of reasons to act quickly.”

  “Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’m glad you came with me, Grace.”

  “There’s no place else I’d rather be,” she said.

  We walked back into Teresa’s office. “Sorry about that. Since I’m here right now, should we go ahead and get started?”

  “Excellent,” she said with that bright smile of hers. “I’ve got the file right here.” She opened a cabinet drawer of her desk and pulled out a thin folder.

  “Is that it?” I asked, staring at the paucity of it.

  “Are you honestly surprised that the man would want as simple an instrument as possible?” she asked me. “There is a list of bequests here attached to the document, but the balance of it goes to you. I’m afraid that it’s no fortune, but you should come out of it okay once the business has been liquidated.”

  “Am I obligated to sell Aunt Teeks?” I asked her.

  She looked surprised by my question. “No. Of course not. I just assumed that since you already have a business, you wouldn’t want another one. That’s none of my concern, of course. Once the bequests are met, you’re free to do whatever you wish with whatever remains.”

  “Does she have to decide what she’s going to do immediately?” Grace asked. “After all, this is all news to her.”

  “No, absolutely not. Suzanne, I just need you to sign these documents stating that you are willing to accept the responsibilities as executrix, and we can go from there.”

  I signed my name everywhere she had a sticky note telling me to, and then I pushed the papers back to her. After confirming that I’d done everything that she’d asked, she nodded and slipped the papers back into the file. “Here is a copy of the will, as well as the keys to his business,” Teresa said. “I’ve been informed that the state police have just released the crime scene, so you’re free to go there whenever you’d like.”

  “That’s it? Isn’t there a letter or something for me explaining why Dan did this?” I asked. I’d been hoping for at least something from him. If he couldn’t name his killer, which would have been nice, as well as save Grace and me a great deal of time and trouble, at least he could have written to tell me why he’d done what he’d done.

  “Sorry. That’s all I’ve got. There will be paperwork to file and a few other things to handle as the process continues, but I’ll be happy to help you every step of the way.”

  “What’s it going to cost me?” I asked.

  “Suzanne,” Grace said.

  “Sorry.”

  “No, it’s a fair question. Dan has already paid for a certain amount of hours for my assistance. If there is a balance left when we’re finished, I’ll refund it to you. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’m due in court in ten minutes, so I’d better start walking over there. I’m sorry for your loss, Suzanne.”

  Teresa was clearly sympathetic, which warmed the chill in my heart toward her slightly.

  “Please give my best to Jake,” she added with a smile, and the warmth was suddenly gone.

  It was time to visit Aunt Teeks and see if there were any clues Dan managed to leave behind.

  Otherwise, Grace and I were going to have a tough time tracking down whoever had killed him.

  Chapter 9

  It had been quite a while since I’d been in the junk shop, but it hadn’t changed much. How on earth Dan had ever managed to find anything there was beyond me. In the largest room in the front of the building, stacks of old magazines were piled up on top of dressers that had been painted with pastels, while paintings of little apparent value leaned up against the walls haphazardly. The display room was a cacophony of items, and it almost hurt my eyes to look directly at it. Instead of the entire building being one open space inside, the first floor was a catacomb of smaller rooms that fed off the main room where we were currently standing. If I had to spend my days working there instead of Donut Hearts, I wouldn’t have lasted a week.

  “Suzanne, are you going to have to inventory every single thing here? Because if you do, you’re never going to make it back to your own business,” Grace said, echoing my thoughts.

  “Couldn’t I just hire someone to do it for me?” I asked as I looked around the crowded space in front.

  “You probably could, but by the time they finish, you’ll have to sell everything in sight just to pay whoever does it. I suppose there’s another possibility.”

  “What’s that? At this point, I’ll take any suggestions you have. We’ve been here ten minutes and I’m already overwhelmed.”

  “You could always try to sell everything to one buyer,” Grace suggested.

  I looked around at the mess that surrounded us. “Who would want to buy all of this junk?”

  “It might be worthless from our point of view, but maybe we’ll be surprised. If you’re lucky, you might be able to find someone else who’s also in this line of work to take it all off your hands. Should I start looking into it for you?”

  “As much as I appreciate the offer, let’s not do anything just yet,” I said.

  “I understand. It’s probably prudent to wait. I just don’t want you to be overwhelmed by all of this.”

  “It’s too late for that, I’m afraid,” I said with a rueful smile. Had Dan thought he was doing me a kindness giving me all of this? If so, our ideas of favors varied greatly. In the end, it was a last service I could do for him, whether I got anything out of it after his list of bequests was satisfied or not.

  “Should we go room by room and see if we can find anything that might possibly be a clue? Where was his body found, do you have any idea?”

 
; “It was in one of the side rooms where the cast iron things were kept. It’s hard to believe that Dan organized anything, but I’m starting to see a pattern here. This main room has a little bit of everything, a way to tease his customers into delving deeper into the building. Look through the doorways that open up from here. I can see cast iron in one room, jewelry and trinkets over there, and there’s even a space for small furniture. I have a hunch the deeper we dig, the more surprised we will be.”

  “I don’t know. I’m kind of stunned right now, to be honest with you,” Grace said. After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she said, “We might as well go ahead and tackle the cast iron room first.”

  We walked into the side space together, and we found walls covered with shelving, all heavy duty, since it was holding goods that had been cast in iron. There weren’t just ancient skillets and Dutch ovens there, though there were plenty of those, but besides the collection of cookware, there were trivets, fireplace covers, and even figurines that had all been cast long ago. One section held the old-fashioned irons, like the kind in old games of Monopoly. I usually chose the racecar when I played, but I’d settle for the thimble if someone else got to it first. I couldn’t imagine anyone choosing the iron by choice. I couldn’t imagine heating the real deal near the fire and then pressing my clothes with it. Then again, I rarely ironed anything at home now, and it was as easy as plugging in the iron and setting up my ironing board. The row of irons here had an obvious omission. That must have been where the murder weapon had sat, probably for years, rarely being picked up and examined until it had been used to commit murder. The floor beneath it still had traces of blood on it, though there was no chalk outline as I’d expected.

  Grace must have wondered about the same thing. “Don’t they do chalk drawings anymore at the crime scene?”

  “I guess not. It’s clear enough where they must have found him, though,” I said. Looking around the room, I said, “This isn’t the biggest space in the shop by any means. Why was Dan in here with the killer? Does the location of his murder give us any clues?”