Fatal Festive Donuts

by Cindy Bell

  “I’m sure that you do. However, I am quite shaken by all of this and I’d like to stop talking about it now.” She slipped her hands back out of her pockets and crossed her arms.

  “Shaken?” He reached out and rested his hand on the curve of her shoulder. His touch was warm, if not a little heavy and his expression seemed kind. “I doubt that anything could shake you, Joyce.”

  His words were so personal, so to the point, that her heart fluttered in response to them. They were also accurate. Not much did leave her shaken. But his touch, combined with the steadiness of his gaze, certainly left her flustered.

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t know if that was true or not. Regardless, am I free to go?” She brushed his hand from her shoulder and took a slight step back.

  “Yes.” He cleared his throat as his hand fell back to his side. “You’re welcome to go. But keep in mind that these moments are very important. Please try to remember any detail that might become important later, as I may need to speak with you again.” As he started to turn away, she reached out and lightly touched his forearm. It was unusual for her to restrain someone this way, especially someone she didn’t know well, but her mind was stuck on him, and her instincts told her there was more to the intensity of his investigation.

  “Why do you think that?”

  He turned back to face her, his cheeks slightly reddened as he studied her.

  “I’m just doing my job, Joyce.”

  “It’s more than that, isn’t it?” She searched his eyes, and noticed the way they darkened with emotion as she pressed him for more information.

  “You’re quite the investigator yourself, aren’t you?” He smiled some. “If you really want to know, yes, I have good reason to believe that this was not a death from natural causes. Jerry happened to be a good friend of mine, and I know for a fact that he was as healthy as a horse. So to find him like this, it’s a shock to say the least, and one I’m going to thoroughly investigate.” He met her eyes, again. “As I said, Joyce, I’ll be in touch.”

  She was stunned by his confession. Suddenly, his abrupt attitude and harsh tone made a little more sense to her. He’d lost a friend, and he wanted to know why.

  “Detective, I’m sorry for your loss.” Her stomach twisted with guilt for the way she spoke about Jerry to him. “I’m sure there was another side to him, one I didn’t have the chance to get to know.”

  “Not really.” His lips curved beneath his bushy mustache into a wry smile. “But we were friends for some time, and at some point, the flaws everyone else sees, just fade away. He had his flaws, just like I do, but I doubt very much that he simply dropped dead. If someone did this to him, I’m going to find out who, no matter what it takes.”

  “I understand.” Her heart dropped as she noticed the way he looked at her. Did he think she had something to do with it?

  As Brenda joined the crowd of people gathered near the truck, she could feel some stares from those around her. Most of them were familiar faces. She either knew them from town, or worked at the market with them. However, some of them she didn’t recognize. She guessed they might be from the surrounding neighborhood and had just come out to see what all of the sirens and lights were about. It was still before seven in the morning, and so much activity so early was markedly unusual.

  “Brenda, what happened?” A tall man who always had an eager smile under his graying mustache walked over to her.

  “Donny, it looks like Jerry, the owner of the bakery, is dead. We found him when we arrived to open up this morning,” she stumbled over her words as they felt so foreign to her. She wasn’t sure how to explain what happened other than that, and yet the description seemed harsh.

  “What?” His eyes widened behind his thin glasses. “Dead you say? Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” She sighed. “I’m afraid so.”

  “Dead?” Another man stepped closer to them. He was shorter, rounder, and nearly completely bald. “But how?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, Chad.” Brenda shuddered under the scrutiny as everyone in the crowd turned to look at her. She had expected they would have questions, but she didn’t feel prepared to answer them, at least not all of them. “It looks like it might have been a heart attack. Or something like that.”

  “On your truck?” Donny looked past her towards the gathering of police officers outside the truck. “But why was he on your truck? Were you three fighting again?” He narrowed his eyes.

  His words made her nerves buzz. Did everyone in the crowd know about their issues with Jerry?

  “No, of course not. We didn’t even speak with him this morning. We found him there when we arrived.” She cleared her throat. “I’m not sure how he got in.”

  “Are you saying he broke in?” Chad sneered, and narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying he was committing a crime and ended up dead?”

  “I’m not saying anything.” She held up her hands and took a step back. The tone in the man’s voice concerned her. Was he accusing her of something? “I’m just as confused as everyone else here. The police are investigating it, and I’m sure they’ll get to the bottom of it. The important thing right now is to think about his family, and his friends, who have lost someone very dear to them.”

  “Family and friends?” A voice behind her scoffed. “I doubt that guy could even get affection from a dog.” He chuckled.

  She turned to see Clarence a few steps behind her. He folded his arms across his chest as he stared at her.

  “Sometimes people aren’t what they seem, Clarence.” She lifted her shoulders in a mild shrug. “I’m sure he had someone that cared about him.”

  “Don’t be so sure.” Clarence pursed his lips. “I’ve never seen him with another person, other than Orville. Honestly, I thought Orville was the only person on earth that could get along with Jerry, but all of that changed a couple of days ago.”

  Brenda recalled hearing Jerry and Orville arguing the day before.

  “Why was that?” She couldn’t hold back her curiosity. Maybe if she knew a little bit more about Jerry’s life, she wouldn’t have such a sinking feeling in her gut. But for their few run-ins, Jerry was a stranger to her, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about his death. She wanted to be sad, but instead she felt more confused than anything. Joyce was right, it appeared as if he was clearly trying to do something to the truck when he died. How could you feel much grief over his loss when it appeared as if the victim wanted to sabotage you?

  “Jerry up and fired him. No warning, no write-ups, nothing. He didn’t even give Orville the chance to defend himself or apologize.” Clarence shook his head and rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “It must have been humiliating for Orville.”

  “What was Jerry so upset about that he would do that?” She glanced back at Joyce and the detective. She wondered what kind of conversation they were having. From the body language she could see, it wasn’t a good one. She turned her attention back to Clarence.

  “He made the plans to set up the stall near your truck, and he was telling us about his intentions, how we had to work the stall, and make sure to try to distract customers from your truck. Orville warned him that it was a bad idea and that he could get in trouble for trying to cause issues during the market. He said that it went against their contract to remain open and be a part of the market. But Jerry didn’t want to hear any of it. He blew up at Orville, I honestly thought he was going to deck the guy. Instead he fired him, in front of me and Mark, just like that. Orville has worked there since Jerry opened the bakery, but all it took was one disagreement and Orville was gone. That was the kind of man Jerry was, so please excuse me if I don’t cry a river over the guy’s death. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he broke into your truck to cause issues. I don’t know what his problem with you and Joyce was, but it was a big one.” The more he spoke the more animated he became, with a louder tone and hands flying through the air to illustrate his description. She guessed he was barely over eighteen, but he seemed m
ature for his age.

  “I don’t know either.” She bit into her bottom lip. “But whatever it was, it wasn’t mutual. All we wanted was to work in peace. I tried to work things out with him, but he didn’t want to budge.”

  “Yeah, that was Jerry.” Clarence shook his head. “I’m going to find Mark.” He turned and strode away, just as Joyce headed towards the crowd. Brenda was eager to speak to her as she arrived.

  “How did it go?”

  “Not good.” Joyce gritted her teeth, then met Brenda’s eyes. “Apparently he was friends with Jerry. There I was saying bad things about him, without ever knowing that. Not only that, but he’s pretty much convinced this wasn’t natural causes.”

  “He is?” Brenda’s heart lurched. “But that’s ridiculous, there was no evidence of any injury.”

  “I know. I just can’t fathom how Detective Crackle could be friends with a man like Jerry. I suppose if he was, then he might not be much better than Jerry himself.” She crossed her arms.

  “I don’t know, he’s always struck me as a very good detective. Maybe he’s just upset because he has lost a friend. I hope that he will calm down soon.” Brenda shivered as a cold breeze carried through the air and right down an opening in her scarf.

  “Here comes Detective Crackle again, I wonder what he’s going to have to say?” Joyce narrowed her eyes as he approached.

  Chapter 5

  All eyes turned to the detective as everyone waited to hear what might have happened to Jerry. Brenda suspected he wouldn’t be able to tell them that, and yet there was still a hope within her that he would.

  “Okay folks, I hate to tell you this, but the market is not going to run today. You’re all going to have to clear out the area. Please be sure to see one of the police officers before you leave to give him or her your information, including your name, a phone number where we can reach you, and what your purpose was at the market today. I know that many of you rely on this market for your income, so this may be upsetting, but I can assure you that we will get it reopened as quickly as we possibly can.”

  After several groans and protests rippled through the crowd, Detective Crackle’s mild tone became a little bit sterner.

  “I have no option but to shut down the market while this matter is investigated. Keep in mind that a life was lost today, and it is my job to ensure that we know exactly what happened. I can’t stress to you enough the importance of this. There will be officers available to answer any questions.”

  As the crowd began to disperse, Brenda and Joyce glanced at each other.

  “Well, we thought this was going to be a good day.” Brenda sighed.

  “Yes, we did.” Joyce pursed her lips. “I guess we’d better go check on things at the truck.” She started to take a step towards it, but Detective Crackle moved in front of her before she could.

  “Where are you going?” He crossed his arms.

  Brenda frowned. She noticed the tension in his voice.

  “We’re going to make sure the truck is locked up. They’ve taken Jerry, haven’t they?” Joyce noticed that the ambulance that had arrived, pulled away minutes before.

  “Yes, they have, but that doesn’t mean that you can go near the truck. As of now, it is a crime scene, and you will not be allowed back in it until it has been fully searched.” He eyed Joyce for a moment, then looked towards Brenda. “I know this is an inconvenience, but I’m certain that you are interested in doing what’s best for the investigation.”

  “What investigation?” Joyce’s voice raised an octave. “There’s nothing to investigate! He just died, Detective Crackle. I am very sorry for your loss, but how can you call it a crime scene when no crime has been committed?” Her cheeks flushed with frustration.

  “This has nothing to do with Jerry being my friend. I am doing what I would do no matter who was found dead this morning. Please do not accuse me of doing anything other than my job.” He quirked a brow in her direction. “It is a crime scene until the suspicious death has been ruled either natural causes, accidental, or a homicide. If you have a problem with that, you’re welcome to contact the police chief. As of now, you are not allowed to enter that truck or even come within five hundred feet of it. Until I hear differently from the chief, or the matter is resolved, that is how it will stand. Understand?” He looked into Joyce’s eyes. “That is not going to be a problem, is it?”

  “Not going to be a problem?” She stepped forward until she was toe to toe with the taller man. “You’re going to rifle through our things, and keep us out of our own truck like common criminals, when Jerry died breaking into our truck. We have no idea what he might have been doing in there. Clearly his intentions were to sabotage it. So how can you act as if it is not a problem for us to be kept out of it?”

  “Calm down.” He gazed down at her, but did not take a step back. She could feel the pressure of his dark eyes as they probed through her own gaze. “I doubt that Jerry would have done anything to harm your truck, or either of you. But no matter what the reason is that he was there, his death investigation has to come first. I will let you know if we come across anything unusual inside the truck. You can fight me on this if you feel that’s necessary, but please understand that it could lead you into a court battle that you would not win. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to do my job.” He stared at her a moment longer. “I’ll keep you apprised of my findings.”

  “You can expect to hear from my lawyer, and the chief, when I get through with him!” Joyce looked back at Brenda, and in that moment the detective chose to walk away. Joyce turned back to find him gone, and her frustration grew even stronger. “How can he do this? How can he just take our truck?”

  “Joyce, he didn’t take it.” Brenda spoke in a gentle voice in an attempt to calm her friend down. “He’s holding it while they investigate. It’s okay really. He’s right, the important thing is to find out what happened to Jerry. If it wasn’t natural causes, then of course we need to know what happened.”

  “How could it be anything but natural causes?” Joyce’s anger faded some as that question rolled through her mind. “Do you think it was something else?”

  “I don’t know what to think at this point. But Jerry certainly had his share of enemies, and there are ways to kill a person without leaving a mark on them. So, yes, I guess, I’m curious about just how he died.” She glanced around at the people who were shutting down their trucks and stalls. “Everyone here is impacted by what happened, we can’t just pretend that it isn’t a big deal. Jerry wasn’t the greatest person, I know, but he’s dead, and he deserves to have someone find out why.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right about that.” Joyce sighed as she wiped her hands along her pants. Her palms had gotten sweaty when she balled them into fists. “I get so wound up about things sometimes. It’s easy for me to forget that the business isn’t the number one priority. Life has to come first, or death in this case.”

  “Right.” Brenda felt a little relieved as Joyce began to calm down. “I could never be as brave as you and stand up to him like that. Weren’t you worried that he would arrest you?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t even consider it. Sometimes my temper gets away from me. But I’ve also learned over the years that you have to fight for what’s important to you. You can’t ever let it slip away, without at least struggling to hold on to it. I’ve had so many things taken.” Her voice trailed off for a moment, then when she spoke again it was a little bit stronger. “But I will not let anyone take this from us, Brenda. Not ever.” She turned to look at her friend. “You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I know.” She smiled some as she looked into Joyce’s eyes. Their normally clear blue shade was clouded by the heaviness of the morning. As the time inched closer to eleven o’clock, she realized it had only been a few hours since they woke up that morning filled with enthusiasm for the day. How could so much change in such a short time? As difficult as it was to understand, there was no way to deny it. Jerry w
as dead, and until the detective was satisfied, they would not be allowed to re-open the truck.

  “There’s nothing more that we can do here. We should take his advice and head out.” Brenda pulled Joyce away from the crowd of people who still had curious, and quite prying eyes on the crime scene. Those that weren’t looking at it, had their attention focused on Joyce and Brenda. After the detective’s decision that they couldn’t enter ‘Donuts on the Move’ to close it up, they were looking at them with even more suspicion. It didn’t matter what the truth was, once the rumors got started the damage to the reputation of their truck might be terrible. But again, there was nothing that they could do about that right then, and the best way to get Joyce to calm down was to get her home. However, as they approached the car she was already on the phone with the police chief.

  “I’d like to know why you think you have the right to refuse to allow me on my property. That’s right, I own it. It was broken into, and I want to make sure that nothing was taken or destroyed.” Joyce paused as she heard the man on the other end of the phone draw a long breath.

  “I will tell you right now that you are not going to get into that truck until it is released from our custody. You can blow your horn, you can call your lawyer, but no one gets on that truck without my authorization. Given the fact that your late husband was a detective I would expect you to understand that we are just doing our job. I can assure you that if there is anything damaged you will be informed.”

  “And how can I just trust that the police officers aren’t going to do further damage? How will I know what Jerry might have done, and what your officers might have done, or what that detective might plant in there to make me look bad. He really does not like me, you know?”

  “I can’t imagine why.” He coughed. “I mean, perhaps if you calmed down and treated him with a bit more respect, you would recognize that he does not have a vendetta, he is only trying to do his job, which you seem to be quite determined to prevent him from doing. There are two sides to every coin, you know.”