by Cindy Bell
“Right.” Joyce poured them both a cup of coffee. “I say, we go in, we get the truck open, we let everyone see our faces and that we’re not worried about anything. It’s the only thing we can do right now.”
“That’s true.” Brenda sipped her coffee. “Let me make us some breakfast first, though. We have plenty of time.”
“Sounds great to me.” She patted her stomach and grinned. “I will never turn down anything you make.”
“Thanks Joyce.” She was relieved that at least someone would eat her cooking. As she began to prepare breakfast, she wondered what Sophie was waking up to. She guessed it was cinnamon sprinkled hot chocolate. It was one of her mother’s specialties. The more time she spent thinking about Sophie, the less tense she felt. Yes, all of this would be over soon. She just had to focus on that. “You know, I never arranged for my tree to be delivered.”
“Are you planning to today?” Joyce sniffed the air and smiled at the smell of the french toast that Brenda cooked on the stove.
“They have finished the tiling apparently, it is just drying now. So, I’ll have to open up the house and let him deliver it, but yes, I think it would be a good way to take my mind off things. I’ll wait until the close of business today, though.” She scooped the french toast onto two plates and carried it over to the table. “I’d like to speak to him about his issues with other vendors and whatever else he might know.”
“I don’t know, he seems like a pretty tough cookie to crack. You should be careful.” Joyce rubbed her hands together as she looked at her plate. “This is amazing. I don’t know how you make it so fluffy.”
“My secret.” She winked at her. “I should be okay. He’s probably just a little rough around the edges. Although, like you, I do get a strange feeling around him. Then again, I am the nervous type.” She took a bite of her french toast and had to admit that it was delicious.
“You do that too often, you know?” Joyce pointed her fork at her with a bit of french toast on the end.
“What?” She stared at the bobbing bread.
“You second guess yourself, and put yourself down. You have strong instincts, Brenda, that’s why you’re a bit anxious at times. You sense what’s going on in the world around you, more than other people do. It could be your mother’s intuition working overtime, but I’d guess that you’ve always been a lot more perceptive than others.”
“Maybe.” She smiled some as she took another bite. “I know that I’ve had moments in my life when I was absolutely certain. Like the day I met Charlie.” Her cheeks warmed as she recalled it.
“Sounds like there’s a story there?” Joyce raised an eyebrow.
“Honestly, I’ve never even told him this. I’ve been afraid that he would find it really strange. But I knew he was the one before he ever really even noticed me. I saw him, I spoke to him, just for a moment, and I knew right then I would spend the rest of my life with him.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t like a vision or anything. It was just this deep knowing, that we had an entire future together.”
“I think that’s amazing.” Joyce smiled as she met her eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Your instincts are sharp. So don’t pretend that it’s just nerves, or paranoia that make you uncomfortable around some people. There’s no reason to discredit your strengths.”
“You’re so good to me, Joyce.” She finished her french toast. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that we became friends.”
“I’m glad, too.” She finished her breakfast as well. “Now, we’d better get to work before Detective Crackle changes his mind.”
On the drive to the truck, Joyce did her best to provide some cheerful chatter, but her attempts soon faded. She was nervous, too, and though Brenda seemed more focused now, Joyce could tell that she was just as frightened. It was hard not to be. Their truck was a crime scene, and despite being able to open it again, the weight of Jerry’s death would have quite an impact on everyone at the market.
“Here we go.” Brenda parked in one of the vendors’ spots, and turned off the car. She looked over at Joyce. “Like you said, we haven’t done anything wrong. We have to keep that in mind.”
“Yes.” She stepped out of the car and tried not to notice the stares from other nearby vendors. It was impossible. “Today will be rough, but once we get through it each day after will get easier and easier.”
Brenda nodded as she approached the truck. Both women fell silent as they paused at the steps that led to the door of the truck.
“What a mess.” Joyce pushed her hair back from her eyes as she stared at the truck. “You would think they would have cleaned up the egg. I mean, really. Now it’s all dried.” She sighed as she brushed a finger across the steps. “Disgusting.”
“Don’t worry, I can have it cleaned up in just a few minutes.” Brenda took a deep breath of the crisp air. “Luckily, it’s too cold for them to go rotten and start to smell.”
“There’s that positive attitude.” Joyce grinned. “All right I’ll let you work out here, and I’ll check out the inside. I’m not sure what I expect. I know they said they had cleaned the place, but I’m betting it’s still quite a mess.” As she started to climb the steps to the door of the truck, she heard a familiar voice not far behind her.
“Joyce, do you have a minute?” Detective Crackle folded his hands behind his back and studied both of the women.
“Sure.” Joyce stepped back down and walked over to him, with a glance over her shoulder at Brenda.
“As of now you’re free to open and operate. I can’t stop the market from happening and we’ve gathered all of the evidence we can from the truck. However, this investigation is not over. I will get to the bottom of this.” His tone and expression softened just slightly as he held Joyce’s gaze. “If there is anything you can tell me, anything that you think will help at all. Now would be the time.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything more than you do, Detective Crackle. All I’m certain of is that Brenda and I had nothing to do with it. You are wasting your time investigating us.” She returned his steady stare without a trace of intimidation.
“That may be true.” He smiled some behind his mustache. “But I have to follow the path of the investigation. That’s my duty.”
“Duty.” She nodded. “I can understand your dedication to that. My late husband would have been just as dedicated. But don’t expect me to be pleased with your intrusion into our lives.”
“I suspect that Jerry wasn’t pleased with the intrusion into his.” He pursed his lips, then relaxed as he studied her. “A man died, whether you liked him or not, that has to be answered for.”
“Whether I liked him or not, I want to see his killer brought to justice. What I don’t want to see is you focusing on the wrong suspects.”
“Suspect.” He cleared his throat.
“Excuse me?” Joyce met his eyes.
“How often do you make the donuts on this truck, Joyce?” He looked past her, to Brenda, where she scrubbed at the steps.
“What does that matter?” She took a step closer to him as the urge to protect Brenda welled up within her.
“As I mentioned, we have reason to believe that the poison was in the glaze on a pastry. Possibly a donut. Isn’t that what Brenda makes on the truck each day?” He lifted his eyebrows.
“That’s ridiculous. Or have you forgotten that Jerry worked in a bakery? He made donuts as well as other pastries, although I’m guessing he wasn’t the one that made them.” Joyce frowned as she crossed her arms.
“No? Then who did?” He glanced over at Brenda once more, then back to Joyce.
“All I know is that Jerry didn’t do much work. I’ve heard that from his employees. I don’t know if it’s true or not. I didn’t personally know the man very well, nor did I care to.” She turned and started to walk back towards the truck. “You can keep focusing on the wrong people, or you can start learning a bit more about the man you considered to be a friend.”
; “Joyce.” He followed after her for a few steps. “I will find out the truth, no matter what it takes.”
“We’ll see who figures it out first.” She glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment, then continued on to Brenda’s side. “I’m sorry, that impossible man is driving me up the wall!”
“What did he say?” She lifted her eyes to her friend’s, as the sponge in her hand dripped on the truck steps.
“Never mind that, the important thing is that we are going to open up soon and we need to be ready. How is that coming along? Do you want to take a break? I can take over.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve almost got it. Something sticky was under it all, stickier than I would expect an egg to get.” She ran the sponge across the steps a few more times. “I know he told you something. Joyce, just tell me what it was.”
“They’re focusing in on the idea that the poison was disguised in a donut.”
“And we, run a donut truck.” Brenda smiled some, more out of frustration than amusement, and tossed the sponge back into a bucket. “Things keep looking worse, hmm?”
“I wouldn’t say worse. But, well, maybe a little.” She frowned as she wondered if she should admit that the detective was focusing in on her. She knew it would frighten Brenda even more than she already was, and though she didn’t like to keep things from her, she also didn’t want to send her into a panic. “Let’s forget about it for now. We have a truck to open up, right?” She smiled.
“Right.” Brenda nodded and forced a smile in return.
“I’ll go to the store and get the supplies, so we’re covered until our order comes in.”
“Great, thanks Joyce.”
It didn’t take long to get the truck into shape, and soon they opened their side window to indicate that they were open. The sweet smell of delicious donuts surrounded them both. Despite the tension that flooded through her, Brenda began to relax. Whenever she baked, she did. She also hummed. When she first heard the sound come from deep in her throat she wondered if it could really be coming from her. How could she hum at a time like this? But the process of baking had always given her a special sense of calm.
Chapter 10
Two hours passed with only two customers who approached the truck. Both were vendors at the market.
“I think they just wanted a look see.” Joyce sighed as she gazed out through the open window. “One donut a piece? That’s not much of a purchase.”
“I’m sorry, Joyce. I knew this would happen.” Brenda wiped her hands and turned to look through the window as well. The crowd was more sparse than usual. “I think many people have been scared away by Jerry’s death. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Once people have a chance to forget, they’ll be back to shop, and eat.” She did her best to sound convincing. In reality though, her opinion was less confident. Part of her wondered if a new baker might change the fate of ‘Donuts on the Move’. Maybe, if people knew that someone different was baking, they would be less likely to avoid the truck. How could they recover with her on the truck? The thought of never working on the truck again gave her an awful, sinking feeling, but she knew that Joyce had invested a lot in the business, and she didn’t want her to lose everything. The more she thought about it, the more emotional she became. She loved working on the truck, baking as a job, helping support Joyce’s business, and being part of something with Joyce.
“I’m sure you’re right, Brenda. We just need to give it a few days.”
“You’ve always got such a positive outlook, I really appreciate that.” Brenda turned towards her with a small smile. She bit into her bottom lip and took a deep breath. She knew that if Joyce caught wind of her feelings, she would be upset.
“It pays to be positive. It really does. But we need more than positive, we need some progress on this case.”
“Yes, you’re right about that.”
“It’s painfully slow.”
“I have plenty of extra donuts already made so I can serve customers. Why don’t you go see if you can track down Aaron? I know he’s still out making deliveries. He’s usually up to the grocery stores by now, I think.” Brenda set another tray of donuts on the counter to cool.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll see if I can get his schedule from his boss, and if so then maybe he’ll be willing to talk. He’s our only possible witness to the murder, that we know of.” Joyce narrowed her eyes. “And of course he’s also a suspect.”
“I hate to think that, but yes, until we can clear him he’s definitely a suspect.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind me taking off?” Joyce looked into her eyes. “I know today can’t be easy for you.”
“It’s fine, I promise.” She gave her a quick hug. “It’ll give me some time to think about how I’m going to approach Gray. Here, take my keys.” She handed over the keys to her car.
“All right. If anyone gives you any trouble let me know.” Joyce looked into her eyes one more time, then stepped off the truck. It was good to get outside, despite the chill in the air. Being inside of the truck made her think of everything that had and could still go wrong. She felt a bit too confined by it today. As she walked towards the parking lot, she called the company that Aaron worked for. After a few pleas and the promise of free donuts she managed to get his schedule. As usual, Brenda was right, he was at a nearby grocery store delivering a large order of eggs. It only took a few minutes to drive to it. His truck was easy to spot. She parked close to it, and lingered near it as she waited for him to return to it. When she saw him come out of the grocery store pushing an empty metal cart, she stepped out of his line of sight. She didn’t want to tip him off that she was there just yet. Instead she studied the way he walked, and his expressions. He pulled the back doors open, and loaded in the cart. He closed the doors on the back of the truck, then turned to walk towards the driver’s side door.
“Hello Aaron.” She walked up behind him.
He jumped at the sound of her voice, and spun around to face her.
“H-hi.” He brushed his hand back through his hair. “Do I know you?”
“My name is Joyce. You deliver eggs to my truck, ‘Donuts on the Move’.” She smiled. “We haven’t really met properly, but we’ve seen each other, I think.”
“Oh.” He took a step back, then lowered his eyes. “Yes, I know that truck.”
“Yes, that’s right, that truck.” She studied him intently as he gazed hard at the ground. “The one where Jerry died. You were there that morning, weren’t you, Aaron?”
“I really need to get out and make these deliveries.” He started towards the door again.
“I only have a few questions. I’ll only be a minute, I promise.” She stepped in front of him to stop him.
“I don’t have a minute, sorry.” He walked past her and reached for the door.
“Aaron.” She placed a hand on the curve of the back of his shoulder. “If you have something to say, I’m here to listen.”
“What would I have to say?” He peered back over his shoulder at her.
“I can tell that you’re upset, Aaron. Did you see something or hear something that scared you?” She searched his eyes when they finally met hers.
“I don’t know what you mean.” He frowned as he reached for the door again. “I had nothing to do with any of that. Now, I have to go.”
“I’m sorry, that’s not good enough.” She pressed her hand against the door to hold it shut. “You can’t pretend that you weren’t there that morning, Aaron. You had already delivered the eggs. They were broken all over the steps. Did you drop them?”
“So what, I’d delivered the eggs?” He glared at her as his cheeks reddened. “I don’t want any trouble. All right? I just got this job.”
“What does that mean exactly?” She searched his expression. “You saw something but you’re afraid to come forward about it?”
“I didn’t see anything, that’s the thing.” His brows knitted. “If I had seen something that could help I would have told th
e police. But I didn’t.”
“You saw something.” Joyce narrowed her eyes and stepped directly in front of him again. “Tell me, Aaron. If you don’t want me to report it to the detective, I won’t. But my good friend and I are in a lot of trouble over this. We didn’t do anything to harm Jerry. You know we didn’t, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know.” He looked up at her so swiftly that it surprised her. “I know your cars weren’t in the parking lot. I know that Jerry was inside of your truck, and he was alone.”
“How do you know that? What exactly did you see?”
“Look, in order to make all of the deliveries on time, I get to the building an hour early. I don’t clock in, I just load up the truck, make a couple of deliveries and then go back to the building and clock in. I don’t want to lose this job, and I knew if I couldn’t make the runs on time, if they find out that I was using the truck without being clocked-in, I’m going to be fired on the spot.”
“Okay, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. But you need to tell me exactly what you saw. Understand?”
“It’s not enough. It’s not going to matter.” He ran his hand back through his short hair.
“Just tell me, Aaron. Please.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, and the young man gazed at her with the fragility of a lost child. “I know that it probably scared you, that it still scares you, but it’s so very important.”
“I was delivering the eggs on the steps, when I saw some movement inside the truck.” His jaw tensed and he looked away from her.
“It’s okay, Aaron, just tell me.” She gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
“I looked inside, because I thought it was odd, and I saw him through the window. I think he saw me, too. He had this weird look on his face. I was scared. I dropped the eggs and started to run, but when I turned, there was a figure right there beside the steps. I couldn’t see him, it was dark, but he was there. I thought they were teamed up to rob the truck or something. Real heroic, right?” His cheeks were bright pink as he stared down at his feet. “I just took off. When I calmed down, I thought about calling the police, but when I rolled back through the police were already there. I didn’t know he was dead until later. I swear.”
