Doughnuts and Disaster

by C A Phipps

  Maddie heard the hitch in his voice and nodded, picturing the scene. It was all plausible. A person could stay hidden behind that tree and see across the clearing.

  “Then what happened?”

  Brad sighed. “Caleb asked where I was and Magnus said he didn’t know. He tried to reason with him. They argued, and then my brother shot our friend in cold blood. To witness that gives me no hope that he won’t follow through with the same plan for me. One Sheriff, or a bunch of them, won’t make a difference when Caleb has an agenda.”

  Maddie felt the blood drain from her face. “The only plausible way for him to push the blame onto you would be to have you commit suicide after the murder.”

  Brad looked surprised for a moment, then he shrugged. “I’m sure he’s capable of making it look that way if he wanted to.”

  A sadness seemed to fall over him, and he appeared to shrink, giving Maddie her first bout of real pity for a man she had struggled to find any redeeming features in. She’d wished many times that Angel hadn’t married him. No one got to pick their family, and despite her long-term dislike for Brad, when you understood his life, things did make more sense. Perhaps she should have tried harder to befriend him.

  She tapped her leg as an idea began to form. “There was no suicide, fake or otherwise, and now Caleb’s stuck with a weapon that won’t have your prints on it. He can’t possibly pin this on you.”

  Brad looked hopeful for a moment until Angel, who had chewed her bottom lip until it was swollen, her head swiveling between them as though she were at a tennis match, added her take on things.

  “You’re twins. Won’t your prints be interchangeable?”

  “No. Fingerprints are always original,” Maddie answered for him.

  “Even for twins?”

  “I asked Ethan one day that very question when we’d been discussing the similarities of his twin nephews.”

  Angel gave a small smile at the sliver of good news, and Maddie turned back to Brad.

  “Assuming we believe you. What’s your plan?”

  His look was apologetic. “I can’t prove that Caleb killed Magnus, and who will take my word that it wasn’t me? What I can prove is that he had deals all through the county and beyond, and that Caleb had reason to want both of us dead.”

  Maddie sat forward. “What reason?”

  Brad studied his fingers. “When we had our last fight, he threatened me. Saying I could stay and work for him or go and never work again. I assumed he meant I’d get a beating and told him he couldn’t hurt me because I had proof of his dealings. I really don’t think he believed me capable of giving myself an insurance policy until then, and stupidly, I told him that I have photos and copies of documents to prove that he was the brains behind the still and the business. The meeting didn’t end well, but he let me leave. I’m sure he regrets that now.”

  “It may be enough. Where is this proof?” Maddie suspected that she wasn’t going to like the answer.

  “Bernie’s been letting me use his cabin since I got sober as a kind of bolt hole to get away from the still. He and Magnus were already friends from way back. We lost touch because Bernie had an issue with what we did. At the back of his place is a woodbox near the outhouse. Underneath it I hid a tin. Everything needed is in there.”

  “Why there and not your own place?”

  “That’s the first place Caleb would look. I assume it’s been ransacked already, along with the farmhouse.”

  Maddie could see that made sense. “Why would Bernie help you now?”

  “Caleb had him beaten up when he foiled his attempts to get some kids from high school involved in selling his products. Like me he couldn’t prove anything, and when I contacted him about using the cabin on an ongoing basis with nothing dodgy happening we got to talking.”

  “He didn’t blame you for the beating?”

  “He knew I wasn’t party to it. I was over in Portland at the time in a college football playoff . He was one of my biggest supporters, and it was unusual for him not to travel to the game. Apparently, he got a request for a landscaping job that might be lucrative, and the person needed the quote urgently. Since his business was quite small and he hadn’t yet gotten into driving his taxi, he decided he couldn’t afford to turn it down. Sadly, it turned out to be bogus, and an excuse to get him alone so they could beat him. He spent a week in the hospital.”

  Angel gasped. “Caleb did that? It was terrible. Poor Bernie lost a lot of money and several jobs because he couldn’t do that kind of work for so long. I’m sure that’s when he made the decision to drive the taxi.”

  Brad grimaced. “Caleb never did his own dirty work, that I knew of, until recently. He had several heavies that were happy to oblige—for free booze.”

  “So … you were making it when you were in college?” Maddie knew about the drinking, but somehow the still had never been common knowledge, at least not in her circles. Angel looked just as surprised.

  “We took over an old still from my dad. I found it rusting in the back of a shed on the edge of our property when I was sheltering from the sun, having a lunch break from cutting hay. I told Caleb, and the rest is history.”

  “How did you find customers willing to drink, let alone pay for, a teenager’s attempts at making hard liquor?”

  “It started out as a bit of fun, then word got around. Once Caleb recognized the profits he could make if he took it seriously, he was hooked. It was the only thing he ever enjoyed doing, and initially, it worked for all of us. We got decent cars and kept the bank from selling the farm, which by that stage was so run down it was hardly worth anything and land hadn’t reached the prices it has now. I tried to stay out of it and even got a decent job when I was with Angel, but Caleb made sure it didn’t last and that’s when our marriage went down-hill.”

  “I did tell you I wouldn’t put up with his shady deals.” Angel told him.

  “I know. I admit, I was pathetic back then.”

  Angel sighed. “I guess keeping the land was one good thing to come out of it?”

  He snorted. “Caleb didn’t want to keep the land for any noble purposes. It was simply a great place to do what we did well, grow the grain and keep the still operational and hidden, without attracting attention from the law. Unfortunately, both Caleb and I like alcohol way too much to be making it. Guess we inherited that from our father.”

  The last was said in a pained way. Angel, who had been making small sounds of sympathy, leaned across the small coffee table. She was the perennial champion of the underdog and an ex-husband who had treated her bad and was in deep trouble could obviously still fall into this category.

  “How can we help?”

  Brad glanced at Maddie. “Someone needs to go to the cabin, collect the documents, and hand them over to the police.”

  “Someone?” she asked, knowing full well the answer, but daring to hope there was another way.

  “I was hoping you would do it, Maddie. Angel will be far too obvious, and if I go, it’ll be the last thing I do.”

  Maddie frowned at his pleading. “What you’re asking is too much. Plus, if Caleb’s watching Angel, then he will find out you’re here.”

  “I don’t intend to stay. I’ll leave as soon as it’s dark again and this time I’ll stay hidden until I hear from you that you have the papers.”

  Maddie didn’t like the way Brad had thought this through so that he was the only one not in danger. “That’s all very well, but Caleb knows about you hiring Bernie’s cabin. Wouldn’t he have searched it by now? Surely he must have returned after the murder when the coast was clear?”

  Brad nodded, excitedly. “He did, the next day. I was watching from the ridge about to go down myself and get the papers when I saw him making his way to the cabin from another track. Caleb and his goon were inside when Ethan and his deputy turned up, but they got away without being seen. I’m pretty sure he didn’t get time to check anywhere else. Otherwise, he would have left the area, and I’ve se
en his men around town.”

  “That doesn’t mean he won’t try again.”

  “That’s why it has to be sooner rather than later. And don’t forget, he’s told me I need to turn the evidence over to him or he’ll hurt Angel.” Brad said urgently.

  Maddie’s fingers tapped restlessly on her thigh. What he’d told them was plausible. In fact, she could suddenly visualize Caleb’s callous features. So much harder and less attractive than Brad’s—identical or not. Still, she was supposed to go into the woods, to a cottage where a murder had taken place, and find a secret tin with the threat of Caleb coming back at any moment to do the very same to her?

  Her distrust had been slightly worn away. In truth, she felt intrigued by how she could get in and out of the area without alerting Caleb or someone in his employ because these papers needed to get into Ethan’s hands. Bernie’s involvement was another reason to get this sorted before someone else came to an untimely end.

  She sighed heavily. “The papers would help, but do you have anything that proves Caleb was involved in the murder of Charlie Spode, or Magnus Tuft, other than your word?”

  Brad sat back and thought for a few seconds. “I guess not. I never saw the first one happen, but Magnus was there. He said it was the final straw, and I believed him. I think that’s why he refused to back down when Caleb confronted him. Or he just knew it was no use whether he complied with Caleb or not. He’d still wind up dead.”

  “Magnus is dead and can’t testify. And regardless, if he was the one to tell you, then that’s hearsay and doesn’t help our case in court. Were you friendly with the him?”

  “As you know, we all went to high school together. I guarantee Ethan, like yourself and Suzy, only put up with Magnus and me because of Angel. Ethan didn’t like Charlie Spode or my brother, and Caleb stayed away from anyone who wouldn’t approve of his schemes or be involved in them. Anyway, I wouldn’t call Charlie a friend, although we played football together. He was Caleb’s main heavy at the time, as well as being his best customer.” Brad paused. “I guess he was Caleb’s closest friend.”

  “So, he killed his only friend? He didn’t let people get close to him, and although you say he’s a good salesman, people are just commodities to him, and that’s why Magnus was worried about how things were headed. You both figured no one was safe if Caleb could kill Charlie just like that.” Maddie summarized.

  She felt another shimmer of fear clutch at her for Angel’s safety. Her friend was Caleb’s ex-sister-in-law, and if he was trying to rid himself of connections, she was definitely in the line of fire, especially if they found out Brad was hiding here.

  “What did Charlie and then Magnus do to warrant their deaths?”

  “The two things are unrelated. Charlie Spode got drunk and into a fight. He accused Caleb of watering down the whiskey, which of course he was, and customers were complaining. Magnus said they were in a small room at the back of the still where Caleb collected money when Charlie went off about the quality. Caleb took exception to being called out in front of his other cronies. Knives came out and the next thing … Charlie was dead.”

  “And Magnus?”

  “He told Caleb he hadn’t signed on for that sort of thing and wanted out like, I said. Magnus was indispensable at that stage, and Caleb refused to let him leave right away. Instead, he recruited another “friend” to learn the trade from Magnus. Naively we thought that having new blood was the whole plan to allow us both to leave. We should have known that Caleb didn’t take kindly to change unless he was the one making it. Once Caleb decided he could do without him, Magnus was no longer necessary.”

  Angel made a soothing sound at the catch in Brad’s voice.

  “But he still needed you?” Maddie pressed.

  “Not really. We’re twins. It’s hard to explain how that works and it’s probably different for others. For us, it was always a love/hate relationship. Caleb wanted to be in charge. Always. Mostly I went along with it, which worked until the day I saw my life for what it was. Turns out I was no different from any of the other alcoholics who bought our whiskey. The ones I had sneered at behind their backs. The ones who beat their wives and used family money to feed their addiction instead of their children.” He looked shamefacedly at Angel.

  His words resonated with the conversation she’d had with Layla about twins and their behavior. It was good that he admitted his abuse of Angel and that he was sorry for it, but Maddie needed more from him. “So now you want something else for your life?”

  “Something more. Angel was the best thing to happen to me and I never appreciated her.” His pained expression was this time directed at his ex-wife. “If I could take it all back, I would.”

  A lump caught in Maddie’s throat and she coughed. “There is no way I can get involved any further in this without telling Ethan. I know you don’t trust him, but I do, and frankly, he’s your best chance to get through this and stay alive.”

  Fear ran across his face—the color draining then coming back to flood his cheeks.

  “If you tell Ethan, his deputies will be all over the cabin again. There won’t be another opportunity to get the papers because Caleb will make sure no one else gets their hands on it and you know what that means.”

  The implicit threat hung in the air and Maddie couldn’t decide if that was Brad’s intention or not.

  “The cabin and surrounding area will have been gone over by now, several times. If the department found nothing then maybe it’s not there anymore?” she told him.

  Brad thought for a moment. “Magnus was clever. Perhaps he hid it somewhere else?”

  “Or Caleb already has it?”

  Angel said what Maddie was thinking and she shrugged.

  “Angel and I can’t do much to keep you safe apart from hiding you here, which you’ve agreed isn’t a long term plan. If you care about her like you’ve said, then you have to see Ethan really is the only way. He will be circumspect; you can count on it.”

  Brad closed his eyes, rubbing his face once more. Then he sighed heavily and nodded. “I guess there is no other choice. Do you want to talk to him first? You know, pave the way? I imagine he’d rather knock my teeth out than chat with me,” he added, ruefully.

  Maddie’s eyebrows shot up. “Clearly you don’t know him. Ethan is not like that. Although, if you’re not telling the truth I can’t promise he won’t get mad and do something to make sure you know it.” Shamelessly, she threatened him right back, so he didn’t think they were all push-overs. “I’m going to find him right away to get this started. Will you be alright, Angel?”

  She nodded. “You can stay up here while I work, Brad. I’ve got a ton of paperwork that I’ve let slide with all this going on.”

  “But only until it gets dark. By then Ethan will have found somewhere safe.” Maddie added firmly.

  “I guess that’ll work. And you’ll tell the girl not to say anything?” he eyed the door skeptically.

  Angel gave him a withering look. “Beth won’t say a word. I’ve explained as best I could in the time I had to do so. I may have to tell her more, but you don’t have to worry about her.”

  Brad went to the windows standing back from the net curtains and looked up and down the road at the back of the apartment and shops which stood in a block of four. Then, he crossed the room and did the same to the main road outlook.

  “He does that a lot,” Angel told her.

  Maddie tapped her thigh. “It would be best if he didn’t. Someone below might hear him and wonder who is up here.”

  Brad swung around in surprise. “You’re right. I must be overtired. I’ll keep still from now on.”

  “It’s only until we can get you somewhere safer. Try to get some sleep,” Angel added as they left.

  Maddie followed her down to the salon, and with a nod to Beth who was finishing the mayor’s blow dry, Maddie went back to the bakery. She hoped that Angel could remain calm enough to see the rest of her customers.

  Cha
pter Thirteen

  When Maddie walked through the shop doorway, Luke and Laura looked ready to pounce with questions, but thankfully there were customers. Making the appropriate noises of welcome, she made her escape to the kitchen.

  Gran sat at the table peeling apples from her trees. “There you are. All sorted?” she asked innocently.

  “Hopefully it will be soon. Did Laura call you?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  If sweetness had a limit, Gran was dangerously close to it.

  “You could have peeled apples at the cottage.”

  “Yes, I could have, but perhaps I’m needed here?”

  Maddie hesitated. Gran had always been her confidante, along with Big Red, and she would like to hear what she thought about the whole thing, but right now she had something more important to do.

  “I need to call Ethan. I’ll use the phone upstairs, then I’ll be right back down.”

  She was already on the bottom step when Gran’s voice stopped her.

  “I’ll be expecting the whole story, not some watered-down version.” Gran’s no-nonsense statement brooked no argument.

  Maddie forced a smile. “Let’s wait until the shop empties so I can talk to Laura and Luke at the same time.”

  Gran gave an impatient nod. “Hurry then.”

  Maddie took the stairs two at a time followed by Big Red. She grabbed the phone and ran to her bedroom where Big Red joined her on the bed. His head pushed under her elbow, and he gave her a keen look as if he knew she was disturbed and he’d like to fix it.

  Ethan answered on the second ring. “Morning, beautiful. How’s your day.”

  She never disturbed him to chat, so his question held a small degree of wariness.