Sweet Suspects (The Donut Mysteries)

by Beck, Jessica

  “Do you think I could have killed Zane?” Grace asked him in bewilderment.

  “I’m not going to comment on that until I’ve gathered quite a bit more information than I have right now.”

  “She’s been fully cooperative, though, and she even gave you more names of people to look at,” I said. “Surely that ought to count for something.”

  “Of course it does,” Chief Martin said. “I just told you that I’ll keep this between us for now. What more can you ask than that?”

  “You could say that you don’t think Grace killed Zane Dunbar,” I said.

  Before he could answer, it was Grace’s turn to squeeze my hand. “Suzanne, we both know that he can’t say that, at least not yet. He’s promised to keep my secret for now. That’s more than I was hoping for.”

  “Thanks for understanding,” the chief said.

  “You don’t have any other choice,” Grace said.

  “It’s probably crazy of me to even ask this, but you two are going to investigate this murder yourselves, aren’t you?” Chief Martin asked.

  “Do we have any real choice?” I asked.

  “I know that you don’t think that you do,” he said. “You both need to be careful, though, and keep me informed about what you find. Is that a deal?”

  “It is,” I said, and Grace agreed.

  “Then go on and let me get back to work,” the chief said with the hint of a smile. He paused before he got into his car and looked at Grace. “Don’t worry. If that’s the worst of it, you’re going to be fine.”

  “Thanks again,” she said.

  After he was gone, Grace added, “You want to know something? He’s not so bad after all, is he?”

  “I told you that he’s mellowed quite a bit lately.”

  “That’s not going to keep us from digging into Zane’s death ourselves though, is it?” she asked me.

  “Grace, you heard what I told him. We don’t really have any choice. As a matter of fact, if you’re game, I might have Emma run the shop by herself today so we can start interviewing some of our suspects right away.”

  “Are you sure she won’t mind?” Grace asked.

  “As long as I don’t make a habit of it, she’ll be fine,” I said.

  “That would be great,” she said.

  “Wait right here then. I’ll be right back.”

  I walked back into the donut shop, and Emma said, “That was quick. Are you two finished already?”

  “I’m sorry to tell you this, but we’re going to need more time. Do you mind holding down the fort a little longer?”

  “How long are we talking about?” she asked me.

  “The rest of the day, actually.”

  Emma frowned, and then she asked, “Could I call my mom to come in and help?”

  “She wouldn’t mind?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding? She’d love it.”

  “Then go ahead and give her a call,” I said. “Thanks for doing this, Emma.”

  “Happy to help. Good luck,” she said as I started for the door.

  “With what?” I asked her. I hadn’t told her that Grace and I would be investigating the murder, but then again, it probably wasn’t that big a leap for her to figure it out on her own.

  “You know,” she answered with a grin.

  “I do, and thanks,” I said.

  Grace was waiting patiently for me outside. “Are you ready?” she asked me.

  “Well, it’s just past six AM, so I’m not sure how many of our suspects are even awake yet, but I’m ready if you are.”

  “Maybe we’ll be able to catch them off guard this early in the day,” she said.

  “If we’re lucky,” I answered. “The reunion booked rooms at the Bentley Hotel in Union Square, so that’s probably the best place to start.”

  “Let’s go, then,” she said, and we got into my Jeep and headed for the town next to ours. “Suzanne, as of right now, I’m on vacation until further notice.”

  “You don’t even have to ask anyone?” I asked her.

  “I’ve got some latitude taking time off,” she said.

  “That must be nice.”

  “Why do you say that? You can take off whenever you want,” Grace said.

  “Maybe in theory, but we both know how many times I’ve taken advantage of that.”

  “Not nearly enough,” Grace agreed.

  Chapter 4

  It was a little after seven when we got to the Bentley Hotel. It was nice, never part of a chain, and it had an older elegance about it that I liked. I’d never stayed there since I lived just one town away, but I’d eaten there with Momma a few times over the years, always on special occasions. As a matter of fact, I’d taken her there this past Mother’s Day, and we’d had quite a nice time enjoying their Sunday-afternoon fete.

  “Suzanne, it’s so early, do you think anyone will even be awake, given that the reunion just happened last night? And even if they are, how are we going to know if they’re up yet?”

  “That part’s easy enough,” I said as I headed left toward the restaurant entrance instead of right to the front desk. “We’ll see who’s eating breakfast and go from there.”

  “I never even thought of that,” Grace said. “That’s probably why you’re the lead detective.”

  “Funny, but I like to think that we’re co-conspirators,” I said.

  “Ooh, I like your word for us better,” she said. As we approached the maître d’s stand, Grace asked me, “Is that Janet and Billy Briscoe eating? What are they doing sitting together?”

  “Didn’t you know?” I asked. “They were hot and heavy at the end of school right before we all graduated. I wonder why they split up?”

  “Maybe she got some taste?” Grace asked.

  “Then how do you explain how she ended up with Zane?” I asked softly.

  “So much for not speaking ill of the dead,” Grace said.

  “I’ve never been much of a believer in that custom,” I said. “We both know what kind of man he was, and the fact that he’s dead now doesn’t really change that one bit, does it?”

  “Maybe not, but I’d probably pick a different way to approach the subject with his widow.”

  “You know that I will,” I said.

  “Just checking,” Grace said. “Are you ready to talk to them?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said as Grace and I walked over there together. No one had come to the hostess’s station while we’d been standing there, so it must be self-seating this early in the morning.

  “May we join you?” I asked as Grace and I got to their table.

  They clearly hadn’t seen us coming. Billy looked startled to suddenly find us standing there, and Janet looked absolutely mortified.

  “We’re not together,” Janet said quickly as she pushed her plate away from Billy’s. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she looked as though she hadn’t slept all night. “He just came over to offer me his condolences, but he has to go now.” With that, she turned to him and added, “You do have to go, don’t you? Thanks again for stopping by.”

  “Happy to do it,” Billy said as he stood. He looked awkwardly around for a second, and then he said, “If you all will excuse me, I have a few telephone calls to make.”

  I wasn’t about to let him go that easily. “Billy, what’s your room number? After Grace and I speak with Janet, we’d like to have a chat with you.”

  “I can’t imagine why you’d want to do that,” he said.

  “Trust me, you’ll want to talk to us,” Grace said in a way that made it sound as though it would be in his best interest to cooperate. I didn’t know how she did it, but my best friend was really good with tone and inflection, and she had a way of sounding as though she always knew exactly what she was doing. It was something that I admired greatly.

  Reluctantly, he admitted, “I’m in 207,” and then he left us.

  “May we sit with you a moment?” I asked Janet.

  “I’m rea
lly not in the mood for company,” she said as she managed to look uncomfortable by our very presence.

  “We understand completely, but don’t worry. We won’t stay long,” Grace said as she took Billy’s old seat. I wasn’t one to ordinarily press people so hard, but this was important, so I took the closest seat on Janet’s other side.

  “First of all, we’re both so sorry for your loss,” I said.

  “Yes, we were deeply troubled by it,” Grace added, making Janet whipsaw her head from one of us to the other.

  After a moment, she gave up on doing that altogether and focused directly on me. “I understand that you’re the one who found…him.”

  “I did,” I said.

  “It must have been terrible for you,” Janet said with real sympathy in her voice.

  “It was pretty bad,” I agreed. “When did you see your husband last?” I asked.

  “When we danced at the reunion, of all things,” she said. “Zane wasn’t a very big fan of dancing, but I’d made him promise to share at least one dance with me, and he made good on his word. At least I got the chance to be held in his arms one last time.” She looked as though she wanted to cry again, and given what she’d been through recently, I couldn’t really blame her.

  “Do you happen to remember exactly what time your last dance was?” Grace asked.

  Janet glanced over at Grace briefly before she said, “You’d have to ask the DJ. It was the last song they played last night.”

  “So then, you two didn’t leave together?” I asked her.

  “Zane sent me back here to the hotel,” she said. “He told me that he’d catch a ride with someone else, that he had some unfinished business to take care of, and that I shouldn’t worry about how late he came in. He said it all so matter-of-factly that I didn’t even question it. Zane was like that, strong and forceful when he needed to be.”

  “Do you have any idea who he might have been talking about?” I asked her.

  “There were several folks at the reunion last night who had issues with my husband. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

  “How about with Billy Briscoe?” Grace asked, and that got her another full stare.

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Well, I saw Billy and Zane arguing last night. It’s kind of odd to find him sitting at your table this morning, don’t you think?”

  “Billy was drunk, and he picked a fight with Zane, along with half a dozen other people at the reunion. He apologized to me, and I told him that all was forgiven. They weren’t the best of friends before Zane and I got together, and it didn’t help matters when we got married.”

  “Was Billy still in love with you after all these years?” I asked her.

  Janet blushed slightly, and then she tried to hide it with her napkin. “That was a long time ago.”

  “Maybe the reunion brought old feelings back to the surface again,” Grace said. “It must have been hard for him to see you and Zane together.”

  “That’s nonsense,” Janet said.

  “Maybe, maybe not, but someone killed your husband,” I said, “and we aim to find out who did it.”

  Janet was shocked by the suggestion that Grace and I would investigate a murder. “You two? Suzanne, you run a donut shop, and Grace, the last I heard you worked for a cosmetics company. What makes either one of you think that you’re qualified to solve a murder?”

  “Past experience,” I said. “You should know that Grace and I have cracked more than our share of homicide cases over the years.”

  “Well, I don’t want you digging into Zane’s death, do you understand me?” she asked huffily.

  Grace asked, “Gosh, Janet, we thought that you’d want to see your husband’s killer found.”

  “Of course I do, but by the police, not by a couple of amateurs.”

  “Be that as it may, we’re going to investigate anyway,” I said firmly.

  “We’ll see about that. I’ll have a word with the police chief.”

  “Have as many as you want,” Grace said. “But I should warn you, it’s not going to help.”

  She didn’t know quite what to make of that, so Janet stood and threw her napkin down on the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I have funeral arrangements to make.”

  “Are you leaving the county soon, Janet?” I asked her as we stood as well.

  “No, Zane always wanted to be buried here beside his parents. I’ll be in the area for the next few days arranging things, and then I’m never coming back to April Springs.”

  “I’m sure that we’ll have the opportunity to speak again in the meantime,” Grace said.

  Janet didn’t even answer; she just left us in a snit. Was her anger just an excuse to get away from us, or was it a way to deal with what had happened to her husband? I knew from experience that folks acted differently when they lost someone they loved, and some of them lashed out at the nearest punching bag. Then again, she’d been pretty adamant about Grace and me butting out. Maybe she had something to hide herself, or perhaps she didn’t want us uncovering someone close to her as the killer. None of it was going to change anything, though. Grace and I would keep digging until we found the truth, and a few complaints to the police chief weren’t about to change that.

  The waitress came by with the bill and looked puzzled when she saw that Janet and Billy were gone. “I cannot believe that they left without paying,” she said.

  “Charge it to Room 207. Billy Briscoe,” Grace said confidently.

  The waitress frowned for a moment. “Actually, we’re supposed to get a signature on the check as well in case there is a dispute later.”

  “I’ll take care of that,” Grace said as she took the slip of paper and scrawled out a name before handing it back to the server. “How’s that?”

  The waitress stared at it for a few seconds, and then she said, “I have no idea what that says.”

  “Then neither will your boss,” Grace said with a smile.

  “Okay, I suppose that’s good enough for me. May I get you two anything?”

  It was tempting, but Grace and I had work to do. Our growling stomachs would just have to wait. “Thanks, but we’re good.”

  As she left, Grace asked, “Suzanne, why did you do that? We could have had a free breakfast on Billy Briscoe.”

  “Don’t you think that he might have noticed? I doubt that he’ll balk at paying for Janet, but four breakfasts on his bill might be a little too much for him to take, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose,” Grace said. “Are we off to tackle Billy now?”

  “We are, unless there’s someone else you’d like to speak with first.”

  “No, I think Billy Briscoe belongs high on our list, given what we just saw this morning.”

  “You know,” I said as we made our way out of the restaurant to the hotel proper, “it might all turn out to be perfectly innocent.”

  “It might be, but what good does it do us to assume that?” she asked.

  “No good at all. How should we approach Billy?”

  “Well, we could start with the way he spoke with you last night at the reunion,” Grace answered.

  “Come on, he wasn’t that bad,” I said.

  “Maybe not, but what are the chances that he’ll remember that?”

  “Not very good,” I said with a smile. “Okay, I’m willing to play along to see what else we might find out.”

  “Then let’s go,” Grace said.

  We didn’t make it to Billy’s room though, at least not without interruption. At the front desk, we ran into someone else who had to be on our list, even if Grace might not be too keen about it.

  And from the bag at his feet and the bill in his hand, it appeared that Tom Hancock was leaving town.

  “Going somewhere?” I asked Tom as we detoured over to the desk.

  “The reunion’s over,” he told me, and then he turned to Grace. “I’m sorry about the way things ended last night.”

>   “So am I,” Grace said. “Do you really have to go right now?”

  “There’s nothing keeping me here, is there?” he asked, looking hopefully into her eyes.