“So you’d been planning it all along,” I said.
“Not really. I meant to get his hiding place out of him first, but he taunted me one too many times, so I stabbed him with that spear.”
“Why did you use that as your murder weapon?” Grace asked him.
“I was outside waiting for Zane to leave when I saw Tom Hancock come out of the gym carrying it. When he threw it in the trash, I knew that it would make a perfect murder weapon. Better yet, it even had his fingerprints on it! I slipped on my gloves and grabbed it, but as I was hiding, Zane left the reunion and started off toward your donut shop. I couldn’t exactly call out to him to get him to wait up, so I stalked him to the bench where he finally sat down. He laughed at me when I told him if he gave me the evidence he had on me, I’d let him live. I kind of lost my head, and before I realized what was happening, I stabbed him. I didn’t mean to do it that hard, but it went right through him, and then he was dead. I was hoping that he had the evidence against me on him, but all I found was a lot of cash. Evidently somebody decided to pay him off.” He frowned at that, and then Billy said, “Enough talking. Let’s have that envelope. And don’t try to tell me it’s not here, because I saw you with it earlier.”
It was time to act. Instead of walking to the shelf where the envelopes were, I headed toward the heavy donut dropper instead.
Grace must have realized what I was doing, because just as I reached it, she shouted, “Look out!”
Billy stared at her as though she’d lost her mind, and I grabbed the steel dropper. It was heavy in my hands, but I swung it with all my might.
I wanted to break his arm with it.
Billy turned in time to stop me from doing that, but the knife did go flying out of his hand when I made contact.
I started to swing at him again, but I couldn’t manage it before he attacked me.
Billy had me pinned against the wall, and I could see the rage filling his eyes. Using his forearm, he pressed it harder and harder against my throat, and I felt my head begin to spin.
The dropper fell from my hand as I fought with everything I had to keep him from choking the life out of me.
And then I heard the sound of an impact, and just as suddenly as the killing pressure had started, his hands fell away from me and he dropped silently to the floor.
I tried to catch my breath as I looked over at Grace, who still held the donut dropper in her hand. There were bits of blood and hair on one edge of it, and I wondered if Billy Briscoe was dead.
“You’re right, Suzanne,” she said. “That thing weighs a ton.”
“Thanks for saving me,” I said in a choked whisper.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. If you hadn’t attacked him, we both would have been dead,” Grace said as she pulled out her cellphone.
“Is he dead?” I asked as I nudged Billy with my foot.
Grace knelt down for a moment, and then she stood up as she said, “He’s still breathing.”
“Call the chief,” I said as I stumbled to one of the stools in the kitchen.
“In a second,” Grace said as she pushed the knife well out of his reach. Then she handed the dropper to me and added, “Just in case he gets up.”
“I don’t think he’ll be getting up for quite awhile,” I said.
Still, I was relieved when we heard the first police siren, and I had recovered enough from the attack to let the chief in when he came to the door.
“Tom didn’t kill Zane,” he said after I opened the door.
“No, but he’s a bad guy, too. We’ve got evidence on him and Billy both in the kitchen.”
“Is Billy still out cold?” he asked.
“No, he’s awake, but he keeps complaining about having a splitting headache,” I said with a grin. “Grace clocked him pretty good.”
“I’m just glad that you two are all right,” the chief said as more officers came in.
“I’m going to be hoarse for a little bit, but all in all, we’re both just dandy,” I said.
My cellphone rang at that moment, and I saw that it was Jake.
“How did you know?” I asked before I even thought about it.
“How did I know what?” he asked. “I just wanted to tell you that we caught our killer.”
“That’s brilliant,” I said.
“Suzanne, what’s wrong with your voice?”
I knew there was no way I’d be able to lie to him about what had happened. After I brought him up to speed, I finished by saying, “There’s no need to hurry back. Everything’s fine here. How did you catch your killer, anyway?”
“It disgusts me to admit it, but it was pure dumb luck. The man was driving without his seatbelt, and a cop pulled him over when he spotted it. He had a bloody knife poking out from under his seat, and we were able to identify it as the murder weapon.”
“Hey, as long as he’s in jail, right?”
“I guess so, but I still would have liked to have caught him myself,” Jake said. “Anyway, there’s nothing left for me to do here. I’m heading your way, so expect me in four hours.”
“But you’re six hours away from April Springs,” I said.
“Sure I am, if I don’t have lights and a siren at my disposal,” Jake replied. “I’m glad that you two are okay.”
“So am I,” I said. “Drive safely.”
“Suzanne, I can be quick or I can be safe, but I can’t be both,” he said, a little of the good humor coming back into his voice.
“I can wait a little bit longer, then. I choose safe.”
“Spoilsport,” he said with a laugh, and then he hung up.
After Billy was in custody, Grace and I stayed behind at the donut shop for a minute. We’d have to go to Chief Martin’s office to make our statements, but he was letting us come in my Jeep. The police chief had already gathered up the knife and the blackmail evidence, so the donut shop looked to be in perfect order again.
As we walked outside and I locked the place up, Grace said, “Well, I’ve made up my mind.”
“About what?” I asked.
“I’m going to make full restitution for what I stole,” she said.
“Grace, it was a long time ago. Besides, there’s nobody left in the Dunbar family to give the money to, unless you’re thinking about giving it to Janet.”
“That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” she said.
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I’m donating five thousand dollars to the April Springs High School scholarship fund in the name of the Dunbars,” she said.
“But what you stole wasn’t nearly that valuable,” I said. I knew that kind of money would be a real stretch for her to give up, despite her nice annual salary.
“It’s what it’s going to take to make me feel better,” Grace said. “Do you think the Dunbars would have approved?”
“I think it’s a smashing idea,” I said. “I’d match it if I could, but unfortunately, that would wipe out my entire nest egg.”
“That’s okay. It’s the thought that counts,” Grace said with tears in her eyes.
“I might not be able to manage as much as you can, but I can at least add fifty bucks to the pot,” I said, though even that would be a stretch at the moment.
“You don’t have to do that,” Grace said. “After all, it was my crime.”
“I understand that, but it’s my way to show my support. What do you say?”
“Thank you, Suzanne. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Let’s hope that you never have to find out,” I said as I hugged her before we got into my Jeep.
As we drove to the chief’s office, I thought about what secrets could do, and how they could fester over the years until they took hold of us. No good had come from Zane Dunbar’s attempts to cash in on people’s past mistakes, and he’d even died for trying.
In the end, Candy had lost her spa and her financial backer, Tom and Billy were both going to jail, and Zane was dead.<
br />
It made me happy that I was a simple donutmaker, and that all of my past sins were known to the world. I hadn’t been an angel, but at least I’d managed to put my past behind me and move forward.
And the life I had now was better than any I ever could have imagined in high school.
I wouldn’t have gone back and lived it all over again for all of the money in the world.
RECIPES
The Best Chocolate Cake Donut Recipe I’ve Ever Made!
I’ve been making donuts for many years, but I can say without a doubt that for me, this is the best chocolate cake donut recipe I’ve ever come up with. These donuts are dense, rich, and downright decadent! They are as tasty as they are pretty, and that’s saying something. An added bonus is the way your kitchen smells as these are baking, almost enough to satisfy your sweet tooth by itself! We’ve topped these donuts with chocolate glazes and icings in the past, but our favorite way to eat them now is to dust powdered confectioners’ sugar on top of them. Like snowy peaks on dark mountains, they are quite lovely to look at all on their own. Add the richness of the donut itself and they are ambrosia. We’ve added semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter on occasion in the past as well, and you can’t go wrong trying it yourself, but in the end, this simple yet elegant recipe needs no other additions or improvements.
INGREDIENTS
Dry
1 cup flour, unbleached all purpose
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet
3/4 cup half and half (whole milk, 2 percent, or even 1 percent can be substituted)
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup brown sugar (dark for more flavor, light for less)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean seeds, scraped
Topping
powdered confectioners’ sugar, as needed for dusting the finished donuts
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together until blended. In another bowl, mix the half and half, egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and vanilla beans together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until they are incorporated together.
Bake in a 375 degree F oven or in your donut maker for 5-8 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and dust immediately with powdered confectioners’ sugar.
Yields 10–12 donuts.
Baked Lemon Magic Donuts
Sometimes nothing will satisfy my sweet tooth like lemon flavoring, and when I’m in one of those moods, I turn to these donuts to feed my craving. These donuts look lovely when they are finished, and they present a delicately light touch when a heavier donut just won’t do. They are particularly good with the lemon glaze recipe added on the next page. Don’t be afraid to try these, but make sure you’re a fan of lemon flavor first. They aren’t for the unsure or the undecided.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup readymade pancake mix (we use Bisquick, but any mix will do)
1/2 cup half and half (whole milk, 2 percent, or even 1 percent can be substituted)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (lemon extract could be substituted)
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
INSTRUCTIONS
In a bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients together, reserving the pancake mix for last. Once the wet ingredients are incorporated, add the mix and blend until combined, being careful not to over-mix, as this could cause denser donuts.
Bake in a 375 degree F oven or in your donut maker for 5-8 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and dust immediately with powdered confectioners’ sugar or the glaze from the next page.
Yields 10-12 donuts.
Lemon Glaze For Any Donut
(but particularly good for the Baked Lemon Magic Donut recipe above)
As promised, here’s the super simple lemon glaze for donuts. It couldn’t be easier.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup powdered confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon milk (2 % or 1 %)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Drizzle this mixture on top of any donut and enjoy!
Vanilla Goodness Donuts
I have a confession to make. Vanilla is one of my favorite flavors in the world, especially when real vanilla beans are added into the mix. There’s something about the richness of the tang of vanilla that makes my taste buds zing. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m a huge fan of chocolate as well. There are just times when vanilla is what I’m looking for, a lighter taste to complement the heavier flavors I encounter most days in my baking. I should admit from the start that these donuts aren’t the prettiest ones you’ll ever make. They are dense, thick-bodied, and have a homemade look to them, but the vanilla flavoring is worth forgiving them their rather dowdy appearances, at least in my opinion.
INGREDIENTS
Dry
1 cup flour, unbleached all purpose
1 teaspoon, baking powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh is best, but store-bought is good, too)
1 dash salt
Wet
1/2 cup half and half (whole milk, 2 percent, or even 1 percent can be substituted)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
INSTRUCTIONS
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt until incorporated. In another bowl, mix the half and half, sugar, butter, honey, egg, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds together. Mix and blend the dry ingredients into the wet until they are combined, being careful not to over-mix, as this could cause denser donuts.
Bake in a 375 degree F oven or in your donut maker for 6-8 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and dust immediately with powdered confectioners’ sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder.
Yields 10-12 donuts.
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Sweet Suspects (The Donut Mysteries) Page 20
