by Jessica Beck
“No, that’s it,” Emma said, and then, almost as an afterthought, she added, “Oh, I’ve been dating someone new for the past few weeks, but it’s too soon to say if he’s going to be a keeper or not.”
“Give it time,” I said as I got down my recipe book. “I know that it seems like forever at your age, but there’s no rush.”
“That’s exactly what my mother keeps saying, but I still think this one’s here to stay.”
“Good for you,” I said as I leafed through the copied pages of my book full of recipes. I was a little rusty, but there was no real surprise there. Before my break, I could have done most things blindfolded, but in the interim, I’d lost the knack. No worries; I was sure that I’d be able to get it back soon enough. At the moment, it just felt right being back where I belonged, in the Donut Hearts kitchen well before dawn making treats for all of April Springs to enjoy. Jake had been right.
It was good to be back.
If he felt a tenth as good as I did being back at my old job, he had to be relishing the opportunity to go after a killer again. Truthfully, I’d missed that myself on occasion, though my crime-fighting was strictly on a local level next to his statewide beat. There were months when nothing more exciting than donut sales came into my life, and I was usually pretty grateful for those times, but then again, I didn’t shy away from investigating murder when it came into my life.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to live, if you discounted the killers that popped up every now and then.
Chapter 11
“Hey, what are you doing here so bright and early this morning?” I asked our mayor, George Morris, as I unlocked the door to Donut Hearts when we were first open for business.
“I’m here to celebrate your first day back,” he said as he gave me a small bouquet of flowers.
“Thanks,” I said as I took them from him. “And tell Polly I said thanks, too.”
“What makes you think she had anything to do with this?” George asked me.
“I know you too well, George,” I said as I kissed his cheek. Polly was more than the mayor’s secretary and assistant. She was also his girlfriend. “If Polly didn’t prod your memory that I was coming back, I’ll give you six dozen donuts, on the house.”
George shrugged. “I couldn’t eat that many donuts, anyway. How does it feel being back behind the counter again?”
“Kind of odd so far,” I said.
“It must be even stranger having Jake work a case in April Springs,” he answered.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you know about that already.”
“As mayor, I’m in the loop about anything happening with our police department,” he said, “but I didn’t need to wait for official notification to find out what was going on. Jake called me as soon as he talked to his boss yesterday.”
“And you’re good with the arrangement?” I asked him. Usually folks in charge didn’t like having any outside interference when it came to running our town.
“Jake and I are on the same side. If he hadn’t done it, I was going to volunteer myself. It just wouldn’t look right having Phillip investigating the case himself.”
“Funny, I figured you had enough on your hands running April Springs without taking over a criminal investigation, even if you did used to be a cop on the force.”
George sighed before he spoke. “To be honest with you, Polly pretty much runs things around here. She just needs me to sign my name now and then, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she could sign it better than I can by now.”
“You’re being overly modest,” I said. I knew for a fact that George had his hand in on a dozen decisions every week that impacted all of us who lived in April Springs.
“Not as much as you might think.” He stared at the full donut cases, and then said, “I might not have remembered that you were going to be here today on my own, but I did stop and buy the flowers along the way. That’s got to at least count for something.”
“How about two plain cake donuts and a cup of coffee, my treat?” I offered. That was his regular order anyway, so I wasn’t exactly going out on a limb suggesting it.
He nodded. “That’s all I’m talking about. They can’t be on the house, though.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want it to look as though I’m accepting any bribes,” George said.
I had to laugh at that. “George, we’ve been friends forever. If you could do something for me, I wouldn’t insult your dignity by bribing you.”
“Thank you for that,” he said.
As I slid the donuts across to him, I said with a smile, “I wouldn’t have to bribe you, would I? I’d just come right out and ask you.”
“There you go,” he replied with a grin of his own as he paid for his breakfast. “So, what’s new with the investigation?”
I turned around as though I were looking for someone else. “Are you talking to me?”
“Of course I am.”
“I’m not the one investigating Evelyn’s murder,” I said levelly.
“Maybe not officially, but I hear that you and Grace have already been knocking on doors asking some tough questions around town.”
“Wow, news travels fast around here, doesn’t it?” I asked him.
“You know it better than I do. How’s Jake feel about you digging into his investigation?”
“He’s absolutely thrilled about it,” I said with a wry smile.
George took a sip of coffee, and then he said, “Yeah, right. Is he very upset about it? I can talk to him, if you think it might help.”
“Thanks for the offer, but we had a long discussion about it last night. We’re good.”
“For now,” George said. “Tread carefully, Suzanne. There’s more than a man’s pride at stake here.”
“Nobody knows that better than I do,” I said. “How are your donuts?”
“They are delicious. It’s good to see that you didn’t lose your touch during your sabbatical.”
“Don’t give me too much credit. That’s one of the most basic donuts I make here.”
“You know what I always say. You can’t beat a classic,” the mayor said with a smile as he finished up his second donut.
“Would you like another one for the road?” I asked George as I got him a paper cup for his coffee to go.
“I’d better not,” he said.
“Come on. Live dangerously. I won’t tell Polly if you won’t,” I said.
He just shook his head. “Truth be told, I probably should have stopped at one. Trust me, she’ll know the second I walk into the office later. I don’t know how she does it, but she knows.”
“It’s no great secret, George. She gets you, front to back.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said as he stood. “Welcome back.”
“Glad to be here,” I said.
Ninety seconds later, I got my second surprise that morning when Jake walked in.
“I didn’t realize you were going to be up this early,” I said.
“You know how I get when I’m working on a case,” he said, and then he gestured to the flowers. “Are those from an admirer?”
“This is embarrassing,” I said with a shrug. “Evidently I just can’t help that I’m so irresistible. We had so many arrangements in back that we can’t even move around in the kitchen. This has become our overflow area.”
He laughed as he glanced at the card. “I’m guessing that Polly had a hand in this.”
“I didn’t realize you were that in sync with the folks around here,” I said as I got him one glazed donut and a cup of coffee to go.
“That’s why I got this assignment in the first place, remember? So, what are your plans today?”
“I’m going to sell donuts for most of the rest of the morning, and then I’m going to clean up, make the bank deposit, and then maybe take a quick nap.”
He raised one eyebrow. “So, you aren’t going to do any investigating?”
“Oh, that, too. I forgot. Grace and I are headed out later to chat with a few of our suspects.”
He laughed, which was the exact reaction that I’d been hoping for. “Just stay out of trouble,” he said as he shook the bagged donut at me. I thought for a second that he hadn’t paid, which would have been fine with me, but then I looked down at the counter and saw a five there. That was the best tip that I’d gotten in some time, but it wasn’t going to stand. I made change in the register, put a suitable amount in our tip jar, and then I tucked the rest into my front pocket. I’d return it that evening, along with a lecture about how he should learn not to overtip, especially at Donut Hearts.
It was nearing eleven, our standard closing time, and I couldn’t wait to lock the doors after I shooed everyone out of the building. Running the place had been tougher than I’d remembered, and I was thrilled about the idea that I wasn’t that far from a nap in my near future.
At least I thought so, until I heard a strange woman asking me if I was Suzanne Hart.
“I’m Suzanne,” I said. “How may I help you?”
“You don’t know me, but I’m Evelyn Martin’s cousin, Julie Gray.”
She was a mousy little blonde in her late twenties, with sharp eyes and a pinched nose. Her clothes were second-rate, but she had a brand-new manicure, and I could swear the ring on her finger had belonged to Evelyn not that long ago. She didn’t need that for identification, though. I could see the resemblance between the two women immediately. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you, even under such trying circumstances. I’m so sorry for your loss.” It was as automatic as wishing someone a nice day, or saying ‘Bless you’ when they sneezed.
“Thanks. Suzanne, I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor.”
“I’d be glad to do what I can,” I said as I rubbed my hands on my apron. “But I’m afraid that I don’t have much pull around here, though. You might be better off asking someone else for help.”
“From what I’ve heard, you’re exactly the right person I need to speak with. It’s about your boyfriend.”
“What about him?” I asked her guardedly.
“It’s just that he won’t tell me anything about what happened to Evelyn, no matter how much I ask him for specific details. I was hoping that you could put in a good word for me.”
Her hopes were in vain. “I’m sorry, but I don’t interfere with police business.”
Julie bit her lower lip for a moment, and then she said, “That’s not what I heard from Evelyn.”
I should have closed early when I had the chance. This was my reward for being so dedicated on my first day off. “I’m not sure what your cousin might have told you, but the woman wasn’t my biggest fan, not by a long shot, so you should take anything you heard with a grain of salt.”
Julie waved a hand in the air. “You don’t have to explain my cousin to me. I know better than anyone how capricious Evelyn’s affections could be. She’s given up on me a dozen times in my life, but she always came back. Like they say, you can pick your friends, but you’re stuck with your family for your entire life.”
“I happen to love my family,” I said, probably acting a little stiffer than I should have. This woman not only looked a little like her cousin, but she had Evelyn’s bite as well. Maybe it was a mean gene that passed around the family from generation to generation. If that were so, I was glad that my family tree was planted in a different orchard.
“I’m sure you do, but I’m equally as certain that Evelyn wasn’t quite so loveable. Be that as it may, I still want to find out what happened to her.”
“And Jake wouldn’t tell you anything?” I asked. Surely he had a reason if he were behaving that way toward her. Was she more of a suspect in the murder than I’d realized?
Julie waved a hand in the air. “Oh, he told me about his theory that she had been pushed, and that finding her the way he did made him suspicious that something darker was the cause of it.”
I looked at her oddly. “That’s all anyone knows at this point. What makes you think that he’s holding something else out on you?”
“He wouldn’t name a single suspect, for one thing,” she said.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you there, either.”
Julie shrugged slightly, and then she smiled for a moment. “I understand. You might not know anything now, but who knows what the future might hold?” She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. After scribbling something on it, she handed it to me. “That’s got my personal cellphone number on it. I’d be most appreciative if you’d call me the second you learn anything.”
I wanted to refuse the card, but the easiest thing for me to do was to just take it from her and then, after she was gone, toss it into the drawer where I kept other pieces of useless information. When I reached for it, she wouldn’t let it go, though. Before Julie would release the card, she said in a soft voice, “My cousin has left me a great deal of money, and I promise to reward those who have helped me, if you get my meaning.”
“If I can’t do it, a bribe is not going to change anything. That kind of motivation is honestly sort of lost on me,” I said.
“Don’t think of it as a bribe. Consider it motivation and an incentive to help me.”
“Call it what you will, but it’s not going to change anything.”
She looked puzzled by reaction. “But you’ll keep the card, right?”
“Sure,” I said, “but I make no promises whatsoever. Is that understood?” I realized that there might be a way to leverage her request for information in my favor later on if she continued to be a suspect in her cousin’s murder. The most prudent thing to do was go along with her until I had a chance to gather more information about her true relationship with the murder victim. I knew from experience that a great many people claimed warm and loving joy toward some folks after they were gone, but wishing didn’t make it true, and the facts were many times quite a bit uglier than anyone let on.
“I get it completely,” Julie said, and then she looked around the donut shop as though she just realized what kind of storefront she was currently in. “My, how quaint your place is.”
“Thanks. I like it,” I said.
“So do I,” Emma echoed from the kitchen doorway. How long had she been standing there? “Are we ready to close now, boss?”
I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was three minutes after eleven. I now had the perfect excuse to get myself out of this situation. “I hate to be this way, but we’re closed, so unless you feel like pitching in and mopping the floor for us, it’s time to go.”
I knew my audience. Julie Gray wouldn’t voluntarily mop up a floor under any circumstances, even if she thought it might mean securing my help.
“I’d love to, I truly would, but I’ve got pressing matters dealing with Evelyn’s estate. So sorry that I couldn’t help.”
“I understand completely,” I said with my cheesiest smile that meant nothing to anyone who truly knew me. “Good-bye.”
“Until we meet again,” she said as I opened the door for her, and then I made sure that I locked it once she was standing out on the sidewalk.
Emma asked me, “What was that about? Did you really expect that girl to mop the floor? With those fingernails?”
“It seemed like the easiest way to get rid of her,” I admitted. “How are things in back?”
“Ready for inspection, ma’am,” she said as she clicked her heels together.
“Since when did we start having inspections around here? If you say that it’s clean, I believe you.” I gestured to the display cases. “If you’ll just box the last of the donuts, you can go ahead and take off.”
“I don’t mind hanging around if you need me,” she said.
“I think you’ve done more than your share lately,” I said, and then I felt a twinge of guilt about how small her check had been, given how hard she and her mother had worked. “I really do wish that I’d been able to pay you and your mother more fo
r all of the hard work you did.”
“Don’t sweat it, Suzanne. Mom is in heaven planning her next trip, all thanks to you,” she said.
“And what about you?”
“It’s going where everything else I make goes, straight into my college fund. I’ve been thinking about something I wanted to run past you.”
Was she heading back to school sooner rather than later? I’d lost her once, albeit temporarily, and I hated the thought of losing her again. “You’re going back in the fall, aren’t you?”
“What? No way. But it does kind of relate to that, when and if I do go.”
“Go on. I’m listening.”
“I kind of enjoyed my time running Donut Hearts when you were gone, not that I didn’t miss you, you understand. It was just really cool being my own boss.”
“That’s one word that I’d use,” I said with a smile. “I have a few others, if you’d like to hear them.”
“Believe me, I know the pluses and minuses of running your own business. But I still might want to try something myself later on down the line.”
“You want to open a donut shop of your own?” I asked her incredulously.
“Are you kidding? I’m not insane,” she said loudly. “Hang on. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I hope that’s exactly how you meant it,” I said.
“Not a donut shop, but something else for sure. Don’t worry. It’s going to be a long, long time from now.”
“I hope so, but I understand the benefits of being your own boss. Do you have any idea what you might be interested in doing?”
“Not a clue,” she said with a smile. “And I don’t need to know right now. All I have to do is figure out what classes to take to make it happen.”
“I’ve got a feeling the school might be able to help you with that.”
She waved a hand in the air. “Sure, I’m going to talk to them, but the reason I’m telling you now is that I want to ask you a question.”
