by Jessica Beck
I pulled up the photo of the necklace and card and showed it to her. Her face turned beet red, and I was worried that she might burst a blood vessel. “That complete and utter jerk.”
“Did you get a necklace just like that one?” Grace asked.
“He must have gotten a bulk discount on them,” she said as she shoved my phone away.
“I’m sorry,” I said in earnest. “I probably shouldn’t have shown you that.”
Violet shook her head, and it was clear that she was fighting back tears. “No, I needed to see that for myself. Well, I can tell you one thing. He’s lied to me for the last time.”
“When else has he lied to you?” Grace asked gently.
“Don’t get me started. I can’t even count the times. Listen,” she said as she wiped at her eyes. “I have to go.”
“Can we just ask you one more thing?” Grace asked her.
“What is it?”
“Where were you when Evelyn died?”
Violet shook her head in disgust, and then she retreated back inside, slamming the door as she did.
“What can I say? It was worth a shot,” Grace said.
“Maybe Jake will have more luck with her,” I said.
“I kind of doubt it. She wasn’t exactly cooperative with us, and look how sympathetic we were to her.”
“Jake has his own set of skills,” I said. “Don’t underestimate him.”
“Hey, he managed to get you to fall in love again after your experience with Max. I’m not about to put anything past him if he can overcome the power of your first true love.”
“Max wasn’t my first love,” I protested.
“Oh, sorry. I’m forgetting Tommy Thorndike in the sixth grade.”
“What can I say? It was never meant to be, but it was glorious while it lasted.”
She laughed at that, and I joined her.
“What should we do now?” Grace asked.
I looked at my watch, and saw that it was coming up on dinnertime soon. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to April Springs. I’m having dinner with Jake in about an hour.”
“Why should I mind, especially since I’m going out with Stephen?”
“My, aren’t we just two desirable young women,” I said to her as we made our way back to my Jeep.
“That’s what they all say,” Grace replied. “How much of our afternoon’s activities are you going to share with Jake?”
“Every last bit of them,” I admitted. “I promised him that I would, and I’m not about to break my bond. You don’t have any problem with that, do you?”
“Me? Not a chance. After all, I might just tell Stephen, too.”
“Well, there’s one good thing about this ‘open book’ policy. We don’t have to keep any lies straight.”
“What an odd experience that’s going to be,” Grace said with a laugh.
As we drove back to April Springs, we discussed the weather, our love lives, even my mother’s new marital status, but one topic we resisted discussing was the murder case we were working on. Grace and I both knew that we needed a little time to let our minds play with what we’d uncovered so far. It was one of the reasons I loved investigating with her. We knew each other so well that we didn’t have to explain ourselves to one another.
I didn’t have long to digest our new information, anyway.
Soon enough, I’d be relaying every bit of it to Jake.
I just hoped that he decided to share some of what he knew with me, as well.
Chapter 16
“That’s the last of the leftovers,” I told Jake as we finished eating our evening meal. Since he’d been shot, folks had been supplying us with a steady stream of offerings, but the donations had finally ended. I’d been grateful for everything that we’d gotten, and it had certainly helped out tremendously at mealtime, but I was a little excited about cooking for Jake while he was still in town, too.
“I hate to admit it, but I’m kind of happy about that,” he said. “Not that I’m ungrateful.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. How about some homemade potato soup tomorrow night? I have a little cheddar-chive bread left in the freezer.”
“Was it a donation, too?”
“From Momma,” I answered.
“Then I’m on board.”
As I started clearing the table, Jake jumped up to help. It was nice working together on something that wasn’t a homicide case. We’d agreed to postpone talking about the investigation until after we ate, but it couldn’t be delayed any longer. “Should we talk about Evelyn while we’re washing dishes, or should we wait until later?”
“Why don’t we do it now? I’m all for multitasking,” he said.
“Great. Do you want to go first, or should I?” I asked him with a smile.
He returned my grin. “Nice try. Go on, I’m listening.”
I brought him up to date on what Grace and I had learned that day, not holding anything back. I’d made him a promise, and I was determined to keep it, even if it did feel really odd telling him everything I knew. Full disclosure was an unsettling thing.
“What do you think at this point?” Jake asked me after I was through with my recitation. “Have you come to any conclusions so far?”
“It’s still early,” I said. “I hate to rush to judgment until I have more facts.”
“Suzanne, I’m not asking you for an indictment. I’m just wondering what your gut is telling you.”
That was fair. As I washed off one of the plates from dinner, I handed it to Jake, who rinsed it and put it in the drying rack. “Honestly, I’m still kind of torn at this point. There’s something about Conrad Swoop that I don’t trust. I know he’s got the capacity to steal, but I’m not sure that he murdered Evelyn.”
“What about Violet?”
“She might be a little unhinged, but if you’re asking me if she’s twisted enough to kill a rival, I’m not willing to say just yet,” I replied.
“I suppose you’ll say the same thing if I ask you about Beatrice and Robby, too, won’t you?”
“Probably,” I said as I handed him a glass to rinse. “You didn’t mention Julie Gray, though. Did you forget about her, or have you eliminated her as a suspect?”
“She’s still on my list, but that’s where it gets complicated.”
“How so?”
Jake took so long to answer that I was afraid he was going to ignore my question, but after a full minute, he finally said, “I know this is highly unusual, but I’m going to share some things with you that I probably shouldn’t.”
“Don’t tell me anything that I can’t tell Grace,” I said firmly. “Even if it means that we flounder around in the dark, we’ll do it together. I can’t stand keeping secrets from her.”
Jake nodded. “I admire your loyalty, but that complicates matters.” He took another moment, and then he asked me, “If you swear her to secrecy, can you trust her not to share it with anyone else?”
“I trust Grace with my life,” I said. “If I ask her, she’ll do it.”
“With no wavering?”
“None. You can take that to the bank.”
Jake let out a sigh, and then he nodded. “Okay. I trust you, and because you trust Grace, I’m going to share a few things with you.”
Before he could speak, I put a soapy hand on his arm. “Jake, please don’t do anything that you might have trouble with philosophically. I know how important your job is to you, and I’d never ask you to compromise it for me.”
Jake smiled, and then he patted my hand. “I appreciate that, but honestly, my job’s lost some of its luster for me lately. I’m not at all sure that this is what I’m meant to be doing with the rest of my life.”
“Does that opinion have anything to do with getting shot in the line of duty?” I asked him tenderly. I knew that his body had recovered from the wound, but I wasn’t so sure about his spirit.
“Of course it does, but things have been building for some time. I
can’t keep hopping around the state investigating the worst crimes imaginable forever.”
“I get that, but don’t do anything rash just yet. You’re still not over the shooting.”
“That’s true, but in a way, I’m not sure that I ever will be. I don’t know, Suzanne. Sometimes I wish I had a quieter life, do you know what I mean?”
“I get it,” I said. “There’s a lot to be said for knowing what your day, your week, your month, even your year is going to be like.”
“No offense, but I wouldn’t want anything that predictable. I don’t know how you do it.”
“With a smile on my face and a song in my heart,” I said, grinning.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. I’m the first one to admit that making donuts isn’t for everyone, but it’s perfect for me.” I finished the last piece of silverware and handed it to him. “Let me ask you something. If you weren’t a cop, what would you do with yourself?”
“Oh, I never said that I was tired of being a cop,” Jake answered. “I just wish that I didn’t deal with the worst of the worst all of the time. I wouldn’t mind writing a parking ticket every now and then, you know what I mean?”
“That can be dangerous enough in and of itself,” I said.
“Absolutely, but at least most times, nobody would be shooting at me.” He rinsed the fork, dried it, and put it away. “Is that it?”
“Until we make more, that will do. Would you like some coffee?”
“That sounds nice,” he said. “I can tell you what I found out today while you’re making it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. I’ve had some time to think about it, and I agree with you. You and Grace could be a valuable resource to me. I’d be a fool not to use you.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying all along,” I said as I tweaked his cheek.
“It just took me a little longer to get there,” he admitted. “But I made it.”
“That’s all that’s important in the end,” I said as I filled the pot and flipped the switch. “Should we go out into the living room, or wait around in here?”
“The couch is more comfortable,” Jake said as he rubbed his arm a little, the one where he’d been shot.
“Is your arm bothering you?”
“It’s probably nothing. I get a twinge every now and then, but it goes away.”
“Have you spoken with your doctor about it?”
“Suzanne, all that it probably means is that it’s going to rain. Now, let’s discuss the case. Honestly, I’m surprised that your mother hasn’t already called you with the news herself.”
A chill went through me. “How does this involve my mother?”
“It doesn’t, at least not directly. It’s about Chief Martin.”
“What about him?”
“Well, I’m not really sure what it means, but I just found out today that he was still the main beneficiary listed in Evelyn’s will. Julie wasn’t very happy about discovering it, I can tell you that.”
“But she was so sure that she was inheriting everything,” I said. “How did the chief react when you told him about it?”
“He seemed to be surprised enough to get the news,” Jake said. “I have to give him credit. He knew right away what that meant for him.”
“It makes him an even stronger suspect now, doesn’t it?”
Jake nodded. “Not only that, but what was in Evelyn’s appointment book gave me another lead.”
I was a little disappointed that he’d found it, too. “Jake, why didn’t your men take it with them when they found it? I thought you said that you hadn’t searched the place yet?”
He grinned slyly at me. “I said that I hadn’t thoroughly searched it, if you’ll recall. Suzanne, you never asked me how I knew that Chief Martin was inside Evelyn’s home today.”
“Were you watching the house?” I asked, wondering if he’d seen Grace and me break in as well.
“No, I didn’t have the time to do that, but I’ve had a few men go by the house on rotation, and one of them happened to see the chief going in as he was driving by.”
“You left it there as bait, didn’t you?” I asked, admiring Jake even more.
“Among other things,” he admitted. “And look what I caught.”
“So, what about the book gave you another clue?”
“Evelyn was meeting with an attorney about changing her will,” Jake said. “Julie was indeed set to inherit everything, but Evelyn never had a chance to implement her last wishes.”
“Wow, that looks even worse for Chief Martin, doesn’t it?”
“There’s certainly one way of looking at it that strengthens the case against him,” he admitted.
“You don’t think he really did it, do you? Come on, Jake. You know the man. He’s not a killer.”
“Under ordinary circumstances I’d agree with you, but there’s a great deal of money at stake here, and there was a known animosity between him and his ex-wife.”
“That doesn’t make him a killer,” I said strongly.
“Of course it doesn’t. Right now, though, it’s just another piece of the puzzle to be considered.” Jake rubbed my shoulder lightly. “Take it easy, Suzanne. Nobody’s accusing anybody of doing anything just yet. Like you said, I’m just collecting information myself.”
“Sorry. I guess I’m a little on edge when it comes to my mother’s new husband.”
“It’s perfectly understandable,” Jake said.
“Did you find anything else out today?” I asked him after the coffee was ready and we each had a mug.
“There was one more little tidbit that might prove useful later,” he said.
“Can you tell me?”
“I can, but again, it has to be in the strictest of confidences.”
“I’ve already given you my word,” I said.
“I know. I just wanted to emphasize how important this is. We now have an eyewitness who saw Beatrice leaving the crime scene an hour before Evelyn’s body was found.”
“Wow, that’s pretty bad for her, isn’t it?”
Jake just shrugged. “She claims that it was all perfectly innocent, that Evelyn was fine when she left her, but as far as we know right now, she was the last person to see her business partner alive.”
“Besides the killer, you mean,” I said.
“Only if they aren’t one and the same person,” Jake replied.
“So, this isn’t going to be as clear-cut as you thought at first, is it?”
Jake frowned. “That’s turning out to be true enough.”
“Why the frown? You’ve had tough cases before.”
“I know, but my boss is already accusing me of dragging this out just so I can spend more time with you. He’s regretting assigning me to the case already.”
“What does the man expect from you, a miracle?”
Jake nodded. “That’s exactly what he wants.”
“In a way, it’s your own fault. You know that, don’t you?”
“How is that?”
“Well, if you weren’t so good at what you did, he wouldn’t keep getting these unrealistic expectations.”
Jake laughed. “I suppose that’s one way of looking at things.”
“Hey, spinning a negative into a positive is what I do best,” I said. I glanced at the clock and saw how late it was getting, not for normal folks, but certainly for anyone who worked in a donut shop. “I hate to do this, but I’m really beat. Getting back into the donut business was harder than I thought it would be.”
“Don’t apologize to me. I hope you sleep well.”
I kissed him lightly, and then I smiled. “Don’t stay up too late yourself. You have a big day tomorrow finding Evelyn’s killer.”
“Right back at you,” he said as I walked up the steps to my room. It was wonderful having Jake with me, but I knew that it wasn’t possible for it to last. If Momma’s marriage and move had taught me nothing else, it was that things c
ouldn’t stay the way they were forever, and hoping otherwise was as useless as trying to make it snow with willpower alone.
Chapter 17
“This is your day today,” I told Emma the next morning at the donut shop. “Why don’t you get started on the cake donuts while I prep up front?”
My assistant smiled. “Let me get this straight. I can make whatever donuts I’d like, right?”
“Within reason,” I said with a smile. “Our customers expect our regular menu, flavors like plain, chocolate, blueberry cake, etcetera.”
“So then the answer is no, is that what you’re saying?”
I was being too strict with her, and I knew it. What good would it do to let her make donuts her way if I controlled the types of donuts that she could make? “How about this? You can try one new recipe every week, and I won’t say a word about it, no matter how outlandish it might sound to me. Is that fair?”
“Even if it’s the new coffee-toffee combo I’ve been planning?”
It sounded dreadful to me, but what could it hurt to offer one odd donut every now and then? “That’s fine, but just make two dozen, okay?”
“I can do that,” she said. “Thanks for giving me this opportunity.”
“Hey, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve more than earned it. Besides, it might be fun being on dish duty instead of being responsible for the entire day’s output once in a while.”
“You’re still doing the yeast donuts though, right?”
“If you don’t mind,” I said. “I’d like to.”
“That sounds great. This should break things up enough to keep things interesting for the both of us.” As Emma started mixing batters for the various cake donuts we offered, I busied myself doing her early morning tasks like setting up the dining area and making sure all of the napkin holders were full. It felt so strange being out of the kitchen while I was at Donut Hearts, but it was important that I do this.
After I had everything ready, I walked back in to rejoin her.
“I hate to do this to you, but I’m just about to drop the first donuts,” she said. “Do you mind going back up front?”
“No, it’s fine,” I said. The dropper we used was heavy, and I’d let it slip from my hands once, taking a nice chunk out of the wall. Since then, it had been store policy that whoever was not dropping donuts into the hot oil had to be out of firing range, just in case there was ever another slip, though it hadn’t happened again in my tenure.
