Troubled Treats

by Jessica Beck

  “Jake, I know that you are used to taking the lead on the murder cases you’ve investigated in the past, but you have to let me do my job on this one. That means that the official channels are all mine. Are we clear on that? You may be more qualified to hold this job than I am, but until you replace me, I’m going to be the one running the show.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jake said as he took the chief’s hand and shook it firmly.

  “Good. I’m glad we’re clear on that. Now, did you get a good look at whoever might have done this to Sully?”

  “Not even a glimpse,” Jake admitted. “By the time I got outside, whoever had been there was gone.”

  The chief was about to speak when three of his officers entered the building together. Grant spoke to us softly before addressing his staff. “We’ll talk later.” Then he turned to his officers. “We need to seal off this building, as well as the alley in back. Understood?”

  As they went to work with their official investigation, Jake took me by the arm and gently led me back out the front door. Momma was still standing there, clearly distraught about what had just happened.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said. “I was just speaking with Sully this morning.”

  “Did he say anything that might be related to what happened to him?” Jake asked her.

  “No! We talked about the weather, if you can imagine that.”

  Jake offered her some comfort, and then he said, “Let’s go back to the cottage where we can all deal with this on more familiar ground.”

  “Yes. That’s a fine idea,” Momma said. She’d driven us to the building, so we all piled into her car and headed back to the place the two of us had once shared.

  “There’s something I need to do. Momma, could you drop me off at Grace’s along the way?” I asked her.

  Jake looked at me carefully before he spoke. “Suzanne, you heard the chief. Grace is officially retired.”

  “I know she keeps saying it, but I’ve got to at least ask her if she wants to help. You can see that, can’t you?”

  “Just don’t be too disappointed if she turns you down,” Jake replied.

  “I won’t,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. Grace and I had dug into more murders than I cared to remember, and there had never been a time when she’d turned down my request for help.

  That had been before we’d nearly died during our last investigation, though.

  Even as well as I knew her, I still wasn’t sure if she’d meant it when she’d told me that she was finished investigating murder with me.

  There was only one way to find out for sure, and that was to ask her directly myself.

  Chapter 3

  “Grace, open up! It’s me. I see your car in the driveway!”

  I’d been knocking for the past full minute, but my best friend was not answering my summons. Did she honestly believe that I’d just give up and go away?

  The front door finally opened, and Grace stepped aside to invite me in. She was in her robe, and she was drying her hair with a towel. “Hey, Suzanne. I was in the shower. How long have you been standing out there knocking? What’s going on?”

  “Have you heard the news yet?” I asked as I walked into her house. On the surface, Grace was everything I was not; she was slim and beautiful, while I was more than a couple of pounds overweight, and though I’d been called cute plenty of times in my life, no one but Jake had ever called me beautiful. None of that mattered, though. We were sisters from different mothers, and had been for practically all of our lives.

  “What news are you talking about?” she asked. “It must be serious.”

  “How do you know that?”

  She grinned at me. “Because you aren’t giving me a hard time about taking a shower in the middle of the afternoon.”

  “Why would I tease you about that? I take them myself just about every day,” I said.

  “That’s because you’ll smell like donuts if you don’t. My explanation is much less logical. I just felt like it, so I took one. That’s one of the great things about being a grown-up. I can have dessert for dinner and pretty much do as I please when it comes to everything else.”

  I laughed. “When’s the last time you had your treat before you ate your meal?”

  “Okay, it’s been awhile, but I could if I wanted to,” she said. “Come on back into the bedroom. I’ll get dressed while you tell me all about the big news.” She hesitated a moment, and then she grinned at me. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

  I shook my head. “It’s bad enough that Momma wants to rush things, but you, too? I haven’t even been married for very long, and folks are already asking me if I’m going to have a baby soon.”

  “Well, we both know that you’re not getting any younger,” she said with a grin as we walked back into her bedroom. I took a seat on the bed while she disappeared into her master closet. It was bigger than my bedroom back at the cottage, but it still barely managed to hold all of Grace’s clothes. She needed most of them for her job as a cosmetics sales rep, but even her casual attire was nicer than my best outfit.

  “Need I remind you that we’re the same age?” I asked her.

  “Maybe so, but I’m not the one who just got married,” she said as she poked her head out of her closet for a brief moment. “If that’s not the big news, then what is?”

  Grace had just vanished again when I told her, “Sully Jackson was murdered this afternoon.”

  “What happened?” Grace asked as she poked her head out of the closet again.

  “Momma was showing off the remodeling job they’re doing on the old wagon factory to Jake and me, and we stumbled over him right after someone stabbed him with a small length of rebar.”

  “That’s terrible,” she said as she disappeared again. “Did you see who killed him?”

  “No, he managed to escape. Jake chased him outside, but he somehow managed to get away.” Grace suddenly appeared, now dressed in stylish slacks and a cute top, looking as though she’d just stepped out of a high-end catalogue.

  “Tell me something; is it hard always looking that good?”

  She laughed. “Please. There’s nothing easy about it. It’s a shame about Sully. You two were friends, weren’t you? Didn’t he come by the donut shop?”

  “You know me. I get attached to my customers,” I said. “So, I was wondering–”

  “No.”

  “Hang on a second. You didn’t even let me finish asking the question,” I said.

  “I don’t need to hear the rest of it to know what my answer is going to be. Suzanne, I meant what I said. I’ve officially retired from amateur sleuthing.”

  We’d had a close call not that long ago, and in the heat of the moment, Grace had told me that she was finished investigating crime with me. I’d hoped that once she had time to mull it over, she’d change her mind, but if that was going to be the case, evidently enough time hadn’t passed yet. “How can you just stop?” I asked her. “Isn’t it in your blood, too?”

  “Suzanne, I’m not about to deny that I enjoyed digging into a few local murder investigations with you, but that last time was just too much for me to take. We could have died out in that forest.”

  “But we didn’t,” I said. “We outsmarted the killer, remember?”

  “We got lucky, and you know it,” she said.

  “I’m not denying it, but luck’s a part of life. The important thing is that we walked away from it unscathed.”

  “No, the important thing is that I’m not going to press my luck ever again, and neither should you.”

  “Grace, I can’t just walk away. Sully meant something to me, and besides, it happened in my momma’s building. That makes me doubly involved.”

  “Maybe you should talk to Jake about it,” she said. “Suzanne, I’m not entirely unsympathetic to your motivation, but it doesn’t affect me. If you think about it, most of the murders we investigated in the past were because
of your ties, not mine. I’m sorry, but I just can’t bring myself to do it anymore.”

  I could see that Grace was deadly earnest in her refusal to help me. It was time to drop it.

  I hugged her for a moment, and then I pulled away.

  “What was that for?” she asked me.

  “For everything you’ve done in the past to help me on my cases,” I said. “Don’t worry; I won’t ask you again.”

  Grace looked at me tentatively for a moment before she spoke again. “Hey, are we okay?”

  “We’re golden,” I said with a smile. “There are lots of things we can do together besides tracking down killers.”

  “Like lunch. Or even dinner. Shopping is fun, too.”

  I laughed. “You’re good for my soul, Grace.”

  “We could go do something right now, if you’d like,” she suggested. “I’m free for the rest of the day.”

  “Unfortunately, I’m not.”

  “At least tell me that Jake is going to work with you investigating the case,” Grace said. “If something ever happened to you because I refused to help you out, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

  I looked at her solemnly for a moment, and then I said, “You are officially absolved of any consequences that might come my way due to my investigation from here on out. How’s that?”

  “You never answered my question, though I’ve brought it up a few times now. Is Jake going to work with you?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure what the pecking order is regarding who is working for whom, but yes, we’re working together.”

  “Then you don’t even need me, do you?” she asked with a broad grin.

  “I never said that,” I answered, smiling in turn. “And I won’t, not in a million years.”

  “Thanks for understanding,” Grace said as we walked out of the bedroom toward her front door.

  “Always and forever,” I said. “We’ll grab something to eat soon. I promise.”

  “We’d better,” she said as I left her.

  As I walked the short stretch of road that separated our homes, it finally started to sink in. A part of me had believed that once Grace was presented with another local murder, she’d forget all about her promise to retire and dive right into it with me again.

  It seemed that wasn’t going to happen, though.

  At least she was right about one thing.

  I still had Jake as a partner, and he was more than qualified for the job.

  While I’d been inside Grace’s home trying to convince her to help me again, I realized that things had been happening at the cottage. My Jeep was parked in the driveway where I’d left it, along with Jake’s old decrepit truck, but those weren’t the only two vehicles there.

  Momma’s stylish car was still there as well.

  It appeared that we were about to have our very own war council.

  “What’s up?” I asked as I walked in, taking my jacket off and hanging it in the closet. To my surprise, Momma wasn’t the only visitor we had; her husband, the former chief of police, was there as well. “Hi, Phillip,” I said, the name still perched awkwardly on my tongue. He’d been Chief Martin for as long as I’d known him, but ever since he’d retired—and not coincidentally become my stepfather—I’d been forced to call him by his given name. Momma must have dashed home, collected him, and then returned to the cottage, all in less time than I’d taken to speak with Grace.

  “Hello, Suzanne,” he said from his seat by the fireplace. “How’s Grace?”

  “Standing firm,” I said a little sadly, and then I turned to Jake. “She’s not going to change her mind. I’m sorry, but it’s just going to be the two of us.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Jake said. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to talk Phillip into joining our little team.”

  He what? I would have at least liked to have had the chance to talk my husband out of it in private beforehand, but I was stuck now. What was Jake thinking? While it was true that Phillip had been a good police chief, we were still trying to find a way to be in the same room together, let alone work on a case side by side.

  My stepfather said with a wry grin, “Don’t worry, Suzanne. I turned him down.”

  “As was your right,” Momma said. “Phillip, you retired from being a police officer for a reason.”

  “So did Jake,” I said, defending him, even though I wanted to strangle him at that moment.

  “Yes, but Jake is quite a bit younger than my husband is,” Momma said.

  “Hang on a second. I’m not that old,” the former chief protested. “If I wanted to, I know that I could be a valuable asset in their investigation.”

  “That’s just what Stephen Grant needs on his plate,” I said. “Momma, if Phillip’s joining, why don’t you come on board, too?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew that I’d made a mistake. Jake looked at me sharply, which meant that my offer was another conversation we’d have to be having soon. Maybe that was how he’d ended up inviting Phillip to join our investigation. If it was, I’d have to cut him some slack.

  “No, thank you,” Momma said. “Phillip and I are quite happy in retirement.”

  “You can say that because I’m the only one who actually retired,” he said to my mother. Wow, I had to give the man credit. He had guts saying that the way he did.

  I braced myself for the fiery retort from my mother, and then I heard her say softly, “I’m sorry. I keep trying to cut back on my workload, but there are too many opportunities everywhere for me to turn them all down.”

  Did my mother just apologize to her husband in front of us? It wasn’t entirely unprecedented for her to say that she was sorry, but it still happened infrequently enough to make it noteworthy.

  Before I could take that in, Momma followed up by saying, “You could always do something with me in real estate. Your skills would come in handy, I assure you.”

  “What skills are those?” Phillip asked her.

  “I shouldn’t have to remind you that you ran an entire police department, so that means you can handle personnel, budgets, and all sorts of problems that come up. That would make you perfect for what I do as well.”

  “You know me. I’m just not the mogul type,” Phillip said with a grin. “Besides, I’ve been really enjoying digging into April Springs’ local history. That’s where you got all of that information on the old wagon factory, remember? I have plenty to do on my own, and no desire to help you run your little empire.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  I was suddenly seeing more of my mother’s married life than I wanted to. “Maybe you two should continue this discussion at home,” I suggested.

  Momma grinned at me, but there wasn’t a great deal of joy in it. “Are you asking us to leave, Suzanne?”

  “No, of course not,” I said, and then I turned to Jake. “Grab your coat.”

  “Where are you two going?” Momma asked sharply.

  “Well, you two clearly need some privacy, so if you’re determined to stay here, Jake and I are going to take a walk.” I turned to him and asked, “Right?”

  “Whatever you say,” Jake said. He grabbed both of our jackets, and I knew that my mother and her husband weren’t the only ones who needed some time to talk.

  “This is utter nonsense,” Momma said. “Phillip, let’s go.”

  “Fine,” her husband said as he stood. “I’m not sure what good it’s going to do to have this particular conversation again, though. We’ve already talked the topic to death.”

  “Perhaps, but we haven’t resolved it yet, so there clearly needs to be more discussion.”

  Phillip offered Jake a gentle grin as he walked toward the door, acting as though they shared something in common. As a matter of fact, they did, something besides being married to a mother and her daughter. They’d both chosen to wed strong-willed women, and that meant that sometimes there would be days like these. In the end, I hoped that they both found
their experiences worthwhile overall.

  “We’ll talk again soon,” Momma said to me as they started out the door.

  “You can count on it,” I said as I leaned forward and hugged her goodbye.

  After they were gone, I turned to Jake and grinned. “So, is it a wash? We’re even, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Suzanne, what are you talking about?”

  “I asked Momma to join us without thinking, and I’m assuming that you made the invitation to Phillip the same way. Let’s call it even and forget it ever happened.”

  Jake thought about it for a few moments, and then he nodded in agreement. “Done and done. So, Grace is out?”

  “I’m afraid so. It looks as though you’re stuck with me as an investigative partner. That is, unless you’ve changed your mind and you’ve decided to ask George for official status despite what you said earlier.”

  “Like I said, that’s not going to happen. I’m afraid that we’re just going to have to get by on our wits this time.”

  “Don’t be so depressed about it,” I said after I kissed his cheek lightly. “After a while you get used to not having any official status.”

  “So, all we are is a pair of nosy busybodies, then,” Jake said.

  “We’re a great deal more than that. Think of us as independent contractors. We’re not officially on anyone’s payroll, so nobody can fire us.”

  “There’s always that,” Jake said with a grin. “Okay, I’ll bite. Where do we start? I’m new to conducting an investigation from this perspective.”

  “No worries, because you have an excellent partner who’s done it a dozen times before,” I said with a grin. “The first thing we need to do is to tap into the underground network that’s not readily available to the police.”

  “What network is that?” Jake asked.

  “I need to speak with Gabby Williams.”

  “You mean ‘we,’ don’t you?”

  “Jake, she’s not going to speak freely in front of you, and besides, there’s no danger in me approaching her alone. Gabby’s not dangerous.” I thought about that, and then quickly corrected myself. “Not that way, anyway.”