Bill rose and stormed from the room. The front door slammed a moment later.
“Thank you for talking to us about this,” Heather said, and her voice cracked. “I can understand this is hard for you two.”
Colleen gulped and nodded. “We made this choice, and we knew that we might have to do something like this. I just want to make sure that whatever happens is right for Lilly.”
Ryan pulled Heather into an embrace, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Colleen rose from the sofa. “I’ll be in touch,” she said, then waved once and walked out of the room. Dave jogged out into the hall after her, probably to make sure she found the way out.
“Is this really happening?” Heather asked.
Ryan swallowed. His voice hummed in his chest and throat. “Boy, I sure hope so. It’s all up to Lilly, now.”
Chapter 13
Amy squealed and gripped her knees. “Are you serious?” She bobbled around on the sofa and faced Heather. “And you waited this long to tell me?”
Heather paused the documentary on Emperor Penguins. “Nothing is set in stone, Ames. Colleen still has to talk to Lilly about this, and there’s the chance that she won’t want to stay – ”
“Oh please,” Amy said and rolled her eyes. “There’s no way Lilly will choose them over you guys.”
Heather rose from her seat and grabbed a donut off the coffee table. “It’s not about them or us. It’s about what’s best for Lilly.”
“Yeah, of course.” Amy snatched up a donut too and bit into it. A drop of raspberry jelly slid from the corner of her mouth and landed in her lap. “But she’s going to pick you guys, anyway.”
“Don’t jinx it,” Heather replied.
She took a bite of her donut and the raspberry, and mint flavors melded together. Perfection. Her stomach still turned. Nerves had wrecked her thoughts. She couldn’t concentrate on the case, the opening next week or anything else.
“Don’t freak out about it. That’s all I’m saying. What will be, will be,” Amy said. “Oh gosh, now I sound like my mother.”
Heather snorted and slurped a blob of raspberry jelly off her fingertips.
A knock rattled her front door, and she frowned. She checked her watch and readjusted it on her arm. “It’s past 9 pm.”
“Mystery knows no time limit,” Amy replied, and raised her fist like Superwoman.
The knock came again, and Dave bounded off the sofa in a flurry of barks and howls. He scrabbled into the hall and bumped right into the front door.
“Shepherd, you in there?” A man yelled.
“That’s always a good sign,” Amy muttered.
Heather strode out of the living room and into the entrance hall. She nudged Dave aside with her toes, then unlocked the front door. She paused and narrowed her eyes. “Who’s there?” She called out.
“It’s Peter Hill.”
Amy appeared in the hall and opened Heather’s handbag. She reached in, then brought out the Taser and raised it. “I’ve got this.”
Heather stifled a chuckle. She pulled the door open and met Peter Hill’s gaze.
And boy did that gaze brim with anger. “Heather Shepherd,” he said.
“You say that like it’s bad thing.” Amy lifted the Taser and waggled it. “This had better be a polite visit, Mr. Hill. I’ve got a donut in the other room with my name on it, and I don’t have time to waste on rude people.”
Peter Hill’s shoulders sagged a little, and he flapped his mouth open and closed.
“Do you need something, Mr. Hill?” Heather asked. She hadn’t seen this guy in days. What could she have done to anger him?
Peter regained his composure. He sniffed and glared at her again. “Yeah, I heard you’ve been messing around with my family.”
“Pardon me?” Heather scratched her hairline and inhaled to grant herself patience.
She had a family of her own to worry about. A potential new family member. Dave growled at Peter and barked, once.
Peter Hill puffed his chest out. “You have been harassing my family members, and I’ve come here to tell you to leave them alone.”
“I haven’t harassed anyone, Mr. Hill. I have, however, been investigating on behalf of the Hillside Police Department. Is that a problem for you?” Heather asked.
Peter’s eyes widened. “I, you, what?”
“Yeah, that’s right. She’s a consultant. An investigator,” Amy replied, and waggled the Taser. “Isn’t this interfering with the course of justice? Maybe we should call the police.”
“No,” Heather said, swiftly. “No, we won’t do that.” Heather twitched the door open a bit more. “Mr. Hill, I understand you’re protective over your family, believe me. I know what that’s like. But I’m not harassing them nor would I ever.”
“But Katie said –”
“Katie Hill screamed at me and tore up crucial evidence in the murder case of Quick Paul Jackson. She’s lucky she didn’t get arrested,” Heather replied, smoothly.
Peter’s jaw worked, but no sound came from his mouth. He didn’t have a retort for that.
Amy folded her arms and made a noise in her throat. “Maybe check your facts next time before you bang down someone’s door.”
Peter fluffed the tufts of gray hair which encircled his head, then nodded once. “All right. Just, you stay away from them, you hear? I don’t want to get a call like that again. Katie was in tears and Jeremy, well he wouldn’t complain even if he was under torture. Just, be good to them.”
Peter Hill turned and shuffled off the porch, then down Heather’s short from the pathway and to his car.
“Wow,” Amy said. “Is everyone in Hillside crazy?”
Heather swung the door shut, then locked it. “I dunno. You tell me. We live here too.” She glanced down, and ice dropped into her stomach. “Uh oh.”
“What is it?”
“Where did Dave go?” Heather asked.
“No,” Amy whispered. “No, no, no. Dave! You get away from those donuts.” She turned dropped, the Taser in Heather’s bag, then sprinted down the hall and into the living room.
“Here we go,” Heather muttered.
“Dave, you total pig! Heather, you’ve got to get in here. It’s carnage. There’s raspberry jam everywhere. And mint glaze. And, wait a second, when did we make chocolate – oh. That’s not chocolate.”
Heather grimaced. “I’ll get the towels.”
“Never mind the towels, bring a shovel. Bring detergent. Heck, bring a cleaning service.” Amy’s voice broke from the pressure of holding back her mirth.
“Are there any donuts left?”
“How could you even ask that question?” Amy retorted.
Heather sighed and set off toward the kitchen. At least she’d only left two of them on the coffee table.
Chapter 14
Peter Hill’s suburb was quiet on a Friday morning, apart from the distant laughter of a couple of kids. The sun had come out in full force and chased off the remains of the clouds.
Heather adjusted her handbag on her shoulder and strode down the sidewalk. Amy scuttled along beside her and glanced up and down the road.
“This is like a secret operation,” she whispered.
“Not really. We’re just going to pay the old man a visit and ask him a couple of questions. It’s hardly espionage.” Heather tucked her hair behind her ear.
Last night’s outburst from Peter Hill had set her sleuthin’ cogs in motion again. He’d been so out there, so crazed to confront her about interviewing his daughter-in-law.
And that made her wonder what other crazy feats he’d achieved.
“Ryan got me the address,” Heather said and checked the number she’d scrawled on the back of her palm on her way out of the house that morning. “So, it should be good.”
They hurried along for another minute, then took a sharp left and entered another street. Trees dotted the sidewalk and sprawling suburban homes peered out from behind fences and verdant gar
dens.
“Boy, somebody has money,” Amy whispered.
Heather pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the house across the road. “That’s his place.”
“His car is in the drive. I bet he’s home, plotting his next verbal attack,” Amy replied.
Heather beckoned for her bestie to follow, then strode across the road. She opened the low, white picket gate and stormed up the garden path.
“She’s a woman on a mission,” Amy said.
“Yeah, but I don’t need commentary to get the mission done,” Heather replied, and stuck out her tongue.
Amy chuckled, and they took the stairs together, two at a time. They halted in front of the door, and Heather raised her fist. Amy placed her hand over it.
“What –?”
“At the end of the porch. Look,” Amy whispered.
Heather turned her head and sucked in a breath.
A man in a shabby coat, his back toward her, bent over a box on the end of the porch. Scratching noises and the shuffle of fabric filled the space between them and him.
“I swear, every time we go places together, something weird happens,” Amy whispered. “I’m starting to think we’re the weird ones.”
Heather patted her handbag, then reached inside and brought out her Taser. She clicked off the safety and raised it.
“Hello,” she said.
The man froze mid-rustle. His shoulders stiffened beneath the shabby coat. He shifted his feet.
“Turn around, please.”
Amy grasped Heather’s free arm and stared at the man’s back. “Creepy,” she breathed.
Heather resisted the urge to hum a tune. Thriller by Michael Jackson, perhaps.
The man rose and rotated on the spot. His beard appeared first, and then his beady eyes.
“Geoff.” Heather exhaled.
“This is becoming a regular occurrence,” Amy said and rolled her eyes. She released Heather’s arm and strode toward the beast of a man. “What on earth are you doing here?”
Geoff’s gaze shifted from the women to his left.
Heather peered past him at the box on the corner of the porch. Diapers poked out of the top of it, at odd angles. “You expecting a child, Geoff?” Heather asked.
Amy snorted and pressed her fist to her nose.
“I know he’s up to something. The father. I bet it was him. He’s up to something, and I’m going to find out what.” Geoff’s beard wobbled up and down.
Heather scratched the back of her neck, then walked to Amy’s side. “I’m confused, Geoff. Is copying me your life’s pursuit? You mirrored my store, and now you’re trying to take a hand in my investigations.”
“Just trying to help.”
Heather arched an eyebrow. “By rifling through another man’s possessions?”
“They aren’t his,” Geoff hissed. “They belong to the guy who wants to sell them. There’s something weird –” He cut off and cocked his head in the direction of the window directly across from them. “Go!”
He sprinted to the end of the porch, then vaulted over the railing and careened into a rose bush. Geoff Lawless groaned and twitched on the ground. He scrambled around in the dirt for a second, then righted himself and loped off to the fence.
Heather turned her attention to the box of diapers and bent over it. She lifted one and ran her forefinger over the tab on the front. “Diaper Pop,” she said.
“Wait, why does Jeremy’s father have Diaper Pops on his front porch?” Amy asked.
Heather bit her bottom lip and turned the box around. A delivery notice hung skew on the cardboard, flapping in the wind. Heather tore it off and read it. “Yeah, these were ordered by Peter Hill. He bought the diapers, all right. But why?”
“I don’t know, but maybe we’d better leave. I think he’s probably home and if Geoff’s rose-squishing incident didn’t get his attention then –”
“Yeah, all right.” Heather said. She dropped the delivery notice on top of the box, then walked to the front stairs. “I don’t think we’ll get anything new out of Peter. I’m not sure we need to.”
“I bet he bought those diapers to support his son’s business.” Amy hurried ahead and opened the gate for them. “He seems like that kind of guy.”
Heather hit the sidewalk and turned left. Her brow wrinkled, and she clicked her tongue. “But that begs the question, why did he need to support his son’s business in that way?”
“What do you mean?”
“Surely, he could’ve helped out in another way. Maybe, things were so bad at Diaper Pop that Peter tried to inject some money to help his son,” Heather said.
Amy looped her arm through Heather’s. “Yeah, maybe Jeremy didn’t want a handout from his dad, and that was the only way for Peter to help. Nice guy.”
“I need to speak to Ryan about this,” Heather said and set her jaw.
She had evidence against Katie and motive for Jeremy, but nothing solid. Nothing that would confirm who had murdered Quick Paul.
“Something missing,” she mumbled under her breath. “Always something missing.”
Amy clapped her on the back. “You’ll get to the bottom of it, Shepherd. You always do.”
“I guess. This week has just been weird. No Donut Delights, no Eva. Ugh, I miss Angelica, Maricela, Ken and Jung.”
“So, let’s get together and do something on Sunday. How does that sound?” Amy asked.
Heather grinned. “Like the best idea I’ve ever heard.”
Chapter 15
Heather arranged the Raspberry Mojito Donuts in a row on the tray, then placed her fists on her hips. “What do you think?”
“They’re amazing, my love,” Ryan said. “Everyone will love them.”
“I hope they do,” Heather replied, “because we’re going to have to make hundreds of them for the grand opening, and they’re not the simplest donut I’ve ever created.”
Ryan’s finger twiddled at his sides. “May I have one?”
Heather pecked him on the cheek. “Help yourself.”
Ryan didn’t ask twice. He grabbed a donut and bit into it, then groaned. “Yeah, these are the best you’ve ever made. How is that possible?”
“It’s the filling. I’ve noticed people like donuts with fillings. Remember the Choc Revolution donuts? They sell out every day. It’s the element of surprise.” She said and waggled her fingers in mid-air.
“You’ve mastered it,” Ryan said, then took another bite of his donut.
“Speaking of the element of surprise, guess who I saw today?” Heather asked.
Ryan gestured to his full mouth, then shrugged his question.
“Geoff Lawless. Yeah, he was rifling through a box of Jeremy Hill’s Diaper Pops. Except, the box was on Peter’s front porch.”
Ryan swallowed. “Peter ordered the diapers to support his son’s business.”
“You see? That’s why I love you. We’re so on the same level,” Heather said, then pointed to her forehead and at her husband’s.
Ryan chewed for a while and let the silence stretch between them. Questions danced through the space, unanswered mysteries that needed solving.
“I’m stumped,” Heather said. “I’ve tried going over the evidence in my mind, but maybe I’m missing something.”
Ryan coughed into his fist, then shoved the rest of the donut into his mouth. He brushed off his palms on a kitchen towel.
“Can we go over the evidence?” Heather asked.
“Of course,” Ryan replied. He walked to the kitchen table, then sat down in one of the chairs. “Quick Paul was a shady businessman. The other leads I followed had alibis or were out of town at the time of the murder.”
“So that leaves Jeremy and Katie,” Heather said.
“Yeah. And the evidence indicates that Quick Paul was drugged before the building was set on fire. Possibly, a friend or an associate.”
“Yeah,” Heather said and dragged her teeth across her bottom lip. “A friend. Did Quick Paul h
ave any close friends?”
“None that I could find.” Ryan leaned his elbow on the table and eyed the rest of the donuts on the tray.
“Katie was furious with Quick Paul and lied about meeting with him more than once. She also wouldn’t give me answers about the photo of them together. She tore it up instead,” Heather replied.
“Not enough evidence to get a warrant out,” Ryan replied. “Pity. She’s my main suspect. She fits the bill. Disgruntled homemaker attacks the business partner.”
Heather tapped her chin. “I truly believe that Quick Paul invested in Jeremy’s business, and when things went wrong, Katie took offense. But that doesn’t mean she killed the guy. I don’t see her jeopardizing her relationship with her child.”
“But –”
“I just don’t,” Heather said, firmly. “I’ve gone with my instincts in the past, and they’ve always led me to the truth. My instincts tell me no.”
“And your mind?” Ryan asked.
Heather walked to the fridge, pulled it open, and then brought out a pitcher of lemonade. “My mind. Oh boy. My mind is just clogged up with thoughts of Lilly and the opening and donuts and the future.” She placed the pitcher on the counter, then rested her palms either side of it. “I need to focus on the case, but this is, ugh, it feels like a weight on the back of my mind rather than at the front of it.”
“You need a vacation,” Ryan said.
“I thought that was what this week was supposed to be,” Heather replied, then chuckled. “And I don’t think I’ll ever want a vacation from baking or sleuthin’, for that matter. They might be frustrating, but they’re what I love.”
Ryan rose from his seat and walked to the cupboard. He brought out two, tall glasses, then walked to his wife and placed them beside the lemonade. He drew her into his arms and kissed her on the top of the forehead. “No matter what happens, now or whenever, we’ll figure this out.”
Heather sank into his arms and allowed the stress to vanish. “I think I’ll go speak to Katie again. She was stressed out the last time I was there. There were repo guys taking stuff out of the house.”
Raspberry Mojito Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 20 Page 5
