Pistols & Pies (Sweet Bites Book 2) (Sweet Bites Mysteries)

by Heather Justesen

  I turned to the window again, watching Lenny and Kat. When Shawn pulled me back against his chest, I rested my head on his shoulder.

  I had more than a few tears in my eyes as I watched. Finally I turned away to do something inside, giving them at least a tiny bit of privacy from my prying eyes, even if they were in full view of anyone else who walked by.

  I wasn’t surprised when Lenny came back in and announced they were getting married.

  And he wasn’t surprised when I suggested we make a trip back to the Silver Spur for dinner to celebrate.

  Once again I found myself at the Silver Spur, eating dinner with my best girlfriends, my talented employee and their significant others—and whatever Shawn was to me. I still wasn’t sure. I tipped my bottle of root beer against the others’ assorted drinks as we toasted the newly engaged couple. We finished eating and went out into the crowd to dance. Lenny and Kat line-danced like natives, while Shawn tested my ability to follow his lead as we swing danced.

  I was still sore, and prone to headaches after the explosion, so I only stayed out for five songs—three of them slow ones—before returning to our table. Shawn went across the room to talk to a guy he hadn’t seen since high school, and Lenny joined me at the table.

  “So, you’re getting married,” I said, bumping his shoulder with mine. “You guys are so cute together.”

  “That’s because she’s so cute.” He looked smug.

  I figured after the way he’d acted the past week, I could handle his giddy joy for a while. “She really makes you happy. I’m so glad. And she seems to like it here well enough. So far.”

  His smile grew certain and confident. “Thanks for being so bossy and interfering. I don’t know what I would have done if she’d left. She’s always been the one for me, since the first day we met. I have no idea why I was holding back, how I could even think about letting her go. She makes me want to be worthy of her. Just seeing her makes everything better.”

  I was getting a little teary-eyed again and swallowed back the lump in my throat as I tipped my head onto his shoulder. “I’m glad. You deserve some happy, and I love seeing my family grow.”

  “Your family?”

  Honey and George returned to the table, holding hands and laughing together, pulling out seats across from us.

  “Family,” I reiterated, feeling warmth glow in my chest.

  He nodded his understanding, and his eyes brightened as Kat came back toward us from the direction of the bathrooms.

  I noticed the baseball team practicing on the field beside the school district office when Shawn and I went inside to deliver some cupcakes the next day, but didn’t think much of it at the time. It wasn’t until we exited that I noticed Jessica Grizzle’s hot pink Corolla parked beside the field.

  I took three steps toward Shawn’s car while I considered, then veered toward the practice field. “Come on, I want to talk to someone.”

  I scanned the dozen or so parents who were watching the practice, and my eyes fell on Jessica. She stood in the shade of a scrawny tree, glancing between the action on the field and her smart phone. A brightly-colored tennis bracelet caught the light as she tapped a long, vivid green fingernail on the phone screen.

  “Hi, Jessica! It’s good to see you. How is practice going?” I asked. I hadn’t seen her or her husband in the bakery since he came in to pick up his ‘winnings.’ Her son’s sports teams kept her on the road a lot, though, and I couldn’t see her working in her husband’s construction business.

  She turned to look over her shoulder and grinned. “How are you doing, Tess?” Her gaze slid to Shawn. “And you.” Her voice deepened slightly, full of innuendo. “The boys are doing great. They’re going to beat the pants off the kids in Flagstaff.” She looked very pleased.

  “Good, I’m glad they’re doing so well.” I gestured to Shawn, “This is Shawn Plumber; he grew up here and is just in town visiting for a few days.”

  “I met your parents a few times when they lived here,” Sheralyn said to Shawn. To me she added, “What brings you out here in the middle of the day? Don’t you have cupcakes to decorate or something?”

  “I was delivering some to the district and saw the practice going on. Thought I’d stop by and watch for a moment.” My eyes fell on the bracelet again and I noticed the way she was turning it on her wrist. It was either new or held great sentimental value. “It looks like you got a new piece of bling.” I gave the bracelet a closer, appreciative look, even though it was more than a little on the gaudy side. “I don’t think I’ve seen that before.”

  “Marty is so thoughtful! He had this made for me, for no real reason, just because. It’s not even my birthday! He had to travel all the way to Phoenix to have one of their specialized jewelers make it so it would be just like we wanted it. Isn’t it pretty?” She caressed it, her green fingernails clashing with the stones.

  I leaned in and took a closer look. No, not glass, but not precious stones, either; I couldn’t be sure, but they looked like less expensive alternatives. And how impressive is it that I could tell even without a jewelers’ loop? “They’re very pretty.”

  “It was so expensive!” She covered her mouth with glee as if sharing a super-secret detail, but I could tell she’d told other people as well. “Nearly five-thousand dollars.”

  “Wow, he told you?” No way did that cost five grand, not unless he was totally ripped off.

  “Of course not. Men are so tight-lipped about things like that. Actually I went online to pay a couple of bills and saw the charge to our account for Tiffany’s in Phoenix. When I asked him about it, he looked embarrassed and surprised and pulled out the blue velvet box. He was saving it for a surprise next weekend when Junior is at his grandparents,’ and we’re going to have some time alone. He’s so busy working late nights and everything the past few months.” Her mouth formed a pout.

  “No rest for the weary, is there?” I said. “How is your son doing in his baseball games? I understand you’ve been traveling a lot. Your husband mentioned it when he picked up your cupcakes last week.”

  “I know, and I can’t believe I won that.” She put her hand on my arm, scratching me with her long talons. “I can’t even remember entering the contest.” She clapped her hands together. “Well, I planned to stop by your shop and pick up one of your triple chocolate cakes for dinner as a thank you to him for making a special trip to get this bracelet—on a Tuesday, no less. Can you imagine him leaving the job and driving all that way? He’s such a sweetie!” She fingered the bracelet again.

  Though he hadn’t been particularly sweet to me, I could see she was as enamored with her husband as he had seemed with his wife. I stopped for a second. “Tuesday, you mean the day of the fitness center opening?”

  “Why yes, I was out of town with Junior, of course, and he spent some time at the opening but had to run to the job site to take care of an emergency. He said he almost didn’t make it to the jewelers before they closed.” She gestured expansively as always, reminding me of a chicken trying to catch air. “Poor man had to pound on the door so they’d let him in after he drove so far.”

  “That’s great that he was able to make it in time.” I put a hand on Shawn’s elbow, preparing to escape now that I had gotten the information I needed, without even having to prod much for it. “And what a lot of trouble for him to go to.”

  “Yes. Isn’t he the sweetest?”

  “Absolutely. I better get back to work, but I’ll have that cake boxed and ready for you to pick up after practice if you’d like.”

  “That would be terrific. It’ll be about half an hour.” She wiggled her fingers goodbye. “See you later, and good to meet you, handsome!”

  I acted as if I had no worries in the world until we got across the street. “That’s interesting,” I said when I was sure we were out of earshot.

  “So he has a real alibi, right?” Shawn asked. “He went to Phoenix.”

  “Apparently, but even Tiffany’s wouldn�
��t have charged five grand for that bracelet. One, tops. It’s not like the stones were expensive.”

  “Maybe he got something for a birthday or anniversary that’s coming up and only gave her the bracelet for now to surprise her?”

  “Maybe.” I sighed. “Regardless, he wasn’t the one who killed the city councilman if he had to get to Phoenix before they closed. Especially with the construction going on right now.”

  “Buck up. You still have one suspect, right? Michael,” Shawn said.

  “I still have one suspect. Gary,” I said pointedly. The ex-cop might not be guilty, but I was sure Michael was innocent.

  Shawn didn’t argue with me, and I let it drop. I had hours of work left to do at the shop that day.

  I was putting the finishing touches on an anniversary cake for that evening when it occurred to me that it takes a day or sometimes three before credit card charges cleared your account. Who knew when he actually made the charge? He could even have done it over the phone.

  I painted gold over the white royal icing I had applied that morning and considered the options.

  Why hadn’t Jessica seen the actual receipt? Would he have taken it home? His second job site was the one with the trailer parked out front. Maybe there was evidence in there—it would be a good place to hide anything he didn’t want his wife to run across.

  I finished the detail work on the cake and boxed it up, tagged it and set it in will-call. I glanced through the window at Shawn sitting at a table with his laptop. If I were smart, I’d take him along, but sometimes I had luck with flirting with guys to get answers, and that time-honored maneuver wouldn’t work if he was at my side.

  He had finally agreed to sit up front instead of breathing down my neck in the back if I promised not to answer the back door again.

  But I hadn’t promised not to use the back door at all.

  I considered how much trouble I would be in when I got back and whether I wanted to tip off Marty by dropping in to chat.

  As I cleaned up my equipment, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to drive by. The decals on the side of Marty’s truck made it easy to spot and I could always drive on by if he was there.

  I glanced up front again, trying not to be too obvious, and slid out the back door to my Outlander. It would only be a minute or two before they realized I was gone—if Lenny hadn’t seen me sneak out. I didn’t have any time to spare.

  Before I reached Marty’s second construction site, my phone was already ringing. Shawn’s number was on the display. Too bad, he’d just have to hang tough.

  After determining that Marty was nowhere around—making me wonder what he did all day—I pulled in front of the future office building and turned the ringer off, sticking it in my pocket. I might need it to take pictures of evidence. In my dreams.

  The ground was freshly dug and they were starting to set up forms for pouring the foundation. It was a good location: near major crossroads, with plenty of space to put in parking. Not as good a location as my shop, of course, but you couldn’t have everything.

  One of the other guys came over, happy to talk when he saw the bakery box containing leftover cupcakes and brownies from the previous day. One thing I’d learned since moving to Silver Springs: If you wanted information, sweetening people up first was always a good idea.

  “Hi, can I help you with something?” the guy asked. I realized I’d seen him playing pool with Marty earlier that week.

  “Sure, it seems your boss wanted to say thanks. He asked me to bring these goodies over for you guys. I guess it’s been a crazy few days.”

  “You have no idea.” He took the treats and cracked open the box, his eyes widening with pleasure. “’Bout time he did something like this.”

  “I’m sure he appreciates what you do. It must get nuts here sometimes. For example, the day that there was the murder at the fitness center. He said he had to rush to his other site, then hurry to the next emergency.” I shrugged and tried to act like it was idle curiosity—I already knew where Marty went, but it wouldn’t hurt to verify. “There must have been something going on.”

  The man stopped to scratch his neck. “I don’t know about that. What day was it?”

  “Tuesday. Didn’t you have him come by to fix something that afternoon?” I fluttered my lashes and hoped he wouldn’t turn into a stalker.

  He shook his head. “No, ma’am, you must be thinking of Wednesday. Never saw hide nor hair of him Monday nor Tuesday. Things went smooth as smooth getting this hole dug, so there was no need for him here. I’m kind of the man in charge when he’s not around and I’ve taken care of everything.” He puffed his chest out in pride.

  Oh, good grief. “That is impressive. Well, you must know everything that’s going on.” I used my best flirty voice.

  “Sure do.”

  “I’ve been thinking about getting some work done around my place. Does Marty do renovations?” I had done all the repairs needed when I first moved into the building, but I really wanted to see the inside of the office trailer.

  “Sometimes. Your building is pretty old, so it would need to be done right to maintain the integrity of the structure.” He said this last deliberately, as though trying to impress me with his amazing vocabulary.

  “Can you give me some information?”

  He waved me toward the nearby trailer. “Come with me.”

  It was a small single-wide with vinyl floors, a sofa and two chairs on one side, a coffee machine and a desk area—which was four inches deep in papers. There was a noticeable lack of filing cabinets. Nice organization, Marty.

  The man started fishing in the pile of papers. “I know he’s got cards under here somewhere.”

  I studied the place. “Looks like he doesn’t spend much time in here.” There were bits of paper on the floor and a sprinkling of glitter on the carpet and sofa.

  “He’s here pretty often, actually. Not so much as to be in the way when we’re working, mind, but he stops in for consultations and to check on our progress. He works late a lot.”

  I could hear the sound of tires crunching on gravel and I looked out the window to see a silver Mercedes parking beside the trailer. Hoping I could distract him for a moment, I pointed out the window. “It looks like you have a visitor. Maybe you should go see what they need.”

  He glanced out and straightened his shirt, puffing out his chest a little. “Yes. I’ll be right back.”

  I wondered who the visitor was; apparently they were important. As soon as the door shut behind him, I moved around the desk and started pulling out drawers, looking for receipts or anything that might prove if Marty was really out of town. What I really wanted was the receipt for the bracelet, though. If it was worth five grand, I’d go sugar-free for a month.

  Glancing out the window to make sure he wasn’t coming back in yet, I moved to the filing cabinet and began flipping through the folders. “Utilities. Lumber yard. Window place. Dinner receipts.” I glanced out the window again to see him leaning over the front window talking to the driver.

  I combed through the receipts, thinking maybe there would be a dinner receipt in Phoenix. Italian, Mexican, five-star restaurants, dinners for two. Always dinners for two.

  I caught sight of the Tiffany’s receipt and pulled it out. It was dated the afternoon of the murder. Drat. And there were two pieces of jewelry on the invoice. The bracelet, as I had thought, was only triple digits, though in the high end. An emerald and diamond necklace and earring set was listed for the rest of the money and the price made me want to whistle in surprise. That made up the difference in what Jessica thought he’d paid for the bracelet. She was one lucky lady.

  If she was the lucky one. Now I’d seen all of his meal receipts, I wasn’t so sure. If he was working so late, who was he eating out with?

  The car’s engine hummed when it pulled out of the parking spot. I shoved the papers back into the file, closing it quickly, then hurried around the desk to the front again.

  The man returned
and pulled a business card out of the top drawer of the cabinets where I’d just been working, triumph on his face. “I knew he had some here.” He passed it over with a flourish and I grinned at him.

  A moment later we were heading down the stairs to the parking lot again. “Thanks for showing me around,” I said. “This is so fascinating.”

  “Anytime. You may want to come back in a month or so to check on how things are going. It’ll be a whole new world.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I hurried back to the shop and found Lenny and Kat in the kitchen. He leaned in and gave her a kiss and she giggled. They were so nauseatingly cute, I hardly knew what to do with myself. I headed toward them, smiling.

  That was, until Shawn caught sight of me and stalked over, his blue eyes even darker than usual with anger. “Where have you been? How am I supposed to keep you safe if you go haring off every time I turn my back? You could have been killed.”

  I took a steadying breath and looked him in the eye. “Look, I know you mean well, but I’ve got to get through this, and having you at my elbow isn’t always reasonable.”

  His hands fisted on his hips as exasperation mingled with anger on his features. “You said you’d let me take precautions, that you wouldn’t act stupid. How can I trust you if you go running out there alone? How am I supposed to keep you safe, huh?”

  “I was fine. See,” I held my arms out beside me to demonstrate the lack of blood-spurting injuries. “Fine. I didn’t go chat up a suspect or anything; I was just taking brownies to some guys at a construction site.”

  “Marty Grizzle’s construction site, you mean? How is that supposed to make me feel better? You hoped to see him there. You might not have talked to him, but you wanted to.”