by Jessica Beck
Jake held it carefully by two edges as he asked, “Any idea what it means?”
“I haven’t a clue,” I admitted.
Jake set it back down carefully as he replied, “Neither do I. Well, I’m here now. Let’s hear all about your plan.”
“Shouldn’t we eat first?” I asked as I cut the omelet into two portions and slid the larger one onto Jake’s plate.
“Hey, I got more food than you did,” he said.
“You’re seriously not complaining about that, are you?”
“No. Not one bit. Forget I even mentioned it,” he said with a slight grin. “Now talk.”
I took a deep breath, and then I started to tell him my idea. “I’ve been thinking that the only way we’re going to have any luck interrogating our suspects is to isolate them somewhere out of the way where we can be certain that we have their undivided attention.”
Jake took a bite of his omelet, smiled, and then waved his empty fork at me. “Believe me, I’d lock them all up if I could, but there are procedures that I have to follow.”
“How about if they isolated themselves voluntarily?” I asked as I took a bite myself. It was delicious, and I had to wonder how much of that had to do with the fact that I was starving. Trish’s meatloaf had only held me for so long.
Jake put his fork down. “How are you going to get any of them to agree to doing that?”
“I’m still working out all the details. First I wanted to see what you thought of the general idea. I’ve already spoken with Shelly, and she’s on board, and so is Grace.”
“Who else have you told about this plan of yours?” he asked me a little warily.
“That’s it; I promise.”
“Let me think about this for a minute,” Jake said, and then he went back to his omelet, though I noticed that he was eating much less heartily now. We continued to eat in silence, since I knew that anything I could add at this point could be detrimental in Jake’s decision.
After he finished eating, he pushed his plate away. “That was amazing. You should seriously think about making food for customers for a living.”
I smiled at him. “What a coincidence. I already do.”
After another moment or two spent deep in thought, Jake looked at me before he spoke again. “There a few things we need to get out of the way up front before I agree to anything.”
“I’m listening.”
“First off, I can’t be the one who invites anyone anywhere. In fact, there can’t even be the whisper of an official investigation being conducted here. Is that understood?”
“Completely,” I said.
“That means that you have to coordinate everything, including issuing the invitations and making the room assignments. Is that going to be a problem?”
“I’m ready to handle everything,” I said. “You’re at least coming too, aren’t you?”
“Suzanne, you couldn’t keep me away even if you tried locking me up. Exactly who are you going to invite?”
I ran through my list of suspects, and then I asked him, “Is there anyone I’m missing that you’d like me to invite, too?”
“As far as suspects are concerned? No, I think you’ve got that covered.”
“Okay then, is there anyone who’s not a suspect that I should add to my list?” I asked, curious about what Jake was thinking.
“Well, obviously you need to call Chief Martin and tell him what you’re planning. If I know him, he’s going to want to come, too.”
“Don’t worry about him. I can get Momma to keep him at home,” I said as we started gathering our empty plates and glasses to carry into the kitchen.
“Hang on. That’s not what I meant. As a matter of fact, it might be good having him there as backup.”
“If he comes, we both know that Momma’s going to want to come as well,” I said.
“Is that a problem?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m not all that thrilled with the idea of putting my mother in harm’s way,” I said as I piled the dishes into the sink for later.
“I’ve got a hunch that you’re not going to have a say in the matter,” Jake replied. “I know you might not like including them, but the man’s brother was killed on his watch. I can’t refuse the chief’s request if he wants to be at that lodge to help catch the killer.”
“Nor should you,” I said. “I don’t know why I’m so worried. Momma and I can take care of ourselves.”
“How well I know that to be true,” Jake said. “Who else needs to know what we’re up to?”
“Well, I don’t see any way around the fact that you’ve got to tell your boss,” I said.
“I’m not calling him, so forget it. I quit, and that’s the end of it. He’s no longer my boss, so I don’t have to run anything past him ever again.” Jake’s jaw was set in a way that told me this topic was not up for discussion.
“I wasn’t talking about your old boss,” I said quickly. “I meant that you needed to tell George Morris. The mayor has a right to know what’s going on.”
“I’m guessing that he’s going to want to come along, too,” Jake said. “Not that I mind. He might be your mayor, but he’s still got a cop’s instincts from his years on the force, and those are in short supply around here sometimes.”
“Let me ask you something, Jake. If you three—the current interim police chief, the most recent previous police chief, and the current mayor—are all out of town, who does that leave in April Springs to be in charge?”
“Stephen Grant’s up for the job,” he said without a moment of hesitation. “This will give him some good field experience in command. The kid’s smart as a whip, and someday, he’s going to make a fine chief himself.”
“Is he ready for that much responsibility now, though?” I asked.
“Hey, I thought you were the man’s number one fan,” Jake accused me teasingly.
“That’s not true. I’m second, next to Grace, but yes, I like him a lot. You didn’t answer my question, though.”
“I wouldn’t ask him to do it if I didn’t think he was ready for it,” he said. “Besides, we may be getting ahead of ourselves.”
“How so?”
“We don’t even know if our suspects are going to bite on whatever story you’re going to try to feed them yet.”
I smiled at him. “Come on. I’m giving them all a free three-day weekend at a mountain resort. Do you honestly think that anyone is going to turn the offer down?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Jake said.
“Hmm,” I said after a few moments. “I could always just tell them that they won their trips.”
“What contest did they each supposedly enter that they’ve won?” Jake asked. “I imagine they’ll want to know, so you’d better have a sound answer for them.”
I frowned for a moment, and then I answered, “Well, if you’re going to be all logical about it, I’m not sure that I have a suitable answer.”
Jake grinned broadly at me. “Think harder then, Suzanne.”
“We could always say that we’re having a special memorial service for Chester up there,” I offered after a few moments of thought.
“The problem with that is that each one of these folks was fighting with Chester just before he died. It’s going to be hard to get any of them to drop everything and take a trip to the mountains to celebrate someone they were unhappy with in the first place.”
“Okay. Give me another minute. I’m not going to give up until I’ve got something.”
“Take all of the time that you need. Do we happen to have any pie? I thought I saw some in the fridge the other day.”
“Momma just brought over an apple-crumb-top pie. Help yourself.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” he said. “Would you like a slice?”
“Why not?” I said, and then I started pondering different ways I could get my suspects to come. I must have weighed half a dozen ideas as I sat there, but they all sounded too transparent even to me to say out lo
ud.
And then it hit me.
“How about if we just come right out and tell them that if they want to clear their names as suspects as soon as possible, they’ll come to the lodge, but if they want to remain suspects in everyone’s minds, then they can just stay home.”
“So, now you’re threatening them to get their cooperation?” Jake asked me.
I considered how that sounded, and then I nodded. “That just about sums it up. What do you think? Will it work?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” he answered with a slight smile. “Start calling them.”
As I dialed the first telephone number, things suddenly got very real for me. I’d come up with this idea on a lark, but now we were actually going to go through with it. While I realized that it should be helpful isolating everyone at the lodge, it also might mean that the killer would be even more dangerous cut away from the rest of society. I prayed that I wasn’t making a mistake, but it was too late to turn back now.
I only hoped that we were doing the right thing, and that no one else would die while we were in seclusion.
I wasn’t sure that my conscience could take it.
Chapter 13
To my delight, by the time I had finished making all of the phone calls, only one of our suspects had declined the free trip and the chance to clear their name.
“Suzanne, I can’t believe that you actually did it,” Jake said as he watched me hang up on the last caller.
“It wasn’t a complete success. I couldn’t get Vince Dade to agree,” I said, upset with myself for letting one of our suspects turn me down.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You did better than either one of us had any right to expect,” Jake said.
“But can we even do this without Vince, Jake?”
“Give him the night to think about it, and then ask him again in the morning. I suppose you might as well call our other guests who aren’t suspects and invite them to the party, as well.”
“At least I’m betting that I won’t have to twist any of their arms to get any of them to come,” I said.
“You’re right about that. I’ve got a hunch that everyone is going to want to be there. We all need to be doubly careful while we’re at the lodge. You know that, don’t you?”
“Jake, I’m not about to take any foolish chances, especially when so many innocent lives are at risk.”
He hugged me gently. “I know you won’t. Go on and make your calls. At least this should be a happier batch for you to make.”
“What are you going to be doing while I call everyone?”
He leaned back and looked a little pensive before he spoke. “I’m going to try to figure out how to trap the killer and keep the rest of us alive in the process. How does that sound to you?”
“Like it’s the best use of your time and resources,” I said.
As we’d predicted, every one of our friends said yes immediately to our offer, and soon enough, we had a full house heading to the lodge the next day. After I finished making my calls, I looked around and finally found Jake sitting out on the front porch, despite the chill in the air after the sun had set. I put a spare blanket over his shoulders, which he gratefully accepted.
“Did you reach everybody we talked about?” he asked me.
“Everyone said yes,” I said as I sat down beside him.
“Good. There’s just one more thing. Did you happen to call Emma and Sharon and ask them to sub for you over the next few days at the donut shop while you’re going to be in the mountains?”
In my haste to arrange the getaway for our guests and our suspects, I’d forgotten all about calling the mother/daughter team to see if they could take over for me for a few days. It was getting to be a habit with me, and I hoped that I hadn’t been asking them too much, since I’d hate for the duo to say no. “I’ll call them right now.”
“Go right ahead and make that last call. I’m not going anywhere,” Jake replied as he pulled the warmth in closer.
To my delight, Emma agreed the moment I asked. “My mother will be absolutely delighted. Any special instructions for us while you are gone?”
“Just keep making the donuts and selling them, and we should be fine,” I said. “Thanks again for doing this, and thank your mother, too.”
“Are you kidding? We should be the ones thanking you. This will give us both a chance to work on our nest eggs. See you when you get back. And don’t forget to be careful.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“That was a relief. They were happy to do it,” I said as I rejoined Jake.
“One of these days, they’re going to make you obsolete in your own operation; you know that, don’t you?” he asked.
“Kind of like what you just did to yourself with the state police?” I asked with a grin.
“Touché.” Jake took in a deep breath, and then he let it out slowly before he spoke again. “Suzanne, you’re not in any hurry to retire from the donut shop, are you?”
I laughed at the very thought of it. “Not a chance. Just how old do you think I am?”
“I wasn’t trying to insult you. After all, people retire at all ages,” he said.
“Well, I’m not anywhere near ready to hang up my apron for good. Jake, we both know that you’d go crazy if you didn’t have some way to fill your days yourself. It’s way too early for you to even think about retiring for good.”
“I know. I’m just not sure what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life.”
I patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ve got plenty of time to decide. In the meantime, let’s see if we can figure out how to catch this killer.”
The two of us batted around half a dozen ideas for the next hour before it was time for bed, but in the end, we weren’t able to come up with anything that might even remotely work. In the end, we called it a night and decided to sleep on it.
After all, tomorrow was going to come earlier than either one of us was ready for.
“So, we’ve got an hour to kill on our drive up into the mountains,” I said as Jake, Grace, and I headed to Shelly’s lodge in my Jeep. “Should we try to come up with some kind of plan for when we get there?”
“I’m not worried about when we show up,” Grace said from the seat beside me. “It’s when our suspects convene that has me concerned. How about you, Jake?”
I glanced at my boyfriend in the rearview mirror. He’d readily agreed to climb in back, and I’d wondered why he hadn’t opted to join me up front. Was there a reason for his isolation, or had he just done it out of politeness to Grace? Either way, I was curious to find out if he had any thoughts. “We might not have to have a grand plan after all.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Suzanne, we’re getting all of these suspects together in an isolated place. That might just be enough to do the trick all by itself. It won’t take much to stir the pot. As a matter of fact, I can think of a few ways to get the party started, but after that, I think we should all just step back and see what develops.”
“To be honest with you, that kind of surprises me, Jake. You don’t strike me as a particularly passive kind of guy,” Grace asked him.
“In ordinary circumstances, I’m not,” he said.
“But this situation is anything but ordinary, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Jake said as he nodded his approval. “I’m curious now, Suzanne. If our roles were reversed, what would you do to get the action moving forward if it were just the two of you doing this without my help?”
I considered it, and after nearly a minute, I said, “Well, I’d probably start by separating them.”
“And how might you accomplish that?” he asked. I looked over to see Grace listening to our conversation carefully.
After a moment’s thought, I said, “I’d most likely gather them all together in the main room, and then I’d call them one by one into another, smaller space.”
“And just what would you do
once you had them there?” Grace asked, clearly too curious to stay on the sidelines of the conversation.
“It doesn’t really matter at that point,” I said.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Grace, the implication of what the one not in the room with the rest of them is saying is really all that counts. When one person is speaking with me, the others are going to let their imaginations supply the crux of the conversation. Sure, I’d ask some pointed questions, but they wouldn’t cover any ground that we all haven’t already touched upon.”
Grace turned back to Jake. “Would that work?”
“It just might,” he said.
“Only you should be the one asking the questions, not me,” I told Jake as I glanced back in the rearview mirror.
“Why not you?” he asked softly.
“Because this is one of those cases where the aura of authority is the only way that it will work. If I question them, no one has to take the ramifications of the outcome as seriously, but if you do it, it’s bound to attract more attention. Do you disagree with that assessment?”
I glanced back again as I asked the question, and I saw the hint of a smile flee from his lips. “No, that makes sense. Is that what you’d recommend we do?”
“It sure is, but I didn’t think you could get involved.”
“I said that I couldn’t play any part in getting them there, but if everybody is already assembled at the lodge, then I’m just interviewing suspects at that point,” he said with a shrug. “Everyone except Vince Dade will be in attendance, and what is the investigating officer supposed to do when nearly every suspect he has—bar one—has decided to leave town together?”
“He doesn’t have much choice but to follow them,” Grace said with a grin. “That’s pretty cool how you worked that out.”
“Don’t give me too much credit,” he said. “This was all Suzanne’s idea. I’m just trying to use the new scenario to my own benefit.”
“And it sounds as though you’ve formulated a plan already,” I said. “And here we have another forty minutes on our drive. What should we talk about now?”
