Killer Crullers

by Jessica Beck

  “Her ex-boyfriend was murdered. The police must have interviewed her by now, and I’m trying to help Desmond’s aunt figure out what happened to him. Jean lost someone she loved, so she has that right.”

  Chet held his massive hands forward, as though trying to ward off my words. “Can I get a chance to talk, too?”

  “Go ahead,” I said, searching over his shoulder for a sign that someone, anyone, was about to come into the shop. Cops loved donuts, so where were my friends on the force when I needed them? I’d even welcome a visit from Chief Martin, something I was certain would shock him if he knew about it. At least Emma was in back, not that she’d be able to do anything to stop Chet if he decided to do something to me. But at least some backup was better than none at all.

  “I came by to say that I was wrong,” Chet said simply.

  “About what, exactly?” I asked.

  To my surprise, Chet smiled softly. “I’m the first person in the world to admit that I’m overprotective of Katie, but I never should have treated you that way. I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”

  I looked into his eyes and saw that he was sincere. “Are you in love with her?” I asked softly, without realizing that I was pushing things way too far.

  Chet’s face began to cloud over, and I wondered if that was how I was going to die, right there in my donut shop.

  “No, of course not,” he said with a little too much force for my taste. “We’re just friends.”

  Wow, this guy’s mood changed faster than the weather. “Okay, I was just asking.”

  “I like her, but we’re nothing more than buddies. I look out for her, that’s all. There’s never been anything between us, at least not like that.” Chet was overexplaining, and I had to wonder if he wasn’t just protesting a little too much.

  “Got it,” I said as I moved back behind the counter. It was probably a little crazy, but I felt better having something between us more substantial than a box of napkins.

  He looked at me, and then nodded as he said, “I just wanted to make that clear.”

  Chet started to go, and then turned back around to face me. What was going to happen now?

  “I’m here, I’m hungry, and you sell donuts,” Chet said. “Would you mind making me up a dozen to go?”

  I grabbed an empty box, and then asked, “Anything in particular?”

  “No, you choose. Just make them good.”

  How was I supposed to know what he liked? I quickly picked a dozen of my most popular varieties, and then sealed the lid with tape.

  “Would you like coffee, too?”

  “No, I never could stand the stuff,” he said as he slid his money across the counter to me.

  “I’ve got hot chocolate, too,” I said.

  Chet grinned. “You know what? I haven’t had any of that for ages. That would be great.”

  I poured a to-go cup and he took a sip as I made his change.

  “That reminds me of my mother,” he said. “She used to make cocoa this good, but I haven’t had any since she passed away.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said. It appeared that this man had a heart that matched the rest of him.

  “She’s been gone a while, but I still miss her. Is your mother still alive?”

  “She is,” I answered. “We live together, in fact.” Now, why on earth had I told him that?

  Chet nodded as he put his change away. “You’re lucky.”

  “I think so, too.”

  Chet took the box and headed for the door again. But the man just refused to leave. He stopped yet again, turned to me, and asked, “You’re finished with Katie, right?”

  I wanted to tell him yes with every fiber of my being, but I knew if I lied to him now, he’d just come back. I had a feeling that Katie Wilkes was in the thick of things, so I couldn’t give her a free pass. “Chet, think about it. If I can help the police see that Katie wasn’t involved in Desmond’s murder, her life will be a lot better than it has to be right now. I know what it’s like to be under a cloud of suspicion, and trust me, it isn’t any fun. In a very real way, I’m actually doing her a favor.”

  He looked curious about my answer. “What makes you think you can help her?”

  “I’ve had some luck helping the police out in the past,” I admitted. “If Katie talks to me, I’ve got a real shot at doing some good here.”

  Chet frowned for a moment. “But she already talked to you.”

  “Not enough. There are some hard questions I need to ask her, and she has to tell me the truth. Maybe then I can be of service to her. It’s going to start getting hard on her soon, trust me.”

  “It already is,” Chet admitted. “She cried all afternoon after you left.”

  “You need to convince her to talk to me, for her own sake.”

  Chet seemed to think about it, and then shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  “Have her call me,” I said. “My number here is on the box.” I walked over, took out my pen, and then jotted my cell phone number down, as well. “She can reach me at one of those numbers any time, day or night, but I should warn you, I go to bed around seven-thirty, so I might be slow to answer after that.”

  Chet nodded, and then walked out of the donut shop with his donuts and cocoa in hand.

  Four minutes later, Chief Martin walked in. I grinned at him and said, “I have to say, your timing is lousy.”

  “What?” he asked with a frown. “What are you talking about, my proposal to your mother?”

  I didn’t want to get into my earlier conversation with Chet any more than I wanted to discuss his plans to marry my mother. “What brings you here this morning, Chief?”

  “It’s this thing with your mother,” he admitted. “She’s got me tied in knots.”

  “I’m not sure I’m the one you should be talking to about it. What’s between the two of you should stay that way,” I said as I polished the counter, even though it was already clean.

  “I’m not talking about her, confound it. I mean the two of us.” He pointed a finger from me to his chest, and then back again.

  I finally got it. “Hang on. Let me get this straight. Do you think I’m the only reason my mother hasn’t accepted your proposal?” There was no softening my words now.

  He looked at me defiantly. “Well, are you?”

  Why was I surprised? “Believe it or not, I gave her my blessing.”

  “You’re kidding,” he said, clearly stunned by the news.

  I shook my head and explained, “I want Momma to be happy, and if that means you’re in her life, then so be it. I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about the idea at first, and I still think you pulled the trigger way too soon, but like I said, it’s between the two of you.”

  “Do you really mean that?”

  “I wouldn’t lie to you, not about that,” I added hastily.

  Chief Martin shook his head as he bit his lower lip. “If you aren’t the problem, then what is? What is she waiting for?”

  “Would you rather have a quick no, or a possible yes that takes a while?” I asked.

  “You know the answer to that,” he said with a grin.

  “Then if I were you, I’d stop pushing. Give her time to make up her mind. The worst thing you can do right now is press her for a response. I can guarantee you that if you push her, she’ll push right back.”

  He chewed that over, and then said, “Yeah, I guess I can see that. Thanks.”

  After he was gone, Emma came up front. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

  “What did I do?”

  She stared at me as she said, “You just gave the police chief advice on winning your mother; you realize that, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “I meant what I said. I want her to be happy. That’s all that matters.”

  Emma nodded. “You must.” She looked around the empty dining room and asked, “Did anything else exciting happen while I was in back washing dishes?”

  “I’m
guessing that you didn’t hear my earlier conversation with Chet, did you?” I asked.

  “No, but I had my iPod in, and it was a little loud.”

  So much for what little reinforcements I had at the shop. I was just glad that our conversation had turned out okay.

  * * *

  It was just before eleven and I was overjoyed that we’d be closing soon when the door chimed, and, Max walked in. I’d already boxed up the two dozen donuts we had left and had taken the trays to Emma. If we planned it right, we’d both be out of there in ten minutes, and then Grace and I could continue our investigation into Desmond Ray’s murder.

  Max looked at the empty display cases behind me. “You’re sold out already? Is business just that good, or are you cutting back on your production?”

  “Why can’t it be a little bit of both? How are you doing, Max?” I said as cordially as I could manage. “It was really nice seeing Ashley again.”

  He frowned. “It might have been if she hadn’t spent the entire time riding me about you.”

  “I knew there was a reason I liked that girl,” I said.

  “About the donuts. I don’t suppose you have any in back, do you?”

  “I might be able to round up a dozen or two,” I said. “Why, are you staging another play?”

  He nodded. “Open tryouts are in half an hour, and my actors love it when I bring your donuts by.”

  “What’s the production this time?”

  “We’re doing Young Love in Autumn,” he said. Max loved to go against type by producing plays intentionally written for young actors using his seniors at the center. They were quite good, and folks were still talking about the rendition of West Side Story they’d once done.

  “I can’t wait,” I said. “Be sure to save me a ticket up front.”

  “I will, in exchange for those donuts,” Max said, running a hand through his hair and smiling that deadly smile of his.

  “Save it for Emily Hargraves,” I said with a laugh. Emily was a friend of mine, and a fellow business owner in April Springs. Her newsstand was just down the street, Two Cows and a Moose. It was popular not just for what she offered for sale, but because of her three stuffed animals who ruled over the place, always dressed in season-appropriate attire that matched Emily’s whimsical mood.

  “Emily won’t give me the time of day anymore, and you know it,” Max said.

  “Well, I always said that girl had both good sense and taste.”

  “About the donuts?” Max reminded me.

  “Here you go,” I said as I slid them across the counter. When I quoted him the price, he said, “I thought we were bartering these for good seats.”

  “No, thanks. I’ll take my chances at the box office,” I said.

  Max paid, and after he was gone, I locked the door behind him.

  “We’re all clear,” I shouted to Emma in back.

  She must have been standing at the kitchen door. “Everything’s washed and put away, ready for tomorrow. You run the reports, and I’ll sweep up out here.”

  “You’ve got a deal,” I said.

  As I ran the cash register reports and started counting out the money in the till, Emma looked around and asked, “What happened to the extra donuts?”

  “Max bought them all at the last second,” I said.

  Emma nodded, but I noticed that she was clearly a little disappointed by the news. “Is there something wrong with that?”

  “I was hoping to get a few for myself,” she said. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “You could have grabbed them in back when you had the chance,” I said.

  “I thought about it, but it never occurred to me that we’d be sold out.”

  I looked at her a second, and then asked, “Emma, those donuts weren’t for you, were they?”

  She grinned. “Okay, they might have been for someone else.”

  “A young man, perhaps?”

  “Perhaps,” she said, her smile suddenly intensifying.

  “Sorry about today, but you have my blessing to grab some tomorrow.”

  She nodded, and then went about her cleaning. Emma was in love with the idea of falling in love, and it was difficult to keep up with the young men in her life. I didn’t envy her the roller coaster of emotions that was the result of her love life, and I was especially happy to have Jake in my life. He was everything that Max was not, and in the best ways possible.

  The reports and the cash on hand matched perfectly, an event that never failed to surprise me. I made out the deposit just as Emma finished up, and I began to turn out the lights.

  “See you tomorrow,” I said as I let us both out, and then locked the door behind us.

  There was a handsome young man standing across the street, and his smile lit up the day when he saw Emma.

  She practically skipped across the street to greet him, and I realized that my assistant most likely wouldn’t change places with me, either. We had chosen our own love lives, as was fair and right.

  As I drove to Grace’s house, I wondered if she was happy with her new man, but I wouldn’t ask, no matter how much I was dying to know.

  When I got to her house, though, I realized that I didn’t have an option about asking her about anything.

  Her car was gone, and there was a note taped to the front door for me.

  Hey, Suzanne. Had to run to Hickory. Tried to call, but your phone was busy. Back tonight. Be careful.

  It appeared that I was on my own.

  CHAPTER 13

  I didn’t really have any choice about what to do next. I was going to have to keep digging by myself, no matter how crazy it might sound. I’d have to be a little more careful than I had been in the past since no one was watching my back, but I couldn’t let that stop me.

  I was driving back through town so I could go to Talbot’s Landing when I passed Gabby Williams’s shop. Gabby was standing in front of her place, looking more than a little lost. On a whim, I pulled in to see what was wrong.

  She looked insanely happy to see me. “Suzanne, I just walked over to your shop, and you were closed. I didn’t know what to think.”

  “I changed my hours,” I explained. “It’s nothing to get alarmed about.”

  “I wasn’t really that worried,” she said, though I knew that wasn’t the case at all.

  “Was there something you needed to see me about?” I asked.

  “How is the investigation coming?” she asked, lowering her voice, though we were the only two people around.

  “We’re making some progress,” I said, “but it’s still early. How are you holding up?”

  “My customers are staying away from my shop in droves,” she answered, nearly in tears. “They all must believe I killed Desmond.”

  “Take it easy. It could just be a slow day.”

  Gabby scoffed at that. “Don’t try to kid me into believing that. I saw the foot traffic at your donut shop drop when you were a suspect, so I know what’s happening to me now. You’ve got to do something.”

  “You don’t mean that I should help you drum up some business, do you?”

  She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I’m talking about solving the case.”

  “I can only do what I can do,” I said, quoting one of my mother’s favorite expressions.

  “Then what are you going to do next?” she asked.

  I shook my head, wondering how I’d gotten myself into this. “I’m going to Talbot’s Landing to interview a few more people.”

  Gabby paused a moment, and then nodded. “That sounds good. I’m going with you.”

  “Gabby, that’s not necessary,” I said, knowing how most folks would react to her relentless pushing and prodding.

  “I’m not selling anything here. Why shouldn’t I go with you?” She looked into my Jeep, and then added, “Besides, Grace and George aren’t around, and it’s not safe for you to go alone.”

  “Sometimes I have more luck that way,” I said, which was true. If I showed up so
mewhere with George or Grace in tow, it had to feel like we were ganging up on the people we were questioning, and while I knew that bullying worked for some investigators, I wasn’t a fan of it myself. I liked to ask a lot of questions, but I had to believe I knew when to ease up, or lose my access to people completely.

  “Nonsense. I’m going,” she said forcefully.

  I had to stop this before it got out of hand. I took her hands in mine, and then said, “Gabby, as much as I appreciate your offer, there are two reasons it’s a bad idea. One, these people aren’t going to want to talk to me if you’re there, given the fact that you’re a person of interest in the case.”

  “What’s the second reason?” she asked.

  I wanted to say that it was because she’d drive me crazy, but I wisely didn’t. “You need to keep the shop open, even if you don’t get a single customer to come inside. Folks in town need to see that you have nothing to hide from, and if you abruptly close ReNEWed, they’re going to think you’re admitting you had something to do with Desmond’s murder.”

  “That’s preposterous,” Gabby said.

  “We both know it, but think about it. Remember, I kept my shop open, even when things looked bleak for me. You’ve got to do the same.”

  She nodded. “I can see that you’re right, but that doesn’t make waiting around here any easier. I feel so helpless.”

  What an odd word for Gabby to use to describe herself. I could imagine her as a thousand things, but helpless would never make the list. “Put on a happy face, and act as though you haven’t a care or concern in the world,” I said. “That’s the best thing you can do for your reputation.”

  “Thank you, Suzanne,” she said. “I’ll try my best.”

  I decided to leave while I still could. “Keep your chin up,” I said as I got into the Jeep.

  Gabby surprised me by giving me a thumbs-up sign.

  I had to laugh as I drove out of town. She was trying, I had to give her that.

  I just hoped I’d be able to help her as I’d promised.

  * * *

  The drive to Talbot’s Landing was longer than it had been the day before, even though I knew that was ridiculous. It was just that without Grace to chat with, the miles seemed to creep past. I almost found myself wishing that I’d agreed to have Gabby join me just for the company.