Deep Fried Homicide

by Jessica Beck

  “It’s Terry,” he told me, and then his face fell. “Rusk got away.”

  “Then he could be heading this way, and we’re not armed,” I said, realizing that Rusk’s sudden appearance at Donut Hearts may have been a ruse used simply to lure our guard away. It was a short run through the park toward us, and we were wasting precious time. “Where’s your gun?”

  He reached into his sling and pulled out his service revolver. “It’s right here.”

  “Let me have it,” I said as I reached out toward him.

  “Suzanne, I’m willing to wager that I’m a better shot left-handed than you are right-handed.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” I said as I grabbed my baseball bat. “What should we do now?”

  “We lock the door and wait. If he comes for us, we defend ourselves, with deadly force if necessary. Can you do that?”

  “To protect us? Just watch me.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said with a smile. “Do me a favor. Pull one of the dining room chairs over to the door.”

  “Are you going to barricade us in?” I asked as I did as he’d requested.

  “Nothing quite so dramatic as that,” he said as he took the seat. “I just think that I’ve got a better chance of hitting him if I’m sitting down.”

  “Then I’ll be here as backup,” I said. “If you don’t take him down, then I will.”

  “That sounds like a solid plan to me,” Jake said, and then we waited.

  Chapter 12

  By the clock in my living room, it was barely seven minutes between the time Emma had hung up and the present, but it had felt like forever. When at last there was a tap on the door, I pulled my bat back to get ready to swing as Jake called out, “Who is it?”

  “Terry Hanlan,” he said.

  “Go on and get the door, but be careful,” Jake said. “He might not be alone.”

  I opened the door, waiting for something unexpected to happen.

  When Terry saw me, he frowned. “I missed him.”

  “He could still be hiding in the park, couldn’t he?” I asked as I pointed behind him.

  “The police chief and his men are out there searching right now. I came through the park myself, but I didn’t see a sign of anyone there.”

  After Terry was back inside, I locked the door behind him. It felt really good sliding the deadbolt into place.

  “You know, there’s something that we have to consider. It might not have actually been Rusk,” Jake said after a moment’s pause. “You’ve seen those drawings. They aren’t exactly precise, if you know what I mean. I’m willing to bet that his face is generic enough to match a few other men in April Springs, especially if they are strangers.”

  “That’s entirely possible,” Inspector Hanlan said, “but thinking that way doesn’t get us anywhere. I’m going to call our boss and see if he’ll officially put me on guard duty.”

  “Hang on,” Jake said. “We need to talk about this before you do anything that we can’t take back.”

  Inspector Hanlan looked at him oddly. “Jake, we both know that if I make that call, we’ll probably have a dozen officers here within the hour patrolling the area.”

  “And if Rusk sees that, I guarantee you that he’s going to run. Is there any doubt in your mind that’s going to happen? If we keep this to ourselves, we still have a chance of catching him.”

  “Maybe so,” he reluctantly said.

  “Come on. We both know that it’s true,” Jake said.

  Terry Hanlan leaned forward and stood very close to my boyfriend, who was still sitting down. “Jake, before you and I make any decisions that we might regret later, I want you to ask yourself a couple of things. One, are you comfortable with being the cheese in the trap? And if you are, how do you feel about putting Suzanne in danger, too?”

  That wasn’t fair. I knew I had to speak up before Jake made up his mind. “Terry, I trust you and Jake and my friends with my life. I couldn’t be any safer with a squad of troopers parked on my front porch, and if it means we have a chance to catch this guy on our own, I say we go for it. I’m game for whatever trap you two decide to set.”

  Jake shook his head. “Suzanne, as much as I’d like to agree with you, I think Terry might be right. Let’s get some backup in here right now, and we can worry about Rusk later.”

  I wasn’t about to let it go, though. “Jake, I don’t know if you want to keep looking over your shoulder for the next thirty years, but I know that I don’t want to. If we have a chance to catch Rusk now, then let’s not blow it. I say we go for it. I’m betting on us.”

  Jake grinned at Terry. “I told you she was like this.”

  “You were right,” Terry said.

  “So, what do you really think?” Jake asked him. “Be honest with me, Terry. If our roles were reversed, what would you do?”

  “It’s not fair to ask me that question. There’s nobody in my life that I love as much as you love Suzanne.” After a moment or two more of consideration, Terry added, “For the record, I’d love to say that she’s wrong, but I don’t think she is. If we can nab him now, it will be much easier than trying to do it later.”

  “Then it’s agreed,” I said. “We’re on.”

  Jake held up one finger. “Not so fast. We’ll do it on one condition. If we haven’t grabbed him in forty-eight hours, we call in all of the reinforcements we can get.”

  I nodded in quick agreement. “I can go along with that. After all, if we haven’t caught him by then, we probably won’t be able to do it at all.”

  “Suzanne, you have company,” Terry said a little later as he knocked on the front door. Jake was in the bedroom taking another nap, so for all intents and purposes, I was all alone.

  When I opened the door, I was surprised to find Trish from the Boxcar Grill standing on the porch with a large pot in her hands. “Hey, Suzanne. I didn’t realize that I needed a pass to visit you.” She was smiling at Terry as she said it, and I wondered what she was thinking when she saw the big state trooper on my doorstep.

  “Trish, this is Terry Hanlan. He’s a friend of Jake’s and mine,” I said. It was true, too. While I hadn’t known Terry long, he’d been drawn into my circle of friends fast enough. Anybody who was trying to keep me and my boyfriend alive got at least that.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Terry said as he nodded briefly.

  “Ma’am?” she asked with a smile. “I haven’t been called ma’am in quite awhile, and the last man who did it was after a lot more than my soup.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Terry said quickly. Was that a blush forming on his cheeks? “I meant it with all respect.”

  “Well then, we’ll just have to see how you act when you’re being disrespectful,” Trish said as she winked at him.

  It was time to get Terry off the hook. “Is that for us, or are you just taking your pot for a walk?”

  “It’s Jake’s favorite soup, as a matter of fact, chicken noodle with extra noodles,” Trish said with a smile as she handed the pot to me. It was heavy, and clearly full. “There’s enough for everyone, including you,” she added as she smiled at Terry. “Should we get you a bowl, too?”

  “I’ll eat later, but thanks for the offer,” he said. “I’d better get back to my post.”

  After he closed the door, Trish whistled. “Now that is a big hunk of man.”

  “You’re awful,” I said with a smile. “I can’t believe you made him blush.”

  “I’m not surprised at all,” she said. “After all, that’s how I have my fun.”

  “Did someone say soup?” Jake asked as he came out of the bedroom. “Hi, Trish.”

  “There he is, the man of the hour,” Trish said with a grin when she saw him. “How are you feeling, Jake?”

  “Well, right now I’m a little hungry, to be honest with you,” he said, looking steadily at the pot. “That smells wonderful.”

  I hadn’t realized that I was hungry as well. “Why don’t I dish up fo
ur bowls?”

  “I’d really like that, but I have to get back to the Boxcar. If you’ll fill one for Terry, though, I’ll deliver it on my way out.”

  “What have you been up to with my friend?” Jake asked her with a grin.

  “Me? Nothing. Come on, Jake, you know me.”

  “That’s why I asked,” Jake said with a grin. “Thanks for thinking of us.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I expect to see you walking across that park soon enough and eating at my place. The exercise will do you good.”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal,” Jake said.

  I set Jake up at the table, and as he started eating, I got a bowl for Terry and filled it up.

  “Trish, this is delicious,” Jake said.

  “It should be. I had one of my girls make it just for you.”

  I dug out a tray and put a bowl of soup on it, utensils, some crackers, and a soft drink. “Are you sure you don’t mind taking this out?” I asked her.

  “Honestly, I don’t mind at all,” she said with a laugh. Turning serious for a moment, Trish said, “Suzanne, if you need anything, and I mean anything, call me. I’m just a footstep away, okay?”

  “I will. I promise.”

  She wouldn’t accept it, though. “Suzanne, this isn’t a hollow offer. I mean every word of it. You are my dear friend, first and foremost, and I’ll do anything that I can for you, up to and including helping you hide a body in the park.” She turned to Jake and added, “You didn’t hear anything just then, Inspector.”

  “What? Sorry, I missed that. I was too busy focusing on this delicious soup,” Jake said with a smile.

  I hugged Trish. “Thanks. I hope that it doesn’t come to that, but it’s still good having friends like you around.”

  Trish smiled as she pulled away. “Well, I don’t know anyone quite like me, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.”

  After I let her out, I asked Jake, “Should I have gone with her out onto the porch?”

  Jake shook his head as he finished another bite. “Don’t worry about Terry. He’s a big boy. He’ll be able to handle her.”

  “Maybe,” I said as I finally got a bowl for myself. I looked at Jake’s bowl and asked, “Would you like some more?”

  “Maybe just a little,” he said. “I’m trying to catch up on all the food I missed while I was in the hospital.”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’m just happy to see that you have an appetite.”

  “I feel like a grizzly bear. All I seem to do is eat and sleep.”

  “That’s all that you need to do,” I said as I kissed his head on my way past him.

  “Hey, you can eat first before you serve me any more soup.”

  “This won’t take a second,” I said as I snatched his bowl so I could fill it up again.

  I topped his bowl off and returned it to him, but I didn’t get a chance to taste my soup after all.

  “More company’s here,” Terry said.

  I left Jake in the kitchen, and I went into the living room. I got there just as Terry opened the door for Hazel, Jennifer, and Elizabeth, the ladies from my book club. Elizabeth held a massive chocolate cake, Jennifer was carrying a lemon meringue pie, while Hazel had a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

  “We brought you a few desserts when we heard about what happened,” Jennifer said.

  “Come on in, ladies,” I said as I saw another car pull up. “I’ll be right with you,” I said as the DeAngelis women from Napoli’s Restaurant in Union Square got out.

  “We brought food,” Angelica, the matriarch, said.

  “Enough for two armies,” her youngest, Sophia, added.

  “They have to eat, don’t they?” Angelica asked, and the parade of food began in earnest.

  Terry whistled as he saw the food being unloaded. “How many friends do you have, Suzanne?”

  “Inspector, I may not have a lot of money, but I’m rich beyond all dreams of avarice when it comes to my friends. Have you ever eaten at Napoli’s?”

  “No, but Jake’s told me about it a few times.”

  “You’re going to want to get a plate when the DeAngelises finish unloading, trust me.”

  Terry looked mournful. “I’d love to, but I need to stay at my post.”

  “I’ll have Maria bring you a plate,” I said.

  Terry surveyed the lovely sisters as he asked, “Which one is she?”

  “She’s the pretty one,” I said with a grin.

  “You’re going to have to narrow it down a little more than that. They’re all beautiful, including the mother.”

  It appeared that Trish was going to have some competition.

  As the sun started to fade, the cottage was nearly splitting at the seams with food. That was the way we showed our love in the South, and what I’d told Terry had been true. There was a whole lot of love going on at the moment. I called Momma and Chief Martin to come over and join us, but they had other plans. George was smart, though. He showed up half an hour before his shift to load up a plate, and he’d even brought his secretary, and not-so-secret girlfriend, Polly, with him. Grace put in an appearance, and so did a few other friends as the night wore on. I made up a killer to-go box for Terry before he left, and by the time George was ready to take over his shift, I was afraid that he might be so full that he would fall asleep on duty.

  “Are you going to be able to make it until Chief Martin gets here to relieve you?” I asked George as he took over Terry’s spot.

  “I’m so full I can’t nod off,” he said. “I should have stopped with my second plate.”

  “Who can blame you? It’s not every day you get that kind of spread laid out for you.”

  “Don’t I know it,” he said. “Let me know if you need me. I’ll be right outside, wide awake, and that’s a promise.”

  “I trust you, George,” I said. “If anybody else comes by, thank them for us, but let them know that Jake needs his rest.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  I closed and locked the door behind me, and Jake and I were in for the night, finally alone.

  “Sorry I’ve been sleeping so much since I got here,” Jake said as I added a small log to the fire. It wasn’t that chilly, but I liked the ambience of it with its dancing flames and intermittent crackles and pops.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” I said as I settled in next time. “You’re recovering from a gunshot wound, remember?”

  “I’m not about to forget,” he said as he shifted a little, clearly trying to make himself more comfortable.

  “Can I get you anything?” I asked him.

  “No, I’m still full from that last plate from the DeAngelis clan. That was really a magnificent spread, wasn’t it?”

  “I’m glad you liked it, because even with all of the people we fed tonight, there’s tons still left over. If we get much more food, we’re going to have to use Grace’s fridge to store the extras.”

  “I missed seeing her today,” Jake said. “Is everything okay?”

  “She came by, but you were resting. Besides, she only stayed for a few minutes. She said that she saw the parade of well-wishers coming up the road to the house, so she decided we might appreciate a little space.”

  “Thank her for me, would you? That’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for me today.”

  He sounded a little grumpy as he said it. “Jake, is everything okay?”

  “I hate being the center of attention, Suzanne. You know that.”

  “I do, but you’re going to have to just suffer through it,” I said as I mussed his hair a little. “After all, how many folks get the chance to thank a hero?”

  “I wish everyone would stop tossing that word around so casually. I was just doing my job. Besides, in all that time I was tracking Monroe, I never knew that Rusk was working with him from the very start.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. No one else knew it, either.”

  “That’s no excuse,” he sai
d, and then my boyfriend let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot ever since I got shot. I’m not sure this is going to work out anymore.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was he actually breaking up with me while I was trying to help him recover from his wound? “You’re not tired of me, are you?”

  He looked startled by the question. “What kind of thing is that to ask?”

  “Based on what you just told me, I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question. If you’re not getting tired of me, then what is it? Have I done something?”

  That’s when he must have gotten it. “Suzanne, you and I are just fine. Better than fine, actually. I love you, or do I need to remind you of that more often?”

  “It couldn’t hurt,” I said, feeling better all of a sudden. “If it’s not me, then what were you just talking about?”

  “The job,” he said heavily. “I must be slipping. First I let Morton get a shot off and hit me, and then I find out that I missed learning about Rusk entirely. It’s not good.”

  “You can’t hold yourself to such impossible standards, Jake,” I said in protest.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m the only one who can. When a cop gets stale and burned out, he knows it before anyone else. I’ve made a couple of pretty big mistakes lately, and it could have cost me more than just some blood and recovery time.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jake said as he stared into the flames. “Not so long ago it didn’t seem to matter all that much what happened to me, but now that I’ve got you in my life, I have a solid reason to live again. Is it worth losing that just for a job?”

  “Jake, it’s completely understandable for you to second-guess yourself right now, but you’re a great cop, and you know it.”

  “I’m still okay,” he said grudgingly. “I’m just not at all sure that I’m as good as I need to be anymore.”

  “There’s one thing I know for sure. You shouldn’t try to make any decisions about your future while you’re recuperating,” I said. “If you still feel this way in a month, then you have every right to entertain the notion of stepping aside, but give yourself a chance to heal first, okay?”