“Here’s some handwriting,” Alice said as they neared the end of the documents. “I think it might be the accountant’s conclusions.”
She peered at the messy scrawl for a few minutes, then shook her head. “Can you make this out? He might as well be writing in Swahili for all I can understand.”
Donnie stared for a few moments, then shook his head, giving a groan. “This is worse than my doctor’s handwriting. Just forward to the end and get it over with. That’s an hour of my life I’m not getting back.”
Alice turned to the very end of the document and discovered the accountant had typed his summary of findings there. “Thank goodness,” she said as she read them through quickly. “This says there’re discrepancies in the amounts shown. What does that mean?”
“Where?”
Alice pointed out the text on the screen, and Donnie bent over the computer screen again. “That doesn’t look good.” He sucked air in over his teeth while furrowing his brow. “According to this, someone’s been filching money from the school coffers.”
“In English, please.”
“Someone with access to the school accounts has been stealing. A pretty good sum, too.”
“Could that be down to the principal?” Alice tried to peer at the screen again, but Donnie was doing an impersonation of a door. “Would Mr. Dunbar be the one stealing?”
Donnie snickered at that. “Mr. Dunbar,” he muttered under his breath. “No. I can’t see any evidence of that. The man would hardly appoint an accountant to look over everything if he was the thief in the first place. He’d be hiding his tracks better than that.”
“Who else has access?” Even though she asked the question, Alice was pretty sure she already knew what he’d answer, and Donnie didn’t disappoint.
“The only other person, apart from some folks on the board of trustees, would be the treasurer.” He sat back, leaving the screen wide open for Alice to view if she wanted. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the man’s face, trying to read his expression as it changed through a multitude of guises. “Once the school board gets hold of this, Trish Clarkson is going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
No matter how uncomfortable it felt for Alice to sit in front of Sergeant Hogarth and admit the various activities she’d just been involved in, she held firm to the main points. She needed to get across to the man how much likelier it was that Trish was responsible for Alex Dunbar’s killing.
Even when the sergeant’s expression changed from impatient politeness to outrage at Alice’s exploits, she made sure to fill him in on every last detail. If she got into trouble for her behavior, so be it. Just as long as Sally was set free, it didn’t matter.
Lying might be against her moral judgment, but no one was going to throw her in the slammer for fibbing to an accountant. Manipulation was frowned upon, but it couldn’t wind up with her behind bars.
Through deepening blushes, Alice made sure the officer knew her entire role and could assign blame correctly. She also ensured he knew about the embezzlement and Trish’s early arrival at school on the day of Alex Dunbar’s murder.
She’d only remembered that bit as she and Donnie argued logistics. He’d worked alongside Trish for so many years he didn’t want to condemn her on one set of inferred facts.
But the more they’d examined what they knew in light of the accounts and summary, the more the spotlight of guilt had shone Trish’s way. She’d been on the scene at the right time, had what looked to be over a hundred thousand dollars of motive, and would be someone who could scare Michael into silence with a threat.
Despite Donnie’s reluctance to accept his colleague was guilty, Alice knew she’d argued a good case. In the end, she settled it by saying they’d just turn the evidence over to the police and let the chips fall where they may. She kept her fingers crossed they fell in the direction of Sally’s release from the holding cells.
“This is very interesting,” Sergeant Hogarth said in a musing tone when Alice came to a halt. “What’s especially interesting is how, when my officers called this same accountant for the same information a few hours ago, he clammed up and insisted we produce a warrant before he could release the details.”
Alice blushed even harder, hanging her head down so the sergeant couldn’t see the full flush of guilt upon her face. “We expected something similar to happen when we called,” she said, again lying and not feeling nearly enough guilt. “It was just on the off-chance. I’m sorry if it meant your officers ran into trouble.”
“It wasted two of my men’s time, having to take out evidence down to the courthouse to obtain the warrant.”
“But it strengthens your case to have that, doesn’t it?” Alice risked a glance up, and at the furious thunderclouds darkening the sergeant’s face, rather wished she hadn’t. “No one will be able to say you didn’t do everything by the book.”
“No one would’ve said that either way.” The sergeant sounded even more disgruntled. “I’ve never run a dirty case and I’m not doing it with this one either.”
He thumped his palm flat down on the desktop with that last sentence and Alice jumped. After a moment, Sergeant Hogarth sighed. “Look, I realize you were only trying to help your friend, but please keep your nose out of my inquiries from now on. Murder is a serious business. If we don’t gain all the evidence we need because a layperson has been poking about before us, then our entire prosecution could be on the line.”
“I’m sorry.” Alice’s voice had disappeared somewhere so deep inside her it was barely audible. “I won’t do it again.”
After a moment of silence, she once again risked a glance at the sergeant. “But, since you’re talking about Sally, is there any reason to keep hold of her now this information has come to light?”
“We’ll decide that on our own terms and in our own good time.” Sergeant Hogarth stood up and gestured for Alice to do the same. “Now, why don’t you get out of my station before I find something to charge you with?”
Alice scurried out of the office, staring at the floor and hoping she hadn’t gotten her or Sally into deeper trouble. Donnie gave a yell as she walked into the reception area and clapped her on the shoulder with a hand she immediately threw off.
“Bit touchy, are we?”
“I’m always a bit touchy,” Alice said grumpily. “It’s part of being an Aspie.”
“Oh, right. I forgot.” He held his hands up. “Well, if I promise not to touch you, how about I take you out for lunch?”
“I can’t.” Alice sighed as she thought of all the other responsibilities weighing down upon her. The time spent at Donnie’s had been fun compared to what awaited her at the vet’s office and the café. “I’ve got to get home and start baking. Otherwise, my café will run out of food, then run out of customers.”
“You own a café?”
Donnie seemed absurdly delighted at the news and Alice gave him a glance full of suspicion. “I do. Why?”
“Well, that means lunch is on you, doesn’t it? Now, what help do you need with baking? I used to sub in for the Home Economics teacher back in the day.”
“Anything with honey.”
Donnie gave her a broad smile. “That’s fine, then. I can whip up a fantastic honey cake with honey cream icing, if you’ve got the ingredients.”
“What does it need?” Alice whipped out her phone, which held the full list of food stocked in the café and in her home. Donnie reeled off a list from memory, convincing her in the process he actually knew what he was talking about.
“All there.” Alice popped the phone away in her pocket. “Do you want to come to my house, or bake at the café?”
“Careful.” Donnie checked over his shoulder. “People might think you’re asking me on a date.”
Her snort of laughter wiped the smile off his face and Alice felt a small pang of remorse in the base of her stomach. She hadn’t meant to make fun of him, just assumed it was a joke.
“Café, it is, then,” she sa
id, to cover her faux pas. “Then you can eat your own concoction for lunch or take advantage of something else we have on hand.”
“It’s a deal.”
Harriet looked intrigued when Alice arrived, making more excuses than normal to join the two of them in the kitchen. Whenever she popped her head through the door, it seemed to be just to cast openly curious glances at Donnie.
Each time, Alice waved her back into the dining room to serve the customers, but with a light flow of clientele and the spare waitress from the temp agency efficiently dealing with everyone, she kept drifting back.
As Donnie began setting out the ingredients, Alice made a mental note. If the cake was a success, and not too similar to ones already in their repertoire, then she could add it to the stock of recipes.
He started off cutting a pound of butter in half and used the side of it to grease the round cake tin. He then began to cream it with the mixer, adding in three quarters of a cup of sugar and a half-cup of honey and beating until the mix was stiff and a rich off-white color.
Once Donnie reached a consistency he was happy with, he cracked in five large eggs, beating between additions until the mixture smoothed out into a batter, adding in a teaspoon of vanilla to round out the taste. Unable to help herself, Alice dipped a wooden spoon into the mix when he went to the pantry to take out the flour. She had it sucked dry before he turned back around, none the wiser.
The sweet rich taste of the mix heightened her anticipation while Donnie put two cups of flour plus a quarter teaspoon each of salt and nutmeg into the sifter. He slowly sifted it into the batter, pausing between each addition to mix it together, prior to adding another few turns of the handle. When finished, he poured it into the prepared tray and popped it into the oven at three hundred and twenty-five degrees.
Alice grabbed the used bowl and insisted on taking it over to the sink to wash. “It’s only fair, since you’re the one doing the baking,” she said, before sweeping her wooden spoon around the bowl a few more times, shielding the activity with her curled shoulder.
When she finished rinsing the bowl in the sink and had popped it into the dishwasher, Alice turned back to Donnie to find he’d placed a cup of fresh cream into a new bowl and was whisking it into soft ribbons. He folded in a tablespoon of Greek yoghurt and one of honey, then added a teaspoon of vanilla essence to balance with the cake.
“How long until it’s done?” Alice’s stomach rumbled as she asked the question and both she and Donnie laughed.
“Forty minutes to bake, then another fifteen before it’ll be cool enough to frost.”
“In that case, do you want to have a look at the display cabinet and pick out something for your lunch?”
“Yes,” he said as his stomach joined hers in a chorus. “I really think I do.”
Once Donnie’s cake was ready, Alice told him to sit at the table while she frosted it with the cream and yoghurt mixture. She pulled a few sugared violets out of the fridge to top it off with, then sliced it and brought it through. “Ta-da!”
“Anyone would think you made it,” he grumbled good-naturedly, accepting a large slice. “What happens to the rest of it?”
“It goes into the cabinet and gets sold off to the customers,” Harriet said, stopping by the table for a quick nosy into what Donnie and Alice were chatting about. “And, if there’s any left at the end of the day, it goes to a needy recipient.”
“The city mission?” Donnie asked.
“If there’s enough. Otherwise, I just meant me and the kids.” Harriet had just tipped Donnie a wink when she caught sight of someone approaching the café. “Sally!”
Alice turned, then clapped her hands as her friend walked into the shop, looking tired and bedraggled, but otherwise unharmed. “They released you! Thank goodness.”
Sally stared at Donnie, bewildered for a second, then turned to Alice. “I heard you might’ve had something to do with that. The sergeant went on and on about a strange woman who couldn’t keep her nose out of other people’s business, so I assumed it must be you.”
She smiled, looking so much like the normal Sally that Alice forgot the changes she’d been so worried about just a day or two ago. “We were just helping them along, in case they weren’t in the mood to hurry.”
“All I can say is thank you, and you too,” Sally nodded at Donnie, “if you had a hand in this as well. Now, how are things going around here?”
She took a seat while Alice filled her in with everything that had happened since the arrest.
Chapter Fourteen
Midway through their catch-up, Alice felt a pang of longing for Chester, who’d be sitting at home, probably still feeling a bit sore. He’d need her attention a lot more than Sally would, so she excused herself abruptly. “Donnie can fill you in on everything,” she said. “He was with me all the way.”
Sally cast another glance full of curiosity Alice’s way, but she didn’t have time to stop and worry about it. Her friend could hear all about what a tolerable man Donnie was when he wasn’t being a jerk, another day.
Chester was sitting on his comfy dog bed, with food and water within easy reach, just where she’d left him. Doug walked over for a check-in, saying that he’d been a good patient all day. Alice gave her dog a pat, careful of his wound, and was pleased to see he had enough energy to give her a lick.
The vet hadn’t left a message, but Alice took the brave step of phoning the surgery to see what Josh had discovered during surgery the previous day. It took a few minutes of waiting, then he came on the line.
“Sorry, I should’ve talked about this with you yesterday, but with the new developments I clean forgot.”
“Was it very bad?” Alice closed her eyes and steeled herself for terrible news.
“I found a tumor,” Josh Freeman said. “It was a small one and appears to be benign, but it managed to grow in the wrong place. We removed it successfully, so you should see a great improvement in Chester’s energy levels over the coming days.”
Alice opened one eye cautiously and stared down at her dog. “You removed a tumor?”
“Yes. We’ve sent a small sample off to the lab, just in case there’s something we missed, but on first inspection, there’s absolutely no cause for worry. Now, did Jeffrey give you the antibiotic cream for Chester’s wound?”
“He gave me a tube of something to rub on him and stuck a cone around Chester’s neck, so he doesn’t worry at the stitches.” Alice paused, tilting her head to one side and screwing her eyes up tightly again. “So, it was cancer?”
“No! If it helps you picture it better, the lump was just a bunch of extra cells growing in the wrong place. As I said, it was benign.”
“But it might still be cancerous? That’s what you’re waiting to find out from the lab?”
Josh laughed and at the sound, Alice’s muscles began to relax. No matter what else was going on, there was no way the vet would laugh at her dog being seriously ill. A corner of her mind began to believe everything might be okay.
“Look, if it hadn’t been for the scare that Chester gave us coming out from the anesthesia, then I’d have told you yesterday, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your dog. He’s getting older, and sometimes these things happen as a pet ages, but for the time being, he’s perfectly fine.”
“No cancer?”
“No cancer. No liver disease. Nothing to worry about except keeping his wound clean and making sure he doesn’t pull at the stitches before they have a chance to heal. Do you think you can look after that?”
Alice smiled down at Chester and pulled a face. He stared back at her with liquid eyes and a wide grin, his tongue lolling over his front teeth. “I think I can handle that just fine.”
In the newspaper the following day, Alice read an article noting a person had been arrested for the murder of Alex Dunbar. Although it didn’t give a name, reading between the lines she thought that a member of the school staff must surely be Trish Clarkson.
She thought b
ack to meeting the woman at Tashmore Primary School, both on the day Alice had given her talk, and on the morning she’d come down to find out what trouble Sally had gotten herself into. Trish had been the one to point out the other teachers were teasing her. She’d taken the time to talk with Alice and tell her what she knew about what was happening.
What a pity such a nice woman had taken such a wrong turn on her life’s path. If Alice hadn’t seen the evidence with her own eyes, she would have had a hard time believing it. Even now, she shook her head and wondered if there’d been another mistake.
Still, so long as Sally was out of jail for the crime, Alice had done the best she could to help. Sergeant Hogarth had been quite emphatic any further interference wouldn’t be tolerated nearly so well.
Her phone beeped in her pocket and Alice pulled it out, her concern evaporating when she saw it was from Donnie rather than a message from the vet.
“Tashmore is having a memorial service for Alex. Did you want to come by and pay your respects? It’s at midday.”
For a second, Alice hesitated. She really hadn’t known the man very well and it might be an imposition to turn up when everybody else had known him so much better. Then she thought of Mr. Dunbar’s nice smile and the kind way he spoke to her. She remembered his interest when she came to the school on the weekend to coax away a small swarm of bees.
“I’ll be there,” she texted back, then went to find a packet of tissues to take along, just in case.
“Goodness,” Alice said as she turned into the playground. “The school looks a lot bigger when everyone is standing in the same place.”
Donnie shook his head and chuckled. “There’s a lot of extras have come along today, as well. We don’t usually have all these adults wandering around. A lot of parents are here. Even if they didn’t know Alex very well, they all want to support their kids.”
“I can’t remember the first time someone I knew died,” Alice said in a thoughtful voice. “There would be a few elderly relatives before my parents passed but for the life of me, I can’t recall which one went first, or their names.”
The Honey Trap (A Honeybee Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 8
