Heather walked out after them, watching the back of Davidson’s head. She didn’t trust him either. What was his deal? Why did he treat Ryan like dirt and mistrust her?
“Ack, it doesn’t matter.” And it didn’t. Hunter Trickle had been shot, and she’d bet her last batch of donuts that the gun that’d killed Honey had just injured her brother.
Which meant that Hunter Trickle probably wasn’t the murderer.
Chapter 13
Heather opened the order list on the site and scratched a few numbers onto her notepad. “This is just a rough estimation, but two hundred donuts online, in under four days.”
“That’s insane,” Amy said, scooting forward to the edge of the chair in front of Heather’s office desk. “I mean, there’s no way you guys can handle all those orders in the long term, right? You’re going to have to hire some extra help.”
Heather chewed on the end of her pen. “Yeah,” she said, speaking around it, “we’ll have to hire quite a few more if it carries on like this. It’s awesome that we’re expanding, but it makes me a bit nervous.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t imagine that I’d end up owning anything bigger than Donut Delights. All I’ve ever wanted was a shop to call my own.” Heather ejected the pen from her lips and set it down on top of the pad.
“I guess the universe pushes us in the direction we’re supposed to go. You were meant to make it big, Heather. Even if it’s big in a small town like Hillside. It’s not like you have to move away.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Heather replied.
“You could be like Kylie Jenner. Produce donuts in specific numbers and watch them sell out,” Amy said, twiddling her fingers.
“Nah, I could never do that. The only other option is to expand. Or to close down the site, which I refuse to do. I wanted this, and I’m going to be happy about it.” Heather drew a heart on the paper, then glanced up at Amy. “Ames? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I don’t want to talk about Kent or what happened the other night. I might have been irrational, but maybe that’s because he’s right. I’m not ready. I need to be in a secure place mentally before I can be secure in a relationship,” Amy said, sagely.
Heather totally got that. The beginning of her relationship with Ryan hadn’t all be roses and chocolates. Times got tough.
“Let’s talk about something else. Like the case. Have you heard anything more?”
“Nope. I know that Hunter is stable, but he’s not talking. Not to Ryan, not to Davidson, not to anyone. He’s clammed up tight.”
“That means he’s afraid. Whoever shot him is probably the murderer.”
“I get that. I guess if I’d been shot, I’d be terrified of telling the truth, in case the guy came after me before the cops got to him,” Heather said, then scratched out the heart and drew a miniature gun instead. “Weird that he bought a rifle, though. Puzzler.”
“Yeah, totally. And Adele emailed him. They could have been co-conspirators, right?” Amy shrugged, mouth tugging upwards on the left side. “Maybe, I’m just grasping at straws with that. They could’ve been dating.”
A knock at the door broke Heather’s train of thought.
“Come in,” she said.
The door creaked open, and Ken’s head appeared. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, lips turned down at the corners – his worried Ken expression. “But we’ve kinda got a situation out here.”
“Ooh,” Amy said, “I enjoy situations.”
“I don’t think either of you are going to like this one.”
Heather rose from her seat, dropping the pen to the pad and splatting a few drops of ink on the top page. They landed just in front of the gun, making miniature bullets to match the barrel. “What’s going on?”
“Uh, Geoff Lawless is here. He’s talking to Eva.”
“What the –?”
“About what?” Amy asked, lurching out of her chair, too. She rounded on Ken, tired eyes scanning him for signs of an argument. She clenched and unclenched her fists.
Ken paled under her glare, and Heather circled the desk and touched Amy on the shoulder. Her bestie relaxed instantly.
Heather wasn’t the only one who had stress.
“What’s he doing, Ken?”
“It looks like he’s trying to convince the customers to leave Donut Delights and head on over to Debauchery Donuts.” Ken refused to say ‘Delightful Donuts,' so he’d created his own name for Geoff’s bakery instead.
Heather laughed, because what else could she do? “And he’s talking to Eva?”
Amy managed a grin. “This is going to be funny to watch.”
Heather walked to the door, and Ken stepped back to allow her through. They filed out into the front of the store and stopped at the barista station. Angelica was there too, shaking her head and casting dark looks in Geoff’s direction.
The bearded wonder sat across from Eva, filling the wrought iron chair so completely, that it looked like he needed another chair to accommodate for his muscly bulk.
Eva was tiny by comparison and highly unimpressed, if the pink spots on her cheeks were anything to go by. “I’m telling you, young man,” she said, her frail voice whipping through the store’s interior, “I am already sitting in the best donut shop in Hillside, possibly in the entire world.”
“Then you haven’t tried my Maple Bacon Candied Donuts,” Geoff replied, and slipped a box out of his voluminous black trench coat. He placed it on the table and popped the lid.
“Are you serious? He’s even using a similar name to my donut,” Heather said. She bristled, but then she relaxed her shoulders and shook out her arms and hands. Geoff’s attempts to undermine her had failed every time, and they wouldn’t stop now.
“I have no interest in tasting that foul thing,” Eva said.
Already, the other customers had stopped eating, drinking, and joking around to stare at the confrontation between the massive dude and the tiny, elderly lady. Her anger made her seem twice his size.
She was in spirit, anyway.
“And if you don’t get out of here, I am going to call Heather to sort you out.”
“That won’t be necessary, Eva,” Heather said, and all the faces in the room swiveled to observe her instead. “I’m already here.”
She strode around the glass counter, wearing a charitable smile. “And I believe Geoff was just leaving.”
Geoff Lawless leaped out of the wrought iron chair and snatched his donut box off the table. He glanced around the room, sharp blue eyes taking in the unwanted attention, none of it favorable, then turned on his heel and ran.
“Free donuts for everyone,” Heather announced, then hummed Suzanne by Leonard Cohen under her breath.
Chapter 14
“Never Been Kissed?” Heather asked, holding the DVD aloft. “I didn’t know they’d put this on a disk. The last time I saw this was on VHS.”
“Camaaaan,” Amy said, munching on a handful of popcorn. “It’s Drew Barrymore and Michael Vartan, what’s not to love? Besides, we need to de-stress after this week.”
“And Never Been Kissed is the best way to do that,” Heather replied, waggling the DVD case.
Dave snorted his disgruntlement, on Heather’s side for once.
“See? Even Dave agrees with me.”
“Oh no, you don’t. You’re not allowed to use Dave’s opinion in this argument. Dave’s my sweetheart. Aren’t you Davey boy,” Amy said, and blew the puppy dog a kiss.
Dave whined and covered his nose, squishing his body flat on Heather’s designated sofa.
“Traitor,” Amy said, narrowing her eyes. She broke into laughter and stuck out her tongue. “Fine, but the only other thing I have is Die Hard.”
“Choices abound this evening. Luckily I brought a dozen Candied Maple Bacon’s to sweeten the deal,” Heather replied, gesturing to the donuts on the coffee table.
Dave had already snatched on up, but his eyes didn’t leave the treats. T
hese were his favorite by far. Meat and donut together? Get outta here.
Heather walked to the DVD player and inserted Never Been Kissed. After Honey’s death and Hunter’s shooting, she just wasn’t in the mood for a Die Hard fiasco.
Just the mention of guns had her mind swirling with possibilities. Who else had a rifle in Hillside? And had a vendetta against both Honey and Hunter? Why had Hunter’s door been open?
And Adele… she was an enigma. “I bet she gave me that note from Honey to throw me off her scent,” Heather murmured.
“What was that?” Amy asked.
“Nothing, nothing, just talking to myself. Losing my mind, you know. First, it was the humming, now it’s chattering to myself incessantly.” Heather pressed play and scooted back to her sofa.
She picked up her thin blanket and slipped it around her shoulders, then settled back against the sofa cushions.
Amy was already sprawled on her couch. The poor woman had been through a lot lately, and Heather got the feeling that there was more bothering Amy than she’d admitted.
Heather focused on the screen and tried to enjoy Drew Barrymore’s white pants before Labor Day antics. But the harder she focused, the easier it was for stray thoughts to creep into her mind.
She had to speak to Adele, and heaven forbid, Chase Reynolds. Now, there was a guy who gave her the chills. She’d stop by the Flirty Fox tomorrow and ask around. Yuck, she hated that club and all it involved, but what other choice did she have?
“Are you okay?” Amy asked.
“I’m fi –”
The doorbell trilled, and Heather took the opportunity to escape Amy’s questioning. Her best friend knew exactly how to extract information from her and talking about Honey’s murder was last on her to do list.
Heather strode into the hall – lazy Dave had stayed on the sofa in his donut coma – and checked through the peephole.
“Would ya look at that,” Heather whispered.
Adele stood on her front porch, rubbing her bare arms and glancing up and down the street.
Heather unlocked, then opened the door and held it in place. “Adele?”
“Hey,” the dancer said, then pointed at the front porch. “This where she, ya know, kicked it?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t put it that way, but yeah, that’s where Honey was murdered. Thanks for reminding me,” Heather replied. “You want to come in?”
“You bet I do. I bet her spirit is, like totally, wandering around out here.” Adele click-clacked into the entrance hall, bringing in clouds of citrusy perfume.
Heather shut the door and locked up.
“You can come through to the living room if you like?” Heather said, pointing to the doorframe just ahead. “We’re watching Never Been Kissed.”
“No way! I love that movie. My fave behind Bring It On.” Adele trotted into the living room.
Heather followed her, then perched on the end of the sofa and winked at Amy, who had already sat up, hair disheveled and chin streaked with maple glaze.
Adele spotted Dave and made a beeline for him. She dropped to her knees on the rug and grasped his head in both hands, then stroked his ears.
Amy’s eyes went round as the donuts on the table. “Are you serious?”
“What?” Adele cooed. “Isn’t he just the cutest doggy in the entire world?”
“Yeah, he is,” Heather replied, “Amy’s just shocked because he’s never let anyone but me stroke his ears like that. Dave is pretty touchy about who, uh, touches him.”
“I can understand that, I mean, there are some serious creeps out there. Like, you can take my word for it,” Adele said. “I moved all the way from Cali to get here and, man, things are way better in Hillside. Apart from Honey’s murder.”
“Is that what you came to talk to me about?” Heather asked.
“Kinda.” Adele stopped stroking Dave, and he whined his regret. She took up the petting again. “Honey trusted you, and I heard around town that you check things out. Murders and attacks and stuff, so yeah, I thought that I’d, like, talk to you about some stuff I saw.”
“Sure, I’m all ears. Any lead is a good lead,” Heather replied. Not technically true, but she was dying to know why Adele had been in contact with Hunter. “You heard that Honey’s brother was shot, I take it.”
Adele bit her lip, her eyes filled with tears. A second passed, they spilled over and coursed down her cheeks. “Yeah. Look, I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t think it was relevant, but Hunter and I were close. We were real close. I broke up with him a couple of weeks ago, though. He was into stuff that I totally didn’t agree with.”
“Yeah, I heard,” Heather replied. No need to tell Adele that she’d been snooping in her ex-boyfriend’s apartment.
“Yeah, but that’s not what I wanted you to know. I just, yeah, Honey got visited a lot by two guys before she was, like, you know, killed.”
“Which guys?” Heather asked. Amy shifted on her sofa, fumbling herself into the upright position, and licking glaze and salt off her fingertips.
“Uh, this guy called Kent used to meet with her, always right outside the front door, by his car. He never used to come inside. He never hurt her or anything, but they used to hug a lot.”
Amy’s face slackened. An expression of the purest pain flashed through her eyes, then disappeared. She let out a long low sigh and flopped back against the sofa cushions.
“And who else?” Heather asked.
“Another dude. I don’t know what his name was, and he never came into the club either. He used to call her way out far to his car at the other end of, like, the lot, you know? I didn’t get a good look at him.”
Heather pressed her thumbs together and placed them against her bottom lip. “Thanks a lot, Adele. And hey, feel free to hang out and watch the movie with us, if you like.”
Heather offered because Amy needed a girl’s night. She needed to feel that everything would be all right. Hearing about Kent and Honey had to hurt, real bad.
“Thanks, maybe I will. Dave wants me to stay, right?” Adele ruffled the fur on his crown.
Dave licked her cheek in response.
Chapter 15
Heather and Ryan sat side-by-side, hips touching, holding hands and watching Dave’s antics. He ran free in the park, barking and chasing a couple of other dogs around. Puppy play dates was a new company, and they’d cordoned off a section of the park to allow the dogs to roam free.
Only ‘well-behaved’ dogs were allowed.
“Do you think he qualifies for this?” Heather asked.
“Dave? He’s all right. He’s having fun, at least, and at fifty dollars for a half hour of play time, he’d better be.”
A couple of dogs had decided to do their business under a particular tree, and Puppy Playdates already had cleaners on the tasks. Trainers in baby blue shirts rushed around, tending to the needs of the dogs.
“This is all cute, but I can’t get what happened last night off my mind,” Heather said. “I haven’t told you yet because I needed time to process it.”
“Do tell,” Ryan replied, then reached up and stroked her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Is it something to do with the case?”
“Definitely. Remember how you said Kent was clean, there was no surveillance of him every visiting Honey at the Flirty Fox?” Heather asked, and swallowed a lump of shame. It was terrible to talk about this when it’d caused Amy so much pain the night before.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Turns out he was meeting with Honey. Adele, another dancer at the Flirty Fox, came to see me last night, and she revealed that Kent had visited Honey, frequently and that another mystery guy hand hung out with her as well.”
Ryan blinked and stared at Dave, who ran in circles now, chasing a terrified Labrador with its tail between its legs. One of the doggy handlers darted forward to catch Dave, and he calmed down immediately.
“I’ll have to bring Kent in for questioning. Adele too, i
f Davidson will permit it,” he said, bitterly.
“You’re not mad I’ve been investigating on my own?”
“You’re only a few months away from becoming a qualified investigator,” Ryan said, “and to be honest, if you weren’t following up on these leads, this case wouldn’t be any closer to being solved. My hands are tied. You have no idea how frustrating that is.” He chuckled and gave her the side-eye. “Then again, maybe you do.”
“There are a lot of options here. I don’t understand what motivation Kent would have to shoot Hunter or Honey. And Adele was dating Hunter and friends with Honey. It wasn’t as if there was a feud there. Then there’s Chase. Currently, he lifts right out of the scenario.”
“Yeah,” Ryan said and patted one hand on his thigh.
“You’d better control your mutt,” a man spoke behind them.
They turned on the bench and stared up at Geoff Lawless. The bearded baker folded his arms, muscles bulging out of his tank top.
“Pardon?” Ryan asked, rising from his bench.
“I said control your mutt. He’s a mean dog, and if you don’t get him under control, I’ll make you regret it,” Geoff said, then cracked his knuckles.
“I know you didn’t just threaten an officer of the law, Mr. Lawless,” Ryan said, calmly, then took his badge out of the back pocket of his jeans and flashed it at the baker. “Because that would be a very stupid thing to do, indeed.”
The color drained from Geoff’s face. “I didn’t – I don’t –”
“I interviewed you, Mr. Lawless, for the Jelly Polinski case, if you remember,” Ryan said.
Heather glared at Geoff, stare hot enough to melt a hole through an oven door. “How dare you talk about my Dave like that!”
“I’m just saying he’s not behaving,” Geoff mumbled. “Sorry, officer.” Then he hurried off into the mob of dogs, collected a poodle, and sprinted in the other direction.
His wide strides took him out of cordoned off area in five seconds flat.
Candied Maple Bacon Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 13 (Donut Hole Mystery) Page 5
