by Jessica Beck
We were close enough to each other that, though I missed the gun, I did manage to hit his arm instead. The result was nearly the same as I’d hoped, with the weapon clattering to the floor out of his grip. William dove for it, but I was a little faster, and I got it in my hands, at least for a second or two.
Then he grabbed both of my hands, and we wrestled for the weapon as we fought on the floor for control.
I knew if I lost this battle, he’d kill Kelly and me.
But though William was quite a bit older than me, his grip was stronger, and I felt myself slowly losing control. Nothing else mattered, and I blocked the world around us out of my mind as we grappled together for control of our destinies.
I nearly had it, at least I thought I did, but then my grip started to fade.
It was starting to feel like he was going to get control.
William might win, but not before I used my last ounce of power to stop him.
He was just about to wrestle the gun away from me when I saw that Kelly had somehow managed to shake at least some of the cobwebs from her mind and stand up. She was still mostly in her trance-like state, though, and I knew she wouldn’t be able to help me beat William.
Or could she? “Go on, hit him. What are you waiting for?” I asked, staring at her as though she were holding a club over his head.
William’s grip eased as he looked back toward her and flinched from the imagined upcoming impact, and I gave one last push, spending the last bit of my strength, but managing to finally get the gun away from him.
I stood and backed away from him, keeping the gun on him at all times, but William just laughed as he stood as well.
“Come on, Suzanne, who are you kidding? You wouldn’t shoot Uncle William, now, would you?”
I put a bullet between his feet, and he stopped laughing.
It also managed to snap Kelly out of her trance. “What happened?”
“Uncle William just punched his last ticket for the arcade,” I said. “Call the police, would you? My cell phone doesn’t look as though it’s going to do me much good.”
Kelly did as I asked, though I never saw it. The gun in my hands never wavered from William’s heart, and it was only after the police chief got there that I relinquished it.
“He killed Cam to get to Kelly,” I said simply.
“Harvey didn’t do it?” Chief Martin asked, clearly having a hard time believing it.
“No, though he had reason himself. I heard the complete confession.”
“Can you back it up?” Chief Martin asked Kelly.
“I heard it all, too,” she said, with more conviction than I could ever believe she could muster, given her recent state.
As the chief cuffed William, I asked Kelly softly, “Did you really hear him?”
“I lost it, I know, but I remember that part of it. You saved me, Suzanne.”
“I saved us both,” I said as I found myself in her embrace. My arms were worn-out, but it was my legs that deserted me then. My body had stayed hopped-up on adrenaline long enough to get me out of a jam, but after that, it clearly decided that its work was done for now. Kelly held me up for a few seconds, and then I recovered enough to stand upright on my own.
Jake came rushing in and took over, a situation I much preferred. He hugged me, gave me a quick kiss, and then brushed the hair off my face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good now,” I said. “Thanks for coming.”
He grinned. “Thanks for calling.”
“You actually got that?”
Jake nodded. “I heard you say William’s name before the call went dead.”
“And that was enough of a clue for you?”
“Hey, we’re in sync, what can I say? Not that you needed me,” he said. “It seems you took care of it on your own.”
“I had a little help from a friend,” I said, glancing at Kelly.
Kelly heard it and wouldn’t let it stand. “Don’t kid yourself, I was worthless.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, remembering how I’d used her twice as a distraction to take William down.
“I do.” She looked at Jake and said, “You’ve got yourself one brave woman there.”
“Don’t I know it,” he said.
* * *
An hour later, we were in Chief Martin’s office, just the chief, Jake, and me. I asked, “What ever happened with Harvey? Did you find him?”
Jake grinned. “Oh, I found him, all right.”
“Did he say why he ran?” I hadn’t been able to figure that part out.
“He told me, but I didn’t believe him until I got your call. He thought Vern Yancey was trying to kill him.”
“Vern, from Hudson Creek? Why would Vern want to kill Harvey?” I’d had my own share of run-ins with the man in the past, but I couldn’t imagine how his name came up in all of this.
“Vern was the third bidder on the sewage treatment plant,” Jake explained. “Harvey figured that with Cam out of the way, Vern would come after him next, since he was the third-highest bidder on the contract, and Harvey knew that he hadn’t killed the mayor himself.”
“Wow, talk about your rampant paranoia,” I said.
“From Harvey’s perspective, it made perfect sense,” Jake said with a wry smile. “I figure he just projected how he’d react if he was desperate enough onto how Vern might behave.”
We’d both met Vern, and the man was indeed a weasel in his own right, but I didn’t think he’d kill for another job. From what I’d heard, he was already rich enough, if there really was such a thing for some people.
“What about the money he owed Cam? Did you ever find it?”
“I’m guessing it never got paid back,” Chief Martin said. “I can’t prove it, though.”
“Are you saying that Harvey would actually lie to us?” I asked, with a grin of my own.
“With every breath he takes,” the chief said. “We’ll probably never really know.”
Something had been bothering me for some time, and I had to know the answer, no matter what the consequences.
I looked at my boyfriend and asked, “Jake, would you give us a second alone?”
Jake looked surprised by the request, but he started to stand when the chief asked, “Is this about the case, or your mother?”
“The case,” I said.
“Then Jake can stay.”
“Are you sure?”
“There aren’t any secrets here anymore, Suzanne,” the chief said earnestly.
“Okay. Then why were you arguing with the mayor in your car just before he was murdered, and why didn’t you tell Jake about it when he asked you?”
Jake nodded, looked at the chief for a second, and then said, “I’d like to know that myself. You’ve been guarded with me about your behavior from the start, and it’s only served to make you look more and more suspicious in my mind. The first time we spoke, you were evasive about everything; and during our second conversation you tried to deny what I’d heard, remember?”
“It’s not something I’m going to ever forget. You came as close to accusing me of murder as you could have without just coming out and saying it,” the chief said. “I wanted to tell you, every last bit of it, but I was afraid how it would look.”
“So you just decided to keep digging the hole you were in deeper and deeper,” Jake said.
“It wasn’t my intention, but I know that you both have a right to know those answers,” he said. “I just hope that what I’m about to tell you doesn’t go beyond this room.”
I agreed readily, but Jake answered gravely, “That all depends on what you’re about to say.”
The chief thought about it for a few seconds and then nodded. “Fair enough. I’ve long had a suspicion that Cam was taking money for rigging bids, but I never had any proof. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. He was a disgrace to this town, and I decided it was time to have it out with him. I confronted him, and he demanded to know what evidence I had. I ended up bluf
fing him. I told him that if he didn’t drop out of the mayor’s race, I’d go to you, Jake, and tell you everything I knew about his illegal actions. He started yelling at me, and I yelled right back. Cam stormed out of the car then, and I never saw him alive again.”
“Why didn’t you come to me with this in the first place?” Jake asked in a cool, hard voice. “Don’t you think that would have made more sense than keeping all of this to yourself?”
The police chief looked frustrated. “I was going to if he filed again, but I didn’t have a thing on him that I could prove. You would have been just as helpless as I was. I figured getting him out of office was the best result I could hope for, since I couldn’t just lock him up.” He hesitated for a moment and then looked my boyfriend straight in the eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the argument. I guess I just didn’t want to look bad in your eyes, but I know now that it was my pride holding me back.”
We both waited for Jake to speak next, but when I saw my boyfriend nod once, I knew that the sheriff was going to be okay.
“Given the circumstances, you most likely did the best you could,” Jake said. “No one else needs to know about it.”
Chief Martin was noticeably relieved.
I asked Jake, “So, what happens now?”
“There are no worries about William. He told me everything, and it backs up your story. He was so obsessed with Kelly, I’m not even sure that he knew what he was doing.”
That surprised me, hearing Jake say that. “You think he was insane?”
My boyfriend just shrugged. “He thought he was in love. How much crazier can anybody get than feeling that way?”
“Hey, you’re still talking about William, right?”
Jake squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind being crazy about you.”
“Right back at you,” I said, and then turned to the police chief. “Have you told Momma yet that she’s in the clear?”
“I thought I’d let you do it, since you solved the case,” he said sheepishly.
I frowned. “I didn’t solve it as much as I stumbled into the solution. It wasn’t through some act of mental power that I uncovered what really happened.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Chief Martin said. “You were in the right place at the right time, but you were in a bad situation, and you managed to get everyone out alive.”
Compliments from him were rare indeed, so I decided not to dispute this one. “Why don’t you go ahead and tell her?”
“Really? You wouldn’t mind?” He looked as eager as a puppy striving to please.
“Go on,” I said.
“Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ll call her at the front desk,” he said.
After he was gone, I asked Jake, “Did he just leave his own office for us? I thought for sure he was going to throw us out.”
“You’re in his good graces, but I wouldn’t bank on it lasting very long,” Jake said.
“Hey, I’ll take whatever I can get. You’re not mad, are you?”
My boyfriend looked puzzled by the question. “Why should I be mad?”
“I ended up stumbling upon the answer,” I said. “You’re a trained investigator, and I know that you would have arrested William sooner rather than later. I just got lucky, that’s all.”
Jake shook his head. “The chief was right. You had William pegged as a suspect before I did, and you were the one there following up on a lead. My definition of luck is being prepared when an opportunity presents itself.”
“I just don’t want this to come between us.”
He took my hands as he stood, and I joined him.
After a long and lingering embrace, Jake said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m proud of you.”
He kissed me then, and I felt my knees going weak again.
At least this time it was all for a good reason.
OLD-FASHIONED CORNBREAD DROP DONUTS
Growing up, the cornbread my mother made was dense and more savory than the cornbread my family loves now. Our version is quite a bit lighter in texture and sweeter in taste. I love both versions, and this donut combines the best of both worlds. It’s worth a try if you’ve ever been a fan of cornbread in your life.
INGREDIENTS
Wet
• 1 egg, beaten slightly
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• ½ cup whole milk (2% can be substituted.)
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (I use unsalted; salted can be used, but cut the added salt by half.)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached, but bleached is fine, and so is bread flour.)
• ½ cup cornmeal, self-rising (or regular cornmeal with 1 teaspoon baking powder)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
Heat canola oil to 365 degrees.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, salt, and nutmeg) in a bowl and sift together. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients (beaten egg, sugar, milk, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla extract). Slowly add the wet mix to the dry mix, stirring until it’s incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Drop teaspoon-size balls of batter into the oil, turning as they brown.
Remove and drain on a paper towel, then enjoy. We don’t add any sweetness to these, but powdered sugar would be fine if you’d like something a little sweeter.
Makes 5–9 drop donuts, depending on baking method
CHAPTER 19
A few weeks later at nine in the morning, I came over to the cottage Momma and I shared. I hadn’t been there at that hour in more months than I could name, but this was a special occasion. Not only was Emma working her last day at Donut Hearts, but it was Election Day, and unless I missed my guess, my mother was about to become mayor of April Springs.
She was sitting at the table, reading the paper quietly and drinking a cup of coffee as I walked in.
A look of immediate concern spread over her face. “Suzanne, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
“You haven’t voted yet, have you?” I asked. “Emma’s working the front so we can go together.”
“I thought I’d go sometime this afternoon,” she said.
I took the newspaper from her and said firmly, “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s go now.”
“Is it really necessary?” she asked.
“Oh, yes.”
“Very well. We might as well get it over with.”
“Aren’t you excited?” I asked as I drove her to city hall where we always voted.
“I am, actually,” she said with that secret grin of hers.
“Momma, what’s going on? Have you done something?”
“Whatever do you mean?” she asked, her smile now even more prominent.
“You didn’t throw the election, did you?” The last thing I wanted was Evelyn Martin as our new mayor.
“Suzanne, your imagination is much too active. I wouldn’t even know how to go about such a thing.”
“Come on, remember who you’re talking to? You could overthrow a third world government if you set your mind to it. A small-town election would be a piece of cake for you.”
“Let’s just vote, shall we?”
We did that indeed, and a few folks wished Momma good luck as we left the polling place. While there were no signs at all for my mother, Evelyn had bought quite a few. I wondered if it might be enough to sway the election in her favor, but I had to rely on the good sense of my fellow townsfolk not to elect the woman.
As I headed for my Jeep, Momma didn’t join me. “Get in. I have time to take you back home.”
“Thanks, but it’s such a lovely day, I think I’ll walk,” she said.
“Good luck,” I said as she strolled casually away.
“Thank you, but I have a feeling luck won’t have anything to do with the outcome.”
&
nbsp; Her smile was back again, but I had no idea what it was about.
“I’m back,” I said as I walked into the donut shop. “Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”
Emma shook her head. “It’s just been business as usual,” she said. “Do you have the front now?”
“I’ve got it. Thanks. I can’t believe this is it. Our last day together.”
“Don’t say anything,” Emma said. “I don’t want to start crying again.”
During our early morning break, we’d both gotten maudlin, and it was all we could do to manage to produce the donuts together without ruining the batters and doughs with the added moisture from our tears.
“I’m okay now, but there are no promises for later.”
“But not until we close,” she said.
“Agreed.”
Once Emma was safely in back, I motioned to the crowd waiting outside: George, Sandi, Emily, Grace, my favorite two snowplow operators, Emma’s mother and father, and even Jake were all there. They came in as a group, with balloons, flowers, banners, and even a cake. Once they had things set up, I opened the kitchen door and called out, “Emma, I need a hand for a second.”
“I’ve just about got this load of dishes finished,” she said. “Can it wait?”
“Sorry, no,” I said, having a hard time keeping the grin off my face. “This is too important.”
Emma came up front, wiping her hands on her apron, and with a curious expression on her face. “What’s so important that it can’t wait a second, Suzanne?”
Then she spotted everything, the crowd, the decorations, the cake, the entire celebration set up in her honor.
“Surprise!” everyone shouted in unison.
“I don’t know what to say,” Emma exclaimed.
“Wow, I never thought I’d ever hear you say that,” I answered with a grin. “We’re all going to miss you.”
She started crying then, and I joined her as we hugged. I wasn’t just losing my only employee; one of my best friends was leaving as well.
After the party broke up and everyone had pitched in to help clean up before leaving, only Emma and I were left in Donut Hearts.
