by Jessica Beck
“How did you manage that?” I asked Beth, but she was clearly just as surprised as I was.
“Gregory, was this your idea?”
“Actually, it was Milo’s,” her oldest said with a grin. “He read about it in a book, so we thought we’d give you a laugh. It’s funny, isn’t it?”
“Truthfully, I think it’s delightful. This is going to be a new Meadows routine.”
“Momma, we were just having a little fun,” one of the boys said. “We weren’t serious.”
“Too bad,” she said with a grin. “Now, tell Suzanne what you’d like. And don’t even think about dragging your feet hoping to delay school, either.”
It was clear that a few of the older boys had been planning to do something just like that, because I saw a few frowns crease their faces as their mother issued her warning.
After all seven got their donuts, it was Beth’s turn.
“What can I get you?”
“I’d better not,” she said as she eyed the apple fritters. I knew that she ran her household on a tight budget, but I wasn’t about to deprive her of a well-deserved treat after what I’d just witnessed.
“Don’t worry. It’s on the house,” I said warmly.
“Eight donuts? Really? Suzanne, that’s too much. I can’t let you do that.” She said it, but clearly she was overjoyed by the prospect.
I hadn’t meant to treat her entire family sans husband, but why not? With a bright smile, I said, “You’re not letting me do anything. It’s my pleasure.”
“In that case, I’ll have another,” Milo said frankly.
I looked at him and grinned before Beth could reproach him. “Nice try, mister, but it’s one per customer, and you’ve already had yours.”
“If they don’t have to pay, then why do I have to?” Seth Lancaster asked. He was a grumpy old man if ever there was one. Eighty if he was a day, he had more money than just about anyone else in April Springs, including my own mother.
“Seth, the moment you bring six brothers in here along with your mother, then I’ll repeat the offer.” I said it with a smile, but to be sure he knew that I was only teasing him, I grabbed a donut hole, one from the batch of chocolate chip donuts he loved so much, and served it to him.
“You’re a real sweetheart,” Seth said as he eyed the free offering. “If you weren’t taken, and I were fifty or sixty years younger, you’d have to watch out for me.”
“That’s funny, because I’m watching out for you now,” I told him with a smile.
Beth reluctantly took the offered fritter, and then she said, “Thank you, Suzanne.”
“You’re most welcome,” I said.
I might not make a ton of money running my own donut shop, but I had fun, and that was really all that counted in the end, wasn’t it?
Wasn’t it?
Chapter 14
I was still in a good mood from Beth’s visit ten minutes later when Grace walked in, clearly worried about the risk of me detecting on my own.
“I thought you had to go to Asheville,” I said as I poured her some coffee in a mug.
“I do, but your life is more important to me than my job. If it means getting fired, then I’m willing to accept the consequences.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Grace,” I told her.
“I prefer to think of it as being realistic,” she replied, and then she lowered her voice so that none of my three customers could overhear us. “Suzanne, we both know that this isn’t our usual crop of suspects. Two of them might be tame enough, but the other two are trouble on a level that we’re not used to dealing with.”
“Grace, we’ve bagged more than our share of murderers in the past, haven’t we?”
“We have,” she acknowledged.
“And it doesn’t get much worse than facing down a cold-blooded killer, does it?”
“You know what I’m saying.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to make it any easier on you,” I said. “We’ve dealt with some rough characters before.”
“Maybe so, but not without George or someone else backing us up. Suzanne, neither one of us has ever confronted someone alone like we’re dealing with now.”
She had a point, as much as I didn’t enjoy hearing it. “I’m willing to concede your argument, but I can’t delay the investigation. We’re running out of time.”
“Then don’t delay it,” she said. “Get George to go with you, at least.”
“I’m not willing to involve the mayor,” I said firmly.
“Suzanne, how did you ever get to be so stubborn?”
“Probably from hanging out with you all of the time,” I said with a grin.
She smiled back at me. “Well, I’d be a fool to argue that point, wouldn’t I? How about Jake? He’s at the cottage now.”
“How did you know that? Did you see him?”
“Not him, but his beat-up old truck is parked in your driveway,” Grace said. “Is that the best he can do for transportation now that he’s retired?”
“Jake loves that old truck, but that begs a question. Are you checking up on me, Grace?” I asked her teasingly.
“Not as a general rule, but I thought I saw someone pull in, so on my way over here, I checked on your place. That’s the answer. Get him to go with you this afternoon and I’ll run my errand with a clear conscience. Otherwise I’m sticking with you, and let the consequences be what they may. Take it or leave it.”
“Grace, you know that I don’t want to drag him into our investigation any more than I have to,” I said. “He deserves a break after what he’s been through.”
“I’ve got a hunch that the second he learns that you’re planning to interview suspects by yourself, you’re not going to have much choice. He’s gotten pretty fond of you, or so I’ve heard, so the man’s not going to want you taking any foolish chances.”
To be honest, the prospect of doing this level of investigation on my own had been daunting, but I still wasn’t sure that it was fair dragging my fiancé into it so soon after he’d left his old job. “Fine. You win. I’ll talk to him.”
“That’s not good enough,” Grace said as she stood in front of me. “You either take someone with you, or you don’t go, no matter what the consequences might be. Suzanne, I need for you to promise me. Emma wouldn’t want you to take any unnecessary chances for her sake, and you know it.”
“I wouldn’t what?” Emma asked as she chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. “Did I just hear my name taken in vain?”
“Grace is just being melodramatic,” I said. “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”
Grace raised an eyebrow before she spoke. “I’ll let that comment slide, but I stand by what I said before.” She looked squarely at Emma as she added, “You don’t want anything to happen to your boss, and certainly not because of you. Am I right?”
“Of course you’re right,” Emma said as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel. “There shouldn’t even be any doubt in anybody’s mind about that.” My assistant looked at me for a moment before she spoke again. “Suzanne, what did you do?”
“Nothing,” I said, a little smothered by these overly protective women I happened to love and respect. All I needed for the trifecta was to have my mother walk into the donut shop, and knowing these two, I wouldn’t put it past them to call her in for backup, too. “We’ve just been talking in hypotheticals. I haven’t actually done anything alone yet.”
“Well, let me go on the record,” Emma said firmly. “Don’t do anything, for me or anyone else, that might put your life in danger. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “I hear you.”
“Good. Well, I’m glad that we cleared that up. Now, what exactly are we talking about?” she asked with a grin.
“She wants to interview our suspects again by herself since I have to go out of town,” Grace told her.
“There’s no way that you’re doing that,” Emma said strongly.
&
nbsp; “See? She’s on my side, too,” Grace crowed.
“Besides, why should you go alone when I’m free to go with you?” Emma asked. “This is for my sake. There’s no reason that I shouldn’t participate as well.”
Oh, no.
That was the last thing I wanted to happen. Emma was too close to this, and besides, Grace and I had enough practical experience to stay out of trouble. Well, mostly at least. I looked at Grace as I asked, “Now do you see what you’ve done?”
“Why shouldn’t I help?” Emma asked a little indignantly. “I’m perfectly capable of looking out for myself. Who knows? I might even be a real asset to the investigation if you give me a chance.”
I was still trying to figure out how to turn her request down when Jake walked into Donut Hearts. He took one look at our intense faces, and then he tried to slowly back out again.
“Hold it right there, mister,” I said with a grin.
“Sorry. I just remembered that I forgot something in my truck. I’ll be right back. I promise.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Grace said as she looped her arm around his. “As a matter of fact, you’re just the man we need.”
“Why do I have the feeling that I’m not going to like this?” Jake asked a little warily.
“Because you’ve honed your instincts to a razor-sharp edge over the years,” Grace said. “Unfortunately, it’s too late now. You’re already involved.”
Jake sighed a little, and then he said, “Okay, it appears that I don’t have any choice in the matter. Just tell me what I’m in for.”
Before I could speak, Grace explained, “I can’t help Suzanne with our investigation this afternoon, so if you can’t go with her, Emma’s volunteered her services instead.”
It didn’t take any more explanation than that for Jake to know that wouldn’t be acceptable on several levels, but he still put up a bit of a fight. “Hey, I thought that I was just supposed to be a consultant on this case,” he protested.
“Listen to me. You don’t have to do this,” I said levelly.
“Yes, he does,” Grace insisted. “Jake, you’re still going to be consulting with us, but look at it this way. Now you’ll be able to consult from up close. How does that sound?”
“Like I really don’t have much choice,” Jake said with his lopsided grin.
“You do, though!” Emma protested. “I’m an adult! I can go with Suzanne!”
“If you do that, then who will run the donut shop for the rest of the day?” I asked her. I hadn’t planned on leaving early, but it would make the perfect excuse. “Emma, if you can stay here and take care of things, then Jake and I can get started.”
“That’s not fair. Anyone could run the shop,” Emma said.
“I know that I certainly couldn’t,” Grace volunteered, a sentiment that Jake quickly echoed.
Taking Emma’s hands in mine, I said, “This is important to me. Emma, can I trust Donut Hearts with you?”
“Of course you can,” she finally agreed, even if it was clear that her acceptance was reluctantly given.
“Perfect,” I said as I hugged her. I popped out of my apron before she could change her mind and said, “Come on, Jake. Let’s go.”
“Lead the way,” Jake said.
Once the three of us were on the sidewalk in front of Donut Hearts, I turned back to smile and wave at Emma.
Her answering wave was a little subdued, but she still managed to grin slightly, so I decided to count that as a win and move on.
Turning back to Jake, I said, “Actually, this is perfect. I can bring you up to date on our way to Union Square.”
“I’m just sorry that I’m going to miss seeing the great detective at work,” Grace said.
“Isn’t there somewhere else that you need to be right now?” Jake asked her with a smile.
“You don’t have to remind me. I’m on my way,” Grace said, and then she hurried to her company car.
After she was gone, Jake said, “She really cares for you, doesn’t she? I believe that Grace would have risked losing her job before she’d let you do this alone.”
“What can I say? We’re sisters from different mothers,” I said. “If you really don’t want to come with me, I can do this by myself, you know.”
“I have no doubt about it,” Jake said, “but just for fun, why don’t you let me tag along for the day?”
“Okay, but only if you really want to,” I said, trying to hide the relief I felt as I said it. I would have interviewed our suspects by myself if I’d been forced to, but I was just as pleased that Jake would be going with me, not just because he was a man and I was a woman, but because he was a seasoned state police investigator, and this case was tough enough to make me realize that I could use all of the help that I could get.
“Now bring me up to speed,” Jake said as I drove us to Union Square.
“Well, we’ve got four suspects on our list, all brought to our attention by Emma’s mother, Sharon. She doesn’t miss a thing, and she’s been watching her daughter closely ever since she started dating Rick Hastings.”
“And are you sure that she’s a reliable source?” Jake asked me pointedly.
I glanced over at him. “Are you implying that you think Emma’s mother lied to me?”
“No. Of course not. I’m just not sure that the victim’s girlfriend’s mother is the best source of information in a murder case.”
“You’re kidding, right? As a cop I know that you had access to all kinds of databases and records, but you’re playing on my field now. My main source of information is what people tell me.”
Jake took some time to think about that, and I respected the silence. I was sure that it would be difficult to look at things from my perspective after his life experiences in law enforcement, but if he was going to be effective as a civilian, he had to know that he couldn’t just flash his badge and expect instant cooperation, and the sooner he learned that particular lesson, the better.
After a long period of quiet, Jake finally said, “I can see where you’re coming from, but just because I don’t carry a badge anymore doesn’t mean that I’m without resources of my own.”
“Hey, I’m counting on it,” I said with a smile. “Now here’s where things stand now. Of our four suspects, we have two tough cases and two ordinary folks who might have felt backed into committing murder. It seems that Rick Hastings had his hands in lots of different things, none of them particularly admirable.”
After I brought Jake up to date on what I knew about Travis, Kyle, Amanda, and Denny, he grabbed his cellphone and started to dial.
“Who are you calling?”
“I thought I might check in with one of the sources I was speaking about earlier,” he said as he finished placing his call. “You don’t have any objection to me calling in a favor or two, do you?”
“Only if you’re comfortable doing it,” I said. “I mean it. I’ve got mixed emotions about dragging you back into an active murder investigation so soon after you left the state police. The last thing I want to do is make you dig into another homicide before you’re ready.”
“There’s a difference. That was my job; this one’s for fun,” Jake said as he waited for an answer.
“I don’t know that I’d categorize it as fun,” I protested.
“Well, we’re not getting paid to do it, so how else would you describe it?”
I thought about it for a few seconds, and then I said, “I like to think of what I do as a public service. Besides, this one’s for Emma. If we can give her some peace of mind about her late boyfriend, then it’s worth more to me than a salary ever could be.”
“Agreed,” Jake said. “Suzanne, I’ve still got some contacts. I certainly should, since I just officially left the force yesterday. Why not take advantage of them?”
“Go ahead,” I said. “You have my blessing.”
“Thanks. Hang on.” After Jake’s phone call was answered, he spent a few minutes in hushed conversatio
n, and then he hung up.
“That was fast,” I noted.
“A friend’s going to do me a favor, check out the names on our list, and then get back to me,” Jake explained.
“Man, it must be nice to have friends like that,” I said with a smile.
“After all my years in law enforcement, I should hope that I’ve made some contacts over the years. Do you have any theories about how the victim’s body ended up in that bonfire?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I think a ghost did it.”
Chapter 15
“You’re going to have to explain a little more than that,” Jake said when I didn’t elaborate.
Once he heard about the ghost costumes the Spirit Night folks were wearing, he nodded. “That makes sense, and it explains a lot, too. That’s good detective work, Suzanne.”
“Maybe, but it’s still just a theory,” I said, discounting his praise. After all, didn’t he have to support me? We were getting married, for land’s sake.
“Until I hear something better, that’s the scenario that I’m going to go with.” He was about to say something else when his phone rang. “I’ve got to take this. It’s my contact.”
After twenty seconds, Jake took out the same type of notebook he had always used while he was investigating, and started jotting down notes. Three minutes later, he closed it as he said, “Thanks. I owe you one. Sure, I can do that. Take care.” After he put his cellphone away, Jake said, “Well, that just cost me a steak dinner, but it was worth it. Would you like to hear the rundown on our suspects from a police officer’s perspective?”
“I’m dying to hear it,” I said, instantly sorry for my choice of words.
“Here goes,” Jake said as he reopened his notebook and started reading. “This is pretty thorough. I’ve got something on each of them.”
“Seriously? Even Travis and Kyle?” I knew the two local men, at least in passing, but it still surprised me that either of them had ever had a brush with the law.
