by Sonia Parin
“Jack.”
“Eve.”
The caution in his voice set off alarm bells.
Jill brought him a mug of coffee. She still wore goggles and Eve was glad to see there were no cuts on her fingers.
“If you’re here to say Eve needs to apologize to Wallace Greenaway, I’ll have to protest. Look at her. Groveling doesn’t sit well with Eve. She’s been down in the dumps all day.” Jill looked over her shoulder. “I should get back to my station before Gerard grumbles. He wants the julienned carrots to be the same length and width, but he won’t let me use a ruler.”
Jack waited for Jill to leave before sitting on the edge of the couch.
“Well?” Eve whispered.
“I’m guessing you haven’t told anyone about Chad Burrows. How about I finish my coffee and then I’ll drive you home?”
He wanted to wait longer? “Did the cake have peanuts?” she asked, her voice still lowered to a whisper.
He gave a small nod and whispered back, “Powdered peanuts sprinkled under the icing. Sorry it took so long. I wanted to make sure.”
Frowning, she studied his face.
Why had he sounded so calm?
Eve surged to her feet. “My banana cake did not have peanuts.”
Chapter Nine
The truth will out
The moment they stepped out of the inn, Jack’s demeanor changed. Eve couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about him looked different.
“What’s going on, Jack?”
“What do you mean?”
“That… Your tone changed. It’s flat. Dry. Businesslike.” Suffer no fools, Eve mentally added.
He’d already delivered the bad news. Could he be keeping something worse from her?
He opened the passenger door for her. “My tone?”
“There’s something you’re not telling me. You tend to distance yourself when…” Eve gasped. “You’re hauling me to jail.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You’ve just added a layer of deception and defensiveness to your voice.”
He threw in some humor by saying, “Since when did I become so complex?”
“What can I say? You’re a man of hidden talents.”
He rounded the car and appeared to take a moment before getting in. When he did, he smiled at her. “Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions. I’m not hiding anything.”
“Hang on. I recognize that tone too. You’re trying to soften the blow. You remind me of Jill when she takes Mischief and Mr. Magoo to get their shots. She tries to fool them into thinking they’re going to the park, but they never fall for it.”
“I promise it won’t hurt, Eve. I’ll give you a lollipop afterwards.”
“So… You are taking me somewhere under false pretenses.”
When he turned into Mira’s drive, she could not have been more surprised. He really was taking her home. “I still think there’s something you’re not telling me.”
He opened the passenger door for her. Getting out of the car, she fumbled inside her handbag for the house keys.
“Fine.”
Eve straightened. “Fine? Is that an admission of guilt?”
“You know the drill, Eve.” He cupped her elbow and led her toward the house. “Do I need to spell it out for you?”
“Now you’re not making sense.” She looked up and nearly missed a step.
A man sat on the front porch rocking chair.
A man in a suit.
“You tricked me.”
“You were going to come home anyway.”
“Who is he?”
Jack cleared his throat and led her up the stairs.
The man stood up and exchanged a nod with Jack.
“Eve, this is Phil Forrester.” He cleared his throat again. “Detective Phil Forrester.”
“I see. He’s here to ask me questions because you can’t act on an official capacity.”
“That’s about the gist of it, ma’am,” the detective said.
She studied him for a moment and couldn’t help thinking he reminded her of the actor, Daniel Craig. “Go ahead, call me Eve.”
He had a slight drawl. Eve tried to place it but her mind swirled with too many thoughts so she settled for somewhere south of the Dixie line.
“I just need to ask a few questions, Eve,” he added.
Eve turned to Jack. “How am I going to explain this to Mira?”
Jack looked down at the ground for a moment. “You’re sort of assuming she doesn’t know something’s happened.”
“Good heavens. Don’t tell me the news hit the newspapers.”
“Worse. The island grapevine. It’s buzzing with it.”
Eve’s eyes widened. “What’s everyone saying?”
“The usual,” he said.
The front door opened and Mira peered out.
Eve felt compelled to offer an apology but Mira didn’t look at all worried. In fact, she looked intrigued.
“Oh, I hope you haven’t started the interview yet. I was rather hoping to sit in on it.”
Eve gaped at her. “You want a front row seat to my interrogation?”
Mira tried to keep a straight face while the detective looked at Jack, his surprised expression suggesting he might not be prepared to relax the rules that much.
Whatever Jack communicated to him in silence seemed to change his mind.
The detective gestured with his hand, “By all means. The more the merrier.”
Mira led the way. To Eve’s surprise, she walked past the front parlor and headed for the library with its comfortable chairs and soothing view of the ocean.
“I’ve already set a tray here with cookies and mugs. I’ll just run to get the coffee. Don’t start without me.”
Eve walked up to her favorite chair upholstered in dark blue and red plaid and set a cushion down on her lap to rest her hand on.
The detective sat on a chair opposite Eve while Jack stood to one side leaning against a bookcase.
Mira returned and poured everyone a coffee. “Sugar?” she offered the detective.
“Two lumps, please. Actually, make that three.”
Just what she needed, an interrogator on a sugar high.
“Cookie?” Mira offered. “They’re chocolate chip. Eve made them.”
When the detective hesitated, Eve smiled. Did he think she kept a special jar of cookies for such an occasion? Chocolate chip laced with… laxatives?
He inspected the cookies. Without saying anything, he sat back and took a sip of his coffee. Lowering his mug, he said, “Eve, It is my understanding you baked a cake.”
“Aren’t you supposed to start by asking me if I deliberately set out to cause a toxic and fatal reaction?”
“We’ll get to that in a moment.”
“Yes, I baked a cake. A banana cake without a trace of peanuts in it.”
“I’m told you are a very good cook.”
“Judge for yourself.” Eve smiled. “Try the cookie.”
Mira nodded in encouragement. “Yes, Detective, try a cookie.”
His gaze dropped to the plate of cookies. Taking a swallow, he helped himself to one. Eve watched him hold the cookie up and inspect it but he still didn’t take a bite.
“Eve uses the finest Belgian chocolate.” Mira smiled. “Go on, try the cookie.”
Eve enjoyed the moment. After asking for three lumps of sugar, he couldn’t back out by saying he didn’t have a sweet tooth.
“May I ask about your hand? When did you injure it?”
Eve shifted and took a moment to make herself more comfortable. “Yesterday morning. A slight mishap.”
“And when did you bake the cake?”
Eve knew she’d walked right into that one. He wanted to work out a timeline of events. Eve couldn’t shake off the feeling she was walking into a trap and he would twist the information to his advantage.
“Specifically,” he added.
“After the lunch service
at the inn, I came home… So, I guess it was afternoon. Yes, the afternoon.”
“I see. It must be awkward to cook with only one hand.”
“I haven’t actually been cooking. The doctor recommended I rest it for a while.”
“And yet, you baked a cake. You must have been very keen.”
Eve pressed her lips together to stop herself from blurting out the first thought that came to mind. She had been eager to mend fences even if she hadn’t been at fault. “Some people garden, I bake.”
He brushed his hand across his chin. “That’s interesting. Are you suggesting you use baking as therapy?”
“No, I’m saying it’s what comes naturally to me. I can do it blindfolded.”
Mira nodded. “She’s not exaggerating.”
“What sort of cake was it?” he asked.
Hadn’t she already mentioned it? “Banana.”
He smiled. “Oh, I’m partial to a good banana cake. I have an old family recipe. It never fails and it is unrivaled by any other cake I’ve ever had.”
“Let me guess, you add a spoonful of molasses sugar.”
“Why… Yes! Do you do that too?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I do.”
“I swear it takes the cake to a whole new level.” He sat back and crossed his legs. Drumming his fingers on the armrest, he looked at her, his smile in place. “So, why did you bake a cake when it must have been quite difficult for you to do it with only one hand?”
Eve told herself not to swallow. But she really needed to swallow. How guilty would she look if she swallowed?
“It’s what I do… I was killing time… waiting for Mira to wake up so she could drive me to the hospital.”
“Oh, dear. I’m sorry, Eve. To think, if I’d taken you to the hospital, you would have had an alibi.”
The detective leaned forward. “An alibi?”
“Eve tends to get mixed up in all sorts of trouble,” Mira explained. “That’s why she rarely goes out by herself.”
Eve thought she heard Jack groan under his breath.
Didn’t Mira realize how much trouble she could be in?
“What sort of trouble do you get into, Eve?” he asked, the edge of his eyes crinkling with the suggestion of amusement.
Eve shrugged. “My aunt exaggerates.” She expected him to pull out a notebook and start ticking off examples of so-called incidents she’d been involved in. A brief history of Eve Lloyd’s life as a magnet for murder and mayhem. If he hadn’t already spoken with the locals, he would no doubt get around to doing it soon.
Eve adjusted the cushion and lifted her chin. She’d been involved in assisting the police with a couple of cases. Surely, that would work in her favor.
“How exactly did you injure your hand?”
“I fell on it. Slipped and fell and broke the fall with my hand.”
“I guess you were alone. If you’d been with someone, they might have prevented you falling.”
“Wasn’t Jill with you?” Mira asked.
Eve considered kicking Mira under the coffee table but she didn’t think she’d reach her.
“She must have been distracted.”
“By the commotion?” the detective asked. This time, he did bring out a notebook. “According to witnesses, you were seen arguing with Mr. Wallace Greenaway and the deceased.”
So, he had spoken with the locals…
Eve leaned forward. “They were arguing and I tried to break them apart.”
“And that’s when you fell and injured your wrist making it difficult for you to carry out your daily tasks at the inn. Are you a rancorous person, Eve?”
“Rancorous?”
“Spiteful. Resentful. Vindictive.”
“None of the above.” Eve gave a firm nod. “If you must know, I wanted the cake to pave the way for a peaceful resolution to a crazy and unjust embargo imposed on me by those two sociopaths.” Eve felt her cheeks flush with heat.
“Anyone would think you were trying to teach them a lesson.” The detective waved her cookie. “Show them the error of their ways.”
“By killing one of them?” Eve scoffed.
He settled back into his seat and looked at her for a long moment.
Eve told herself to sit still but the more she thought about it, the more she needed to shift. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any siblings, so she hadn’t developed an immunity to staring.
He sat forward so abruptly, Eve nearly jumped out of her chair. “I’m trying to understand your thinking.”
Mira laughed. “Good luck with that.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Eve saw Jack doing his best not to laugh.
“You see, there you were… injured, and yet…” He went to brush his hand across his chin only to stop when he realized he still held the cookie. “You took the time to bake a cake.”
Again with the cake…
“Tell me what happened when you took the cake to Chad Burrows’ farm.”
“I knocked on the door. When I didn’t get an answer, I set the cake down and left. I needed to get to the hospital.”
“So you thought the cake would be self-explanatory.”
“I left a note.”
His eyebrows hitched up. “Indeed.” He looked at Jack. “You didn’t mention a note.”
Jack shook his head and gave Eve a worried look. “We didn’t find a note.”
“I wrote one. Actually, I scrawled it. I’m a right hander. I did the best I could with my left hand.”
“Maybe the wind blew the note away,” the detective suggested.
There hadn’t been any wind, Eve thought. “I tucked it under the plate.”
“Maybe he trashed it.”
Jack gave a slow shake of his head. “We checked the bins.”
Eve lifted her chin. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
“What did you write it on, Eve?” Mira asked.
Eve brightened and shot to her feet. “On a notepad. It should be in the kitchen.” She rushed to get it. Returning, she set the notepad and a pencil down on the coffee table.
Mira looked at the detective. “My niece can be odd at times but she is very smart.”
When Eve struggled to glide the pencil across the page, she handed it to Mira. “You do it.”
After a moment, Mira exclaimed, “It’s right here, detective. See, Eve wasn’t lying. A scrawled apology.”
“We’ll search again,” Jack said.
Eve tapped a finger on the armrest. “Do you know if Chad Burrows was aware of his allergy?”
The detective lifted a finger. “That is a very good question.” Just then, his cell phone rang. After a brief conversation, he put away his notebook and cell phone and shifted to the edge of the chair. “We’ll talk again soon.”
What did that mean? Had the police found a lead?
Mira got up. “Take some cookies with you, Detective. I’ll wrap some up for you.”
Eve smiled. “Yes, Detective. Do take some cookies.”
Chapter Ten
Suspicious mind
“Do I need to hire a lawyer?”
Mira smiled and patted her on the back. “Dear Eve. At this point, you might need to have a lawyer on retainer. More coffee?”
“No, thanks.” Eve carried her mug to the kitchen and sat on a stool to gaze out to sea while Mira tidied up. She heard Jack’s approach, but didn’t turn.
When she heard him clear his throat, she smiled and, without looking away from the window, she held up the plate of cookies. “Have a cookie, Jack.”
He pulled out a stool and sat next to her.
Straightening, she asked, “Aren’t you going back to work?”
He bit into a cookie and took his time savoring it. “I’m taking a few days off. You shouldn’t be driving around with one hand.”
“Is that an official warning?”
“I’m off duty, Eve.”
“So, what’s the plan? Are you going to shadow me?”
Mira set a mug of coffee down in front of Jack. “He’s going to help you solve the murder, Eve.”
“Huh?”
“Well, it’s obvious. Someone killed Chad Burrows. Think about it. What happened to the note you left? You didn’t put peanuts in the cake and yet, the cake had peanuts.” Mira lowered her voice. “If you ask me, someone framed you and now your freedom is at stake.”
Framed?
Had someone really taken advantage of her reputation?
Eve looked at Jack. “I assume Phil Forrester has gone to search for the note.” When he gave a small nod, Eve slid off her stool and went to stand by the window. “Chad Burrows didn’t just develop an allergy to peanuts. Why did he eat a cake left on his doorstep?”
“That’s a very good question, Eve. I’ll get a notebook. That’s what you do with Jill, isn’t it?” Mira didn’t wait for an answer. She hurried out of the kitchen leaving Eve to ponder the question.
If she knew she had a peanut allergy, she wouldn’t touch anything made by anyone other than herself.
What if someone left her favorite cake on her doorstep?
Nope, she still wouldn’t eat it.
Looking over her shoulder, she asked, “Jack, have you spoken with his doctor?”
“I’m not in charge of the investigation, Eve.”
What did that mean? He’d found the body… “Jack.”
“Yes?”
“I’m being held under suspicion.”
“Strictly speaking, you’re not being held.”
“Regardless, you are taking this quite calmly. What’s going on?”
Mira returned in time to hear Eve. Smiling, she said, “Jack is being smart. He knows you’ll lead him to the killer.” Giving him a pat on the hand, she added, “You have chosen wisely, my friend.”
“Jack would never go against protocol and I’m sure there are lots of rules and regulations in place.” Eve studied him for a moment. “Have you gone rogue?”
Mira chortled. “Jack would never act on his own. That’s why he’s here. As I said, he’s a smart boy.” She opened the notebook and tapped a pen against the blank page. “What should I write first? I assume you haven’t told Jill. So I’m going to act as your assistant.”
Eve frowned. “How did you know I haven’t told her?”
