“How would she do that?” Jake asked. “It seems as though Abel had a heart attack, at least based on the way we found him.”
“But Beatrice seemed like a legitimate suicide at first too, didn’t she?” I asked.
“We’ve got to get Hank’s keys and check out Abel’s room,” Jake said.
“I agree, but how are we going to do that?”
“I’m not sure, but I won’t be able to rest tonight until I know one way or the other,” my husband answered.
“Either way, I’m sleeping with one eye open. I’d hate for Jasper to consider one of us a threat to his freedom,” I said.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
“And I’ve got yours,” I replied.
Chapter 15
JASPER WAS ALREADY back downstairs when we came out of the kitchen, and it was all I could do not to stare at him as a potential killer, of his very own sister no less. Remembering my promise to Jake, I did my best to smile at him as I offered him the tray. “Did you have a good shower?”
“I’m still kind of numb from the cold, but it was nice to get clean and put on fresh clothes,” he said as he took a mug and filled it with black coffee. I would have taken him for a cream-and-sugar kind of guy, but with the night he was having, maybe black coffee was the way for him to go after all.
“Ooh, cocoa,” Vera said. “Bring me some of that.”
I put the tray on the appropriately named coffee table. “Help yourself.” I wasn’t about to wait on her.
“Fine,” she said, clearly a little disgruntled by my refusal to serve her. “I’ll get it.”
“That sounds good to me,” I said, giving her my best fake smile that I reserved for only my worst customers at the donut shop.
“Where’s Abel?” Jasper asked as he looked around the room. “Surely he couldn’t be sleeping through everything that’s happened tonight.”
“That’s right, you don’t know, do you?” I asked, watching his face for some kind of sign that he indeed knew exactly what had happened to the older man. “Apparently, Abel had a heart attack around the time that your sister died.”
“He’s gone, too?” Jasper asked numbly. “You’re kidding me.”
“That’s not something we’d joke about,” Killian said.
“This place is cursed, Uncle K,” Jasper said glumly, almost as though the last bit of fight had gone out of him. “Why did you ever build it in the first place?”
“I thought it would please Leandra,” Killian said chokingly.
“And she’s never even been up here to see it, has she?” Jasper asked harshly.
“Shut your yap,” Hank said as he loomed over Jasper in a threatening manner. “Killian has enough on his mind without dealing with guff from you.”
“It’s okay, Hank,” Killian answered. “He’s right. I thought this would somehow make everything okay, but all it’s done is to bring more grief into my life.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Boss,” Hank said as he laid a meaty paw on Killian’s shoulder. It amazed me how gentle the big man’s touch could be.
“I can’t seem to help myself,” Killian answered as he put a hand on his employee’s hand. “Thanks for trying, though.”
After a moment, Jasper said softly, “I’m sorry, Uncle K. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Killian said. He looked around at all of us for a moment, and then he stared at me for a second. “Suzanne, I know it’s late, but I’ve got a hunch that none of us are going to be getting any sleep tonight. Is there any chance you could whip up that batch of donuts I’ve heard so much about from Jake that you promised us in the morning?” He had an imploring expression on his face, and I couldn’t bring myself to say no, even though I was dog tired from everything that had happened, and it was so far past my bedtime it was time for me to get up again if I were back home running Donut Hearts, something that I wished I was doing with all of my heart and soul.
“I’d be happy to,” I said as I stood. “They won’t be yeast donuts, but how does a batch of cake donuts sound to everyone?”
There were some nods and a few agreements, but nobody seemed all that enthusiastic about the prospect.
Given the circumstances, I could hardly blame anyone for not being more excited about the idea.
“I’ll have them done in no time at all,” I said.
“Should I help you?” Killian offered.
“You can if you want to, but I’ve got this recipe down cold. I run the donut shop by myself alone one day a week, so this will be old hat for me.”
“Then maybe I’ll stay out here by the fire if it’s all the same to you,” Killian said. “I could use a rest.”
“By all means then, take it,” I said. I glanced at Jake but didn’t say anything, wondering if he’d volunteer to help so that we could brainstorm a little more while I fried donuts.
He got the message, even though he didn’t accept my offer. “I think I’ll hang out here too if you don’t mind.” It was clear that he didn’t want to leave this gang unsupervised, and I couldn’t really blame him, especially if there was one, or maybe even two, murderers on the loose. Staying together tonight might be the safest way we’d all get through it. It would mean that Jake and I couldn’t go off on our own and investigate, but it also meant that the killer, or killers, would have a harder time striking if we were all together.
“Sounds good to me,” I said as I made my way into the kitchen, alone.
I could light enough candles to give me plenty of illumination in the kitchen, and before long I had a basic cake donut recipe ready to fry. The only large pots they had were all La Cruesset, a brand of French cookware I’d never be able to afford if I lived to be a hundred. This cast-iron pot looked to be around six quarts, and it was coated in an orange and red enamel that was amazing. I started frying donuts and fishing them out, placing them on draining racks as I made them. It was a small batch, at least for me, so I only made four dozen, which should be plenty enough to satisfy this group. I sprinkled two dozen with powdered sugar, a dozen were glazed with a quick vanilla icing I made up, and I left the last dozen plain. Everybody should be able to find something they liked that way. I found a fancy serving platter and placed the donuts on them as best I could and then carried them out to where everyone was still gathered at the fireplace.
“Come and get them while they’re hot,” I said as I put the platter down.
“Are there any blueberry?” Vera asked as she studied my offerings critically.
“Nope, they’re all just my basic recipe,” I said, trying my best not to pick up a freshly powdered donut and hurl it at her.
“They smell amazing,” Hank said. He grabbed a plate someone had put out and plopped three donuts, one of each kind, on it.
“Hey, save some for the rest of us,” Vera complained.
“I didn’t take a single blueberry donut, because there aren’t any,” Hank said as he laughed at her.
“There’s plenty for everyone,” I jumped in. “I made four dozen.”
“That should cover me, but what about the rest of these guys? What are they going to eat?” Hank asked cheerfully.
“If you can eat all of those donuts by yourself, I’d be happy to make more,” I told him with a grin.
“You just called my bluff, didn’t you? Still, I’ll try to do proud by you,” Hank answered as he took a hefty bite of one of the powdered donuts. “I know you’re married to that man over there, but is it a happy marriage? I might be able to sweeten the deal a little after tasting these.”
“Sorry, but I’m extremely happy,” I said as I smiled at Jake.
My husband shook his head in amazement. “I’ve never seen a man have the nerve to make such a blatant pass at another man’s wife right under his nose in my entire life.”
“Aw, I was just pulling your leg,” Hank said sheepishly.
“Make sure that’s all that you’re pulling, and that it’s my leg and
not hers, and we’ll be fine,” Jake said with merely the hint of a smile.
Hank obviously read the meaning behind the message. “I read you, loud and clear.”
“Good,” Jake answered, and the tension, at least over that exchange, dissipated.
In the meantime, Killian took a bite of a plain donut himself, though it was a much more restrained one than his handyman had taken. “Simply amazing, Suzanne. This is even better than dinner was, if that’s possible.”
“Well, in my defense, I’ve had a lot more practice making these,” I answered, giving him a gentle smile. I was happy that I had managed to take Killian’s mind off his troubles, even if it was only for a minute. That was what my donuts were for, at least as far as I was concerned, making the world a little brighter for a brief moment. What more noble a calling was there than that?
We did a good job making a dent into the donut supply, and even Jasper and Vera ended up polishing off two apiece. I had to sample each one as my professional duty, or at least that’s the lie I told myself as I wiped the powdered sugar off an index finger and a thumb.
Once we’d all had our share, we seemed to sink back into our seats and stare into the fire, lost in our own thoughts.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
I felt that way, at any rate, until Jasper stood and said, “I need to see Beatrice.”
“I’m sorry, but we’ve locked both rooms,” Killian said.
“Why? What could it possibly matter at this point?” Jasper asked him.
“It was my idea,” Jake volunteered. “I didn’t want anyone disturbing anything until the local police get here to investigate.”
Jasper looked shocked by the suggestion, but I had to wonder if his reaction was real or if had been staged for our benefit. “Why on earth would they need to do that? A despondent young woman killed herself and an old man with a history of heart problems had another episode. It’s as plain and straightforward as that.”
“Maybe yes, maybe no, but that’s not our call to make,” Jake said.
That got Killian’s attention. “What are you implying, Jake?”
“I’m not implying anything,” he told his friend carefully. “I’m just saying that as a former state police investigator, I would want the scenes left as untouched as possible so I could get a look at them myself.”
“But you’re not an investigator anymore, so what you think doesn’t really matter,” Vera snapped. “Jasper’s right. Let him see his sister if he wants to. There’s no reason to be so barbaric about it, or melodramatic. I hate locked doors! There’s no need to go to such extremes.”
Jake held his cool, which I knew that he was good at. I noticed that there were still a few powdered donuts left, so maybe I’d be flinging them in Vera’s direction after all if she didn’t do something about the tone she was using with my husband.
“I’m not being melodramatic,” Jake said patiently. “It doesn’t matter at this point what we believe. We just need to preserve both scenes as best we can and let the authorities handle it.”
“Even though we moved Beatrice’s body,” Hank reminded him.
“Like I said before, I was afraid that outcropping might give way,” Jake said. “I made a judgment call that I’m going to have to explain when law enforcement arrives, but I can live with that.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Hank said. “Do you really think there’s been some monkey business on the mountain?”
“It’s considerably more than monkey business if two people were murdered up here,” I said, forgetting that I was supposed to be a calming influence, too.
“You know what I meant,” Hank said apologetically.
“No one killed Beatrice,” Jasper said. “Now, if someone doesn’t let me into her room, I will break that door down myself.”
The man ordinarily couldn’t punch his way out of a wet cardboard box, but I wasn’t entirely sure he couldn’t do just what he’d threatened to, given the circumstances.
“What do you think, Jake?” Killian asked my husband. “Could it really hurt anything if he doesn’t touch anything?”
“Maybe not,” Jake answered, which kind of surprised me. Was he using Jasper’s insistence as a way to get another look at that body himself? “Who else wants to come with us?”
“Why are you coming?” Jasper snapped out at him.
“It’s the only way I’m letting you in to see her. You’ll be supervised by me the entire time that you’re up there,” Jake said. “That point is not negotiable. Go or don’t go, it’s up to you.”
Jasper turned to his uncle. “Tell him I don’t need to be watched, Uncle K.”
Killian seemed to think about it for a few moments before he shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t do that. Jake is right. I can’t stand the thought of seeing Beatrice again, so if Jake can do it, it’s more than I can ask of him. How about the rest of you?”
“I’m sticking with you, Boss,” Hank said, surprising no one.
“I’m certainly not going to go look to satisfy some kind of morbid curiosity,” Vera said as she looked with disdain at Jasper.
“Suzanne?” Jake asked me.
I couldn’t read his signals on whether he wanted me to come with him or stay with the group, so I made a judgment call. “Why not? I’ll keep you company,” I said. I figured if the other three of our remaining members of our party stayed together, no one else would die.
At least that was my hope.
Jake didn’t object to my plan, so that was something, but he did turn to the others. “I want the three of you to promise me that you’ll stay right here until we get back.”
“Is that strictly necessary?” Killian asked.
“If I have to stay down here to make sure that it happens, you need to realize that you’ll be sending Suzanne up there with Jasper alone,” Jake said levelly. “Is that really what you want?”
Killian got the message. “Of course not. We’ll behave ourselves, right?”
Hank nodded, but Vera didn’t say a word. Killian repeated loudly, this time staring straight at her, “Right?”
“Right,” Vera said, clearly not willing to cross her old boss again.
“Go, but don’t stay long,” Killian said.
“We won’t,” Jake replied, and then he turned to Hank. “I’ll need those keys, please.”
“Right. I almost forgot I had them,” Hank said as he fished two keys off his massive ring. “I’ll be needing those back later.”
“When we’re finished with them,” Jake answered.
As we climbed the stairs, Jasper asked Jake, “Why wouldn’t you send your wife upstairs with me by herself?”
“The truth is that I don’t like her going anywhere without me,” Jake answered. “Viewing a dead body is especially something I don’t approve of her doing solo.”
Jasper seemed to accept that.
Once we were at Beatrice’s door, Jake took one of the keys and opened the door, handing me his candle as he did so.
When he retrieved it, he slipped another key into my hand. “Check out Abel’s room,” he whispered. “Be quick about it. I don’t want anyone to know what you’re up to.”
“What exactly am I looking for?” I asked him as I took it.
“I’m not really sure. Anything that could tell us what really happened to the man, I suppose,” Jake said softly. “Good luck.”
“You, too,” I said. “Thanks for believing in me.”
“Every day, in every way,” he answered as he gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
“You’d better get in there,” I said as I pointed to Beatrice’s room. “I’ll see you soon.”
“I’m counting on it,” he answered as he stepped inside.
That left me maybe three or four minutes to see if I could tell if Abel had really died from natural causes, or if someone had helped him on his way.
Chapter 16
IT WAS KIND OF EERIE being in a dead man’s room, especially with him
still occupying it, in the middle of the night with only a candle for illumination. Not that bright overhead lights would have helped anything, but still, the candlelight threw off some really creepy shadows, something I didn’t need on a mission that was already spooky enough.
The last thing I wanted to check out was the body, so I decided to ease myself into it by looking at every other thing in the room possible first.
Abel’s clothes had been neatly put away in the drawers, and nothing appeared to have been disturbed. He had an old-fashioned appointment book, one that had real pages and everything, instead of one that worked electronically. It didn’t surprise me one bit that the man had been old-school.
I flipped through the book and found a series of appointments, all business, that included Vera at times, alone, and Killian alone as well. The last appointments listed were Vera at her place, Killian at his fulltime home, and to my surprise, here on the mountain a few days before the rest of us arrived on the scene. It was only blocked in for an hour, and Abel had made some notes on the meeting, as was his custom after every appointment.
“Killian is being stubborn to the nth degree. Things got heated, and his handyman stepped in at one point. I had to at least try, didn’t I? What is Killian doing out here in the middle of nowhere, anyway? He’s not going to change his mind about buying the chain back, I know that now. Vera is wrong. I don’t know how I’m going to convince her of that, though. What a mess. Maybe we can change his mind next week when we come back here with his worthless niece and nephew. If not, I’m going to have to deal with Vera myself.”
So, pushing Killian was more Vera’s idea than it had been Abel’s. That last bit had sounded like an overt threat, and if Vera had been the one who’d died on the mountain, I would have made Abel my prime suspect. The reversed situation didn’t make much sense, though.
Then I checked the notes for has last meeting with Vera.
“Vera isn’t going to give up. I told her that I was out, but she won’t let me walk away from it. I don’t know how she uncovered what I did, but it’s coming back to haunt me yet again. Maybe Killian will get rid of her for me so I won’t have to worry about her anymore.”
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