“What mistake was that?” Heather asked.
The two of them sat on her front porch swing, Ryan’s arms around her, her head resting on his shoulder. With one foot pushing against the floorboards of the porch, Ryan kept the swing rocking slowly back and forth.
“He stopped in an alley on the way back to Three Sheets and took off his ski mask,” Ryan said. “Fortunately for us, but unluckily for him, the private garage he chose to hide behind had a security camera mounted on it. The owner of the property had a break-in last month and installed the camera. It caught Johnson taking off the mask and stashing it in a metal trash can. Now, not only do we have the video evidence, but we also have the ski mask, because trash day for that street isn’t until tomorrow. We got him. It’s over.”
“Except for the trial,” Heather said.
“Yeah. If it even goes to trial. If he doesn’t try to plea-bargain, which he probably will.”
They sat in companionable silence, watching Dave sniffing at the base of a tree. “Have you ever thought about becoming a detective?” Ryan asked.
“Me? No way.”
“Why not? You’d make a good one.”
“I’ll leave the detecting up to you,” she said. “Somebody has to make the donuts of this world.”
“And nobody does that better than you,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.
Their kiss was interrupted by Dave, who stood wiggling at their feet. When they looked at him, he trotted up the steps to the back door and whined.
“Okay, Dave,” Heather said. “I’ll let you back in.” Reluctantly, she left Ryan’s embrace and stood up. Tired as she was, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders in the past few minutes as they talked.
“Dave’s timing stinks,” Ryan said.
Heather smiled, her first real smile since she’d heard the news about Gustavo. “That it does,” she said with a chuckle, opening the door so Dave could trot back inside. “That it does.”
A letter from the Author
To each and every one of my Amazing readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!
I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff) Join my Book club.
Stay Curious,
Susan Gillard
Chocolate Frosted Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 5 Page 7