by Jessica Beck
He frowned for a moment before he spoke. “I ran into a slight complication at the cottage a few minutes ago.”
“Based on your appearance, I have to ask you this. Don’t take offense, but how slight?”
Instead of answering my question directly, he asked me, “Do you remember how you wanted me to hang that picture in our bedroom?”
I’d found a print of a waterfall in the North Carolina Mountains that had looked soothing, and on a lark, I’d bought it. Jake had insisted that he hang it himself, but that had been three weeks ago. “I remember. What happened? Did it somehow magically start leaking water?”
“Of course not,” he said. “The wall behind it did, though,” he added glumly.
“How is that even possible?” I asked.
“It appears that the main water line for the upstairs bathroom passes directly behind the wall where I drove a nail to hang your picture,” he said, “but like I said, don’t panic. Everything’s going to be fine. Better than fine, actually.”
“Is the water still leaking?” I asked him as I started to take off my apron so I could assess the damage personally.
“No, of course not. I got it stopped in hardly any time at all. Or so I thought.”
“There’s more to this story, isn’t there?” I asked him, getting more alarmed by the moment.
“It’s an old cottage, Suzanne. When I tried to turn the water off at the main shutoff, the knob broke off in my hand. That’s when the real flood started.”
How long was he going to prolong my misery? “Jake, I can’t take this news in bits and pieces. Just give me the worst of it, okay?”
“I told you, we’re all good. We got the water shut off at the street in no time at all,” Jake said, doing his best to reassure me and failing miserably at it.
“Who exactly is ‘we’?”
“Phillip happened to stop by to ask me my opinion about a cold case he’s been digging into. Between the two of us, we got the cover off the water main and shut it off from the source. The cottage is drying out even as we speak. Like I said, there’s no cause for alarm.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Did you call a plumber to take care of it?”
“I’m not about to waste good money on something I can do myself,” Jake said proudly. As a state police investigator, he was the tops. As a plumber, I suspected not so much.
“We can afford to bring in an expert, Jake. Why don’t you call somebody? I’m sure Momma knows somebody good.” My mother owned quite a bit of real estate, both buildings and property, in and around April Springs, so I knew that she’d have access to someone immediately, which was apparently exactly what we needed.
“I’m sure she does, but we’re not going to need her contacts to fix this. Phillip has agreed to help me. Between the two of us, we should have it knocked out in one day, two at the most.”
“What are we supposed to do for water in the meantime?” I asked him, feeling my voice getting shriller and shriller by the moment.
“I’ve already covered that. We’re staying with your mother and Phillip. Like I said, it won’t take us any time at all.”
“Jake, you do realize that just because they fix problems in an hour on television doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to.” My husband had become a great fan of the DIY channels lately, and he often remarked how simple it all looked.
“Suzanne, how hard could it be?” he asked me.
“Harder than you think,” I said softly.
Apparently his mind was made up, though. “I know it’s not going to be that easy, but honestly, we can do it. Phillip and I are both retired cops, and we’ve handled situations a lot dicier than this. Between the two of us, we should be able to handle it without a sweat.”
“If you two were investigating a case, I’d have no doubt in your abilities,” I said, trying to keep myself calm. “I’m just worried that this is out of your realm of expertise.”
“You worry too much,” he said as he kissed my nose. “Now I’ve got to go. Phillip is waiting for me. I’ll see you later.”
“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?” I asked one last time.
“No, ma’am. You’ll see. It’ll be a snap.” With that, Jake snapped his fingers to demonstrate how easy he thought the task would be. Before leaving, he pointed to the display cases. “I love the new donuts. You should let folks know what you’re doing.”
Before he could go, I knew there was something I needed to tell him. I’d been putting it off because I hadn’t wanted him to worry about me. “Jake, I found a body this morning in front of the town clock, perched on the dunking-booth bench.”
“I was wondering when you’d get around to telling me about that,” he said with a nod. “Phillip already knew about it, and he told me first thing. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“What do you think happened to the man?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I have as much confidence in Chief Grant to solve it as I do in Phillip and myself to fix that leak in no time.”
His response wasn’t exactly inspiring, but I kept my reservations to myself.
After all, maybe he was right.
I wasn’t going to hold my breath, though.
I knew that I needed to pack enough clothes for the long haul when I got off work. Hopefully I’d still be able to get into my cottage by then, but I was already having my doubts. What fresh madness would the two former cops create in their efforts to fix an “easy” problem?
Only time would tell.
In the meantime, I had donuts to sell.
CHAPTER 3
“Are those really eyeballs?” Paige Hill asked as she surveyed the donut display case.
“Well, not really, but that’s what they’re supposed to look like. Do you like them?” I asked her.
“Like them? I love them. Can I buy them all?”
“Sure, why not?” I asked as I grabbed a few boxes and carefully placed our inventory inside them. “That’s why they are there.”
“I agree with you, but I went into a donut chain in Asheville once and saw that they had peanut donuts for sale. There were eight left, so I bought them out. You would have thought I was robbing them! Three different employees scolded me for wiping out their inventory of peanut donuts, each making a point to tell me that if I knew that I wanted that many, I could and should call ahead the day before so they could be ready for me. Can you imagine that? What would you do if someone came in with a few hundred dollars and offered to buy out your inventory for the day?”
“Let’s see. I’d probably go home early, take a long shower, and then grab a nice long nap,” I said with a grin.
“But would you chastise the customer for buying your donuts?” she asked as I took her money and made change.
“Are you kidding? I dream about customers like that. What are you going to do with these? Besides eat them, I mean.”
“I’m going to put them out for my customers. They’re going to fit perfectly in my display,” she said with a grin. “I’ve been revisiting some of my favorite old horror novels this week in honor of Fright Week. I’ve planned readings and events all week based on the idea that everyone loves to be frightened every now and then. Do you like scary books, Suzanne?”
“I used to love them when I was younger, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve become a huge cozy-mystery fan. If it weren’t for the murders, I wouldn’t mind living in some of the small towns I’ve read about.”
“To each her own,” Paige said with a shrug. “That’s why there are so many books. There’s something for just about everyone,” she said. “Are you making more of these eyeball donut holes tomorrow?”
“Why, did you want to go ahead and place an order today?” I asked her with a grin.
“That’s the problem, isn’t it? I rarely know what I want at any particular moment, let alone what my cravings might be tomorrow.”
“Well, feel free to come in and buy me out anytime you’d like,” I told Paige as I held the door
open for her. I couldn’t imagine a shopkeeper not being excited about selling out her supply of anything. After all, it meant more money in the till and a move one step closer to making a profit that day, and that was ultimately one of the reasons we were in business, wasn’t it? Sure, I loved making people happy with my sweet treats, but I also loved making a living while I was doing it. Why couldn’t I do both, though?
“I’m going to take off now, if that’s okay with you,” Emma said a little later as she came out of the kitchen. “The dishes are done, at least for now.”
“Thanks so much. The window looks great, by the way.” My assistant had outdone herself using the cobweb and spider stencils to the max, giving Donut Hearts a decidedly Halloween feel inside and out now.
“Sweet. When I come in tomorrow, do you mind if I bring in some cobwebs for the inside? We could really do wonders in here with a few well-placed spider webs.”
“Okay, but don’t make it too creepy. We have a lot of little kids come into the shop, and I don’t want to scare them off. Try to keep it a bit whimsical, okay?”
“I think that ship has sailed with the donut-hole eyeballs, but I get your point,” Emma replied with a grin. “See you later.”
“Bye,” I said.
As my assistant walked out of the shop, George Morris and Cassandra Lane came in. The mayor and his girlfriend were both smiling broadly. Given my earlier discovery, I hadn’t expected that reaction from them. George was usually a gruff-looking man, an ex-cop who didn’t stand for much nonsense, but it was amazing to see his transformation in Cassandra’s presence. The elegant blonde brought out a side of my friend that I loved seeing. Even in jeans and a plain blouse, Cassandra had a presence about her that must have made her a fierce foe in the courtroom. She seemed to command attention whenever she was present.
“I love the window!” she said gleefully. “You’re really getting into the spirit of Fright Week, Suzanne.”
“The donuts look good, too,” George added.
“You just missed the donut-hole eyeballs,” I said. “We made them in blue, green, and brown. They’re a real hoot.”
“Are you teasing, or did you really make them?” Cassandra asked.
“They were here all right, but Paige Hill bought the last few we had left. Tomorrow we’ll have more, though.”
“Excellent. I’m glad to see that at least some of the shop owners are getting into the spirit of the season,” Cassandra said.
“I thought everyone was participating. Paige just told me that she’s celebrating all week with horror-novel readings and events, and Emily Hargraves has Cow, Spots, and Moose dressed up in their finest Halloween attire. As a matter of fact, they are wearing different costumes every day. Emily had plenty to choose from, since she’s been dressing her stuffed animals up for years.”
“I know. We just left her. They are all dressed as ghosts today. What a cute gimmick she’s got,” Cassandra said.
“It’s a lot more than just a gimmick,” I said. “Emily’s one of the shrewdest marketers around. She knows how much of a draw her three childhood pals are, and she maximizes the interest to draw people into her newsstand.”
“Max was there with her,” George said lightly, referring to Emily’s current boyfriend and my ex-husband.
“It’s awfully early for him to be up and about, isn’t it?” I asked with a grin. When Max and I had been married, it had been a rare day that he’d been up before noon, but evidently a great many things had changed since he’d started dating my friend.
“He didn’t seem to mind. Emily has done a wonderful job with the newsstand. She’s even got a contest going to guess the number of candy skulls in a big glass jar. The winner gets the candy, the jar, and a ten-dollar gift certificate to her shop,” Cassandra said. “Are you planning on running any promotions here, besides the decorations and donuts, I mean?”
“We’re holding a donut-decorating competition,” I said as I explained the different categories and age groups. Emma and I decided on doing spookiest, funniest, and most creative for each of our divisions. Why not spread the fun around even more? “They’ll be held at different times, all leading up to the grand finale on Halloween morning, an All Star decorating challenge with all of the division winners vying for the grand prize! Who wouldn’t want to win a donut a week for an entire year?”
“That sounds perfect,” Cassandra said. In a softer voice, she asked, “Suzanne, do you think you might be able to speak with Gabby about her participation?”
Gabby Williams was my gruff neighbor in business. She ran ReNEWed, a gently used clothing shop that sported the best fashion April Springs had to offer. It didn’t really surprise me that she’d chosen not to participate in the festivities. “I’m not sure why you’re asking me. I don’t have any more influence with Gabby than the mayor does,” I said.
“We both know better than that,” George said. “Please, Suzanne? It would mean a lot to me. To us, I mean.”
It was odd for George to care so much about a festival, but then again, it was clear that he was trying to make Cassandra happy. “I’ll see what I can do,” I said with a bit of reluctance in my voice. “Do you have a minute, Mr. Mayor? I want to talk to you about what happened earlier this morning.”
“Are you talking about that poor unfortunate man you found?” Cassandra asked, chiming in, even though she hadn’t been invited into the conversation.
“Yes,” I said, looking at her briefly and hoping that she’d get the hint that I wanted a moment with the mayor alone.
“Sadly, life and death go hand in hand, don’t they? We all have our own time, don’t we? Dying is just a natural part of the process of living. There’s no reason we should halt the festivities because of it.”
“Have you heard something that I haven’t?” I asked her. “I didn’t know that he died of natural causes.”
“What else could it be?” she asked. “According to the police chief, there were no signs of trauma present on the body when he examined it.”
“Cassandra, you’re an attorney. Surely you must realize that just because there were no overt signs of murder, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it was a natural death.”
“Suzanne,” George jumped in, “she’s right. Unfortunately, it happens all of the time. Your problem is that you’ve seen too many bodies over the years. You’re starting to see murder everywhere.” Before I could protest, he continued, “We’ve decided that unless there’s evidence to the contrary that the death wasn’t from natural causes, Fright Week is going to go on as planned. We have too much invested in it to shut it down on rumor and speculation.”
“Is that the mayor talking, or the event planner’s boyfriend?” I asked a little pointedly. It was the relationship George and I had developed over the years, but Cassandra looked startled by my bluntness in her presence.
“The mayor,” George said stiffly.
Perhaps I had been a little harsh with him, but before I could smooth things out with him, Cassandra put her arm in his and led him to the door. “Let’s go, Mr. Mayor. We have more stops to make before our meeting. Good day, Suzanne.”
“George,” I called out, still hoping to have a word with him in private.
“It’ll have to be later, Suzanne,” the mayor said, and then they were gone.
I knew that everyone in town loved Cassandra and her overwhelming presence, but sometimes she could be a little tough to take. If George had been making the decision alone, I had a hunch Fright Week would be over before it had a chance to get started, but with Cassandra whispering in his ear, it was a whole different matter. Then again, maybe they were right. The stranger I’d found might have died from natural causes, no matter how odd the way I’d discovered him might have been. Still, to die on a dunk tank bench wearing a Halloween mask was not ordinary by any definition of the word.
The decorated donut treats sold better than I’d expected, and by closing time, I was left with one donut, a rare event for me. I almost always
made more than I needed on the theory that I’d rather have too many on hand than run out of things to sell in the course of the morning. The lone survivor was a pumpkin spice cake donut that we’d decorated a little too heavily with black icing. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away, so, after looking around and seeing that I was alone, I ate it myself.
The icing might not have been too appealing to the eye, but it was delightful to the taste. Glancing in the mirror to brush away any crumbs that might be present, I noticed that my teeth had taken on a decidedly dark tone from the icing. Scrubbing them with a tissue helped, but it wasn’t until after I’d brushed thoroughly that I was satisfied with the result. In the future I would definitely have to back off on the food coloring or use less icing, so it was a valuable lesson.
Since Emma had done some of the dishes while she’d been there earlier, it made cleanup easier for me, and I was out of the donut shop in record time. After dropping off the deposit at the bank, I circled back to the cottage to see if, by any miracle, Jake and Phillip had finished their home improvement project.
“What happened here?”
“Take a deep breath and try to relax, Suzanne. It’s not as bad as it looks,” Jake said, doing his best to calm me down and failing miserably at it.
“It couldn’t be any worse, could it?” I had been expecting a little hole in the wall of the bedroom, but when I arrived, I was faced with nearly an entire section of plaster ripped down, exposing the studs, the wiring, and the punctured plumbing. “I thought it was just a little leak.”
“The truth is, it’s lucky that it happened,” Phillip chimed in, trying to rush to my husband’s defense.
“If this is lucky, I’d hate to see what unlucky looks like,” I replied.
“The thing is, we found a minor electrical problem we need to address, too,” Jake said.
“What do you two think you’re doing? Will you at least admit now that it’s time to call in a professional?”