Deadly Donuts

by Jessica Beck

“No worries,” I answered.

  I took the wrench, returned to the three valves, and with a little more effort, I shut them off one at a time. That most likely meant that I’d deprived two other businesses of their water as well, but let the landlord straighten it out.

  I went back and found Sophia still standing there.

  “See if that did the trick,” I asked.

  Sophia left my field of my vision, then she returned five seconds later.

  “That did it,” Sophia said. “The water stopped.”

  “Good,” I answered as I walked back to where the ladder was.

  It was further than I thought to that first rung when I looked down at it again.

  I dropped the wrench to the ground, where it took an uncomfortable amount of time to fall, and then I shimmied my body over the side of the building and hoped that I’d be able to find the ladder with my feet. I could feel the tar and rocks of the roof bite into my hands, and my shoes were weighed down with tar and gravel, but I somehow managed to find the rung anyway.

  After that, it was simply a matter of getting off that ladder as fast as I could and plant my feet firmly back onto the ground.

  Sophia started to hug me as I stepped off onto the pavement, but I pushed her away. “Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m a mess.”

  “Come into the restaurant. We’ll take care of you.”

  I followed her back to Napoli’s, stopping to take off my tennis shoes just before we got to the door. The shoes were a real mess, and I didn’t want to track anything into Angelica’s kitchen, as crazy as it must have seemed at the time, but I had to admit, that water felt good on my feet all the way through my socks.

  Angelica took one look at me, and then she said with great distress, “Suzanne, you shouldn’t have done that.”

  “I didn’t mind,” I said. “I know that you would have done it for me if the roles had been reversed. A friend in need and all of that.”

  “We’ll make it right by you,” she answered. “I promise.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Angelica. This T-shirt was just about ready for the donation pile anyway, and my jeans didn’t get very dirty.”

  “Where are your shoes, dear girl?” she asked me.

  “I left them outside. I’ll figure out a way to clean them up.”

  “Not even with a match and a can of gasoline,” Sophia said. “They are worthless now.”

  “We’ll replace them as well,” Angelica said decisively, “but do any of you girls have extra shoes Suzanne can borrow in the meantime?”

  That’s when I remembered my running shoes in the back of the Jeep. “I’ve got another pair, but I really could use a clean shirt.”

  Maria dove into one of the boxes stored above the waterline and said, “Here’s one of Napoli’s best,” she said.

  “That’s great,” I answered as I took the pink shirt from her and looked at the restaurant’s logo. Pink was by no means my color, but I wasn’t about to be a choosy beggar.

  Angelica wasn’t about to leave it at that, though. “Ladies, surely we can do better than this.”

  “Not on such short notice we can’t,” Antonia answered.

  “Then we must focus on the long term.” Angelica turned to me and said, “I wish I could offer you something to eat, but it’s difficult to run a restaurant without running water.”

  “I could always go turn it back on, if you’d like,” I said with the hint of a smile. Just being around these strong women made me feel better.

  “No!” three of them shouted at the same time.

  “Then Grace and I will take a rain check,” I said.

  Angelica said, “Girls, let’s get busy. I want to open as soon as the water is restored.”

  “We’re going to need a ton of fans to dry the place out,” Maria said.

  “Then go to the hardware store and tell Henry that we need them. He’ll lend us everything we need.”

  “And come himself if there’s a chance of seeing you,” Sophia answered.

  “Is there something going on that I don’t know about?” I asked. I knew of only one man Angelica had dated in the past few years, and that had come to a rather abrupt and tragic end. Was she back in the dating pool?

  “It’s all nonsense,” Angelica said, though her color rose slightly. “Henry and I are just friends.”

  “You may feel that way,” Sophia said, “but I guarantee you that Henry doesn’t. That man wants more than just your lasagna,” she said with a grin.

  Angelica whipped a towel at her. “You may go with your sister, or stay here and work. You choose.”

  Sophia was out the door behind Maria quicker than I’d ever seen her move.

  Once they were gone, Angelica told her remaining daughter, “Let’s get busy making this place fit again.”

  As they began to work, Grace and I started to join in.

  “I won’t hear of it. You’ve done enough,” Angelica said.

  “We’ve got the time,” I said, “and we’re happy to help.”

  Angelica wasn’t buying that, though. “Was there something else you wanted besides a meal?”

  “I did at first, but it can wait.”

  “Suzanne Hart, talk to me.” I knew that tone of voice, especially since I’d heard it from Momma enough times. Angelica wasn’t fooling around. She wanted to return my recent favor, and if I knew what was good for me, I’d let her.

  “We need to know about two men who used to live in Union Square a long time ago, before I was born,” I said.

  “Any two in particular?” she asked.

  “The Briar boys, Morgan and Blake,” I said.

  Angelica frowned, and then she said, “I’ll tell you what I know, but I should warn you, none of it is good.”

  A sudden question burst forth in my mind. “Angelica, did you ever meet my father when he lived here in town? He was separated from my mother at the time.”

  The expression on Angelica’s face was enough to tell me that I’d scored a direct hit. Grace was astonished as well, but I’d have to bring her up to speed later.

  “We’ll discuss this outside,” she said, clearly to Antonia’s displeasure.

  “You don’t have time to tell me about it now,” I said, suddenly not at all sure that I wanted to hear what she had to say. “This can wait.”

  “I’ve wanted to tell you for many years. I won’t let another opportunity pass,” Angelica said as we walked outside.

  Grace, sensing the tone of the coming conversation, said, “I’ll stay and help Antonia.”

  Antonia looked pleased by the news, but not as happy as I was. I’d share everything I learned with Grace later, but for now, I needed to hear what Angelica had to say all by myself.

  Chapter 6

  “So, tell me the truth. Did you know my dad?”

  “I did,” Angelica said, though it was clear that she wasn’t all that happy talking about it all these years later.

  A thought suddenly struck me. “You didn’t date him, did you?”

  “Of course not. Remember, I was happily married back then. Besides, the entire time your father lived in Union Square, as far as I knew he never looked at another woman, let alone dated anyone. He was loyal to your mother, for what it was worth.”

  “If they didn’t split up over someone else, why did they break up, then?”

  “Suzanne, you were married once. You know the ebb and flow most marriages go through. You shouldn’t be too hard on your father. He had his reasons, I’m sure.”

  “I wish someone would enlighten me about what exactly they were,” I said a little too harshly.

  “If that’s what you’re hoping to find out, then I’m afraid that I won’t be of any use to you,” Angelica said as she started back inside.

  I reached out and touched her arm lightly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. It’s just so frustrating, knowing that there was this entire chapter in my parents’ lives that I didn’t ever know happened.”

>   “It was before you were born, so I can understand why your mother didn’t want to bring it up. I’m willing to wager that if Morgan Briar hadn’t come to April Springs, she never would have told you.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Word spreads quickly. I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”

  It was true. I’d seen the speed of the grapevine firsthand before. “Why did he choose this past week to come visit us?” I asked. “His brother died a long time ago. So why show up now looking to blackmail us?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Know what?” I asked.

  “He had a very good reason for waiting this long. You see, Morgan Briar just got out of jail.”

  “What was the charge?” I asked.

  “That I thought you knew. He tried to kill your father the day after someone ran down his brother, and from what I heard, he was just released a few days ago.”

  “He tried to kill my dad?” I asked in disbelief. If Morgan had succeeded, then there would have been no me. The thought of it made me a little queasy. “What happened?”

  “It was Morgan’s idea of an eye for an eye. He waited for your father to come out of a diner downtown, and then he tried to run him down. The man was obsessed; he didn’t care who saw it. He was out for what he thought of as revenge.”

  “Did he miss Dad altogether?”

  “No, he actually clipped his leg with the bumper of his car. The metal caught his flesh, and he must have had a pretty substantial scar from it for the rest of his life.”

  “He told me once that a shark bit him,” I said, remembering my father’s effort to make a joke of the scar. “I never asked him what really happened. Still, over thirty years is a long time to serve for just attempting to kill someone.”

  “It would have been if Morgan had kept his nose clean, but he was always getting into trouble in jail. Frankly, I’m amazed they ever let him out.”

  “How do you know so much about all of this?” I asked. “Surely it’s not common knowledge in Union Square.”

  “You’d be surprised. After all, it’s a small town. Plus, his sister is still around, and she’s kept me up to date over the years. You could always speak to her yourself, if you’d like.”

  “What are the chances that she’d give me the time of day, seeing how our families are locked in some kind of bizarre feud? She probably blames Dad for one brother’s death, and my mother or me for the other.”

  “Let me call her and see how she feels about you approaching her,” Angelica said.

  “You don’t have to do that. It’s too much to ask.”

  “Like climbing up on a roof for a friend?” she asked with a slight smile.

  “That was different,” I protested.

  “Yes, it was. All I’m doing is making a simple telephone call. You actually put yourself in harm’s way for me and my family.”

  “I don’t see it that way at all,” I said.

  “I’m not at all surprised that you don’t. Suzanne, let me do this for you.”

  “Okay,” I conceded. “I really do appreciate it. This makes us even.”

  “Not on your life,” Angelica said with a smile, and then she stepped away to make her call. In the meantime, Maria and Sophia came back, carrying two box fans apiece.

  “What did you do, wipe him out?” I asked them.

  “We did,” Maria said proudly. “He would have given us more if he’d had them.”

  “My mother has that man wrapped around her little finger,” Sophia said. Evidently she thought that she’d spoken softly enough not to be overheard, but there was a sudden sharp cough from Angelica’s direction, and we all hurried inside to set the fans up.

  The water was mostly out of the kitchen, either through the mops or the doorway we’d just stepped through, and Antonia set up the fans where they would do the most good. I had a hunch the kitchen would be dry in no time, and if the dining area had been spared, Napoli’s most likely would be open for dinner tonight.

  We were all using towels to get the last of the water up when a short, balding man with a big pear-shaped belly stormed in. “Have you people lost your minds? Who turned off the water to every tenant in the complex?” he asked with a growl.

  “That would be me,” I said calmly as I stepped forward. There was no way that I was going to let anyone else take the blame for me.

  “Well, what’s the big idea? The other businesses need their water.” The fact that I was so calm was evidently throwing him off a little.

  “If you’d come here when I first called,” Angelica said as she came into the kitchen, “we wouldn’t have had to take such drastic measures. I expect that pipe to be fixed, and I mean in half an hour.”

  “That’s crazy. I can’t get someone to come out on such short notice,” he said.

  “Okay, I’m a reasonable woman,” Angelica said. “I’ll give you a full hour. If we don’t have running water by then, I’m charging you for what I’ve lost in revenue today.”

  “You can bill me all that you want to, but I’m not paying you one dime. That’s what insurance is for.”

  “No,” Angelica said softly. “That’s what my cousins are for. Now, are you going to settle this with me, or should I tell them to come over right now and help you change your mind?”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” the landlord said as he grabbed his phone, walked outside, and quickly started dialing.

  “Why is he so afraid of your cousins?” I whispered. “Has he even met them?”

  Angelica peeked outside, and then she closed the door for a moment. “I don’t have any cousins, but somehow he got the idea that we’re connected in some way.”

  “Connected? What does that mean?” I asked naively.

  “You know, connected,” she said as she put an index finger on the side of her nose.

  “The Mafia?” I asked loudly. I never would have believed that could ever be true, not even if Angelica herself told me.

  “Keep your voice down,” she said with a smile. “I never said a word to the man, but he assumed that just because we’re Italian, we’re trouble.”

  “We are,” Sophia said, “but in a very different way than he believes.”

  “And you never set him straight?” I asked.

  “I tried half a dozen times, but he never believed me. Anyway, it has served its purpose over the years. If it gets me service that he might not ordinarily offer to his regular tenants, who does it hurt?”

  I didn’t even know how to respond to that, and fortunately I was saved from trying when Angelica’s phone rang. She answered it, held a brief whispered conversation, and then jotted something down on a Napoli’s notepad.

  After she hung up, Angelica handed me a folded note.

  “Suzanne, you’ll find everything that you need right there,” she said. “Go on. It’s all taken care of.”

  “What’s taken care of?” Sophia asked.

  “Nosy Rosie’s latest membership list,” Angelica said as she winked at me, and then she turned to her daughters. “Girls, thank Suzanne and Grace for their help.”

  The women acted much younger than they really were, all saying in nearly perfect unison, “Thank you, Suzanne and Grace.”

  Angelica just laughed as she looked at me. “I’m afraid that’s the best that you’re going to get from the likes of these three.”

  “Honestly, it’s more than we need,” I said, and as Grace and I left the kitchen, I added, “By the way, you’re all most welcome.”

  The second we were back in the Jeep, Grace said, “I’ve been dying to ask you something since you came back in. What did I miss out there in that hushed conversation you had with Angelica?”

  “More than I can catch you up on in twenty minutes,” I said.

  “At least give me the highlights,” she answered.

  I took a deep breath, and then I decided to tell Grace everything that I knew. “Dad lived here when he and Mom were separated a long time ago. Angelica knew him, but
they never dated. Dad had some trouble with the Briar brothers, and when Blake was run over, Morgan tried to kill my father. He went to prison, and he just got out. That’s when he came gunning for us.”

  “Wow,” Grace said with clear admiration. “That was incredible the way you summarized that so quickly. Was Angelica able to give us any leads?”

  “She did something better than that. She set up an interview for us with Blake and Morgan’s sister,” I said as I opened the note.

  I wasn’t sure what address I was expecting, a residential street somewhere perhaps.

  Instead, it said, “Go to the police station and ask for Ellen.”

  Evidently our investigation was going to begin in one of the oddest places that I’d ever expected to be hunting for a killer.

  But truthfully, not by all that much.

  “Are you Ellen?” I asked the woman behind the desk at police headquarters when Grace and I walked in. The officer sitting there was in uniform, and her graying hair was pulled back in a rather severe bun. From the look in her eyes, she clearly hadn’t gotten that much sleep the night before.

  “Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?” she asked.

  “No, of course not. I really was told to come here and ask for a woman named Ellen.”

  “I’m not talking about you. Ask your friend if she’s trying to be funny coming in here like that.”

  I’d nearly forgotten that Grace was behind me carrying two boxes crammed full of donuts. “Sorry, that’s my fault. My name is Suzanne Hart. I own the donut shop in April Springs, and I thought you all might like a treat. I wasn’t trying to imply anything about cops and donuts, honest I wasn’t. It’s a good will gesture, nothing more.” That wasn’t entirely true. What it had been was a way to ingratiate us with local law enforcement, and maybe get on this woman’s good side.

  “Okay,” she said as her frown eased. “There are just too many jokes going around about cops and donuts, you know what I mean? I’m sure everyone will appreciate them.” She took the boxes from Grace and slid them onto the counter beside her. “I knew who you were the second you walked in here, and I didn’t need the donuts as a hint. It’s pretty clear that you’re the woman Angelica called me about,” she added as she pointed to my shirt.