Troubled Treats

by Jessica Beck

  Wow, I really didn’t agree with him about that. I stacked the three boxes of donuts up on the counter. “There you go. Thanks for your business.”

  He nodded, but made no move to collect them. “You should know that I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to that subcontractor.”

  “His name was Sully Jackson,” I said.

  Descent nodded. “I didn’t even know the man all that well.”

  “Maybe not before he wrecked your deal, but I have a hunch that you knew him afterwards. I understand that his recommendation to sell the building to my mother was pivotal in the owner’s decision.”

  Descent actually laughed at my suggestion. “I’m fairly certain that the real factor was the piece of property your mother included in her cash offer. Mr. Jackson’s endorsement provided an excellent smokescreen to disguise the seller’s real rationale. Trust me, I had no reason to harm Mr. Jackson.”

  “Well, someone killed him, and I’m determined to find out who did it.”

  He looked amused by my statement. “How do you plan on doing that?”

  “I don’t know if you’ve heard the town gossip or not, but I’ve solved more than one murder in the past. This time, I even have a secret weapon.”

  “What’s that?”

  “My husband is a former state police investigator, and he’s working on the case with me. Believe me when I tell you that whoever killed Sully is going to pay for it.”

  “Good for you,” he said lightly. “Just don’t try to involve me in it, and we won’t have any problems.”

  “How could we, if you’re telling the truth?” I asked.

  “That’s just it. You can’t,” he said, and then he turned and headed for the door.

  “Don’t forget your donuts,” I called out, smiling.

  “I don’t want them anymore,” he answered. “I’m sure I wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

  “Sorry, but all sales are final,” I replied with a smile.

  “Do with them as you wish, then,” he answered in kind.

  Carl Descent was not the most cordial of men, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was a murderer. Some folks accused my mother of being abrupt, and even manipulative at times. She claimed they were traits that helped her in her business dealings, and I didn’t doubt that Carl acted the same way.

  That still didn’t change the fact that he belonged on my list, and not because of what I’d heard from Gabby about him.

  If he didn’t have anything to hide, why had he gone out of his way to come by the donut shop and ask me if I was investigating him?

  The man could stand a closer look, and I was going to make sure that Jake and I took one as soon as we got the chance.

  Chapter 14

  “Hey, Suzanne. I’ve got some things to share with you about our investigation,” Jake said as he walked in a few minutes after Carl Descent left the shop. He scanned the empty trays behind me and added, “Is everything gone already? I was hoping to get something to nibble on.” The disappointment in his voice made me smile. It was as though I’d caught a glimpse of him as he must have been when he’d been a boy.

  I flipped open the boxes of donuts and other goodies between us. “Help yourself.”

  “I figured these were already set aside for someone.”

  “They were. One of my customers paid for them, but then he changed his mind about taking them with him.”

  “Is he crazy?” Jake asked as he reached in and pulled out a plain glazed donut. “These things are worth their weight in gold.”

  “I don’t think he really wanted my treats in the first place, so I didn’t push him too hard about taking the donuts with him when he left.”

  “Who are we talking about here, Suzanne?”

  “Carl Descent.”

  “He was here? What did he want?” Jake asked after he swallowed another bite. “By the way, do you happen to have any more coffee?”

  “I’ll get you some,” I said. After I brought him up to date on what had been happening at the donut shop and all of the visitors that I’d had, I said, “And that’s about it. You said that you had news yourself. What did you find out?”

  “Well, first off, I got a call from Chief Grant,” he told me.

  “Don’t tell me that he was actually in the mood to share some of his information with you,” I said as I poured some coffee for myself.

  “The truth is that I think he felt bad about kicking us out of the wagon factory last night,” Jake said. “I didn’t ask about him about his motivation.”

  “So, what did he tell you?”

  “First off, he wanted to bring me up to date about the boot print we found at the factory.”

  “You’re the one who found it,” I corrected him.

  “We were investigating together,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, we share the credit.”

  “As long as we share the blame, too,” I answered with a smile.

  “You know it.”

  “So, tell me about the boot print?”

  “Evidently it was brand new. The measurements indicate that it was a ten in men’s or a woman’s twelve in that particular style.”

  “Can’t he tell which? It would helpful if we at least knew if our killer was a man or a woman,” I said.

  “Suzanne, we can’t even be positive that whoever we spooked last night actually killed Sully. We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions at this point.”

  “Well, I can see all of our suspects wearing work boots but Carl Descent. Should we take his name off our list? I’ve met the man, and I doubt that he’s ever worn work boots in his life.”

  “Which could be why he’d wear them last night,” Jake said. “If he was trying to throw us off his trail, what better way to do it than by implicating all of the other suspects.”

  This was getting frustrating. A clue that I’d considered to be important was quickly turning out to be pretty worthless. “How about our suspects? Did the chief have any idea what size shoes they wear?”

  “It could have been any one of them, even Shirley,” Jake admitted. “Their sizes are all about the same.”

  “Could that be why he shared the information with you in the first place? It doesn’t cost him a thing to tell you that our lead was worthless.”

  “That’s taking a pretty cynical point of view,” Jake said. “I prefer to think that he’s trying to make amends for evicting us.”

  “Okay, if it helps, then let’s look at things that way.”

  Jake glanced around the empty donut shop. “Since you’re officially sold out of donuts, what are the chances you could close the place up early?”

  I thought about it for a moment before I spoke. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t.” I called out to the back. “Emma, if you’ll do these last two trays, we can get out of here early.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” she said as she came out of the kitchen, and then she noticed Jake standing there. “Hey there. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  Jake smiled at her. “You know me. I’m stealthy.”

  She laughed. “Sure you are.”

  After Emma disappeared in back, Jake looked at me. “You think I’m sneaky, don’t you?”

  I kissed him. “That’s exactly how I’d describe you. If you give me a minute, I’ll run the reports on the register and make out the deposit for the bank.”

  “Could any of that wait until later?” he asked me. “There’s something I’ve been dying to check out.”

  “You could have gone on and done it without me, you know,” I said a little hesitantly.

  “What, and spoil all of the fun for you? What if I find what I’m looking for? How would I feel about excluding you?”

  “I’m glad you feel that way,” I said. “I still have to run the report, but if we can lock the deposit up in your truck’s glove box, we can put off the bank trip until later.”

  “You’ve got a deal,” he said, and without even being asked, he started cleaning
tables and flipping chairs.

  “You know, sometimes you can be pretty handy to have around,” I told him as I counted the money in the till.

  “What can I say? I want to be sure you keep me,” he replied as he grabbed a broom and started sweeping.

  “No worries there,” I said. As I continued to count the money, I noticed one twenty-dollar bill that was much older than the others. Had I ever had one that dated in my donut shop? I couldn’t be sure. Instead of the overblown portrait of Jackson that I’d grown accustomed to and the sweeping blues, greens, and golds of our standard currency, this bill looked stark in its simplicity. The United States of America was written on a scroll, and Jackson’s picture was downright tiny compared to its modern counterpart. I pulled out one of the newer twenties and noticed other differences as well. Instead of the Federal Reserve emblem, there was a large seven on it. The serial numbers were in different places as well. Even the picture of the White House on back was different. Someone had been digging deep to find that bill!

  “Something wrong?” Jake asked. I looked up and saw him studying me.

  “No, it’s nothing,” I said as I put the bill back in the stack. I could be easily distracted at times, but there wasn’t time today. I had a mission.

  The report checked out, and I jammed the bills, coins, and receipts—along with the deposit slip—into the bag I always used for my bank deposits and zipped it shut. “How are you doing?” I asked him.

  “What do you think?” he asked proudly as he gestured around the front area.

  “It looks good,” I said. “All in all, you did a fine job. I think I’ll keep you.”

  “That would be much appreciated,” Jake said as he put the broom away.

  Emma came out of the back, pulling her apron off as she walked. “Everything’s all set in the kitchen for tomorrow.” She spied the two mostly full boxes still on the counter. “Hey, are you going to be taking those with you?”

  “Why, do you have a use for them?” I asked.

  “I thought if we had any donuts left, I might take them to class with me,” she said. “The professor loves your treats. Who knows? If I take him these, I might just get an A.”

  “You’re going to use our donuts as a bribe?” I asked her with a smile.

  “Hey, if it works, how bad could it be?” she replied with a grin. We both glanced at Jake at the same time and saw that he was frowning. “I’m just kidding,” she said.

  “About the bribe, or taking the donuts with you?” he asked her.

  “If you want them, they are all yours,” Emma said.

  “No, you’d better take them after all. If they’re with us, I’ll probably just end up eating them.” He slapped his tummy, which still looked plenty firm to me. “I’ve been really packing on the pounds since I left my job.”

  “It’s amazing you can still even fit into your pants,” I said as I kissed him. “What have you gained, a pound since our honeymoon?”

  “A pound and a half,” he reported, clearly displeased by the fact. “I suppose we could start running in the afternoons after you get off.”

  “Not unless you find a way to get a bear to chase me,” I answered.

  “So, should I take the donuts or not?” Emma asked.

  “Take them with our blessing,” I told her.

  The three of us walked out together, and after Emma was gone, Jake said, “She really was kidding about bribing her teacher, wasn’t she?”

  “Jake, Emma is getting straight A’s without any help from my confectionary treats. She’s actually too smart to be working here with me.”

  “I don’t know about that,” he said as we made our way toward his truck. “She gets to spend all morning with you every day. In my book, that makes her one of the smartest people I know.”

  “Keep talking. Flattery will get you anywhere.”

  “I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true,” Jake answered. “Let me have your deposit, and I’ll put it where it will be safe.”

  “Are you sure it will be okay in there?” I asked as he stowed it away in the glove box. I’d lost a couple of deposits before over the years, and it had always hurt.

  “This truck was made back when they still used steel,” he said. “Nobody’s going to bust into it and take your money.”

  “Okay, I believe you,” I said. As he drove us to the wagon factory, I asked him, “What else did you do this morning besides talk to the chief? I know that you didn’t sleep in.” Jake was notorious about getting up early every day, even when he wasn’t working. I wouldn’t doubt that Emma and I were the only people he knew who got up earlier than he did on a regular basis.

  “I spent most of it on the phone,” he said. From his tone of voice, I could tell that he’d been frustrated by the experience.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  He frowned a little as he told me, “I was trying to use some of my old contacts to get us information on our suspects that might be useful to our investigation.”

  “From your voice, I’m guessing you didn’t have much luck.”

  “I barely got the chance to ask! My old boss has put the squeeze on everyone I ever worked with at the state police headquarters. No one wants to cross him, and I can’t really blame any of them for that. Suzanne, I was hoping that my connections might help us, but it appears that we’re on our own from now on. I’m going to be worthless.”

  “You’re kidding, right? Your experience and insights are much more important than any contacts you might have with the department. Jake, you’re a trained and seasoned professional investigator. I’m a donutmaker. Don’t you think that you bring our qualifications up a little just by being on my side?”

  “Sure, I can see how you might look at it that way,” he said dismissively.

  “Trust me, it’s massive,” I said as he pulled up into the parking lot. Apparently we were going to start our investigation that day back where it had started, at the old wagon factory.

  There was just one problem, though.

  Officer Griffin was back on the scene, standing guard once again.

  Chapter 15

  “What’s going on?” Jake asked the young officer as we got out of the truck and approached the deputy. “Does this mean that we can’t go in?”

  “No one’s allowed inside, but the chief has given me a particular set of orders about you two,” he said with a frown.

  Oh, great. It appeared that we were going to be thwarted yet again.

  Griffin surprised me though, when he suddenly grinned. “You two have the golden ticket, so you can go on in.”

  “What? Seriously?” I asked him.

  “Scout’s honor. You and your husband have been given all-access passes.” Officer Griffin stepped aside, and Jake smiled at him as we walked inside the building.

  “What do you think about that?” I asked him as the door closed soundly behind us.

  “I think we’d better take advantage of the situation while we can,” he said.

  “Fine. Where should we start, at the scene of the crime?”

  “We can check that out again later, but there’s something else I want to look at more carefully first.” My husband mounted the stairs two at a time, and I had a difficult time keeping up with him.

  “Hey, wait for me. What’s so urgent about getting upstairs?”

  “I have a theory about those crates,” he said, “and I’m dying to see if I’m right.”

  “You don’t even have a pry bar on you,” I said.

  He stopped long enough to reach into his jacket and pull out a small pry bar less than six inches long. “Surprise.”

  “Do you honestly think that’s going to be enough to get inside those old crates?”

  “We’re about to find out, aren’t we?” he asked as we got to the room we’d been in earlier that day.

  It turned out that Jake hadn’t needed the bar after all.

  The crates were already open, and as a matter of fact, they were empty as well.


  “Chief Grant, it’s Jake,” he said after he pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. After he did that, he put the phone on speaker before the police chief could answer so he wouldn’t know that I was listening, too.

  “What’s up, Jake? I don’t have a lot of time. I’m dealing with something right now.”

  “Is it about the murder?” my husband asked him.

  “No, I’m investigating a robbery at the storage center over on Elm. Apparently someone broke into three units.”

  That piqued my husband’s interest. “Was anything of value taken?”

  “At this point, that’s still to be determined,” the chief answered abruptly. “So if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d make it dance.”

  It was odd hearing someone else giving Jake orders, but if he took offense, I couldn’t hear it in his voice. “I’ll make this quick, then. Did you open those crates on the second floor this morning, by any chance?”

  “I did,” he said.

  “Is there any chance that you would be willing to tell me what you found?”

  I could hear the chief hesitate, and then finally, he said, “I don’t see what it would hurt telling you. Rivets. Lots and lots of rivets.”

  “What? I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite catch that.”

  “I said they were full of rivets. I had one of my men bag and tag them just in case, but they were just plain old-timey rivets.”

  Jake nodded. “Got it. Thanks.”

  After he hung up, I said, “Sorry. I know that you’re disappointed.”

  “Hey, it was worth a shot,” Jake said as he idly tried to kick one of the crates, missed, and ended up scuffing the wooden floor instead.

  I did my best not to laugh.

  But then an odd thing happened.

  Jake kicked the floor again, this time clearly on purpose.

  Chapter 16

  “Are you okay?” I asked him as he suddenly got down on his hands and knees. “Should I call for an ambulance?”

  “I’m fine,” Jake said as he studied the floor carefully.