by Jessica Beck
“This will just take a second,” I told Jake as I unlocked the front door to the donut shop. “You can come in with me if you’d like, or you can wait out here.”
“I’ll come in where it’s warmer,” Jake said as he rubbed his hands together, and then I heard someone calling our names. It was the mayor. “On second thought, I’d like to chat with George for a few minutes. Do you mind if I do it without you?”
“Take your time,” I said. “I’ve got some paperwork I need to go over in back. Just come in after you two are finished.”
He kissed my cheek. “Thanks for understanding.”
“You’re most welcome,” I said.
I was relieved to see that the fryer was off, and the oil was cold.
That didn’t mean that our trip had been in vain, though.
I’d gotten a nice walk with my husband through the park in the deal, and that could never be considered time wasted.
I was still trying to figure out why I’d gotten two bills for one shipment of flour when Jake walked in smiling. “I take it your meeting went well.”
“In ways you cannot begin to fathom,” he said. “The mayor, without realizing it, just supplied me with an alibi for Brandon Morgan.”
“How did he do that?” I asked, pushing my paperwork to one side.
“It seems that Brandon took up his speeding case with the mayor. He wouldn’t stop arguing about it, so George thought he’d let the man talk himself out. It didn’t work out that way, though. After Brandon finished complaining to the mayor, he started in on the town council, which happened to be meeting about loading zone variances. All in all, Brandon was in the mayor’s presence the entire time in question. There’s no way that he could have poisoned Alex’s coffee and delivered it.”
“How could anyone possibly know that?” I asked. “That coffee could have been poisoned the day before the murder for all we know.”
“The cup, you mean,” Jake said. “It was coated with poison, remember?”
“Okay, the cup, and we both know that I’m not about to forget that. It’s still true, though.”
“The fact is that, based on the type of poison that was used, it would have become less and less effective pretty quickly if it were mixed in a coffee base. The lab said that Alex had to have been poisoned within an hour of its submersion in the coffee and that he hadn’t been dead more than an hour after he was found. It gives us a pretty tight two-hour window of opportunity for the killer to strike.”
“When were you going to tell me about that?” I asked, more than a little displeased with him for holding this particular bit of information back from me.
“Suzanne, I can’t share everything I learn in the course of my investigations with you. You should realize that by now.”
“I know, but I still don’t have to like it,” I said. “Why are you telling me now?”
“Because I just found out about it myself,” Jake admitted with a grin. “George told me that the lab has been trying to get in touch with me all afternoon, but they didn’t have my number.”
“So you weren’t withholding information from me after all.”
“No,” Jake said, “but just because I didn’t this time doesn’t mean that I might not have to do it in the future. My point is still valid.”
“I understand that,” I said. “You’re in a real pinch now though, aren’t you?”
“How’s that?”
“Every last suspect we have left is from Granite Meadows,” I answered, “and you’re not allowed to go there.”
“I am now,” Jake said happily. “George worked something out with the mayor over there. Against Chief Willson’s advice, I’ve been given permission to investigate there. There’s a catch, though.”
“Isn’t there always? What is it? Do you have to work with Manfred Simpson?”
Jake scowled. “Not on your life. He can’t touch me now that I have official permission to investigate there.”
“Then what’s the catch?”
“I have to keep Chief Willson informed of my activities and any results I may come up with during the course of my investigation.”
“You actually have to keep one of your suspects apprised of your progress?” I asked. “That’s insane.”
“Even if it is, there’s nothing that I can do about it. I gave my word.”
“So, that means that you won’t lie by omission, either, right? You’re really going to tell him everything?”
“Yes, but there’s a way around this,” Jake said.
“I’m dying to hear what that might be.”
“The truth of the matter is that I can’t tell him anything that I don’t know myself. If you and Grace uncover anything new that might be important, you’re going to have to sit on the information until the very last second. That way I can honor my word and still track down Alex Tyler’s killer.”
“Let me get this straight,” I said with a grin. “You’re actually asking me to keep you in the dark?”
“On a limited basis, just this once, yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking you to do,” he acknowledged.
“I can handle that,” I said, still smiling.
“Do me a favor. Just don’t make a habit of it, okay?”
“I’ll try not to,” I replied as I turned back to my desk. “I don’t know what’s going on with my ordering system. I’ve got two bills for one delivery. I hate to think my supplier is trying to cheat me.”
Jake glanced down at the two bills I’d been studying and flipped them over. After a moment, he said, “Here’s your problem. This one isn’t a bill.”
“How can you tell?” I asked. I hadn’t turned either one of them over myself.
“It says right here, THIS IS NOT A BILL.”
“Well, that’s a pretty big clue, I’ll grant you that,” I said with a grin. “To be honest with you, that’s a relief.”
“Glad I could be of service,” Jake replied. “Are you ready to go home now?”
“I am, and I’ve got to tell you, I really like the sound of that. Home has never sounded so good to me as it does right now.”
“I know that I haven’t lived there very long, but I’m pretty fond of it myself,” he said.
After we locked up the donut shop, Jake and I walked back through the park to the cottage we now shared. It was definitely getting chillier, and I wondered if snow wasn’t on its way after all. If it came, I’d do my best to be ready for it, but for now, it was time to settle in to what evening we had left before I had to go off to my early bedtime again.
It wasn’t time just yet, though.
I planned to stoke the fire and snuggle with my husband a little first.
Chapter 20
When I woke up the next morning, I glanced out the window and saw that it was snowing again, but this time it was coming down more heavily than it had the night before. It was nothing that my Jeep couldn’t handle, though. Still, if it kept up, we might be in for a bit of a winter wonderland, at least what passed for that in our part of the South. Jake’s truck had four-wheel drive, so I knew it wouldn’t be an issue for him getting around, either.
It was fun driving from the cottage to the donut shop, and instead of going straight in to work, I decided to tour April Springs a little in the darkness. The snowfall was reflected in the beams of my headlights as well as in the auras of the street lamps, giving the entire town a snow-globe feel to it as the barrage of flakes swirled ever downward. I drove around for about ten minutes instead of my normal forty-five–second commute, and then I decided to park closer to the entrance than I normally did. If the snow intensified, I didn’t want to have to trudge through it to get to my Jeep.
Once I was safely inside Donut Hearts, the snowfall was lost on me as I started going about my day. Flipping switches as I made my way to the back door, I turned on the coffeepot, the lights in the kitchen, and then the fryer, in that order. It was already toasty inside the donut shop, and I was glad to swap my coat out for my apron. Emma had
asked to come in a little late again, a request that I’d been happy to grant.
Before long, I had my hands in the batter of the coming day’s cake donuts, wondering what I could do to be different and make my typical offerings stand out. Honestly, sometimes I felt as though I’d run out of ideas for making new donuts altogether. Over the years I’d made so many different varieties—and even more variations of old standbys—that it could be vexing trying to come up with something new enough to lure my customers for a sample. Like anything else that required creativity, there were days when ideas flowed like water, but today, it was more like molasses. If I couldn’t come up with anything new in flavoring, maybe I could decorate a plain cake donut a little differently.
Then it came to me. In honor of the snow falling outside, I’d make a snowflake donut. Drowning the first dozen plain cake donuts out of the fryer with glaze, I put an avalanche of shaved coconut on top. I’d never been a big fan of coconut myself, but it had its devotees, so I tried to keep something in the rotation for the folks who adored it. I had some glistening sprinkles that were new, clear sugar crystals that seemed to twinkle when they caught the light. Almost as an afterthought, I added a couple of shakes from the container to each top, and when I was finished, they were quite pretty, even if I wasn’t about to taste one myself. It was a shame that I couldn’t make them move, though, to take advantage of the special properties of my new topping. Truth be told, the sugar sprinkles were not nearly as attractive when they weren’t moving. Then I remembered a revolving cake stand I’d gotten once on a whim. It would be perfect! I pulled the stand out of storage and plugged it in up front, right on top of the case near the cash register. Stacking the donuts on a clean white sheet of baking paper, I flipped the switch and watched the donuts dance.
I had just finished my homemade sign when I heard Emma at the front door, and I was curious to see what she thought.
“Snowflake donuts?” she asked in delight. “They’re pretty, but why did you make them today?”
“Did it stop snowing already?” I asked as I looked outside. I’d been so preoccupied getting the display right that I hadn’t noticed anything that had been going on outside.
“There’s a dusting on the ground, but nothing new is coming down. It will probably all be gone again by the time we open.”
“I don’t care,” I said with a grin. “I like the way they look, don’t you?”
“They’re actually quite lovely turning like that,” Emma said as she took her coat off. “Who cares if we sell any?”
“Well, actually, I do,” I admitted. “At least I know that I can count on selling at least two if Max comes in. That man loves shaved coconut. Maybe that’s why I’ve never cared for it myself.”
Emma laughed. “You could always call him and tell him we have them in stock today.”
“No thank you. I haven’t been in any hurry to see my ex-husband now that he’s been completely replaced in my life.”
“I’m sure that he’d be happy for you. I suspect that he and Emily will be following suit any day now.”
“Why, has she said something to you?” I asked. While I was close with Emily Hargraves, my assistant was even closer.
“Not directly. It’s just a feeling I get when I’m around them these days.”
“Well, I wish them both the best if they ever do decide to tie the knot,” I answered, and I was happy to say that I meant it. “I have another fifteen minutes to finish up the cake donuts, and then you can dive into the dishes.”
“Sounds good,” Emma said. “Thanks for letting me sleep in again.”
“Hey, you can change your hours permanently if you’d like,” I said.
“If I did that, I have a hunch that I’d have to take a pay cut as well,” Emma said, her smile returning.
“Yes, there’s always that. I’d pay you the same per hour, but there’s no denying that you’d feel it in your check every two weeks.”
“Then we’ll keep things just the way they are now,” she said. “Now get busy. I can’t wait to get started on those pots and pans.”
“I will, but in the meantime, you can get us ready out here,” I said as I walked back into the kitchen to finish up the first part of my day.
Once I had all of our other, more standard cake varieties finished, I came out and saw that Emma had embellished my sign with snowflakes and swirls of her own creation.
“Do you mind? I just felt as though it needed something,” she said when she saw me noticing her work.
“I think it looks great,” I said. “The dishes await you.”
“Then I’ll get right on them,” she replied.
As Emma started washing, I began to work on the yeast donut dough. Soon enough it was ready for its first proof, Emma had done the first round of dishes, and we were ready for our normal break outside.
After we swapped out our aprons for jackets, we each got a cup of coffee and left the shop. I was a little disappointed to see that the snow had indeed stopped altogether.
“That’s too bad,” I said as I brushed the slight evidence of accumulation from one of the chairs we kept out front.
“You’re not sad because we can’t feature your new donuts, are you?” Emma asked me as we both sat on the cold chairs.
“It’s not that,” I said. “I was just hoping that it would at least cover the ground before it stopped.”
“Suzanne, do you really love snow that much?”
“You know I do, but I had my own reasons this time. I wanted to take a walk with Jake through the park while it was snowing. It’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Even prettier than Paris?” she asked, teasing me a little.
“Yes, even prettier, at least in my mind,” I said. “Emma, have I been talking about my honeymoon too much?”
“Honestly, if you hadn’t, I’d be worried about your new marriage,” she answered. “It really does sound as though it was a lovely trip.”
“I’m sure you’ll get there someday yourself.”
“Not if I have to wait first to find my own version of Jake,” she said.
“What’s going on with you? Are you in a dating slump, Emma?”
“Well, I hate to admit it, but it’s been almost three weeks since someone new asked me out, so yes, I guess I am,” she said solemnly.
“I’d feel sorry for you, I really would, but I had quite a few longer dry spells than that when I was single. You’ve got plenty of time to find someone.”
“Oh, I’m honestly not in that big of a hurry. Hunting for a new beau is the fun part sometimes.”
“Really? I always found it aggravating,” I said.
“What can I say? I’m a gal that enjoys the chase.” She jammed her hands deeper into her jacket and shivered a little.
“If you’re cold, we can go back inside early,” I offered.
“Not on your life. This is my favorite time of night, before anyone else is out besides us.”
“I feel the exact same way,” I said, echoing her sentiment. “That must mean that we’re both in the right line of work.”
“I hope so, because I’m not interested in a change at the moment,” she said.
The timer I always carried out with me went off, and I stood. “Time to make the donuts.”
“It never gets old,” she said, and we went back inside.
“Thank goodness for that.”
Soon enough, the outside chill was just a memory. I had my hands full of warm dough, and Emma had hers submerged in hot water.
For all either one of us could tell, it was summer outside.
But I knew better. I just hoped the snow came back to our little town, and soon.
It was a case of being careful what I wished for; I just didn’t know it at the time.
Chapter 21
“What brings you to April Springs this early in the morning?” I asked the first customer to come through my door, a newly familiar face but a first-time customer, at least as far as I knew.
“Were you in the mood for donuts all of a sudden?”
Deke Marsh scowled a little at my display cases. “Not particularly. What is that, coconut?” he asked as he pointed to my new snowflake donut special.
“As a matter of fact, it is,” I said.
Deke looked at the one on top, shrugged, and then said, “Why not? I’ll take one of those, and a cup of coffee, too.”
Though he’d ordered something, the man was clearly there for more than my food. I just wasn’t sure what that might be just yet. Still, a sale was a sale, so I rang him up, filled his order, and delivered it, along with his change. Deke took a bite of his donut, frowned a moment, and then he shrugged again. Was that the only way the man communicated?
“Well, what did you think?” I asked him curiously.
“Not too bad,” he allowed. “They could use more coconut, though.”
The only way I could have gotten more on top was by gluing it into place. “I’ll remember that next time. So, if my donuts weren’t what lured you here, what brings you by Donut Hearts this hour of the day?”
“Actually, it’s late for me. The truth is, I haven’t been to bed yet.”
“Do I even want to know what you’ve been out doing?” I asked him.
“You might want to, but you’re not going to find out, at least not from me. Listen, you need to pull your private pit bull off my case, okay?”
“Are you talking about Grace? I know she can be pushy at times, but she means well.” I knew that he’d been talking about Jake, but there was no reason that I couldn’t have a little fun with him, even if he was a crook as well as a murder suspect.