by Jessica Beck
“You’re awfully quiet, Suzanne,” the chief said, bringing me back to the moment.
“I’m just trying to reconcile what we saw and heard with what you’re telling us,” I said, not sharing every bit of my reasoning. After all, there was no point muddying the waters until we had more facts than we did at our disposal at the moment.
“I’m afraid that it’s a fact of life. People lie all of the time,” he said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t try to read too much into it.”
“Is that really how you feel, Stephen?” Grace asked him, clearly unhappy about his confession. “Do you just naturally assume folks are lying to you?”
“Unfortunately, more times than not, that turns out to be the case,” he said.
“I’m not at all sure I like what this job is doing to you,” she said simply.
He looked frustrated by her statement. “Grace, it’s just the way things are. Spend a day in my shoes and you’ll know what I mean.”
“No, thank you,” she said. “Suzanne, are you coming?” she asked as she headed back to my Jeep.
“Is that all you wanted, Chief?” I asked him.
The poor man looked thoroughly confused by what had just happened. “I don’t understand what’s going on here.”
“If you don’t know, I’m not going to explain it to you,” Grace said. Then she turned to me. “If you won’t drive me, I’ll walk.”
With that, she turned up the road to walk the hundred yards to her home.
“What about our date tonight?” he called out to her.
“I’m not in the mood to go anywhere tonight anymore,” she called over her shoulder.
I started after her, but the chief put his hand on my shoulder before I could leave. “Would you try to talk some sense into her, Suzanne?”
“Hang on, pal,” I said, releasing myself from his grasp. “Whatever issues the two of you are having are none of my business. I’m turning over a new leaf to try not to get involved in other people’s lives so much.” It was true, too, though I hadn’t been very successful at it so far.
“I just don’t understand women,” he said wistfully as he watched her walk away.
“If it’s any consolation, we don’t always understand ourselves, either.”
“No, that’s no help at all,” he said.
“Sorry,” I answered, and then I headed for my Jeep and drove up the last bit of Springs Drive to Grace’s house.
To my surprise, the chief followed.
Grace was just walking onto her front porch when we both pulled up.
“Hey, hang on a second,” he said to her.
“Yes?” Grace asked coolly as she turned to face him.
“We need to talk.”
“About?”
“Grace, are you trying to be difficult?” he asked. His youth showed a little for the first time in a long time.
That got a slight smile. “I really don’t have to try that hard, do I?”
“Let me give you two a minute alone,” I said as I started to get back into my Jeep. “Grace, I’ll be up at the cottage when you’re finished here.”
“Suzanne, there’s nothing we can’t say in front of you.”
I didn’t want to be there, but I looked over at Chief Grant, and he nodded in agreement. It appeared that I was staying right where I was after all.
“Okay, you’ve got the floor, Chief,” she said once that was settled.
“I know we’re going through a rough patch right now, but don’t give up on me,” he said, his voice cracking a little as he said it. “I’m doing the best I can.”
That softened her a little. “I know your job is taking its toll on you.”
“That’s no excuse, though. I’m going to be a better boyfriend. You deserve at least that much from me.”
Grace started to tear up, and I was really starting to feel uncomfortable. It was a sweet moment, but it should have been between two people, not three. The best I could do was look away, but there was nothing I could do not to listen in on their very private conversation.
Grace walked to him, wrapped her arms around him, and planted a solid kiss on his lips. “You’re doing just fine. I get a little needy sometimes, that’s all, and when I see your heart start to harden, it worries me. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said. “I’ll work on it.”
“And so will I,” Grace replied.
“What exactly are you going to be working on?” he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. The tension was broken between them, and I felt a flood of relief. They were good for each other, and if they could find a way to work things out, I was cheering for them.
“I’ll try to be a little more understanding. If you’re still interested, I’d love to have that dinner we had scheduled.”
I glanced over at him and saw that he was suddenly uncomfortable. “There might be a break in the case. Is there any way that I could take a rain check?”
“What kind of break?” she asked, now more concerned about his progress than the missed dinner opportunity at the moment.
He looked at her for a few seconds before he answered. “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but Theodore Reed took off this afternoon. A neighbor saw him packing his car in a hurry, and when he asked him what was going on, he said the man looked white as a ghost.”
“Do you think it’s related to his brother’s death?” Grace asked him.
“It’s never good when a suspect runs,” the chief said. “Do you mind if we postpone our dinner? I have a few leads as to where he might be that I want to check out.”
“Wouldn’t he be long gone by now?” I asked, forgetting that I was supposed to be keeping a low profile.
He turned to me and answered, “There’s a chance of it, but from what I’ve heard, he didn’t have much money on him, and his bank account was nearly empty long before today. I have a hunch that he’s holing up somewhere close.”
“Go,” Grace said. “We’ll have dinner another night.”
“Tomorrow?” the chief asked her, clearly eager to please her.
“Tomorrow would be great,” she said, and then she kissed him soundly again. “Now go.”
“We’re good then?”
“We’re better than good,” she said. “We’re great.”
“Excellent,” he said with a broad grin.
After the police chief got into his squad car and left, I said, “I’m glad you two worked things out, but I’m not sure I needed to witness it.”
“I wanted Stephen to be able to express his feelings in front of you,” Grace said. “It was good for him to do it.”
“I’m not sure how good it was for me,” I said.
She laughed, clearly feeling better about her relationship than she had in some time. “You’ll get over it, I’m sure. Now that my evening has freed up, I have an idea.”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“Let’s have one of our old-time slumber parties,” Grace said. “We can make something with a lot of calories and not much nutritional value and watch an old movie like we used to.”
I looked at my watch. “That sounds good to me, but you know I have an early bedtime, right? I’ve got to be up tomorrow morning to make the donuts again.”
“That’s fine by me,” Grace said. “Should we do it at your place or mine?”
“We rarely do it here,” I said. “You should get the honor of hosting once in a while yourself. If you don’t mind me slipping out in the middle of the night, I think it sounds like great fun.”
“I’m on board,” she said. “Before we get started, let’s run over to the grocery store and get some decadent treats.”
“Is there anything in particular you had in mind?”
“I’m in the mood for triple chocolate cupcakes with milk chocolate icing and chocolate milk,” she said.
“Wow, that’s a lot of chocolate,” I said, remembering the book club treat that I’d abandoned when my friends had left suddenly.
“Is that a problem?” she asked me.
“Not for me,” I said. “I’ve been training myself for years in the art of consuming massive amounts of chocolate. I’m just afraid that you won’t be able to keep up with me.”
“In your dreams. I’m going to win this race. I guarantee it.”
“It’s not really a competition,” I said with a smile.
“No, not with the way I’m going to beat you,” she answered, laughing.
It was as though we were kids again, one trying to best the other, and I loved it. Being married to Jake was everything I’d ever dreamed of and more, but there were times like this that it was nice to revert to my teenage years and just hang out with Grace. Having her friendship over the years was a real gift, and I cherished it.
“What do you say?” she asked me.
“I say we go shopping, and then we start our own little bake-off.”
Chapter 13
“Mayor, what are you doing here?” I asked George Morris when I ran into him in the baking aisle.
“I go shopping, too, Suzanne,” he said a little gruffly. “After all, a man has to eat.”
“I just didn’t peg you as a baker,” I said, trying not to smile.
He frowned as he studied the cake mix in his hands. “I’m not. It’s a special occasion.”
“You’re not moving before you try Charlotte out first, are you?” I asked softly. I wanted my friend to have a life, but I also wanted him to stay right where he was. I knew it was selfish, but I couldn’t help wanting the people I cared about to stay in my life forever.
“No, at least not yet,” he said. “Keep your voice down, okay? Nobody knows what I’m thinking about doing. Where’s Grace?” he asked as he looked around the store.
“She’s checking out the ice cream section,” I said. “So, if you’re not moving, then why the cake mix?”
“It’s Cassandra’s birthday tomorrow,” he admitted. “I’m going down to Charlotte to tell her my plans, so I thought I’d surprise her with a homemade cake.”
“George, have you ever baked a cake before in your life?”
“No,” he said grumpily, “but I’ve been reading the directions. How hard could it be?”
“Harder than you realize,” I said. “Grace and I are making cupcakes. Why don’t you come by her place and we’ll help?”
“I don’t know. How would that look, the mayor hanging out with two attractive young women like that?”
I smiled and kissed his cheek. “Why, George, that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. I think you’re handsome, too.”
“Suzanne, stop that,” he said, though I thought he looked secretly pleased by the kiss, as well as the compliment.
“Come on, it might even help your reputation,” I said with a grin.
“It’s really not as easy as it sounds?” he asked me.
“It’s not bad, but there might be a tiny learning curve. Do you have a cake pan? They recommend a nine by twelve, but I like my eight by eight. Then again, most of the time I make cupcakes, and they are completely different.”
“I have no idea what size my pan is,” he said.
“Pan? As in you own only one pan? Seriously?”
“I’ve managed to limp along with it just fine so far,” he said.
“Ah, but then again, you’ve never baked a cake before, have you?”
He nodded. “Point taken. Still, I don’t want to interrupt your time with Grace. I know you two don’t get that much of a chance to hang out together.”
“Trust me, she’ll love it,” I said. “Now, let’s get you a mix, some icing, and we’ll handle the rest of what you’ll need.”
“I don’t have oil or eggs,” he said.
“We’ve got that covered,” I told him as Grace came down the aisle.
Grace looked delighted to see the mayor. “Baking, Mr. Mayor?” she asked with glee.
I warned her not to tease him with a look, and she got it immediately. “What do you think about helping George make a birthday cake for his lady friend?” I asked her.
“That sounds like fun,” she said. “Have you got any candles? They have the kind that you can’t blow out here.”
“I’m not putting candles on Cassandra’s cake at all,” George said, pronouncing his judgment as though there was no room for discussion.
“Okay, but then how will she know it’s for her birthday? Are you going to sing to her when you give it to her?”
George frowned. “Where are the candles? I want the regular kind that blow out, though. That’s where I draw the line.”
“They’re right here,” I said as I reached behind him and grabbed a box. “How old is she?”
“I’m not putting that many on a cake,” George said. “One will do just fine.”
“Okay,” I said, knowing better than to tease him about it.
“How am I going to get the thing to Charlotte without ruining it? I haven’t thought this thing through. Maybe it’s not such a good idea after all.”
“Come on, don’t lose your nerve now,” I said as I put my arm in his. “I’ve got a carrier at the cottage you can use that will be perfect.”
“Okay, if you say so,” he said.
“What kind of ice cream did you get?” I asked Grace, looking at the half gallon.
“Double chocolate chip,” she said as she showed me the label. “What else do we need?”
“One of these, at least,” I said as I grabbed a triple-threat chocolate cake mix for us, too. “There’s no reason we can’t bake too, is there?”
“None that I can think of,” she said as she got some icing.
“Do you have eggs?”
“I’m sure I do,” Grace said.
“Then let’s go.” George was still standing there.
“Are you coming?” I asked him.
“I don’t really have much choice at this point, do I?” he asked.
“No, sir. I’m afraid your fate, at least for tonight, is in our hands.”
“Is it supposed to look like that?” George asked as I pulled his cake from Grace’s oven.
It looked fabulous to me, and the aroma filling the kitchen made me breathe in deeply to take it in in all of its glory. “What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never baked one before. Remember? Not that I’m sure I can claim that I baked this one. You two did most of the work.”
“Nonsense. We were just acting in an advisory capacity,” Grace said.
“Uh huh, sure,” George said skeptically. “When can we taste it?”
“It’s for Cassandra, remember?” I asked him.
“Oh. That’s right. Got it.” He looked disappointed to be reminded of it.
“We’re not saving our cupcakes for a special occasion, and we bought the same mix you used. You have to hang around and join us for ours.”
“I don’t know. I’ve got to be up early tomorrow,” the mayor said.
“Earlier than me?” I asked him with a grin.
“Suzanne, nobody gets up earlier than you do,” he replied with a smile of his own. “Okay, I’m sold, but could I do more of the work on this one?”
“Why not?” I asked. After all, Grace and I would be watching him closely, and the mayor seemed intent on learning.
“Good,” he said as he reached for another mixing bowl. After opening the box and cutting the plastic packet inside, he poured the mix into the bowl, but as he reached for Grace’s last egg, his hand brushed aga
inst it, knocking it to the floor, where it promptly broke. “Blast it all,” George boomed. “Look what I’ve done.”
“And that was my last egg,” Grace said glumly. “We should have bought more at the store.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Need I remind the two of you that I live just up the road? I’ll grab one and be back in a flash.”
“You’d better make it two,” George said. “With me, you never know.”
“Tell you what. I’ll bring whatever I’ve got in the fridge. That way you can break as many as you’d like.”
Grace was wiping up the remnants of the cracked egg with paper towels. “I’m not sure I’d go that far,” she said with a laugh.
“I can do that. After all, I made the mess,” George said.
“Grab a few more towels and wet them. You can go behind me and wipe the floor, and then I’ll follow you with dry ones.”
“It appears that you two have this covered,” I said as I headed for the door. “See you soon.”
I walked down the now-dark road to my cottage and used my key to get inside. Flipping on a few lights, I marveled at how quiet the place seemed. Though Jake hadn’t been gone that long, it was almost as though the cottage could sense his absence. I was being silly, and I knew it, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I wondered how he was doing, so I reached for my phone to call him.
After a moment of panic, I realized that I’d left it on Grace’s kitchen countertop.
The call would have to wait until I got back.
Going to the fridge, I was happy to see that I had seven eggs left in the carton that I’d bought a few days before. Even George should be able to get one good egg out of the batch.