by Jessica Beck
I unlocked the door and let him in. “You didn’t see anything, did you?”
“Not yet,” he said. “Stay here, okay? I’m going to search on foot.”
“Alone?” I asked him. He’d pulled on his uniform, but it was clear he was still tired from lack of sleep. Here I’d been worrying about him being too stressed, and I’d just added more to his plate.
“I’ve got more officers coming,” he said.
“I shouldn’t have called you.”
“You did exactly the right thing. Now, don’t you have donuts you should be making?”
“Yes, but I’d rather watch what you’re doing.”
“It’s not going to be all that exciting, especially if whoever was out there is really gone. I’ll call you when we’re finished.”
Chief Grant went back to his car as two other squad cars approached, and before the three officers started searching on foot, he gave them a set of instructions. As they fanned out, each one armed with a heavy flashlight and a service revolver, I did as the chief had suggested. My yeast donut dough needed my attention.
As I worked on rolling out the dough and using the aluminum cutter wheel to pop out neat rounds and holes, I wondered why Theodore would come to my shop in the middle of the night. Was he there to attack me, or was he trying to warn me about who the real killer was? If it was a simple warning, why hadn’t he come forward when I’d walked toward him? Or had he just panicked when he’d seen me? I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get the answers to my questions, but I hoped the chief and his people at least found some evidence that someone had been over there. Otherwise I was going to feel pretty foolish.
My cell phone rang, and I grabbed it before it could ring more than once. “Did you find him?”
“Let me in,” he said.
“Okay, but I need to know,” I said as I hurried out of the kitchen toward the front.
He was frowning when I got to the door. “There was no sign of anybody out there,” the chief said as I opened up.
“Not even a footprint or cigarette butt ground into the dirt?” I asked.
“It’s been pretty dry around here lately,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to find any indications someone was out there, but we looked. I’ll say one thing. You’re probably right. Whoever was out there is long gone by now.”
“But you do believe me, right?” I asked, eager to have him acknowledge that I wasn’t losing my mind.
“I’m sure you saw someone there,” he said. “If you say it was Theodore Reed, then that’s what I’m going with.”
I recalled how dismal the view had been from where I’d stood. “Well, someone was there. I thought it was Theodore Reed, but I could have been wrong,” I admitted.
“We’ll keep a lookout either way. Shouldn’t you have help here by now?” he asked as he looked around.
“Emma and Sharon are both spending time with Barton,” I said.
“Can you do this alone?”
“I already manage it one day a week,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Sure, making donuts you’ve got down cold, but what about being alone? Maybe you should call Grace.”
I laughed at the suggestion. “Trust me, having her here at this time of the morning wouldn’t be doing either one of us any favors. She offered, but I was smart enough to decline. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but don’t open early, okay? I’ll have someone swing by a little before six to check on you.”
“Did you know Phillip was guarding Grace’s place?” I asked him.
“Yes. He ran it past me earlier,” the chief admitted.
“And you approved?”
“I didn’t see any reason the chief shouldn’t do it,” he admitted as he took in a deep breath.
“Care for some coffee and a treat while you’re here?”
Chief Grant appeared to consider it before shaking his head. “I’d better not. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a little more sleep before I have to go into the office.”
“I’m really sorry I woke you,” I apologized.
“Nonsense. You did the right thing. Promise me one thing though, okay?”
“What’s that?” If he was going to suggest that I give up my investigation, I was going to have to decline, but I’d do just about anything else if it helped make his life easier.
“Don’t do anything foolish.”
“I was thinking about making Caffeine Bomb Donut Holes a little later,” I said with a grin. “Is that what you meant?”
“I’m not sure why you’d want to do it, but bake away. Just keep your doors locked until six.”
“I can do that,” I said, “but you know, the bad guy can just waltz right in after I open for business. I can’t very well sell donuts and coffee through a slot in the door.”
“I’m well aware of that fact, but there’s no reason to tempt fate.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Thanks for coming by.”
He tipped a hat he wasn’t wearing. “Just serving and protecting, ma’am.”
“Go home, Chief,” I said with a smile.
After he was gone, I felt better than I had all morning. I was still alone, but just knowing that other people were out there watching over me gave me a sense of well-being that I embraced. The rest of my donut-making duties went smoothly, and by the time I opened for business, I was ready to face the world. I’d been kidding about the new cake donut, especially since they had been done by the time I suggested it, but maybe I’d give it a shot someday. I wasn’t a huge coffee fan, but I knew that many of my customers were. Maybe I could combine some espresso into the mix or find some other way to juice the donuts up. I’d have to discuss it with Emma on another day, but for now, it was time to open the shop.
I glanced back at the displays and was happy with the way everything looked, so I unlocked the front door and waited for my first customer to show up.
Chapter 17
I was surprised to find that my first customer of the day was a woman who had never come into the donut shop alone before since I’d known her.
“Elizabeth, are you all right?” I asked my book-club friend when she walked into the shop. She appeared to have been up all night, and I was getting more concerned about her well-being by the minute.
“I’m as good as I’m going to get, given the circumstances,” she said. “I came by to apologize to you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said. “I’m worried about you.”
“You’re going to have to get in line,” she said. “Jennifer and Hazel are giving me so much support that I can barely breathe.” She must have realized how that sounded, because she quickly added, “Not that I don’t appreciate it. I’m just not sure there’s anything anyone can do at this point. You’re divorced, aren’t you?” she asked me timidly.
“I’ve since remarried, but yes, my first marriage fell apart in a rather spectacular manner,” I admitted. “It was tough going for a while, but I managed to get through it. I know it’s probably not going to mean much to you at the moment, but I’ve never been happier than I am right now. It took everything I went through with Max to help me find Jake.”
“From what I’ve heard, he’s one of a kind, though,” she said sadly.
“He’s unique in his own way, but there are good men still out there,” I said. “First you have to deal with your situation, though. Is there any hope to save it?” I wasn’t about to suggest she leave her husband. I didn’t know anything about her relationship with him, so I didn’t feel capable of giving her even basic advice.
“I honestly don’t know. There’s something he’s hiding from me, and it’s tearing us apart,” she said, her voice turning into a whimper.
“Is it another woman?” I asked.
“I don’t think s
o. Suzanne, I don’t know what to do. Hazel and Jennifer are suggesting that we all take a trip together. They think if I can get away for a few weeks, I might be able to get a little perspective on the situation. You couldn’t break away too, could you?” she asked as she glanced around the empty donut shop.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could, but it’s just me at the moment, and I’m not sure when my assistant is even coming back. If the shop closes for even a day or two, I’m not sure I could ever recover from the financial loss.”
“I understand completely,” she said. “Still, I thought I’d ask.”
“I would have been hurt if you hadn’t,” I said as I gave her a hug. “Can I at least get you something to eat and drink while you’re here?”
“Thanks, but my appetite isn’t much these days,” I said.
“Not even a bear claw?” I offered.
“Well, maybe I’ll take one with me,” she conceded.
I bagged two up for her, just in case she found her appetite again. As she reached for her wallet, I said, “These are on the house. When are you all leaving on your trip? Do you have any idea where you’re going?”
“Jennifer is planning it, with some help from Hazel. I’ll be in touch when we get back.”
“I’m counting on it,” I said.
As Elizabeth walked to the door, she turned and stared at me for a second. “I’m glad I’ve got you as a friend,” she said. “You’re good for me.”
“I feel the same way about you. Have a lovely time.”
“I’ll try,” she said.
After she was gone, I found myself remembering what it had been like finding Max and Darlene together. It had been a blow I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to recover from, but I’d found my way back. Having Momma, Grace, and my other friends and family helped pull me through the darkest of times, and I cherished them all for the parts they’d played in my recovery. I was sad I couldn’t go with the ladies on their trip, but I knew that Jennifer and Hazel would do their best to help Elizabeth, and I hoped that she knew she could count on me, too. Sometimes it was easy to forget the darkness after it was over, but I knew that without my experience of getting through what had felt like a string of insurmountable obstacles at the time, I wouldn’t have been ready to let Jake into my heart later. I hoped my friend found her true joy again, no matter if it was with her husband or from a brand-new chapter in her life.
“Rosa, what are you doing here?” I asked an hour later as Rosa Clifton came into Donut Hearts. “Is your husband with you?”
“He thinks I’m at the beauty parlor,” she said. “It was the only way I could get away.”
She was trying to play the victim again, but after what the chief had told us, I wasn’t swallowing it this time. “You can drop the act. I’m not buying it anymore.”
“What act?” she asked me in an offended manner.
“We spoke with the chief of police. You’ve been cited for disturbing the peace on three separate occasions, and your neighbors have backed your husband’s side of the story every single time.”
Rosa processed the information in less than a second, and when she looked at me again, her expression had changed to one that was decidedly more reptilian in nature. “They never could mind their own business.”
“At least you’re not denying it,” I said, glancing down to see if I had anything I could use to defend myself. Had Emma moved my baseball bat from under the counter like she’d moved my dough cutter, or had it just been pushed to the back? Either way, I couldn’t get it without alerting her to what I was doing.
“Relax, Suzanne. I’m not here for a confrontation, so you can stop reaching for the gun you keep under the counter.”
“It’s a baseball bat, actually,” I said.
“Really? I would have taken you for a gun nut, given your husband’s former occupation.”
“You know about Jake?” I asked her, troubled by her statement on several different levels.
“Do you honestly think you and Grace could come around questioning me and I wouldn’t investigate you and your family?”
I liked the sound of that even less, but it was time for a little brashness on my part. Why was the donut shop always deserted when I needed witnesses and/or reinforcements around? “Then you know that my husband was a top-notch investigator for the state police.”
“The key word in that sentence is ‘was,’” she said. “You need to stay away from me and my husband. Am I making myself clear?”
“And if I don’t?” I asked.
“You won’t like the outcome,” she replied, and I didn’t doubt it for one second.
“Why are you so eager for us to leave you alone, anyway?” I asked her. “Are you afraid we’re going to discover that one of you killed Simon Reed?”
“Please. We had nothing to do with his death,” she said.
“And I should believe you why, exactly?”
“Because I’m telling you that it’s the truth,” she said.
“Then why the warning? You weren’t in April Springs last night around eight by any chance, were you?”
She looked at me oddly, as though she couldn’t understand why I was asking the question. “Not that it’s any of your business, but we were both in Charlotte last night. Someone wants to buy the shop, and we were there for meetings until late into the evening.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“At this point I don’t really care what you believe,” she said. “The thing is that the new buyer doesn’t want anything to do with the murder, so if you and your little pal keep digging into our lives, it could hurt us financially.”
“And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?” I found the only way to deal with most bullies was to get up in their faces. Sometimes that earned me a punch in the snout, though.
“Trust me, we wouldn’t.”
“I suppose there’s someone who can verify these meetings,” I said.
“Of course there is, but if you’re expecting me to give you a name and a number, you’re even crazier than you appear to be, which is saying something. Why is a donut maker digging into this, anyway? It’s not like you had any real connection to Simon.”
“It happened back there,” I said, pointing to my kitchen. “That makes it my business.”
Her harsh expression seemed to soften for a moment. “I can see that. But you’re barking up the wrong tree with us. We didn’t kill him.”
“How can you be so sure that your husband didn’t do it? After all, he admitted being there at the pop-up bistro the night of the murder.”
“Because I saw him leave!” she said loudly.
“Funny, but you wouldn’t admit that before. Why the change of tune?”
“I wanted to see him try to squirm his way out of it,” she confessed. I had no trouble believing that she’d done exactly that, but I still couldn’t take her word for it.
“I still need some kind of proof about last night before I drop it.”
“Call the Marriott on Park Road,” she said. “We reserved a meeting room there, and we even had dinner served to us. Is that good enough?”
“Not yet, but it will be once I get confirmation.”
“You don’t trust anybody, do you?” she asked me harshly.
“Oh, there are some people I trust. You just aren’t one of them,” I said, keeping my gaze directly focused on her.
“You know what? I’m tired of dealing with you. Do as I say, or face the consequences.”
“I won’t be scared off,” I told her.
“Then we’re finished talking. As long as you leave us out of this, we’re okay, but the moment you try to drag us back in, I won’t make any promises about your future well-being.”
“Neither will I,” I said.
After she was gone, I looked up the hotel’s number in Charlotte, and after some cajoling, I got them to admit that Rosa and David Clifton had indeed been there in one of their conference rooms having a meeting. I hated crossing their names off our list since they seemed to be such attractive suspects, but I couldn’t let my bias against them keep me from acknowledging that, barring some kind of stealth transportation device, they couldn’t have made it to April Springs and back to Charlotte without their absences being noticed. That didn’t necessarily mean that neither of them had killed Simon Reed, but I couldn’t believe that the attack on me the night before hadn’t been committed by the murderer. It was just too big a coincidence to swallow.
Unless I learned something contradictory, the Cliftons were going off my list, but that still left Grace and me with a healthy set of suspects that were all still viable candidates, including Sherry West, Clint Harpold, Shalimar Davis, and of course, the missing Theodore Reed.
Chapter 18
The rest of the morning passed quickly enough, especially given the fact that I was doing everything in the shop, from waiting on customers, cleaning tables, and trying to wash a dish and a coffee cup now and then so I could continue serving my customers. I really missed having an extra set of hands, but then again, I couldn’t begrudge the Blake family for rallying around Barton Gleason. Phillip had come by as promised and made his selections. Grace had left for work, and he was on his way home for a well-deserved nap.
Still, by the time eleven rolled around, I was more than happy to lock up. Twenty minutes later, up to my elbows in soapy dishwater, I heard someone knocking on the front door.
“We’re all out of donuts,” I called out as I rinsed my hands and grabbed a nearby towel.
“That’s a shame, but that’s not why I’m here,” Grace said. As I unlocked the front door to let her in, she asked, “Are you sure you can’t scrape something up for me? I didn’t have much of a breakfast, and I’m starving.”