by Jessica Beck
I grabbed a quick shower, shampooing my hair carefully to get the last remnants of donut smell out. I was never entirely successful at it, but I could take care of most of it, at any rate. After getting dressed, I started toweling off my hair, trying to dry it as naturally as I could. I wasn’t a big fan of blow dryers, especially in the warmer months.
As I worked on my hair, I stood idly in front of my computer and reviewed the images Jake and I had downloaded into it after we’d found the body. It was tough seeing Jasper like that, and I tended to stay on those images much less than I did on the surrounding shots. I smiled as I spotted the photos Jake had taken with Ray’s camera. Try as he might, the newspaper editor hadn’t been able to glam up those pictures, no matter what he’d tried. Flipping back to the shots I’d taken, I focused on the desktop in front of Jasper. There were scattered pens and mechanical pencils all over the blotter. Their holder had been tipped over, no doubt in the final throes of Jasper’s dying breath. Was that where the letter opener had been? How had the killer managed to take it without Jasper realizing it? Had they casually leaned over and taken it, pretending to study it all the while preparing to commit murder, or had it been a violent grab before the killer had plunged it into Jasper’s heart from behind? Next, I studied the shot of Jasper’s chair and the hard plastic mat that it rolled across. There were several scuff marks, but who knew how long they’d been there? I started going through photo after photo of the crime scene, trying to make some sense of it all. Images of the office itself, the exterior, even the hallway flitted across my field of vision as I jumped from frame to frame to frame.
I was still studying the images, wondering if there was something I was missing that I just couldn’t place my finger on, when my cell phone rang.
“Hey, stranger. I was hoping you’d be back home by now,” I said the moment I knew that it was Jake.
“Unfortunately, it’s taking a little longer than I’d hoped. How are things going there?”
“Phyllis and Henry might be out as suspects,” I said as I explained their story. “What do you think?”
“If it’s true, then the money doesn’t really matter, and that seems to be the driving force, at least as far as we’ve been able to determine so far,” he said.
“Hang on a second. Let me check something.” I closed out the pictures and opened up a search engine on the Internet. After typing in the relevant data, I found a few images of Henry, as well as substantiation that he was, in fact, rich and also that he ran a charitable foundation.
“If I’m keeping you from something, I could always call you back later,” Jake said with a laugh in his voice.
“I just confirmed that Henry’s story is true,” I said.
“The marvels of the Internet age,” Jake said with a sigh. “It’s going to make detectives obsolete some day.”
“You don’t believe that for one second, and you know it,” I said.
“Of course I don’t, but you’d be amazed by the number of people who do. Sorry. I’m just a little stale from these meetings. It’s going to be at least a few more hours before I can get away, and that’s if I’m lucky.”
“I feel for you,” I said as I shut my computer down.
“What’s on tap for you?”
“I’m just getting ready to deliver donuts to the wake, and then I’m free,” I said.
“Is Grace going out there with you?” Jake asked me. “Or Phillip?”
“On a donut run? I’m pretty sure I can handle that on my own.”
He paused, and then he said, “I’d still rather you didn’t go by yourself.”
I was about to answer when I saw that I was getting another call. “Hang on. That’s Grace on the other line.”
“Saved by the ring,” he said. “I’ve got to go. Just be careful, okay?”
“You bet,” I said, and then I switched over to Grace. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I figured out what Minerva’s problem was,” she said. “It took most of the afternoon, but I finally got it out of her.”
“Why did she want to quit?”
“Her trainer told her if she was ever caught using samples for her personal use, she’d be terminated immediately, as well as potentially being prosecuted for theft.”
“Is that true? I seem to recall you carrying around a bag full with you most of the time,” I reminded her.
“Of course it’s not true. That’s one of the perks of the job, as far as I’m concerned. I called Debbie to straighten it out, and she swore she said not to take cases of it for her own use but that individual samples were fine. Minerva was so relieved that she started crying, and I just got her settled down enough so I could leave. She thought we were going to have her arrested for using a little lipstick. Can you believe that?”
“I believe anything at this point,” I said. “At least she’s honest.”
“Too honest for sales, maybe, but we’ll see,” Grace said. “Anyway, I’m an hour away from town, so if you’re up for a little more investigation, I’m game.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, purposefully neglecting to mention that I was making a donut delivery to the crime scene. I’d already gotten one lecture on being careful, and I wasn’t in the mood for another. “Give me a buzz when you get home.”
“You bet,” Grace said, and then I hung up before she could ask me any more questions.
It was time to collect the donuts and make my promised delivery.
After that, I was going to focus all of my energy on finding Jasper’s killer, no matter what it took.
It turned out, though, that was going to happen even sooner than I’d anticipated, or I might have taken Jake’s advice and taken along a buddy with me after all.
Chapter 16
I was just loading the donuts into my Jeep when I heard someone pulling up beside me. It was a squad car, and Chief Grant got out, grinning.
“What are you so happy about?” I asked him with a smile of my own.
“We got Perry Kilroy,” he said. “I told you we would.”
“Did he confess to killing Jasper?” I asked him. While Perry had been on my radar, I’d been primarily focused on the murder victim’s family members, not his former business partner.
“No, but it’s just going to be a matter of time, unless I miss my guess,” the chief said. “Why else would he run if he didn’t have something to hide?”
“Maybe he wasn’t in the mood to be run through the wringer at his age,” I offered.
“If that’s the case, then he surely chose the wrong way to avoid it.” The police chief’s radio beeped, and he turned to me and said, “Hang on one second.”
“Mind if I keep loading donuts?” I asked him.
He shrugged, which I took as agreement, and I got back to work.
After a minute of hushed conversation, he didn’t look nearly as happy as he had when he’d first approached me.
“Did something else happen?”
“Kilroy has lawyered up,” the chief said. “He’s bringing in some kind of dream team, and they won’t even let him admit to his own name. It figures. Having money can’t buy freedom, but it can surely delay incarceration.”
“So, do you really think he did it?”
The chief shrugged. “Nine times out of ten, fleeing is tantamount to confessing. Anyway, I saw you out here loading donuts and thought I’d check in with you.” He surveyed my loaded Jeep before adding, “It’s awfully late to be making a donut delivery, isn’t it?”
“This is a special case,” I said.
“Just like yesterday?” he asked me with a smile. “How special can it be if you do it every day?”
“Okay, that was a special case, too, but they really are rare. These are for Jasper’s wake.”
Chief Grant nodded. “I always
knew that the man had style.”
“He’ll be missed,” I agreed.
“No doubt. Well, I’d better get going. I’ve got a mound of paperwork to fill out before Grace gets back. We’re going out to the Boxcar tonight to celebrate. Would you and Jake like to join us?”
“That depends,” I said. “What are we celebrating?”
“Trish not winning the lottery,” the chief said with a smile.
“That’s kind of cruel, isn’t it?” I asked him.
“Hey, it was Trish’s idea, so blame her. What do you say?”
“Count us in,” I replied.
“You aren’t even going to check with Jake first?” he asked me lightly.
“I can’t imagine that it will be too difficult talking him into eating at his favorite place in town with two of our best friends,” I replied.
“Then it’s a double date,” the chief said.
I loved being a part of our tight-knit community. We celebrated our joys together and shared our woes as well. It just so happened that I was about to do both, in a rather short period of time. I appreciated the order of things, though. First the wake and then the celebration that Trish had gotten what she wanted in the end. It was only fitting that it had unfolded that way.
As I drove to the estate, something kept nagging at the back of my mind. I’d seen something in those photos that had set off a delayed alarm, but Jake’s telephone call, as welcome as it had been, had thrown me off and made the idea slip away. Maybe it would come to me later, but in the meantime, I had a delivery to make.
Bobby answered the door, wearing jeans and a faded old T-shirt.
“Donut delivery!” I announced.
“Yeah, Dad told me you were coming. Is it just you?” he asked as he looked around behind me. It was a suspicious question, given what had been happening lately.
“Yes, but several people know that I’m here,” I said. “Shall I bring them in?”
“I didn’t mean that to sound so creepy,” Bobby answered. He must have seen something in my expression that told him I was uneasy about his question. “I just meant that it’s a lot to carry by yourself.”
“I plan on making more than one trip,” I said.
“Why don’t I help you?” he volunteered.
“It’s really not necessary,” I told him as I shifted the weight of the boxes in my hands. It wasn’t that they were particularly heavy, but four dozen donuts in boxes was an awkward thing to just stand around holding, and I had more in the Jeep.
“Come on. Let me help. It will give me something to do. I’ve been going stir-crazy sitting around listening to my dad and my aunt argue for the past two hours. Every now and then, Henry tries to get them to behave themselves, but I’m afraid that it’s a lost cause.”
“Is it just the four of you?” I asked as I handed the boxes in my hands to him so I could grab more.
“No, Bethesda’s hovering around here someplace, too. She keeps telling Dad that she wants to honor Jasper’s wishes, and he keeps asking her to leave. I’ve got to admit, it makes for a nice break from hearing him argue with my aunt.”
As we took the first load into the living room where Bobby requested they be placed, I asked, “Are any other family or friends coming by?”
“Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that we made a lot of donuts for four people,” I said, “five if you count Bethesda.”
“We’re opening the place up later for other folks, but for the first hour, it’s going to be just the three of us. Henry has even been asked politely to step away, and so has Bethesda. Why on earth my dad and my aunt want it to be just the three of us is beyond me.”
“I heard about the will. It’s sure to be a sizeable amount, even a third of it,” I said, trying to gauge Bobby’s reaction.
“Truthfully, the money will come in handy, but I’d rather have Jasper back,” he said. “I’ll probably just end up gambling my inheritance away, anyway.”
It was a surprising moment of truth for him, and I could feel his vulnerability in that moment. That was the problem with some people. Just when I thought I had them pegged, they turned out to have a completely different side to them. I’d written Phyllis off as a money grubber, and it had turned out that she didn’t need cash at all. I’d thought that Bobby was a flighty gambler with a poor sense of self-restraint, and that was probably at least partially right, but he also had clearly cared for his great-grandfather. “It doesn’t have to be that way, you know.”
“What do you mean? Are you talking about joining Gamblers Anonymous or something?”
“It couldn’t hurt. You also might want to put what you get into a trust. That way you can set it up to get only ten percent a year.”
“So then I’d blow it in ten years instead of one,” he mused.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” I apologized.
“I didn’t take it that way. I think it’s the best idea I’ve heard all week. It may just give me time to get my act together before the money’s all gone.”
Ethan joined us, and the difference in attire between him and his son was remarkable. Instead of the casual look Bobby was currently sporting, his father was wearing a three-piece black suit with a crimson tie. His shoes had been polished to the point of nearly blinding me, and every hair on his head was in perfect place. “Hadn’t you better start getting ready?” he asked his son.
Bobby nodded. “I guess. I still can’t believe I have to wear a suit.”
“Jasper left a contingency fund for all of us to be able to dress appropriately for his farewell,” Ethan said. “It would be disrespectful to reject it.”
So, that explained how the nearly bankrupt businessman could afford to dress so nicely. Was there anything that Jasper hadn’t planned? He must have known deep in his heart that his days were truly numbered, and he’d acted accordingly. I myself wished he had just run away, leaving everyone behind and moving to some deserted island or mountaintop where his killer wouldn’t have been able to get to him.
It would have been a far better use of his money, at least as far as I was concerned.
“I’m going,” Bobby said. “I was just giving Suzanne a hand.”
“Suzanne should have brought enough help with her to do her work,” Ethan said primly.
“You’re right. I should have,” I said with a smile, though that wasn’t my initial reaction. I didn’t yet know if Ethan was culpable in Jasper’s death, and if he wasn’t, I knew that I needed to be cordial to one of Jasper’s last living relatives.
“Is that all?” Ethan asked.
“No, I have a few more boxes I need to go get,” I said.
“Then we won’t keep you, will we, Bobby?” he asked his son pointedly.
“No, sir. Thanks, Suzanne.”
“Hey, I’m the one who should be thanking you. You offered to help, and I’m grateful for it. Why are you thanking me?”
“First, the donuts smell delicious. If I have to eat another casserole, I’m not going to make it.”
“And second?” I asked him.
“You broke the tension up around here, at least for a little bit.”
Ethan grimaced at his son. “What tension is that, exactly?”
“Nothing, Dad. Forget I said anything,” Bobby answered, and then he left us.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to see about some of our arrangements,” Ethan said. “I trust you can handle the rest of your job by yourself.”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll surely give it my best shot,” I said, letting a little of my sarcasm through after all. Oh, well. At least my intentions had been good initially.
“You should do that,” Ethan said, and then he left the room to take care of whatever was so pressing. I couldn’t imagine what it might be. It seemed to
me that Jasper had already seen to everything needed for his final farewell.
I grabbed the last few boxes of donuts and carried them into the living room. I thought about arranging them on a platter like they’d been displayed before, so I headed off to the kitchen to see if I could find something to aid in my presentation. It was deserted, and I wondered where Bethesda was, since she and Henry had been told to make themselves scarce. As I started checking cupboards and cabinets for a suitable serving tray, something on the floor under one cabinet caught my eye.
Grabbing a tissue from my pocket, I bent over to retrieve it when I heard footsteps behind me.
Grabbing the object with the tissue and holding it tightly in my hand, I started to stand, pretending all the while that I hadn’t just recovered something that might be of value to my investigation.
“What are you still doing here?” Ethan asked pointedly. “I thought you were leaving as soon as you finished with the delivery.”
“I wanted to get a serving tray,” I confessed. “My donuts look so much nicer when they’re properly displayed.”
“I’m sure we’ll manage without the presentation,” he said. Ethan practically grabbed my arm as he marched me to the front door.
I had wanted to try something to test my theory, but there was no way I was going to escape Jasper’s grandson’s notice this time. Ethan had made that mistake before, but evidently he had no intention of making it again.
“Again, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said as he slammed the front door in my face.
It was as clear a signal as he could send, short of sic’ing the dogs on me, if they had dogs in the first place, which I knew for a fact that they didn’t.
I wasn’t ready to leave quite yet, though, even though technically, I was finished with my business there.
I had a few calls to make first to see if my hunch was right.
“Hey, Jake. Are you on your way home yet?”