Raspberry Revenge

by Jessica Beck

  “I get that, but you have to admit that it’s an awfully big coincidence to swallow,” Grace said. “There’s no denying it, any way you look at it. Taking off around the time his main rival was murdered in the man’s own office has all kinds of red flags waving.”

  “I don’t like the way it looks any more than you do, but just this once, we’re going to work with the assumption that the two facts are totally unrelated.”

  “If you say so, boss. After all, I’m just the hired hand around here,” Grace said with a smile.

  “You’re more than that, and we both know it. What should we do next? I’m afraid we’ve exhausted the questions we can ask our suspects, and short of taking a poll door to door, I don’t know how to stir up any more suspects at the moment.”

  “I wish we could get inside Harley’s office and have a look around,” Grace said. “How hard would it be to do it without Curtis noticing?”

  “Between him and his secretary, I’d say that it was pretty much impossible.”

  “How about his house, then?” Grace suggested.

  “Probably just as tough, but we can’t go there until Jake is finished with it. Even then, he’s probably not going to appreciate us nosing around behind him.”

  “Is there the slightest chance that our investigation bothers him more than he’s letting on?” she asked me.

  “Probably, but as long as we don’t try to beat him to the killer, we should be fine,” I said.

  “That doesn’t leave us with much that we can do, does it?”

  “We’ll just have to find a way to make do within our limitations. I’m not about to cross Jake without having a very good reason.”

  “I don’t blame you a bit,” Grace said. “Listen, if there’s nothing else we can do at the moment, I’ve got a few things still on my desk that need to be handled. Do you mind?”

  I glanced at my watch and saw that it was nearly time for Jake to come home. I knew if he got there first, he’d thaw a batch of the chili he loved to make, and I didn’t think my stomach could take another meal of it so soon. My only hope was to beat him home and cook something for us myself. “No, that works out fine with me. What does your day look like tomorrow?”

  “If I can get through this paperwork, I’ll be able to take off right about when you’re closing the donut shop for the day.”

  “Let’s meet up then and see if either one of us has been able to come up with something else to do that won’t burn too many bridges,” I suggested.

  “Good luck with that. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as I left her place.

  Jake wasn’t home yet, and I didn’t really feel like cooking something from scratch. I pulled a frozen lasagna that I’d made a few weeks earlier from the freezer, being careful to avoid any skin contact with his blistering-hot chili, and started thawing it in the microwave. Momma probably wouldn’t have approved of anything short of a fresh home-cooked meal, but I wasn’t planning on telling her, so we were good on that front. The microwave oven timer beeped at me, so I knew that our meal was nearly ready. One more cycle at full power, and we’d be ready to eat.

  That was, if my husband made it home for dinner, which was anything but a given at this point in his investigation.

  When Jake was working on a case, he tended to get consumed by it, and I didn’t see why Harley’s murder would be any different. Just in case, I grabbed my phone and called him.

  He picked up on the second ring, which was a good sign.

  “Hey, Jake. Any chance you’ll be able to make it home for dinner?”

  “I’m two minutes away,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “If you don’t feel like cooking, I’d be happy to thaw out some chili for us.”

  “As much as I appreciate the offer, the lasagna is almost ready.” I’d dodged a bullet with my preemptive dinner strike, but I had to be careful not to let it show in my voice.

  “That sounds great, too,” he said, his cheeriness fading a little. I knew that he enjoyed my cooking, but I was going to have to let him serve us chili again soon. If marriage was nothing else, it was compromise.

  To make up for taking away his dining options, I got out some of the cheddar chive rolls that I’d made the same day I’d done the lasagna and thawed them after the lasagna was resting. The rolls were best fresh from the oven with gobs of melted butter on them, but they were pretty good thawed out as well, especially if the fresh version wasn’t available. That would put a smile back on his face.

  Jake walked into the cottage and paused at the door to take a deep breath. Before he could say anything, I asked, “Any word about George?”

  “Would it be okay with you if I just stood here a second and took in that aroma?” he asked gently.

  “Sorry,” I said, and I took in a breath myself. The defrosted lasagna and bread filled the kitchen with such a delightful aroma that it was a shame no one had ever tried to bottle it. “Are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving,” he said. “I skipped lunch.”

  “You shouldn’t do that,” I said as I handed him an empty plate. He filled it with more food than I would have, and I tried to show some restraint as I put an oversized portion on mine.

  I failed miserably. There was no way that I was going to be able to eat all that food, even if I skipped having a roll, which I wasn’t about to do. Maybe I’d wrap up what was left and have it the next day. Putting part of my portion back into the pan never crossed my mind.

  As we sat at the table and ate, I made it a point not to quiz Jake about his day. After all, he deserved a break from the case, and for that matter, so did I. I’d spent so much of my focus on Harley Boggess, and that was after a full day of working at the donut shop, that I’d had little time to do anything else. It was pleasant chatting with my husband without having any ulterior motive.

  After we were finished, he grabbed both of our plates and carried them to the sink. That was the rule in our house: if you cooked, your spouse did the dishes, and yes, that included premade meals that were simply heated up. I grabbed the glasses and silverware and put them in with the plates. “Do you want a hand with those?” I asked him as I started putting the leftover lasagna into a container. Surprisingly, or not, there hadn’t been enough left on my plate to bother with, despite my earlier belief.

  “That would be great,” he said.

  We worked together, enjoying the time and each other’s company, and soon enough, the task was complete and our kitchen was spotless again.

  “Suzanne, I don’t know how you do it,” he asked as he hung the dish towel up to dry.

  “It’s not that bad. I took some of Momma’s recipes and added a few tricks I learned from Angelica, and I made something new and unique of my own.”

  “As great as the meal was, I wasn’t talking about the food.”

  “What, then?”

  “You didn’t say another word about George Morris, or the case at all, as soon as I asked you not to.”

  “Jake, you should know by now that I’m obedient, if I’m anything,” I said with as straight a face as I could manage.

  We both laughed at that so loudly that it was a wonder Grace didn’t come knocking on our door to see what was so hilarious. My husband and I were good for each other, and there wasn’t a day that I wasn’t happy we’d come together, a much different state of mind than I’d had during my first marriage to Max.

  “Well, you did a fine job keeping it in, and as a reward, I’m going to share a few things about the case that I’ve learned. Unless you want to go first.”

  “No, by all means. The floor is yours,” I said as we walked into the living room and sat on the couch. I’d stoked the fire upon arriving, and we had a nice cheery blaze going now.

  “I’m afraid it’s going to be a short dissertation,” he said glumly. “First off, there hasn’t been any sign of George anywhere.
I’ve notified my old office at State Police Headquarters that our mayor is missing but that it’s nothing to be alarmed about yet.”

  “Was that a good idea?” I asked him. The last thing I wanted was his old boss getting his hands on April Springs again.

  “Maybe not, but my force isn’t big enough to conduct a statewide hunt,” he said. “For all of the good it’s done me. I looked over Harley’s home and his office pretty thoroughly. There were a few things that might turn out to be clues, but nothing struck me initially.”

  “How about George’s office?”

  “It’s clean,” he said. “I’ve been talking to the mayor about putting security cameras in City Hall, but he hasn’t shown the slightest bit of interest so far.”

  “I don’t blame him,” I said. “I hate the thought of someone watching me every time I go in and out of the building.”

  “Do you think I like it any better?” Jake asked. “I’m afraid that’s the way the world is headed. Anyway, it’s a moot point, at least as far as Harley’s murder is concerned.”

  “Has the coroner examined the body yet?” I asked, since it was not information I would ordinarily be privy to.

  “Not yet, but why do you ask? I’ve been working on the assumption that the letter opener wound was fatal. Is there something you know that I don’t?”

  “Not about that,” I said. “I was just curious.”

  He frowned at me for a moment, and then he said, “Okay, now it’s your turn.”

  “Grace, Momma, and I are working on this case together,” I said, letting the words spill out. I wasn’t sure that he’d approve, so I wanted to get that out front immediately.

  “Excellent. It’s about time you three joined forces,” he said with the hint of a smile.

  “Excuse me? Does that mean that you approve?” I couldn’t believe his casual acceptance of the new circumstances.

  “There are a couple of reasons I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “Your mother has contacts in this town that you and I can only dream about, and besides, maybe she’ll be a calming influence on the two of you.”

  “Have you met my mother?” I asked him with a grin.

  “Point taken. It still makes sense, since Harley is more in your mother’s circle of acquaintances than yours.”

  “That’s exactly how it’s turning out,” I said. “Grace and I spoke with Amber North and Nathaniel Bloom, while Momma and I interviewed Curtis Daniels and Megan Grey.”

  “Hold on a second. Why are they all on your list of suspects? Curtis I understand, and even Nathaniel, but what about the women?”

  “Harley was dating Amber, and Megan was in love with him.”

  “Did he know that?” Jake asked.

  “He probably suspected it, but then yesterday she declared her undying love for him and confirmed it,” I said.

  “How did Harley react to that? Forget that. How about Amber?”

  “Harley laughed in Megan’s face, and Amber dismissed her as not being worthy of being considered a threat,” I said.

  “Wow, and here I thought everyone in town but the mayor loved Harley before this happened,” Jake replied.

  “We have more,” I said, afraid that he might take it as an affront that my team had done so much better than his had.

  “There are even more suspects than you’ve mentioned so far?” he asked incredulously.

  “No, but we also managed to get alibis out of each of them, for what they were worth.”

  “Let’s hear them,” Jake said as he got out the little notebook he always carried with him.

  I started talking, being sure to give him time to take notes. “Nathaniel claimed to be in his office all morning preparing for a meeting this afternoon. I’m not sure if it’s true, but Seth Lancaster came by while we were there and confirmed it, so it’s possible. Amber said that she was home alone watching television after nine thirty, which is what she was doing when Grace and I showed up on her doorstep this afternoon. Megan claimed that she was at work in Admissions at the hospital, but she could have easily slipped out while no one was looking. They have security cameras there, don’t they?”

  Jake nodded. “In the emergency room and at the front desk, but not anywhere near the Admin offices.”

  I frowned for a second. “How about the parking lot?”

  “Just the one that’s open to the public. I had reason to inquire last month over another matter. That’s why I know.”

  “What was it about?”

  “Sorry, I can’t talk about it,” Jake said. “I already know Curtis’s alibi, and his secretary’s, too.”

  “We didn’t even list Wendy as a suspect,” I admitted. “Do you think she might have done it?”

  “At this point, I’m still gathering information. Who knows? Maybe Harley hit on her and she fought back. They had proximity going for them, which is enough in and of itself sometimes if there was bad blood between them.”

  “Was there?”

  “I couldn’t say, since I’m still looking into it. Anyway, her alibi is that she was alone at the office all morning, while Curtis was out looking at some of their property assets he was considering liquidating.” Wendy’s name was going on our list. I couldn’t believe that Momma, Grace, and I had not even considered her as a potential killer.

  “Jake, I hope we didn’t cross any lines today.”

  “Suzanne, ordinarily I might say that you had, but I can use all of the help that I can get on this one. Half my deputies are out sick, and the other half are scrambling to cover basic services. This is probably the worst possible time to be conducting a murder investigation.”

  “I’m sure if Harley were still around, he’d agree with you wholeheartedly,” I said, raising an eyebrow as I did so.

  “I know it’s not very politic to say it, but there’s nobody here but the two of us.”

  “I get that,” I said as I patted his shoulder gently. My crack had been undeserved. The massage was my way of apologizing, and Jake had readily accepted. It was part of our unspoken language that many good marriages possessed.

  “Where does that leave us now?” I asked him.

  “I don’t know about you and your crack team, but I have to go back to the office,” he said reluctantly as he stood and stretched.

  “Can’t the investigation wait until morning?” I asked him.

  “Probably not, but that’s not why I’m going back in. Stephen and I are going to patrol in a squad car together tonight. He’s good company, though not as good as you are.”

  “He’d better not be. Wouldn’t it be more efficient if you each took a car?”

  “Yes, but I feel better at night when there are two officers in each car,” he said. “It’s my rule, and I don’t think it sets a very good precedent if I’m the first one who breaks it.”

  “I understand that. Should I wait up for you?”

  “With your hours? You’d better not. I just hope I’m back by the time you leave for work in the morning. You are going in to the donut shop, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, it’s not my turn to get a few days off again yet,” I said. My assistant, Emma Blake, and her mother were running Donut Hearts two days a week to give me more time with Jake, but their time at the helm was still four days away. I didn’t mind, though. I loved my shop, and I wasn’t entirely sure that the arrangement was working for me. After all, Jake still had a more-than-full-time job, and it left me with too much time on my hands, especially when he had to go in on his days off. Maybe when and if he ever retired, I’d sell the shop to Emma and her mother if they were interested, but that was probably a long way off. In the meantime, I was going to enjoy every second I had making donuts for the nice folks of April Springs.

  I thought about calling Grace or even Momma after Jake left, but something held me back. In the end, I decided to spend my last few ho
urs before bed enjoying the fire, a good book, and my own company. I loved my husband dearly, but I still enjoyed a little time alone every now and then.

  Chapter 12

  “Haven’t you been to bed yet?” I asked Jake as I came into the kitchen after sleeping fitfully in the time I had. He was nursing a cup of coffee and frowning when I approached him, but he did his best to smile when I walked into the room.

  “What can I say? It’s been a long day,” he said.

  “Have you been able to make any progress?”

  “Not that you’d notice,” he said. “Is it time to make the donuts already?”

  “It’s always time,” I said with a smile. “I don’t know how you do it, Jake.”

  “Do what, stay awake this late?”

  “No, deal with people all day long you suspect of being possible murderers. How do you not see the worst in everyone you meet?”

  “The truth of the matter is that I believe that most people are fundamentally good,” he said after a moment’s pause. “Certainly there are evil folks in this world, I’m not naïve about that, but for most killers, the act is an irrational one, dictated by their circumstances, whether real or imagined. I’ve often said that given the right conditions, anyone could be a killer, but the obverse of that is true, too. Given the perfect setting, just about anyone can do the right thing, too.”

  “You’re a complicated man. You know that, don’t you?” I asked him after I leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

  “I’ve been called much worse, even today,” he said.

  “Who’s been giving you a hard time?”

  “I tend to make people uncomfortable with the questions I have to ask them.”

  “I understand how that feels completely,” I answered. “At least you get paid to do it.”

  “Why do you do it, Suzanne? I suddenly realize that I never asked you that question before. Is it out of a sense of justice for the victim, or do you just hate seeing wrongs go unpunished?”

  “Can’t it be a little of both, with some other factors thrown in, too?”