by Jessica Beck
“You won hours ago,” I said. “I don’t know how you did it, but you nailed it. Enjoy your extra hour tomorrow.”
She shrugged. “That’s okay. I was just teasing you.”
“A deal is a deal,” I said. “You earned it. I don’t know how we would have unloaded all of those donuts if you hadn’t stepped up.”
Emma shook her head. “They would have sold. Suzanne, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll be in at my regular time tomorrow. After all, we only have a few weeks left together.”
“It’s your choice,” I said, touched that she honestly cared that much. “I’d love to have you here, but you had a great idea, and you deserve a reward for it.” As I said it, I decided what might be fitting. I reached into the till and took out a twenty-dollar bill. “If you want to work, I insist on giving you an employee bonus for a great idea.”
“I shouldn’t,” she said.
“Nonsense. We had a good day because of you. Tell me you can’t use it.”
“I would, but I hate to lie to you.” She took the bill with a grin and tucked it into her apron. “Thanks. I’ll just finish up with the dishes and the racks, and then I’ll be on my way. I’ve got a lunch date.”
Emma was known for her joy of dating, but I hadn’t heard about anyone new in the past few weeks, a definite change of pace for her. “Anybody I know?”
“It’s my dad,” she said. “Now that I’m leaving, he suddenly wants to bond with me. Can you believe that?”
“I think it’s sweet,” I said. “Your dad loves you.”
“I know, but I keep telling him that just because I’m moving way doesn’t mean that I’m going to change. It’s college; it’s not like I’m going to the moon.”
“What can I say, you are just a lovable gal,” I said with a smile. “Tell you what. At least take off now. I’ll wash up, and you can go home and shower before your lunch.”
“If you wouldn’t mind, that would be great.”
I let her out, and then locked the door behind her. Donut Hearts was officially closed for another day, and the donut part of my life was over. That didn’t mean I could just go home and relax, though.
I’d already worked a full day, but now it was time to continue investigating Cam Hamilton’s murder.
* * *
I got a call on my cell phone when my hands were buried in the soapy water, and I couldn’t dry them fast enough to answer in time. I waited for a message, but whoever called didn’t leave one. I dried my hands and checked to see who the missed call was from. It was Grace, and the impatience she’d shown had been a little out of character for her.
I called her back, and she picked up on the first ring. “Hey. What’s up?” I asked.
“I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer.”
“I’m doing dishes. Where are you?”
“Out front. Any chance there’s any coffee left, and maybe a donut or two?”
“Hang on,” I said as I walked out into the dining area. I waved to her, hung up my phone, and unlocked the door.
“Hey,” she said, “you hung up on me.”
“I didn’t think there was any need to stay on the phone with you standing right in front of me,” I said with a smile.
“Why are you doing dishes and not Emma?” she asked.
“I let her take off early,” I explained. “Care to join me?”
“First the coffee, then the treat, and then maybe I’ll be decent company.”
I studied her a moment, and then asked, “Grace, did you just get up?”
“Hey, I’m on vacation, remember? I’m entitled to sleep in a little.” She took a bite of one of the donuts I had left, a peanut-coated cake that I loved myself. I’d saved it for a snack for later, but I could always make more tomorrow, and Grace looked as though she needed it right now.
As I finished drying the last rack, I asked, “Any thoughts on what we should do today?”
“I’d like to focus on Hannah and Evelyn,” she said.
“Okay, that sounds good,” I said. “Why don’t we talk to their neighbors first and see if they have any thoughts about Cam’s murder. Who knows? Maybe someone can give us a reason we should look at one of them harder than the other.”
“I like it,” Grace said. “Do you have any more donuts left?”
I scanned the counter and saw three boxes. After peeking under each lid, I said, “We’ve got thirty-one.”
“Box them in half-dozen lots, and we’ll use them as bribes.”
“What should we do with the odd one that’s left?” I asked as I did as she suggested.
The lone holdout was a plain cake donut with no icing or glaze. I made a handful every day, knowing that some of my customers loved them. Grace looked at it for a second, and then shook her head. “No, one is all I can eat. You can have it.”
I laughed. “Trust me, I eat enough over the course of the day. Let’s give someone a bonus,” I proposed, slipping it into one of the boxes. It was a tight fit, but I had a feeling that whoever got it wouldn’t mind a spare.
I couldn’t figure out why the register wouldn’t balance, and then I remembered the twenty I’d given Emma. I marked it as “employee bonus,” made out my deposit slip, and then we were ready to go.
As Grace and I loaded the boxes into my Jeep, I wondered if we were getting any closer to figuring out who had killed Cam, and why. Jake had a hunch he was on the right trail, but I was nowhere near as confident myself.
Maybe today would offer a clue we hadn’t been able to discover yet.
I could only hope. I wanted to be back with my boyfriend without hiding like a couple of teenagers afraid they might get caught.
* * *
Evelyn’s place was closer, but I knew I was in no hurry to question her neighbors, so I started to drive past her house. The odd thing was, though, there was a patrol car parked in front as we approached it. Were they making an arrest already? I was about to pull in when I saw her front door open and Chief Martin stepped outside. He looked embarrassed to be caught leaving his former abode, something that made me wonder what exactly he was up to. When he saw us, he blushed as he hurried to his patrol car.
I decided I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I kept driving toward Hannah’s place.
“Is the police chief actually cheating on your mother?” Grace asked. “With his ex-wife, of all people?”
I didn’t want to go where she was thinking. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Suzanne. He’s sneaking out of her house. Did you see how guilty he just looked when we caught him?”
“Grace, your imagination is on overtime right now. I may not be the police chief’s biggest fan, but I can’t imagine he’d ever step out on Momma. Think about it. Would you trade my mother for ten Evelyns?”
“No, of course not, but men have been known to do stupid things in the past.”
I nodded. “And even a few women, too.”
“You know what I mean,” she said.
“I do.”
As I drove on, Grace asked, “Aren’t you at least going to call your mother and tell her what we just saw?”
I shook my head. “It’s none of my business.”
“Even if it means she’s going to be hurt by this?”
I thought about it and realized that it was fine line I was dancing. If I didn’t call Momma and it turned out that Grace’s suspicions were true, I’d feel like a fool. Then again, if I called and it turned out to be innocent, or nothing at all, Momma would be upset because I was meddling.
I decided to take a chance on getting her mad, and reached for my phone.
“Momma, it’s me. Got a second?”
“Just that,” she said. “I’m on my way to meet Phillip for lunch.”
It was an opening I couldn’t resist. “I just saw him, as a matter of fact. He was leaving Evelyn’s place.”
Momma sighed. “Yes, she’s been badgering him to come over, and he decided to go now so he could use his lunch w
ith me as an excuse to get away.”
“And you don’t mind?” I asked.
“Mind? Why would I mind? I encouraged it. Evelyn has to learn that they aren’t together anymore. She’s having a more difficult time understanding that than I ever would have imagined. Now, what is it you wanted?”
I had to come up with a lie, and it had to be good, and fast. “I’ve got extra donuts, and I was wondering if you’d like any.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m afraid I have to pass. Is that it?”
“That’s it,” I said. “Have a good lunch.”
“I intend to,” she said, and then hung up.
Grace was incredulous. “Donuts? You offered your mother, the best cook and baker in the county, donuts?”
“What else was I supposed to do? Not only did she know about the chief seeing his ex-wife, she actually encouraged it. I’m just glad I could come up with something on the spot.”
“Thinking of donuts must have been quite a reach for you,” she said with a smile.
“What can I say? I’m a woman with a one-track mind.”
APPLE YEAST DONUTS
I like to try variations of favorite donuts from time to time, and I’m quite pleased most of the time with the results, like this one. This recipe incorporates a Granny Smith apple, a tart and sweet apple I like to use for baking and donut making. This donut is delicious!
INGREDIENTS
Wet
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast (¼ oz.)
• 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten slightly
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• Enough Canola Oil to fry donuts
Dry
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached, but bleached is fine, and so is bread flour)
• ½ cup finely diced apple (Granny Smith for its tartness)
DIRECTIONS
Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
Combine everything (eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla extract, lemon peel, finely diced apple) in another bowl EXCEPT the yeast mix (water, yeast, sugar) and the flour.
Add the yeast mix, stir, and then begin adding flour. The dough will be a little sticky, so don’t worry about it. Turn out on a floured surface and knead the dough a few minutes, then cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half. I like to cover the bowl with Saran Wrap while it’s raising, too.
Heat canola oil to 365 degrees before you roll out the dough.
After the dough has doubled in size, roll it out to ½–¼ inch thick, then cut with a donut cutter.
Fry the donuts, not crowding the oil, flipping them when one side is brown.
Once the donuts are finished, remove them to a cooling rack and drain on paper towels. These donuts can be dusted with cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon granulated white sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon).
Makes 6–10 donuts, depending on the size of your cutter
CHAPTER 17
“Mr. Yeats, could we have a moment of your time?” I asked as we found Garrett Yeats working in his backyard. Cam’s newly purchased land was on one side of Hannah’s property, and Garrett’s was on the other. He hadn’t answered the door when we’d rung the bell, so Grace and I had gone around back to see if we could find him there.
“That depends. Are you paying for it with donuts?” He eyed the box as though it contained gold instead of my treats.
“That’s the deal,” I said as I offered him the box.
He opened the lid like a kid at Christmas. “I shouldn’t,” he said as he surveyed my offering, “but I will.” Garrett was a spry, older man who clearly loved to garden. All around us was a lovely landscape, and though it was February, it must have all been spectacular when it bloomed. Even in winter, the terracing, fountains, and arbors made it look as though it had been ripped from the pages of a horticultural magazine.
“Your garden is breathtaking,” I said.
“This? You should see it when it’s in full bloom. Glenda started it, and she poured so much of herself into it that when she died, I decided I had to keep it going. It’s all for her.”
“How long has it been?” Grace asked quietly.
“She passed away four years ago tomorrow, as a matter of fact. I’m taking some greenery to her grave, but on the half-year anniversary of her passing, I take her the loveliest bouquets so I can show her how everything is doing.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said. I knew they’d been together forever, and I couldn’t imagine the hole his wife’s departure must have left in his heart. Then again, Momma had had a hole herself for the longest time, and it was just now beginning to heal.
“Don’t be,” he said with a sad smile. “We had more time together than most, and I feel closest to her when I’m out here working.”
He must have heard something that Grace and I had missed, because he suddenly stopped talking and shushed us.
I finally heard someone singing off-key, mangling the words to a song I loved. It was Hannah, and I suddenly understood Garrett’s desire not to be spotted.
After she was safely past us, Garrett shook his head. “You can set your watch by that woman. From ten o’clock to eleven fifteen every morning, rain or shine, she’s walking her property, singing in the worst way, and generally upsetting the wildlife around here. I duck her every chance I get, but sometimes I can’t get away in time, and she chews my ear off.”
“Did you happen to see her the day Cam Hamilton was murdered?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” Garrett said. “That was one of the bad days.”
“Because of his murder?” Grace asked.
Garrett actually blushed a little. “It should have been because of that, but I meant it was one of the times Hannah caught me. She must have blabbered on for forty-five minutes about Cam and how he was going to destroy our neighborhood.”
“Any idea when you two finished talking?” I asked.
“It was around eleven-thirty,” he said. “My stomach was grumbling and groaning the whole time.”
“Why wouldn’t she admit that to us?” I asked. “It gives her a perfect alibi.”
Garrett chuckled softly. “That I can guess. Hannah is trying to lose weight, and this walking routine around her property is the way she’s chosen to do it. If she admits to being out walking for so long, she has to admit why she’s doing it, and that woman has become as vain as they come. When she had her shop, she was too busy to stop to eat much, but since she closed her business and sold the building, she’s been slowly putting on the pounds.” He winked at us and said, “Do me a favor and don’t tell her I said that.”
“Thanks, Mr. Yeats” I said.
“Is that all you wanted? And I get six donuts for it?”
“Actually, there are seven in there,” I said, “and you earned every bite.”
“Come back anytime,” he said. “And you don’t have to bring donuts next time, either. I just wish I had flowers to share with you that come close to matching how lovely you two ladies are this fine, brisk day.”
As we walked back to the Jeep, Grace said, “He’s a real charmer, isn’t he?”
“From what I’ve heard, he always has been,” I said. “I can’t believe that Hannah is so vain that she wouldn’t use an alibi that clears her of murder just because she doesn’t want anyone to know that she was exercising.”
“Funny, I have no problem believing it at all,” Grace said.
After we drove for a few minutes, I said, “I suppose we have to tackle Evelyn now.”
“Well, her neighbors, at any rate,” Grace said. “Sorry, there’s no way around it.”
“At least we’re all set with bribes,” I said as I glanced in the back where the donuts were safely resting.
“There aren’t many folks w
ho can say no to them, are there?”
I laughed. “There are a few holdouts, but not that many.”
I parked down the block so that Evelyn wouldn’t see us as we got out.
At least that was my theory.
It was just too bad that she came out her front door the second I parked.
* * *
“Duck,” I told Grace, who did it without being asked.
I peeked over the dash and saw Evelyn getting into her car, a brand-new blue Toyota Yaris that I had to wonder if she’d paid for with money from the divorce settlement.
“What are we doing?” Grace asked.
“There’s a change of plans. We’re going to follow Evelyn and see where she’s going.”
“Isn’t this the perfect time to talk to her neighbors?” Grace asked. “At least then we know there’s no way she’s going to just pop up.”
“We’ll come back if there’s time, but I’ve got a hunch this is more important.”
“Then let’s follow her,” Grace suggested. She was easy to get on board any plan I came up with, supporting it as strongly as though she’d developed it herself.
As Evelyn drove on ahead of us, I tried to stay back far enough so she wouldn’t spot me, but close enough so that I wouldn’t lose her. It was harder than it sounded, complicated by the fact that there were only a handful of Jeeps the color of mine in the county. If she spotted us on her tail, I had a feeling there was going to be a scene, and a bad one at that.
“Why is she going there?” Grace asked as we saw Evelyn head toward the hospital.
“I haven’t a clue. Could she be visiting someone?” I asked.
But Evelyn didn’t turn off when we got to the hospital. Instead, she kept driving toward Maple Hollow.
I had a feeling in my gut that I knew exactly where she was headed.
I just didn’t know why.
When she turned off two miles later, I knew I had to be right. “This is the way to Harvey Hunt’s place.”
“Why would Evelyn go see Harvey?” Grace asked.
“I wish I knew, but this is too big a coincidence to write off.”
Sure enough, Evelyn pulled into Harvey’s driveway, and I managed to hide the Jeep twenty feet down the road behind a stand of white pines. It gave us enough cover to be out of sight, but we could still see Harvey’s front door. Evelyn got out of her car and walked up the front steps. After ringing the bell half a dozen times, she looked as though she were about to explode.