by Cindy Bell
Brenda
Joyce began to review the video. Although she could tell on the camera that it was Vince, even though a hat covered his features, a tall figure that stood near him kept going in and out of the camera shot. He was wearing a long coat and a hat pulled low to cover his features. She couldn’t see his face to lip read. Due to the hat Vince wore, a shadow hung over his upper face, but she could see his lips. She watched it a few times and tried to lip read what she could of what Vince said.
“Are you sure?” Vince asked.
She could see the other man nodding as he spoke.
“But this is bad,” Vince said. “When?”
Joyce wished that she could see what the other man was saying.
“But there might be a problem.”
The man pointed his finger threateningly at Vince, and then he turned and walked away.
Soon after, Vince walked away as well. Although there was nothing overtly incriminating on the video, Joyce’s skin crawled with the possibilities of what it meant. She replayed the video and tried to piece together a few more words. As her stomach churned with what the man in the film and Vince’s intentions might be, she discerned more from the man’s forceful body language than she did from anything else.
On a whim, Joyce attached the video file to an email and sent it off to Detective Crackle. In the body of the email, she asked if he had any idea who the shadowy figure in the image was. Still too riled up to sleep, she got dressed for the day and made an early breakfast. When she looked at the clock again, it was nearly six. She would be at the truck early, but it was better than staring into space. At least if she went to the truck, she could do some organizing and cleaning with all of her nervous energy.
On her way there, she observed the city beginning to wake up. There were plenty of taxis on the road and even more people walking down the sidewalks that lined the towering buildings. When she arrived at Green Street, all of the trucks that lined the road were still dark and quiet. She noticed some people near one of the shops that was being renovated and thought she saw Cooper walking out of it. What was he doing at the shop? Maybe she was mistaken. It was still dark and he was far away. She parked in her usual spot and made her way towards the truck. As she approached it, she heard a noise near the dumpster. Her heart skipped a beat. She turned her head in the direction of the dumpster and was suddenly struck by something heavy. She struggled to stay on her feet, but darkness swept over her.
Brenda finished brushing her hair, then peeked in at Sophie asleep in her bed. She still had a little time before she had to wake up for school. Still, she couldn’t resist placing a light kiss on the top of her head. When she poked her head into Charlie’s office, he was hard at work. She stepped away from the door so as not to interrupt him.
“Brenda?” He smiled as he caught her eye.
“Morning, sweetie. I didn’t want to distract you.”
“You never have to worry about that. You’re always a welcome distraction.” He kissed her, then met her eyes. “Are you going in soon?”
“Yes, after a quick breakfast, I’m sure Joyce will be eager to figure out our next step.”
“Okay, be careful. Did Joyce ever get back to you about the footage?”
“Not yet, I’m sure she’ll tell me once I get there.”
“I don’t like that guy lurking around your truck.” Charlie frowned.
“I know, me neither. Have you checked the feed this morning?”
“It seems to be off. I knew I should have bought the more expensive one. Call me when you get there and I can walk you through resetting it.”
“Okay, I will. But try not to worry. I’ll be just fine.”
“I’ll try.” He held her gaze a moment longer before he turned his attention back to his work.
As Brenda made herself a quick breakfast, she sent a text to Joyce.
Good morning. I’ll be at the truck soon. Running a bit late.
They always sent a text to each other if they were running late. While she ate her toast and drank her coffee, she waited for a text in return. When she didn’t receive one, she tossed out the remainder of her toast and finished getting ready. If Joyce wasn’t awake yet, she would be very late. Brenda wanted to be sure she was there in time to get things going and everything ready before it was time to open up.
Brenda glanced at her watch, then at her phone. It seemed odd that she hadn’t heard anything back from Joyce. As she walked out to the car, she wondered if maybe she’d overslept or decided to sleep in. It was unusual, but she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. She drove towards the truck. At every red light she checked her phone, but by the time she arrived at Green Street, she still hadn’t received a text in return. After a few moments of consideration, she decided to open up the truck, then call to check on Joyce. As she turned into the parking lot, her heart lurched. There in its usual spot was Joyce’s car. She dialed Joyce’s number right away. The phone rang several times, then went to voicemail.
“Joyce? Where are you? I’m worried about you. Call me when you get this.” She hung up and dialed the number again as she walked towards the truck. Again the phone began to ring, but this time, she could hear it ringing nearby, not far from the truck. She followed the sound of the ringing phone towards the dumpster. “Joyce? Are you there?” With the sun just rising, the street was still filled with shadows. The eerie sound of Joyce’s phone ringing was the only thing that broke the quiet. Brenda shivered as a chill raced up her spine. She forced herself to take a step closer to the dumpster. If Joyce was hurt and couldn’t answer her, then every second would count. As she swung the lid of the dumpster open, she was struck by something heavy on the back of her head, then everything went black.
When Brenda opened her eyes again, she instantly realized her hands were tied.
“Help!” She peered through the darkness.
“Brenda?” Joyce’s voice was thin and a few inches away from her.
“Joyce!” Brenda twisted her head and saw her friend, whose hands were also bound. “Where are we? What happened?”
“I don’t know.” She blinked and tried to see clearly through the dim lighting. “I don’t know. I can’t tell. It’s too dark.”
“We have to get out of here.” Brenda wiggled until she was closer to Joyce. “Here, let me get at the rope, I might be able to untie you.”
“Hurry.” Joyce’s heart raced. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I can get it, it’s not too tight.” Brenda tugged at the rope until it pulled free.
Joyce staggered to her feet then bent down to untie Brenda’s ropes. “Let’s go, we need to get out fast, before whoever struck us comes back.”
“All right. Ouch, my head hurts.” A wave of dizziness washed over Brenda as she stood up.
The two women leaned on each other as they headed for the only door in sight.
Chapter 16
The old beat-up car pulled into the parking lot. It eased to a stop near two parked cars. The driver grabbed a handheld radio and spoke into it.
“Their cars are here, but still no response on either cell phone. The truck doesn’t look open, I’m going to check it out.” He stepped out of the car just as another vehicle squealed into the parking lot. Charlie bolted out of the car and ran straight for Detective Crackle.
“Where are they? Have you found them? Brenda still isn’t answering!”
“Not yet, I’m on my way to check the truck. Just try to stay calm, Charlie, we don’t know that anything bad has happened.” Detective Crackle took a step towards the donut truck, and in that instant, the truck exploded. The ground rocked, a few nearby windows shattered, and several other trucks took some damage from the flying pieces of metal. People in the area scattered for cover. While most ran away from the truck, Charlie lunged towards it.
“No!” Charlie rushed forward, but Detective Crackle grabbed his arm and held him back.
“Don’t, Charlie. There’s nothing you can do.”
; “Let me go, Brenda is in there!”
“Charlie, do you think she would want you to risk your life? What about Sophie?” Detective Crackle struggled to hold on to him, but Charlie broke free of his grasp and ran straight for the truck. “Charlie, wait!” Detective Crackle barked some commands into his radio, then ran after him. The truck was decimated by the blast. Charlie fell to his knees as he looked at the still-burning rubble.
“How did I let this happen?”
“Charlie, we don’t know that they were in there.” Detective Crackle rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Where else could they be? Where?” Charlie forced himself to his feet.
“Right here! I’m right here, Charlie!” Brenda ran towards him and threw her arms around him. Joyce was a few steps behind her.
“Brenda!” Charlie held her close. “Oh, thank goodness!”
Joyce stood close to the pair and gazed at the remains of the truck. Her heart slammed against her chest. As she stared at it, she remembered seeing Cooper walking out of one of the shops that was being renovated. Everything suddenly fell into place.
“It was never Pierce, it was always Cooper.” Joyce shook her head.
“Care to fill me in on all of this?” Detective Crackle wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Someone knocked us both out and tied us up! It’s a rather long story.” She frowned.
“I have time.”
“No, you don’t. You need to be arresting Cooper right this second.”
“Officers are out looking for him. After you sent me that footage, along with what you thought was being said, I pulled in a favor and asked someone to enhance it. I saw that it was Cooper. I went to speak to Mrs. Cooper to question her about her husband. She got herself into a bit of a bind with her lies and admitted that she lied about shopping with him to give him an alibi. After I found that out, I decided to check on you. At the same time Charlie called me, panicking that Brenda wasn’t answering the phone. He had found out that Cooper owned part of a company that was listed as one of the investors that purchased the shops on Green Street. He was going to turn them into restaurants. We both rushed over here, and when I saw the truck blow, I sent out an order to pick up Cooper,” Detective Crackle said. “I just need the proof that it was Cooper.”
“Well, I don’t have any.” Joyce sighed.
“But I do.” Vince walked up to them with his hands held high in the air. “I’m the one that knocked you out and tied you up.”
“What?” Joyce spun around to face him.
“Keep your hands up!” Detective Crackle drew his weapon.
“I know, I know. I look like the bad guy here. But for once, I did something right. Cooper came to me, said he wanted me to solve a problem for him.” Vince kept his hands up.
“Let me guess, the problem was us?” Joyce frowned.
“Yes, it was.”
“It looks like we can get the story directly from him.” Detective Crackle signaled towards two uniformed officers that were walking towards him. Cooper was in handcuffs between them, struggling to get out of their grasp.
“We found him around the corner, Detective,” the taller officer said.
“I am not saying anything.” Cooper shook his head.
“You don’t need to, I know everything.” Vince smirked.
“You keep your mouth shut!” Cooper demanded.
“You killed Adam. I am not a sentimental person, but we had plans together that I now have to change. Then you tried to kill me. I am not keeping anything shut.” Vince scowled.
“You traitor!” Cooper shouted at Vince. “You liar, I did nothing!”
“No, you’re the liar. I think we are even now. You were going to kill me!”
“Take him to the station.” Detective Crackle looked towards the officers holding Cooper.
“You’re making a mistake. I had nothing to do with this!” Cooper shouted as the officers led him to the waiting patrol car.
“What happened?” Detective Crackle looked at Vince.
“It turns out that he wouldn’t get his hands dirty when it came to you two. I told him that I needed to know all of the details. I guess that Adam had a real thing for Pierce’s wife and thought by exposing the truth about the bribes and the reason why he was pushing to rezone Green Street, it might get rid of Pierce and Cooper and he would have a chance with her. Adam found out that Cooper had bought those two shops on Green Street to turn them into restaurants.”
“I bet that Kathy told Adam all about the diner and the shops and the rezoning while they were snuggled up together, and Adam was furious. Cooper knew that if Adam told the other truck owners the truth about his plans, all of it would unravel. So, he did what he had to do? He thought killing him would keep him quiet?” Joyce shook her head.
“I think you’re right. Anyway, Cooper tried to convince Adam to keep quiet, but he was all in his face about morals and honesty. A bit ironic don’t you think, considering Adam was sleeping with Pierce’s wife. Apparently, Pierce didn’t care about the affairs, because it kept her out of his hair. Pierce had said to Cooper that there was nothing to worry about. Anyway, from what I understand, when Adam got on his moral high ground with Cooper, he lost his temper. Cooper grabbed the hot dog bin lid and hit him over the head.”
“What about Pete?” Detective Crackle asked.
“Pete started asking too many questions. So, Cooper killed him, too. Only this time he was more prepared and brought his gun. Cooper was furious with Pierce because of Kathy. Cooper said that Pierce wanted more money, but wouldn’t do what was necessary to get it. Pierce had nothing to do with the murders. Cooper wanted me to do his dirty work. Maybe he didn’t want to kill the two of you himself. Or maybe he just wanted to get rid of me, too. He said he needed me to take care of you two for him.”
“And you didn’t go to the cops?” Charlie took a step forward, but Detective Crackle put a hand out to restrain him.
“Of course not. Hey, it was a free payday, I wasn’t going to argue. I figured I’d take the cash, let him think I did it, then turn him in once I had the money stashed somewhere.”
“What exactly happened?” Detective Crackle asked Vince. “Did he tell you to come here?”
“Cooper said to wait for Joyce and Brenda in the truck.” Vince smirked. “Look, I wasn’t ever going to off you two, that’s not my style. But when he told me to be in that truck, that was when I knew.”
“Knew what?” Joyce stared at him.
“He was making a clean sweep. Somehow, he found out Adam and I were partners, and he must have suspected that Adam might have told me something. He didn’t want me to live either. When he said for me to be in the truck, I guessed that he was planning something that would take out all three of us. So, I hooked the camera on the truck up to my own phone and watched him set up a bomb under the truck. I didn’t know when it would go off, if it was rigged to the door, or timed, or pressure sensitive. I was going to call the police with an anonymous tip, but Joyce got here before I could. She was headed right for the truck, and I knew she was scared of me, so if she saw me, she might run for it. I didn’t want the old gal to get blown to bits, so I knocked her out and tied her up to keep her from heading for the truck when she woke up. Again, I was about to call the police, but then along came Brenda here, so I had to do the same to her. I stuck them in one of the empty shops. I know, it might not have been pleasant, but it’s more pleasant than being in that truck. I have the proof of Cooper planting the bomb. I have it all recorded.” He tilted his head towards the remains. “He expected all three of us to be in there.”
“You saved us?” Brenda stared at him.
“I guess.” He shrugged.
“If it weren’t for you, Vince, we’d be dead,” Joyce said.
“Try not to forget that this man also knocked you out! There had to be other options.” Detective Crackle put him in cuffs and turned him around to face Joyce.
“No, that wasn’t the greatest choice.” S
he rubbed the back of her head. “But he’s right. I would have run for the truck the moment I saw him.”
“And I would have, too.” Brenda pulled away from Charlie enough to look at Vince. “Thank you.”
“Vince, you’re under arrest, at least until we get this all figured out,” Detective Crackle said.
“I expected that.” Vince shrugged. “But I couldn’t let this happen.”
As Detective Crackle led Vince away to the arriving patrol cars, Brenda and Joyce looked at each other.
“I guess the truth will come out now, about Cooper and Pierce, and all the bribes and dodgy business deals. I’m sure now that this has all been revealed Pierce will have to face the consequences of his actions.” Joyce shook her head. “I mean I suspected Cooper was a shady businessman, but I can’t believe he was the murderer. I guess Pierce was telling the truth after all.”
“About one thing at least,” Brenda said.
“And Vince saved us.” Joyce widened her eyes.
“What about the truck?”
“I have good insurance.” Joyce smiled. “And we needed a new oven anyway.”
“Yes, we sure did!” Brenda laughed. “I guess that’s one good thing that came out of all of this.”
“I guess so.” Joyce sighed. She was glad the murders were solved, and that Green Street would remain open for business, but she wished it hadn’t cost two lives. For his greed, Melvin Cooper would be locked away for a long time, she was sure of it, and one day soon Green Street would return to business as usual. They would find a way to move forward, one donut at a time.
The End
***
Thank you very much for reading Deadly Deals and Donuts. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The next book in the series Fatal Festive Donuts is available now. You can sign up for my cozy mystery newsletter to be notified of my latest releases so you don’t miss out on the special new release price at
http://www.cindybellbooks.com