Deep Fried Homicide (The Donut Shop Mysteries)

by Jessica Beck

  Chief Martin pulled up in his squad car, his lights on, but the siren silent. He quickly got out and walked over to me, so I opened the Jeep door.

  “Have you seen anything else since we spoke?”

  “I haven’t seen a thing,” I said.

  “Wait right here,” he ordered.

  “Shouldn’t you have backup?” I asked, worried what might happen to the police chief if he went in alone and someone bad was still inside. I’d never be able to face my mother again if anything I did caused her fiancé harm.

  “Like I said before, we’re short-handed, but Officer Grant is on his way. In the meantime, I’m going to have a look around.”

  The chief pulled out a large flashlight and held it next to his service revolver, which was pointed toward the door as he approached it.

  I could hear my heat beating as I waited for the chief to come back out, or worse yet, hear the sound of a gun going off.

  When Officer Grant showed up on foot beside my window, I nearly had a heart attack.

  “Where did you come from?” I asked him, trying to catch my breath.

  “I parked in front of Grace’s place,” he said. “Where’s the chief?” Officer Grant asked as he looked around for his boss.

  “He’s inside alone.”

  “Wait here,” Grant said, and then he approached the house himself.

  Four minutes later, the two men came out together, but their guns weren’t holstered, and their flashlights were still emitting a pair of blinding lights. They both nodded in my direction as the chief beckoned me over to them, so I got out of the Jeep and approached them.

  “We’re going to take a quick sweep of the park,” Chief Martin said. “But before we do, we want to make sure that you’re safe. Go inside and lock the door behind you. Suzanne, don’t let anyone in until we come back. That’s an order.”

  “That’s not going to be a problem,” I said as I hurried back to my Jeep, started it, and then quickly pulled it into my parking space. After that, it was a quick sprint to my front door. I couldn’t wait to obey the last part of that order, though I normally didn’t take well to getting instructions from anyone, let alone the chief of police. After I deadbolted the front door, I finally allowed myself a second to catch my breath. It appeared that I was safe, at least for the moment. After I took a second to collect myself, I looked around the entire house, but nothing seemed out of place. I certainly didn’t own anything valuable, so why had someone gone to the trouble of breaking in? Had they actually broken anything, though? I looked at the lock, but it appeared to be undamaged. If that were the case, then how had they gotten in? Was it possible that I’d forgotten to lock the front door on my way out after all? No, I distinctly remembered bolting it in place behind me as I’d left. If they hadn’t gotten in that way, then how had they gained access? I looked around a little more thoroughly, and that’s when I noticed that it was cooler in Momma’s bedroom than it should have been. Pulling the curtain aside, I saw that one window pane was neatly punched out, allowing someone access into my home.

  I was still studying the broken window when the two police officers started knocking on the front door. I opened it for them after they both identified themselves, and then I said, “I found out how he got in,” leading them to the broken glass.

  “It looks like you surprised someone in the middle of a burglary attempt,” the chief said. “Somebody must have known your schedule at the donut shop and figured that you wouldn’t be home. Why are you here at this time of morning, anyway?”

  “Emma and Sharon had things under control, so I decided to come home and take a nap before I went to collect Jake, not that there’s any chance of that happening now.”

  “Suzanne, if you’d like, I can patch that window for you until you get it replaced,” the chief said.

  “Need any help with it, Chief?” Officer Grant asked him.

  “Thanks for offering, but I really need you out on patrol,” he said.

  “Happy to do it,” Officer Grant said, and then he winked at me before he left. “Don’t worry, Suzanne. They won’t come back again anytime soon.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I said, not even thinking about that possibility before he’d mentioned it.

  Once Officer Grant was gone, the chief said, “I know that there’s some plywood around here somewhere. I remember seeing it when we were packing your mother’s things.”

  “Chief, she doesn’t have to know about this, does she?” I asked him.

  “Suzanne, your mother and I don’t keep secrets from each other. As a matter of fact, I called her the second we hung up when you dialed 911. Actually, I’m a little surprised that she’s not here yet.”

  At that moment, I heard the front door open. “Suzanne, Phillip, where are you?”

  I had to smile, even though I had little reason to at the moment. I hadn’t wanted my mother to worry about me, but now that she was at the cottage, I had to admit that I felt a lot better about her being around again.

  “I never should have moved out in the first place,” Momma said once the two of us were seated on the sofa in the living room. The police chief was busy patching the window, and we’d decided to give him some room to work, so we’d moved out into the living room.

  “That’s crazy,” I said. “If you’d been here, this could have ended up being much worse than it turned out to be.”

  “But Suzanne, if I’d been here, no one would have dared try to rob the place.”

  I laughed a little softly before I replied. “Momma, nobody knows how fierce you are more than I do, but you probably wouldn’t discourage a thief from hitting this place if they’d already made up their mind that we were a target.”

  “Nevertheless, I’m honestly beginning to regret my decision to leave. The three of us would have found a way to cohabitate.”

  I didn’t even want to think about the image of Momma, Jake, and me living under the same roof. Sometimes the cottage felt cramped with just my mother and me. Adding my boyfriend to the mix would have just served to escalate things that much more. “Jake’s going to be here in a few hours,” I said. “Do you honestly believe that I’m not safe with him, even if he does have a wounded arm?”

  “No, I know that he’ll take good care of you,” she conceded.

  “And I’ll take good care of him, too,” I added softly.

  “Of course you will,” she said softly. “I know I’m being silly, but I’m your mother, so I’m allowed.”

  “Then you’re not moving back in?” I asked her gently.

  She laughed, which was a very good sign. “I’m not out of here for a day yet and already you’re trying to keep me away.”

  “You know better than that,” I said as I hugged her. “You’re welcome anytime.”

  “I appreciate that,” she replied.

  Chief Martin came out of the bedroom with a smile on his face. “That should hold until you can get it fixed. It won’t be long, because I called a friend of mine. I hope you don’t mind. He’ll be here in two hours.”

  I glanced at the clock and saw that it would give me until seven to take a quick nap. “I appreciate you taking care of it for me. Thanks.”

  “Thank you, Phillip,” Momma added.

  He smiled. “You’re both most welcome. It was my pleasure. In the meantime, I’m going to hang around until he gets here.”

  “I’ll keep you company,” Momma said.

  “As much as I appreciate both of your offers, I’m going to be fine on my own now.” I said it firmly, without a hint of wavering in my voice.

  Chief Martin started to say something in rebuttal when Momma shook her head slightly. He clammed right up as Momma stood. “We understand,” my mother said. “You’ll call if you need us though, right?”

  “Of course I will,” I said.

  “Let’s go, Phillip,” Momma said firmly.

  “But…”

  My mother no more than glanced at him, but the police chief decided that whatever h
e’d been about to say wasn’t going to be worth it. “I’ll be nearby if you need me, Suzanne,” he said as they started to go.

  “Thanks, and thank you for coming so promptly.”

  “Happy to do it,” he said, and then both of them were gone.

  I started up the stairs for my nap, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be so far away from the door in case something else happened. After grabbing a blanket from the closet, I decided it might be best just to curl up on the couch, positive that I wouldn’t be able to nod off after what had just happened.

  It turned out that yet again, I was wrong.

  The next thing I knew someone was banging on the front door, announcing himself as the window guy there to fix things up for me.

  It appeared that I’d managed to fall asleep after all.

  Half an hour later, the window was as good as new. When I’d tried to pay the man for his work, he shook off my request. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s already been taken care of.”

  “Nonsense. I can’t let the chief pay for my window,” I said.

  “He didn’t,” the repairman answered with a smile. “Your mother took care of it. That’s why I was so late. The two of them couldn’t stop arguing over who was going to pick up the tab. I offered to let them both pay me, but my suggestion was blatantly ignored,” he said with a grin. “Anyway, you’re as good as new.”

  I thanked him and let him out. As I did, my cell phone rang.

  What a surprise. It was Jake!

  “Hey, I didn’t expect to hear from you until this afternoon,” I said as I locked the front door.

  “I’ve got great news. At least I hope it’s great news.”

  “Tell me,” I said, not even trying to kill my smile. His good mood was infectious, though I didn’t know how he could be so cheerful after being shot so recently.

  “My doctor came by early, and he’s discharging me right now. I know we agreed that you could come by and pick me up later, but is there any chance that you can leave the donut shop and come get me now?”

  “I’m on my way, if you don’t mind that I smell like donuts.”

  He laughed. “Mind it? Are you crazy? That’s just an added bonus, if you ask me.”

  “Then I’ll see you soon,” I said. After splashing a little water on my face and running a comb through my hair, I was out the door.

  It felt odd knowing that when I came back to the cottage, I’d have Jake with me.

  A part of me was nervous, but mostly I just couldn’t wait to have him there.

  I was surprised to find Officer Terry Hanlan with Jake when I went to his room at the hospital. The state police inspectors were clearly conferring about something in earnest, and both men had serious expressions on their faces. Jake was still on the bed, but he was sitting up, fully clothed and obviously ready to get out of there.

  “Hey, guys. Am I interrupting something?” I asked as I knocked on the door.

  “No, I was just leaving,” Terry said. On his way out, he paused beside me and added, “Take good care of him, Suzanne.”

  “I’ll do the best that I can,” I said.

  “I’m sure that you will. I’ll see you soon,” Terry added, but he was gone before I had a chance to ask him what he’d meant by that.

  Jake forced a smile when I looked at him. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. I’m really glad that you could make it, but I’m beginning to feel bad about making you abandon your donut shop in the middle of a workday.”

  “I was already home,” I admitted. “Sharon and Emma had things under control. When I realized that they didn’t need me, I took off. What did Terry mean when he said that he’d see me soon?”

  “We can talk about that later.” Jake stared at me a moment before he spoke again. “What happened, Suzanne? You’re not having second thoughts about having me come stay at the cottage, are you?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “It’s going to be wonderful having you there.”

  “Then what is it? I know you well enough to know that something’s not right.”

  I shrugged. “This is clearly one of the downsides of dating a police inspector,” I said. “I can’t get away with anything.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “Only if you agree to tell me what you and Terry were discussing earlier,” I countered. I didn’t want to bring up the break-in before we had a chance to get settled in, but if I was going to have to share my bad news, then so was Jake. We needed to make a few new rules right out of the gate if we were going to make this thing work.

  “Tell you what. Let’s save it all for the ride back to April Springs, shall we?”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal,” I said as I grabbed his bag. “Now, what do we have to do to break you out of this joint?”

  “Everything’s already been taken care of,” he said. “I’ve just been waiting for you.”

  “Not long, I hope,” I said as he started to get up.

  “No, not long at all.”

  “Just what do you think you’re doing, young man?” a nurse asked Jake as she poked her head into his room.

  “I’m breaking out, Sally,” he said with a grin.

  “Not without one last ride, you’re not,” she said in a commanding voice. “Sit down, mister. I’ll be back in two minutes with your wheelchair.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I don’t need it,” Jake protested.

  “Inspector, what you think you need and what you’re going to get just may be two entirely different things,” she said to him, and then she turned to me. “Are you strong enough to keep this man in line while he’s recovering?”

  “You’d better believe it. He doesn’t stand a chance,” I said with a smile.

  The nurse sized me up for a moment, and then she nodded her approval. “No, I suppose he doesn’t. Don’t let him overdo it, and make sure he keeps that arm in a sling at all times. Are we clear?”

  “I understand completely,” I said.

  “Hey, I’m right here, people,” Jake said. “Need I remind you both that I’ve been taking care of myself long before I met either one of you?”

  “Isn’t he cute?” Sally asked. “I love it when they think they know better than we do. You and I know differently, don’t we?”

  “We do what we can,” I said.

  “Can I please just get out of here?” Jake asked, clearly frustrated by our lack of progress in leaving.

  “Since you said please, I’ll go get your ride,” the nurse said cheerfully.

  Once Sally was gone, Jake looked at me sullenly. “You’re not going to try to order me around once we get to the cottage, are you?”

  “As long as you do as you’ve been told, we’ll be fine,” I said. “Otherwise, I’m not making any promises.”

  “I was afraid of that,” he said, a little more sullenly than I would have liked. “Suzanne, I truly appreciate you taking care of me, but you should know from the start that I won’t be babied. Can you accept that?”

  “I won’t baby you, Jake, but you have to let me do my job.”

  “What job is that?” he asked me with a grin.

  “It’s mostly just making sure that you get better, and that means that you need to take care of yourself and not overdo it.”

  “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises.” He took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “To be honest with you, I’ve been used to doing things my own way for a long time, and I have always had a problem with authority figures.”

  “Why on earth did you ever become a cop, then?” I asked out of honest curiosity.

  “The truth is that I’ve always hated bullies. Plus, I’ve been pretty good at solving puzzles since I was a kid. It seemed like a perfect match for me, once I learned to hold my tongue when I had to.”

  “I see where that could be a valuable skill to have,” I said with the ghost of a grin.

  “Well, it has been so far,” he replied.

  Sally returned with the wheelchair, and Jake said in mock exasp
eration, “Finally.”

  She pretended to back out of the room. “If this isn’t a good time for you, I can always come back after my break.”

  “No, this is perfect,” Jake said quickly.

  “I thought it might be. Now, let’s get you loaded up.”

  “I meant what I said before. I can walk just fine, Sally. You said so yourself this morning.”

  “Officer Bishop, once you leave these grounds, you can dance away for all I care, but until then, I’m rolling you to the curb.”

  “I might as well give up then,” he said. “Let’s not dawdle, though.”

  Sally was as good as her word. She rolled Jake through the hospital and out the front door. The nurse waited for me as I retrieved my Jeep and pulled it around to pick my boyfriend up. Jake stood on his own, not without a bit of a bobble, but I wasn’t about to help him into the Jeep, and neither was Sally. Once he was safely belted into the passenger seat, Sally leaned forward and patted his hand as she said tenderly, “Take care of yourself, and try not to get shot anymore, okay?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  I started the Jeep, but Sally said, “Hang on a second before you go, Suzanne.” She walked around to my side and handed me a sheaf of papers. “You need to read these when you get him to where you’re going. Everything’s laid out there, but if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me, day or night.” She handed me a slip of paper as well. “I don’t usually do this, but this is my cell phone number. I’m available to you around the clock, so don’t be afraid to get in touch, okay?”

  “Thanks,” I said as I took the number from her. “You don’t have to do this, you know?”

  “My dad was a cop,” she said softly. “I really do.”

  “Got it,” I said.

  As Sally walked back to the curb, I asked Jake, “So, are you ready for your big adventure?”

  “You bet I am. How about you?”