“If you had a gun all along, why didn’t you just shoot Gordon?” she asked.
“This was my backup plan,” Benny said. “I never expected you to figure out how I did it.”
“If we hadn’t had heard of your laundry robot, we might not have,” Heather said.
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Jung said, acting brave. “You would have caught this lowlife one way or another.”
“We know how you did it,” Heather said. “We’re just not sure why.”
“Why?” Benny said. “Because I was tired of doing research. I wanted to move up in the company. But Gordon kept getting the promotions. With him out of the way, it was my turn.”
“So, it was just jealousy and greed?” Heather asked.
“I deserved a promotion,” he said. “Look at how good I am with my ideas. I carried out a near-perfect murder. I choose where we should go for our team building and figured out exactly how to kill him.”
“It wasn’t perfect though,” Jung said. “We figured out it was you.”
“How was I supposed to know there were private investigators at the donut shop?” he said. “If the police were delayed just a little more, I could have taken my tools away and carried out my plans to destroy the evidence. I’ll just have to do it now. After I take care of you.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Heather said.
An evil smile crossed Benny’s face. “I just thought of a way I can,” he said.
He cocked the gun and held it closer to Jung’s head. “Shoot her with your arrow,” he said. “Now. Or you’re dead.”
Heather was about to talk when Jung threw down his bow and arrow.
“We’re most likely dead anyway,” he said. “And there’s no way I’m hurting Heather.”
“Fine,” Benny grumbled. “Go stand next to her.”
Jung moved closer to her and Benny waved his gun near them both.
“Now get on your knees.”
They obeyed his command. Heather kept looking for something that she could do to save them.
“I’ll just have to shoot you both and leave the evidence on Janet,” he said. “I think I’ll let her take the fall.”
However, Benny never got the chance to shoot because something else fell. A large tree branch was dropped on him and he fell down, pinned under it. Heather moved quickly and grabbed the loose gun.
Then, she looked up to see who her rescuers were. Maricela and Amy waved at her from the tree branches. They hurried down. Heather hugged her bestie.
“Thank you both for saving our lives,” Heather said.
Maricela held her hand out to help Jung up to his feet.
“I love you,” Jung said.
“What?”
“And not just because you saved my life,” he said. “But because you’re wonderful. I’ve felt this way for a long time and never knew how to tell you. But I do.”
Maricela gave him a kiss, and then she said, “You didn’t have to be so dramatic and risk your life and everything. You have just, you know, asked me out on a date.”
They both laughed. Heather and Amy smiled at each other. Then Amy faced the new couple.
“Hey lovebirds,” Amy said. “Would you two mind going and getting the police for us? We still have a killer here.”
Chapter 18
After a day of team building, though a quite different exercise that had been expected, Heather was happy to invite everyone to her house for a night of donuts and relaxation. The staff regaled Eva and Leila with the story of how the case was solved and their near-death escape.
“You can’t come so close to danger again,” Eva warned Heather. “We don’t know what we’d do without you.”
“Or your donuts,” Leila added.
They all laughed.
“Speaking of donuts,” Heather said. “Pass me another Coconut Cream Donut. It’s been a hard day. I could use one.”
They happily obliged. Then they enjoyed watching Lilly and Nicolas complete their own obstacle course.
“That was wonderful, honey,” Heather said.
“Thanks, mom,” said Lilly. “We were practicing all day.”
“I think they did more outdoor obstacles than we ended up doing,” Ken said.
“But we still did a lot of work,” said Angelica. “And we worked as a team.”
“Even if Heather did the most heavy lifting,” Maricela said. “We all helped.”
“You certainly did,” said Heather. “Besides saving my and Jung’s life there.”
“You’re welcome,” Amy chirped.
“Your ideas and support were very helpful,” said Heather. “And the evidence you found in the woods was invaluable.”
“That reminds me,” said Emily Potts. “What was the thread for?”
“I can answer that,” Ryan said. “He’s been cooperating after he was arrested.”
“What choice does he have?” Amy asked. “Not only did he kill Gordon Masters, but we saw him try to kill two more people.”
“He hung the thread up as a low-key alarm system. If he saw it move, then he knew that someone was coming closer to where he was supposed to be standing. He meant to bring something in himself but overlooked it. That’s why he took it from the craft store team,” said Ryan.
“And it worked out for him because Tessa thought it was a spider web and didn’t go to where he was supposed to working. If she had, she would have seen the robot and the jig would have been up,” said Heather.
They all considered it.
“This wasn’t what we expected to do today,” Maricela said. “But it’s actually more fitting.”
“I agree,” said Jung. “We got to help on a case with someone we greatly admire.”
“We’re going to miss you,” Jung said.
“I don’t know who you think is going to fill your shoes,” Maricela said.
“About that,” Heather said. “I’ve been making lists and trying to figure out how to best hire a manager.”
“Right,” said Maricela. “You wanted to know all the qualities and responsibilities that the manager would need.”
“I know,” said Heather. “But I think the answer had been right under my nose the whole time.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you would be the perfect manager,” Heather said. “You know the store and the staff inside out. Everyone respects you. You have a great business sense to begin with and have been taking classes to improve it. You’re honest and driven. You’ve been with me the longest, and I don’t know what Donut Delights would be without you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Maricela said, trying to keep happy tears in check.
“If you want the job, it’s yours,” Heather said.
“But remember,” Amy said. “It’s not all fun and donuts.”
“I’m not afraid to work hard for this place. It’s like a second home to me,” she said.
“But you’d also be in charge of a family member and a new boyfriend,” Amy said. “That could be challenging.”
“Oh, I think I can keep everyone in line,” Maricela said.
“Watch out for the rolling pin!” Angelica joked.
They all laughed.
Then, Maricela said, “I’d be honored to accept the position.”
“I’m so glad,” Heather said. “And I know you’ll be wonderful at it, boss.”
Also by Susan Gillard
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To each and every one of my Amazing readers,
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Stay Curious,
Susan Gillard
About the Author
Susan Gillard is a lover of all things mysterious. She grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where her love of murder mystery novels grew.
Now she travels the country in search of the best baked goods and engaging with the locals who often become the inspiration for her wacky characters
Get In touch with Susan
suangillard.com
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