Counterfeit Confections

by Jessica Beck

  “Let’s see, there’s defamation of character and loss of livelihood, and that’s just the start. Once my attorney gets through with you, you’ll be lucky to be able to afford to buy a donut, let alone run a stand like this.”

  “It’s a full shop, and I doubt you’ll be able to make anything stick. I’m sure my mother’s attorneys can shut yours down.”

  She sneered at me. “Aren’t you a spoiled little girl, running to your mommy when the mean lady threatens you.”

  “You’d better believe I am,” I said. “Now, if you’re not here to buy anything, I have customers waiting outside.”

  It was true, too. Three of my regulars were standing outside, no doubt afraid to come in given the volume of Maxine’s threats.

  “You haven’t heard the last of this,” she said as she turned toward the door.

  I decided that while I had her there, I might as well ask her something, though I doubted there was one chance in a thousand that she’d actually answer my question. “Maxine, I’m curious about something. Where were you between the hours of six and seven p.m. last night?”

  Maxine whirled around and faced me. “I had to tell the police, but I’m under no obligation to say anything to you. Go bark at the moon, donut lady.”

  Once Maxine was gone, George Morris, our mayor and one of the folks standing outside waiting to get in, came in and asked, “What was that all about? Please tell me that wasn’t just another satisfied customer.”

  “What can I say? The lady was a little upset that I didn’t have any pumpkin donuts on the menu today,” I told him.

  “Sure, that’s all it was.” George took a step closer. “Suzanne, are you okay?”

  “Right as rain, besides the fact that our flip house burned down last night, with someone in the basement at the time.”

  “I heard,” George said. “I’m sure the chief will get to the bottom of it soon enough.”

  “The police chief or the fire chief?” I asked him.

  “Harley’s a good fire chief, but he’s no detective,” George said. “I’m talking about Chief Grant.”

  “I know he’s good,” I said.

  “Does that mean that you’re not going to dig into what happened?” the mayor asked me.

  “What do you think, George?” I asked.

  “I think it’s a silly question. Well, if there’s anything I can do, just say the word.”

  “What can I get you today, Mr. Mayor?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

  “I’ll take a dozen sour cream donuts and a cup of coffee,” he said.

  “Do you want to eat them here, or is your order to go?” I asked him with a grin.

  “Funny, Suzanne. The council’s not happy with me for keeping them waiting yesterday, and I’m trying to push something through one of the council’s infernal committees, so I thought I’d soften them up with some of your treats first.”

  “My guess is that you’re going to need more than these,” I said as I boxed up the requested treats.

  “We’ll see. Never underestimate the power of the donut,” George said with a broad smile.

  “I haven’t yet,” I said. I put an extra donut in the box, got him some coffee, and made change from the twenty-dollar bill he’d offered me. “Is that it?”

  “For now,” the mayor said. “Keep me posted, okay?”

  “I’ll do my best, but it might take me a while to get back to you.”

  “I don’t mind that. Just don’t forget me,” George said.

  “I don’t see how that’s even possible,” I replied. I was more upset about the confrontation with Maxine than I let on. I knew Momma’s lawyers were powerful, so I tried not to let that part of it worry me, but I hated the idea of having my name associated with what she was about to accuse me of. I’d ask Momma about it later, but for now, it was time to sell the treats I’d worked so hard to create, something I loved to do.

  If Maxine decided to pursue a lawsuit against me, I had a feeling I’d be able to weather the storm. Maybe her threats were good news. If she thought we were getting close, the real estate agent might believe that threatening me with legal action would get me to back down.

  How little she knew me.

  If anything, it made me even more resolved to find the person who had killed Curtis Mason, because there was no way I believed he’d died starting that fire, no matter how it might have looked to the rest of the world.

  Chapter 18

  “MOMMA, I’M SO GLAD to see you,” I said when my mother walked into Donut Hearts a little after nine. “As a matter of fact, I was just getting ready to call you.”

  “What a coincidence. I have two things to discuss with you myself. First of all, now that the flip house is gone, we need to come up with something to occupy our husbands.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Something productive, I mean. They were so excited about the project that I feel we need to find another one for them.”

  “I’m not sure Jake is interested,” I said, relaying our conversation from the night before.

  “That’s too bad,” Momma said. “Was that why you wanted to speak with me?”

  “No, it’s about something else entirely. Maxine Halliday came into the shop first thing this morning and started threatening me.”

  My mother’s maternal instincts kicked in at once. Her gaze narrowed and her voice hardened as she said, “Tell me what happened.”

  “She said she was going to sue me for giving her name to the police. Maxine said I was going to get hit with two or three lawsuits before the day was over.”

  “That’s complete and utter nonsense,” Momma said. “Give me two minutes, Suzanne.” She looked around the donut shop and saw that several people were trying to pretend not to be listening in on our conversation and failing pretty miserably at it. “May I use your kitchen?”

  “By all means,” I said.

  I was sure that it wasn’t my imagination when I saw several disappointed faces. That was just too bad. Enough of my life was on display running the donut shop in the normal course of events. I had no desire to share any of the rest of it with the world. I couldn’t understand why some people felt the compulsion to broadcast every thought that ever raced through their heads to the rest of the world, let alone every bite they took or every time anything of even vague significance happened to them. I knew I was in the minority feeling that way, but that was okay with me. When it came right down to it, I was just a simple donutmaker who liked to live her own life without being under the scrutiny of the ever-narrowing focus of the rest of the world.

  Momma came out a bit more than two minutes later, not that I was watching the clock. Who was I kidding? I had stared at it so hard I was surprised it didn’t break from the intensity of my attention. After all, we were talking about my future here. A lawsuit, no matter how frivolous it might be, would wipe me out in legal fees alone, and that was even if I won. “What did you find out?” I asked her.

  “Don’t worry about a lawsuit. It’s been taken care of.”

  “What did you do, Momma?”

  “I made it go away. Isn’t that enough?” she asked a little smugly.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to need more than that,” I said.

  “I spoke with Maxine and reminded her of a few things, so she graciously decided not to pursue it. Is that enough?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said.

  “You don’t seem that pleased. Isn’t that the outcome you were hoping for?” Momma clearly looked confused by my reserved reaction to her news.

  “It’s not that. I’m grateful as always. I just don’t want you doing anything you’re not comfortable with doing on my behalf.”

  “Suzanne, my dear, never underestimate the power of a mother hen protecting one of her chicks,” Momma said with a gentle smile.

  “You must have some kind of clout with the woman. She seemed so determined when she was here earlier.”

  “If you must know, I reminded her of a few deals she made in
the past that were a little more than merely ethical violations,” Momma said.

  “How did you know about them?” I asked, honestly curious about my mother’s underground news network.

  “I’ve been in the business of buying and selling real estate in this area for a very long time. Secrets can’t help but find their way to me, and what I don’t hear about directly, I am able to discover without a great deal of effort. That brings me to the second reason for my visit.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I have news about both Lionel Henderson III and Maxine Halliday. Which would you like to hear first?”

  “Hang on a second,” I said. “Does anyone need a refill, or anything else?” I asked my customers.

  When everyone there shook their heads, I turned to Momma. “Let’s step into the kitchen.”

  “But what if a customer comes in?”

  “I can prop the kitchen door open. If I’m needed up front, I’ll know it.”

  Momma agreed, so we walked back into the kitchen together. From experience, I knew that I could block the door so that I could see the front door as well as the register. It wasn’t perfect, since I liked to let the world know that I was there and ready for anyone who might need anything, but it would have to do, at least for the moment.

  “Okay, I figure we have two or three minutes before I have to go back up front,” I said. “Can I get the short versions of what you were able to find out about each of them?”

  “Of course,” Momma said. “First of all, Lionel Henderson is in some pretty deep financial trouble. He overextended himself at exactly the wrong time, and if he doesn’t come up with a substantial amount of money in the next eight days, he’s going to lose everything he owns, including the shirt on his back. He’s desperate for money, and several folks in the real estate business know it.”

  “Then he could have turned to counterfeiting to try to bail himself out,” I said. “That’s certainly worth looking into. What else have you got?”

  “Maxine opened her new office space assuming the market would continue to go up, but as everyone now knows, it’s gone stagnant at the moment. She, too, needs money. I think that was the reason she threatened you with a lawsuit. She hoped you would settle to make it go away and help pay her rent for the next few months. The fact that she chose to go after you, knowing that I would do whatever it took to defend you, shows just how desperate she is.”

  “So, both of our remaining suspects have plenty of motive to try to create some sudden income,” I said. “The next question is, which one of them had the ability?”

  “I’m afraid that’s not the question at all,” Momma said, gently correcting me. “With the advent of color laser printers, reproduction isn’t the difficult part. It’s the paper that’s impossible to find. Discover which one of them has access to that, and you’re on your way to finding Curtis Mason’s killer.”

  “Do you believe he was murdered, too?” I asked her.

  “Suzanne, I’ve never lost anything betting on your instincts. If you feel so strongly about it, then I can’t believe otherwise unless I’m faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The next question is what are we going to do about it?”

  “Jake and I need to do a little digging after I close the shop,” I said.

  “What should Phillip and I do in the meantime?”

  I didn’t know how to put it delicately, so I chose to be more direct than I would have liked. “Momma, if all four of us show up on someone’s doorstep, there’s no way they are going to tell us anything. You need to trust Jake and me and let us handle it.”

  She protested. “You seem to keep forgetting that Phillip is a trained law enforcement officer, too.”

  “I don’t, so anytime you want to, you can stop reminding me,” I said, doing my best to mollify her. “But Jake has experience well beyond that of any sheriff or police chief. I’m basically just tagging along with him on these investigations.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, young lady. Your contributions are always crucial to solving the cases you investigate, and you know it. False modesty doesn’t become you.”

  “Okay, I’m a whiz-bang detective too, just not in the way that Jake is,” I admitted with a smile.

  “That’s why it’s so important that you have each other.” She looked around and said, “My, but those are a great many dirty dishes.”

  “I’m working alone today,” I told her, not getting into my reasons for sending Emma home. It was a family matter, not between my mother and me, but between my assistant and me. There was no need to air our dirty laundry in front of anyone else.

  “I have an idea. What if Phillip and I come by when you are closing and clean the shop for you? It will free up your time and give us something productive to do as well.”

  I touched her arm lightly. “Momma, as much as I appreciate the offer, you don’t know where anything goes, and I’m pretty particular about my kitchen. I can’t even tell you how long it took me to teach Emma where I liked everything to be stored.”

  “I have no doubt about that,” she said. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

  “I’ll tell you what. If we’re able to run anything down, we’ll bring you in to help. You don’t need to stay on high alert or anything, but just knowing that you’re there will be a comfort to both of us.” I knew that it wasn’t much, but it was the best I could do, given the circumstances.

  “Very well,” Momma said, doing her utmost to put on a brave face. “We’ll await your call.”

  There was something about the glimmer in my mother’s eyes that made me ask, “Momma, you two aren’t going to go rogue on us and investigate without us, are you?”

  “Suzanne, where on earth do you ever get these ideas?” she asked, feigning hurt feelings.

  I knew her too well to let it go at that. “You didn’t answer me. I want you to swear to me right here and now that you’re not going to do anything without running it by Jake and me first. Promise me, Momma.”

  She was about to say something when the front door chimed, and I saw that I had a pair of new customers.

  “You’d better take care of them.”

  My mother appeared to be just a little too smug about it. I didn’t move a muscle as I said, “Not until you promise me.”

  “They may get tired of waiting and just leave,” Momma pointed out.

  “That’s all on you then, isn’t it? I’ve got all the time in the world.”

  One of the men who’d come in kept looking around, and finally he asked one of my other customers, “Is this place even open?”

  “Suzanne,” Momma said curtly.

  “Momma,” I replied, not moving an inch.

  One of the men turned to the other one. “Come on, Joe. It looks like nobody’s home.”

  “Very well. I promise,” Momma said quickly.

  “Thank you,” I told her, and then I hurried out front. I really hated the idea of losing two customers, but my mother’s pledge had been more important to me than even that. “Excuse the delay, gentlemen. I had to take care of something in back.”

  “That’s okay,” one of them said as he kept heading toward the door. “We don’t have time to wait.”

  “How about if I throw in a few free donut holes for your trouble?” I asked.

  “Come on, Joe, we’re not in that big a hurry,” the other one said to his impatient companion.

  “I guess not,” Joe said.

  After I filled their orders and threw in the free treats, an older regular customer of mine named Travis approached. “I had to wait for my next donut order, too. What do I get for free?”

  “Travis, you’ve been coming here for years, and your order is always the same: one small coffee and one bear claw. Are you trying to tell me that it’s a coincidence that you suddenly want something else, too, the second you heard me giving away donut holes?”

  “What can I say?” he asked with a grin. “Those donut holes look even better when they’re
free.”

  I had to laugh at his response. “I can’t argue with that.” I glanced at the clock and saw that my main rush was over. At times I’d thought about closing the shop at ten instead of eleven, so if today was typical at all, I’d end up having more leftovers than I liked. Grabbing a plastic glove, I put two donut holes on a napkin and shoved them across the counter to Travis.

  He took them with a broad smile. “Thank you kindly, ma’am. Don’t you want my extra order, too?”

  “Did you really want anything besides those holes?” I asked him with a smile.

  “Not really,” he admitted, “but a promise is a promise.”

  “Don’t worry, you’re off the hook.” I turned to the rest of the crowd. “Anybody else care for a few free donut holes?”

  Every hand in the shop went up. After I gave everyone a pair of holes, I came back to find Momma smiling at me. “That was smart of you.”

  “What, giving away my treats instead of selling them? I didn’t think you’d approve.”

  “On the contrary, I think you do a marvelous job here,” she said. I loved it when she praised me, especially when it was unconditional. “Those holes are simply scraps from the donutmaking process, aren’t they?”

  “Yes. I don’t charge much for them, and they’re a good way for my customers to try out different flavors without committing to an entire donut.”

  “See? I told you that you were smart. They taste a hole and then they buy a donut, or I imagine at least most of them do, I wager.”

  “I hate to turn down any praise that I can get, but the truth is that I didn’t do it from a marketing standpoint. I just thought it would be a nice thing to do. Sometimes I like to do things with no obvious gain for me. If it makes me happy, and sharing my treats definitely qualifies, then I do it without giving it too much thought.”

  “You have a kind heart, Suzanne.”

  “What can I say? I got it from my parents,” I answered.

  Momma’s eyes teared up a bit, and as she dabbed at the corners with a linen handkerchief, she said, “I’m afraid allergy season is upon us in full force.”