Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 17 - Old Fashioned Crooks (11 page)

“I’ll be here,”
he said, and then he silently faded into the darkness.
 
The man was stealthy; I had to give him
credit for that.

I didn’t even
have to open the door for Emma.
 
She
must have been waiting for Tyler to leave, because the moment he was gone, she
unlocked the front door and was joining me.
 
“What did he want?
 
Has there been a development about
Rick’s murder case?”

I hated to
disappoint her, but there was nothing else that I could do.
 
“That wasn’t a professional call; it was
more of a personal nature.”

That got her
interest immediately.
 
“Does Jake
know that he has a rival?”

“It’s not
that
personal,” I said with a
laugh.
 
“Officer Tyler was a little
hard on me yesterday, but to his credit, he came by and apologized.”

“So, all is good
between you two?” Emma asked.

“I wouldn’t go
that far.
 
After all, he turned down
my offer of free coffee and donuts.
 
He said that he didn’t like either one of them.”

“You know my
philosophy; I don’t trust a man who won’t taste our donuts or drink our
coffee,” Emma said rather sternly.

“As much as I
appreciate your point of view, not everyone has to like what we do here.”

“Maybe not, but I
still think that they should,” Emma said.
 
“Is he working on Rick’s case today?”

“Actually, there’s
some good news on that front.
 
Jake actually
managed to get us a reprieve of sorts.
 
We’ve got until tomorrow morning before Officer Tyler officially takes
over.
 
Until then, Officer Grant is
taking over for the chief.”

“Chief Martin is
really done, then?” Emma asked me.
 
“I can’t imagine him ever doing anything else.
 
I hope that he doesn’t have any second
thoughts about his decision.”

“I don’t think
that he will.
 
He seemed pretty sure
of himself to me,” I said.

“I’m really happy
that Jake is helping out,” Emma said after a few moments.
 
“Not that I don’t have all of the faith
in the world in you and Grace.
 
I
didn’t mean any offense by it.”

“That’s good,
because I didn’t take any,” I answered quickly.
 
“I’m the first person to admit that Grace
and I need him for part of our list of suspects.
 
We’re pretty good with normal, everyday
folks, but some of your former boyfriend’s acquaintances are a tad bit too
dangerous for our tastes.”

“I couldn’t agree
with you more,” Emma said.
 
“I kept
asking Rick why he chose to hang out with some of the folks he tended to
gravitate toward, but I never got a straight answer out of him.
 
You know, I still can’t believe that
he’s gone, and in front of half the town at that.”

“It was a bold
move, killing him in front of so many witnesses,” I said.
 
“I’m still not sure exactly how the
killer managed to do that.”

“Maybe whoever
did it was invisible,” she said.

That idea, as
silly as it might have sounded on the face of it, managed to strike a chord
with me.
 
“Maybe that’s exactly what
happened.”

“Suzanne, I was just
joking.”

“Be that as it
may, it could very well explain how it happened.”

“Now I’m
confused,” Emma said as the timer went off.
 
“Rats, now I’ll never know what your
theory is.”

I laughed.
 
“Emma, I can tell you inside while we’re
working on the yeast dough.”
 
It
felt good being in the warmth of the shop again after sitting outside in the
cold.
 
The wooly worms, as well as
the almanac, had both predicted a long, cold winter for us, with lots of
snow.
 
Even if it meant a dramatic
drop in business, I was all for it.
 
The park was so lustrous and satiny with a coat of fresh snow on it that
I looked forward to an accumulation of the white stuff each and every year.

That wouldn’t be
any time soon, though.

Hopefully, before
the first snowflake of the season fell, we’d catch our killer.

Chapter 13

“Come on.
 
Don’t leave me hanging, Suzanne,” Emma said
after we were both back in the kitchen.
 
“How could a killer be invisible?”

“Well, that’s not
entirely what I meant, but it’s on the right track.
 
Think back to Spirit Night.
 
What did you see when you were out in
the park?”

“Well, a lot of folks
were dressed up in school colors and waving their foam fingers around in the
air,” she said.

“And what else?”

“Nothing much,
except a bunch of people were dressed up as ghosts.”
 
It took a second for that to sink in,
and when it did, she looked at me intently.
 
“Do you think that’s how the killer got
away with it?”

“What better disguise
to hide behind than a full sheet?” I asked.
 
“I recall that it was tough even
figuring out if the ghosts were men or women.
 
Any further positive identification than
that was impossible.”

“Do you think
that someone planned Rick’s murder all along, or was it just spontaneous?”

“It was probably a
little of both, if I’m right,” I said as I uncovered the dough and started
prepping it for the next step.

“How is that even
possible?” Emma asked, ignoring her workload for the moment.

“I believe that
the killer was planning the crime all along, saw a way to wear a disguise, and jumped
at the opportunity to use a sheet and blend in with the crowd.
 
You said yourself that you were supposed
to meet Rick the night he was murdered, but you couldn’t find him.
 
What if he was being hidden by a sheet
himself?”

“Or maybe he was
in the bonfire all along,” Emma said soberly.

“I don’t think so,”
I said.
 
“I’m betting that it
happened just before the fire chief lit it up.
 
If you hadn’t seen Rick’s body there,
someone else surely would have.”

“Why would he
hide behind a sheet in the first place, if he knew that I was out in the crowd
looking for him?” Emma asked me.

“As hard as it
might be for you to hear, that may be the very reason that he did it,” I
said.
 
“What if he was up to
something that he didn’t want to be discovered doing, and the killer took
advantage of the situation and murdered him in complete anonymity?”

“If that’s the
case, then we’ll probably never find out
who
did it,” Emma said, clearly deflated by the prospect.

“Don’t be so sure
about that.
 
There are a great many
folks working to uncover the killer.
 
I’ve got a great deal of confidence that someone’s going to do it.”

“I just hope
you’re right,” she said.

If I were being
truthful about it, I had to admit that I did, too.
 
I knew that a great many murders went
unsolved by professionals, but I had to believe that we had a chance to figure
this one out, too, or why else were we even bothering?
 
I couldn’t wait to share my insights with
Jake and Grace to get their opinions of my scenario.
 
After all, at the very least it might
eliminate some of the folks we were looking at as potential killers.

It wasn’t to be,
though.
 

Fate would find a
way to step in and ruin my plans yet again.

My cellphone rang
around ten that morning, and I answered it the second that I saw that it was my
best friend.
 
“Hey, what’s up, Grace?
 
You’re not on your way so soon, are
you?”
 
I liked to tease her about
coming to the donut shop and helping me work, and she’d even ventured in once
to see how we operated, but Emma hadn’t liked it, in fear that I was going to
replace her.
 
Once I’d assured her
that was never going to happen, she’d been pleased enough to have Grace there,
but it had been a one-time thing.

“That’s the problem.
 
I’ve got to go to Asheville, so I can’t
sleuth with you today.”

“What
happened?
 
Is everything all right?”

“It’s fine,” she
said, clearly annoyed by her current situation.
 
“One of our district managers two levels
above me has a sister who recently moved into the area, and my rep was supposed
to drop off a gift bag as a way of welcoming her.
 
She somehow managed to foul it up or she
just didn’t do it, so now I have to handle it myself.”

“Is that really part
of your job description?”

“No, but it will
make my boss happy, and that’s all that I care about.
 
I won’t be back in town until after six
tonight.
 
Is that too late to be of
any use to you?”

“Don’t worry
about it, Grace.
 
It will be fine.”

“Suzanne, you
aren’t thinking of doing anything without me, are you?”
 
Her question was deadly serious, a tone
of voice that wasn’t typical of Grace.

“We both know
that I can’t just stop digging,” I said after a moment’s hesitation.
 
“Hang on one second.”
 
I served a customer, made change, and
then got back on the line.

It was dead,
though.

I called Grace
back, but she didn’t pick up.
 
I was
about to redial her number when a local mother with seven sons came in, all of
them clamoring for donuts.

“Beth, why isn’t
your clan in school?”

She answered me,
clearly a little frazzled with her lot.
 
“They all had doctors’ appointments, and I promised them that if they
were good, I’d get them all a treat before they had to go back.”

“We got shots,” a
little boy about nine proclaimed as he showed off the bandage on his arm.

“You weren’t so
brave half an hour ago, Milo,” one of his older brothers said.

“Was, too!
 
Ask Momma.
 
Go on!”

Beth
intervened.
 
“Boys, remember what I
said earlier; you are all required to be on your best behavior.
 
Now, if you each want a donut, I suggest
that you mind your manners.”

At the hint of the
threat, the boys settled down immediately.
 
In fact, the oldest, a young man named Gregory, clapped once, and his
brothers lined up behind him in a perfect queue.
 
It even looked as though they were in
order from oldest to youngest, but I couldn’t swear to it.

“How did you
manage that?” I asked Beth, but she was clearly just as surprised as I
was.
 

“Gregory, was
this your idea?”

“Actually, it was
Milo’s,” her oldest said with a grin.
 
“He read about it in a book, so we thought we’d give you a laugh.
 
It’s funny, isn’t it?”

“Truthfully, I
think it’s delightful.
 
This is
going to be a new Meadows routine.”

“Momma, we were
just having a little fun,” one of the boys said.
 
“We weren’t serious.”

“Too bad,” she
said with a grin.
 
“Now, tell
Suzanne what you’d like.
 
And don’t
even think about dragging your feet hoping to delay school, either.”

It was clear that
a few of the older boys had been planning to do something just like that,
because I saw a few frowns crease their faces as their mother issued her
warning.

After all seven
got their donuts, it was Beth’s turn.

“What can I get
you?”

“I’d better not,”
she said as she eyed the apple fritters.
 
I knew that she ran her household on a tight budget, but I wasn’t about
to deprive her of a well-deserved treat after what I’d just witnessed.

“Don’t
worry.
 
It’s on the house,” I said
warmly.

“Eight
donuts?
 
Really?
 
Suzanne, that’s too much.
 
I can’t let you do that.”
 
She said it, but clearly she was overjoyed
by the prospect.

I hadn’t meant to
treat her entire family sans husband, but why not?
 
With a bright smile, I said, “You’re not
letting me do anything.
 
It’s my
pleasure.”

“In that case,
I’ll have another,” Milo said frankly.

I looked at him
and grinned before Beth could reproach him.
 
“Nice try, mister, but it’s one per
customer, and you’ve already had yours.”

“If they don’t
have to pay, then why do I have to?” Seth Lancaster asked.
 
He was a grumpy old man if ever there
was one.
 
Eighty if he was a day, he
had more money than just about anyone else in April Springs, including my own
mother.
 

“Seth, the moment
you bring six brothers in here along with your mother, then I’ll repeat the
offer.”
 
I said it with a smile, but
to be sure he knew that I was only teasing him, I grabbed a donut hole, one
from the batch of chocolate chip donuts he loved so much, and served it to him.

“You’re a real
sweetheart,” Seth said as he eyed the free offering.
 
“If you weren’t taken, and I were fifty
or sixty years younger, you’d have to watch out for me.”

“That’s funny,
because I’m watching out for you now,” I told him with a smile.

Beth reluctantly
took the offered fritter, and then she said, “Thank you, Suzanne.”

“You’re most
welcome,” I said.

I might not make
a ton of money running my own donut shop, but I had fun, and that was really
all that counted in the end, wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it?