Troubled Treats (12 page)

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

He laughed, but there was no joy in it.  “Perhaps I was mistaken.”  It was clear from his tone of voice that he didn’t believe me, but I had him in my shop, and I wasn’t about to waste the opportunity to grill him a little.  Before I could ask him a question, though, he studied the racks of donuts behind me that we had left for sale.  “How much would it cost me to buy everything that’s left?”

I glanced at the racks, came up with a fair amount, and then I doubled it.  “Forty dollars should cover it,” I said with a straight face.

Without batting an eye, he peeled two twenties off a roll of bills in his pocket and put them on the counter.  “Box them up.”

If he was trying to get on my good side by cleaning out my inventory, it wouldn’t work, but I wasn’t about to let him know that.  As I worked at emptying my shelves and boxing the remaining donuts, I said, “I understand you really wanted to buy the wagon factory.”

“That’s true enough.  The place has sentimental meaning to me,” he said, “but your mother beat me fair and square.”

“Why are you so attached to it?” I asked him, curious about his admission.

“My grandfather worked there long ago in the late twenties as a bookkeeper,” he admitted.  “I always thought I’d own the structure someday myself, and I thought I’d gotten it when your mother outplayed me at the last second.”

“It doesn’t sound as though you took losing all that well,” I replied as I jammed the remaining donuts into boxes.

He shrugged and did his best to smile.  “I lost sight of a basic fact.  There’s no room in business for sentimentality.”

“I couldn’t disagree with you more.  There’s a special place in my heart for Donut Hearts, and I wouldn’t part with it for the world.”

He shook his head, and this time his smile was legitimate.  “You’re a great deal like your mother, but I have to wonder, if someone came in and offered you a million dollars for the place, would you be cashing the check before the ink on it was even dry?”

“I don’t guess I’ll know until the situation arises.  Is that a serious offer?” I asked him.

“Why, would you take it if it were?”

I had to think about it, but I’d meant what I’d said.  “Like I told you before, Donut Hearts is not for sale, at any price,” I replied as I finished boxing up his donuts.  “Have you been by the factory since Momma started renovating it?”

“How could I have done that?  That would be trespassing, wouldn’t it?”

“Someone didn’t seem to mind that fact,” I said.  “I found a stranger prowling around the place in the middle of the night less than twelve hours ago.”

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

“I’m just making conversation,” I said.  “You look a little sleep deprived,” I added with a twist.

“I need only five hours of rest per night, no more and no less.  Otherwise, it’s just wasted time that I could spend working,” he said. 

Wow, I really didn’t agree with him about that.  I stacked the three boxes of donuts up on the counter.  “There you go.  Thanks for your business.”

He nodded, but made no move to collect them.  “You should know that I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to that subcontractor.”

“His name was Sully Jackson,” I said.

Descent nodded.  “I didn’t even know the man all that well.”

“Maybe not before he wrecked your deal, but I have a hunch that you knew him afterwards.  I understand that his recommendation to sell the building to my mother was pivotal in the owner’s decision.”

Descent actually laughed at my suggestion.  “I’m fairly certain that the real factor was the piece of property your mother included in her cash offer.  Mr. Jackson’s endorsement provided an excellent smokescreen to disguise the seller’s real rationale.  Trust me, I had no reason to harm Mr. Jackson.”

“Well, someone killed him, and I’m determined to find out who did it.”

He looked amused by my statement.  “How do you plan on doing that?”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard the town gossip or not, but I’ve solved more than one murder in the past.  This time, I even have a secret weapon.”

“What’s that?”

“My husband is a former state police investigator, and he’s working on the case with me.  Believe me when I tell you that whoever killed Sully is going to pay for it.”

“Good for you,” he said lightly.  “Just don’t try to involve me in it, and we won’t have any problems.”

“How could we, if you’re telling the truth?” I asked.

“That’s just it.  You can’t,” he said, and then he turned and headed for the door.

“Don’t forget your donuts,” I called out, smiling.

“I don’t want them anymore,” he answered.  “I’m sure I wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

“Sorry, but all sales are final,” I replied with a smile.

“Do with them as you wish, then,” he answered in kind.

Carl Descent was not the most cordial of men, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was a murderer.  Some folks accused my mother of being abrupt, and even manipulative at times.  She claimed they were traits that helped her in her business dealings, and I didn’t doubt that Carl acted the same way.

That still didn’t change the fact that he belonged on my list, and not because of what I’d heard from Gabby about him.

If he didn’t have anything to hide, why had he gone out of his way to come by the donut shop and ask me if I was investigating him?

The man could stand a closer look, and I was going to make sure that Jake and I took one as soon as we got the chance.

Chapter 14

“Hey, Suzanne.  I’ve got some things to share with you about our investigation,” Jake said as he walked in a few minutes after Carl Descent left the shop.  He scanned the empty trays behind me and added, “Is everything gone already?  I was hoping to get something to nibble on.”  The disappointment in his voice made me smile.  It was as though I’d caught a glimpse of him as he must have been when he’d been a boy.

I flipped open the boxes of donuts and other goodies between us.  “Help yourself.”

“I figured these were already set aside for someone.”

“They were.  One of my customers paid for them, but then he changed his mind about taking them with him.”

“Is he crazy?” Jake asked as he reached in and pulled out a plain glazed donut.  “These things are worth their weight in gold.”

“I don’t think he really wanted my treats in the first place, so I didn’t push him too hard about taking the donuts with him when he left.”

“Who are we talking about here, Suzanne?”

“Carl Descent.”

“He was here?  What did he want?” Jake asked after he swallowed another bite.  “By the way, do you happen to have any more coffee?”

“I’ll get you some,” I said.  After I brought him up to date on what had been happening at the donut shop and all of the visitors that I’d had, I said, “And that’s about it.  You said that you had news yourself.  What did you find out?”

“Well, first off, I got a call from Chief Grant,” he told me. 

“Don’t tell me that he was actually in the mood to share some of his information with you,” I said as I poured some coffee for myself.

“The truth is that I think he felt bad about kicking us out of the wagon factory last night,” Jake said.  “I didn’t ask about him about his motivation.”

“So, what did he tell you?”

“First off, he wanted to bring me up to date about the boot print we found at the factory.”

“You’re the one who found it,” I corrected him.

“We were investigating together,” he said.  “As far as I’m concerned, we share the credit.”

“As long as we share the blame, too,” I answered with a smile.

“You know it.”

“So, tell me about the boot print?”

“Evidently it was brand new.  The measurements indicate that it was a ten in men’s or a woman’s twelve in that particular style.”

“Can’t he tell which?  It would helpful if we at least knew if our killer was a man or a woman,” I said.

“Suzanne, we can’t even be positive that whoever we spooked last night actually killed Sully.  We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions at this point.”

“Well, I can see all of our suspects wearing work boots but Carl Descent.  Should we take his name off our list?  I’ve met the man, and I doubt that he’s ever worn work boots in his life.”

“Which could be why he’d wear them last night,” Jake said.  “If he was trying to throw us off his trail, what better way to do it than by implicating all of the other suspects.”

This was getting frustrating.  A clue that I’d considered to be important was quickly turning out to be pretty worthless.  “How about our suspects?  Did the chief have any idea what size shoes they wear?”

“It could have been any one of them, even Shirley,” Jake admitted.  “Their sizes are all about the same.”

“Could that be why he shared the information with you in the first place?  It doesn’t cost him a thing to tell you that our lead was worthless.”

“That’s taking a pretty cynical point of view,” Jake said.  “I prefer to think that he’s trying to make amends for evicting us.”

“Okay, if it helps, then let’s look at things that way.”

Jake glanced around the empty donut shop.  “Since you’re officially sold out of donuts, what are the chances you could close the place up early?”

I thought about it for a moment before I spoke.  “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t.”  I called out to the back.  “Emma, if you’ll do these last two trays, we can get out of here early.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” she said as she came out of the kitchen, and then she noticed Jake standing there.  “Hey there.  I didn’t hear you come in.”

Jake smiled at her.  “You know me.  I’m stealthy.”

She laughed.  “Sure you are.” 

After Emma disappeared in back, Jake looked at me.  “You think I’m sneaky, don’t you?”

I kissed him.  “That’s exactly how I’d describe you.  If you give me a minute, I’ll run the reports on the register and make out the deposit for the bank.”

“Could any of that wait until later?” he asked me.  “There’s something I’ve been dying to check out.”

“You could have gone on and done it without me, you know,” I said a little hesitantly.

“What, and spoil all of the fun for you?  What if I find what I’m looking for?  How would I feel about excluding you?”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” I said.  “I still have to run the report, but if we can lock the deposit up in your truck’s glove box, we can put off the bank trip until later.”

“You’ve got a deal,” he said, and without even being asked, he started cleaning tables and flipping chairs.

“You know, sometimes you can be pretty handy to have around,” I told him as I counted the money in the till.

“What can I say?  I want to be sure you keep me,” he replied as he grabbed a broom and started sweeping.

“No worries there,” I said.  As I continued to count the money, I noticed one twenty-dollar bill that was much older than the others.  Had I ever had one that dated in my donut shop?  I couldn’t be sure.  Instead of the overblown portrait of Jackson that I’d grown accustomed to and the sweeping blues, greens, and golds of our standard currency, this bill looked stark in its simplicity.  The United States of America was written on a scroll, and Jackson’s picture was downright tiny compared to its modern counterpart.  I pulled out one of the newer twenties and noticed other differences as well.  Instead of the Federal Reserve emblem, there was a large seven on it.  The serial numbers were in different places as well.  Even the picture of the White House on back was different.  Someone had been digging deep to find that bill!

“Something wrong?” Jake asked.  I looked up and saw him studying me.

“No, it’s nothing,” I said as I put the bill back in the stack.  I could be easily distracted at times, but there wasn’t time today.  I had a mission.

The report checked out, and I jammed the bills, coins, and receipts—along with the deposit slip—into the bag I always used for my bank deposits and zipped it shut.  “How are you doing?” I asked him.

“What do you think?” he asked proudly as he gestured around the front area.

“It looks good,” I said.  “All in all, you did a fine job.  I think I’ll keep you.”

“That would be much appreciated,” Jake said as he put the broom away. 

Emma came out of the back, pulling her apron off as she walked.  “Everything’s all set in the kitchen for tomorrow.”  She spied the two mostly full boxes still on the counter.  “Hey, are you going to be taking those with you?”

“Why, do you have a use for them?” I asked.

“I thought if we had any donuts left, I might take them to class with me,” she said.  “The professor loves your treats.  Who knows?  If I take him these, I might just get an A.”

“You’re going to use our donuts as a bribe?” I asked her with a smile.

“Hey, if it works, how bad could it be?” she replied with a grin.  We both glanced at Jake at the same time and saw that he was frowning.  “I’m just kidding,” she said.

“About the bribe, or taking the donuts with you?” he asked her.

“If you want them, they are all yours,” Emma said.

“No, you’d better take them after all.  If they’re with us, I’ll probably just end up eating them.”  He slapped his tummy, which still looked plenty firm to me.  “I’ve been really packing on the pounds since I left my job.”

“It’s amazing you can still even fit into your pants,” I said as I kissed him.  “What have you gained, a pound since our honeymoon?”

“A pound and a half,” he reported, clearly displeased by the fact.  “I suppose we could start running in the afternoons after you get off.”

“Not unless you find a way to get a bear to chase me,” I answered.

“So, should I take the donuts or not?” Emma asked.

“Take them with our blessing,” I told her.

The three of us walked out together, and after Emma was gone, Jake said, “She really was kidding about bribing her teacher, wasn’t she?”

“Jake, Emma is getting straight A’s without any help from my confectionary treats.  She’s actually too smart to be working here with me.”