Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 18 - Dangerous Dough (2 page)

“Seriously?
 
You hate crowds, and you detest it when
folks make a fuss over you.
 
This is
going to be both.”

“True, but at
least this way we can get all of the well wishes out of the way at once,” he
said.
 
“That has to be better than
being stopped on the street every other hour by folks for the next six months.”

“Point taken, but
this isn’t going to keep folks from saying anything later.”

“Let’s just go
and do our best to enjoy it,” he said, surprising me for the first time as my
husband.
 
I had a feeling that it
wouldn’t be the last.

Later that
evening, just after we’d boarded the plane to Paris, I turned to Jake and
asked, “Are you still okay with the fact that Momma threw us a reception after
our impromptu wedding?”

He laughed.
 
“Ask me that again tomorrow in
Paris.
 
Fair warning.
 
As soon as we settle into our seats, I
plan on sleeping the entire way there.”

“That sounds good
to me,” I said, echoing his sentiments.
 
The airline had upgraded us to first class at the last moment when they
found out we were newlyweds and realized that they had two seats available up
front, and we were enjoying the luxury that entailed, though I realized that
coming back in the economy class might be a little tough to take later.

For now, I was
determined to enjoy it for all that it was worth.

Our honeymoon was
even better than I’d dreamed it would be.

On our last day
in Paris, we were eating chocolate croissants again from a bakery near our
hotel as we strolled along the Seine.
 
I looked over to find Jake grinning at me.
 
“What is it?
 
Do I have chocolate on my nose again?”

“Not yet, but I
have high hopes for you.
 
Has this
been everything you dreamed it would be?”

“Paris, or being
married to you?” I asked him with a smile of my own.

“I was talking
about Paris, but I’ll take an answer to either one.”

I pulled him
closer to me and said, “Both are beyond my wildest expectations.”

“Are you sorry we
have to go back home today?” he asked me as we passed another lamppost I’d
grown to love so much.
 
It was funny
some of the things I’d come to enjoy.

“A part of me
feels as though I could stay here forever,” I said, “but I miss my shop.
 
How about you?
 
You don’t have a job to go home to
anymore.”

“No, but I have a
new bride, and that’s good enough for me.
 
It’s going to be nice not having anything to do for awhile.”

“How long do you
think that might last?” I asked as I took the last bite of my croissant.

“You might be
surprised.
 
I’m looking forward to
being a househusband.”

“Good,” I said,
and then I glanced at my watch.
 
“We’d better get back to the hotel.
 
We’re cutting it close as it is.”

“I know you’re
right, but let’s not rush this, okay?
 
I just want to take it all in one last time.”
 
I wasn’t sure what Jake had been
expecting, but the city had really grown on him in our brief time there.

“We can always
come back again, you know,” I said, grinning.

“Maybe so, but
this will be our only honeymoon,” he answered a little wistfully.

“Who knew that
under that tough-cop exterior lay the heart of a poet?”

“Shh, don’t tell
anybody,” he said with a smile.
 
“I
don’t want to jeopardize my tough-guy image.”

The flight back
was crowded, and there were no upgrades for us this time.
 
Even with the proximity of so many other
passengers on board, though, nothing could take the glow off our brand-new
start as a married couple.

At least not
until we saw my mother standing there waiting for us in the parking lot beside my
Jeep.

Chapter 3

“Momma, what is
it?
 
Did something happen while we
were gone?” I asked her as I rushed toward her.
 
“Is it Phillip?”

“No, not really.
 
Well, in a way, I suppose that you’d
have to say yes.
 
To be honest with
you, at this point I’m not even sure what’s happening,” she said, clearly
worried about something.
 
It
appeared as though she was fighting back tears, something very unlike my mother’s
usual behavior.

Jake touched her
arm lightly.
 
“Take a deep breath,
Dot, and tell us what happened.”

Momma did as he
suggested, and after a moment, she seemed to be more collected than she’d been
before.
 
“It’s Chief Tyler.”

“What about him?”
I asked.
 
The man who’d taken over
the April Springs police department hadn’t made all that good an impression on
me in the brief time that we’d known each other, and I had to wonder how he was
involved in my stepfather’s current situation.
 
“Is he making life hard for Phillip now
that your husband is officially retired?”
 
It was hard for me to call the man by his given name, but now that he
was retired, I didn’t know what choice I had.
 
I couldn’t very well go on calling him Chief
after he’d left the job.

“Suzanne, he’s
dead.”

“What are you
talking about?
 
What happened?” Jake
asked.
 
The former state-police-investigator
part of him was in full gear now.
 
Though Jake had quit his job less than a few weeks before, I knew that
it would take a great deal more time than that for him to get adjusted to
civilian life, if he ever managed to do it at all.

“That’s what’s so
puzzling.
 
At first it appeared that
he’d had a heart attack and passed away in his squad car, but it now seems that’s
not what happened at all.”

“We’ll get into
that in a second.
 
What I want to
know is who’s in charge of the force right now?” Jake asked.
 

“Stephen Grant is
the acting chief at the moment,” Momma said.
 
The young officer had been the interim boss
at one point during the transition between Chief Martin and Chief Tyler, but it
had been pretty clear that he wasn’t ready for the job yet.

“Seriously?” Jake
asked.
 
“I didn’t think he’d be put
in charge again so quickly.”

“What choice did
George have?” she asked.
 
“
Someone
had to take over.”
 
George Morris was the mayor of April
Springs, and, as such, he had the authority to appoint a temporary chief if the
current one was unable or unwilling to serve, something that seemed to be
happening with increasing frequency lately in our little town.

“He could have
always asked your husband to step back into the job,” I suggested.
 
While I’d never been Chief Martin’s
biggest fan, I truly believed that he was a decent law enforcement officer, all
in all.

“That’s where it
gets tricky.
 
Somehow Stephen Grant
has it in his head that my husband might be involved in Alex Tyler’s death.”

I was about to
ask how that was possible when Jake said, “I’m beginning to believe that this
is too complicated to go over in an airport parking lot.
 
Can we discuss this once we get back in
town?
 
You can follow us, or we’ll
follow you.”

“Actually, I’ll
need a ride, since I don’t have my car with me,” Momma said.
 
“Vince Jenkins was coming here anyway to
fly to see his daughter, so I caught a ride with him.
 
I thought it would be easier that way.”

So much for
easing into our new lives together on the drive home.
 
What could I do, though?
 
I couldn’t exactly refuse my mother’s
request.
 
Besides, we needed to be
briefed on the situation before we stepped back into it.

“Then let’s go,”
Jake said as he stowed our bags in the back of the Jeep.
 

“Would you like
to drive?” I asked my new husband as I offered him the keys to my vehicle.

He managed a
smile before he replied.
 
“Thanks
for offering, but it’s your vehicle.
 
I don’t see any reason anything has to change just because we’re married
now.”

I kissed him
soundly, forgetting my mother for a moment.
 
“Really, because I can think of at least
a thing or two myself.”

He smiled gently.
 
“So can I, but let’s focus on figuring
out what happened while we were gone before we get into that.”

Momma started to
climb into the back when Jake said, “You take the passenger seat up front,
Dot.”

“Jake, I hate to
do that to you.
 
I know that you’ll
be cramped back there, and that’s one of the best things about being so
short.
 
I fit just about anywhere.”

“Nonsense.
 
I’m not about to let my brand-new mother-in-law
ride in back,” he said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
 
“I’ll be fine.”

After Momma got
into the front seat beside me, I started the Jeep, and the three of us headed
back to April Springs.
 
Once we were
out of the heavier traffic around the airport, I turned to Momma and said, “Now
tell us everything.”

“So much has
happened that I honestly don’t even know where to begin,” my mother said.

“I’ve always felt
that the beginning is as good a place to start as any,” Jake said.
 
“What happened after we left?”

Momma
nodded.
 
“That’s right.
 
I forgot that you both missed all of the
fuss.
 
It started just after you two
took off for the airport.”

“What happened?”
I asked.

“Phillip and Alex
got into a pretty heated argument,” Momma said, “and I’m afraid that there were
several witnesses to it.”

“What could they
possibly have had to argue about?” I asked her.

“Actually, it was
you,” Momma said.

“Me?”
 
I was shocked that my name had even come
up between the two law enforcement officers.
 
“What did I have to do with it?”

“Phillip told
Alex that he was being too hard on you and that he needed to take your input
seriously.
 
Alex told him that had
been one of the main problems with the police department before, that amateurs
were even allowed to have opinions in ongoing investigations.
 
Things got rather heated, and I was
afraid they might come to blows if it kept up.
 
Stephen Grant had to step in between
them, and I got Phillip out of there as quickly as I could manage it, but the
argument certainly made an impression on everyone who was there.”

“You still haven’t
told us how Tyler died,” Jake said softly from the backseat.
 
I’d moved my seat as far forward as I
could to accommodate his long legs, but I was afraid that it hadn’t been
enough.

“As I said, at
first everyone thought that it was a heart attack.”

“He was so young,
though,” I said.

“I told you that
was just at first.
 
It was only
after they checked more thoroughly that they found the poison in his system.”

I had a sudden
sinking feeling in my gut.
 
“He
wasn’t found eating one of my donuts, was he?”
 
My treats had been used as a murder
weapon before, and I hoped and prayed that it hadn’t happened again.

“There were no
donuts in his system,” Momma said, and I felt a sudden burst of relief.

It turned out to
be short lived, though, as Momma continued, “The coffee he’d been drinking had
been poisoned.”

“Do I even have
to ask where he got it?”

“The cup was from
Donut Hearts,” she admitted, and that’s when I felt that sinking feeling all
over again.

“This can’t be
happening,” I said.
 

“Take it easy,
Suzanne,” Jake responded.
 
“There’s
no reason to jump to any conclusions.
 
There’s no reason in the world anyone would think that Emma or Sharon
could be involved in the murder.”

“Actually, that’s
not entirely true,” my mother said softly.

“What are you
talking about?”

“Four hours
before the new chief of police’s body was found in his squad car, he had a
pretty intense argument with Emma in the donut shop.”

This was getting
worse by the minute.
 
“What were
they fighting about?”

“Apparently he
asked her out on a date, and when she refused him, he got a little
belligerent.
 
He threatened to shut
the shop down for health code violations, and Emma dared him to go ahead and try.
 
He took his coffee and stormed off, and
a little later, Stephen Grant found his body in the squad car.”

“That’s just
perfect,” I said.

“Why do you think
I met you at the airport?” my mother asked us.
 
“You’ve got to do something.”

My attention was
on the road, so I didn’t see who Momma was looking at, but I just assumed that
it was me.
 
“I’ll do what I can,” I
said.

“Suzanne, I know
that ordinarily you’re quite capable of investigating murder on your own, but
we have an expert at our disposal now.”
 
I saw her turn in her seat as she looked at my new husband.
 
“Jake, what do you say?
 
Will you do it?”

“Sorry.
 
I’d love to help out, but I’m retired
now,” he said without much hesitation.

“Nobody’s asking
you to step in and be the police chief,” Momma said, “but we all know that
Stephen Grant is in over his head when it comes to murder.”

“I can appreciate
that, Dot, but remember, I don’t have any standing in the case,” Jake said.

“That’s never
stopped
me
before,” I replied, glad
at the prospect of Jake digging into this.
 
Momma was right.
 
While I’d
had my share of success in the past solving a few murders, my husband had made
a career of it.
 
Only just recently retired
from the state police as a special investigator, he would be perfect for the
job.
 
“Come on, it’s fun from our
side of the law.”

“I wouldn’t
exactly call it fun,” he said.
 
“I
like having the authority to compel folks to cooperate with my investigation.”

“I’ve got that
covered,” Momma said with the hint of a smile.

“How did you
manage that?” Jake asked her.

“I’ve already
spoken to George.
 
The mayor told me
that all you need to do is say the word and you will be the April Springs Interim
Special Investigator.”

“That title
didn’t even exist yesterday, did it?” Jake asked skeptically.

“See, what did I
tell you?
 
You’re an excellent
detective,” Momma said with a smile.
 
“Jake, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it weren’t important.
 
It’s killing Phillip to be suspected of
murdering his successor, even if it is just idle gossip and Stephen Grant’s
speculation at this point.
 
You’ve
got to do something.”

“Momma, even if
your husband weren’t a suspect, my employees and friends clearly are,” I chimed
in.
 
“You need to do this for our
family, Jake.
 
We need you.”

Jake was silent
for some time, and I knew better than to speak while he was mulling something
over.
 
At one point I saw that Momma
was about to say something, but I gave her a quick head shake, and she stifled
it quickly.
 
She might know a great
many more things than I did, but no one in the world knew my husband as well as
I did.
 
That might not even be true,
but I was going to assume that it was until I was proven wrong.

After what felt
like an eternity, he finally spoke.
 
“Let me get this straight.
 
Stephen
Grant will be in charge of the police force in general, correct?”

“Correct,” Momma
answered.

“And my duties
will consist solely of finding Alex Tyler’s killer.”

“That’s the way
that I understand it,” she replied.

“Fine, but I’m
going to have to call my former boss before I take this on,” Jake said.

I let my gaze
shift from the road to my rearview mirror momentarily.
 
“Jake, you don’t work for him
anymore.
 
You don’t have to ask him
permission for anything.”

“That’s where
you’re wrong, Suzanne.
 
When it
comes to foul play that involves a law enforcement officer, the state police
investigative unit has priority and jurisdiction.
 
I can work around the edges, but the
heart of the case will be handled by one of my former coworkers.
 
I just hope it’s not Simpson.”

I’d heard him
mention the man’s name a time or two in the past, and it had never been flattering.
 
“Can you get him to assign one of your
friends?
 
How about Terry
Hanlan?”
 
I’d gotten to know Terry
earlier, and it would be comforting to have him around.