Bad Bites: Donut Mystery #16 (The Donut Mysteries) (10 page)

“I wasn’t talking about your old boss,” I said quickly.
 
“I meant that you needed to tell George
Morris.
 
The mayor has a right to
know what’s going on.”

“I’m guessing that he’s going to want to come along, too,” Jake
said.
 
“Not that I mind.
 
He might be your mayor, but he’s still got
a cop’s instincts from his years on the force, and those are in short supply
around here sometimes.”

“Let me ask you something, Jake.
 
If you three—the current interim police chief, the most recent previous police
chief, and the current mayor—are all out of town, who does that leave in April
Springs to be in charge?”

“Stephen Grant’s up for the job,” he said without a moment of hesitation.
 
“This will give him some good field
experience in command.
 
The kid’s
smart as a whip, and someday, he’s going to make a fine chief himself.”

“Is he ready for that much responsibility now, though?” I asked.

“Hey, I thought you were the man’s number one fan,” Jake accused me
teasingly.

“That’s not true.
 
I’m second,
next to Grace, but yes, I like him a lot.
 
You didn’t answer my question, though.”

“I wouldn’t ask him to do it if I didn’t think he was ready for it,” he
said.
 
“Besides, we may be getting
ahead of ourselves.”

“How so?”

“We don’t even know if our suspects are going to bite on whatever story
you’re going to try to feed them yet.”

I smiled at him.
 
“Come
on.
 
I’m giving them all a free
three-day weekend at a mountain resort.
 
Do you honestly think that anyone is going to turn the offer down?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Jake said.

“Hmm,” I said after a few moments.
 
“I could always just tell them that they won their trips.”

“What contest did they each supposedly enter that they’ve won?” Jake
asked.
 
“I imagine they’ll want to
know, so you’d better have a sound answer for them.”

I frowned for a moment, and then I answered, “Well, if you’re going to be
all logical about it, I’m not sure that I have a suitable answer.”

Jake grinned broadly at me.
 
“Think harder then, Suzanne.”

“We could always say that we’re having a special memorial service for
Chester up there,” I offered after a few moments of thought.

“The problem with that is that each one of these folks was fighting with
Chester just before he died.
 
It’s
going to be hard to get any of them to drop everything and take a trip to the
mountains to celebrate someone they were unhappy with in the first place.”

“Okay.
 
Give me another
minute.
 
I’m not going to give up
until I’ve got something.”

“Take all of the time that you need.
 
Do we happen to have any pie?
 
I thought I saw some in the fridge the other day.”

“Momma just brought over an apple-crumb-top pie.
 
Help yourself.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said.
 
“Would you like a slice?”

“Why not?” I said, and then I started pondering different ways I could
get my suspects to come.
 
I must
have weighed half a dozen ideas as I sat there, but they all sounded too
transparent even to me to say out loud.

And then it hit me.

“How about if we just come right out and tell them that if they want to
clear their names as suspects as soon as possible, they’ll come to the lodge,
but if they want to remain suspects in everyone’s minds, then they can just stay
home.”

“So, now you’re threatening them to get their cooperation?” Jake asked
me.

I considered how that sounded, and then I nodded.
 
“That just about sums it up.
 
What do you think?
 
Will it work?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” he answered with a slight smile.
 
“Start calling them.”

As I dialed the first telephone number, things suddenly got very real for
me.
 
I’d come up with this idea on a
lark, but now we were actually going to go through with it.
 
While I realized that it should be
helpful isolating everyone at the lodge, it also might mean that the killer
would be even more dangerous cut away from the rest of society.
 
I prayed that I wasn’t making a mistake,
but it was too late to turn back now.

I only hoped that we were doing the right thing, and that no one else
would die while we were in seclusion.

I wasn’t sure that my conscience could take it.
 

Chapter 13

To my delight, by the time I had finished making all of the phone calls,
only one of our suspects had declined the free trip and the chance to clear
their name.

“Suzanne, I can’t believe that you actually did it,” Jake said as he
watched me hang up on the last caller.

“It wasn’t a complete success.
 
I couldn’t get Vince Dade to agree,” I said, upset with myself for
letting one of our suspects turn me down.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself.
 
You did better than either one of us had any right to expect,” Jake
said.

“But can we even do this without Vince, Jake?”

“Give him the night to think about it, and then ask him again in the
morning.
 
I suppose you might as
well call our other guests who
aren’t
suspects and invite them to the party, as well.”

“At least I’m betting that I won’t have to twist any of their arms to get
any of them to come,” I said.

“You’re right about that.
 
I’ve
got a hunch that everyone is going to want to be there.
 
We all need to be doubly careful while
we’re at the lodge.
 
You know that,
don’t you?”

“Jake, I’m not about to take any foolish chances, especially when so many
innocent lives are at risk.”

He hugged me gently.
 
“I know
you won’t.
 
Go on and make your
calls.
 
At least this should be a
happier batch for you to make.”

“What are you going to be doing while I call everyone?”

He leaned back and looked a little pensive before he spoke.
 
“I’m going to try to figure out how to
trap the killer and keep the rest of us alive in the process.
 
How does that sound to you?”

“Like it’s the best use of your time and resources,” I said.

As we’d predicted, every one of our friends said yes immediately to our
offer, and soon enough, we had a full house heading to the lodge the next day.
 
After I finished making my calls, I
looked around and finally found Jake sitting out on the front porch, despite
the chill in the air after the sun had set.
 
I put a spare blanket over his
shoulders, which he gratefully accepted.

“Did you reach everybody we talked about?” he asked me.

“Everyone said yes,” I said as I sat down beside him.

“Good.
 
There’s just one more
thing.
 
Did you happen to call Emma
and Sharon and ask them to sub for you over the next few days at the donut shop
while you’re going to be in the mountains?”

In my haste to arrange the getaway for our guests and our suspects, I’d
forgotten all about calling the mother/daughter team to see if they could take
over for me for a few days.
 
It was
getting to be a habit with me, and I hoped that I hadn’t been asking them too
much, since I’d hate for the duo to say no.
 
“I’ll call them right now.”

“Go right ahead and make that last call.
 
I’m not going anywhere,” Jake replied as
he pulled the warmth in closer.

To my delight, Emma agreed the moment I asked.
 
“My mother will be absolutely
delighted.
 
Any special instructions
for us while you are gone?”

“Just keep making the donuts and selling them, and we should be fine,” I
said.
 
“Thanks again for doing this,
and thank your mother, too.”

“Are you kidding?
 
We should
be the ones thanking you.
 
This will
give us both a chance to work on our nest eggs.
 
See you when you get back.
 
And don’t forget to be careful.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“That was a relief.
 
They were
happy to do it,” I said as I rejoined Jake.

“One of these days, they’re going to make you obsolete in your own
operation; you know that, don’t you?” he asked.

“Kind of like what you just did to yourself with the state police?” I
asked with a grin.

“Touché.”
 
Jake took in a deep
breath, and then he let it out slowly before he spoke again.
 
“Suzanne, you’re not in any hurry to
retire from the donut shop, are you?”

I laughed at the very thought of it.
 
“Not a chance.
 
Just how old
do you think I am?”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you.
 
After all, people retire at all ages,” he said.

“Well, I’m not anywhere near ready to hang up my apron for good.
 
Jake, we both know that you’d go crazy
if you didn’t have some way to fill your days yourself.
 
It’s way too early for you to even think
about retiring for good.”

“I know.
 
I’m just not sure
what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life.”

I patted his shoulder.
 
“Don’t
worry.
 
You’ve got plenty of time to
decide.
 
In the meantime, let’s see
if we can figure out how to catch this killer.”

The two of us batted around half a dozen ideas for the next hour before
it was time for bed, but in the end, we weren’t able to come up with anything
that might even remotely work.
 
In
the end, we called it a night and decided to sleep on it.
 

After all, tomorrow was going to come earlier than either one of us was
ready for.

“So, we’ve got an hour to kill on our drive up into the mountains,” I
said as Jake, Grace, and I headed to Shelly’s lodge in my Jeep.
 
“Should we try to come up with some kind
of plan for when we get there?”

“I’m not worried about when
we
show up,” Grace said from the seat beside me.
 
“It’s when our suspects convene that has
me concerned.
 
How about you, Jake?”

I glanced at my boyfriend in the rearview mirror.
 
He’d readily agreed to climb in back,
and I’d wondered why he hadn’t opted to join me up front.
 
Was there a reason for his isolation, or
had he just done it out of politeness to Grace?
 
Either way, I was curious to find out if
he had any thoughts.
 
“We might not
have to have a grand plan after all.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Suzanne, we’re getting all of these suspects together in an isolated
place.
 
That might just be enough to
do the trick all by itself.
 
It
won’t take much to stir the pot.
 
As
a matter of fact, I can think of a few ways to get the party started, but after
that, I think we should all just step back and see what develops.”

“To be honest with you, that kind of surprises me, Jake.
 
You don’t strike me as a particularly
passive kind of guy,” Grace asked him.

“In ordinary circumstances, I’m not,” he said.
 

“But this situation is anything but ordinary, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Jake said as he nodded his approval.
 
“I’m curious now, Suzanne.
 
If our roles were reversed, what would
you do to get the action moving forward if it were just the two of you doing
this without my help?”

I considered it, and after nearly a minute, I said, “Well, I’d probably start
by separating them.”

“And how might you accomplish that?” he asked.
 
I looked over to see Grace listening to
our conversation carefully.

After a moment’s thought, I said, “I’d most likely gather them all
together in the main room, and then I’d call them one by one into another, smaller
space.”

“And just what would you do once you had them there?” Grace asked,
clearly too curious to stay on the sidelines of the conversation.

“It doesn’t really matter at that point,” I said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Grace, the implication of what the one not in the room with the rest of
them is saying is really all that counts.
 
When one person is speaking with me, the others are going to let their
imaginations supply the crux of the conversation.
 
Sure, I’d ask some pointed questions,
but they wouldn’t cover any ground that we all haven’t already touched upon.”

Grace turned back to Jake.
 
“Would that work?”

“It just might,” he said.

“Only you should be the one asking the questions, not me,” I told Jake as
I glanced back in the rearview mirror.

“Why not you?” he asked softly.

“Because this is one of those cases where the aura of authority is the
only way that it will work.
 
If I
question them, no one has to take the ramifications of the outcome as
seriously, but if you do it, it’s bound to attract more attention.
 
Do you disagree with that assessment?”

I glanced back again as I asked the question, and I saw the hint of a
smile flee from his lips.
 
“No, that
makes sense.
 
Is that what you’d recommend
we do?”

“It sure is, but I didn’t think you could get involved.”

“I said that I couldn’t play any part in getting them there, but if
everybody is already assembled at the lodge, then I’m just interviewing
suspects at that point,” he said with a shrug.
 
“Everyone except Vince Dade will be in
attendance, and what is the investigating officer supposed to do when nearly every
suspect he has—bar one—has decided to leave town together?”

“He doesn’t have much choice but to follow them,” Grace said with a grin.
 
“That’s pretty cool how you worked that
out.”

“Don’t give me too much credit,” he said.
 
“This was all Suzanne’s idea.
 
I’m just trying to use the new scenario
to my own benefit.”

“And it sounds as though you’ve formulated a plan already,” I said.
 
“And here we have another forty minutes on
our drive.
 
What should we talk
about now?”

“I’m not ready to stop planning,” Jake said.
 
“We might need to set more than one trap
while we’re here.
 
By the way, did
you call Vince Dade again yet?”

Blast it all, I’d forgotten all about approaching the one suspect who had
refused the trip.
 
“No.
 
If you two can be quiet, I’ll do it
right now.”

Grace got out her cell phone, dialed a number, and then held it up so I
could talk.

Vince picked up on the first ring.

“Vince, this is Suzanne Hart,” I said.

Before I could continue, he broke in.
 
“If this is Suzanne, then why are you
calling on Grace Gauge’s phone?”

Sometimes I hated caller ID, though to be fair, there were other times
that I absolutely loved it.
 
“I’m
driving, so she made the call for me.
 
I was just wondering if you’d changed your mind about coming to the
lodge.”

There was a slight pause, and then Vince said, “I’m still not thrilled
with the idea, but yeah, I’m coming.
 
It’s the only way I can think of to keep my name from being dragged
through the mud.
 
Is your boyfriend
going to be there?” he asked after a slight pause.

I was about to tell him that Jake was with me even as we spoke when I
felt a nudge coming from behind.
 
I
looked into the mirror and saw Jake put a finger to his lips as he shook his
head.
 
Did that mean lie to
Vince?
 
What good would that
do?
 
He’d see Jake soon enough.
 
Instead of answering, I decided to ad lib
a little.
 
“I’m in the mountains,
and this call isn’t very clear.
 
Vince,
can you hear me?
 
You’re breaking
up.
 
I’ll see you at the—”

Grace chose that moment to hang up.
 
“Why didn’t you let me finish?”

“Suzanne, nobody hangs up on themselves.
 
It’s more convincing that you were
having reception trouble this way.”

“I get it, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”

I glanced back at Jake.
 
“Why
did you shush me just then?”

“I didn’t want him to know that I was in the Jeep with you,” Jake
explained.

“But you don’t mind him knowing that you are going to be there, too?”

“Of course not.
 
Why should I
try to hide that fact, when he’ll learn about my presence there soon enough?”

“That’s exactly what I was wondering,” I said.
 
“That begs the question as to why you didn’t
want him to know that you were in the Jeep with us.”

“I was hoping that he might let his guard down and something would slip
out,” Jake admitted.

“Well, that was certainly all in vain,” Grace said.

“You never know unless you try,” Jake replied with a shrug.

“True enough.
 
Well, Shelly’s
certainly going to have a full house now, isn’t she?”

“She was actually worried about being lonely this weekend,” I said.
 
“That’s not about to happen now, is it?”

“Are you kidding?” Grace asked.
 
“The place is going to be so full of white hats and black ones that
there won’t be much room left over for anyone else.”

“That’s okay,” I said.
 
“That’s all that we need.
 
I
for one am glad that we’ve got so many good guys coming with us this weekend to
balance out the potential villains.”