Sweet Suspects (The Donut Mysteries) (12 page)

“Hey, who’s that over there?” Grace asked as she pointed to two people arguing in the parking lot.

“One of them is Janet, but I can’t tell who she’s fighting with,” I said as I got closer.

And then the man turned, and I saw who it was.
 
I’d been expecting to find Billy Briscoe there with her, but I was shocked to see that it was Tom Hancock instead.

“It’s Tom,” Grace said.

“I know.
 
Should I pull right next to them, or should we try to be stealthy and eavesdrop?”

“I don’t think they’ve seen you yet, so I choose stealthy.
 
Pull into that spot.”

I did as she asked and then I quietly opened the door so that I could hear better.
 
I didn’t have much luck making out their argument.
 
“What are they fighting about?” I asked Grace.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” she said as she opened her own door.
 
Instead of sitting there listening to them, though, she actually got out.

“Where are you going?”

“Suzanne, I need to hear this,” she said.

I had no choice but to follow her lead.

When we got within two rows of them, Grace moved behind a panel van that completely hid her from view.
 
I joined her, and we began to listen in.

“I don’t owe you anything,” Tom said loudly.
 
“I met you here as a courtesy, Janet, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“I know what my husband told me,” she said angrily.

“Your husband probably said a lot of things,” Tom replied coldly.
 
“How much of it was the truth was another thing altogether.”

“Are you calling him a liar?” she asked in a tone that clearly should have warned Tom off.

It didn’t.
 
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said.
 
“And until you can produce an IOU with my signature on it or something just as concrete, I’m done having this conversation with you.”

That’s when Janet lashed out at him, slapping his face so hard we could hear the impact from where we stood.
 
When she started to slap him again, Tom blocked the strike and grabbed her arm instead.

“Let go of me,” she protested.

“Not until you settle down,” Tom said.
 
He was clearly angry, but being slapped would do that to just about anyone.

I noticed movement beside me as I saw Grace stand and start toward them.

“Where are you going?” I asked her softly but urgently.

“I’ve got to stop this right now before it escalates out of control,” Grace said.

I had no choice at that point.

I followed her.

“What are you two doing here?” Tom asked angrily as he spotted us approaching.
 
“Have you been following me around?”
 
It was significant in my mind that he still had a firm grip of Janet’s arm.

“We eat, too,” I said before Grace could answer.
 
“What are
you
two doing here?”

“She invited me here to eat so that she could ambush me,” Tom said.

“Let go of me,” Janet cried out, acting a little for our benefit, no doubt.

Tom seemed almost surprised that he still held Janet’s arm.
 
He loosened his grip, and she jerked her arm away from him.
 

As she rubbed her bicep, she asked, “Is that the way you treat every woman you meet?”

“Just the ones who slap me,” Tom said.
 
There was an angry white splotch on his face from where she’d connected, and I wondered how long it would take before it turned red.
 
“Deny it.
 
I dare you.”

“I won’t,” she said angrily, “and I’d do it again.
 
You tried to malign my late husband’s character, and I won’t stand for it.”

“What’s going on out here?” I heard a familiar voice ask as I struggled for some way to end this argument.
 
It appeared that someone else was about to do it for me.
 
Angelica DeAngelis, a dear friend of mine, the mother of four beautiful daughters and the owner of Napoli’s, approached us all, wielding a French rolling pin as though it were a weapon, which in her hands, it clearly was.

“It’s nothing,” I said quickly.

“That’s exactly what it’s not,” Angelica said angrily.
 
“Two customers just complained about an argument in my parking lot.”
 
She turned to Janet and Tom.
 
“When I asked you to leave my restaurant before because of your argument, I expected you both to leave the premises.
 
I’ve already banned you from coming back to Napoli’s.
 
Do I need to call the police as well?”
 
She turned to Grace and me then.
 
“I’m surprised to find you both here.
 
Are you two a part of this?”

“We just got here,” I said quickly.

“We were trying to make the peace,” Grace added.

Angelica looked a little mollified by the news.
 
“And have you had any success?”

“Not so far,” I said with a shrug.
 
I couldn’t afford to get banished from the restaurant.
 
Not being able to eat at Napoli’s whenever the mood struck me would be devastating.

“Then I will take care of it myself,” Angelica said as she pulled out her cellphone.

Tom was the first to back down.
 
“You don’t have to call the police on my account.
 
I was leaving anyway.”
 
He gave Janet one last cold glare, and then he said to her, “Go ahead and sue me.
 
I will welcome the opportunity to let everyone know what really happened between your husband and me.
 
Just be prepared to learn some pretty unsettling things about the man you were married to for all those years.”

“Don’t push me,” Janet said, “or I will come after you with all that I’ve got.”

Tom didn’t even look in our direction as he stormed off to his car, and Angelica headed back inside, but not before nodding in my direction.
 
At least we were still okay.

For the moment.

“Thanks for trying to protect me from him,” Janet said to Grace and me after Angelica was gone.

“I’m sorry; is that what you thought just happened here?” Grace asked.

Janet looked confused by her question.
 
“Do you mean that it wasn’t?”

“Make no mistake about it.
 
We want to find out who murdered your husband,” I said.
 
“That’s
all
that we’re interested in at this moment in time.”

“Then you should go after Tom Hancock,” she said angrily.
 
“Now that Zane’s dead, he won’t have to pay back
any
of the money he stole from us.”

“Can you prove any of that?” I asked her.

“Not yet, but believe me, I will, even if it takes my last breath to do it, and every last dime I have to my name,” Janet vowed.

“That’s going to be considerably more when you cash in your husband’s life insurance policy, won’t it?” Grace asked her.

“What makes you think that he even
had
life insurance?” Janet asked.

“Come on, don’t try to act dumb,” Grace said.
 
“You have half a million dollars coming your way.”

“How did you find out about that?
 
That’s supposed to be confidential information,” Janet snapped.

“Funny how that works sometimes,” I said.
 
“We know more than you could ever believe.”

Was it my imagination, or did Janet’s pupils dilate when she heard me say that?
 
“I’m just getting what I’m entitled to.
 
After all, Zane paid those premiums for years to look out for me after he was gone.
 
Why shouldn’t I get what’s coming to me?”

“I hope that’s exactly what happens, that you get
everything
that you deserve,” Grace said.
 
It was obvious that she hadn’t meant it in a good way at all.

“Janet, don’t you think calling your agent the day your husband’s body was discovered might be considered a bit premature in some people’s point of view?” I asked.

“I can’t survive without it,” Janet said.
 
“Zane and I had obligations that won’t stop just because he’s gone.”

“Like what, for example?” Grace asked her.

“Car payments, house payments, premiums, things like that,” she said.
 
Janet looked around the parking lot and then she added, “I don’t need to stand here answering your questions.
 
I’m going back to my hotel.”

“Would you like us to go with you?” Grace asked.

Janet looked surprised by the suggestion.
 
“Why would I want that?”

“We could offer you comfort,” I suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Janet said, and then she was gone.

“That went well, didn’t it?” Grace asked me once she was gone.

“It could have gone a great deal worse,” I said as I started toward the back door of the restaurant.

“Are we going to eat at a time like this?” Grace asked as she followed me.

“First of all, I’d eat Angelica’s food anytime I have the chance, but that’s not why I’m going to the restaurant.”

“If you’re not going in to eat, then why are you going?”

“I want to hear more about the fight that got Janet and Tom banned from Napoli’s,” I said.
 
“Can you imagine anything worse happening?”

“Well, being murdered is pretty bad, and there a few things that are near that, but overall, no, it’s nothing that I ever want to have happen to me.”

“Then let’s go see if Angelica or one of her daughters has anything to add to our investigation,” I said as I knocked on the restaurant’s back door.

Chapter 10

“Come in,” Angelica said after we knocked on the kitchen door.
 
She looked toward the parking lot and asked, “Are your friends gone?”

“They both took off, but they aren’t really our friends,” I said.
 
“What happened in the restaurant?”

“All I know is that Maria came to get me when they were making a fuss at the table.
 
You should talk to her to get the full story.”

I looked around the kitchen, but none of Angelica’s daughters were there.
 
That was odd, since I knew that they shared in the duties of Napoli’s, including the cooking.
 
“Where is she?”

“She’s taking care of some customers, but she’ll be in shortly.
 
Sophia’s helping her, not that she needs it, but my youngest daughter needed a break from her mother, so I approved it.”

“And Antonia?” I asked.

“She’s visiting Tianna,” Angelica said.
 
There had been a rift between Angelica’s oldest daughter and the rest of the clan, so this was good news.

“How is she doing?” I asked delicately.

“We are
all
making an effort,” Angelica said, and then she clearly wanted to change to subject.
 
“Are you two hungry?”

“We’ve already had lunch, and it’s a little early for dinner, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said.

“That wasn’t my question,” she said with a smile.
 
“Sit.
 
Let me put a few plates together for you.”

“Honestly, we just wanted to talk to Maria,” I said.

Angelica frowned at me.
 
“What’s wrong, Suzanne?
 
You don’t like my cooking anymore?”

“Hardly,” I said.
 
“I just don’t know that I can afford to put on any more weight.”

“Nonsense,” Angelica said with a huge smile as she studied us.
 
“You’re
both
too skinny.”

“Now I
know
you’re lying,” I said, matching her grin with one of my own.
 
“Grace, aren’t you going to take my side?”

“Speak for yourself,” Grace said.
 
“When a master chef offers to feed me, the only answer you’ll ever get out of me is thank you very much.”

“That’s my girl,” Angelica said as she pinched Grace’s cheek.

“Traitor,” I said playfully to Grace as the restaurant owner grabbed two plates and started filling them with abundant samples of spaghetti, ravioli, and ziti.

“Every single time,” Grace said.

As Angelica brought us our plates and put them on the small table in the kitchen, she said, “Now, a little wine will round everything out perfectly.”

“Just a little, though,” I said.

“Absolutely,” Angelica replied as she headed for their wine cupboard.

“We’re never getting out of here.
 
You know that, don’t you?” I asked Grace.

“We will eventually, but in the meantime, let’s just enjoy this, okay?”

I looked at the plate in front of me, amazed at how Angelica could take the same basic ingredients and make them into such different and delightful meals.
 
The ziti had a blend of cheeses that danced across my taste buds, while the spaghetti sported a tomato-based sauce that was richly satisfying.
 
The ravioli was stuffed with different cheeses, and the sauce she’d chosen for it complemented it perfectly.
 
I was still sampling each individual flavor when Angelica emerged with a bottle of wine.

“I hope it’s nothing too special,” I said as she uncorked the bottle.

“It’s just a little house wine I like myself,” she said.

Grace, who knew a great deal more about wine than I did, studied the label.
 
“It’s a lot more than that, and we both know it.”

Angelica winked at her as she poured three glasses.
 
“Shh.”
 
As she picked up her own glass, Angelica asked, “To what should we toast?”

I said without hesitation, “To family: both here and far away, but most important of all, those long gone but never forgotten.”

“To family,” we all repeated as we clinked our glasses together.

The wine was superb, even though I didn’t know just how special it was.
 
A few minutes after we dug into our food, the kitchen door from the dining room swung open.
 
I was expecting to see Maria, but Sophia came in instead.

The young woman smiled when she saw us.
 
“When did you two sneak in?”

“While you weren’t looking,” I answered with a grin.
 
“How’s it going out there?
 
Is there any chance Maria might be able to spare us a minute?”

“I don’t know about that.
 
We’re in the middle of a sudden rush,” Sophia said, and then she turned to her mother.
 
“I honestly don’t think I can work back here anymore today.”

“That’s fine with me,” Angelica said as she winked at us.
 
“Help your sister.”

“Hang on a second,” Angelica’s youngest daughter said.
 
“That was
way
too easy.
 
You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”

“Sophia, you know that you’re
always
welcome in my kitchen.
 
I just don’t want Maria to be overwhelmed.”

“Well, okay, then,” Sophia said as she grabbed an order and left.

Once she was gone, Angelica grinned at us.
 
“That girl thinks she’s so clever, but you mark my words.
 
She’ll be back here in her apron beside me in half an hour or less.
 
She’s a natural in the kitchen these days, and the others better watch out, or she’ll surpass them all.”

“That’s high praise coming from you,” I said.

“It’s merited,” she said.

“If they’re so busy out front, should we come back later and talk to Maria?” I asked her as I cleaned my plate.
 
How had that happened?
 
I hadn’t been hungry when I’d started, but I’d still managed to eat everything Angelica had given me.
 
At least Grace’s plate was empty, too.

“No, I’ll get her for you,” Angelica said as she headed for the dining room door.

“Don’t pull her out of the dining room on our account,” I said.

“Nonsense.
 
My youngest was just exaggerating before.”

The restaurant owner came back a minute later with Maria in tow.

“Hey, Maria.
 
Can you spare us a minute?” I asked her.

“Glad to.
 
Soph’s got it covered up front.”

“Excellent.
 
What happened earlier?” I asked.

“The argument?
 
It wasn’t as dramatic as my dear sweet mother must have made it sound.
 
She loves a good story more than just about anyone I know.”

“It was no story,” Angelica protested.
 
“They were fighting loud enough for me to hear them all the way in here.”

“Really?” Maria asked with a smile.
 
“Then what were they fighting about?”

Angelica frowned.
 
“Maybe I couldn’t make out their exact words, but their tone was clear enough.”

Maria nodded.
 
“You’re right there.”

“So why
were
Janet and Tom fighting?” I asked.

“Was that their names?
 
All I knew was that the woman claimed that the man owed her husband money, but he kept denying it.”

“Did either one of them mention an amount?”

“Twenty thousand dollars,” Maria said.

“That’s a lot of money,” I said after whistling softly under my breath.

“Some people might believe that it was enough to make it worth killing someone over,” Grace added.

“I
never
understood why someone would kill for money,” Angelica said.
 
“Passion I get, but never money.
 
It’s too easily gained and lost to matter all that much to me.”

“Spoken as someone who
has
money,” Maria said.

Angelica turned to her.
 
“We aren’t rich, not by any means, but we have enough to live on, enough to keep this restaurant open, and enough for a few indulgences every now and then.
 
How much more than that do we really need, when we all have each other?”

Maria smiled as she hugged her mother.
 
“You’re right,” she said.

“I know that, but it’s still nice to hear every now and then,” Angelica said with a smile.

So far, we hadn’t gotten anything new but an amount we hadn’t heard before.
 
While twenty grand was a lot of money, it still didn’t seem like enough to make murder worthwhile to me.

Unless Tom owed it to Zane and didn’t have it.

“Is there anything else you can remember about their time here?” I asked Maria.
 
“Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem important to you.
 
We’re looking for
anything
that might help us solve a murder.”

Maria frowned, and then after a moment, she said, “It’s probably nothing, but she did say something that I thought was kind of strange.”

“What’s that?” I asked eagerly.

“Janet told him that a certain someone from his past wouldn’t like it if she found out the truth about him, and that any hope he had of rekindling an old flame would be snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane.
 
Does that mean anything to you?”

Grace looked uncomfortable with the reference, since we both figured that it had to be about her.
 
“Maybe,” I said.
 
“Is that all?”

“That’s it,” she said.
 
“Sorry I couldn’t be of any more help.
 
Now, if you don’t mind, I’d better get back out front.”

“Go,” I said, “and thanks.”

“For what it was worth,” Maria said, and then she left.

“Did that help at all?” Angelica asked when it was just the three of us again.

“We never know,” I said.
 
“Thanks for the meal,” I added as I kissed her cheek and hugged her, with Grace close behind me.

“It was nothing,” Angelica said warmly.
 
“Remember, I’m always here if you need me.”

“We know it, and we count on it,” I said.

After Grace and I were back at my Jeep in the parking lot, she asked, “How does Janet even
know
that Tom and I spent a little time together at the reunion?”

“Everybody there was commenting on how natural you two looked together out on the dance floor,” I said.

“Well, that’s never going to happen now,” Grace said.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“The fact that he’s a murder suspect might have something to do with it,” Grace said.