Sweet Suspects (The Donut Mysteries) (6 page)

“You know,” I said as we made our way out of the restaurant to the hotel proper, “it might all turn out to be perfectly innocent.”

“It might be, but what good does it do us to assume that?” she asked.

“No good at all.
 
How should we approach Billy?”

“Well, we could start with the way he spoke with you last night at the reunion,” Grace answered.

“Come on, he wasn’t
that
bad,” I said.

“Maybe not, but what are the chances that he’ll remember that?”

“Not very good,” I said with a smile.
 
“Okay, I’m willing to play along to see what else we might find out.”

“Then let’s go,” Grace said.

We didn’t make it to Billy’s room though, at least not without interruption.
 
At the front desk, we ran into someone else who had to be on our list, even if Grace might not be too keen about it.
 

And from the bag at his feet and the bill in his hand, it appeared that Tom Hancock was leaving town.

“Going somewhere?” I asked Tom as we detoured over to the desk.

“The reunion’s over,” he told me, and then he turned to Grace.
 
“I’m sorry about the way things ended last night.”

“So am I,” Grace said.
 
“Do you really have to go right now?”

“There’s nothing keeping me here, is there?” he asked, looking hopefully into her eyes.

She was about to answer when I heard a familiar voice.
 
“Mr. Hancock, excuse me, but I need a word with you.”

It was Chief Martin, and while he didn’t look all that surprised seeing Grace and me standing there, he didn’t look particularly pleased by it, either.

“Sheriff, what can I do for you?” Tom asked.

“It’s Chief,” he corrected him.
 
“I was kind of hoping that you’d stick around a little longer, given the circumstances.”

“What circumstances are those?” Tom asked as he signed his bill with a flourish.

“Murder,” Chief Martin said.

That caught Tom off-guard.
 
“Murder?
 
Who was murdered?”

“Are you saying that you haven’t heard?” Grace asked him.

“I haven’t heard a thing.
 
I got up, showered, and then I packed my bag.
 
I didn’t speak with anyone on the way down here, and no one’s mentioned murder to me.
 
I repeat, who was murdered?”

I was about to tell him when the chief spoke up first.
 
“Somebody killed Zane Dunbar in front of the donut shop last night, and I’ve heard from three separate witnesses that you had a fight with the man last night soon before he died.”

“It wasn’t a fight, not really,” Tom said, speaking quickly.
 
“He took a swing at me while I was dancing, I avoided it, and he fell on the floor.
 
It was all just an innocent misunderstanding.”
 
Tom turned to Grace as he added, “You can ask her.
 
She was standing right next to me when it happened.”

“How about it, Grace?
 
Was it really all that innocent?”

Grace couldn’t even meet Tom’s gaze as she answered, “What he didn’t mention was that they had a few heated words.
 
It wasn’t innocent at all, if you want my honest opinion.”

Tom looked surprised by her statement.
 
“Come on, Grace, that’s not the way it was, and you know it.
 
What about what Zane said to you?
 
You looked as though you’d been slapped in the face when he whispered something in your ear.”

“I already know all about that,” Chief Martin said quickly.
 
“We’re talking about you right now.”

“I didn’t kill the man,” Tom said fiercely.

“When’s the last time you saw him?” the chief asked.

“On the dance floor, when I was with Grace,” he said.

“Can anyone else confirm that?”

“It’s nearly impossible to prove the negative,” Tom replied.
 
“Of course I can’t prove that we didn’t speak again.
 
All I can give you is my word.”

“I can see your point,” Chief Martin said, “but if it’s all the same to you, I’d appreciate it if you’d stick around for the next two or three days until we get this cleared up.”

“What makes you think you can solve his murder so quickly?” Tom asked, pointedly ignoring both of us now.

“Why don’t we revisit that in three days and see where we stand then?”

“Is that an order?”

“Think of it more as a strongly worded request,” the chief said.

“Fine,” Tom said as he turned back to the clerk, who’d been discreetly listening to every word of our conversation.
 
“It appears that I’ll need my room for two more nights after all.”

“Yes, sir,” she said as she started the process of his extension.

“If that’s all,” Tom said when he got his room key back, “I’ll be off.”

“We appreciate your cooperation,” the chief said automatically.

“Of course,” Tom answered as he brushed past us both.

“Sorry about that,” the chief said after Tom Hancock was gone.
 
“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Grace said.
 
“You asked me a fair question, and I told you the truth.”

“It didn’t make you very popular with Tom Hancock though, did it?”

“Don’t worry about it, Chief.”

“If you say so,” he said.
 
“Who
else
have you two spoken with since I left you?”

I smiled.
 
“Don’t act shocked and surprised.
 
You
knew
that we were going to investigate.”

“I did, but I figured I had at least until the donut shop closed for the day.
 
You didn’t shut it down completely, did you?”

“No, Emma and her mother are running it today.”

The chief whistled.
 
“Suzanne, you’re not playing around here, are you?
 
I’ve never known you to drop Donut Hearts for a murder investigation.”

“What can I say?
 
It’s important to us.
 
We’ve already started a suspect list.”

“Go ahead, then.
 
Give me some names.”

I told him about our earlier conversation with the widow, and our plans to speak with Billy Briscoe next.
 
“I’m guessing that you don’t want us talking to Billy before you do, though, is that right?” I asked.

“On the contrary, I think that you should both go speak to him right now,” the chief said.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s just not like you to give us a green light to speak to someone that you haven’t questioned yet,” I said.

“Maybe I want you to break the ice with him first, and then I’ll follow up before he has a chance to collect his wits.”

“Are we playing ‘good cop bad, cop’ here?” Grace asked with a smile.

“No, mostly because you two aren’t cops,” the chief said.
 
“I just think this one time in particular that it might not be a bad idea for you to go first, unless you don’t want to.”

“We want to,” I said as I tugged at Grace’s arm.
 
“Come on, let’s go.”

“Call me the second that you’re finished with him,” the chief said.

“We will,” I said as Grace and I headed down the hallway to room 207.

“Why did he have a sudden change of heart like that?” Grace asked me as we hurried toward Billy’s door.

“I’m not sure, and I don’t want to give him any time to second-guess his decision,” I said.

We were there, so Grace said, “Then it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and knock.”

“Here goes nothing,” I said, and I tapped lightly on Billy’s door.

CHAPTER 5

Of course he didn’t answer.

“Knock again,” Grace said.

I repeated it, but there still wasn’t a response.

“Is he ignoring us, or is it something more sinister than that?” I asked Grace after another few moments.

“What do you mean?
 
You don’t think somebody might have killed him too, do you?”

“Not until you just said it I didn’t,” I said.
 
“I was thinking more along the lines that he might have skipped town.”

“Wouldn’t he realize how that would make him look?” Grace asked me.

“Maybe he doesn’t care,” I said.
 
“Let’s go find the chief and see what he thinks.”

Grace laughed a little as we made our way back to the reception area.

“What’s so funny?” I asked her.

“Doesn’t it strike
you
as a little odd that we’re cooperating so fully with the police these days?
 
When we first started investigating murder, we had to hide what we did from Chief Martin, and now it feels as though we’re working hand in hand with him.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said as we came out into the lobby.

“Even you have to admit that it’s not like it used to be,” she said.
 
“Hey, where did the chief go?” Grace asked as she looked around.
 
He clearly wasn’t in the lobby anymore.
 

 
“Maybe he got a bite to eat,” I suggested, but a quick examination of the dining room gave the same results.
 
The police chief was gone, just like Billy.
 

It was getting to be an epidemic.

“What should we do now?” Grace asked.

“I’m going to give him a call,” I said as I pulled out my phone.

“Billy?”

“No, not him.
 
I don’t have
his
number,” I said as I hit the speed-dial for the police chief.
 
“I’m calling Chief Martin.”

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“Martin,” he said when he picked up.

“We can’t find Billy Briscoe, and we can’t find you, either.”

“We’re both out in the parking lot,” the chief said.
 
“He was going to slip away, but I convinced him to hang around a little bit longer.”
 
There was a hint of smugness in the police chief’s voice, something that was easy to understand.
 
He had power and authority that Grace and I could never have, using the force of the law to get what he wanted, while we had to finesse our way around most situations.
 
It was just one more difference between us, a gap that would never be bridged.
 
We might be cooperating more now than we ever had before, but there would never be a time where we were equals in anyone’s eyes.
 
Grace and I were good at what we did, getting people to open up to us about things they would never tell the police, but when it came right down to it, we didn’t have any authority to make anyone do
anything
they didn’t want to do.

“Should we come out there and join you?” I asked.

“There’s really no need.
 
Billy and I are going to go have a little chat somewhere more private.”

“Are you taking him in?” I asked.
 
I couldn’t imagine how he could do that, not without a lot more evidence than he had at the moment.

“No, it’s nothing like that.
 
We’re just going to grab a cup of coffee and have a little chat.
 
I’ll talk to you both later,” he said, and then the police chief hung up on me.

“What did he say?” Grace asked as I put my phone away.

“He’s got Billy, and they’re going to go talk in private.
 
Oh, and we’re not invited, either.”

Grace frowned at that.
 
“At least he didn’t get away.”

“We don’t even know if he’s
done
anything,” I said.
 
“Should we troll for more witnesses from last night while we’re already here, or should we head back to April Springs and try to find Helen Marston and Mr. Davidson?
 
What’s his first name, anyway?
 
It seems silly to keep calling an old teacher by his last name alone.”

“Do you mean it’s not Mister?” Grace asked with a smile.

“I doubt it,” I said.
 
“Remind me to ask him when we see him.”

Grace nodded.
 
“We might as well go do that now.
 
There might be more people staying here who wanted to see something bad happen to Zane, but if there are, I don’t know who they might be.”

“It’s settled, then.
 
We head back to April Springs and ask our old teacher if he’s a murderer.”

“You’ve got to admit that we’ve had tougher conversations than that in the past,” Grace offered.

“We have,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean that I’m looking forward to this one.”

“Come on, it will be fine.
 
Remember, I’ll be right beside you all of the way.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” I said as we headed out to the parking lot to retrieve my Jeep.
 
The chief was already gone, at least his squad car was, so I had to assume that he and Billy were about to have their own little chat.
 
I would love to know what they were going to discuss, but unless the chief decided to share with me later, I doubted that Billy would tell me.

For the moment, I had my own set of problems.

“Helen, what are
you
doing here?” I asked Helen Marston after she answered Mr. Davidson’s door.
 
It was probably a stupid question to ask her, given that she was dressed only in a man’s dress shirt, and she looked as though she’d just woken up.

“Suzanne, the real question is what are
you and Grace
doing here?
 
Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Trust me, we know.
 
We’ve been up for hours already,” Grace said.
 
“Is Mr. Davidson around, or are you just housesitting for him?”

“Henry is in the shower,” she said matter-of-factly.

“How long have you two been an item?” Grace asked her.

“We’ve been dating for several months,” Helen said.
 
“Grace, there’s nothing wrong with me seeing an older man.
 
After all, he hasn’t been our teacher in quite a few years.”

“Hey, date whoever you want,” Grace said.
 
“I’m happy when
anyone
finds love these days.
 
Have you heard about Zane Dunbar?”

She nodded and managed to look sad.
 
“We read about it in the paper this morning.
 
It’s tragic, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I said.
 
“When did you see him last?”

Helen looked surprised by the question.
 
“I don’t know.
 
I suppose it was at the reunion when everyone else did.”
 
She paused, and then looked back at Grace.
 
“I heard that you had argued with him last night.”

“We didn’t argue,” Grace said.

“That’s not the way I heard it, but whatever,” Helen said.

At that moment, Henry Davidson appeared, wearing the same suit and tie that he’d worn back when we’d been in school.
 
“Ladies, what are you doing here?”

“We wanted to speak with you both about Zane Dunbar,” I said.

“I don’t know why,” he replied, and then he turned to Helen and added, “Shouldn’t you be getting dressed?”

“I’ve got loads of time yet,” she said, clearly not taking the hint.

“Still, it might be prudent to go get ready now,” Mr. Davidson said, and Helen nodded.
 

“Sure.
 
Of course.”
 

It was easy to picture them back when we’d all been in his class, but that was an image I now wanted to wipe from my mind.
 
Helen was right.
 
It had been too many years since he’d taught us to matter now, no matter how uncomfortable the thought of one of my old classmates dating our teacher might make me.
 
Clearly it was my problem, not theirs.
 

Once Helen disappeared back inside, Mr. Davidson said, “I know that you girls have a reputation for investigating crime, but I assure you, I had nothing to do with Zane Dunbar’s unfortunate demise.”
 
He said it in that lecturing voice I remembered all too well, one that didn’t harbor any doubt or contradiction.

Well, we were a long way from being in his classroom at the moment, so the sooner he realized that, the better off we’d all be, as far as I was concerned.
 
“Henry, you should know that it’s not going to be as easy as all that.
 
We’re involved, and we expect answers from you, not lectures.”

Mr. Davidson looked shocked by my rebellion, though Grace looked rather pleased with me.

It took the teacher a few moments to collect his composure, but when he did, it was clear that he was going to act as though he were still in charge, no matter how deluded he might be.
 
“If you’re going to take that attitude with me, then I’m afraid that I won’t speak of this with you.”

“Then you’ll have to talk to Chief Martin,” I said.
 
“We were just trying to save you and Helen a little grief, that’s all.”

“What is that, a threat?” he asked, clearly unhappy that I was being so petulant.
 
“Do you think that we’re concerned that you might tell everyone about us?”
 
He was defiant now, and I could see a streak of anger coming out in him that I’d never seen before.
 
I’d been having a tough time seeing Mr. Davidson as someone capable of jamming a spear through someone’s chest, but this man standing in front of me could have done it.
 
Of that, there was no doubt in my mind.

“You should know that we don’t threaten,” I said, keeping my voice calm and level.
 
“But then again, we don’t bluff, either.”
 
At least not very often.
 
I thought the last part instead of speaking it aloud, deciding to keep that little fact to myself.

“Tell the police chief, then.
 
Tell the world for all that we care.
 
We have nothing to hide, and nothing to be ashamed of.
 
Just go away.”

“Now is that any way for a teacher to act toward a couple of his favorite former students?” Grace asked him with a smile.

The slammed door in our face was answer enough.
 

We’d rattled Henry Davidson, there was no doubt about that, but was it because we’d caught him with Helen, or was it because he was guilty of something much worse than dating a former student?

Only time would tell.

“What should we do now?” I asked Grace.
 
It was barely ten in the morning, and for as long as I could remember, I had been at the donut shop at that hour of the day.
 
It felt positively bizarre not to be there right now.
 
“Is there anyone else on our immediate list?”

Grace said, “No one that comes directly to mind.”
 
She looked a little uncomfortable as she said it, and I had to wonder if she was holding something back from me.