A Killer Cake (12 page)

“Breaking and entering, even if it’s only a
storage shed, is never acceptable as a form of investigation,” he
said stiffly. “Frankly, if I thought I really had to explain that
to you, I would never allow either one of you near another murder
investigation as long as I was sheriff. Do we understand each
other?”

“Hey, it wasn’t my suggestion, so don’t scold
me,” I said.

Moose shook his head. “That’s the way to show
a united front, Victoria.”

“If there’s anyone in town who doesn’t know
that I’ve always got your back, they must be living under a rock,
Moose.”

My grandfather patted my hand. “Not only do I
fully realize that, I greatly appreciate it.”

“I’m glad we got that settled. Now, if you
two will excuse me, I’ve got to follow up on a few more leads while
I still have time to do it alone,” the sheriff said. “Unless
there’s something else you would like to share with me.”

I nodded. “Get out your notebook, because
Kelly just told us a ton of stuff that she said she never mentioned
to you.”

After Moose and I brought him up to date, the
sheriff nodded as he closed his notebook. “There’s some good
information there.” He started to get up, but then abruptly sat
back down again. “I’m going to tell you something else that isn’t
public knowledge, but it
is
a matter of public record, if
you know where to look. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let anyone
know how you found out about it, though.”

“We are both the souls of discretion,” Moose
said. How he did it without smiling broadly was beyond me.

“Okay,” the sheriff said. “It turns out that
Mayor Mullins isn’t nearly as wealthy as he likes folks to believe.
His family fortunes have taken a substantial turn for the worse in
recent years, and the amount he lost in his deal with Roy Thompson
was just about enough to push him over the financial edge.”

“Well, well, well,” Moose said. “That’s
interesting indeed.” My grandfather looked at his watch, and then
he smiled broadly.

“Why does that make you so happy?” the
sheriff asked him.

“It doesn’t, at least not specifically.”

“Then why are you grinning like a hyena?” he
asked.

“It’s noon, Sheriff. That means that your
suspect list is now officially fair game.”

“I knew that I’d probably have reason to
regret the deal I made with you two yesterday. I just didn’t
realize that it would happen so quickly.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t do anything we
shouldn’t,” I said.

“Victoria, you shouldn’t make promises that I
have no intention of keeping,” Moose said with a broad grin.
“Sheriff, we’ve shown you time and time again that we can be a real
asset to your investigations. You need to trust us.”

“I do, in my own way, or I wouldn’t be here
right now,” the sheriff said as he stood. “All I can say is that
you should both be careful, and happy hunting.”

“Right back at you,” Moose said.

After the sheriff was gone, my grandfather
looked at me. “So, what do you say? Are you ready to get
started?”

“Let me grab something to eat first,” I said.
“I’ve got a hunch that we’re in for a long afternoon, and I don’t
want to face it on an empty stomach.”

I expected a little resistance from my
grandfather, but I was quite pleased when he said, “That’s a
sterling idea. Let’s have your husband whip us up something quick
and filling, and then our stomachs won’t be rumbling with hunger
when we start interviewing suspects.”

“Did you have anything in particular in
mind?” I asked as I started for the kitchen.

“No, why don’t we just let him surprise
us?”

“I’m game if you are,” I said.

After we told Greg that we wanted quick
bites, he made us grilled sandwiches that fit our preferences. I
had a simply delightful ham and provolone cheese sandwich grilled
perfectly, while Moose had Greg’s wonderful chicken salad. My
husband also ladled out bowls of soup for each of us. I got Greg’s
homemade chicken noodle soup that had never been anywhere near a
can, while Moose got Greg’s chili that he loved so much.

We pulled up a few stools in the kitchen as
we ate so we wouldn’t be in the way of Ellen and Martha as they
took care of our customers. Greg barely listened to our strategy
session as we ate, and it appeared to me that he was just happy
having us as company. I worried about him working mostly by himself
at the grill in the kitchen while everyone else was out in the
dining room, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, I think that
overall, he was pleased with the situation. Working back there,
Greg had the advantage of having the folks he loved nearby, and he
could catch an occasional glance and hear a word here or there, all
the while maintaining his own domain in back.

It made him happy, and that, in turn, gave me
great joy.

It was so perfectly lovely back there that I
almost hated leaving him and going out into the real world, but
Moose and I had no choice.

It was time to start interviewing more people
in order to find the killer who had tainted one of my husband’s
finest creations and used it to kill a man.

Chapter 9

“How should we handle this?” I asked Moose as
we parked in front of Sylvia Jones’s place near Molly’s Corners. It
was a pretty stately manor on the outskirts of town, with a long
and winding drive that went past an expansive pond with a freshly
painted gazebo perched on its edge.

“I think we should hit her head on,” Moose
said. “Let’s not beat around the bush. Let’s ask her for an alibi
straight away.”

“You always were one for the direct
approach,” I replied.

“Hey, it’s been known to get results in the
past,” my grandfather said with a grin.

“Sure, but we’ve also gotten kicked out of a
few places before the engine of your truck even had a chance to
cool off.”

“You’ve got a point. What do you
suggest?”

“Well, she did just lose her ex-husband, no
matter how she felt about the man. Why don’t we start with our
condolences and see where that gets us?”

“Okay, that might just work,” Moose said. “If
we’re going that route, you can take the lead.”

“Wow, did I seriously just win that
easily?”

“Hey, I can bend when I need to,” he
said.

I decided to leave that one alone since I’d
gotten my way.

We approached the massive front doors, and I
rang the bell.

Before anyone answered, Moose looked around
and asked, “What do you suppose they pay in property taxes every
year on this place?”

“I can’t imagine,” I replied as the door
opened.

I’d heard rumors that Sylvia had a butler on
her staff, but I’d never really believed it. If this refined older
man dressed in a suit was on her staff, I’d have a story of my own
to tell when I got back to the diner. “May I help you?” he asked
gravely.

“We’re from Jasper Fork, and we came to offer
Sylvia our condolences,” I said.

Moose nodded solemnly behind me, and I was
hopeful that he was indeed going to let me handle this interview,
though I knew that his decision to let me lead could change at any
second.

“I’m sorry, but Ms. Jones is not receiving
visitors at this time.” He spoke with ultimate authority, as though
his word required immediate acceptance with no room for
discussion.

“I completely understand,” I said. “It’s just
that we feel that it’s important that she knows that the citizens
of Jasper Fork are feeling her loss as well. After all, Roy was a
cherished member of our community.”

I could see Moose’s eyebrow shoot up out of
the corner of my eye, but I hoped that the man acting as a
gatekeeper didn’t.

“Who is it, Peter?” a woman’s voice asked
from inside the home.

“Mourners,” he replied.

“Show them in,” she said after a moment’s
hesitation.

If Peter was surprised to hear the news, he
didn’t show it. “Please, come in.”

As he stepped aside, Moose and I walked into
a grand foyer behind him. There was a massive staircase centered in
the space, and a chandelier hanging down that must have cost more
than our diner. Sylvia Jones was wearing an elegant black dress as
she approached us, and so help me, a black lace veil covered her
face, though just barely.

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” I said as
Peter discreetly left the room.

Sylvia nodded. “Though it’s true that Roy and
I parted ways many years ago, the man was never far from my
heart.”

Wow. That was giving their divorce a spin
that any New York PR flak would be embarrassed to try, but Sylvia
pulled it off without a moment’s hesitation. This woman was going
to be more formidable than I originally thought.

“Had you seen him recently?” Moose asked. I
had to give my grandfather credit. It was a pretty subtle way of
finding out just when she’d last seen her ex-husband.

“As a matter of fact, we spoke on the
telephone yesterday,” she said.

So, that put her in touch with him the day he
was murdered, but it wasn’t what Moose had asked her.

“How about in person?” I asked.

“I’m not certain, but it had to be several
days ago,” she said. “While it’s true that our split was less than
perfect, we’d begun to grow closer over the past few months. I’m
just sorry someone took the opportunity for us to reunite away from
us.”

I was going to need hip-waders if she kept
this up. No one had whispered a word about Sylvia and Roy being
anything but bitter enemies, but here this woman was trying to
convince us that they were on the road to reconciliation.

“What’s with the get-up, Mom?” Asher asked as
he walked through the door without waiting to be announced. He was
tall and thin, with sharp features and tight little brown eyes.
“Come on. Are you seriously going to try to play ‘grieving widow’?
I doubt anyone who knows you is going to buy it.” He seemed to
notice us for the first time. “And who exactly are the two of
you?”

“I’m Victoria, and this is my grandfather,
Moose,” I said. “We’ve met before, actually.”

“Sorry, but I don’t remember you,” he said
dismissively, and I didn’t doubt it was true for an instant. I was
pretty sure that I wasn’t the kind of woman who ever made it onto
Asher’s radar.

“We run The Charming Moose,” I said. “Surely
you’ve heard of our diner in Jasper Fork. As a matter of fact, I’m
certain that I’ve seen you around the place, and recently.” This
was my way of asking him if he’d been standing outside the diner
earlier when Kelly had come by.

He started to say something, and then changed
his mind. “You’re mistaken, because it doesn’t ring any bells.”
What a lie that was. It appeared that the son was much like the
mother, and I doubted that I could trust either one of them.

Sylvia recoiled when she heard me identify
our diner. “Asher, these are the people who killed your father.”
Her features hardened as she asked us, “You’ve both got a lot of
nerve showing up here. What are you
really
doing here?”

I knew I had to keep my voice calm and level
in light of the accusation. It was tough, but I took a deep breath,
and then I said, “Well, first of all, it’s important that you
realize that we didn’t harm your ex-husband, and second, we already
told you why we came. My grandfather and I wanted to tell you that
we were sorry for your loss.” I turned to Asher and added, “We’re
so sorry about your father.”

“I don’t doubt that you are, since your cake
is what killed him, but save your sympathy for someone who
cares.”

“Asher!” Sylvia said harshly. “You mustn’t
speak that way.”

“I refuse to rend my clothes over our loss,
Mother,” he said. “Take off that ridiculous outfit, would you? Roy
Thompson didn’t do us any favors in his entire life, and neither
one of us owes him a second of mourning. He was never much of a
father to me; we both know that, and there’s no sense in pretending
otherwise.”

“It sounds as though you and your father had
some real issues,” I said. “When was the last time you spoke to
him?”

Sylvia hadn’t presented too difficult a
challenge when we’d asked her in a roundabout way about the last
time she’d seen her ex, but Asher wasn’t buying any of it. “Is that
your not so subtle way of asking me for my alibi yesterday? What
business is it of yours?”

It was clear I needed to match his tone, or
we were never going to get anything out of him. “You said it
yourself. Someone used our cake to kill your father. We need to
find out who did it so we can clear our diner’s name.”

I wasn’t certain what I was expecting, but
Asher’s sudden smile caught me off-guard. “Okay, now that I can
understand. Self-preservation is an excellent motivation to nose
around into something that isn’t any of your business.”

“So, then, you’ll give us your alibi?” Moose
asked.

Asher’s smile never broke. “Nice try, but no,
that’s not going to happen. I’ve learned that I rarely go wrong
when I keep my mouth shut.” He turned to Sylvia and added, “And I
suggest you adopt the same policy yourself, Mother.”

“Actually, she’s already spoken to us about
your father,” I said.

That finally managed to break Asher’s grin.
“What did you tell them?” he asked. Before she could respond, he
added quickly, “Never mind; we can discuss it later.”

“Asher, there’s no reason
not
to tell
people our alibis. After all, we were together for the entire
morning yesterday. Since we didn’t go anywhere near that cake, we
are above suspicion.”

He
really
didn’t like her telling us
that. “Mom, would you mind if I borrowed your Jaguar? Mine’s in the
shop.”

“Certainly,” she said. “Let me just get you
my keys.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” He waited until
his mother had left the room when he turned to us. “Thanks for
coming by, but it’s time for you both to go now.”