Donut Shop Mystery 25 - Devil's Food Defense (15 page)

“What can I say? She’s trying to make me a better man,” Donald said.

“Against your wishes?” I asked.

“Let’s just say that it’s an ongoing process. Go on. Ask her.”

Grace started to go in, but I stopped her. “One more thing first. When we were in your office earlier, there were papers on your desk naming a new beneficiary for Gray Vincent’s investments. Who is going to receive that money?”

“I can’t tell you that! It’s confidential!”

“Your client is dead. Do you think he’d care at this point?” Grace asked. “Of course, we could always ask you in Evangeline’s presence. I have a feeling you might be a little more cooperative then.”

He clearly didn’t like it, but Donald Rand said with a scowl, “Fine. What can it hurt at this point? It’s going to be common knowledge soon enough.”

“Are you inheriting it all yourself?” Grace asked him, clearly jumping the gun.

“What? No! Of course not.”

“I saw your name on those papers, so don’t bother trying to deny it,” I said.

“Why wouldn’t they be there? I was acting in Gray’s behalf. I was never going to inherit anything from him. He was a client. You might not believe it, but I do have ethics.”

“Does that mean that Gladys is getting the money?” I asked. I was afraid of the answer, but I needed to hear it nonetheless.

“No.”

“But I saw her name on the documents, too,” I protested.

“I’m not denying it, but there was just one little problem with those forms.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Gray never signed them,” Donald Rand said with a shrug.

Chapter 19

“W
hat do you mean, he never signed them?” I asked.

“He had me draw up the papers, but then he told me to sit on them for a while.”

“Why was that?” Grace asked.

“I asked him just that, and he told me that if Gladys accepted his proposal, then she’d get everything.”

“And if she didn’t?” I asked.

“Then the beneficiary he had listed before would stand,” Donald Rand explained.

That led to another question. “Who gets it all now, then?”

“The April Springs Garden Club. He said in the end that it was only fitting that they end up with it,” he said with a grimace. “Gray was nuts about flowers and landscaping. Have you ever seen his place?” He caught himself. “Of course you have. You two found his body. It’s a shame, but what can you do? As soon as things settle out, that club is going to get a windfall they aren’t going to believe. They’ll get the two hundred grand I’m investing, and if the cash ever turns up, they’ll get that as well. Gray was going to change his will, too, but Gladys said no.”

I had a sudden thought. “Does anyone on the committee know what they’re about to get?” I asked him.

“I have no way of knowing that, but if they do, I didn’t tell them,” he said.

“Do you happen to know who runs the club at the moment?” Grace asked.

“I don’t have a clue,” Donald Rand said.

“I do,” I said as it began to sink in.

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Suzanne. Who is it?”

“They just held a new election a few weeks ago. Barry Vance is in charge now.”

“Barry? But he’s moving to Florida,” Grace said. “He told us so himself. Why would he kill Gray to get control of his money, just to leave town when he had a chance to get his hands on it all?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Regardless, it’s out of my hands,” Rand said. “Now, if you two will excuse me, I have some books to balance. I’m going to be here all day as it is.”

“We’re not going anywhere until we confirm your alibi,” Grace said. I was glad that she was with me. It had completely slipped my mind.

“Must we really go through this?” he asked.

“We must,” I said. “And no coaching her when we get inside. Do you understand?”

He just laughed. “Suzanne, do you think there’s any chance I can get Evangeline to do anything that she doesn’t want to do?”

“Probably not, but don’t even try,” I said.

We all walked back in together, and Donald asked her, “Evangeline, could you please tell these ladies what we were doing the night Gray Vincent was murdered?”

She frowned. “Why do they need to know?”

“It will make my life easier if you do. Isn’t that enough?” Donald Rand asked.

“Certainly. Very well. We were together in my kitchen upstairs. I’ve been working on some of my own homemade confections, and I was trying out new fudge recipes.”

“When did you finish up?” I asked her.

“Oh, it must have been well past midnight,” she said.

“How did the fudge turn out?” I asked. I had no reason to trust her answers, and I wondered if she’d be able to give me any specific details about her attempts.

“I understirred the first batch, overstirred the second, and with the third, I used entirely too much peanut butter.”

“Do you happen to have any I could taste? I just love homemade fudge,” I said.

“I haven’t thrown any of it out,” she said, looking delighted. “Come in back with me.”

We all followed her into the backroom, where we found sheets and sheets of fudge waiting for us. I tapped one, and my knuckle sank in. The next was hard as a rock, and the one with too much peanut butter looked as though a single bite would be impossible to swallow. “Take your pick,” she said as she offered me a small knife.

I was afraid the overdone fudge might snap off the blade, and the one with too much peanut butter would be so overwhelming I might not be able to choke it down, so I cut a small wedge of the soft fudge and took a bite. Sugar crystals grated on my teeth as I managed to swallow the messy bite. “It’s not too bad,” I said.

She shook her head. “It’s dreadful, and I know it.” Evangeline turned to Donald. “You were right. I’m going to throw all of this out and start over.”

To my surprise, the financial advisor took her hands into his and said softly, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll get it. I have faith in you.” Who was this man?

She smiled. “Thank you. Now, if that’s all, ladies, this fellow has an arduous task ahead of him.”

“Thank you for your time,” I said.

“Come back anytime,” she said. “I’ve heard so many good things about your donut shop, Suzanne.”

So, she had known who I was, and what I did as a day job. “You should come by. I’ll treat you to a donut.”

“Thank you, but it’s all I can do to resist all of this,” she said as she walked us out and gestured to the candy all around her. “I’m afraid your donuts would be my downfall.”

I grinned at her. “That’s why I’ve never been in here myself, but now that we’ve met, I just might make an exception. Just don’t let me have anything while I’m here,” I said.

“Only if you promise to do the same for me,” she answered. “Aren’t we a pair?”

“Two birds of a feather,” I said.

Once Grace and I were back on the road, I said, “So, we can eliminate Donald Rand.”

“Do you believe her?” Grace asked.

“You saw that fudge. I’m willing to bet that she was telling the truth. It’s hard to make. Momma can do it, but I’ve never been able to master the art of it.”

“She found a friend in you, didn’t she?” Grace asked, laughing.

“We’re kind of in the same line of work,” I answered. “Neither one of us offers anything that’s fit for a steady diet, but they sure do add a little sweetness to life. What’s wrong? Do you doubt her story?”

“I wasn’t sure until I saw that fudge. I’m sure she didn’t whip up three bad batches just to give Donald Rand an alibi.”

“So, that leaves us with Gladys and Barry Vance,” I said.

“And Barry is less likely now than he was before,” Grace added.

“It doesn’t make sense that he’d leave town just as he was about to get his hands on half of Gray’s fortune.”

“If he knew about it,” Grace said, “and if he didn’t find the other half already.”

“Does the mailman seem to you like someone who would be content with half of anything?” I asked her.

“No, it’s doubtful, though he might have a hard time stealing money from the garden club.”

“I’ve got a hunch he’s resourceful enough to find a way to skim a good bit off the top,” I conceded. “It begs the question, though. Did he even know the club was getting half of Gray’s money?”

“I’m wondering if Gladys knew she’d been set to get the other half if she’d accepted his proposal? If she thought it was a done deal, she might be tempted to do something before he could change the papers back.”

“Only she didn’t know that he’d never made it official in the first place,” I said.

“I hate that she’s back on our radar,” Grace said.

“So do I, but we need to know what she knew, what she thought, and get a general timeline of it all.”

“How do we find any of that out?”

“There’s only one way that I can think of. We have to ask her and hope we can tell whether she’s lying to us or not,” Grace said.

“Trish is not going to be happy,” I said, “but we really have no choice.”

“So, it’s back to April Springs,” Grace answered. “I wonder how Stephen is doing with Mickey Wright?”

“You could always call him and find out,” I suggested.

“No, thanks,” she replied with a grin. “But feel free to touch base with him yourself if you’re that curious.”

It was my turn to smile. “I wouldn’t have called Jake when he was in charge, so I’m not about to call your boyfriend. We’ll find out when we find out.”

“Maybe so, but there may be another way we can check things out,” she said. “The drive back takes us close enough to Gray’s house to make a quick detour.”

“Do you think that’s wise, especially given the fact that Wright is probably wounded? What if he tries to carjack us and steal your company car?”

“Then we run over him and call it a day,” Grace answered with a chuckle.

“Could you really do that?”

“Probably not, unless he was threatening you. Then all bets would be off.”

“That’s sweet,” I said. “I’d run him down for you, too.”

“Why wouldn’t you? I’m even more fun to be around than you are.”

We both laughed, and the rest of the drive was uneventful.

Until we got close to Gray’s place and found ourselves facing another roadblock.

This time literally.

Chapter 20

“W
hat’s going on?” Grace asked the officer as she rolled to a stop.

“Sorry, but you can’t go any farther. There’s a turnaround right over there you can use,” he said. He was unfamiliar to me, and I noticed that his uniform was from Union Square and not April Springs.

“Is the local chief around?” Grace asked. “I’d like to see him.”

“No can do,” the officer said.

“Let’s just go,” I told Grace. “We’ll catch up with him later.”

“Fine,” she said, but it was clear that she was a little miffed about being denied access, whether to her boyfriend or the crime scene, I couldn’t say.

Grace turned around, but the moment we were out of sight of the roadblock, she pulled over and grabbed her cellphone.

“Who are you calling?” I asked, as if I didn’t already know.

“Stephen,” she said.

I didn’t even try to stop her. After all, I wanted to know what was going on myself. Would I have called Jake if the circumstances had been different and he’d still been in charge? I was glad that I didn’t have to make that decision.

“Hey, it’s Grace. I know. I just got stopped by a cop. Okay. Yes. Sure. Fine. Bye.” She hung up and then turned to me. “He’s busy.”

“I’m not surprised,” I replied.

“He did have time to tell me that they found blood at the scene. Mickey Wright was clearly hit by the shot. They followed the trail of blood through the woods, but it dead-ended at the road.”

“So, he made it back to his car,” I said.

“As a matter of fact, he didn’t. They found it half a mile farther down the road, hidden in some trees. He never made it that far.”

“So, he carjacked somebody?” I asked.

“They think so, but they aren’t taking any chances. They’re still scouring the woods in case he doubled back. Stephen said that it wasn’t safe for us here.”

“He’s probably right,” I agreed. “Don’t worry. They’ll catch him.”

“I hope so,” Grace said as she headed to the diner. “In the meantime, we need to talk to Gladys. I’m not sure who I’d rather face at this moment, Trish or Mickey Wright.”

“I’m not, either.”

We got to the diner and found Trish Granger frantic, an odd state of mind for her normally. “Suzanne, Grace, when’s the last time you two spoke with Gladys?”

“We saw her outside the police station this morning. Trish, I swear, we didn’t say anything bad to her.”

I was all set to be attacked, but instead, Trish just said, “I’m not accusing either one of you of anything. She never showed up for her shift! Hilda had to stay on, and she’s not very happy about it. Me, I’m worried about Gladys’s safety. Where could she be?”

“I don’t have a clue,” I said. “She told the police chief she felt bad about what happened to Gray. She felt responsible, but she didn’t say anything about just taking off.”

“We need to find her,” Trish said. “She might be in trouble. I’m going with you.”

Or on the run, I thought, but I kept it to myself. I wondered if that visit to the police station was enough to set her off and send her packing. She’d been distraught. Had she decided to just leave town rather than face what had happened?

“You’re needed here,” I said as Trish started to leave her diner. “Grace and I will look for her.”

“We sure will,” Grace agreed.

“I should be out looking for her, too,” Trish protested.

“Tell you what. We’ll look on our own for an hour. If we don’t find her, you can close the diner and come with us. What do you say? That should at least get you through your lunch rush.” The place was packed, and I knew if she shuttered her doors now, she’d lose quite a bit of money, and maybe even some longtime customers.

“Okay. I guess that would be all right. Find her.”

“We’ll do our best,” I said. “Where does she live? We’ll check her place first.”

“I’ve already called there three times,” Trish said.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to pick up,” I suggested, not wanting to bring up the possibility that she was ignoring her boss while she prepared to leave town.

“Okay. She’s at 324 Grosscup, apartment number 6.”

I knew the complex. “Got it.”

“Call me the second you find anything out,” Trish demanded.

“I promise,” I said.

Once Grace and I were outside, she looked at me and asked, “Do you think she’s on the run?”

“I was just wondering the same thing,” I admitted. “She was pretty shaken earlier.”

“I think there’s a good chance when we get there, all of her stuff will be gone,” Grace said. “Trish is going to be heartbroken if Gladys leaves.”

“Let’s try not to jump to any conclusions,” I said.

“What do you know? Her car is still here,” I said as we pulled in beside it.

“Maybe she’s just not finished packing yet,” Grace said.

“If she’s planning to skip town, we need to stop her.”

“Because of Trish?” Grace asked me.

“That, and because we haven’t fully cleared her yet, either. She’s still got to be a suspect.” I walked up to the door of the apartment and rang the bell.

There was no response.

I rang again as Grace pounded on the door. “Open up, Gladys. We’re not leaving until we’ve talked to you.”

More ringing, more knocking, but still no response.

“Do I need to call Chief Grant and get him over here?” I asked. It was an idle threat. The police chief had enough on his hands at the moment, but I was hoping that Gladys wouldn’t know that.

“Don’t do that,” I heard her muffled voice say through the door.

“Let us in,” I said.

“I can’t.”

“Then we’re calling Stephen,” Grace said.

After a moment’s hesitation, I heard Gladys remove the chain, and the door opened, but just a crack. “I can’t talk right now. You both need to go.” The woman looked terrified to see us. What was going on?

“All we need is two minutes,” I said. “You owe us at least that much.”

“I can’t,” she said, her eyes darting behind her. “I’m busy.”

Something was definitely going on. “Okay. Sorry to bother you.” We needed to get away from that apartment and call the police chief after all. Gladys was in trouble.

Evidently Grace missed Gladys’s panic.

Taking out her phone, she said loudly, “You’ve left us with no choice. I’m calling Stephen.”

“No, I don’t think you are,” Mickey Wright said as he showed himself from behind the door. There was a knife close enough to Gladys’s throat to kill her before we could stop him, even if we had a gun, which we didn’t. “Come on, ladies. It’s time we had a little chat.”