Troubled Treats (7 page)

I thought about that for a moment, and then I said, “There’s steel in you that surprises me sometimes.”

Jake sighed before he spoke again.  “I don’t know what to tell you.  I had a tough job, and it made me learn what I was willing to do and what I wasn’t.”

“And there’s no way to turn that off now that you’re retired, is there?” I asked him.

“Sorry, it’s a part of me that I wouldn’t change, even if I could.”

“I get that,” I said.  “I’m just glad you’re on my side.”

“So am I,” he said with a grin.  “Now, can I make that call?”

“I’m not going to try to stop you,” I said with a smile of my own.  As Jake brought the chief up to speed on what we had learned, I marveled at just how complex my husband really was.  Though we’d been married for quite a while, I realized that there were parts of him that I didn’t know all that well yet, but I vowed to change that.  Nothing he’d told me had made me love him any less.  He was a man of honor and integrity, and that was a part of what made him so special to me, but there was a strength underlying it all that I had to acknowledge as well.

Chapter 8

After Jake brought the police chief up to date on the latest developments in our investigation, he hung up and turned to me.  “You know something?  This might just work out.”

“The marriage?” I asked him with a smile.

“That’s beyond question,” he answered with a smile of his own.  “I’m talking about our new arrangement.  There’s something to be said for working the case from this side.”

“Believe me, it’s not always this easy,” I told him.  “There are lots of times I hit brick walls when no one will say anything to me about the case I’m working on, and I can’t exactly compel them to talk.”

“I understand that,” Jake said, “but it’s nice when it happens, isn’t it?”

Once we were back in the truck, I replied, “It’s wonderful, but tonight we were in the right place at the right time to witness what happened between Jim and Shirley, and that led to everything else that we learned here.”

“Suzanne, don’t underestimate us.  After all, we were here because we were following a lead.  You should be happier than you seem to be about what we uncovered tonight.”

“I’m pleased, but we have a long way to go before we’re ready to name the killer.”

“And no one knows that better than I do,” Jake said as he leaned over and patted my leg gently.  As he drove, I noticed that he wasn’t heading back to our cottage.

“Are we still working on the case?” I asked as I glanced at my watch. “Because if we are, I should remind you that I can’t stay out much later.  I have a donut shop to run in the morning, remember?”

“I’m not about to forget that,” Jake replied.  “There’s something that’s been bothering me about the crime scene though, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to swing by there and check it out before we quit for the night.  What do you say?”

“What makes you think that Griffin is gone?”

“I don’t know one way or the other, but there’s only one way to find out.  Is it okay?”

I knew how I was when I was on a case, chewing on it like a dog with a bone, and it didn’t surprise me that Jake was the same way.  After all, he’d been in the crime-solving business a lot longer than I’d been.  “That’s fine.”

“Thanks.  I won’t keep you out too late.  I promise.”

When we got there, I wasn’t all that surprised to see that Griffin was still stationed out front.  “That’s too bad,” I said.  “Hey, why are you parking the truck?”

“I want a word with him.  Don’t worry; it won’t take a second,” Jake said as he started to get out of the truck.

“Hang on a second.  I’m coming with you,” I said.

He just shrugged, which was enough agreement for me.

“Getting chilly out, isn’t it?” Jake asked as he approached the policeman.

“I could use a cup of coffee,” Griffin said.  “You don’t happen to have any on you, do you?”

“Sorry, we don’t, but we could go get you some,” Jake volunteered.  “Suzanne, would you mind?” he asked as he tried to hand me his truck keys.

“You’re kidding, right?  I’m not driving your truck,” I said, refusing his offer, “but I don’t mind if you go.”

“Never mind,” Griffin said.  “I’m due to be relieved in twenty minutes anyway.”

“Are you guarding the building around the clock?” Jake asked him.

“We’re here until the chief says otherwise,” the officer answered.

“Well, have a good night then,” Jake said as he saluted with two fingers.

Griffin grinned.  “In about twenty-one minutes, I will.”

As we got back into the truck and headed back home, I asked, “Were you trying to get rid of me back there?”

“No, ma’am,” he said, smiling.

“I should hope not,” I said.  “We’re a team, remember?”

“Hey, you spoke with Gabby without me.  How come that’s okay, but me talking to another cop by myself isn’t?”

I thought about it for a second, and then I realized that he had a legitimate point.  “You’re right.  I’m wrong.”

“I’m sorry; I missed that.  Would you mind repeating it?”

“As a matter of fact, I would,” I said.  “Next time I’ll go.”

“Even if it means driving my truck?” Jake asked playfully.

“Only if you’re okay if something happens to it while I’m driving.”

“On second thought, I’ll run the errands myself.”

I looked at the ancient truck.  “What is it about this truck that makes you love it so much?”

“I thought I told you.  It was my dad’s,” Jake said softly.  “When he died, it was about the sum total of my inheritance from him, but it was all that I ever really wanted.  Whenever I drive it, I think of him.”

I had had no idea.  “I get it, Jake.  I’m sorry about all of the disparaging comments I’ve made about it in the past.”

“You haven’t said that many bad things about her,” Jake said as he stroked the dashboard.

“Maybe not to your face,” I replied.  “The sniping stops now, though.”

“Thanks.  This truck is a part of me, good, bad, or indifferent.”

“And I’m sure that I’ll grow to love it, too.”

“Well, I wouldn’t expect you to go that far,” he answered with a hint of laughter.  I knew how hard it was for Jake to open up to me, and I considered it a real victory that he’d told me the story behind his truck.

“She and I will at least learn to share you,” I said as I stroked the seat between us.

“That’s all that I ask,” Jake said.  “Let’s get you home.  I’m getting hungry, how about you?”

“In all the excitement, we forgot to eat, didn’t we?  Would you mind if we just have sandwiches at the cottage?  I hate to eat a big meal just before I go to bed.”

“That sounds perfect to me,” Jake said.  “We have one more stop to make, and then we’ll head home.”

“Why do we have to stop?  We have all the fixings we need to make sandwiches,” I protested.  It really was getting late, at least for me.

“I know that, but we need something from your mother.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“A key to the factory,” Jake replied.  “Once the police chief clears it, I need to get back in there.”

I knew there was no sense trying to argue with him.  Besides, I wanted that key myself.  “Fine, but we’re not staying long.”

“I promise,” he said, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold him to that.  He didn’t have the urgency to get home that I did, and why should he?  My husband could sleep in as late as he wanted to, not that he would, especially while he was working on a murder investigation, but at least he had the option.  Before long, I’d have to be getting up and going in to work while the world slept around me.  It was getting harder and harder to drag myself into work some days while Jake stayed behind, warm and comfy in our bed.  Still, I was a donutmaker by profession as well as by choice, and the hours came with the job.

“What are you two doing out so late?” Momma asked as she answered the door to her home.  “Suzanne, shouldn’t you be asleep by now?”

“We’re headed home to get a bite, and then I’m going straight to bed,” I admitted.  “We need a favor first, though.”

“Are you out of food?  You really should keep your pantry stocked.  Lucky for you I made a pot roast tonight, and we have plenty for all four of us.”

“Thanks, but we can’t stay,” I said, and then I looked over and saw the smile on my husband’s face as he took a deep whiff of the aromas coming from my mother’s kitchen.

“Are you sure?” Jake asked.  “Dot, that smells awfully good.”

“Suzanne, how can you deprive your husband of a hot meal?” Momma asked me.

“You might as well throw in the towel, Suzanne,” Phillip said from the hallway.  “You’re clearly outnumbered.”

I could see the wisdom in his advice.  “When you’re right, you’re right.  Thanks, we appreciate it, Momma.”

“Don’t be silly.  It’s our pleasure.”  She turned to her husband.  “Phillip, do me a favor and set two more places at the table.”

“With pleasure,” he said, and then the former police chief winked at me and grinned.  We’d had our share of battles in the past, but I’d come around to begin to see some of what my mother saw in him, and despite our earlier conflicts, I was genuinely beginning to like the man.

“Do you need a hand?” Jake asked him.

“You bet.  While we’re working, you can bring me up to speed on your investigation.”

“Gentlemen, must we speak of murder all of the time?” Momma asked them.

“It’s better to let them get it out of their systems before we eat,” I told her, and Jake grinned at me as the two men disappeared into the dining room.

“It’s sweet of you to feed us, but I really do have plenty of food at home,” I told Momma after the men were gone.

“I know that,” she answered with a smile.  “How have you been?  The truth is that I miss seeing you every day.  When we lived together at the cottage, I could always count on it.”

“I know.  I miss you, too, but to be fair, you got married first and moved away.”

She smiled.  “And it turned out to be the second-best decision I ever made in my life.”

“Do I dare ask what the first one was?  Having me, perhaps?” I asked her with a grin.

“You were a direct result of it, so in a way, yes, but I meant marrying your father.”

“Shouldn’t you keep your voice down when you say that?” I asked her.  “After all, Phillip is just in the other room.”

“He knows how I feel about him, and it’s a discussion we had long ago.  Suzanne, there’s room in my heart to love more than one person, just as there is in Jake’s.”

“But just one at a time, right?” I asked her, smiling.

She laughed.  “In that way, yes, but never forget that I love you, too,” Momma said as she startled me by hugging me.

“I love you, too,” I answered.

After we broke away, she asked, “So, if you didn’t come by for a meal, what brings you here, not that you need an excuse to visit?”

“We’d like a key to the factory,” I said.  “It’s either that or we break in, and I thought you’d prefer it this way.”

Momma frowned.  “Chief Grant told me specifically that the building was off limits until further notice.  You aren’t planning on sneaking there in spite of his orders, are you?”

“Would I do that?” I asked her as I laughed a bit.

“Suzanne.”

“Relax, Momma.  Jake wants to look around as soon as the chief releases the crime scene.”

“Have you made any progress in your investigation?”

“We haven’t had that much opportunity yet.  Sully was just murdered this afternoon,” I said.

“I know.  These things take time.”

“They do.”  I wasn’t about to bring my mother up to date on what Jake and I had done so far, but then again, I had to tell her something, because I was pretty sure that my husband was bringing the former chief up to speed in the next room.  “We’ve found several suspects, and interviewed three of them already.  There’s a fourth that we’re going to speak with tomorrow.”

Momma looked surprised by our progress.  “But that’s wonderful.  Who’s in the running?”

I could tell from the glint in her eye that she was eager to know the details, so it was time to sing for our supper.  “So far, we have Bob Greene and Jim Burr.  They were Sully’s two employees.  Then there’s Shirley Edam.  She wanted to merge their operations, both business and personal, though she’s denying it at the moment.  We’ve already had preliminary interviews with the three of them.”

“Who’s left on your list?”

“Carl Descent,” I said.

 “Carl?  You’re kidding.  Why on earth would he want to kill Sully?”

“The prevailing theory is that he wanted to punish both of you for stealing the building out from under him,” I told her.  “We heard that Sully was a deciding factor in who the owner sold the place to.”

Momma’s face went ashen.  “Is this a credible motive?”

“I don’t know.  You tell me.”

She paused a moment as she considered it.  “Carl has a temper, and he can be vindictive, too.  I knew that he’d be upset when I got the building and he didn’t, but why would he kill Sully?  His recommendation to the seller just doesn’t seem as though it’s enough reason to commit murder.”

“I know, but that’s what we’re going to find out,” I said.

“May I ask you how were you able to come up with four names so quickly?” she asked me.

“We have a source,” I said, hedging my bets.

Momma shook her head before she spoke.  “There’s only one person in April Springs I know of who could have come up with four such disparate names in such short order.  You spoke with Gabby Williams, didn’t you?”

I smiled at her.  “Sorry, but I cannot either confirm or deny that,” I said.

“You don’t have to,” Momma said.  After a moment, she added softly, “Gabby’s not exactly neutral when it comes to Sully.  They were seeing each other, you know.”

“I just found out about it, but how did you know?”  It never ceased to amaze me how much my mother knew about the folks we lived amongst.

“I have sources of my own,” she said as she walked over to her purse and retrieved a key.  It had a paper tag on it that said WAGON WHEEL, and she handed it to me.  “Just return it when you’re finished with it, please.”