Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 18 - Dangerous Dough (7 page)

“Sometimes it’s
better to be lucky than good,” he said, and then he took a deep breath and
smiled.
 
“Did your mother stop by?”

“Not
recently.
 
She must have loaded our
fridge while we were gone.”

“It appears that
I’ve won the lottery for mothers-in-law,” Jake said with a smile, and then he
wrapped me up in his arms.
 
“I
didn’t do too badly in the wife one, either.”

“Flattery will
get you everywhere,” I said with a grin, and then I pulled dinner out of the
oven and served it.
 
“Should we talk
about the case while we eat, or would you rather postpone it until later?”

“It’s your call,”
Jake said.
 
We were still trying to
find our way as a married couple, and because of that, we were both tiptoeing
around each other as though we were a pair of delicate flowers.

“Let’s go on and
share,” I said.
 
“Do you want to go
first, or should I?”

“You go.
 
That way I can start eating right away,”
he replied happily.

I took a bite,
and then I began to bring him up to speed on what I’d been up to since I’d seen
him last.
 
After I’d clued him in on
our conversations with Maisie, Shannon, and Deke, he whistled softly.
 
“You accomplished quite a bit before you
came back home.”

“Not as much as
we’d hoped.
 
Jake, I might need your
help interviewing Craig Durant and Chief Willson.”

“Do you think the
police chief might have had something to do with what happened to Alex?”

“Not really, but
he might know someone who could have had a grudge against Alex.
 
After all, wouldn’t his boss know
something like that?”

“Not
necessarily.
 
You’d be surprised by
just how much my former supervisor was in the dark about what I did on a daily
basis.
 
He always claimed it was
intentional so he wouldn’t be involved directly in my investigations in order
to serve as a buffer if I ever got into trouble, but I have a hunch it was out
of sheer laziness.”

“Will you speak
with the two officers in Granite Meadows with us?”

Jake frowned a
moment before he spoke.
 
“Suzanne,
we’re dancing near that line again.”

“Which line is
that?”

“The one where I
act in my official capacity in April Springs while you and Grace work behind
the scenes.
 
George hired me to
investigate the murder, but my old nemesis from the state police is keeping a
pretty close eye on me.
 
If Simpson
sees something that he doesn’t like, he can strong-arm George into shutting me
down completely, and neither one of us wants that, do we?”

“No, having you
on the inside is our best chance of solving this murder,” I said.
 
“I suppose Grace and I will have to
tackle those two ourselves.”

“Give me some
time to think about it before you do anything else,” Jake said, and I knew that
he’d be playing with possible ways to help me throughout the rest of the
evening.
 
It was wonderful having
him in my corner, and I knew better than to rush him.
 

“Now, tell me
about your day,” I said as I took a bite.
 
No surprise, it was absolutely delicious.
 
But then what did I expect from my
mother?

“Well, I spent
most of it butting heads with Manfred Simpson,” he said as he frowned.
 
“He came a day early!
 
I thought I’d at least have until
tomorrow morning, but he thought he’d get a jump on things.
 
He set up shop in the chief’s old
office; can you imagine that?
 
Poor
Grant has to run the department from his old desk on the floor.
 
I have to tell you, it wasn’t all that
pleasant being on the other end of the conversation with Simpson this afternoon.
 
I was above him in seniority when I was
with the state police, but he didn’t hesitate to let me know that I was under
his thumb now.”

“Is his first
name really Manfred?
 
Why on earth
doesn’t the man have a nickname?
 
Or
does he actually like it?”

“It’s a point of
pride with him.
 
His
great-grandfather was named Manfred, and evidently the man was some kind of
hero.
 
Some of the guys tried
calling him Manny once, but he got so angry that no one ever did it again, at
least not to his face.
 
Simpson just
seemed easier after that, though we called him a lot worse than Manny behind
his back.”

“So now he’s
getting even with you,” I said.

“Don’t worry
about it.
 
I can handle him.
 
The problem is that since he’s
restricted me to April Springs, I can’t contact anyone from Granite Meadows
directly.
 
That’s why I’m not sure
that I can help you and Grace with your investigation.”

“How does he
expect you to solve Alex Tyler’s murder if he’s not willing to let you
investigate wherever your leads take you?”

“Are you
kidding?
 
He’d love nothing more
than me failing,” Jake said.
 
“If he
can solve the case himself, I’d never hear the end of it.”

“It’s not like
you two still work together,” I said.

“Doesn’t
matter.
 
He’s a small and petty
man.
 
He’ll find a way to stick it
to me every chance he gets.”

I reached across
the table and patted his hand.
 
“Then we’ll just have to solve the murder ourselves.”

“Thanks,
Suzanne.
 
It’s good to have you on
my side.”

It was a big
admission for him to make, especially given how he’d once felt about my amateur
sleuthing.
 
Over the last several
months, he’d been starting to see the value I brought to the table with my detective
work, but it was still nice hearing it from him.

Once we finished
with the main course, Jake pushed his plate away.
 
“That was excellent.
 
I’m stuffed.”

“Does that mean
that you don’t have any room for dessert at all?” I asked him teasingly.

“Well, I might
have a bite or two of whatever we’ve got.
 
Otherwise it would just be rude to your mother after she went to all of
the trouble of making us something.
 
What are we having?”

I laughed as I
stood.
 
“I have no idea if she
brought us any treats or not, but I’ll look.”

“But you
offered,” he said, sounding a little hurt.

“I just wanted to
see what you’d say,” I replied.

“Suzanne, that’s
just cruel.
 
Never offer a man
dessert when there isn’t any.”

His tone was more
serious than the conversation merited, and I could see that he wasn’t entirely
kidding.
 
“Point taken.
 
I’m sorry.
 
If there isn’t anything available, I’ll
whip something up.”

“No need to do
that.
 
Apology accepted.”
 
Thankfully, that had mollified him, but
I still kept my fingers crossed as I dove back into the fridge hoping that
there was a treat there I could offer Jake.

Unfortunately,
there was not.

Now I was in
serious trouble.

Chapter 8

I was about to
confess to Jake that we didn’t have dessert when the doorbell rang.
 
“Were you expecting someone?” I asked
him as I moved to answer it.

“No, how about
you?”

“Not a soul, but
we’ll know soon enough, won’t we?”
 

I opened the door
and found my mother standing on the front porch, a crumb-topped apple pie held
reverently in her hands.
 
“Am I
interrupting anything?” she asked as she thrust the pie forward.
 
“I thought you might like dessert.”

“Is that pie I
smell?” Jake asked from behind me.
 
I hadn’t even heard him leave the kitchen table.

“I thought you
were full,” I reminded him as I stepped aside and Momma came in.

“That was the
main course.
 
There’s always room
for some of your mother’s pie.”
 
He
looked at Momma and grinned.
 
“Dot,
you’re bound and determined to keep me from ever making a mother-in-law joke,
aren’t you?”

“Feel free to
tease me all you’d like to,” Momma said with a warm smile that suddenly
narrowed.
 
“Just be aware that
there’s a point where it steps over the line.
 
Cross that, and that’s when the pies
stop coming.”

“Believe me, I
won’t even get close to it,” he said as he kissed her cheek.

“I know you won’t,”
Momma said as she put the pie down on the dining room table.
 
“I see you found the ground chicken
casserole I left you,” she said with obvious approval.

“Thanks for doing
that, Momma,” I said as I kissed her cheek as well.
 
“It was wonderful finding it there after
our long trip.”

“I was hoping
that you’d enjoy it.”
 
Her smile
faded as she added, “Actually, I had another reason to come by besides my pie
delivery.”

Jake piped in,
“That’s reason enough on its own any time, Dot.
 
I’m going to get three plates.
 
Are there any objections?”

“I made another pie
just like this one for Phillip, so you two can share this one,” Momma said.

“If you’re sure,”
he said with a wicked grin.
 
The man
certainly loved pie, especially the treats my mother made.
 
Mine were good enough, but I’d have to take
another lesson from Momma to bring my skills closer to her level.

“I’m
positive.
 
It does me a world of
good seeing how much you enjoy my little offerings,” Momma said.

“Then far be it
from me to disappoint you,” Jake said as he stepped out of the dining room and
into the kitchen to retrieve two plates, two forks, and a knife.

“You said earlier
that there was another reason you came by?” I reminded Momma once Jake was out
of the room.

“Yes.
 
I need to give you this, Suzanne,” she
said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two keys on a small silver
ring.

I was about to
ask what locks the keys worked for when I realized that they were both to the
cottage.
 
“Momma, this place is yours.
 
You should always have your own set of
keys.”

“That’s the
second order of business,” my mother said as she reached into another pocket
and pulled out a sheaf of papers.
 

“I don’t
understand,” I said as I took them from her.

“It’s all fairly
self-explanatory.
 
This cottage is
my wedding present to the two of you.”

“Jake, get in
here right now,” I called out.
 

There must have
been something in my tone of voice, because he came immediately, even without
the plates and utensils.
 
“What is
it?
 
What’s wrong?”

“Momma’s trying
to give us this cottage,” I said, barely able to get the words out.

“That’s too
generous of you, Dot,” Jake said in protest.

“Nonsense.
 
Besides Phillip, you two are all that’s
left of my immediate family.
 
I want
you to have it.”

“But this place
has always belonged to you,” I protested.

“We both know
that’s not true.
 
When your father
and I married, his mother signed the deed to this cottage over to us, and now
it’s your turn.
 
Besides, I already
have a place to live.”

“I’m not trying
to talk you out of letting us live here, but that doesn’t mean that we have to
own it ourselves,” I said.
 

“Suzanne, do you
honestly think that you have a prayer of winning this argument with me?”
 
As she asked her question, I saw the
line of resolve in her face, and I suddenly knew that there was no point
fighting her on it anymore.
 
Besides, did I really want to win this particular argument?
 
It was the perfect beginning to my new
life with Jake, and I knew that my mother could easily afford the gesture.
 
She was probably the richest woman in
April Springs, and this wouldn’t even touch her major holdings.
 
Still, it was the most precious gift she
could have given me, besides the love she gave me every day.

“Are you
absolutely sure about this?” I asked one last time.

“I’m positive,”
she said with a twinkle in her eye.

I hugged her, and
even though I towered over her, I felt like a little girl again in her
arms.
 
“Thank you, Momma.
 
I love you,” I whispered.

“I know you do,
and I love you at least as much right back,” Momma said.

Then I felt
Jake’s arms enfold us both.
 
“Wow,
you surely just won the contest of best wedding present ever,” he said with a
laugh.

“Good.
 
I always enjoy coming in first place,”
Momma said as she extracted herself from our embraces.
 
“Now, I really must be going.
 
I don’t trust Phillip alone in the house
with that pie, and we haven’t had our dinner yet.”