Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 18 - Dangerous Dough Read Free Page A

Jake said, “You take the passenger seat up front,
Dot.”
    “Jake, I hate to
do that to you.   I know that you’ll
be cramped back there, and that’s one of the best things about being so
short.   I fit just about anywhere.”
    “Nonsense.   I’m not about to let my brand-new mother-in-law
ride in back,” he said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.   “I’ll be fine.”
    After Momma got
into the front seat beside me, I started the Jeep, and the three of us headed
back to April Springs.   Once we were
out of the heavier traffic around the airport, I turned to Momma and said, “Now
tell us everything.”
    “So much has
happened that I honestly don’t even know where to begin,” my mother said.
    “I’ve always felt
that the beginning is as good a place to start as any,” Jake said.   “What happened after we left?”
    Momma
nodded.   “That’s right.   I forgot that you both missed all of the
fuss.   It started just after you two
took off for the airport.”
    “What happened?”
I asked.
    “Phillip and Alex
got into a pretty heated argument,” Momma said, “and I’m afraid that there were
several witnesses to it.”
    “What could they
possibly have had to argue about?” I asked her.
    “Actually, it was
you,” Momma said.
    “Me?”   I was shocked that my name had even come
up between the two law enforcement officers.   “What did I have to do with it?”
    “Phillip told
Alex that he was being too hard on you and that he needed to take your input
seriously.   Alex told him that had
been one of the main problems with the police department before, that amateurs
were even allowed to have opinions in ongoing investigations.   Things got rather heated, and I was
afraid they might come to blows if it kept up.   Stephen Grant had to step in between
them, and I got Phillip out of there as quickly as I could manage it, but the
argument certainly made an impression on everyone who was there.”
    “You still haven’t
told us how Tyler died,” Jake said softly from the backseat.   I’d moved my seat as far forward as I
could to accommodate his long legs, but I was afraid that it hadn’t been
enough.
    “As I said, at
first everyone thought that it was a heart attack.”
    “He was so young,
though,” I said.
    “I told you that
was just at first.   It was only
after they checked more thoroughly that they found the poison in his system.”
    I had a sudden
sinking feeling in my gut.   “He
wasn’t found eating one of my donuts, was he?”   My treats had been used as a murder
weapon before, and I hoped and prayed that it hadn’t happened again.
    “There were no
donuts in his system,” Momma said, and I felt a sudden burst of relief.
    It turned out to
be short lived, though, as Momma continued, “The coffee he’d been drinking had
been poisoned.”
    “Do I even have
to ask where he got it?”
    “The cup was from
Donut Hearts,” she admitted, and that’s when I felt that sinking feeling all
over again.
    “This can’t be
happening,” I said.  
    “Take it easy,
Suzanne,” Jake responded.   “There’s
no reason to jump to any conclusions.   There’s no reason in the world anyone would think that Emma or Sharon
could be involved in the murder.”
    “Actually, that’s
not entirely true,” my mother said softly.
    “What are you
talking about?”
    “Four hours
before the new chief of police’s body was found in his squad car, he had a
pretty intense argument with Emma in the donut shop.”
    This was getting
worse by the minute.   “What were
they fighting about?”
    “Apparently he
asked her out on a date, and when she refused him, he got a little
belligerent.   He threatened to shut
the shop down for health code violations, and Emma dared him to go ahead and try.   He took his coffee and stormed off, and
a little later, Stephen Grant found his body in the squad car.”
    “That’s just
perfect,” I said.
    “Why do you think
I met you at the airport?” my