Grace came in just as the coffee was ready.
"I saw a man just walk off in a huff. What was that about?" she asked as she took a mug from me.
"He wanted donuts, but I told him I was doing inventory."
"You"re not, are you?"
"Of course not," I said as I poured a mug for myself, "but I had to tell him something. Are you going to share who was on the telephone, or is it none of my business?"
Grace said, "I found out where Darlene got the hundred thousand dollars, and I"m afraid it"s probably just a dead end."
I put my mug down. "How could that be? That much money has to be a motive for murder."
Grace explained, "Her great-aunt Myrtle died six weeks ago in Union Square. I actually read about it in the paper. I knew the woman had money, and I remember wondering what happened to it, but then something else came up and I forgot all about it. It turns out she appointed Darlene as her executor a few days before she died. Do you want to know who had the position before that?"
"I"m guessing it was her cousin, Taylor Higgins."
Grace looked surprised. "How did you know that?"
"I didn"t, not really, until you mentioned the great-aunt. Taylor"s come around the shop a few times asking about Darlene, and what might have happened to her. That"s why I wasn"t all that surprised when you told me what you found out. Does that mean Darlene was supposed to get the money instead of Taylor?"
"No, she gets a small fee as executor, but the rest of the money gets split up into bequests to a hundred different beneficiaries."
"And they get a thousand each?" I asked.
"More like five hundred, once the rest of Myrtle"s debts are paid off."
"Five hundred dollars isn"t much of a motive for murder, is it?" I said.
"I"m sure people have been killed for less, but no, I wouldn"t think it"s an issue here. At least we can mark the money off the list as a motive."
"Just out of curiosity, who gets Darlene"s share now that she"s dead?"
Grace said, "It probably goes back into the pool of funds to be distributed later, but I might be wrong. I didn"t think it was worth pursuing."
"It isn"t, unless one of the heirs is a serial killer and is going to knock off the other ninety-eight people left, it"s a dead end."
"It appears to be," Grace said.
After we finished our coffee, I poured the rest from the pot into a to-go cup, then I rinsed out the pot and mugs.
Grace asked, "What should we do now?"
"I think it"s time to go home so I can take a shower and change. Do you mind? The donut smell is pretty strong today." Most days I didn"t notice it, but sometimes it was all I could take to be around myself, let alone anyone else.
"Sounds good," she said.
As I locked up behind us, I looked in the parking lot and saw someone putting a note under my Jeep"s windshield.
I felt my heart race at the sight of it, wondering what it meant, and what exactly someone was trying to tell me.
It was George, I was relieved to see when he turned around.
He looked surprised to see Grace and me standing there.
As we joined him, he said, "Suzanne, I thought you would be long gone by now."
"We were, but we came back," I said. "What"s going on, or do you want me to just read the note?"
He smiled as he retrieved it and balled it up into a wad before sticking it into his pocket. "I"d rather tell you. Any chance I could get a cup of coffee?"
I gave him the cup in my hand. "Here you go. I just made it."
"I can"t take your coffee, Suzanne."
"If you"re worried about germs, this is fresh. Grace and I already had some. Just drink it, okay?"
He nodded and pulled off the lid. "If you"re sure. Thanks."
Grace"s cell phone rang, and she stepped away from us to take the call.
After George killed the cup, he said, "Thanks. That was exactly what I needed."
"You were going to tell me about that note," I said, trying to keep my teeth from shivering. "What did it say?"
"Darlene"s been up to something with Lester Moorefield. A few people have seen them sneaking around town together. I thought it was an odd match, you know?"
"She was selling him rumors for his show," I said.
"So you"ve already got what I had," he said, the disappointment heavy in his voice.
"It"s always good to have confirmation," I said, trying to buck his spirits up.
"Have you learned anything else?" he asked as he chucked the empty coffee cup, along with the note he"d written for me, into the trash can near the donut shop.
"Grace said that the hundred thousand was a dead end. It"s being split a hundred ways, so it"s not much of a motive for murder."
"If it"s being divvied up, why was it all in an account with Darlene"s name on it?" George asked.
"I just a.s.sumed since she was the executor, she had control of it for now," I said.
"It should have been set up into an estate account," George said, "not one in her name. Did Grace check on that?"
"I don"t know."
George frowned, then asked, "Who gets Darlene"s share now that she"s dead? Who takes over as executor? Are there any other a.s.sets that might be worth killing someone for? Is there a will on record, and is it the most recent one, or is there something else there we don"t know about yet?"
"I don"t know," I had to admit.
"Well, I"m free," George said. "Let me nose around the courthouse and see what I can come up with. While I"m checking it out, I"m going to look into her cousin, too."
"It sounds like a great deal of work," I said as a movement near my Jeep caught my eye. I kept watching it, but there was nothing else, so I finally just figured it was my imagination playing tricks on me.
"I don"t mind. I"m retired, remember? Thanks again for the coffee," he said as he started off down the street. "I"ll be in touch."
"You know where to find me," I said.
He turned and grinned as he pointed to the sign. "It"s always time to make the donuts with you, isn"t it?"
"Somebody has to do it," I said as Grace came back.
From the expression on her face, I knew it was bad news.
What I didn"t know was how it would affect the investigation, and what had gone so terribly wrong.
OLD FASHIONED DONUTS.
These are a little denser than normal donut fare these days, but they might just take you back to simpler times! Absolutely worth a try!
INGREDIENTS.
* 12 cup milk * 12 teaspoon salt * 2 packages fast-rising yeast (12 ounce total) * 12 cup warm water * 3 eggs, yolks only * 12 cup granulated sugar * 12 cup b.u.t.ter or margarine, melted * 4 cups flour DIRECTIONS.
Scald the milk, then add the sugar, salt, and melted b.u.t.ter. While that"s cooling, add the yeast to the warm water. Once it dissolves, stir it into the milk mixture. Then add the egg yolks and 2 cups of flour. Mix thoroughly, then keep adding flour until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch. Knead for one minute, then roll the dough out to 14 to 12 inch thick.
Fry the donuts in canola oil heated to 365F, turning once as they cook. They should take 24 minutes total to cook. Drain on paper towels, then dust with sugar or add your own glaze.
CHAPTER 12.
"What is it?" I asked. "Did someone else die?"
"No, it"s nothing like that," she said.
"Grace, it"s got to be bad; don"t try to tell me it"s not. I can take it, go ahead and tell me."
"I have a meeting with my boss in Charlotte this afternoon," Grace said softly. "I"ve got two hours to get there, and I was told to pack an overnight bag. She said that I"d be staying overnight at the Stansbury Hotel."
"That doesn"t sound like the end of the world to me," I said. "That"s a really nice hotel. Or so I"ve heard. I"ve never been able to afford to stay there, myself."
Grace looked as though she wanted to cry. "The roads are still slick, but she didn"t care. She said this couldn"t wait. Add to that the fact that we never meet at the Stansbury. It"s where my boss takes people she"s about to fire or promote, and I"ve got a feeling I"m not climbing the corporate ladder."
I did my best to cheer her up. "But it could be good news, right?"
"Sure, I suppose it"s possible. I think I"ll get a lottery ticket on the way over. It"s possible I"ll win that too, maybe even more likely, if I know my boss. I know I"m going to get sacked, I just know it."
"I"m so sorry," I said, "but Grace, you"re a terrific saleswoman. You"ll get another job soon enough."
"I don"t want another one," she said. "I like the flexibility of this one."
I wasn"t about to tell her that maybe her flexibility in the past was what was going to get her fired tonight, but I couldn"t stop myself from thinking it.
I patted her shoulder. "It"s going to be all right. I just know it. Would you like me to come home with you to help you pack a bag for tonight?" I asked. "I know you"re not crazy about going back there alone."
"Thanks, but this is something I"m going to have to do sooner or later, so why not now? Besides, I hate crying in front of you, and if I time things right, I can get a good jag in before I meet her."
"At least call me tonight and let me know what happens," I said.
"I promise, but it"s probably going to be the shortest telephone conversation in the history of the world."
"Don"t forget. I mean it."
"I know, I know."
I could see tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes, and suddenly I said, "I"m going with you. You shouldn"t have to deal with this by yourself."
"What about your donut shop?" Grace asked.
"What about it? If Emma and her mom can"t run it tomorrow, I"ll just shut it down. Let me make one quick call while we"re here, and then I need to pack something for myself."
She put a hand on my shoulder, and I could see the tears receding. "Suzanne, I can"t tell you how much that would mean to me, but I have to say no."
"I don"t mind," I said, being a little more insistent than I probably should have.
"I know that, but I have to do this by myself. Thank you so much for offering, though. That really means the world to me."
She was gone before I could try to convince her again to let me come with her, and I finally decided that was probably for the best after all. I knew Grace, and one of the things she prided herself on was her calm demeanor. If she wanted to put on a brave face for me, I knew I shouldn"t try to stop her. Let her have privacy when she cried the tears she needed to.
I got into the Jeep, not sure where to go next now that I was alone, when I heard a voice coming from the back seat under a blanket I kept there in winter.
He said, "It"s about time. I nearly peed my pants when George walked up to the windshield. Could you turn on the heater? I"m freezing."