Chocolate Crunch Murder (6 page)

“Let’s wobble across the road and have a chat with him,” Heather said.

“Wait a sec. This is the guy you told me about, right? The exterminator.”

“Correct.” Heather set off on her jelly legs.

Amy overtook her in seconds and halted beside the truck. She waited there, squinting at the metal bug and then at the lettering. “Debunker?” 

“Don’t ask me,” Heather said. She stopped beside her bestie and whipped the towel off her neck. “But it is, catchy. You’ve got to admit.”

“Bob’s Bug Debunking! Boom, boom, pow. Kind of like a superhero,” Amy said, punching thin air.

“Why thank you,” Bob said. His head popped out of the open passenger window, lips coated in orange powder. He held a bag of Cheetos out of the window. “Want a chip?”

“No thank you,” Heather said.

“Sure, I’ll take one,” Amy replied, and dug around in the bag. Her fingers came out coated in orange dust and clutching a handful of Cheetos. “So, you’re the bug guy.”

“Debunker,” Bob replied, around a mouthful of snacks.

“I met you the other day.” Heather didn’t offer to shake hands. Sweat and Cheetos powder probably weren’t a good combination. “Outside Randy’s Burger Bar.”

“Right, the rat place. Man, I’ve been everywhere there lately.”

“What do you mean?”

Bob siphoned down a couple more Cheetos before answering. “I’m just on my way back there, now. The whole area is full of rats. No one can figure out where they’re coming from.”

“Oh yeah?” Amy asked, still chewing in spite of the gross news.

“Yeah. It kinda reminds me of that kid’s story. What was it? The one with the guy who plays that flute thing?”

“Pied Piper of Hamlin,” Heather replied.

Bob clicked his fingers, spraying orange dust every which way. “Right, that guy. Reminds me of that. Anyway, is there something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, since you’ve been in that area lately, I mean,” Heather said. “Did you notice anything strange?”

“Not really,” Bob replied. “Just the rats.”

“Nothing happening around the burger bar?” Heather asked, and looked over at Amy.

Her best friend peered at the Cheetos bag, longing in her gaze. Bob offered her some more, and she dug in the bag, immediately.

“Nope. Although, there was this one old lady in a wheelchair screaming on the sidewalk the other day. Something about not getting her mail. I dunno. I drove right past her. You know how those old ladies get. Everything’s the end of the world with them.” Bob shrugged.

Another of the Debunker’s less sensitive moments.

“Thanks, Bob,” Heather said. “You should come down to my bakery sometime. Donut Delights. We’ve got plenty of treats down there. Way better than Cheetos.”

“Nothin’s better than Cheetos,” Bob replied and put his nose in the air. “Have a good day, ladies. I’ve got some rats to clean out.” He started the truck, and the engine purred and coughed smoke out of the exhaust.

Amy and Heather retreated to the sidewalk, and the Bug-mobile tore out of the parking lot. Bob risked a wave out the window and honked his horn.

“Nice guy,” Amy said, mouth coated in orange. “Weird, but nice.”

Heather chuckled. “You’re one to talk. Come on, leg day. You promised me a donut.”

Heather tapped her fingers on the edge of her desk and stared at her cell phone. She licked her lips, readjusted her gaze to her laptop screen, and then clicked through to the Excel spreadsheet which listed her orders for the month.

Her gaze darted back to the cell again.

She couldn’t shake the guilt bubbling in her core. She hadn’t heard from Lilly in a couple of days, not since the scolding. Perhaps, she’d been unfair to lecture the girl.

It wasn’t as if she was Lilly’s mother. She didn’t have the right to limit her, but she did want what was best for the girl.

“Ugh,” Heather said. “It’s a Saturday afternoon. Just call, already.”

She picked up the phone, then swiped her finger across the screen and tapped through to Colleen’s home number. She pressed the green phone icon, then held the cell to her ear.

The phone rang, and rang, and rang some more.

“Hello?” Lilly’s sweet voice floated down the line. “Sorry, Bill and Colleen aren’t home right now. I can take a message, though if you need to get hold of them.”

“Lilly, it’s Heather,” she said, and butterflies pummeled the inside of her belly. “We need to talk.” Was it appropriate to tell a ten-year-old that? It felt like a grown up line.

“I don’t want to talk,” Lilly said, voice fading already.

“Lilly, please. I know that you wanted to tell me something the other night, and I’m sorry for cutting you off. I hope you’re okay. Dave misses you.”

“I miss Dave too. But not you. You’re mean, Heather. I wanted to help, and you didn’t let me,” Lilly replied. She sighed. “You’re not mean all the time, just when it’s about your case.”

“I know, but there’s a reason for it. I want to make sure you stay safe. Don’t get confused about this, Lilly. Murder cases are for adults. This is dangerous. I’m trying to hunt down a killer, here.”

Lilly was quiet for a long time. “I’ve got to go,” she said, at last. “Talk to you later.” And then she hung up.

That was that. Lilly Jones had made up her kid mind.

Heather’s heart cracked a little. A spider crack at the thought of losing the kid she’d come to adore. Dave would whine endlessly if he suspected she’d ousted Lilly from their lives.

The dog wouldn’t forgive Heather for that.

Heather placed her cell on her desk and shut her eyes for a second. This case had taken its toll. Didn’t they always? She had hardly any leads on this one.

Jung was the main suspect, apart from grumpy wheelchair grandma, and there were rats everywhere. Not the type of information she could work within a case.

“Motivation?” Heather asked, tapping her chin. “Maybe the motivation was money. I don’t see how it can be anything to do with the exterminator. That’s just an unhappy coincidence.”

“Are you talking to yourself again?” Amy asked. She bustled into the room, then popped a cup of steaming coffee on the desk, wearing her classic Ames grin. “Courtesy of your barista.”

“Thank you,” Heather said and picked up the coffee mug. She sipped the hot fluid and swallowed. She relished the aroma curling at the back of her throat which tickled her senses. “I was just trying to clear the waters in this case.”

“It is obscure this time around. Not much evidence.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been thinking,” Heather said, and gestured with her cup, “Randy wasn’t a small guy, right? Whoever strangled him had to have been relatively mobile and pretty darn strong.”

“That rules out grumpy grandma?” Amy asked.

“That’s what I’m thinking. I highly doubt she wheeled into his kitchen, down a bunch of metal stairs first, for that matter, and managed to strangle him.”

“Hmmm, that’s weird,” Amy replied.

“What?” Heather sipped more coffee.

“Just what you said now. That grumpy granny couldn’t have wheeled herself down the metal stairs. Your bug guy told us he saw her on the sidewalk,” Amy said.

“So?”

“So, how’d she get there? How’d she get down the stairs without help?”

Heather’s eyes widened and her mouth puckered into a perfect ‘o’ of surprise. “She might’ve been working with someone.”

Heather’s laptop binged an alert, and she held up a finger to forestall more talk. She drew coffee into her mouth and clicked through to her email on her laptop.

Heather coughed and sprayed the screen in brown droplets.

“Whoa. That was something to behold,” Amy said and shook off her arms. “Mind passing me a napkin?”

Heather spluttered. She gasped for breath. She grabbed a couple of napkins from her drawer, tossed half at Amy, then used the other half to sop up the mess on her screen.

“What happened? Who emailed you?”

Heather gulped. She could barely form the words. “An event organizer in Houston.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. She wants an order of five hundred Choc Crunch Donuts, ready to go by tomorrow morning.”

“What?!” It was Amy’s turn to splutter. “That’s impossible. That’s incredible. That’s –”

“And she’s already paid for the order in full. Either I refund her, or we complete the order.”

“Oh my gosh,” Amy said, shaking her head. “What do we do?”

“Call the gang in here, Ames. We’re going to find out what they want to do.” Heather chewed the inside of her cheek. If they did this, it would mean a night of work, of overtime for the staff and herself.

She’d do it, but were they willing? That was the real question. She didn’t want to mistreat the people who’d helped grow Donut Delights from the start.

Amy jumped out of her seat and disappeared out of the office door. Heather stared at her empty coffee cup, hands trembling, a melody on the tip of her tongue.

Finally, the staff trooped in. Maricela in her Donut Delights apron dusted in flour, Angelica with her easy smile. Amy, Jung, and Ken, all with their aprons on, tied and looking super professional.

“I called you in here because we’ve –”

“We already know,” Angelica said. “Amy tells us.”

Jung nodded, his lips pressed into a thin white line. “You’d do anything for us, Heather. And we’ll do anything for you.”

“Are you sure?” Heather asked, and crossed her fingers underneath her desk. This order could be the best thing to happen to Donut Delights. The events planner had an exceptionally professional design card plastered along the bottom of the email.

She might have other clients, put in more orders. Oh boy, oh boy. Those nerves!

“Yeah,” Ken said. “We’re sure. Let’s do this.”

“All right,” Heather said and planted her fists on her hips. “We’re going to split the kitchen into stations.” She pointed at the far corner. “That’s going to be the prep area. I want the glazes done there. Remember, vanilla and a lot of it. We’re doing five hundred donuts, here, guys. That means triple the amount of glaze for each donut.”

“Got it, boss,” Ken replied.

“We’re going to need to do the chocolate dipped hazelnuts at a separate station,” Heather said and tapped her chin with a finger. “Just because there’s a lot of donuts, doesn’t mean we can skimp on the quality. I don’t want any chocolate and glazed mixed. So we’ll put the chocolate dipping station on the opposite side, over here.”

Heather pointed to the other end of the kitchen.

“Got it,” Jung called out.

“All right, then the donuts will be made on the oven side. We’re going to do them in –” The kitchen door opened behind her, and Heather cut off.

Ryan Shepherd strode through the doors, handsome in his police uniform, as always.

“Am I interrupting something?” He asked, gaze traveling from one staff member's face to the other.

“Your powers of perception are legendary,” Amy replied.

Ryan pulled a face at her, then turned to Heather. “Can I speak to you for a second, love? It’s important.”

“Uh, okay,” Heather said, then grabbed Amy by the arm. “Could you take care of this for me, Ames? Split up the stations and get everybody working.”

“Sure,” Amy replied. “Whatever you say, boss.”

“Oh don’t you start with that too,” Heather said and pursed her lips.

Amy chuckled in reply, then hurried off to start delegating. Ah, the ever reliable Ames – Heather would’ve been lost without her bestie at work. How had she survived before her arrival?

Amy had been with Heather from the start. Before Donut Delight’s doors had opened to the public. She’d helped paint the floors gold, for heaven’s sake.

Heather followed Ryan out into the storefront, then glanced at the clock on the wall. “We’ve got exactly twenty-four hours before this order has to be ready,” she said.

“Is that why the store’s closed?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah, to everyone except Eva. She heard about it and said she wants to help out, too.”

“That’s sweet of her.”

Heather sighed and wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm. “I guess, I just wanted to keep the store open while this went on. I didn’t expect to have to close, you know? It sucks.”

“I understand. Maybe, one day, you’ll be able to fill big orders and keep the store open. You won’t have to sacrifice anything,” Ryan said and drew her into his arms.

“I don’t see how that can happen,” she replied but hugged him back.

“You just have to believe, love.”

Heather stayed wrapped up in his arms, breathing in his scent. Her heart rate slowed, and her mind calmed. Her husband had that effect on her.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” She asked, looking up into his eyes.

He smiled and the wrinkled around his mouth deepened. “I wanted to tell you something about the case,” he said, then broke their embrace. He pulled out a chair for her, and she sat down. He followed suit.