Vanilla Vices (4 page)

“What about when it’s raining?” Grace asked him.

“Then I enjoy that as well,” he said affably enough. “I learned long ago that I couldn’t control the weather, so why not embrace it? There are folks who’d kill for a drop of rain in the middle of a drought, so who am I to say that it shouldn’t be raining down on me?”

“You’re happy. Is that what you’re saying? You don’t need money at all.”

“I don’t know about that. I wouldn’t go that far,” he said after taking another bite of an apple fritter. It didn’t look as good as the ones I made, and I didn’t like the part of me that took some pleasure out of the observation. Maybe I should be more like Benny after all. He sighed a moment, and then he said, “I’ve never turned down a dime or a dollar, as long as I earned it.” Benny closed the lid and patted it gently, as though it were an old friend. “Speaking of earning my keep, I know I didn’t just get a dozen free donuts delivered because of my sunny personality. What can I do for you two? It’s about Dan, isn’t it?”

“What makes you ask that?” I asked him.

“Come on. I knew him better than anybody else in town. We were best friends, and I saw him nearly every day of the past seven years. Why wouldn’t you ask me about him?”

“Do you know anybody who might have wanted to harm him?” Grace asked him.

“I can think of a couple of folks,” he admitted with a frown. “But I thought it was some kind of botched robbery attempt.”

“That’s the official theory, but we think the state police might be missing something,” I said.

Benny looked surprised by that news. “What would the state police have to do with it? Isn’t your husband on the case?”

“He was, but then he was overruled,” I said.

“Let’s get back to the idea that this wasn’t as simple as it looks at first. Is there anyone in particular you’d care to share with us who had a problem with Dan?” Grace followed up.

“I don’t even have to think about it. You need to talk to William Jecks.”

“Who is William Jecks?” I asked.

“He’s a collector and an antique dealer in Maple Hollow,” Benny said. “He loved making Dan feel foolish, but he didn’t much care for it when the shoe was on the other foot.”

“You sound as though you have something specific in mind,” I said.

“William got a kick out of swapping worthless junk to Dan for things that could be of value, only the last time he did it, it backfired on him.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“I’m not sure about the details. All I know is that William kept yelling at Dan, saying that he wasn’t going to be cheated. Dan just laughed at him, which didn’t help William’s disposition at all. He threatened Dan right in front of me, and then he stormed out of Aunt Teeks. I’ve got to tell you, he looked mad enough to kill somebody, so is it that much of a coincidence that Dan is dead now?”

“When did all of this happen?” I asked.

“Yesterday afternoon,” Benny said.

“Who knows about this besides you?” I asked him. “Were there any other witnesses?”

“No, there was just Dan, William, and me.”

“And Dan’s dead, so he’s not going to be able to tell anybody what happened,” I said. “If William killed him last night, shouldn’t you be a little worried yourself?”

“Truth be told, the thought never occurred to me,” Benny said.

“Maybe you should think about it now, then,” I suggested. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we go talk to my husband? You can tell him everything that you just told us.”

“I didn’t think he was on the case?”

“He’s not, but that doesn’t mean he won’t help us,” I said.

“I don’t know,” Benny said, holding his donut box a little tighter. “I’ve never been all that fond of the police.”

“If it helps, I’ll go with you,” I volunteered.

“So will I,” Grace added. “You don’t have anything to worry about, Benny.”

“I’ve just got one question,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“Will I be expected to share my donuts with everyone else?” Benny asked seriously, rubbing the box top. “I’ve heard all of the stories about cops and donuts, and I might not be safe walking into the station armed with donuts.”

What an odd thing to worry about when his life might be hanging in the balance. “If you end up sharing with anyone else, we’ll get you another new dozen on the house,” I assured him.

“Then I guess I don’t see what it could hurt,” he said.

As the three of us walked toward the station, I was dying to discuss this new development with Grace, but Benny was already spooked enough, so I decided that any conversations we might have would have to wait. I wasn’t even sure that Jake would be in his office, but maybe someone there might know where we could find him.

It turned out that my husband was at the police station after all, but from the look of things when we got there and the way the young woman in severe clothing was berating him, he wasn’t having the best of days.

And unfortunately, we were about to make things even more complicated than they already were.

Chapter 4

“H
ow many different ways do
I have to say this before you accept what I’m telling you? You have been relieved of all duties and responsibilities as they pertain to this case, Mr. Bishop,” the woman said sternly.

Jake replied softly, “It’s Chief, not Mister.” I knew that the madder my husband got, the quieter he became, so based on the gentle tone of his voice, he was furious. “Inspector, it’s my duty to point out areas of the investigation you might benefit from focusing on.”

“Excuse my frankness, but the
only
duty you have in this case is to stay out of it,
Chief
.” She said his title as though it was just one big joke.

I could see that my husband had finally reached his limit. I needed to say something before he exploded, not for this woman’s benefit but for his. I knew if Jake allowed his temper to get the better of him, he’d regret it later. “Jake, there’s something you need to hear.”

“Not now, Suzanne,” he said as he barely glanced in our direction.

“It’s about Crazy Dan the junk man,” I insisted.

“Exactly who are you, and what information do you have about my case?” the state police inspector asked as she turned to glare at me.

“I’m sorry. Was I talking to you?” I looked at Grace and asked, “Did I address my comments to her, or the acting police chief of April Springs?”

Grace was happy to play along. “I believe that you were talking to the chief, at least as far as I could tell.”

That just made her angrier. She dismissed us and glared at my husband. “Who exactly is this?”

“Inspector Karina Black, allow me to present my wife, Suzanne Hart.”

“If she’s your wife, then why isn’t she a Bishop?”

“That’s easy. I wasn’t ordained,” I said.

“What?”

She clearly didn’t get my joke. “I’ve been a Hart all my life, and my donut shop is even named after me, but that doesn’t make me any less his wife,
Inspector
.” I did my best to add a sneer of my own to her title, but it hadn’t been able to match her dig at Jake. Not that it stopped Grace from giggling slightly at the jab anyway.

“What’s going on, Suzanne? Hey,” he added in Grace’s direction. “Benny, how did you end up getting mixed up with these two?”

He grinned at my husband before he answered. “They lured me with free donuts.”

“That’s their siren call, all right,” Jake said.

“What does this have to do with the Billingham murder?” the inspector asked pointedly.

“Who?” I asked.

“That was Dan’s last name,” Benny said. “He hated it, though. Just plain old Dan was good enough for him, but he liked being called Crazy Dan the junk man the most of all.”

“Suzanne, tell us why you’re here,” Jake said in a tone of voice that suggested the fun and games were over.

“We thought you should know that Benny witnessed a confrontation between Dan and William Jecks yesterday afternoon.”

“What exactly did you see?” Inspector Black asked him directly.

“Jecks and Dan were fighting over a trade,” Benny explained.

“What trade are you referring to?” she asked.

“I didn’t get the details. All I know is that William Jecks was mad enough to kill Dan when he stormed out of the place yesterday afternoon.”

The inspector studied Benny carefully before she answered. She then turned to Jake and asked, “Exactly how reliable is this witness?”

“I don’t know him all that well myself,” Jake said. “But I hope you’re not judging him based solely on his appearance and not his story.”

Benny glanced down at his outfit. “What’s wrong with my clothes? They may not be brand new, but at least they’re clean.”

“I think they’re charming,” Grace said.

“Thanks,” he replied, and then he directed his next comment to the inspector. “Lady, I don’t know if you’ve heard the old expression or not, but they say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its title.”

“Its cover,” I corrected him.

“What cover?” Benny asked.

“The expression,” I said. “It’s that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Well, it’s still true, isn’t it? A title can be just as misleading as a cover, can’t it?”

I was about to answer him when the inspector broke in. “Seriously? I’m not here to argue about expressions,” she said. “Regardless of the chief’s opinion of my abilities, I’m very good at what I do. In fact, I spoke with William Jecks fifteen minutes ago.”

“Why would you do that?” Jake asked her. “Did you hear about the argument from someone else? Was there another witness to it?”

“Not to my knowledge. Mr. Jecks’s name was on the victim’s list of sales and trades for the day, as was yours, Mr. Flint.”

“I did business with Dan nearly every single day, so that’s no big surprise,” Benny said. “And nobody calls me Mr. Flint.”

“Very well then, Benny. I’ve been looking for you, as well.”

“You need to talk to William while he’s still nearby,” I said.

“Why should I do that?” The woman clearly didn’t care for me, but I wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it, since the feeling was mutual.

“So you can ask him about the confrontation he had with Dan yesterday,” I answered.

She frowned, then she looked at Jake. “Funny, but he didn’t mention anything of the sort to me earlier, so I’m not exactly sure why I should believe you now.”

“Because we’re telling you the truth,” I said.

“Chief, can’t you control your own wife?”

“I’d say it’s highly doubtful, since I haven’t had any luck so far,” he answered with a grin, and then he turned quickly to me, “not that I’d ever want to. It’s too much fun the way things are right now.”

“I think so, too,” I said with a smile of my own.

“She does have a point though, Inspector,” Jake said gently.

“Let me get this straight. You all want me to take this man’s word over that of a respected antique dealer in Maple Hollow. Is that right? As I said, when I spoke to William earlier, he made no mention of a confrontation with the victim of any kind.”

“What do you expect him to do, come right out and admit it?” Benny asked. “If that man told me it was dark outside at midnight, I’d have to go out to check for myself first before I believed him.”

“What could it hurt to ask him about it and see how he reacts?” Grace offered.

“And who exactly are you?”

“Me? I’m the faithful sidekick, so I suppose you could call me Robin.”

“And what is your last name, Robin?” Inspector Black asked her.

“It’s Gauge, but Robin’s not my first name. It’s Grace.”

“Then why did you just say that it was Robin?”

“I didn’t. I said you could call me that. You know, of Batman and Robin fame? Do you really want to stand here discussing this, or would you rather call Jecks back and ask him one simple question?”

“If it will end this lunacy, then I’m willing to go against my better judgment and do it,” she said.

Clearly, we’d worn her down.

From what I could hear of her side of the conversation, William Jecks wasn’t all that pleased about being recalled to the station, but ultimately he agreed to it nonetheless.

After Inspector Black hung up, Benny said, “Nobody said anything about bringing Jecks here. I’m not sticking around so he can figure out who ratted him out.”

“If what you say is correct, wouldn’t he know that anyway? I still need to interview you in depth about the victim and your relationship with him.”

“I can tell you that right now. We were like brothers,” Benny said. “Everybody in town knew that we argued all the time. That was just the way we got along. I would have taken a bullet for the man, or even an old-fashioned iron to the head, if I’d only been there.”

“So you say,” the inspector said.

“If you think I’m going to stand around here as bait for your trap, you’re crazier than Dan ever was accused of being. I’ll talk to you later, but I’m getting out of here right now, and unless you lock me up, you can’t stop me.”

Inspector Black frowned. “Would you at least be willing to wait in the chief’s office? The blinds are closed, so Mr. Jecks will have no idea that you’re even here.”

“I don’t know,” Benny said hesitantly, and then he looked directly at me. “Suzanne, what do you think I should do?”

I didn’t even have to look at Jake to get his opinion. “Benny, the sooner you get this over with, the sooner you go back to your own life.”

“What business is that, exactly?” Inspector Black asked him.

Before Benny had time to answer, I did it for him. “He’s a freelance procurer of goods,” I said.

“Of what kind, specifically?”

“Whatever is of value to someone else,” I answered.

“Gee, you make junking sound downright respectable, Suzanne,” the junker said with a grin.

“It is, at least the way you do it, Benny.”

“Thanks. Not everybody gets it.” That seemed to make up his mind for him. “Sure, I’ll wait. Where’s this office I’m supposed to hide in?”

“I’ll show you,” I said as I led him to Jake’s space. Once we were inside, I double-checked all the blinds to make sure he had total anonymity. “Now don’t touch anything while you’re in here, or Jake will know.”

“Why, are there hidden cameras mounted in the ceiling or something?” Benny asked as he looked wildly around the room.

“Maybe yes, maybe no, but it doesn’t matter. Jake will know. Trust me on this.”

“Can I at least sit down?” Benny asked, pointing to one of Jake’s visitor’s chairs.

“I’m sure that would be fine. I’ll come get you after William is gone.”

“Don’t forget about me, okay?” he asked.

“I promise,” I said.

I rejoined the others and was about to ask what I’d missed when William Jecks came storming into the precinct, clearly unhappy about being summoned there for the second time that morning. Boy, if he was that unhappy about that, wait until he heard what the inspector was about to ask him.

“What are
they
doing here?” William Jecks asked as he surveyed the crowd gathered in the precinct lobby. “Is this why you called me in again?” He was elegantly dressed in a three-piece suit, and a gold pocket watch chain hung down from his vest pocket. His hair was thinning, so he chose to wear it short, and while he was clearly older than the rest of us, he looked to be in excellent shape.

“They were just leaving,” Inspector Black said as she pointed to Grace, Jake, and me.

“I don’t know about you, but there’s no place else on earth I’d rather be,” I told Grace.

“I’m good with staying here, too. How about you, Jake?”

The inspector didn’t even wait for him to answer. “Mr. Jecks, if you’ll follow me back to the interview room, we can do this in private.”

“I don’t have anything to hide. I told you earlier, and I’ll say it again. When I left Dan Billingham, he was fine. What happened after that, I have no idea.”

“Were you two arguing about anything yesterday?” Black asked him.

“Arguing? No. Of course not. I’m a businessman and a gentleman. I don’t argue.”

“Come on. Seriously?” I asked him.

“That’s correct. I know you. You’re the donut lady, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been called worse things than that,” I said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you. You were fighting with Dan, weren’t you?”

“You don’t have to answer that,” the state police inspector said harshly.

“Why wouldn’t I? I have nothing to hide.”

“That’s not the way we heard it,” I said.

Jecks frowned at me, and then a smile slowly appeared on his face. “Ah, you’ve been talking to that hobo Benny, haven’t you? So, that’s why I’m here.” He looked around. “Is he here as well, skulking somewhere in the shadows?” In a louder voice, he called out, “Come out here this instant, Benny, and face me like a man.”

I was hoping that Benny hadn’t heard the challenge. A brawl was the last thing we needed right now. “What makes you think he told us anything?”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it, since he was the one fighting with Dan when I left them? Why wouldn’t he deflect his guilt onto me if he thought he could get away with it? Dan and I had a slight disagreement over an item. The entire reason I left the shop was because I didn’t want to be witness to the two men coming to blows.”

“What were they fighting about?” the inspector asked.

“We just have his testimony that Benny and Dan were arguing at all,” I protested.

“And yet all you have against me is Benny’s account,” William countered. “How is it that you believe him and not me?”

“I’m not forming any opinions until I get more information,” Inspector Black said. “What were you discussing with the victim before you left?”

“We were haggling over a trade,” William said. “There was no emotion over it.”

“What were you offering in trade, and what did you get in return?” I asked him.

Instead of answering me, he turned to the state police inspector. “Do I have to dignify her question with a response?”

I expected Karina Black to shut me down, but to my surprise, she said, “I wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to that question myself.”

The antique dealer looked surprised, but he couldn’t have been any more startled than I was. Maybe this woman wasn’t completely worthless after all.