Sour Crime Donuts, page 12
I took him his coffee and donuts. He told the men at his table, “Law enforcement actually questioned me about Adam Nofftry, the developer who died.” Jerry pointed at the donuts on his plate. “They seemed to think that something might have been wrong with the donuts I bought here. But nothing was, or I might not be here to tell you about it!” He turned to me. “Emily, see how much I trust your delicious pastries? I’m digging into more.” He frowned up at me. “Did those donuts contain almonds? I didn’t notice any. Maybe they were subtle?”
“We haven’t put any almonds in our donuts during the past two weeks.”
He tore a section off one of his raisin donuts. “I just wondered because when Adam announced he was running for mayor, I took him out for a drink. You know, a neighborly thing to do with someone you expect to work with. The beer came with a bowl of salty almonds. He didn’t touch them and said he was allergic to almonds. So, I didn’t think he would eat donuts from your shop if he thought they might contain nuts.”
I tried to maintain a neutral expression. I wondered how many other people knew, before Adam’s death, about his allergy to almonds. Could our mayor have been the only one?
He spoke again to the table of men. “The police wanted to know what I’d done with the donuts I’d bought. I ate them. Then they wanted the box they came in, of all things. I’d already thrown it in the town hall dumpster.” His right hand came up to his right cheek as if he had a toothache. “Presumably, that dumpster has been hauled away.”
Charlie said, “That man was kind of young to go off like that.”
Jerry nodded briskly. “Exactly. And don’t get me wrong. I’m sorry to see him go. I wouldn’t wish an early death on anyone, let alone him. It didn’t bother me at all that he was running against me. I was going to win, anyway.”
Charlie’s coffee mug was nearly empty. Although I hated to miss whatever Jerry was telling the others, I went to the kitchen for a fresh pot.
Jocelyn asked, “Would you like me to take that and refresh the retired men’s coffees?”
“No, thanks. Jerry has interesting things to say.”
“Then I’ll offer coffee and tea to the Knitpickers and listen in, too.”
I poured Charlie’s coffee. Jerry told the men, “It’s probably just as well that Adam can’t build the resort he planned, at least not there. He wouldn’t have had an easy time making a success of it. No one was likely to patronize a resort so far from a large airport. Duluth International is about three hours away. Not that Adam had a spark of a chance of buying that property.” He looked at me and lowered his voice to a low murmur. I bent closer to hear him. “There’s someone in town who wanted him to simply disappear and who has a history of poisoning people. Well, really only poisoning one person that we know of.”
“Who?” I tried to keep my voice to a minimum.
“That TWIG woman, Ramona. I saw you at her meeting Monday night. Don’t let her give you any food or drugs!”
Maybe he hadn’t meant to sound offensive. I responded with an attempt at humor. “I’m not in the market for drugs.”
“Of course you’re not. That’s not what I meant. Did you know she’s a retired nurse?”
“No.”
“She had to retire after she overdosed a patient on insulin.”
I clutched the carafe more tightly. “When was this?”
“Years ago, right here in Fallingbrook. You were probably still in school. The patient died, but Ramona was never charged. It was all hush-hush. I guess that Fallingbrook Hospital didn’t want anyone to know about their negligence. And the mayor’s office, too, kept it quiet. That’s one reason I ran for political office. I don’t need the aggravation, but if I can save anyone else from a similar fate, then my sacrifices are worth it.”
“That’s generous.”
I must have sounded like I meant it. Jerry thanked me. “I’d like to talk to Chief Westhill if I could.” He stood, hitched his pants higher, and picked up his plate and mug.
“I’ll tell him.”
Jerry nodded toward a table for two in the corner beside our office. “I’ll wait for him back there.” He carried his plate and mug toward that table.
Dep stared at him from the back of the office couch. He tapped the window with his elbow. She puffed up, hissed, and then jumped down, away from the window. She probably didn’t trust him any more than I did.
I took over the frying and sent Tom to talk to our mayor.
Ten minutes later, Jerry left Deputy Donut, and Tom returned to the kitchen. “Our illustrious mayor is full of himself and full of tales. Don’t believe him, Emily. For one thing, there was never a speck of evidence that Ramona Schleehart overdosed anyone with insulin or anything else. The patient’s family were all up in arms about it, but the medical examiner determined that she died of natural causes. The patient did not have excessive insulin in her body. Schleehart retired from hospital nursing shortly afterward and there were rumors that she left because she felt guilty. Personally, I thought she was traumatized by the whole thing.”
“Did you know her?”
“Not socially. I was the detective on the case. There were absolutely no grounds to charge her, even though the Creavus family thought we should.”
“The Creavus family . . .”
“She was Jerry’s great-aunt.”
“I see.”
“Exactly. Also, he’s going around telling people that he would have won the mayoralty race even if Adam had lived to run against him. I don’t think he’s right. Jerry Creavus is not as popular as he thinks he is. Even though Adam was a newcomer, he was making a good impression on people with his promises of bringing more prosperity to Fallingbrook and the surrounding area.”
“The one time I saw Adam alive, he didn’t make a good impression on me. He was blustery, pushy, and just plain mean to Izzy. No one should talk to another human the way he talked to her.”
“From what I heard, he could turn on the charm.”
“Lovely.” I said it in my most sarcastic voice.
“Brent will know more about this than I do, but from what I can gather, Adam has owned a series of resorts. He would build one, get it going, and then sell it at a profit and start over.”
“Did Jerry talk to you about our donuts?”
“He said he ate them all, threw the box in the town hall dumpster, and it was taken away. It could be true, but I noticed something about Jerry years ago. When he might not be speaking the whole truth, he tends to cover or almost cover one jaw with a hand for a second.”
“I saw him doing that. I thought he had a toothache, like maybe from using his molars to bite down on peach pits and crack them open.”
Tom copied my joking tone. “Could be.”
I became serious again. “I wonder if he really ate a half dozen donuts. He could have scraped the icing off the peachy donuts in the box, or off any of the other frosted donuts, if he bought any. I don’t remember who bought which ones, but I think they all bought some with either fudge or chocolate frosting. Jerry could have mixed almond flour and ground peach kernels into the frosting and slathered it over the donuts. Brent told me that Adam died from anaphylactic shock from eating almonds. He was allergic to them. And there were ground-up kernels from peach pits.”
“Those peach kernels had to have been ground very finely for someone who avoided nuts not to notice the grit.”
“True, and I just found out something possibly incriminating about Jerry Creavus. He might have been one of the few people to know, before Adam’s death, that Adam was allergic to almonds.” I summarized Jerry’s story about taking Adam out for a beer.
“You’ll tell Brent about that, won’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
“First chance I get.”
Tom pointed at the office. “Go call him now.”
Brent answered, and I told him everything that Jerry had told me and Tom. I headed back toward the kitchen.
I was behind our serving counter when the front door opened and Izzy rushed inside. The baggy orange T-shirt she wore over her cutoffs was stained. Tugging at her tangled curls, Izzy strode over to me.
Chapter 18
I asked Izzy, “What’s wrong?”
“Everything! Some detective, not your nice husband, and other police officers came to my house with a search warrant. They heard somehow that I had peach pits, and they wanted them! I’d already planted them in pots to try to raise seedlings, but they took most of them away. And they ransacked my kitchen, too, but whatever it was they wanted, they didn’t find it. So, despite your nice husband and the interview I did with him, these other officers must want to believe that I killed Adam Nofftry somehow. With pots full of dirt and peach pits?”
“I’m sorry, Izzy, but I saw you take peach pits from our compost, and I told Brent.”
Those hazel eyes looked both confused and hurt. “I thought you didn’t want them.”
“We didn’t. We threw them out. That’s not why I told Brent.” I took a deep breath. “This is just between you and me, okay?”
She nodded.
I explained, “The donuts that you and I found on your property contained the ground-up insides of peach pits. As I understand it, that’s not why Adam died, but someone must have added ground-up peach pit kernels to donuts from here, so the police are looking into everyone who bought that type of donuts.” I hoped I wasn’t telling her more than Brent wanted people to know, but I truly didn’t believe she would have gone to such lengths to harm a man whose threats she believed were negligible. Or that she would purposely harm anyone, period.
“I bought some of those donuts, and my neighbors and I ate them that afternoon. And even if we hadn’t, why would I tamper with them, especially adding an icky ingredient? I did take some of those peach pits apart, as an experiment. I planted most of them complete with their outer shells. But I also planted a few bare kernels in pots to see if they’d germinate faster. That detective took all of the pots containing the bare kernels away.”
“They have to look into everything.”
“I get that, but why me? Adam’s become a worse threat to me dead than he was alive.”
“They’re doing their job. And although Brent doesn’t tell me much, I’m sure he has other suspects, probably some who are much more likely than you.”
“But Brent wasn’t one of the people who searched my place.”
“Did they show you a badge? Tell you where they’re from?”
“I made them wait outside until my lawyers could come. The police fussed, but they showed the badge to my lawyers. Apparently, they weren’t Fallingbrook police officers. They were from some agency. I forget the name of it or the initials, but it’s something like the Wisconsin version of the FBI. And the detectives are called agents, like in the FBI.”
“The DCI?”
“That could have been it.”
“Those letters stand for the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation.”
“That sounds like what I remember. My lawyers agreed that the officers were legitimate, and then my lawyers traipsed around my home after them. So did I, even though we had to squeeze past one another.”
“Was the detective’s name Victor Throppen?”
“I think so.”
“I’ve met him. He’ll go wherever the facts and evidence send him. He’s the lead investigator on the case, but Brent will be helping him, and so will other members of the Fallingbrook Police Department, like my friend Misty and her temporary patrol partner Tyler. You said they ransacked your kitchen. Did they show you the search warrant?”
“I told them to show it to my lawyers, and they did.”
“The search warrant would say what they were authorized to search for.”
“I left it to my lawyers to read everything. The searchers seemed to be checking out small appliances, but my toaster didn’t interest them. Then they wanted to go through things like flour and sugar, but they didn’t take any of those away, either, other than a small amount of all-purpose flour. I don’t bake much. Then they wanted to see my spices. I don’t have many of those, either, just pepper, paprika, and cinnamon.” She shrugged. “Although I want to grow greenhouse veggies and maybe fruits someday, too, I’m not exactly an adventurous cook, and until I got that money from my grandfather, I didn’t splurge on things like ingredients. I still don’t. His money is going to my new farm.” A flicker almost like a smile crossed her face. “I don’t need to cook when I have places like Deputy Donut around.”
I glanced toward our display case, brimming with appetizing donuts in gorgeous colors. “What would you like today? It’s on the house, since I brought law enforcement down on your head.”
“Not really. Finding Adam’s body was the worst thing I could do if I didn’t want to be suspected of murder.” She put her elbows on the counter and rested her chin in her palms. “I wish I hadn’t gone up there that day. Anyway, I’m almost afraid of donuts now.”
“Then how about some nice, calming chamomile tea?”
This time her smile was genuine. “Do I seem that bad?”
“No, but chamomile tea is good any time. Or maybe you’d like some of today’s special coffee. It’s a bold and acidic medium roast from Kenya.”
“Bold and acidic. Just like me. I’d love some of that. And maybe just one donut, like, um . . .” She leaned toward our display case. “How about one of those with the mini chocolate chips all over them?”
“Those are mocha donuts with mocha frosting. They definitely go better with coffee than with any kind of tea.”
“They sound delicious.”
I took them to her at the counter, but she stood up. “Mind if I eat over there at the table where I usually sit?”
“Of course not, but I’ll carry them.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“I do, but if anything’s going to be dropped, we like to be the ones dropping them, if we can get to people before they start wandering around in search of better tables like Mayor Creavus does.”
Izzy’s laugh seemed forced, but she led me to her favorite table and sat down with her back to the wall. I wondered if she was facing the dining area to watch for Landon. However, unlike other days, she didn’t stay long after she finished her coffee and donut. She didn’t come back to the counter near the kitchen, but she waved and went out the front door.
I’d told her that the donut and coffee were free. She had folded bills and hidden them underneath her saucer. She’d not only paid for her snack but she’d left a big tip. No wonder she’d been in a hurry to leave before I could argue with her about accepting the cash. Sighing at her extravagance, I cleared her table. Either she was as honest as I believed, or she was a very good actor.
Tourists kept us busy until closing time. Tom, Jocelyn, Olivia, and I had almost finished tidying when Brent showed up at our locked front door.
DCI Agent Victor Throppen was with him.
Chapter 19
Both men were in suits, white shirts, and ties. Detective Throppen reintroduced himself and told us to call him Vic. “I have a few questions for all of you.”
I gestured toward one of our largest tables. It had space for all six of us. “Would you like to sit?”
Jocelyn offered, “Can I bring you some coffee? And there are a few donuts left.”
Vic pinched the creases of his pants and sat. “No need to go to that trouble. Join us for an informal discussion.”
Brent didn’t appear to expect the discussion to be informal. He removed his notebook and pen from a pocket.
Jocelyn, Olivia, and I sat up straight and folded our hands on the table like good students or interviewees. Tom amused me by slouching slightly and crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t going to let DCI Agent Victor Throppen intimidate him.
Vic opened his notebook and smoothed the page. “When did you last see Isabella Korinth?”
I pulled my chair closer to the table. “She was in here this afternoon around two. She told me that you—I guess it was you—executed a search warrant at her place. She didn’t understand why.”
Vic made a note of what I’d said. “And when did you last see this man whose name might be Landon and who might be driving a car with Minnesota plates that might or might not be a rental car?”
Jocelyn volunteered, “I don’t think he’s been in here since Sunday, when he bought a half dozen donuts. But Olivia, Emily, and I saw him Monday night at a meeting of the local chapter of Toward Wisconsin in Green. And then he and a woman walked to a car that was just north of here on Wisconsin Street. They both got in, and he drove south. A few minutes later, a car that could have been the same one went north past the square, but it might not have been his.”
Olivia and I agreed with Jocelyn’s statement.
Vic asked, “Have you seen Isabella Korinth and this Landon person together?”
I shook my head. “Not really. We saw them both on Saturday, when Adam Nofftry was telling Landon, and the rest of us, including Izzy—Isabella—to get off the property he claimed was his. But Landon and Izzy weren’t together. That was the first time she’d ever seen him.”
Vic took such a sudden breath that his nostrils nearly pinched shut. “Are you positive that they hadn’t arranged to meet there?”
Olivia, Jocelyn, and I looked at one another, and I remembered how Landon and Izzy had appeared to be instantly attracted to each other and how Landon had seemed to find it difficult to come up with a reason for being there. Had he and Izzy known each other before? Had she, in addition to inviting us to tour the property, asked Landon to meet her there?
As always when Brent was nearby, I couldn’t help looking at him. He was watching me as if following my thoughts.
It was Olivia who answered, though, seeming to choose her words carefully. “We can’t be sure, but that’s how it appeared. We were already there with Izzy, farther up the hill, on the lowest meadow, when we heard shouting below us and investigated. Adam and this Landon person had come onto the property without any of us noticing, and they were arguing below the trail’s uppermost turn. Izzy seemed surprised that the two men were there.”
