Sour Crime Donuts, page 17
Her posture perfect and her walk graceful, Hope glided to our front door. A man at a nearby table jumped up and opened it for her.
Olivia joined me at the service counter. “That was the woman who knew Mr. Mystery, right? How does she get men to rush to her aid like that?”
“Walk like a princess,” Jocelyn said, demonstrating.
Olivia and I laughed.
“Confidence,” I suggested. “Believing she’s the most important person in the room.” I stood straighter. “I should try it.”
“Me, too.” Olivia raised her chin, lowered her shoulders, and glided back into the kitchen.
Jocelyn followed her. “That’s it, Olivia! Keep doing that.”
Olivia turned back to us. “I don’t want to look fake.”
“You don’t,” I said. “You look regal.”
Jocelyn squinted up at Olivia’s face. “Or you would if you weren’t wearing your Deputy Donut hat. No offense, Emily.”
I shrugged. “Tom and I designed them together.”
Standing at the deep fryers, Tom grinned and took a bow. “It’s hard to believe that woman is Izzy’s cousin. Why was she here? She didn’t buy anything, did she, Emily?”
“No. The smells of frying and sugar make her bilious. As Izzy told us yesterday, Hope and Izzy are cousins, and Hope invited Izzy to dinner tonight. Hope came in just now to invite me, too.”
Olivia folded her arms. “Good. I’m not sure Izzy should be alone with her cousin. What if Izzy starts acting like her? You can immediately tell her to stop.”
Jocelyn warned, “Don’t expect fried foods or sweets.”
Olivia added, “Take Brent with you.”
“He wasn’t invited. Anyway, he probably has to work tonight. And Hope implied that Glenn, the chef, will be doing the cooking. Maybe he’s not averse to sugar.”
Jocelyn glanced at Olivia. “Such a pity that the chef has a girlfriend.”
Olivia blushed. “I don’t care.”
Jocelyn started toward customers in the dining room. “Of course not, when a certain cute guy in a uniform is single.”
Olivia raised her chin. She was obviously trying hard not to smile. I looked past her and winked at Tom.
Olivia wasn’t looking at him, so she missed the almost fatherly smile he aimed at her. He glanced beyond me, and his smile became strained. He cocked his head toward the front door.
I turned around. Striding inside with his own form of confidence, Mayor Jerry Creavus approached a table of diners. He shook hands all around and then started toward us.
Olivia stooped to whisper in my ear, “It’s time to practice your own swagger, Emily.”
I hoped that Jerry Creavus thought my wide smile was meant for him.
He came to the serving counter. “Can I talk to Tom?”
I looked over my shoulder. Tom was concentrating on the fryer in front of him, turning donuts. I met Jerry’s gaze. “Sure, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes. Timing is crucial with frying donuts.” I could have gone back into the kitchen and taken over for Tom, but maybe I was too busy practicing my swagger. “What can I get you while you wait?”
“I’m not sure it will wait. You and Tom are partners, right? Business partners, that is.”
Pretending I hadn’t heard that hint of innuendo about me and the man I thought of as a second father, I kept a straight face. “We own this place fifty-fifty.”
“Then I’d better discuss this with you. You told a chef about my plans of selling the building next door to you, right?”
“Yes. Glenn Sitherby.”
“Glenn is very interested in the property, so I thought I should give you and Tom, who are long-term residents of Fallingbrook, a chance to buy it before a newcomer does.”
I thought uncharitably, A newcomer probably won’t be qualified to vote in the mayoralty election.
Jerry beamed down at me. “So, here’s what I thought I’d do. I can lower the price for you and Tom if you act quickly and pay cash.”
I flattened my palms against the cool marble counter. “That would be impossible. And besides, I would love having a restaurant like the one Glenn’s planning in downtown Fallingbrook. I would eat there, for one thing, and it would attract others, including tourists.”
“It could be unfair competition for you.”
Maybe I shouldn’t be interpreting so many of Jerry’s comments as insults.... I raised my chin in an attempt at looking regal. “We’re not open at the dinner hour, and we serve different sorts of meals than he would serve.”
“Okay, I get that. Listen, do you know how to get in touch with that young woman planning a greenhouse business?”
“She comes in here from time to time.”
He set one of his business cards on the counter. “I want to talk to her about her plans. So, the next time you see her, can you give her my card? She can meet me in my office some evening.”
An evening meeting? Just the two of them? Trying not to make a face, I put the card in my apron pocket. I would suggest to Izzy that if she wanted to attend the meeting, she should take at least one of her lawyer friends with her.
Jerry swept his fingers across the counter like someone who had just accomplished an important goal. “Let me talk to Tom.”
“Okay.” Head high, I glided, princess-style, around the half-height wall into the kitchen. At the fryers, I told Tom, “I’ll take over so you can go talk to Jerry.” With my back to Jerry, I scrunched my face into an expression that I hoped served as a warning that Jerry was being irritating.
I could tell that Tom wanted to laugh, but he managed to give me a neutral look before, smiling toward Jerry, he headed off to the serving counter.
I lifted a basket of donuts out of the hot oil and hooked the basket over the side of the fryer to allow the tiny bit of oil clinging to the donuts to drip back into the fryer. We always used fresh oil, and we kept it at a temperature that cooked the donuts without soaking into them. To me, it all smelled delicious. Hope didn’t know what she was missing. I lowered more donuts into the oil.
Tom returned to the fryers. Over the half wall, I could see Jerry strutting through our dining room. He greeted more of our customers and then left without buying anything.
I handed Tom the wooden rod we used for turning donuts. “I gather you told him the same thing I did.”
“I told him we’re not interested.”
“I told him we couldn’t.”
“Same thing. I also said I couldn’t make decisions without discussing them with you.”
“Thank you. I didn’t mention that. I think he took it for granted that you were the primary decision-maker. At first, he asked to talk to you, not to me.”
“Too bad he’s now running unopposed for mayor. Maybe a woman should run against him.”
“Not me. How about Cindy?”
Tom’s wife, in addition to being Alec’s mother and my mother-in-law, was a high school art teacher. I couldn’t imagine her wanting to embroil herself in politics.
Tom laughed. “She’d hate that.”
I heaved a dramatic sigh. “I know. I wonder why Jerry’s so suddenly interested in selling. And quickly. For cash, if he can.”
“He bought some of those donuts the day that Adam Nofftry died, didn’t he? The donuts that Brent and the other officers found so interesting?”
“Yes.”
Tom made a guess like Izzy’s. “So, if Jerry is short on funds, maybe he needs to be mayor for the salary. And from what I hear, Adam was making inroads on Jerry’s popularity. Which gives Jerry a motive to kill Adam.” Tom seldom indulged in speculation about police cases. He was relaxing after his days as detective and police chief.
“And maybe Jerry wants to sell his assets quickly for cash so he can disappear into a new life to avoid being arrested. Oh, and he wants to arrange a meeting with Izzy, some evening in his office.”
Tom’s eyebrows lowered. He hadn’t completely relaxed his retired police officer personality. I took advantage of it to ask for advice. “I told Brent about Jerry’s offer yesterday. Do you think I should call him about Jerry’s apparent desperation today and his slightly questionable offer to meet with Izzy?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you know I would call Brent no matter what you said.”
“You were also sure I’d say you should call him now.”
Laughing, I glided, Hope-style, toward the office.
Visiting Dep in the office was fun, if not always calming. I shut myself in and sat on the couch. Where was Dep?
I looked up. Her tail was hanging out the end of a tunnel high up on one of her catwalks. The tail swished back and forth, a sign that mischief was brewing in the little cat’s brain. I touched Brent’s number on my phone.
He answered, “Hi, Em, what’s up?”
A rubber squeaky mouse crashed down onto my lap from Dep’s catwalk. Managing not to gasp too audibly, I told Brent about Jerry’s latest offer. “Tom and I aren’t going for it.” I explained why Tom and I thought that Jerry’s need for cash could point to a motive for killing Adam and could also point to Jerry’s possible guilt and desire to quickly flee from Fallingbrook. I added, “As you know, Jerry is the one person I’ve heard of who knew before Adam died that Adam was allergic to almonds. Or have you cleared Jerry as a possible murderer?”
“We haven’t.”
Dep ran down one of her kitty ramps and stood on her hind legs on the floor, batting with one velvety front paw at the rubber mouse on my knee. I said to Brent, “I guess you might have spoken to other people who knew about Adam’s allergies.”
“No one has come right out and said that, but maybe no one would, at this point, if they’ve heard about the questions Vic and I have been asking.”
“Jerry also asked me to give Izzy his card. He wants her to call him so he can arrange a meeting with her in his office to discuss her plans. I worry about what he’s up to.”
“It should be okay if she doesn’t go alone.”
“That’s what I thought. I was already worried that Landon was going to try to scam her out of her windfall, and Jerry obviously knows she has money. Maybe this is another way he’s hoping to have enough cash to escape arrest, or something.”
“Could be.”
“I have other news. Izzy’s cousin Hope came in this afternoon and invited me to join her and Izzy for dinner tonight at our Maple Street house. Glenn’s preparing it, and he’s a chef, so I’m looking forward to it. Hope didn’t specifically invite you, but she also didn’t specifically not invite you.”
“I do have to work. What will you do with Dep?”
“I’m invited for drinks at seven, so I’ll take her home and change out of my Deputy Donut shorts. Hope tends to dress up.”
“Better you than me. If you’re not home by nine, don’t worry. I probably will be and can console Dep for being abandoned for over two hours.”
Promising to see each other later, we disconnected.
Chapter 26
Dep unsheathed her claws and plucked the rubber mouse off my lap. She shook her paw, and the toy flew across the office. Her feet sliding every which way, she chased it.
I called Glenn and apologized for interrupting his meal preparations.
“Everything’s under control. I look forward to showing you the world-class cuisine I’ll feature in my restaurant.”
I told him about Jerry’s latest offer. “He said you were interested in the building, so I thought you should know how low he’s willing to go for cash.”
There was a pause. “I toured the place with him yesterday, and quite frankly, Emily, the inside of that building has been neglected for years and needs a lot of work. I’d rather build new on a larger lot with gardens and dedicated parking. Besides, Jerry told me that you were interested in the building. I wasn’t about to buy it if you wanted it.”
“Tom and I don’t want to buy it, no matter what shape it’s in. We can’t expand right now.”
“I guess when I turned Jerry down, I was a little too tactful.”
“It’s more like he’s playing us against each other.”
Glenn sighed. “I’m afraid you might be right. But I guess his high-pressure sales pitch isn’t working with either of us.”
Over the phone, I recognized the beeping of the timer in my former kitchen. I laughed. “I’d better let you go. See you at seven.”
We disconnected. I wondered how long Glenn had been searching for the perfect place to open a restaurant. How could he afford to spend time without producing revenue?
I returned to Deputy Donut’s kitchen. Tom and Jocelyn were mixing dough for the next day, and Olivia was rearranging the donuts in the display case, consolidating them and removing the trays she’d emptied.
Jocelyn looked toward the front door. “Olivia, you should go wait on them. Walk like a princess.”
Olivia asked, “Who?” She looked toward the front door and blushed. “Oh, them.”
Misty had come in with her husband Scott, and Tyler was with them. Scott was in the dark blue pants and shirt he wore when on duty in the fire station. Misty and Tyler must have still been enjoying their days off. Misty was wearing gray capris and a red blouse, and Tyler was in navy shorts and a white polo shirt that showed off his muscles. Misty and Scott waved at me. Tyler blushed.
I told Olivia, “I’ll go with you.”
Actually, I led the way, so I couldn’t tell if Olivia was practicing the walk that Hope had inspired in us. I glided, chin up, to the table where Misty, Scott, and Tyler sat. “What can we get for you three? Misty and Tyler, you don’t look like you’re here on business.”
Misty’s smile was huge. Either she was laughing at the way we were walking, or she was telling me she was trying to give Tyler and Olivia a chance to get to know each other better. “We thought that Scott doesn’t take enough breaks, so we brought him here. What’s your special coffee today?”
“It’s Monsoon Malabar from India. It’s been processed to resemble coffee beans that fermented in the dark and damp lower decks of ships long ago. It sounds iffy, but it’s nicely mellow, a tiny bit earthy, and very good.”
Misty elbowed Scott. “Do you get anything that good in the fire hall?”
“Of course we do. We buy our beans from Emily and Tom, and they taught us how to make decent coffee. I’d like to try anything with the name ‘monsoon’ in it.”
Tyler didn’t take his eyes off Olivia. “I’d like to, too.”
I suggested, “And how about some of the donuts we only started making today—almond donuts with cardamom?”
I thought Misty was going to choke, but she managed to order one.
“We didn’t put peaches in these,” I deadpanned.
Tyler told Olivia, “I’d like two of them.”
Scott smiled. I suspected he was a co-conspirator in Misty’s matchmaking. “Can you bring me two of them, too?”
Olivia and I returned to the kitchen, and then Jocelyn and I held back and watched Olivia head toward Misty, Scott, and Tyler with the tray of plates. Jocelyn elbowed me, “Olivia’s doing it, walking like she’s the most important person in the room.”
I grinned. “I guess Tyler already thought that.” We took the coffee and mugs to Scott, Misty, and Tyler.
Scott’s break ended shortly before we closed for the day. Misty and Scott started toward the door, but Tyler lingered at the table while Olivia cleared it. I couldn’t hear what Tyler said to Olivia, but they both smiled. And blushed.
All of us were in a cheerful mood when we tidied and locked up, but Olivia had a special glow. I was careful not to ask, and, I noticed, so were Jocelyn and Tom. Jocelyn, however, would probably quiz Olivia about it while walking her bike beside Olivia. Having strolled down Wisconsin Street after work with them often when I lived in the Maple Street house, I knew that they would walk together until Jocelyn turned off Wisconsin and rode the rest of the way to her parents’ home, and then Olivia would stay on Wisconsin for another few blocks to her apartment.
I drove Dep to our home on Chicory Lake. I’d barely gotten inside and fed Dep when Izzy called. “Hope told me she invited you, too, Emily! This is going to be great. Want me to pick you up and take you home?”
“It would be fun to ride together, but I have to work early in the morning.”
“We wouldn’t have to stay late. Hope and I might run out of things to say to each other by seven fifteen.”
“Or you might want to talk all night. I’ll drive myself, and you can be free to leave at seven fifteen in the evening or seven fifteen in the morning, when I’ll already be at work.”
“I can’t imagine that happening, but, okay, I’ll go straight there. I don’t know what to wear. What’s the house you’re renting to them like?”
I laughed. “Why?”
“So I won’t clash.”
“Did I clash with your home last night?”
“No. But the décor is neutral. What if your house is red inside, and I wore purple?”
“Good guess. The house is originally Victorian, but updated. The living room is white and decorated in jewel tones, mostly deep red and cobalt blue, to go with the stained-glass windows. The dining room also has stained-glass windows high up on both sides of the fireplace, but the dining room’s decor is mostly white with chrome and glass. It gets its natural light mostly through the living room and kitchen. If you wear muted orange, you might fit in with the kitchen with its terra-cotta tile floor, pine cabinets, and granite countertops. The granite is mostly gray but has hints of orange. Does that help?”
“Well, what are you going to wear?”
“I hadn’t thought of matching the house, but whenever I’ve seen Hope, she’s been dressed up, even when I dropped in at the house. That time, she had on an expensive-looking silk blouse with designer jeans. You saw her in Deputy Donut in her business suit. Today she had on a gorgeous sundress. I don’t have any as expensive as that one, but I was thinking of a sundress and sandals, with a sweater in case we eat out on the patio. If you want to match the outdoors, consider that the wall around the yard is, like the house’s exterior, yellow brick, aged to a tannish hue. And the grass is green, and the bark on trees and shrubs is . . .”
