Chocolate Crunch Murder (8 page)

“Ugh, as if I could forget.” Heather walked to the door, dragging her feet for the first time since Jung’s entry. “After that, I have to go home and get some sleep.”

“I second that motion,” Amy replied, then linked her arm through Heather’s.

Together, they walked back into the store to face the donut boxes and weepy Jung.

Heather floated on a donut-shaped cloud, glaze dripping directly into her open mouth. Heaven. The chocolate flavor spread across her lips, dribbled down her throat and coated her soul.

Rainbow bubble drifted by, each one containing a different flavored donut. Some of them were empty, though, and that one? Wait a second, what was that?

Heather rolled onto her stomach on the donut cloud and frowned.

“A piece of paper,” she said. “In the shape of a wheelchair.”

That made perfect sense, of course. Why wouldn’t there be a piece of paper shaped like a wheelchair in a rainbow bubble?

Heather buried her face in the cloud and inhaled the scent of warm, sugary donut. She took a bite and chewed, then lifted her head again. The paper wheelchair bubble floated up to her.

A pin appeared in her fingers.

“A pin?” Heather examined the steel spike. “Pins pop bubbles, you know,” she said, to the pin. “Or is it needles? You’ll do, I guess.”

Heather launched the pin at the bubble. A resonant pop rocked the cloud, and the rainbow bubble burst into a trillion smaller bubbles.

The wheelchair paper drifted to the surface of her donut cloud.

Letters ran down its length, written in bright red, bold print.

I HATE RANDY MORTON.

“That’s not nice,” Heather said, wrinkling her nose. “Why would anyone write such a horrible thing in a rainbow bubble? Terrible. Mean.”

She tilted her head to read another line.

MY GRANDSON IS WORTHLESS.

“Grandson? Randy’s grandmother is –”

Heather clawed herself awake. She bolted upright on the sofa in her living room and grabbed at the thin blanket around her waist. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face and wet the back of her neck.

Dave barked from the front door, and the doorbell trilled, over and over again.

“A dream,” Heather said, and checked her hands for pins and donuts. “Just a dream. Gosh, that was so trippy.”

She jumped off the sofa and hurried into the hall. The doorbell buzzed again and Dave dissolved into a frenzy. He ran in circles around Heather, yapping nonstop.

“For heaven’s sake, Dave, calm yourself.” Heather unlocked the door, then pulled it open.

Lilly stood on the doorstep. She grinned sheepishly and handed Heather her phone, then lowered her head. “I came to apologize.”

“What? Oh, Lilly, it’s wonderful to see you, again.” Heather peered out into the afternoon, shading her tired eyes from the glare. She blinked and looked down at Lilly’s phone. “Why did you give me this?”

“May I come in?” Lilly asked.

“Of course. Oh wait, does –?”

“Don’t worry,” Lilly said, “the Foster Folks know I’m here. I asked Colleen’s permission before I came.”

Heather nodded her semi-sleepy approval, then took a step back.

Lilly bustled into the entrance hall. She dropped to her knees and Dave crawled into her lap, immediately. The licking commenced, but at least the barking had stopped.

“I’m sorry I got so angry, Heather. I was really upset because I wanted to help you.”

“I know, Lilly, but it’s not safe for you to help,” Heather said. She bent and stroked Lilly’s head. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Who knows, maybe one day you can be a cop or a private investigator. Right now, you need to focus on your studies and being a kid.”

Lilly patted Dave to calm him, nodding at the same time. “You’re right. That’s why I gave you my phone.”

Heather frowned and lifted the cell. She unlocked it and blinked at the background – an image of Dave the dog, of course.

“Why?”

“That day that I got in trouble? It was because I snuck out of the house and I went all the way to Randy’s place. I wanted to snoop around and see if I could find anything.” Lilly sighed. “But it was all empty and quiet. Then I heard a noise from upstairs. So I went up there too and that’s when I started recording.”

Shock juddered through Heather’s chest and she gripped the cell tight. “Lilly, do you realize how dangerous that was?”

“I know. I already told Bill and Colleen all about it and apologized.”

She’d told her foster parents and they’d allowed her to come visit ‘the bad influence’ anyway. That had to be a good sign.

“You need to see the video, Heather. It’s really important. I promise I’ll never do anything bad like that again, okay?” Lilly picked up Dave and hugged him to her chest. She kissed the top of his head and he grunted – a happy Dave noise.

Heather didn’t ask questions. She tapped through to Lilly’s videos and opened the only file in her gallery.

Metal stairs jumped into sharp relief on the screen. Lilly’s footsteps clanged on the grates. She huffed and puffed, then stopped in front of Mama Morton’s door.

Heather bit her bottom lip, nerves bubbling up beneath her calm exterior. What could it be? What had Lilly captured.

The camera focused on the window beside Miriam’s door and zoomed in.

An image of Mama Morton in her wheelchair appeared and the blurriness disappeared.

“Lilly?” Heather asked. “What –?”

The old woman got up out of her wheelchair and walked into the kitchen. Two or three seconds ticked by, and Mama Morton reappeared carrying a mug of tea. She walked to her armchair, then sat down and picked up her remote control for the TV.

“She’s walking,” Heather whispered. “She’s walking!”

“That’s what I tried to tell you,” Lilly said. “She’s been lying about needing the wheelchair all along.”

Heather shook her head, then replayed the video. She stared at Mama Morton striding across the screen. It wasn’t even a hobble. It was a full on, powerful walk.

“I don’t believe it.” Heather handed Lilly her phone. “Actually, I do. Lills, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Forward that to my husband. I’ve got to run upstairs and get my handbag, then I’m taking you back to your foster parents,” Heather said. She didn’t wait for the girl’s answer.

There wasn’t time. She had to get to Mama Morton’s. Now.

Heather hurried down the front stairs of Lilly’s home and back to her car, her heart pounding for the fiftieth time that week. The video had broken ground in her mind.

If Miriam could walk, then she might’ve been strong enough to take Randy by surprise. Heck, she could’ve drugged the donut they’d found in his mouth, then strangled him after the fact.

Although, there hadn’t been any news of that from a toxicology report, as far as she’d heard. Then again, she hadn’t heard much.

“Ugh, my mind is all muddled up,” Heather said. She stopped by her car and caught a breather.

Amy’s yoga techniques worked wonders whenever she was too stressed.

Heather breathed in for four counts, held it for two, then breathed out again. Serenity flushed out the panic, her core relaxed, and she leaned her forehead on the top of her car.

She needed to think.

She’d run off and accused innocent people before, and that never ended well for anyone, particularly not for Heather.

“Okay, so granny grumps can walk. Big deal. That doesn’t mean that she did. I need more evidence than that.” Frustration replaced the sense of calm pervading her limbs.

Heather formed fists and rammed them onto her hips. Her car keys bit into the flesh of her palm.

“But she hated him,” Heather said. “She totally hated her grandson. She called him names. She was overbearing, and she had information she shouldn’t have had. And he changed that life policy.”

But the puzzle pieces didn’t fit together perfectly. The image wasn’t as clear as it should’ve been.

“What’s missing?’ Heather whispered.

Her phone rang in her pocket, and she jumped. Heather worked it out of her jeans, then swiped her thumb across the screen to answer.

“Hello?”

“Heather, it’s Jung,” her assistant said. His voice didn’t shake this time.

“Oh hey, is everything okay at the store? Do you guys need me there?”

“No, I’m calling about the insurance policy. I spoke to the guy who dealt directly with Randy during the change,” Jung said. “And I managed to get an answer out of him.”

“What did he say?” Heather stared over the top of her car, at the tree in Bill and Colleen’s front yard. A tire swing hung from a branch, swaying back and forth ever so slightly.

“He said that Randy came in distraught. He demanded to change it because he didn’t want his grandmother to have any money.”

“Wow, that’s exactly what we thought it would be,” Heather said.

“Yeah, and the guy said that Randy left instruction for me to use the money wisely and spend it on people in need. That I should take care of his funeral arrangements, but after that, it was to be used for the disenfranchised youth in and around Hillside,” Jung said. “I’m ready that directly off the piece of paper the guy gave me.”

Heather welled up, in spite of the situation. Randy had had a kind heart, after all. His grandmother, not so much.

“Listen, Jung, I’d like to see that letter,” Heather said.

But Jung didn’t answer. Rustling and scraping came through on the other end of the line. A yell, and then a familiar voice. A moment of silence.

“What on earth? Jung? Are you there?” Heather asked. “Jung!”

“Heather?” Amy’s voice on the line splashed cool water into Heather’s soul.

“Ames, what on earth is going on down there?”

“Ryan just came in and arrested Jung,” Amy replied. “He’s cuffing him and reading him his rights, now.”

Heather gasped. Tremors ran up and down her arms, her fingers clenched reflexively. She rammed the phone into her ear. “You’re not serious. Can you put Ryan on the phone?”

“Hold on a sec,” Amy said.

The scratching and muffled voices started up again, and Heather tapped her foot on the sidewalk, thoughts racing through her mind. How had it come to this?

Ryan couldn’t have enough evidence to lock up her assistant. Was this necessary?

“Yeah, hello?” Amy again.

“Where’s Ryan.”

“He can’t come to the phone, right now. He’s escorting Jung out to his cruiser. I’m sorry, Heather, I don’t know what else to do.” Amy’s voice trembled for a change.

She’d been a rock after her initial breakdown a couple of months ago.

“Heather?”

“I’m here,” she replied. “I’m here. You can’t do anything?” Of course, she couldn’t. What was Amy supposed to do? Interfere with a police investigation?

“No, I can’t.”

Heather hesitated a second. The facts swirled around her head, barely visible glimmers of hope. She snatched at them. She needed to stop Jung from getting hurt.

“All right,” Heather said. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“I’ll do what I can, but I don’t think it’s much,” Amy replied, then hung up.

Trust Amy to be pragmatic about the whole thing.

Heather tucked her phone back into her pocket, then unlocked her car and slipped into the driver’s seat. She started the engine, then drove off down the road, focus burning her eyes.

Or maybe that was a start of a migraine.

“I’m coming, Jung,” Heather muttered. She’d be late, for sure. Ryan was a professional. He wouldn’t hang around after he’d made his arrest.

What was worse, he wouldn’t make an arrest unless he deemed it necessary.

Heather shook her head. “No. It’s not possible. Jung wouldn’t hurt a fly. He wouldn’t!” She tightened her grip on the wheel, and her knuckles turned white. But what if he had?

Her assistant, an employee of Donut Delights, her good friend.

“No,” she repeated. “Don’t you doubt him for a minute.”

Heather put her foot down. If she didn’t make it in time, she had a backup plan. Evidence to bring to light. And a grandma to interview.

“Are you ready for this?” Heather asked. “You’re about to meet the least friendly woman in the world.”

“If she gives my mom a run for her money, I’ll be surprised,” Amy replied, but the humor didn’t shine through in her voice.

Jung’s arrest had put a dent in Amy’s usually sunny disposition.

Heather had arrived at Donut Delights, just in time to see Ryan’s taillights disappearing at the end of the street. Ames had arrived at work in time to see Jung’s arrest.

Both women sat back and sighed, staring up at the dull fluorescent sign of Randy’s Burger Bar, plastered against the brick-faced wall.

“What do we know?” Amy asked.