Vanilla Vices (13 page)

“Yes, ma’am. Thanks again.” I didn’t wait for a response when I realized that she’d already hung up on me before I’d even had a chance to finish.

I turned to Jake. “She just found out today herself.”

“So, the plot thickens,” Jake said. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“I’m glad that I could oblige you, then,” I said. “Does that mean that you suspect Belinda?”

“Of murder or of trying to spin the best possible light on her relationship with Dan?”

“Either, or, or both,” I said.

“It’s too soon to say just yet. We need more information.”

“We?” I asked him. “I thought you were off this case.”

“Officially, I am, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t have an occasional conversation with my own wife, does it?”

“Not as far as I’m concerned,” I said.

“We’ve discussed suspects and motives. I’m assuming that you haven’t been able to determine opportunity, since any of them could have gone there and killed Dan with that iron. It doesn’t exactly look as though it was premeditated, does it?”

“Do you think that it might have been, though?”

“You know what reporters say: if you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. I spent so much time with the state police finding zebras after all that it may have tarnished my perspective. The odds are good that it was a spontaneous murder. Were you able to find any solid clues?”

“We may have found two before Inspector Black evicted us from Aunt Teeks.”

Jake dropped his fork. “Please tell me that she didn’t find you there after you broke into the junk shop, Suzanne.”

“We didn’t break anything. We had a key.”

Before I could explain further, Jake said, “Don’t get cute on me.”

“I can’t help it. I had every right to be there. She’d already released the crime scene, and I’ve been appointed as Dan’s executrix.”

Jake leaned back in his chair and whistled. “How did you manage that?”

“It wasn’t my doing at all,” I said. “Evidently Dan and I were closer than I realized. Not that it matters now.”

“Why not?”

“Grace and I found something that might be significant, so I called Inspector Black. She came to the shop to confiscate one of our clues, and then she resealed the scene, barring us from going back in until she had another, more thorough look around.”

“That’s not entirely unexpected,” Jake said. “You made her look bad once. She didn’t want it happening again.”

“Maybe not, but it made me wonder if I should have even called her in the first place.”

“Whether you like the woman or not, you did the right thing. She needed to know. So, what did you find?”

I pulled out my phone and brought up the first photo. I still had the copies I’d made, but they were in my jacket by the door, and my phone was closer. I showed the image to Jake.

“Where did you find this?”

“Hidden between two plates in the kitchen.”

He nodded. “Were there any distinguishable features of the envelope?”

It was an astute question, one that didn’t surprise me coming from my husband. “The adhesive pattern on the flap skips. We haven’t been able to find a match yet, though we’re trying.”

“Smart. You implied that there was more than one clue uncovered while you were at Aunt Teeks. What else did you discover?”

I forwarded my screen to the second shot. He studied it a moment and then handed it back to me. “There are four questions I have about this.”

“Just four?” I asked him, obviously joking, but he missed it.

“One: Who was excised from the photo? Two: Where was it taken? Three: Why did he tear it instead of cutting it? And four, is it pertinent to Dan’s murder?”

“Those are all very good questions. I just wish I had answers for them. We showed both clues to Jeffrey Frost. He may have flinched a little when he saw the note but not the photo, at least not that I could tell. I showed the note to Belinda, but she threw me out before I could get this image from Grace.”

“Making friends wherever we go, are we?” Jake asked me with a smile.

“You know how these investigations work,” I said. “I knew from the start that I wouldn’t win any popularity contests doing it.”

“That shouldn’t stop you, though. You need to keep digging, Suzanne.”

“I know. I just wish you could help us.”

“I don’t see that you need it. You and Grace are doing fine on your own. Don’t hesitate to call me if you require any of my specialized services, though.” His cellphone rang, and after a brief conversation, he said, “Call Grant and have him meet me there.” After Jake put his phone away, he stood up. “Sorry about that, but I have to go. There’s an incident of road rage out on Blue Creek Road, and it sounds as though it’s escalating quickly.”

“Be careful,” I said as he grabbed his holstered gun and headed for the door.

I had started to clean up when the doorbell rang. Had Jake forgotten something? Unless it was his car keys, it had to be someone else, since his house keys were on the same ring. I wasn’t sure who to expect, but I was surprised nonetheless when I realized who was visiting the cottage to see me.

Chapter 15

“W
hat are you doing here,
William?” I asked as I stepped outside onto the porch. I should have grabbed my jacket first, but I wasn’t about to go back in for it. “I thought you were out of town until further notice.”

“Did you go by my shop today?” He didn’t look all that pleased by the prospect.

“Grace and I wanted to talk to you,” I said.

“Well, I don’t have time for you to go get her. What did you two want to talk to me about?”

“Did you threaten Dan Billingham recently?” I asked him.

“I already addressed that! Benny is lying. Dan and I were haggling, but we weren’t fighting, no matter what Benny told you.”

“I’m not talking about that,” I said, pulling out my phone and bringing up the threatening note.

William glanced at it, and then he looked at me. “I didn’t write that.”

“Do you know who might have?”

“Not a clue. I’d say it was Benny, but I’m not entirely sure that he even knows how to write. The odds are better that it was a woman, if you ask me.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked, studying the block printing again. If it were male or female oriented, I couldn’t see it.

“It just sounds like something a woman would write, at least to me.”

So he had nothing. “How about this? Does this photograph mean anything to you?” I asked as I pulled up the torn photo Grace had found.

“I’ve seen that sleeve before,” he said with a frown as he tapped the image with his index finger.

Were we actually making progress? “Who does it belong to?”

“I’ll be dipped in honey if I remember. It just looks familiar, that’s all.”

“Can you try a little harder? It might be important.”

“Sorry, it’s not exactly something that I committed to memory. I just saw it in passing. Why do you ask? Suzanne, are you onto something?”

“We’re just trying to gather some information right now,” I said as I put my phone away. “Why are you here, William?”

“I want to make you an offer for Dan’s business,” he said. It shocked me, to be honest. What would a man who prided himself as being a fine antiques dealer want with Dan’s junk inventory?

“Seriously? Why?”

“What do you mean? It might not appear that way to a layman, but Dan and I were in the same business, after all.”

“You sell antiques. He sold junk.”

William shrugged. “One man’s junk is another man’s antique. Most of what Dan had on hand was worthless, but there are gems there that he wasn’t even aware of. I figured if I bought the place out, I could sort through it at my own leisure. How about five thousand dollars for everything in the shop?”

“Sorry, but I’ve already been offered over twice that,” I said.

“Who’s trying to outbid me?” he asked, though it was more of a demand for information than it was a request.

“Technically, you’re trying to outbid him, and failing miserably at it, I might add.”

He took the comment in stride. “Ten thousand, huh? I might be able to go to twelve, if we have a deal on the spot.”

“Is it really worth that much to you?”

“It might be. Anyway, I’m willing to take the chance. As executrix, it’s up to you to make the best deal you can get, and I can promise you that you’re not going to get a better offer than I’m making you right here and now.”

“How did you know that I was even handling the estate?” I asked him.

“Word gets around town pretty quickly; I shouldn’t have to tell you that. What do you say to my offer? I’m warning you, it’s not going to be on the table forever.”

“Are you warning, or are you threatening?” I asked, taking a step back so I’d be closer to the cottage’s front door.

He looked honestly surprised by my reaction. “I would never threaten you, Suzanne. Far from it, I’m here to throw money at you if you’re smart enough to take it.”

“Insulting me isn’t going to get me to sell Aunt Teeks’s inventory to you,” I said.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. Is another dealer after his stock?” After a momentary pause, he said, “I’ll bet it’s Frost. He’s the one, isn’t he?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that,” I said.

“You don’t have to. Why does he want the inventory? He’s just after the land. Tell you what. Sell the contents to me, and then sell him the land the store sits on. That way it’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

“Except Dan,” I said. “He’s still dead, isn’t he?”

“You know what I mean. What do you say?”

“I need to consult with my attorney and the police before I do anything,” I explained.

“Fine, I understand. I’ll take a handshake for now.”

He extended his hand, but I refused it. “I’m not ready to commit.”

William withdrew it easily. “Just don’t take too long to think about it. I’ve got some other options I’ve been considering, and I’d hate for you to miss out on a golden opportunity. You might be kicking yourself later if you don’t take my offer. If I can unload some of my other assets, I might sell my own shop and do something else entirely with my life, so you should take advantage of me while you’ve got the chance.”

How many ways was this man going to try to cajole me into doing what he wanted me to do? “There’s something you should know, William.”

“What’s that?”

“When I’m pushed, I tend to push back.”

He looked startled by my statement. “Now who’s threatening whom?”

“It’s not a threat,” I said with my sweetest fake smile. “Think of it as more of a promise.”

“Message received. All I’m asking of you is that you don’t accept any final offers before you speak with me first. Is that a fair request?”

“I suppose so,” I said. “Do you have a card with your cellphone number on it? I tried getting in touch with you earlier, and I couldn’t.”

“I can do that,” he said as he pulled one from his wallet and handed it to me. “You can reach me at that number, day or night. I hope to hear from you again soon.”

I didn’t respond. I just tucked the card into my pocket and said, “Have a pleasant evening.”

Once he was gone, I called Grace. “Hey, are you at home?”

“Unfortunately. We were just about to go out when Stephen got a call from your husband.”

“Actually, he had someone else do it. Did someone just drive by your place?”

“Yes. Who was it? I didn’t recognize the car.”

“It was William Jecks. He just offered to buy Aunt Teeks.”

“You’re kidding me. Why on earth would he do that?”

“He claimed that Dan had some hidden treasures there. I just wonder if there’s more than junk in that shop. Two people want it, and they are both acting desperately to get it. What if Frost isn’t after the land after all but something Dan had in his inventory that he wouldn’t part with? Could both men be after the same item?”

“It’s possible. How can we figure out what it is, though? We can’t get back into the shop, remember?”

“You don’t have to remind me,” I said. “The second we get clearance, we need to go back in Aunt Teeks and see what we can find there.”

“Suzanne, will we even recognize it when we see it? Evidently Dan didn’t, and he owned the joint.”

“Who knows? Maybe he knew exactly what it was worth. That may have been the very reason that he wouldn’t sell it.”

“So, our theory is that someone tried to buy it from him, he refused, and so they killed him for it. If that were the case, wouldn’t they have taken it with them when they committed the murder?”

“Only if they were going to keep it for themselves, but what if they had another buyer for it? It might be traced back to them if they stole it in the commission of a murder, but if they bought the inventory off the estate, they’d have a clear provenance for it.”

“That’s a pretty sneaky way of thinking about it.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“I meant the killer, not you,” Grace said.

“Another possibility is that Jake’s patrol officer scared the killer away before he could get what he’d come for. If that’s the case, he might break back in before we even find out what he was after in the first place. There’s no way that place has been inventoried in the last ten years. It could be anything.”

“Then we have to look at everything, just as soon as we can get back in there. You’re off again tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Yes. It’s the second day of our two-day test,” I said.

“How’s it going so far?”

“I’m happy to have the time to look into Dan’s murder, but I hate being away from Donut Hearts so much when I’m in town.”

“You can have one or the other, but not both,” Grace said. Then, after a moment’s pause, she added, “There are some headlights heading our way. I wonder if William is coming back? False alarm. It’s your husband. They must have cleared up the road rage incident faster than they were expecting.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” I said as Jake drove the few yards left up to the cottage. I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her that William might know who was excised from the mystery photograph, but I could do that tomorrow.

“Bye. Maybe now I’ll actually get to eat.”

“Suzanne, you must be freezing. Have you been out here the entire time waiting for me to get back?” Jake asked me as he approached.

“Will you kiss me if I say yes?” I asked him with a smile.

“I’ll kiss you regardless of your answer,” he said happily, and then he did just that, most satisfyingly.

“William Jecks was just here,” I said.

“That’s odd. What did he want?”

“He made me an offer for Dan’s entire inventory of stock, and when he found out someone else was bidding on it as well, he increased his offer quite a bit.”

“Did you tell him that Frost wanted it, too?” Jake asked me as we walked inside.

“I didn’t have to. He suspected as much himself, and then he offered me a compromise. If I sold him the inventory, I could sell Frost the land and make extra money for the estate. I’m beginning to wonder if the developer is interested in the land, after all. What if Dan had something of great value that he wouldn’t sell, so whoever wanted it decided to kill him and get it after he was dead?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I’ll have my people step up their patrols around the shop,” Jake said as he reached for his cellphone.

“I thought you were supposed to stay away from the investigation.”

He grinned at me as he answered, “I’m just securing the property around April Springs. Patrolling high-risk areas is part of that.”

“Is Aunt Teeks really considered high risk?” I asked him.

“Given the fact that a murder occurred there yesterday, I’d say that it was the highest of all. My, but you lead an interesting life for a donut maker.”

“I don’t feel like one at the moment,” I said.

“Tomorrow is the last day of your test, Suzanne. After that, if you decide to, you can go back to normal life. Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”

“Not yet,” I said. “Frankly, I haven’t had time.”

“Then let’s go back inside, watch the fire, and then go to sleep. You can always worry about it tomorrow.”

“I wish there was more that I could do tonight.”

“I might be able to think of something,” he said with a grin.

“About the case.”

“Oh.”

I nudged him. “Don’t sound so disappointed. Come on, let’s see what we can come up with on our own that’s
not
related to homicide.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he replied happily.