Vanilla Vices (14 page)

Chapter 16

“G
ood morning, sunshine. What are
your plans today?” Jake asked me as he came downstairs the next morning.

I’d been up for a while, though it hadn’t been my intention. Even though Emma and Cheryl were running Donut Hearts again today without me, it was still hard to adjust my sleep schedule. Was it even going to be worth being off a few days a week if I couldn’t sleep? “Grace and I are getting together a little later.”

“Doesn’t that woman ever work?” he asked me, smiling.

“She has a pretty flexible schedule and a load of vacation time,” I answered. “It’s not a bad setup for her.”

“Did you sleep at all?” he asked me after going into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and returning.

“I managed to get a little rest,” I said. “While you’re up, would you put another small log on the fire?”

“I’d love to,” he said. As the log settled into the flames, Jake added, “I heard we might get some snow this evening.”

“I’ve been expecting it any day. I can’t imagine living someplace where I didn’t see it at least once a year.”

“If I have anything to say about it, you never will.” He laughed. “As many headaches as it can cause sometimes, I love it, too. The park is beautiful buried under a blanket of white, isn’t it?”

“Just about everything is,” I agreed. “Do you have big plans today?”

“Well, I’m officially off today, but since you and Grace are sleuthing, I thought I’d cancel my vacation and go on in. Would you mind?”

“No, it makes perfect sense. I’m just sorry this murder came along.”

He leaned forward and kissed me lightly. “We’ll have other days together. If you need me, I’m never more than a phone call away.”

“I’m counting on it.”

“Well, I’d better get ready for work, though I’m tempted to just sit here and enjoy the fire all day.”

“You could still do that without me, you know,” I said.

“What fun would that be? We both know that I’d be bored within an hour. Besides, who else is going to keep the streets of April Springs safe?”

“Usually it’s not that big a challenge, is it?” I asked.

“You’d be surprised.”

After a quick breakfast, Jake was on his way. I let the fire die down as I sat there wondering what Grace and I should do next. I had a strong feeling that one of our suspects was the killer, based on one rather large assumption. If Dan had been killed intentionally and not as a part of a random robbery, we were on the right track. If, on the other hand, the state police’s theory was right, Grace and I were going out of our way to irritate some of our neighbors for no good reason. It was a risk I was willing to take.

I was just about to call my best friend when there was a knock on the front door. Was it Grace, or was someone else calling on me?

“Jeffrey, what are you doing here so bright and early this morning?” I asked the developer as I answered my door. At least I’d had the foresight to grab my jacket first this time. As I stepped out onto the porch to greet him, I could smell the clean crispness in the air that often meant coming snow.

“I’m headed out of town for the day, and I wanted to see if you’d had a chance to make up your mind about my offer.”

“That depends,” I said. “Another party has expressed interest in the inventory of Aunt Teeks. Would you be willing to buy the land and let someone else have the contents of the shop?” I didn’t care that much about the deal. What I really wanted to see was exactly what part of Dan’s estate the man was driven to acquire.

“That’s fine with me. I’ll tell you what. I won’t even lower my offer. You can consider that extra ten grand as a bonus.”

So, if there was something worthwhile inside, Jeffrey didn’t know about it. Then again, if it was the land itself he was interested enough to kill for, then Dan’s inventory would just be a hindrance instead of an asset to him.

“Thanks, that’s helpful.”

“So, are you ready to make the deal?”

“Not just yet, but I’m getting closer,” I said.

He frowned. “Suzanne, you can’t keep me on the hook forever. I have other options besides Dan’s property, you know.”

“I’m not trying to string you along,” I lied. “We just need to solve Dan’s murder before I can start selling his possessions. The only way you can help expedite the sale is to give me anything you might have that could help us figure out who murdered Dan.”

The developer frowned for a moment, and then he reluctantly said, “I don’t like pointing fingers, and if you tell anyone you heard something from me later, I’ll deny it. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” I said. “What do you know?”

“Dan was dating Belinda Carson,” he said solemnly.

“I already knew that.”

Frost looked a little disappointed before he added, “Fine, but did you know that Belinda threatened him?”

“When did this happen?”

“I was out at the junk shop a few days ago to give Dan a better bid for his property when I happened upon them having a heated argument outside by the front door. Normally I don’t like to eavesdrop, but I didn’t see how I could just walk over to them and pretend that I hadn’t heard anything.”

“How long were you listening to them?”

“It wasn’t more than two minutes, but believe me, it was enough. Before they could catch me, I went back to my truck and pretended to have just driven up, but I heard plenty while I was standing there.”

“What exactly did you hear?”

“Dan said that he was tired of hiding their relationship from the rest of the world and that if she didn’t start telling people about them, then he was going to take matters into his own hands. She lost her mind, Suzanne! Belinda started screaming at him that if he so much as breathed a word about them dating to anyone, it would be the last thing he ever did. I never would have believed that high-and-mighty woman could be so fierce if I hadn’t heard it myself.”

“How did Dan react to that?”

“I have no idea. That’s when I got out of there. After hearing Belinda, I didn’t want to take the chance that she’d turn that temper on me. I went back to the truck and started it up again. I’d planned on hanging around until Belinda left, but she stormed off toward me before I could get away. Her face was white with anger, and when she saw me, she headed straight for me. I shut off the truck and got out, ready to make up some kind of lie, but I didn’t need to. She asked me if I’d just gotten there, and I said that I had. Then, doing her best to calm down, she explained that she’d been looking for a paperweight for her brother’s birthday present but that she hadn’t had any luck. I wasn’t about to contradict her, and she seemed satisfied that I’d bought her story. When I went in to talk to Dan, he was visibly shaken by the confrontation, and I could tell that he wasn’t ready to hear another offer from me, so I got out of there without lingering a second I didn’t have to. If you ask me, he was afraid for his life, and after hearing Belinda’s explosion, I didn’t blame him.”

“Thanks. That’s helpful. Is there anything else?”

“I’d keep my eye on Benny and William if I were you. Something’s going on there. I don’t know if they were competing for the same item or what, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one of them killed Dan to get whatever they were after.”

“Do you have any idea what they both might have been so interested in?”

“No. I’m just basing it on the way they’ve both been acting lately at Aunt Teeks.”

“You seem to have been spending a lot of time out there yourself lately,” I suggested.

“I’m nearly ready for my next project, and condos where the junk shop is currently located would make perfect sense. Dan had a view he didn’t take advantage of, and a desirable location to boot. For what I was willing to pay him, he wouldn’t have had any trouble relocating his business to a less valuable piece of land and make a pretty piece of change in the process. I was going to throw in some land I already own to seal the deal, but he died before we could make it happen. I was this close, and I knew it,” he said, holding his index finger half an inch from his thumb. “If I don’t get his property, and soon, I’m going to have to move on to my next choice. Suzanne, my business is like a shark. If I don’t keep moving, I die.”

“I heard that might just be a myth,” I said.

“Whether it is or not, it fits my situation. It doesn’t matter whether my crew is working or they are idle, I have to pay them either way. I’d rather pay them for actually working.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I can,” I said.

“Good. I’ll give you a call when I get back into town this evening,” he said as he headed for his truck. “Don’t worry, you’ll have my best and final offer by five, just like I promised.”

“Or I could call you earlier if I’m ready before then,” I said.

“Either way.”

After he was gone, I thought about what he’d just told me. The fight fed into Belinda’s possible guilt, and the supposed paperweight cast shadows toward William and Benny. That left Frost himself looking remarkably clean, though there was something about the developer that I just didn’t trust.

I needed to see Belinda again, and I knew that I couldn’t take Grace with me. I wasn’t all that eager to call and tell her that, but what choice did I have? I knew that Belinda wouldn’t speak with me if anyone else was with me. She’d already made that perfectly clear. The truth of the matter was that I wasn’t even sure she’d speak with me if I were alone.

“Hey, Grace, it’s Suzanne.”

“Hi, Suzanne. I was just about to call you.”

“Well, I saved you a dime, then.”

She laughed at the reference. “I can’t remember the last time I used a pay phone to call anyone, but I’m pretty sure that when I did, it was more than a dime.”

“It’s just an expression I picked up from my momma. What’s up?”

“I need a few hours this morning before we get started,” she said. “I’m having trouble with one of my people, and she needs a good scare to shake them up.”

“Is it the same one you threatened to visit yesterday?” I asked her.

“It is. I want to see if she took my warning to heart or if I’m going to have to make an example of her. Can you do without me for a few hours?”

“I’ll try to manage,” I said, relieved that I wouldn’t have to turn Grace away.

“Hang on a second,” she said suspiciously. “That was a little too easy. What are you up to, young lady?”

I should have realized that she knew me better than that. It would make it easier for both of us if I just came clean about what I’d learned so far today. “Frost just came by and made me another offer. When I wouldn’t budge, he dished some dirt on Belinda Carson and managed to cast a few doubts toward William and Benny while he was at it.”

“What did he say?”

“Evidently the day before Dan was murdered, Belinda threatened him. She said in no uncertain terms that if he told anyone about their relationship, it was the last thing he would do.”

“Wow, that’s pretty incriminating. How did the builder happen to come upon the information? Did he say?”

“He eavesdropped on their conversation,” I said.

“That’s how I like to get my information. Are you going to go talk to her?”

“I thought I would, but she won’t even see me if I’m not alone.”