Vanilla Vices (7 page)

“I’m not sure what to think at this point,” I said. “I’m having my doubts. What if she reached out to me for a reason other than her remorse? If someone else in town knew she and Dan were seeing each other, there might be a reason that Belinda could be a suspect in his murder. For instance, what if he threatened to tell everyone about their affair? Could Belinda have killed him to keep him from talking?”

Grace seemed to ponder that for a moment. “It’s possible. She’s pretty wrapped up in her social status around here. Her reputation is pretty important to her, so yes, she might kill to protect it. It’s not going to work out for her, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“She had to come clean with you in order to cover her own back,” Grace said. “By revealing her relationship with Dan to you, doesn’t that destroy her motive for murder?”

“Not if I’m discreet, which is something she’s counting on. Besides, what if someone else suspects that she might have killed him, too? Is it possible that someone else knew about the relationship?”

“To be honest with you, I’m pretty surprised that
we
didn’t know about it,” Grace said.

“I know. I thought we had our fingertips on the heartbeat of April Springs,” I said with a soft smile. “And now I come to find out that we might not be as well connected as we think we are.”

“That’s not it,” Grace answered. “What we are is uninformed, at least about Belinda and Dan. I’m still having trouble imagining it, even after you told me.”

“Stranger things have happened in the name of love,” I said.

“And that doesn’t even cover the acts committed out of lust,” she said. “Now that we have this new information, what do we do about it?”

“That’s a fair question,” I said, “but sadly, one that I don’t happen to have the answer for at the moment. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think all that well on an empty stomach.”

“Then eat we shall,” she said. “I’d offer to make you something here for lunch, but I don’t feel like cooking. Why don’t we go to the Boxcar? That way we can look around for suspicious-looking characters while we’re eating.”

“If we keep watching everyone else while they’re trying to eat, doesn’t that make
us
the suspicious-looking characters?” I asked her.

“Suzanne, are you seriously going to argue semantics with me when I’m offering you a rationale that allows you to eat?”

“You’re right. The hunger must be clouding my judgment. Let’s go.”

“I thought you’d come around to my way of thinking,” Grace said as we left her place and she carefully locked the door behind us before we headed over to Trish’s diner.

Chapter 7

“D
id you have any luck
finding Benny?” Trish asked us the moment we walked back into the Boxcar Grill. It was a great deal more crowded now than it had been earlier.

“We did. Thanks for the tip. Is there any chance we can get a table?”

She looked around. “Sorry. We’re really jammed right now. I can’t speak for him, but I’m sure you could sit with the mayor.”

I hadn’t seen George Morris, mainly because his back had been turned to us. “Has he been here long?”

“Quite a while, but he just ordered. It wasn’t because I was slow. He had a meeting. The more I think about it, I’m sure he’d love to see you after what he’s been through. I swear, the way some of the town council acts toward him, I’m amazed he’s willing to keep being our mayor.”

“Was it really that bad?” I asked. George had been a cop once upon a time, and before his first stint as mayor of our nice little town, he’d helped Grace and me in our investigations. Since he’d become mayor, his participation had scaled back quite a bit, not by his choice but by ours. The last thing we wanted to do was involve him in anything that might hurt his chances of being reelected, and our investigations, by their very nature, tended to upset a lot of folks in town. Grace and I tended to ask some tough questions, and we’d garnered a little resentment over the years.

“Don’t bring the meeting up if he doesn’t,” she said. “I’ll be with you in a second.”

We approached George’s table, and found him frowning as he scribbled in a little blue notebook. His hair was thinning, and he had more lines in his face than I remembered. Was his back hunched a little more as well from the weight of his responsibilities? “Want some company?” I asked him as I put on my best and brightest smile.

George looked up from his notes, and the frown disappeared. “Suzanne. Grace. Please. It’s nice to see a couple of friendly faces.” He stood and tried to hold our chairs out for us at the same time.

“You’re going to need longer arms than that, but we appreciate the thought,” I said with a grin. “We can do it ourselves. How’s it going?”

“Why? Did Trish say something to you?”

“No. Well, maybe. You don’t look very happy, Mr. Mayor.”

“The council, or at least a few of its members, want to change April Springs into one giant strip mall,” George said. “They want to take every ounce of character we have and bulldoze it under. Well, I’m not going to let that happen, not as long as I’m mayor.”

Grace looked at me and grinned. “I just love it when he says something mayoral, don’t you?”

“I’m a big fan,” I said, and then I turned to the mayor. “Is there anything we can help with?”

“Thank you, but your mother is a powerful ally. Without her support, I’m not sure I’d be able to stand up to them all.”

“It’s only fair that she helps you out, since she’s the one who tricked you into running for mayor the first time. The second term is all your fault, though.”

“I know. Sometimes I’d like to chuck it all and go back to working with you two. How’s it going so far, by the way?”

“How’s what going?” I asked, doing my best to appear innocent. It was a stretch, and everyone at the table knew it.

“Seriously? Do you think you can fool me for one second? You’re both digging into Crazy Dan’s homicide,” George said. “Please tell me you came here today looking for me so I could help you.”

“Would you honestly rather dig into a murder than deal with the city council?” Grace asked him. “Are they that bad?”

“Try me,” George said with a faint grin.

“We’re doing fine, but thanks for offering,” I said. I didn’t want to drag George into our investigation. There was another reason it might not be the best idea having the mayor work with us. It could backfire if folks thought that he was trying to do Jake’s job behind his back, though my husband had been removed from this particular case.

“Why don’t I believe you?” he asked me.

“Okay, maybe we’ve run into a snag or two, but it’s nothing that we can’t handle,” I said. “You know how these things go. We go along collecting as much information as possible from as many sources as we can find until something clicks. Sometimes it’s easy, but most times it’s not.”

“The least you could do is use me as a sounding board. I know you both want to keep me at arm’s length for my own good, but you should realize by now that I’m not all that concerned with my own good these days.”

“How’s your love life treating you?” I asked him. George had lost two secretaries in the past two years, each of them acting as his love interests as well.

“I’ve decided that I’m done with women,” he said as he shook his head.

“Should we sit somewhere else, then?” Grace asked as she pretended to stand.

“Not you two. You’re the exceptions to the rule.”

“It doesn’t hurt that we’re both already in relationships, either,” Grace said. “Otherwise, you might be in trouble. If things don’t work out with Stephen, I might go after an older man next time.”

George knew that she was just teasing him, but he wasn’t going to let it just slide. “Be careful, Grace.”

“Why is that?”

“You know what they say. Just because there’s a little snow on the roof doesn’t mean that the fire inside has gone out.”

“Why, Mr. Mayor, are you flirting with me?” Grace asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

“What? No. You know what I mean. I’m just saying.” He’d clearly grown uncomfortable about their exchange, which just served to egg Grace on even more. I had to stop her before the mayor became completely flummoxed.

I playfully smacked Grace’s hand. “Don’t tease our friend. It’s not nice.”

“Hey, he’s the one who started it,” Grace replied, grinning broadly.

“You did, you know,” I told George.

“Are you two ganging up on me now?” he asked us in turn.

“Haven’t we always?” Grace asked.

“I heard Jake was taken off the case,” George said, getting a little more serious. “How’s he handling it?”

“How do you think? He’s not happy about it, but he’s occupied for the search for Linda Harold right now,” I said in a gentler voice. “She’s married to Trish’s cousin. Did you know that?”

“I did, but I’m a little surprised that you didn’t.”

“Is that a crack about how nosy I can be most of the time?” I asked him softly.

“No, it was more of a dig about how well you do or do not know one of your best friends,” George said. For a mayor, he still needed a few lessons in diplomacy, but I wouldn’t change him for the world myself. “How is it really going?”

“We have a few leads,” I admitted.

“Don’t keep me hanging,” the mayor said. “Share.”

“Guys, I’m not so sure we should be discussing it right here,” Grace said. I looked around and saw that several people were following our conversation more closely than it might have appeared.

“Could we swing by your office later?” I asked.

“I should be able to squeeze you in,” George said. “I’ll let Reg know you’re coming by.”

“Reg?” I asked. “Not Reg Miles.”

“Yes, he’s agreed to help out with my office until I can find someone more permanent.”

“Smart. Get a man in there. That way you won’t be so tempted to toy with another woman’s affections,” Grace said.

George looked at her askance, and I realized that she’d pushed him a little too far, which Grace had a penchant for doing every now and then. Sometimes her way of finding the line was to cross it heartily before she took a step back.

“Why don’t we all walk over to your office together after we eat? That way we can have some privacy, and we don’t have to interfere with your schedule, either.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” he said, and then he turned to Grace. “For the record, this thing with my employees hasn’t been my fault. My secretaries both left town for reasons that had nothing whatsoever to do with me.”

“I know, George. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that.”

George frowned a moment, and then he turned to me. “Is she being sarcastic right now or serious? I can’t always tell.”

“The truth is that neither can I,” I answered.

Grace was about to respond, hesitated, and then nodded. “I’d like to throw a fit right now, but in truth, that’s fair. For the record, my apology was completely sincere.”

“Then I accept it,” George said.

Trish came up to the table after she delivered two plates to a couple nearby. “I took the liberty of bringing you all sweet tea. If you want something else, the kitchen is back there,” she said as she gestured back over her shoulder with her pen.

“Tea sounds great,” I said.

“Fine with me,” George added.

Grace was about to say something funny, but after our earlier conversation, she quietly reached out for the glass. “Just what I wanted.”

“You three are being awfully agreeable today. What’s going on?”

“Maybe we all just decided to be cordial,” Grace said. “We can see how busy you are, so we’re acting on our best behavior.”

“Well, I suppose there’s a first for everything,” Trish replied happily. “Does that mean you all want today’s special?”

I hadn’t seen what she was offering, but I knew that whatever it was, I was bound to like it. “Sounds good to me.”

“Me, too.”

“Make it three,” George said.

“Stop it. You’re all freaking me out,” Trish said, and then she left to get our orders.

“Is it that odd that we’re being nice to her?” Grace asked me.

“I wouldn’t think so,” I said. “Now, what else is new in your life, Mr. Mayor?” I asked him.

After we’d eaten, there was a debate on whether George was paying for our lunches or not, but Grace and I finally gave in. After all, it clearly made him feel better, and what was so wrong about that? I’d been looking forward to getting outside so we could bring him up to speed on our investigation, but unfortunately, once we were all out on the sidewalk in front of the grill, those plans changed suddenly.

Emma Blake was hurrying from Donut Hearts toward us, and there was a look of urgency on her face that I didn’t much care for.

Chapter 8

“T
here you are. I’ve been
looking all over for you, Suzanne,” Emma said as she reached us, clearly a little out of breath.

“You must not have been looking that hard,” I said. “I’ve been close by all day. What’s going on? Did something happen at the shop?”

“What? No. Donut Hearts is fine. As a matter of fact, we had an excellent day.”

“I have a hunch that’s not why you’ve been looking for me, then. If it’s not the donut shop, what is it?”

“Somebody came around looking for you half an hour ago, and it sounded important.”

George got a phone call at that moment, and he excused himself to answer it. We’d have to catch up with him later, because he started walking toward City Hall as he spoke, and I had to wonder if he even remembered his promised conversation with us.

“It’s not about Momma, is it?” I asked. My mother was a woman of a certain age, and though as far as I knew, she was as healthy as an ox, I still knew how limited my time left with her might be. There was no rational reason to feel that way, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d lost my father a long time ago, and I couldn’t bear the thought of being without my mother as well. Grace had lost her parents a long time ago, and frankly, I didn’t know how she did it.

“No, Dot is fine. As a matter of fact, she and Phillip came by the shop this morning on their way out of town.”

“They’re leaving? Why didn’t she tell me?”

“It’s just a day trip to the mountains,” Emma said. She was clearly getting exasperated by all of the conclusions I kept jumping to.

Grace put a hand on my shoulder. “Suzanne, let the poor girl talk.”

“Sorry. Go on. Who is looking for me, and why?”

“Teresa Logan,” Emma said.

Teresa was a relatively young attorney who’d come to April Springs six months earlier to take care of her dying aunt. She’d fallen in love with our quaint little town, and after Lindsey died, she’d stayed on, opening up her practice and taking on new clients. The ink on her degree had still been wet, but that hadn’t stopped her from setting up shop. It was probably petty of me, but I didn’t care for her, mainly because of the way she acted around my husband. He had to be a good fifteen or even twenty years older than she was, but that didn’t keep her from flirting with him every chance she got. It didn’t help matters that Jake seemed to enjoy the attention. Why wouldn’t he? She was as cute as a puppy and nearly as friendly. “Why would she be looking for me?”

“I have no idea, but she asked me to tell you to stop by her office as soon as I found you. It sounded pretty important to me.”

“Thanks, Emma,” I said, not moving.

“Aren’t you going over there right now?” she asked me.

“Oh, yes. I’m on my way,” I said as I still stood there. “Can’t you tell? Consider the message delivered. You’ve done your part beautifully.”

Emma was clearly confused by my behavior, but she knew me well enough not to push it. “I’ll see you later. Are Mom and I still running the shop tomorrow?”

“Unless you’ve changed your minds,” I said, perhaps a little too hopefully. “Was it bad running things without me?” The new working arrangement had been my idea. I just wasn’t sure how happy I was about it at the moment.

“Oh, no. We’re having a blast. Thanks again for the opportunity.”

“You’re welcome,” I said as graciously as I could manage.

“Well, I’d better get back and finish the dishes,” Emma said.

“See you later,” I replied, and Grace added her farewell as well.

Once Emma headed back to Donut Hearts, Grace looked at me and smiled. “So, are we going to go see what Teresa wants?”

“I suppose we have to,” I said.

“Suzanne, you can’t seriously be upset with the girl just because she fancies your husband. Doesn’t that mean that she’s got good taste?”

“Not funny, Grace, not even a little.”

“Is it too soon to joke about it?” she asked with a smile.

“It will always be too soon.” I sighed deeply, and then I said, “I suppose that we might as well go see what she wants.”

“If you’d rather go alone, that’s okay by me. I’m sure I can find something to do while you two are chatting.”

“We both know that if you don’t go with me, I’m probably not going to go myself.”

Grace put an arm in mine. “Then let’s go. We can pick your Jeep up later. After all, it’s only a five-minute stroll down Springs Drive to her office.”

“Fine. But we need a safe word that I can say so you can get me out of there before I lose my temper with her.”

“How about good-bye?” Grace asked. “That’s always worked in the past, and I take it you don’t care about how subtle we’re being.”

“Good-bye works perfectly for me,” I said.

“I understand you wanted to see me,” I said after Grace and I walked into the small office near the courthouse. Teresa looked up from her computer and smiled at us both. She was attractive, I had to give her that much, and her long, wavy chestnut hair had a shimmer to it that couldn’t be natural. She was petite, but that didn’t keep her from dressing to kill. I was glad that Jake didn’t fancy her; it might have been a competition that I wasn’t entirely sure I could win. I knew my husband loved me nearly unconditionally, but maybe I should step up my own game a little. It might not hurt me to put on a dress every now and then instead of my standard T-shirt and blue jeans. I knew that I was most likely just being paranoid, but for some reason, that knowledge didn’t help.

“Suzanne. Grace. It’s so good to see you both.”

“Was it something important?” I asked, failing to match her warm welcome.

Grace stepped forward and shot a quick frown in my direction before she spoke to the young attorney. “Hi, Teresa. Is that outfit new?”

“This? No, I’ve had it for ages. I can’t believe it even still fits.”

Her comment was innocent enough, but it simply reinforced the fact that there were a great many clothes from my younger days that I couldn’t wear now. I’d had enough of the niceties of civilized conversation. “What’s going on?”

“Actually, we have business to conduct, Suzanne,” she said. “Grace, would you mind excusing us?”

“Certainly,” she said, shooting a smile my way as she turned toward the door.

There was no way I was going to let that happen. “It’s okay. She can stay.”

“I don’t want to break your attorney–client privilege,” Grace said happily.

“We both know that there’s nothing she can say to me that you’re not going to hear about the second I leave this office,” I answered.

“Do you mind?” Grace asked Teresa.

“No, if Suzanne wants you to be here, I don’t have any issues with it.”

“Now that we’ve cleared that up, what is this about?” I asked.

“I thought you already knew. Didn’t he say anything to you about his intentions?” the young attorney asked me, clearly puzzled by my question.

“It might help if I knew exactly who we were talking about,” I said.

“Dan Billingham, of course. Suzanne, not only are you his main beneficiary, you’re also listed in his will as his first choice as executrix. Are you certain he didn’t say anything to you about his plans?”

“Trust me, this is all news to me,” I said. “Why would Dan name me? We were friends, but I never thought too much about our relationship one way or the other.”

“Well, he had pretty strong feelings about you.”

“What does this entail?” Grace asked.

“It’s all pretty straightforward, actually. I’d be happy to help you in any way that I can. First things first. The death certificate has already been issued, so we’re free to move forward.”

“Is there any rush to do it?” I asked, still surprised by Dan’s last gesture.

“I suppose it could wait until tomorrow,” Teresa said with a frown.

“Teresa, would you excuse us for one moment?” Grace asked her.

“Certainly. Would you like my office?”

“No, we’ll just step outside. We won’t be long,” Grace said as she took me by the arm and led me out to the sidewalk.

“Grace, what is this about?”

“Suzanne, I know this has caught you off guard, but it might be the break we’ve been hoping for.”

“How so?”

“If you’re Dan’s executrix, you’ll have access to his shop and his room above it. There might be a host of clues lurking there. Don’t we owe it to him to find his murderer as quickly as we can?”

“I suppose so. It just feels a little ghoulish to me. The man just died last night.”

“You’re not doing this for the money. After all, how much could Dan really have? We’re trying to track down his killer. That’s the noblest of reasons to act quickly.”

“Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’m glad you came with me, Grace.”

“There’s no place else I’d rather be,” she said.

We walked back into Teresa’s office. “Sorry about that. Since I’m here right now, should we go ahead and get started?”

“Excellent,” she said with that bright smile of hers. “I’ve got the file right here.” She opened a cabinet drawer of her desk and pulled out a thin folder.

“Is that it?” I asked, staring at the paucity of it.

“Are you honestly surprised that the man would want as simple an instrument as possible?” she asked me. “There is a list of bequests here attached to the document, but the balance of it goes to you. I’m afraid that it’s no fortune, but you should come out of it okay once the business has been liquidated.”

“Am I obligated to sell Aunt Teeks?” I asked her.

She looked surprised by my question. “No. Of course not. I just assumed that since you already have a business, you wouldn’t want another one. That’s none of my concern, of course. Once the bequests are met, you’re free to do whatever you wish with whatever remains.”

“Does she have to decide what she’s going to do immediately?” Grace asked. “After all, this is all news to her.”

“No, absolutely not. Suzanne, I just need you to sign these documents stating that you are willing to accept the responsibilities as executrix, and we can go from there.”

I signed my name everywhere she had a sticky note telling me to, and then I pushed the papers back to her. After confirming that I’d done everything that she’d asked, she nodded and slipped the papers back into the file. “Here is a copy of the will, as well as the keys to his business,” Teresa said. “I’ve been informed that the state police have just released the crime scene, so you’re free to go there whenever you’d like.”

“That’s it? Isn’t there a letter or something for me explaining why Dan did this?” I asked. I’d been hoping for at least something from him. If he couldn’t name his killer, which would have been nice, as well as save Grace and me a great deal of time and trouble, at least he could have written to tell me why he’d done what he’d done.

“Sorry. That’s all I’ve got. There will be paperwork to file and a few other things to handle as the process continues, but I’ll be happy to help you every step of the way.”

“What’s it going to cost me?” I asked.

“Suzanne,” Grace said.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s a fair question. Dan has already paid for a certain amount of hours for my assistance. If there is a balance left when we’re finished, I’ll refund it to you. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’m due in court in ten minutes, so I’d better start walking over there. I’m sorry for your loss, Suzanne.”

Teresa was clearly sympathetic, which warmed the chill in my heart toward her slightly.

“Please give my best to Jake,” she added with a smile, and the warmth was suddenly gone.