Vanilla Glazed Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 55 Read online

“Thank you,” Heather said, appreciatively.

  “No problem, boss,” Maricela said. She always called Heather “boss.” Heather tried for the longest time to get her assistants to call her by her name, but now they called her “boss” in jest as well as title. Heather was a wonderful employer and was very caring towards her staff. They all felt more like family than like employees, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t work very hard around the shop.

  “You’ve been doing great making the Vanilla Glazed Donuts,” Heather told her staff.

  They had been so busy lately that it was another “all hands on deck” day. Her five assistants gathered around for a quick meeting to make sure that they were all on the same page for meeting their goals. Their online orders had been picking up. It was great for business that so many people wanted their donuts shipped to them but did mean more work for the whole staff.

  “We’ve been doing very well staying on top of our orders,” Heather said. “And I want to thank you all.”

  She told them all to take a donut as thanks, and then they would resume their duties.

  “We’ve been so busy lately, maybe we should hire some more employees,” Angelica suggested.

  She looked around at the other assistants who were still chewing their donuts to see what they thought. They agreed that it had been busy and extra help might alleviate some of the pressure. At the same time, they weren’t sure how many other bodies they could fit into the kitchen at the same time, and they already loved the dynamic of the staff as it was.

  “It’s something I’ll have to think on,” Heather said.

  “If the online orders continue like this, maybe you really should open up a second location,” Emily Potts said. She was the most studious of the assistants and was often quiet. However, she seemed to think that this was a good idea worth offering.

  “I like the idea of a second location and of more kitchen space to work on orders,” Heather said. “But I don’t think Hillside needs two donut shops. It didn’t work out so well the last time there were two.”

  “But your donuts are the best,” Jung said.

  “And I could add great photos of the two locations on the website,” Ken said, gesturing to his camera.

  “I appreciate all the enthusiasm. I’m just still not sure that two shops in Hillside is the right move,” Heather said. She turned to Maricela. “You’ve been taking those business classes. What do you think?”

  “I think this is a little beyond me, boss,” Maricela admitted. “Maybe at the end of the course, I’ll have an answer.”

  “Well, we’ve got work that we have to do here today,” Heather said. “So let’s focus on that for now.”

  They all nodded and set about their projects. Heather headed out to the front of the store and opened up shop. She served happy customers their morning donuts and was pleased when her favorite customers took their usual table. Eva and Leila were skimming the Hillside Reporter newspaper until Heather joined them with their donuts.

  “Is it true that there was a murder in Amy’s new neighborhood?” Eva asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Heather said.

  “Well, you’ve got to catch the killer quickly,” Leila said.

  “That’s right,” said Eva. “We need to make sure that Amy and Jamie are safe in their new home.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Heather said.

  The ladies smiled at her, knowing that Heather’s best was sure to put the killer behind bars. Then they turned their attention to the plans of the day. Eva and Leila were planning on taking Lilly and her friend Nicolas to the movies. Nicolas was Lilly’s best friend from the local children’s shelter where they had both lived before. Both of the children loved spending time with Eva and Leila who spoiled them as much as grandmothers should.

  They were just finishing their donuts and their plans when there was a commotion at the door. Roadkill Rodney, a new addition to Hillside and regular customer, ran into the shop. He slid under a table and said to Heather, “You’ve got to hide me!”

  Chapter 6

  At first, Heather didn’t know what to make of Roadkill Rodney’s appearance. He looked panicked and was trying to arrange her chairs so that they kept him hidden under a table. Was he in trouble with the law? Should she call Ryan and report this? Or did Roadkill Rodney think he was in danger? Was this related to the murder?

  “What’s going on?” Heather asked, moving towards the table.

  “Don’t talk to me from up there,” Roadkill Rodney said. “He’ll see you. And then he’ll know that I’m under here.”

  “Who?” Heather asked. “Who are you hiding from?”

  “A man more disgusting than any roadkill I have ever scraped from the streets. A man lower than a cockroach,” Roadkill Rodney said. “A man with no regards for human decency.”

  “Nephew!” Came a response from the doorway.

  A man with similar features to Roadkill Rodney entered Donut Delights. He was dressed in a dapper fashion and had used hair coloring too dark to be natural to cover his grays. He gave a slight bow to Heather and then squatted down to face his nephew.

  “You never were very good at hide-and-seek,” the man said.

  “How would you know?” Roadkill Rodney said, emerging from his hiding place and letting the chairs scratch and squeak as he did so. “It’s been over a decade since you saw me.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you with my game playing comments,” the man said. “I want to make peace.”

  “Well, you offend me with your being here. And I don’t want to make peace,” Roadkill Rodney responded.

  Heather turned to the newcomer. “If there’s going to be any trouble, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  “I don’t want any trouble,” he assured her. “Can’t you just talk to me, Rudy?”

  “I have nothing to say to you. And my name is Roadkill.”

  “You actually like to be called Roadkill?” the man asked aghast.

  “I like it better than being called something that was named after you.”

  “Don’t you think you’re being rather harsh?”

  “I think you ignored me for a very long time. You ignored my mom. You didn’t help at all when she got sick and she’s gone now. You went off and got yourself rich, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you or talk to you.”

  With that, Roadkill Rodney ran out of the store. His uncle sat down in one of the chairs that had been part of the hiding place.

  “I didn’t know my sister was sick,” he explained to Heather and the older ladies. “Our feud was petty and silly. I barely remember what caused it. But we hadn’t spoken in years. If I knew she was ill, I would have done something. But she never contacted me. She didn’t want me or my money.”

  Heather wasn’t quite sure what to say in response to this. She had met Roadkill Rodney when she and her staff were vacationing in Key West, and she had briefly believed he was a murderer before proving himself to be a stand-up guy. He had moved to Hillside recently to be with a woman he loved who he had met online, but that had turned out unfortunately. Now he had been trying to find his place in Hillside and had visited Donut Delights regularly to see some friendly faces. Now it seemed that this uncle of his was trying to be a part of his life.

  “Would you like a donut?” Heather asked. It was the only response that she could think of.

  “Sure,” the man said. “Perhaps some nourishment can stave off these wounded feelings.”

  Heather ran to get a donut and brought it over. Eva and Leila had already sat down at the table with him. He had formally introduced himself as Rudolph Rodney.

  “It’s all rather embarrassing,” he was saying. “I was living in Florida and doing quite well for myself. I don’t like to drop number amounts, but you could add “-aire” to the end of my title. But then I started to feel like something was missing. I had no family to share anything with. Last I had heard was that my sister was living in Key West, so I started buying up some pr
operty there. I was resolved to make things right with her. But right after I finished my preparations, I learned that she had died.”

  Amy entered the shop to meet Heather for their interrogations that day and was greeted by the sight of Rudolph Rodney’s sob story.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “This is Roadkill Rodney’s uncle,” Heather said. “He is failing at trying to befriend his nephew.”

  Amy still felt she didn’t have a clue as to what was going on but decided to sit down if donuts were involved.

  “I was too late to fix my relationship with my sister, but still wanted to make things right with Rudy. But I was embarrassed. And I waited to make my move. Then I learned that he had moved all the way to Texas. I had to follow him out here. But, as you saw, he wants nothing to do with me.”

  “Roadkill Rodney has been through a lot,” Heather said. “Besides losing his mother, the woman he loved was murdered. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be hurt again.”

  “But I don’t want to hurt him,” Rudolph Rodney assured them. “In fact, I want to help him. I have a lot of money right now. And I want to invest it in him.”

  “If what you’re saying is true, then it is very noble,” Eva said.

  “It might take some time, but family usually comes around,” Leila agreed.

  “Thank you, ladies,” he said before taking a bite of the donut. His eyes widened. “This is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.”

  “Why thank you,” said Heather.

  “You’re in charge of this?” He asked.

  “I’m the owner, flavor designer and lead baker,” Heather said.

  “In between investigating murders,” Amy added.

  “What flavor is this?” Rudolph Rodney asked.

  “It’s a Vanilla Glazed Donut.”

  “Is this a top seller?” He asked. She could tell the gears were turning in his head, but she wasn’t sure why.

  “Actually, it’s one of my weekly flavors.”

  “She creates new delicious flavors every week,” Eva explained. “And each one is better than the last.”

  “Genius,” Rudolph said, finishing his donut. “Have you ever thought about opening more locations?”

  “It’s funny you say that,” said Heather. “Because my staff and I had been discussing that to keep up with online orders as well as serving our customers in the store. But I don’t think Hillside really needs another donut shop.”

  “Hillside might not, but I bet some other cities might.”

  “I think that’s getting a little ahead of ourselves.”

  “Not at all,” said Rudolph. “I know a donut shop like this would do wonderfully in Key West. And as I was just mentioning I have some property there. I would love to set you up in a shop there. I would love to invest in this place.”

  “I don’t think so,” Amy said. “The last time we went to Key West, people were being murdered with poisonous Man-O-War fish.”

  “There’s beautiful beaches and a great chance to do business. I’m completely serious,” he said.

  “I appreciate the offer,” Heather said. “But this has been a very strange exchange overall. Why don’t you focus on fixing your relationship with your nephew before making business dealings? Especially if you want him to believe that you do care more about family than money.”

  “I understand your point. I will follow him. But I do stand by my offer. This would make money in Key West,” he said. “I can just taste it.”

  He stood up, paid for his snack, and prepared to depart.

  “Adieu, ladies.” He gave another small bow and left.

  “Does he really expect you to just move to Florida and set up a shop with him?” Amy asked, crossing her arms.

  “I don’t know,” Heather shrugged.

  “Well, he can forget about it,” Amy said. “I just moved into my house. And dangerous or not, I have no intention of moving that furniture again.”

  They laughed a little, but then Eva asked, “But you will be careful there, won’t you?”

  “Of course, I will,” she said. “And Jamie is making sure that our alarm system is all set today while I question witnesses.”

  “Speaking of witnesses, we better get going,” Heather said.

  As they walked away, she couldn’t help thinking about Rudolph Rodney’s offer. Maybe a new city would be a great opportunity for Donut Delights. She shook her head to clear it. She couldn’t focus on that now. She needed to solve a murder.

  Chapter 7

  Before beginning their questioning, Heather and Amy stopped by the police station to check in with Ryan and hear what forensics had uncovered so far.

  “How was your morning?” He asked as they joined him.

  “Oh, the usual,” Heather said. “A grown man hiding under a donut table and someone trying to buy me a new store.”

  Ryan looked confused, but before he could ask any follow-up questions, she asked about the case. “How was your morning?” Heather asked. “What did you learn so far?”

  “The best thing we found from forensics is a partial boot print,” Ryan said. “Most of Barry Rahway’s yard didn’t allow for prints to stick, but we did get one. It looks like a man’s size nine.”

  “Not very large feet,” Amy commented.

  “It could be a woman wearing men’s shoes,” Heather thought aloud. “What’s that? A size 12 in women’s shoes.”

  “So, either small men’s feet or big women’s feet,” Amy said.

  “Any other forensics?” Heather asked.

  “We found a few blue fibers in the hedge,” Ryan said. “I agree with you that it was likely that the killer went through the bushes. Either when approaching the victim or escaping from the scene of the crime.”

  “Can the fibers lead us in the right direction?” Heather asked.

  “I’m afraid we can’t tell very much from them on their own,” Ryan said. “But we could make a comparison between a suspect’s clothes and see if it is a match.”

  “The neighbors who were complaining about the van yesterday were wearing blue,” Amy said. “The Pittmans, I think. They live next door to me.”

  “They might be the ones we want to interview first,” said Heather. “Anything else? Did they say anything else about the murder weapon?”

  Before she could get an answer, Hoskins sauntered through the room. He gave them a smug smile as he got himself a cup of coffee. He even seemed smug as he seemed to burn his tongue and walked away.

  “What’s up with him?” Amy asked.

  “Oh,” said Ryan. “It turns out that Crystal Rahway works for the mayor. She called the chief to compliment Hoskins on his how he’s been handling the case so far.”

  “What has he done besides eat fudge?” Amy asked.

  “I think she might be latching on to him as a father figure after losing her own,” Ryan said.

  “Could her job with the mayor have anything to do with her father’s murder?” Heather asked.

  “It doesn’t look like it,” Ryan said. “I didn’t find any connections.”

  “If you didn’t find any, then there probably aren’t,” Heather said.

  “But don’t worry,” Ryan said. “I put our best man on the job for following up on that lead.”

  They all giggled at Hoskins being the best detective and agreed it probably was for the best. If he were working on an angle where he might have to talk to Crystal Rahway again, it would reassure the family that the murder case was receiving their utmost attention. It also would give Hoskins a project while they investigated other angles that would more likely lead to catching the killer.

  “You asked about the murder weapon,” Ryan said.

  “Any news?”

  “It looks like it was a large blunt object. Something that was larger than the victim’s head. It would be at least a foot large. Though if it were too big, it would be difficult for the murderer to lift it up and swing it down onto the victim.”

  “And t
he medical examiner can’t be more specific than large and blunt?” Amy asked.

  “Afraid not,” said Ryan. “Except for maybe adding the adjective flat.”

  “That’s all right,” said Heather. “We can start working on uncovering a motive for the crime. Amy, I think it’s time to meet some of your new neighbors.”

  Chapter 8

  Deb and Phil Pittman looked joined at the hip again as they sat close together on their couch and talked to Heather and Amy. Today they were sporting matching track suits and had explained that it was their exercise day.