Caramel Glazed Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 19 Read online

  “I can barely hear from here,” Amy said. “Or see, properly.”

  “They’re going to see us.” Heather narrowed her eyes at the pair of conspirator’s outside Buckle’s garage. The Shelby’s windscreen glinted at her. A cheeky wink.

  “Oh please, they’re too busy despising each other to notice.”

  “Just sit still,” Heather hissed.

  Amy pulled a classic ‘crying’ face. “Don’t tell me how to live my life.”

  “Look, I didn’t come here to argue with you about who did what for Junior. I just want to know what to do about the competition,” Frankie replied. “There’s all the –”

  “I’m not handling it,” Charlie snapped. “He was your boyfriend.”

  “Not anymore.” Francesca folded her arms and tossed her hair.

  Charlie froze and stared at her. A band of tension extended between them. Hadn’t Charlie known that there’d been trouble between the two of them? “What was that?”

  “I broke up with Junior two days –”

  Amy squished against Heather’s chair, and she lost the final half of the sentence.

  “For heaven’s sakes, Ames, sit still.”

  “I can’t help it.” Amy grabbed the steering wheel to steady herself. Her palm slipped and landed on the button in the center.

  The blast of Heather’s car horn pierced the night.

  Charlie and Francesca jumped, then spun on the spot.

  “Amy!” Heather yelped.

  Her bestie scrambled back to her seat and grasped her seatbelt. “Oh my gosh. Go! Go, go, go, go.” She let out a frantic giggle.

  Heather started the engine, slammed the car into reverse, and peeled out of the parking spot.

  Frankie raised her hand to shield her eyes from the light. She took a step forward.

  Heather spun the car around in a screech of wheels and recklessness then roared off down the road. The image of the two of them, the old man and the woman in designer shoes, faded too black.

  “Are you crazy, Amy Givens?” Heather growled. “I told you to sit still.”

  Amy grimaced. “Sorry, sorry, I just couldn’t hear properly. All the construction in Donut Delights has kinda dulled my senses.”

  Heather sighed and shook her head. “It’s fine. Actually, it’s interesting.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that the two of them met up in the dead of the night. Sure, Charlie didn’t expect to see her, but obviously, something’s bothering the two of them, or why would they be up and about?” Heather focused on the road and cruised toward her home. “They’re up to something.”

  “And you’re going to figure out what,” Amy replied, and pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks. “Unless, you know, I manage to mess it up for you.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Heather replied. But she couldn’t help wondering – what would’ve happened if they’d heard the end of that conversation?

  Chapter 13

  Heather curled her legs beneath herself and gathered the fine, woven blanket in her lap. A documentary about Polar Bears colored her TV screen in hues of white and pale blue.

  Dave snored on the sofa beside her and waggled his paws in sleep.

  “Chasing cats?” Heather whispered, and stroked the center line of fur on the top of his head. “Or are you locked in the kitchen at the store, feasting on donuts, this time?”

  Heather grinned, but it slipped off her face, ever so slowly.

  Why had Frankie decided to meet with Junior’s father at night? Why not during the day?

  “Competition,” Heather said. “A competition. Junior’s competition.”

  It had to be something to do with his gaming. Amy had mentioned that it was a popular thing to do. Heather sighed and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms.

  What did it all mean?

  A polar bear wandered across the ice on the screen. The dull monotone of the narrator blurred into a melody. Heather muted the TV to block him out.

  Charlie had lied about his relationship with his son. Frankie had moved out before the murder and the antifreeze had disappeared. Too little evidence again.

  A knock rattled the front door, and Dave bolted upright. He barked once, then growled and turned in a circle on the spot.

  “Easy, boy,” Heather said. She patted him on the head.

  The knock came again, and Heather checked her watch. It was past 9 P.M.

  “Coming,” she called out. Dave launched himself off the sofa and darted out of the living room, and barked in rapid succession.

  Heather hurried after him, intrigue circling through her mind. “Who is it?” She called, then nudged Dave with her toe.

  He didn’t quit barking.

  “Au-Heather?” Lilly’s voice whined through the wood.

  Heather unlocked the front door and swung it inward. “Lils? What’s going on?”

  The little girl flew into the entrance hall and wrapped her arms around Heather’s waist. She sobbed into her cotton shirt and balled her hands into fists.

  “Lilly?” Heather’s heart dropped into her stomach. What had happened? The last time Lilly had been this upset, there’d been a bully living in her house. “Lils, talk to me.”

  The little girl shook her head and continued sobbing. Heather kicked the front door closed, and it slammed too loudly.

  Dave yapped a bark, then bustled around Lilly’s legs and licked her ankles.

  “Come on,” Heather said and grasped the girl’s upper arms. She detached her from the hug, then led her into the living room. Heather sat Lilly down on the sofa and positioned herself next to her.

  Lilly covered her face with her palms and cried. “I – I’m sorry.”

  “What’s going on?” Ryan stood in the doorway to the living room, blinking by the light of the TV. “Lilly, what are you doing here?”

  Heather raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Lils, you know you can tell us anything. What’s going on?”

  Lilly looked up from her hands, and her chin trembled again. “I – I overheard the Foster Folks talking,” she said, then gulped a couple of times. “I – they want to leave Hillside, Au-Heather. They’re going to leave and take me with them, and I’ll never see you or Dave or anyone else ever again. And I’ll be all alone.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and dropped to her PJ pants.

  Heather’s stomach jumped into her throat. No, that couldn’t happen. Bill and Colleen couldn’t take Lilly away – could they? She looked up at her husband, and he shook his head, mouth half-open.

  “I’ll call them,” he said. “You two wait here.”

  “Please, don’t let them take me away, Heather. Please don’t let them. I don’t want to go.” Lilly threw herself back against the sofa cushions and covered her face again. “They can’t make me go.”

  Dave whined and sat down beside her feet. He licked and pawed her ankles.

  “It’s okay,” Heather replied. “It’s okay, Lils. You’re not going anywhere yet. Ryan’s on the phone with them, right now. He’ll get this cleared up.”

  Lilly nodded and lowered her hands again. She stared up at Heather. “I wish you were my mom,” she said.

  Heather’s insides twisted – a doughy mixture of anxiety and pure joy. She grasped Lilly’s hand and squeezed, tight.

  Ryan strode into the living room, clutching the phone in his right hand. “I spoke to Colleen. She said they haven’t made any firm decisions about leaving, yet.”

  Heather puffed out her cheeks. “That’s good. See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Yet!” Lilly said. “She said ‘yet.' That means it can still happen.”

  “Now, now,” Ryan said. “Everyone just relax. Lilly, I think it’s best if you sleep in the guest room tonight. I’ve already gotten the okay from Colleen.” He firmed his tone, but his gaze filled with concern. “I don’t want anyone freaking out or thinking the worst. Got it?”

  Lilly nodded. “Okay,” she said.

  �
�Heather?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it. I’m fine.” She grasped Lilly by the arm and pulled her into a tight hug. “Everything will be all right.”

  Lilly didn’t say a word, but the tension didn’t leak from her muscles.

  Chapter 14

  Heather had to know more.

  She stifled a yawn behind her hand, then strode down the path toward the mystery house. Amy followed, hot on her heels. They’d left Dave at home for the day, and the bakery in the capable hands of Ken and Jung.

  “You tired or something?” Amy asked, and slowed to match Heather’s pace.

  “Your powers of observation are limitless,” Heather replied, and yawned halfway through the sentence. “Lilly came over last night. Apparently, Bill and Colleen might want to leave Hillside.”

  Amy stopped dead in her tracks. “That’s not happening. They can’t take Lilly away.”

  Heather sighed. “Nothing’s happened yet, but yeah, I lost some sleep over it. I can’t imagine life without Lilly. And that got me to thinking about the case.”

  “Why?”

  “Just because it’s another of my concerns. And after that, my mind was stuck on the opening after next week. Ugh, I just didn’t get sleep.” Heather shook her head, then pointed to the front gate of the mystery house down the road. “And that place dances around in my thoughts every few minutes.”

  Amy looped her arm through Heather’s and flashed her a grin of encouragement. “Then let’s clear it up, shall we?”

  “Agreed.”

  They hurried down the sidewalk together, gazes flickering from left to right. The coast was clear, all right. Friday or not, people had work and shopping to attend to. A dog barked in one of the yards but quieted down almost immediately.

  Heather pulled up short and tapped Amy on the forearm. “Would ya look at that,” she said.

  A white Ford Fiesta sat in front of the closed garage door. Two people stood beside it, wrapped in an embrace.

  Frankie separated from the hug first and looked up into the eyes of…

  “Detective Davidson?” Amy whispered, and her jaw dropped. “That’s – I – what?”

  “He told me he was leaving, ages ago. So, it was him,” Heather said.

  “He murdered Junior?”

  Heather chewed the corner of her lip, then released it. “No, it’s his car I’ve seen around Hillside the past few weeks. Always the same color, the same car. He didn’t leave after all.”

  “What’s he doing with Frankie? She’s not exactly in his age range,” Amy said, then shuddered. “He’s like fifty, and she’s –”

  “Thirty?” Heather guessed. “Doesn’t look like it bothers them. Oh, duck!”

  They scooted into the garden beside Davidson’s new home. The Ford Fiesta drove past a second later, Frankie behind the wheel and the passenger seat empty.

  The golden retriever opposite the road burst into a flurry of barks and hops.

  “So, Davidson is in love with Junior’s ex-girlfriend. Or was she even his ex?” Heather tapped her chin and straightened from her crouch.

  “This is crazy,” Amy replied. She gripped two handfuls of hair and paced back and forth in the garden. “I never thought we’d see that guy again after what happened to his daughter. But this? Fraternizing with a suspect? Is he still an officer?”

  “The last we spoke, no. But, you know what? There’s an easy way to find out,” Heather replied.

  “How?” Amy stopped and let go of her gorgeous blond locks.

  “We ask him.”

  Amy groaned. “How did I know you’d say that? Heather, I love ya, but your interrogations are –”

  “Fruitful?” Heather set off down the sidewalk, gaze fixed on the open gate which led up to the not-so-mystery house.

  “That’s not the word I’d use to describe them.” Amy hurried up beside her bestie and chewed on her nails.

  Heather set her mind on the task at hand. Davidson wouldn’t be pleased to see her – after all, the man had practically tried to frame her for the murder of his daughter.

  She turned into the drive and strode through the open gate, Amy hot on her heels.

  Davidson himself stood at the front door, his back to them.

  Heather’s low heels clicked on the paving stones, and he stiffened, immediately. Those old policing instincts hadn’t vanished.

  Davidson spun on the spot, then jerked back. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same question,” Heather said.

  “We say that a lot,” Amy whispered. “We should come up with a new line.”

  Heather placed her hands on her hips and stared down the ex-detective, the very man who’d made her husband’s job exceedingly difficult.

  “You have something to say to me, Mrs. Shepherd?” Davidson asked and strode to the edge of his porch. He didn’t step down to their level but stared at the tops of their heads.

  “And you say my powers of observation are limitless,” Amy said.

  “I thought you were leaving Hillside, Davidson.” Heather narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t need her Taser for this, but the weight of it in her hand would’ve been welcome.

  “I decided to say. Turns out, Hillside PD needs me more than I anticipated,” Davidson replied, and a broad grin split his mouth wide open.

  “Creepy.” Amy shivered and rubbed her arms.

  “You’re on sabbatical?” Heather asked.

  “It’ll be over soon, and when it is I’ll be back in the position I deserve to be. Now, can you explain what you’re doing in my yard, or should I call that husband of yours to remove you?”

  Heather arched her eyebrow. Oh yeah, she’d have loved to have the Taser. Nothing shocked respect into a person like the sizzles and clicks of electricity between two metal nodes.

  “I’m investigating a case. You’re in a relationship with a suspect,” Heather stated.

  “Investigating? You don’t have the authority –”

  “Heather’s a qualified P.I. now,” Amy said and folded her arms. She tapped her foot on the paving stones. “She’s also a consultant to the Hillside Police Department. Ahem, chew on that.”

  Heather kept her smile on the inside, barely.

  Davidson raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t that interesting? It will have to be remedied once my sabbatical has ended.”

  “How do you know Francesca Charles? How did you meet?” Heather asked.

  Davidson chuckled and crossed his arms behind his back. He turned on his heel and marched to his front door. “You’ll have to get your husband to provide a search warrant, Mrs. Shepherd. We’re done talking now.”

  “Davidson –”

  The front door slammed shut behind him.

  Amy linked her arm through Heather’s again. “What was that about fruitful interrogations?”

  “Shush you.” Heather turned, and they walked down the path together.

  She’d have to warn her husband about Davidson’s eminent return. It didn’t bode well for the future.

  Chapter 15

  Heather and Amy traipsed down the road, still arm in arm.

  Donut Delights stood just around the corner, but Heather couldn’t focus on donuts. She couldn’t focus on anything but the pieces of the case. Puzzle pieces which refused to be squished into place.

  She halted and stared at the park in the distance.

  “What’s wrong?” Amy asked.

  “I don’t know. I just need a second, Ames. I need a moment to relax. Maybe that sounds crazy, but I’m feeling super stressed out. Maybe, even more, stressed out than last week.”

  “You haven’t been humming that much, though,” Amy replied, and wiggled her bestie’s arm. “Just kidding.”

  “Yeah, I’m so stressed I’ve lost the will to hum. And bake. But seriously, I can’t get this case off my mind,” Heather said. She set off again, and Amy walked beside her. Her bestie always provided the supportive ear when needed.

  “Why? Why this one?” Amy asked.


  The sun warmed the backs of their necks, and the remnants of the clouds from the night before wisped through the azure blue.

  “Because, well, this might sound silly, but there’s a lot resting on the success of this investigation. I might be a P.I. now, but that just means I have to be committed to helping Hillside PD. If I mess this up, they might not hire me as a consultant again,” Heather said.

  Amy nodded. “I get that. You don’t want to let Ryan down, either.”

  “Exactly,” Heather replied. “He’s the one who got me this opportunity, in every way possible. I mean, he put me onto the whole diploma in the first place. And now this.”

  Amy and Heather walked in silence toward the trees in the park. A bench there had Heather’s name on it – not literally, but she could sure use a rest.

  “And there was this one officer, Hoskins, who made fun of me in front of all the other officers at the crime scene. Oh wow, I sound like a high school kid, now.”

  Amy rolled her eyes. “Don’t be hard on yourself, hon. If some officer guy gave me trouble, I’d clap back at him.”

  Heather opened her mouth to respond, but the words stalled on her tongue. She grasped Amy’s arm and pulled her to a stop.

  “Ouch, what?”

  Heather pointed. “Charlie’s here.” What were the chances? Heather had suspected that the cases were drawn to her and not the other way around. This reinforced that belief.

  “The suspicious Buckle,” Amy said, then chuckled. “That could be a movie title.”

  “C’mon.” Heather let go of Amy and marched up to the unsuspecting elderly gentleman.

  Charlie’s shirt hadn’t been ironed, and he held a Tupperware container on his lap. Two hard-boiled eggs rolled around inside it. He lifted one, then spotted her and put it back in the box.

  “Mrs. Shepherd,” he said.

  “Mr. Buckle,” she replied. “I need your help.”

  “What? Why?” He asked, and blinked up at her. “Is it to do with Junior?”

  Amy strode up to them but recoiled and took a step back. “Oh my gosh, what’s that smell?”

  Charlie shrugged and shut his eggs in their plastic tomb. “Sorry about that. Protein’s good for the brain, you know.”