M&M Surprise Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 17 Read online

  Heather pulled the phone from her ear and dialed Ryan’s number, next.

  “Wait, what’s going on?” Amy asked.

  Heather waved her question away again, and Amy stuck out her tongue, then rested her forehead on her arms instead.

  “Shepherd,” Ryan said, in his work voice grunt.

  “Honey, it’s me. I’ve got a problem.”

  “Who’s being attacked this time?” Ryan asked, and chuckled.

  It would’ve been a funny joke at any other time. “Jung,” Heather replied. “HE just called to tell me that someone left a bloodied arrow in his trash. I’d bet anything it’s carbon.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “Ryan, it’s Jessica Laverne. I’m sure of it. She stole the arrows from her coach. Hardy, and used them to kill Kyle Henson and attack Leticia.” Maybe the woman thought she could pin it all on Jung.

  “All right. I’m on it.”

  “Be careful,” Heather replied. The other end of the line went dead.

  Amy’s mouth hung open. “She’s at Jung’s place?”

  “I can’t be certain. Ryan’s on his way there now to make sure.”

  “So, what are we going to do?” Amy asked, then narrowed her eyes at Heather. “I can tell from the expression on your face that ‘eating donuts’ is not the answer.”

  “We’re going to Hillside High. To the small practice field behind the locker room.” Heather circled to her side of the car, opened the door, then got in.

  Amy lowered herself back into her seat and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. “Do I want to know why?”

  “Because if Jessica isn’t at Jung’s house anymore, that’s where she’s going to go.”

  “How do you know?”

  Heather started the engine of her car, then zipped on her seat belt and clicked it into place. “Because Jessica is stuck in the past. She has been since 2009. That past is about to come back to punish her for all she’s done.”

  “Oh boy. That sounds like a Christmas vacation,” Amy said and clapped her hands. “I can barely contain myself.”

  “You’re going to have to,” Heather said, then pulled out into the road, her gaze fixed on the macadam.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because you’re on Taser duty.”

  Chapter 19

  Heather stood on the edge of the yellowing field and stared at the solitary target at the other end. Arrows littered the grass around it. Not a single bulls-eye. Arrows everywhere but in the target.

  Shoot, there weren’t even holes in the thing.

  She tucked her arms behind her back and clasped her hands together.

  “You can come out now, Jinx,” she said, softly.

  Footsteps slapped on the wooden bleachers behind Heather, then thumped to the grass. A bowstring creaked. Heather clenched her fists and forced herself to calm down.

  “Turn around and look at me,” the woman said.

  Heather turned on the spot and raised her hands above her head. “Don’t shoot, Jinx.”

  “Stop calling me that,” the blond woman snapped. “I hate that stupid name. I’m not jinxed, and I have never been.”

  “No,” Heather replied. “You’re not jinxed. But that doesn’t make you a good person.”

  Jessica through back her head and laughed at the sky. She laughed and laughed. Her breath wheezed in her chest and then she flopped her head back down and met Heather’s gaze.

  “I don’t care about being a good person, Heather Shepherd.” She clicked her tongue, bow still drawn, arrow knocked. She hadn’t taken aim yet, at least. How strong was this woman?

  Surely, it took a lot of strength to keep that arm extended?

  “Everyone wants to be good. Everyone. That’s why we’re here. To help each other, to be better, and to learn.” Heather flashed a smile. “You can still do that, Jessica.”

  “Oh, you are so barking up the wrong tree.”

  This was the riskiest move Heather had pulled in recent memory. She hadn’t purposefully put herself in harm’s way before but, to be fair, Jessica could’ve been at Jung’s house, rather than at the field.

  “You have no interest in being a good person? In being respected and loved by everyone?”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “Who cares about that stuff? Respect, love? That’s for losers. And I want to win.”

  “I respectfully disagree,” Heather replied. “You can’t truly win unless you’ve felt real love.”

  “This is not a debate. I am not on trial,” Jessica snapped. “If you wanna win, you have to know how to play the game, and this is the only way to do that.” She let the bow sag, a little. “I won’t let you run to your little cop boyfriend and tell him the truth.”

  “He’s my husband, not my boyfriend.”

  “Whatever,” Jessica spat. She raised the bow again. “It’s over, Heather.”

  “I don’t understand,” Heather said. “How do you figure you’re going to get away with this?”

  Jinx blinked at her, then sniffed. “What do you mean? I’m going to kill you, and then no one will know.”

  “You left the arrow in Jung’s trash, right?” Heather asked.

  Jinx’s cheeks paled, but she still didn’t lower that bow. “What, how do you know that?”

  “He’s one of my closest friends. He called me the minute something happened and told me all about.”

  “So? Who cares?” Jinx snorted. She readjusted her grip and stretched her neck from side-to-side. “You’re going to die, and everyone will think it’s Jung. He’ll take the fall for it. Serves him right for competing against the best.”

  “You can’t call yourself the best if you have to bribe judges to win,” Heather replied.

  Jessica growled in her throat. “You shut up!”

  “My husband is over at Jung’s place, right now. That’s right. My husband, the police officer, is with him. Your story won’t check out.” Heather shook her head. “I’m disappointed, Jinx. I thought that you made a mistake. Or that you had a grand plan when you bribed Leticia.”

  Jessica’s arms wobbled and the bow swerved left and then right.

  Heather froze, her arms still above her head and her heart pounded against the inside of her ribcage. “Turns out,” Heather said, breathing deep to keep her voice even, “You don’t have a master plan. You didn’t realize that Kyle was the other judge until the last minute did you?”

  She didn’t reply, just stared at Heather.

  “I guess you walked into the locker room and found him there. What happened then?” Heather asked. “Did all the old emotions come rushing back? Did you remember the day he fired you from the team? Or was it losing the Olympics that got to you?”

  “Don’t,” Jessica whispered, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

  “The arrows were right there, weren’t they? Coach Hardy’s arrows. Did he leave them behind after your practice with him? He looks like the careless type.”

  Jinx shook her head and stumbled back a step. “Stop.”

  “So, you saw him there sitting or standing and you decided that he had to pay. Am I right? Pay for what he did to you. But you didn’t realize what you did to him.” Heather dropped her arms slowly, confidence building in her chest.

  Amy stood on the bleachers, just behind Jinx, Taser pointed at the murderer’s back.

  “Did to him? He ruined my career!” Jessica yelled.

  “No,” Heather replied. “You ruined his career. You and his wife. But that’s all over now because you took it into your own hands. And now, you’ve ruined your entire life as a consequence. Take a moment and let that sink in.” Heather nodded once and met Amy’s gaze. “Jinx.”

  Jessica let out a shriek. She let loose the arrow. Heather dived into the grass and covered her head. Electricity crackled and sparked. Something heavy hit the ground.

  “Heather?” Amy asked. “Oh my gosh, Heather, are you okay?”

  Heather looked up from her spot on the grass and stared a
t Jessica Laverne. The woman lay supine, chest rising and falling slowly, eyes shut.

  “Is she okay?” Heather asked.

  Amy bent, then pressed her fingers to Jessica’s throat. “Yeah, but I think she knocked her head when she fell. I already called Ryan. He’s on his way.”

  “Good,” Heather said, then shuffled onto her knees in the grass. “Mind helping me up?”

  Chapter 20

  “What did I miss?” Amy asked. She sat down on the seat beside Heather and offered a donut from her tray.

  Heather accepted one, then handed it to Eva, who gave it to Lilly next to her.

  “He’s only got one more round of shooting. Then we’ll know,” Heather replied.

  Jung stood on the edge of the field below, glaring at the targets at the far end of the range. Excitement rippled through the crowd in the stands. It was almost over.

  Leticia Jackson sat at the far table, eyes trained on the scoreboard. She bent over her tablet and made a correction, then refocused. The sole judge. The bandages on her left arm shone white beneath the morning sun.

  Heather took an M&M Surprise for herself, then picked off the M&Ms. She inserted them between her lips, one by one. “At least it’s over,” Heather said.

  “Heather Shepherd solves another case,” Amy replied, then patted her on the leg. “Why do you look so upset, though?”

  “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

  “Is the test bothering you, dear? The exam, I mean. Because we all know you’ll pass. You should know that too.” Eva patted Heather on the knee.

  “I still have a lot of studying to do before I can claim that kind of confidence.” Heather smiled at her favorite senior citizen. “But thanks for the support, Eva.”

  “C’mon, hon, you know you’re gonna kick butt. You’ve solved every murder that Hillside Homicide has handled in the last few months. Your success rate is crazy.” Amy bit into the M&M donut and crunched on the sweet goodness. “Look, you can only do your best and if you fail?”

  “I can’t investigate anymore if I fail,” Heather said.

  “You won’t fail,” the two women said, in unison.

  Lilly jumped up and clapped her hands. “He’s about to go. He’s about to go!”

  Jung stepped forward and stopped in front of his mark. He raised his bow and took aim. The crowd hushed. Nothing moved in the silence, not the leaves on the distant trees nor Amy’s ever-donut gobbling mouth.

  A buzzer went off. Jung released his arrow.

  The projectile split the air, soared toward the target and clunked into the board, just left off the center circle.

  The scores on the screen popped up again. Jung dropped his bow to his side and stared up at them, shoulders tensed.

  “Still in second place. He was the last to go, right?” Amy asked.

  “Yeah, he was the last,” Heather replied.

  Cheers spread through the crowd. Applause rang out, and the quartet of ladies joined in.

  “Go Jung!” Amy yelled.

  Lilly did a little dance on the spot. “Ooh, ooh! Jung’s on fire.” She laughed hysterically and turned in a circle.

  Jung’s turned to the stand and waved at them. He grinned wider than he’d ever done, then raised his bow into the air.

  The crowd cheered on. Jung had been the home favorite for the competition. The other alumni and competitors had come from the surrounding towns to partake in the competition, after all.

  And everyone loved Jung.

  Another Hillside sweetheart.

  Leticia Jackson rose behind the judging table, then clicked on her microphone. “The official announcement of the results and awards ceremony will take place in approximately twenty minutes. Please help yourselves to refreshments in the interim.”

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Amy said, then raised her donut in salute. She took a massive bite and grinned.

  “You’re not the only one enjoying Heather’s donuts,” Eva said, nodding her head toward the bottom of the stairs.

  Geoff Lawless stood directly in front of Angelica, grasping a wad of cash in his left hand and a donut in the right. He raised it to his nose, then sniffed and frowned.

  “What’s he doing?” Lilly asked.

  “Hey, Geoff, you’re s’posed to eat them not to sniff them,” Amy yelled.

  Heather didn’t bother nudging her bestie in the ribs this time. “He’s been trying to copy my donut recipes for a few weeks now.”

  Amy nodded and dusted off her palms. “A coupled weeks ago we found him rummaging around in the Donut Delights trash cans looking for crumbs.”

  “Ewwww,” Lilly said, and her lips turned down at the corners. “That’s weird.”

  “Weird doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Amy replied.

  Geoff glanced up at them, nose stuck into the hole of the donut, and raised his eyebrows.

  Heather lifted her donut at him, glaze clean of M&Ms, then took a bite.

  Geoff jerked the confection from his face. Glaze smeared the tip of his nose. He turned and stalked off, casting glances over his shoulder every few seconds.

  “What a strange character,” Eva said. “I’ll never understand the man. He was a bouncer, then became a baker, created the worst treats I’ve ever seen, then gorges himself on your donuts.”

  Heather shrugged. “That’s Geoff. He’s backed off a little, at least.”

  Jung jogged up the stairs, then turned right and hurried along the stand. “I did it,” he said, then drew in three deep gasps. He wiped sweat from his forehead. “I actually did it.”

  “Well done,” Heather said. “You were fantastic.”

  “I’m going to go home and train for next year’s event, after this. I want to be prepared for next year,” Jung replied. He’d left his bow in the changing room, but he held an arrow to his chest. “I wanted you to have this, Heather.” He held it out to her.

  “Why?” Heather asked. “What is it?”

  “It’s one of my arrows,” he replied. “I would never have gotten the chance to compete if you hadn’t solved the case. I just wanted to thank you. And to remind you that, you know, anything’s possible.” He scratched the back of his head, then scuffed his shoes on the concrete.

  “Thank you,” Heather said. She took the arrow from him and turned it over in her lap.

  Next week she’d write her final exam. After that, she’d either be able to investigate legally or she’d never investigate again.

  Heather closed her fist around the arrow’s shaft.

  “Anything is possible,” she said.

  THE END

  A letter from the Author

  To each and every one of my Amazing readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!

  I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff) Join my Book club.

  Stay Curious,

  Susan Gillard