Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 18 - Dangerous Dough (9 page)

Chapter 10

“What on earth
are you doing here this early in the morning?” I asked Jake with a grin as I
opened the front door to welcome him as my first customer of the day.

“I’ve been awake
a few hours,” he admitted.
 
“Man,
this place smells wonderful first thing in the morning.
 
I’ll have one plain glazed and one plain
cake donut, please.
 
Oh, and some
coffee would be nice, too.
 
How do I
do this?
 
Do I pay you now, or
should we set up a tab for me?” he asked as he reached for his wallet.

“Put your money
away.
 
You don’t have to pay for
anything here,” I said as I filled his order, grabbing one each of our simplest
donuts for him.
 
“I told you before
that going to bed that early would throw off your sleep schedule.”

“And you were
right,” Jake said with a smile.
 
“I
tried to get into my temporary office at the police station, but Stephen wasn’t
there yet, and he’s the only one with a key.”

“You could have
just broken in,” I said with a smile as I handed him his coffee.
 
“Why don’t you sit here by me?”

“Don’t mind if I
do,” Jake said as he took the spot closest to the register.
 
“This is excellent,” he added after
taking a bite of the glazed donut.
 
“It’s still warm.”

“I know.
 
That’s when I like them best.
 
So, how are we going to handle our
schedules from now on?” I asked him as I grabbed a cup of coffee for myself.
 
I was tempted to have a donut with him
as well, but that would lead to me having to buy the next size up in jeans
quickly enough.
 
I had to save my
treats for the new donut recipes I tried.
 
Come to think of it, maybe that was why I was constantly offering my
customers new tasty things to sample.

“Don’t
worry.
 
We’ll work it out.
 
Chances are I’ll be staying up past
eight p.m. from here on out, though.
 
Do you mind?”

“Mind?
 
I’m the one who tried to get you to do
it last night, remember?”
 
I leaned
over and kissed his cheek.
 
“It was
a sweet gesture, though, no matter how impractical it might have been.”

“How does it feel
to be back behind the counter again?” he asked after taking another sip of his
coffee.

“It’s where I
belong,” I said as I looked around the place.
 
“You know, I never imagined that is how
my life would turn out, but I’m sure glad that it all worked out that way.”

“I’m happy for
you,” Jake said.
 
He took a hearty
bite of the cake donut and then he smiled again.
 
“I don’t know how to decide which one is
my favorite.”

“Do like I do,” I
said.
 
“My first choice is always
the one I’m eating at the time.”

“That system will
do fine until I can come up with something else.
 
So, what are your plans after you shut
down for the day?
 
Are you and Grace
heading back to Granite Meadows?”

“I don’t see that
we have much choice,” I replied.
 
“You said you were going to sleep on it to see if you could come up with
something.
 
Did you have any luck?”

“I’ve been pondering
the situation for the past hour, and I think you should—”

I didn’t get a
chance to hear what he thought, though.
 
Stephen Grant, the acting police chief of April Springs, walked into the
donut shop with a grin.
 
“I heard
you were looking for me.
 
Sorry
about that.
 
I was up late last
night helping out on a call.”

“Was it anything
serious?” Jake asked him eagerly.
 
“You know, if you ever need backup, I’m just a phone call away, and now
that I’m living here full time, I’d be happy to lend a hand whenever you need
it.”

Wow, he sounded
really eager when he offered his help.
 
Was Jake missing his old job already?
 
I couldn’t imagine how he didn’t.
 
After all, he’d had an important
position where folks depended on him, and working as a freelance investigator
couldn’t be nearly as satisfying to him.
 
That was going to be a discussion we’d have to have in the near future.

Just not now.

“It didn’t turn
out to be anything serious at all.
 
We
got a prowler call from Mrs. Jacobson,” he said.
 
“She saw a pair of beady eyes in the
dark and thought someone was trying to break into her home.
 
Turned out that it was a raccoon eating
some dog food she’d spilled feeding her pooches by the back porch.”

“Well, in her
defense, he
was
wearing a mask,” I
said with a smile.
 
“Can I get you
anything, Chief?”

“Interim chief,”
he corrected me.

“I’m not saying
that,” I replied.
 
“Until someone
else comes along, you’re doing the job, so why shouldn’t you at least get the
title?”

Chief Grant just
shrugged, and then he turned back to Jake and handed him something.
 
“Here’s your key.
 
Sorry again about that.
 
You’re welcome to look through any files
I have on the case, but that’s about all I can do for you.”
 
In a lower voice, Stephen added, “That’s
rubbish, of course.
 
I’ll do whatever
I can to help, but I was told that I had to tell you that first thing.”

Jake
grinned.
 
“Understood.
 
I’m guessing you and Manfred had a
little chat yesterday.”

Stephen
nodded.
 
“I suppose you could call
it that, but if I wasn’t allowed to reply, could you really call it a
conversation?
 
It was really more
like a lecture.
 
The man’s not all
that fond of you, is he?”

“That’s putting
it mildly,” Jake replied.
 
“No
worries.
 
I won’t go through him,
but I don’t mind going around him.”

“Given your
status, you need to be careful,” Stephen said.
 
“I got the distinct impression that he’s
just dying to shut you down.”

“There’s no doubt
about it, but I’ve been outsmarting the man for years, and I don’t think a
change in job titles is going to affect that any.
 
Thanks for the key,” Jake finished as he
tucked it into his front shirt pocket.

“Glad to do it,”
he said.

“Care for
something while you’re here?” I asked him again.

“I really
shouldn’t,” Stephen said with a sigh as he looked at rack after rack of my
treats.

“Three quarters
of my customers could probably say that, but I’m sure glad that they don’t.”

“Okay, you
twisted my arm,” the chief said with a grin.
 
“I’ll take one lemon-filled donut and a
coffee to go, please.”
 
He started
to get out his wallet when Jake said, “Don’t worry about it.
 
This one’s on me.”

My new husband
winked at me, and I winked right back.
 
Then I told him, “That’ll be two dollars and forty-nine cents,” as I
held out my hand.

Jake looked
surprised by my request for payment.
 
“I thought I had carte blanche here.”

“You do, but only
for what you consume yourself,” I said with a smile.

“Fair enough,”
Jake said as he pulled out his wallet.
 
He handed me three singles as he said, “Keep the change.”

“Wow, my very
first tip of the day,” I said as I put what was left in the tip jar by the
register.

“Can I walk you
over to the station?” Stephen asked Jake.
 
“I can at least run interference for you with Inspector Simpson.”
 
The interim chief hadn’t offered to pay
in Jake’s place, which made me happy.
 
I figured that I might as well start training my new husband from the
start, and showing by example was much easier than simply laying out the rules
for him.

“See you later,”
Jake said as he gave me a quick peck.

“Bye,” I replied,
but I wasn’t sure that he’d even heard me.
 
He was already engrossed in a new conversation with Stephen Grant about
their mutual cases, and I knew that at least for now, I’d lost him.
 
Jake was like a border collie; he liked
and needed to work in order to be happy.
 
I just hoped that once this case was finished, he’d find something that
fulfilled him in April Springs.
 
I
knew some folks believed that a happy wife meant a happy life, but I liked to
think of it as a happy man made for a happy plan.
 
It wasn’t quite as good a rhyme as the
standard, but it worked for me.
 
It
suddenly occurred to me that he hadn’t shared his idea with me about
approaching the situation in Granite Meadows.
 
I’d have to get it from him later,
though.
 
Traffic in Donut Hearts was
starting to pick up, and it took everything I had to keep up with the demand.

Twenty minutes
later, after I’d served several of my regulars, the mayor himself walked
in.
 
“George, it’s good to see you,”
I said, and after hesitating a moment, I decided that the situation warranted a
hug, though I fully realized that it wasn’t anywhere near the mayor’s comfort
zone.

“You, too.
 
Did you bring me anything back from
Paris?” he asked me with a grin.

I was ready for
him and for anyone else who happened to ask me that question.
 
“As a matter of fact, I did,” I said as
I handed him a euro coin.
 
Jake and
I had forgotten to exchange them for US dollars when we’d gotten back into the
country, so we’d decided to use them as tokens when we got back to town instead.
 
They made interesting presents for folks
who had never been out of the States, and besides, they were a great deal less
expensive than any souvenirs we could have bought.
 
“Here you go.”

The mayor took
the coin with interest and studied it for a moment before replying.
 
“It’s kind of neat, isn’t it?
 
Thanks.
 
That’s a thoughtful gift,” he said as he
pocketed the coin.

I felt a little
bad about that, since we’d put no thought into it at all, but he didn’t have to
know that.
 
“Are you here for a
treat?
 
Is Polly gone again?”

“I’m afraid that’s
over,” George said sadly.

“No!
 
What happened?
 
You two were perfect for each other,” I
said.

“Maybe so, but we
both decided that a long-distance relationship wasn’t going to work at our
age.
 
She’s selling her house and
moving in with her daughter to help take care of her kids.
 
I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming,
but it doesn’t make it any easier to take.
 
Now I’m not only out a lady friend, but I also have to look for a new
secretary, too.
 
Do you have any
thoughts?”

“For a replacement
secretary or a new girlfriend?” I asked him with a gentle smile.

“Maybe both,” he
answered in kind.
 
I knew that George
was upset, but I was glad to see that he wasn’t going to let it affect his
disposition.

“Don’t look at
me,” I said.
 
“I’m a happily married
woman and the proud owner of a donut shop, so I strike out on both counts.”

He shook his head
as he laughed.
 
“I wasn’t asking you
to fill either position.
 
I just
figured you might know of someone, being how you have your finger on the pulse
of April Springs.”

“I’m not sure I’d
say that,” I answered.

“Suzanne, most
folks find their way into this place sooner or later.
 
Think about it.”

“Okay, but in the
meantime, how are you going to manage at the office?
 
According to what you’ve told me in the
past, Polly pretty much ran the place.”

“I’m not quite the
figurehead I may have let on,” George said.
 
“I think I can keep things together for
the time being.
 
Besides, one of the
secretaries from the Register of Deeds has volunteered to help out until I can
find someone more permanent.”

“It wouldn’t be
Harriet Light by any chance, would it?” I asked him slyly.

“As a matter of
fact it was.
 
How did you know
that?”

I had to
laugh.
 
“George, that woman has had
a crush on you for as long as I can remember.
 
Surely you knew that, didn’t you?”

“Harriet?
 
Why, I’m at least twenty years older
than she is.
 
The thought never even
crossed my mind.
 
What would people
think?”

“I personally
believe that they’d applaud.
 
George, it’s not like she’s a teenager.
 
Harriet is a widow in her forties.
 
No one’s going to bat an eye if you two
start going out.”

“I’m not at all
sure about that,” he said.
 
“Let’s
change the subject, if that’s okay with you.”