Sinister Sprinkles: A Donut Shop Mystery by Jessica Beck

Author:Jessica Beck
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Private investigators, Murder, Coffee shops, Murder - Investigation, Mystery & Detective, Doughnuts, North Carolina, Fiction, Mystery fiction, Women Sleuths, General
ISBN: 9780312946128
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2010-11-30T01:00:04+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Kimmi asked heatedly, “What are you two doing in her closet? I didn’t mean you could snoop around.”

“We didn’t know her things were still here,” I said as I covered up the box lid and hid it from her view. “Why did she leave everything behind?”

Kimmi wasn’t budging, though. “You still haven’t told me why you were snooping around in there.”

“We weren’t snooping,” Grace said indignantly. “I had to see how big the closets were, didn’t I? Wouldn’t that be the first thing you looked at if you were thinking about moving into a new place?”

“I guess that makes sense,” she said as she rubbed her ear. “I just can’t get used to the fact that she’s gone.” Kimmi took a deep breath, then said, “I should probably tell you, my roommate didn’t move away. Somebody killed her.”

I had to make sure she thought we didn’t already know that. “That’s terrible. Did it happen in here?” I pretended to look around for bloodstains, and Kimmi caught my implication.

“No, it happened in town.” She frowned a second, then looked at me and said, “I know you. You run that place, Donut Darts.”

“It’s called Donut Hearts,” I corrected her. “I heard someone died, but I never found out who everybody was talking about.”

“You’re Max’s wife,” Kimmi said guardedly, and I was beginning to realize that I may have underestimated the girl’s intelligence, or at the very least, her knack for local lore.

“I’m his ex-wife. Why should that matter?”

I looked at the dresser where I’d seen a photo of Darlene and Kimmi together earlier. “It wasn’t Darlene Higgins who was killed, was it?”

“She was my best friend,” Kimmi said as she nodded.

I glanced at Grace, took a step closer to the bed so I’d be certain I’d hit it, then I let myself collapse.

“She’s fainted,” Grace said as she hovered over me. “Go get me some water. Quickly.”

As soon as Kimmi went after my water, Grace whispered, “What was in that box, anyway? We just have a few seconds.”

“Go look,” I said, refusing to move.

Grace grabbed the box, flipped it open, and then must have seen what I’d seen.

“It’s a picture of you,” Grace said. “What’s it doing in here?”

“You’re asking me? I almost fainted for real when I saw it. There’s five tattered old hundred-dollar bills in there too, and something that looks suspiciously like a lock of Max’s hair. What was she up to?”

“I don’t know,” Grace said, “but I’m taking this with us.” She emptied the box and slid the contents into her purse just as Kimmi arrived.

She handed Grace the water, then asked, “You’re not going to pour it on her, are you? I don’t want the bed to get soaked.”

Knowing Grace, that was exactly what she had in mind. It was time to end my part of the charade.

Letting my eyelids flutter, I pretended to come to. “What happened?”

“You fainted, Suzanne,” Grace said as she got close to my face.

“It was the shock of it all,” I said.

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