Troubled Treats (The Donut Mysteries, #19) by Jessica Beck

Author:Jessica Beck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: donut, food, mystery, cozy, women sleuths, jessica beck
Publisher: Cozy Publishing
Published: 2015-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

“That was quite a scene last night, wasn’t it?” Shirley Edam asked as she approached the counter. “I’m glad your husband stepped in before things got even uglier.”

“Would you have really hit Jim with that wrench?” I asked her.

“If it had come to that, I had every right to defend myself,” she said brusquely, and I had no doubt that she would have done it. “I’d like two dozen donuts and four coffees for my work crew.”

Funny, she’d never bought them donuts from my shop before, so I had to wonder if there was some other reason for her being there. Was she trying to justify what had happened the night before, or was she possibly fishing to find out what Jim might have told us as Jake had escorted him back to Stella’s car? “Are there any flavors in particular you’d like?” I asked her as I grabbed a pair of folded boxes.

“It’s your call. Mix them up for me.”

I gave her a good selection, and as my back was turned to her, she casually mentioned, “I can’t believe how drunk Jim Burr was last night. He was spouting quite a bit of nonsense, wasn’t he?”

“You mean when he accused you of murder?” I asked without turning.

“Suzanne, you know that was just a drunken man’s rant, don’t you? I didn’t kill Sully.”

I decided not to address my thoughts on that possibility. Instead, I said, “He seemed pretty sure of it, didn’t he?”

“Does that mean that you actually believed him?” she asked me, clearly incredulous that I might have taken what Jim had said to heart.

“Shirley, I’m not ready to make an informed decision yet. After all, we’re still gathering facts. It would be nice if you could have someone corroborate your alibi.”

“I’m sorry I can’t snap my fingers and produce a credible witness,” she said sharply. “Suzanne, I’m honestly a bit surprised by your attitude. After all, we’re both women trying to run small businesses. We should stick together.”

“I’m all for hiring you the next time I need any electrical work done here at the shop,” I said as I started on the second box, “but that’s where my loyalty to my gender ends. Murder is an equal-opportunity act, and I know from experience that women are just as capable of committing it as men are.” I hadn’t appreciated her playing the ‘women in business’ card. In my mind, it demeaned what we both did. If my donuts, or her electrical service, couldn’t stand up against competitors—both male and female—I didn’t want anyone frequenting my business solely because I was a woman; I wanted their business based on the treats I sold.

The first round of donuts had included some of our customer favorites, but this batch would be comprised mostly of our slow sellers for the day. After all, I was sure she wasn’t really there for my treats anyway. Spending a little money was obviously her way of buying some of my time, not my goodies.

“So, you do think I killed him,” she said resolutely.

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