tragic toppings; a donut shop mystery

842019 Tragic Toppings A Donut Shop Mystery

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulltragic-toppings-a-donut-shop-mystery 113



This is a work of 1047297ction All of the characters organizations and eventsportrayed in this novel are either products of the authorrsquos imagination orare used 1047297ctitiously

983124983122983105983111983113983107 983124983119983120983120983113983118983111983123

Copyright copy 2011 by Jessica BeckExcerpt from Killer Crullers copyright copy 2011 by Jessica Beck

All rights reserved

For information address St Martinrsquos Press 175 Fifth Avenue New YorkNY 10010

ISBN 978-0-312-54109-5

Printed in the United States of America

St Martinrsquos Paperbacks edition September 2011

St Martinrsquos Paperbacks are published by St Martinrsquos Press 175 Fifth

Avenue New York NY 10010

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

NOTE If you purchased this book without a cover you should beaware that this book is stolen property It was reported as ldquounsoldand destroyedrdquo to the publisher and neither the author nor thepublisher has received any payment for this ldquostripped bookrdquo



CHAPTER 1

The day Emily Hargraves disappeared after visitingmy donut shop I had no idea that it would be the be-

ginning of a series of seemingly unrelated events that

would ultimately lead to the death of one of my dear-est friends

To be honest I didnrsquot think much about my encoun-ter with Emily at the time As the owner of the only

donut shop in my small North Carolina town I speak

with a great many people in the course of running mybusiness during the day and Emily really didnrsquot make

much of an impression on me at the time I did remem-

ber that she said she was on her way to Two Cows anda Moosemdashher newsstand just down the block from

Donut Heartsmdashand while she wasnrsquot exactly a regularat my shop it wasnrsquot unusual for her to visit when she

wanted a sweet iced pastry treat Emily didnrsquot indulge

that often but when she did it was all the way No top-ping was too outlandish no combination of tasty addi-

tions too much for her In other words she was my kind

of gal and wersquod been friends ever since shersquod come backto town after graduating from college



2 J E S S I C A B E C K

I wish I had taken the time to chat with her a littlemore before I served her a blueberry donut with choc-olate icing sprinkles stars and a chewy sour gummy

worm coiled on topmdashall per her requestmdashalong with

a pint of the chocolate milk we sold in cute little boxesbut she came in when things were crazy and I barely

had time to do more than share a smile serve her andthen take her money

As it turned out it appeared that I was the last one

to see her At least thatrsquos what Chief Martin tried totell me a few hours after Emily had visited my shop

He wasnrsquot all that pleased with me but that honestly

wasnrsquot unusual I wasnrsquot sure if his frustrated relation-ship with my mother had anything to do with his atti-

tude toward me and I wasnrsquot about to ask It was a sore

subject between the three of us one that I was verycareful to avoid whenever possible Chief Martin and

my mother had been trying for months to arrange their1047297rst of1047297cial date but every time it approached Momma

had found a new and sometimes ingenious way to

postpone it She 1047297nally promised the police chief thatshe wouldnrsquot drag her feet any more and they were

slated to 1047297nally go out on their 1047297rst real date later that

nightUntil then things would continue to be tense and

Irsquod been doing my best to avoid the police chief for thepast few weeks but now with Emilyrsquos disappearance

that wasnrsquot going to work anymore

When it came down to it there werenrsquot many folks intown who wanted Emily found more than I did April

Springs was very much like a small family and when

one of us was in trouble it felt as though all of us were



TRAGIC TOPPINGS 3

ldquoWersquove been over this alreadyrdquo I said to the policechief as we stood in my donut shop covering the sameground again Chief Martin purposely avoided look-

ing at any of my donuts as we spoke since hersquod been

on a diet ever since his divorce had become 1047297nal Hisweight was dropping even if it was ever so slowly but

Irsquod never seen a man go to such lengths to avoid a do-nut so thoroughly in my life I explained yet again ldquoShe

came by for a donut and a pint of chocolate milk and

thatrsquos the last time I saw herrdquoldquoWhat kind of donut did she buyrdquo he asked as he

jotted something down in a small notebook

ldquoDoes that really matterrdquo I askedldquoIt mightrdquo he answered ldquoYou never know with these

thingsrdquo

ldquoIt was blueberryrdquoldquoJust blueberryrdquo he asked his pencil still poised

over the paperldquoNo it had chocolate icing sprinkles stars and a

chewy sour gummy worm on toprdquo

He scowled at me ldquoSuzanne this is no time to trotout that odd sense of humor of yours This could be se-

riousrdquo

Why was I not surprised he didnrsquot believe me ldquoIrsquomtelling you thatrsquos exactly what she ordered but I can

assure you there wasnrsquot anything wrong with what Isold herrdquo I was probably a little too defensive about it

but my donuts had shown up in police investigations a

few times in the past and I didnrsquot want to even con-sider the possibility that the donut Emily had bought

from me could be connected to her disappearance

ldquoTake it easyrdquo he said as he jotted the donutrsquos com-plete description down ldquoI have to ask Who knows It




might turn out to be importantrdquo He closed the note-book and then added a little apologetically ldquoSuzanneIrsquom just doing my best to collect information right nowrdquo

I lowered my voice as I asked ldquoWhy the fuss

Chief She hasnrsquot been missing that long Itrsquos not liketherersquos any reason to suspect foul play is thererdquo

He shook his head ldquoNo at least not from what Irsquovebeen able to uncover so farrdquo

ldquoThen what givesrdquo

The police chief almost whispered the next thinghe said to me and I had a dif1047297cult time hearing him

ldquoTruth be told she had an appointment in her shop

with the mayor about a zoning waiver shersquos been tryingto get for parking and when she turned up missing the

boss was afraid it re1047298ected badly on him somehowrdquo

I wasnrsquot all that fond of our mayor and I knew thathe wasnrsquot afraid of throwing his weight around espe-

cially when he was soon going to be up for reelectionldquoIrsquom sure itrsquos nothing Is that all you need from

merdquo I asked completely 1047297nished with this conversa-

tion if I could manage itldquoWersquore good for nowrdquo he said as he put away his

notebook ldquoIf you happen to think of anything else

give me a callrdquoI nodded my agreement ldquoYou know you really

should speak with Gabby Williams She spends halfher day looking out her front window so she might

have seen something everyone else missedrdquo Gabby was

my nearest business neighbor She owned ReNEWeda secondhand shop that specialized in nice clothing

gently used If something was going on in town chances

were good that Gabby knew something about it Irsquodused her as a source for information in the past myself



TRAGIC TOPPINGS 5

and though the facts and rumors she gave me wereoften valuable they never came without some kind ofprice even if it was just sharing a cup of her favorite tea

and listening to her latest spin on the world of April

SpringsldquoWersquove already spokenrdquo the chief said abruptly

and for a second I actually felt sorry for the man Hewas usually able to hold his own with folks around

April Springs but I knew that going up against Gabby

hersquod have a battle on his hands Most folks did and Ialways tried my best to keep dancing that 1047297ne line that

kept me off her expansive list of enemies

ldquoDid she have anything helpful to addrdquo I askedldquoOnly that Emily walked into your shop and thatrsquos

the last time she saw herrdquo

I shook my head ldquoDo you honestly believe that shestill might be here Feel free to search the place if

yoursquod like Emmarsquos in back doing dishes but I guaran-tee you that Emilyrsquos nowhere to be found on siterdquo

The two young women had been friends for years

sharing the root of a common name and my assistantwas upset by Emilyrsquos disappearance Conversations

could get confusing if both of them were in the room

at the same time something the young women alwayshad fun with

ldquoHowrsquos she holding uprdquo the chief asked softlyldquoI didnrsquot realize you knew how close they wererdquo

He nodded and smiled brie1047298y ldquoBelieve it or not I

know quite a bit about our little town Why donrsquot youwait on your customers out here and Irsquoll go have a

word with Emma in backrdquo

I would have loved to listen in on that interview butI still had a shop to run and I needed our customers to




know that I was on the job Besides there was nodoubt in my mind that Emma would tell me every-thing they talked about once Chief Martin was gone

ldquoSuzanne whatrsquos happenedrdquo my mother asked sixminutes later when she came bursting through the

front door of Donut Hearts She was a petite little thingbut anyone who judged her by her size was in for a

rude awakening My mother could take a stand against

a grizzly bear and a mountain lion teaming up togetherand send them both scampering for the hills

ldquoEmily Hargraves is gonerdquo I said

My mother looked shocked by the news ldquoWhat doyou mean shersquos gone Yoursquore not saying that shersquos dead

are yourdquo

I fervently hoped not ldquoNo she apparently missedan appointment with the mayor in her shop and now

everyone thinks shersquos vanished completelyrdquoMomma wasnrsquot buying that though ldquoNonsense no

one just disappearsrdquo

ldquoApparently thatrsquos exactly what happened Themayor arrived at her newsstand ten minutes after she

left here He found the door open and no sign of Em-

ily anywhererdquoldquoCouldnrsquot she have just stepped away for a whilerdquo

Momma asked

ldquoI was wondering the same thing myself but I canrsquotimagine her not locking the front door on her way out

After all the guys were all in thererdquo The ldquoguysrdquo I wasreferring to were the storersquos namesakes Cow Spots

and Moose three much beloved stuffed animals from

Emilyrsquos childhood that shersquod named her newsstandafter They now occupied a place of honor in her store



TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7

on a shelf by the register Emily took it one step fur-ther dressing her three mascots in whatever seasonalout1047297ts struck her fancy In years past theyrsquod made ap-

pearances as Santas superheroes leprechauns Uncle

Sams and a host of other charactersMomma looked hard at me for a moment ldquoAnd

how do you 1047297gure into all of thisrdquoldquoWhat makes you think Irsquom involvedrdquo I asked

trying to muster as much indignation as I could man-

age ldquoIrsquom not a part of every odd thing that happens inApril Springsrdquo

ldquoNordquo Momma said ldquobut yoursquore usually in the middle

of most of them so donrsquot bother denying itrdquoldquoWhy do you think I am this time Itrsquos pure coinci-

dence that Emily came by the shop this morningrdquo

My mother pointed outside to the police chiefrsquoscruiser ldquoPerhaps but I know Phillip wouldnrsquot ordinar-

ily be visiting you here unless it was related to businessgiven his strict dietrdquo

I wasnrsquot above using our police chiefrsquos presence to

motivate my mother to change the topic of conversa-tion ldquoYou shouldnrsquot even be here then should yourdquo

ldquoWhy ever notrdquo

ldquoIsnrsquot it bad luck to see him before your 1047297rst daterdquoldquoWe both know thatrsquos when you get married Su-

zanne enough nonsense I wonrsquot discuss my love lifewith yourdquo

ldquoFair enough as long as mine is off limits toordquo I

saidMomma chose to let that slide ldquoWhere is Jake this

weekrdquo she asked

ldquoHersquos in Dillsborordquo I answered My boyfriend wasa state police investigator As a matter of fact that was




how wersquod 1047297rst met Our dating life had been turbulentfor a while but these days the only problem we hadwas too much time apart as he traveled the state solv-

ing crime

Momma nodded ldquoThatrsquos right I read about it in thenewspaper this morning Who could imagine that some-

one might rob a train in this day and agerdquoA pair of daring bandits had robbed a recreational

train that traveled private tracks in the North Carolina

mountains sticking up its passengers car by car andthen vanishing into the woods on waiting four-wheelers

before anyone could stop them It wasnrsquot exactly the

Great Train Robbery but it was enough to spur Jakersquosboss into action It didnrsquot hurt that the governorrsquos daugh-

ter had been on the train on her honeymoon Irsquod ridden

that train more times than I could count but fortunatelyIrsquod missed that particular trip

ldquoJake said they made off with a lot of lootrdquo I saidldquoHersquos working the backcountry with dogs searching

for them right nowrdquo

ldquoThe things that man does in the course of a dayrsquosworkrdquo my mother said

ldquoDonrsquot kid yourself He loves every second of itrdquo I

saidChief Martin chose that moment to come out of the

kitchen He had a stern look on his face that quicklymelted when he saw my mother

ldquoHello Dorothy You look lovely todayrdquo

So help me I almost caught my mother blushingldquoYou should save some of that praise for laterrdquo she said

ldquoOh trust me Irsquove got plenty more where that came

fromrdquo It was odd seeing that boyish grin on the policechief I nearly told them to get a room but I kept my



TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9

mouth shut just for a change of pace He smiled broadlyat her and said ldquoIrsquoll see you at sixrdquo

A troubled look crossed my motherrsquos face ldquoShould

you be going out on a date with me when yoursquore just

beginning a new case If yoursquod rather postpone andkeep searching for Emily Irsquod understand completelyrdquo

ldquoNot on your liferdquo he said ldquoIrsquom not willing to waitanother minute for our 1047297rst date Believe me Irsquove

waited long enoughrdquo That much was true the man had

been pining over my mother since theyrsquod been in gradeschool together In a softer voice he added ldquoBesides

Irsquom not even certain this is a real case Emilyrsquos a grown

woman and until we hear differently Irsquom not jumpingto any conclusions about where she might berdquo

I was happy my mother was going out again but I

didnrsquot need to hear any more from them at the momentldquoChief did you need me for anything elserdquo I asked

He looked surprised to see me still standing thereldquoWhat No wersquore 1047297nished at least for nowrdquo

ldquoGood If yoursquoll excuse me Irsquove got work to dordquo

That was a big whopping lie since we didnrsquot have asingle customer waiting to be served and Emma clearly

had things in back under control but I wasnrsquot all that

crazy about having the police cruiser parked in front ofmy shop no matter what folks thought about the fond

relationship that existed between cops and donutsldquoYes Irsquod better be moving on myselfrdquo I couldnrsquot

believe it when he tipped the brim of an imaginary hat

to my mother and I was about to say something whenMomma said ldquoIrsquoll see you this evening Philliprdquo

ldquoI canrsquot waitrdquo he said as he left the shop

After he was gone Momma said ldquoIrsquom afraid yoursquollbe on your own for dinner tonight Suzannerdquo




ldquoThatrsquos 1047297nerdquo I said ldquoIrsquove already got plans myselfrdquoldquoJakersquos not going to have time to come back to

April Springs just to take you out to eat is herdquo

I shook my head ldquoNo but itrsquos the next best thing

Grace and I are going out on the townrdquo Grace Gaugewas my best friend and frequent coconspirator She

liked nothing more than digging into an investigationwith me but things had been quiet lately

At least they had been until Emily stepped away

from her shop without telling anyone where she wasgoing

I was just getting ready to close the donut shop for theday at the crack of noon when something caught my

eye outside A man was approaching Donut Hearts

with a halting limping gait and for a moment I didnrsquotrecognize him But as he got closer I saw that it was

George Morris a retired cop and good friend who hadbeen injured not in the line of duty but following a

lead for me Irsquod been overwhelmed with guilt since his

accident No ldquoaccidentrdquo wasnrsquot the right word His in- jury had resulted from a purposeful event and my part

in causing it was something I still had a hard time com-

ing to grips withI rushed to open the door for him and did my best to

hide the sadness I felt when I saw him With my bravest

smile I said ldquoGeorge yoursquore looking goodrdquoHe grinned at me ldquoSuzanne yoursquore lying through

your teeth but I appreciate the sentiment How areyourdquo

ldquoThatrsquos what I should be asking yourdquo I said as I

stepped aside and let him in



BUY THE BOOK NOW

AmazonBarnes amp Noble

IndieBound

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOK

macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS



This is a work of 1047297ction All of the characters organizations and eventsportrayed in this novel are either products of the authorrsquos imagination orare used 1047297ctitiously

983124983122983105983111983113983107 983124983119983120983120983113983118983111983123

Copyright copy 2011 by Jessica BeckExcerpt from Killer Crullers copyright copy 2011 by Jessica Beck

All rights reserved

For information address St Martinrsquos Press 175 Fifth Avenue New YorkNY 10010

ISBN 978-0-312-54109-5

Printed in the United States of America

St Martinrsquos Paperbacks edition September 2011

St Martinrsquos Paperbacks are published by St Martinrsquos Press 175 Fifth

Avenue New York NY 10010

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

NOTE If you purchased this book without a cover you should beaware that this book is stolen property It was reported as ldquounsoldand destroyedrdquo to the publisher and neither the author nor thepublisher has received any payment for this ldquostripped bookrdquo



CHAPTER 1







































TRAGIC TOPPINGS 3









thingsrdquo





riousrdquo
































TRAGIC TOPPINGS 5































are yourdquo







Momma asked







TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7



















weekrdquo she asked






ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS



CHAPTER 1







































TRAGIC TOPPINGS 3









thingsrdquo





riousrdquo
































TRAGIC TOPPINGS 5































are yourdquo







Momma asked







TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7



















weekrdquo she asked






ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS


























TRAGIC TOPPINGS 3









thingsrdquo





riousrdquo
































TRAGIC TOPPINGS 5































are yourdquo







Momma asked







TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7



















weekrdquo she asked






ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS


























TRAGIC TOPPINGS 5































are yourdquo







Momma asked







TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7



















weekrdquo she asked






ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS











are yourdquo







Momma asked







TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7



















weekrdquo she asked






ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS



TRAGIC TOPPINGS 7



















weekrdquo she asked






ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS





ing crime





















TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS



TRAGIC TOPPINGS 9















































BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS


























BUY THE BOOK NOW


IndieBound


macmillancom

TRAGIC TOPPINGS

tragic toppings; a donut shop mystery

Documents