Custard Crime: Donut Mystery #14 (The Donut Mysteries) (24 page)

“That’s even better,” Grace said.
 
“Do you think we could slip in the back
way?”

“I don’t know why not,” I said.
 
“I’m sure that Angelica would love to
have us.”

“Then what are we waiting for?
 
Let’s go get something to eat.”

Chapter 21

“You girls are both too skinny,” Angelica said as she
heaped our plates with pasta, ravioli, and salad.
 
As we’d hoped, she’d graciously invited
us into her kitchen, and had taken great pleasure in feeding us.

“They can’t eat all of that,” Sophia said as she
studied our plates.

“Nonsense.
 
Men like women with curves.”

“I don’t know what men
you’re
talking about,” Sophia said, “but Barry likes me just the
way I am.”
 
Evidently Barry was
Sophia’s latest boyfriend, though there was no shortage of young men applying
for the position.
 
And why not?
 
She was a classic Italian beauty, with
dark brown hair, luminous brown eyes, and a face that wars had started over in
history.
 
In truth, all of
Angelica’s daughters were lovely, but none of them could hold a candle to their
mother.
 

“Barry has good taste.
 
I’ll say that much for him,” Angelica
said, and then she scolded, “Sophia, keep an eye on that chicken.”

“I’m watching it, I’m watching it,” she protested.

“This is so fun,” Grace said to me after she took her
first bite.
 
“I’m glad you suggested
it.”

“You can’t beat the food
or
the ambience,” I said with a smile.
 
While it was true that the food was
unbelievably good, that was just part of it.
 
I loved being where the action was in
the kitchen, hearing the give and take between Angelica and her daughters as
they served their diners.

“So, why are you both here without the men in your
lives?” Angelica asked as she paused at the small table Grace and I were
sharing in one corner of the kitchen.

“That’s no question to ask them,” Sophia said,
chiding her mother.

“You worry about the food; I’ll take care of my
friends.”

“They’re my friends, too,” Sophia corrected her.

“You keep feeding us like this and we’ll be
everyone’s friends,” I said with a smile.
 
“To answer your question, our guys are both working on a murder case.”

Angelica crossed herself as she nodded.
 
“Evelyn Martin.
 
Of course.”
 
She hesitated, and then asked us, “You are
both working on the case yourselves, am I right?”

“We’re trying to lend a hand,” I said.

“You’re being too modest.
 
If it helps, I’m a good listener.
 
Sometimes I like to talk to work things
out myself.
 
How many suspects do
you have left on your list?” she asked as she stirred a pot of red sauce.

I glanced at Grace, who just shrugged.
 
Why not?
 
“Well, we’ve finally got it narrowed
down to Robby Chastain, the neighbor she was in a property dispute with; Julie
Gray, her cousin; Conrad Swoop, her boyfriend; and his other girlfriend, Violet
Frasier.”

“Violet?
 
I knew that she was dating Conrad, but I wasn’t aware that he was seeing
Evelyn, too, though it doesn’t surprise me one bit.
 
That man is a cad, plain and simple.”

Sophia looked up from the chicken she was watching
long enough to say, “He asked Mom out last year.
 
She turned him down, and he acted as
though it broke his heart.”

Angelica shook her head as she rolled her eyes.
 
“Acted is the correct word.
 
It was all an act, but I’m not surprised
that Violet believed him, and she probably still does.
 
She’s been craving a man’s affection and
approval since her father walked out on his family when she was only thirteen
years old.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said as I paused eating the
bite of ravioli on my fork.

Angelica’s spatula bobbed up and down as she pointed
it at me.
 
“Suspects are people,
too, Suzanne.
 
It would be good to
keep that in mind.”

“I will,” I said, and then I ate the bite.
 
“What do you think?
 
You’re from Union Square.
 
Could Violet, Julie, or Conrad have done
it?”

“Conrad wouldn’t surprise me, if he got something out
of it.
 
The man is constantly
creating schemes to separate people from their money, and this wouldn’t be the
first time that he’s gotten himself into a hole doing something that he
shouldn’t have been doing.”

“Care to give us any details about that?” Grace
asked.

“No, sadly that story is not mine to tell.”

“We understand,” I said.
 
“What about Julie or Violet?”

“Julie’s capable of just about anything,” Sophia
said.

“What are you talking about?” Angelica asked her.

“You’re not the only one with sources around town and
stories that you aren’t at liberty to tell.
 
Let’s just say that you should be
careful around her.”

“We plan to,” I said.
 
“What about Violet?”

Angelica shook her head.
 
“It just doesn’t fit.
 
Have you tried to get an alibi from
her?”

I shrugged.
 
“She won’t tell us or the police where she was when Evelyn was
murdered.”

“Maybe I can help there,” Angelica said as she put
her spatula down and wiped her hands on a towel.

“Do you think she’ll actually tell
you
?” Sophia asked.

“Why not?” Angelica asked.
 
“Besides, what can it hurt to ask?
 
I’ll be right back,” she added as she
headed for her office just off the kitchen.

“This is delicious,” I told the youngest daughter as
I finished a bite of pasta.
 
“Did
you make this, or did your mother?”

Sophia beamed with pride.
 
“Nobody can tell mine from hers.
 
None of the other girls can say that.”

“How are your sisters doing?” I asked.
 
Maria and Antonia had been waiting
tables, but we hadn’t had much time to chat.
 
Things must have really been hopping
outside in the dining room.

“They’re all fine.
 
Tiana is thinking about coming
back.
 
Isn’t that great?
 
We don’t have much time for our own
lives with the restaurant, but we all still manage to get a little fun in every
now and then.”

“Speaking of fun,” Grace said with a smile, “tell us
about this new guy you’re dating.”

She gave us a quick update as her mother came out of
her office, looking quite pleased with herself.

“Did she actually tell you anything?” Sophia asked.

Angelica frowned.
 
“No, she wouldn’t say where she was, but
I managed to find out just the same without her help.”

“That’s amazing,” Sophia said.
 
“I really have to hand it to you.
 
You know this town like you know your
own kitchen.”

“Thank you,” Angelica said proudly.

“So, where was she?” I asked her.

“In her own twisted way, I can understand why Violet
wouldn’t want anyone to know.
 
It
turns out that she was with Digger Jones at the time that Evelyn was murdered.”

Sophia made a face.
 
“Digger?
 
Really?
 
That’s just gross.”

Angelica looked at us as she explained, “Digger has
some hygiene problems.”

“That’s like saying that the Grand Canyon is a little
hole in the ground,” Sophia said.

“The chicken needs you,” Angelica reminded her
daughter.

“I think it’s long past needing anyone or anything,”
Sophia said.

“Hang on a second,” I said.
 
“Are you telling me that Violet would
rather be considered a murder suspect than for folks to know that she was with
this Digger guy?”

“She’s clearly trying to protect her relationship
with Conrad,” Angelica said.

“Then she’s got an odd way of going about it,” Grace
said.

“She was angry with Conrad for dating Evelyn,
too.
 
This was her plan to get
revenge.
 
Only with Evelyn out of
the picture, Violet would rather go to jail than tell him the truth now.”

“I’ll have to tell Jake about this.
 
Is that okay with you?” I asked
Angelica.
 
“He needs to know.”

She thought about it, and then she shrugged.
 
“I understand, but I can’t tell you who
told me about Violet and Digger.”

“I bet Digger has been telling everybody he sees,”
Sophia said, but she still kept her gaze on the chicken, poking it lightly with
the back of her tongs before turning it over in the pan for the other side to
sear.

“I don’t care how you found out, as long as Jake
hears about this.
 
Will you excuse
me for one second?”

Angelica looked surprised.
 
“Are you going to tell him right now?”

“Haven’t you heard?
 
We’re cooperating with law enforcement
these days,” Grace said with a smile before she took another bite of pasta.

“Because it’s Jake,” Angelica said.
 
“I don’t blame you.
 
I wouldn’t be able to say no to him,
either.”

“He’s going to love hearing that you said that,”
Grace said with a grin.

“He might, but we’re not going to tell him, are we,
Grace?” Angelica asked sweetly.

Grace got the message instantly.
 
“No, ma’am.
 
He won’t hear a word out of me.”

Angelica patted my best friend’s shoulder.
 
“That’s a good girl.
 
How’s your ravioli?
 
Would you like some more?”
 
Before waiting for an answer, the
restaurant owner scooped more out of the serving tray and replenished both our
plates.
 
I was quickly becoming
stuffed, but I wasn’t about to say no.

I stepped out back and called Jake.
 
After I brought him up to speed, he
said, “I’ll check it out on the way back.
 
That’s good work, Suzanne.”

“It was really just Angelica,” I said.

“Maybe so, but you knew where to go.”
 
He paused, and then he asked, “You’re
eating, too, aren’t you?”

“What are you, psychic?”

That made him laugh.
 
“Hardly.
 
If I were you, I’d be doing the same
thing.
 
I’m afraid that there’s no
way that I’ll see you tonight.”

“I know,” I said.
 
“We’ll find a way to catch up tomorrow.”

“Have a good night’s sleep,” Jake said.
 
“I love you.
 
You know that, don’t you?”

“I love you, too,” I said, and then I hung up.
 
It was the best way I knew how to end a
conversation with him, and it always left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Back inside, Angelica pointed to me and said,
“Sophia, that’s the look I want you to have someday.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said.
 
“Sophia, don’t change a thing.
 
You’re beautiful just the way you are
right now, and I know a dozen men who would be glad to verify that fact.”

She started to grin, but Angelica scolded me.
 
“None of my daughters need any more
reasons to be conceited about how pretty they may or may not be.
 
I was talking about that smile you
had.
 
It’s the look of a woman in love.”

“I can’t deny it,” I said as I sat back at my place.

“And why would you?
 
It’s a wonderful way to feel.”

“I’ve been in love before,” Sophia protested.

Angelica just shrugged.
 
“Maybe with boys, but that’s the way a
woman looks when she’s in love with a man.”

I chuckled softly.
 
“This is all so delicious,
Angelica.
 
Thank you.”

“Having you with us is thanks enough,” she said.

After Grace and I both ate until we could eat no
more, we left Napoli’s kitchen, but not before taking two massive containers filled
with food with us.
 

“This is too much,” I said to Grace once we were
outside.

“Speak for yourself.
 
I think it’s perfect.
 
I’m going to invite Stephen over for a
snack when we get back to April Springs.
 
Are you going to share yours with Jake?”

“He’s welcome to all of it, but I’m afraid I won’t
see him until tomorrow.”
 
I was a
little sad about that fact, but it would pass.
 
After all, he’d be back at the cottage
that night even if I wasn’t around to greet him, and that was more than I could
say when he was working on cases in the far reaches of our state.

As I drove back home, I asked Grace, “So, we have
three people left on our list of suspects.
 
Should we share our thoughts while we’re driving about Conrad, Julie,
and Robby?”

“It’s as good a way to pass the time as any,” Grace
said.

“Okay, let’s tackle Conrad first.
 
He had two reasons to want Evelyn dead,
the loan and his love life.
 
If he
really was with Violet all along, he might have wanted Evelyn out of the way if
things were getting serious with Violet.”