Blueberry Spangled Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy Mystery - Book 48 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Get Early Access to My Books For FREE!

  Every two weeks you’ll get a new Cozy Novella from me absolutely FREE.

  Sign up now! http://bit.ly/SusanDGillard

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright 2017 by Guardian Publishing Group - All rights reserved.

  All rights Reserved. No part of this publication or the information in it may be quoted from or reproduced in any form by means such as printing, scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 1

  “How annoying would it be if I broke into my own rendition of She’s a Grand Old Donut?”

  Heather chuckled at her best friend Amy’s adaptation of the classic patriotic song but then replied, “I don’t think we want our customers to hear us calling the donuts old.”

  “True. Even if they’re grand, no one wants a pastry they think is stale. Of course, if they get a whiff of these yummy treats, they’ll know they’re fresh from the oven. Or fresh from the decorating table.”

  Heather admired her latest creation, a Stars and Stripes Donut. She and her staff had been kept busy making them for Memorial Day weekend. She was proud of how festive they looked but even prouder of the taste.

  “I think we’re just about finished,” Heather said, smiling as she counted the red, white and blue donuts.

  “Then I think we should celebrate and have a snack ourselves,” Amy said. She picked up a fresh donut and started singing “This donut is my donut” ignoring the refrain of “This donut is your donut” to match the song.

  “Just make sure you don’t sing that song when you deliver to the VFW Hall,” Heather said.

  “Of course,” Amy agreed. “Any songs I sing there would strictly be canon.”

  She kept humming and started swaying with her donut dance partner. Heather laughed again. She picked up a donut herself to enjoy the fruit of her labor. She enjoyed a bite and then enjoyed the thought that these patriotic creations of hers were going to be appreciated both near and far. Nearby, they would be eaten by Hillside residents in her shop and as refreshments after Memorial Day ceremonies to honor the fallen. They would also be traveling far as Heather had filled online orders. One large batch was traveling to Tennessee, and another was going all the way to Chicago.

  Her thoughts were swirling about all the online orders they had filled for the holiday and about all their travels when her assistant Jung walked into the kitchen to update them on the last order.

  “The Stars and Stripes are all loaded into the trunk. Do you want to see them off?”

  “I can’t help myself,” Heather nodded. “It’s not that I don’t trust you all—“

  Jung cut her off before she could finish. “But they’re your babies, and you need to see them get on the road. We understand. Don’t worry, boss.”

  Heather followed him outside and saw that the refrigerated truck had been filled correctly and was all set to go. Heather gave the delivery driver the “all clear” and watched as the truck drove away. Maybe it was silly to wave goodbye to them and wish items made of sugar good luck, but she didn’t care. A lot of hard work and care had gone into creating them, and she watched until the truck turned the corner.

  Then she turned to her staff that had gathered nearby.

  Her assistant Maricela looked to Heather. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

  “It does,” Heather said. “All our orders are filled. Great work! Everybody go inside and get a donut to celebrate.”

  They didn’t have to be told twice. Heather followed them as they piled inside and picked up their prizes. She appreciated the compliments they gave her on the taste but appreciated seeing their happy faces even more.

  The whole staff (of five assistants and an Amy) had come in to help with the busy time filling orders, and Heather told them they were free to have seconds after all their hard work.

  “Is everyone all set to describe the flavor if a customer asks?” Heather asked.

  “I am,” Angelica said. “But why don’t you tell us the official version?”

  Maricela nodded. “You’re so good at describing them.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment. Or if this is just because no one wants to stop eating to give the description.”

  “Which is a compliment in its own right,” Amy pointed out.

  “True,” Heather said. Truth be told, she was happy to oblige. She liked talking about her donuts as much as she enjoyed baking and eating them. “The Stars and Stripes Donut makes use of the red, white and blue color scheme. The icing is vanilla. Classic white vanilla covering it all over, and then red and blue striped across it. If you notice the sprinkles on top are all in the shape of stars. The base is also vanilla but to give it some extra flavor, there are raspberry and blueberry swirls in it.”

  As she was eating her donut, Emily Potts was still writing down the description that her boss gave. She loved to take notes about the flavors, and Heather appreciated how studious she was.

  “Add that they’ll real delicious to that description,” Jung said.

  Her other assistant Ken finished his donut and grabbed his camera. He was a wonderful photographer and took pictures for the Donut Delights website. He must have decided he needed to snap a photo now before these Stars and Stripes all disappeared.

  Heather smiled as she looked around the room. She was so grateful for her staff. They felt more like family than workers. She started to have second thoughts about taking the next day off.

  “Are you sure that you will be all right without me tomorrow?”

  After the craziness of her last few cases, Heather had been looking forward to a relaxing day of BBQ-ing with her loved ones. However, she didn’t want to abandon her staff if she was needed.

  “We’ll be fine,” Maricela assured her. “Most people will have ordered their donuts in advance, so we won’t be slammed tomorrow. And we split up the day so it’s fair and everyone has some time off.”

  “If you’re sure,” Heather said.

  “We’re sure,” Angelica seconded. “You don’t have many days off just to relax. Usually, if you’re not here, it’s because you have to help with a grisly murder case!”

  “And after last Memorial Day’s events, you deserve a break,” Ken said.

  Hea
ther had to agree with that. Last Memorial Day weekend, their favorite regular customer and close friend Eva Schneider had been attacked outside her home. Luckily she had survived and would be joining Heather for this weekend’s festivities.

  “We’ll be fine,” Emily said looking up from her notes and smiling.

  Heather was touched that her staff was so supportive. She told them that they were all finished for the day and that she and Amy would finish cleaning and closing up.

  This also gave the besties time to talk about any last minute prep they might need to do for the barbecue the next day. Amy told her how her boyfriend Jamie was overthinking what dish to bring to the event. Even though he and Amy were becoming more serious and were going to move in together, he still felt relatively new to the group and wanted to impress the Shepherds. Amy said that at first, she tried to reassure him that anything he brought would be fine, but now she enjoyed trying all the different types of macaroni salad and Jell-O shapes he had been creating.

  Heather was excited that her family and close friends would all be able to get together for a relaxing day. Even her Detective husband was able to have the day off. It was only if something really terrible happened that he would get called into duty.

  Chapter 2

  It was a beautiful day to be outside. The oppressive Texas summer heat hadn’t caught up with them yet, and a soft breeze was blowing.

  Heather happily set out donuts and lemonade while her husband Ryan manned the grill. She was often impressed with how handsome he looked wearing his detective badge, but she loved seeing him in casual wear too. Today he was wearing a grilling apron that said “Grill Skill” and a big smile. She joined him and breathed in the smell of burgers and hot dogs cooking to perfection.

  “Come to help me with the dogs?” Ryan asked.

  Heather looked around and saw that their doggy Dave was more distracted by the donuts on the table than he was by the meat. Her four-legged companion really did take after her in his love for sweets.

  “Nope,” Heather said. “I took care of dessert. You get to handle the main course. But by the smell of things, you’ve got it under control.”

  “I think our friends are opting for dessert first,” Ryan said. He indicated to Eva and her friend-attachment-at-the-hip Leila. The two older ladies had already filled their checkered paper plates with Stars and Stripes Donuts. Dave was doing his best to impress them with his doggy tricks, hoping for a sugary reward. However, Eva and Leila found it hard to part with their donuts.

  “I’m sure they’ll still enjoy the burgers. But you know that those two can’t resist my donuts.”

  “Few people can,” Ryan said, winking before he flipped the burgers.

  Their daughter Lilly was playing with her friend Nicolas and the kitten Cupcake. They had found some red and blue ribbon. They alternated between letting Cupcake paw at and chase the string, and creating a bow for her that looked pretty and patriotic in her white fur.

  “That smile of yours is threatening to take over your face,” Ryan said.

  “I can’t help being happy,” Heather said. “I love that we were all able to get together today.”

  “Me too,” Ryan said, with a smile as big as hers. “It’s nice that today I get to be just a family man and grill master instead of an investigator.”

  Heather nodded, sharing the sentiments. She loved the important work she did in helping bring killers to justice, but she also loved some quiet time with her family and friends without the stress of a case hanging over her head.

  “I have some seniority now,” Ryan said. “As long as no crazy cases come to Hillside today, we can all relax and enjoy some time together.”

  Heather was not overly superstitious, but she found herself knocking on the wood of the picnic table. Hillside had seen more than its fair share of murders, and a case was liable to appear at any time without regard for anyone’s schedule.

  They all looked up as they saw the last of their guests arriving for the barbecue. Amy and Jamie entered, weighed down with various dishes. Lilly and Nicolas stopped their game to join Heather who hurried over to help unburden her friends. Dave and Cupcake also hurried over, but their help was less helpful.

  “We just a brought a few things,” Jamie said, trying to downplay a number of items they ended up bringing. Amy rolled her eyes but then squeezed his hand.

  “It all looks delicious,” Heather assured him. She was determined to sample and compliment every single one of the dishes that he prepared – even the bright green one that she wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. Jamie was obviously trying to feel more like part of the group, and she wanted him to know that he was already accepted. He had the “Amy seal of approval,” which was generally all they needed. He also had proven to be a very nice person every other time they had gathered together.

  She thought maybe asking Jamie to complete a task would make him feel less like a guest and more like part of the family.

  “Would you mind helping Ryan out at the grill? He needs to determine the amount of cheeseburgers versus regular burgers.”

  “Sure,” Jamie said. He walked off to the grill with purpose.

  “This is a lot of food,” Heather said when he was out of earshot.

  “I started to pretend that I was packing up the kitchen sink when we left his place,” Amy said. “I think I might have made him self-conscious with my joke.”

  Heather laughed imagining the scene. “We’ll make sure he knows this is appreciated though. We do have growing kids here, and I think we’re all known for our appetites if something is delicious.”

  “I thought we were known for throwing killers behind bars,” Amy joked.

  “That too!” Heather said.

  She started arranging dishes on the table so they would be easy to spoon out.

  “The macaroni salad does look really good,” Heather said. “I’ll make sure to eat a big bite in front of him.”

  “I just wish he wouldn’t try so hard,” Amy said. “You all like him. He doesn’t have anything to prove. But I think since we decided to move in together, he’s been starting to worry more. It’s a big move for us – literally and figuratively. I think he wants to make sure everyone supports it.”

  “We do support it,” Heather said. “I’ll have buttons made if need be.”

  Amy laughed. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

  Eva and Leila joined them at the food table.

  “Did you and your young man make all of this?” Eva asked.

  “Mostly the young man,” Amy said. “He’s trying to impress everyone.”

  “It’s working,” Leila said.

  “It’s always good to have a partner that you know you won’t go hungry with,” Eva said. “Now what should we try first?”

  “As long as we save some room for more donuts at the end of the meal, I’ll fine with anything,” Leila said.

  Then Ryan and Jamie announced that the burgers were ready. The ladies chose their side dishes quickly and went over to get some hot dogs and burgers fresh off the grill.

  With full plates and happy faces, the friends sat down to enjoy their meal. They had only had a few bites when Lilly pointed to something in the distance.

  “What’s that? Do they have fireworks on Memorial Day?”

  Heather followed Lilly’s finger and looked at the bright light that was being pointed out. The light died down but was then replaced by smoke spiraling up.

  Heather shook her head. She knew it wasn’t a firework. She knew the phrase well. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

  Chapter 3

  Ryan and Heather looked at the smoke in the distance. He double-checked his phone to make sure he would hear it if he received a call.

  “We heard sirens, so we know that the fire department is over there,” Heather said, hoping that everyone was all right.

  “Part of me wants to go and see what happened,” Ryan said. “The other part of me is concerned that the other cops on duty wi
ll think that I don’t trust them to do their jobs if I show up.”

  “I suppose they’ll call you if they think a crime has been committed. It might be an accidental fire.”

  “What do you think is happening?” Amy asked as she and Jamie joined them.

  “We’re not sure,” Ryan said.

  “Maybe there was an accident with someone’s grill?” Jamie suggested.

  “If they’re not calling Ryan in, then it most likely isn’t---“

  Heather was interrupted from her hopes that maybe nobody had been injured by Ryan’s ringtone. He answered the call.

  “Shepherd,” he said, trying to conceal a frown. “I’m not too far away. I’ll be right over.”

  “What happened?” Heather asked.

  “There was an explosion. It looks like a grill was the cause of it. Good guess, Jamie.”