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  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 2016 by Guardian Publishing Group - All rights reserved.

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  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 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 1

  Dark tables and checkered plastic seats decorated Randy’s Burger Bar. The décor had changed since the last time Heather had been to the place, but the atmosphere had improved, at least.

  “It’s that quiet, tonight,” she said and smiled at her hubby. She turned that grin on their dinner companion, Lilly Jones.

  The young girl sat on the edge of her seat, swinging her legs back and forth, back and forth. She sucked on the end of her straw, drawing up the strawberry milkshake and glugging it down.

  “This is a good milkshake,” Lilly said. “It’s the best I’ve had so far. Apart from the ones at your place, Heather.”

  Heather insisted that Lilly called her by her first name. Whenever Lilly called her ‘aunt,' she could practically feel gray hairs sprouting at her temples.

  “Yeah, you’d better say that,” Heather replied, then winked.

  “I should save the rest of mine, and then you can take it home for Dave. He’ll like it too.” Lilly shifted back in her seat, and then leaned her head against the black and white squares.

  “Don’t you worry about Dave, he’s had enough fattening treats to last him a lifetime,” Heather said.

  Ryan snorted. “He stole my beef jerky, last night. Right outta the cupboard. I have no idea how he got in there. I swear he’s learned how to unlock doors now.”

  “I told you. That dog is devious when it comes to his tummy.” Heather sighed. She took a sip of her soda and the fizz trickled down the back of her throat. “Enough about doggy Dave,” she said, “let’s talk about you, Lils.”

  “What about me?” Lilly had been closed off since her father’s arrest. And no small wonder. He’d murdered and innocent woman and treated his daughter like a slave in their home.

  “How are you enjoying life with Bill and Colleen?” Heather asked.

  “The Foster Folks,” Lilly said, and flashed a sly grin. “That’s what I call them when they can’t hear me. They’re okay, I guess. A little boring.”

  “Boring is good. Trust me.” Ryan craned his neck, scanning the restaurant for their waiter, of course.

  “I dunno. They make a lot of lasagnas, so that’s okay. But yeah, I guess I just want to have a little more fun.” Lilly slurped on her milkshake.

  “Well, you should come by and visit Dave. I know he misses you already,” Heather replied. “All I have to say is ‘Lilly’ and he wags his tail like crazy. I swear it’s like he’s going to take off and helicopter into the ceiling.”

  “That would be a lot of fun,” Lilly said and grinned.

  The waiter swept to their table and placed their burgers in front of them. A Mexican chicken burger for Lilly, a good old fashioned bacon cheeseburger for Ryan and a hamburger with guacamole for Heather.

  “At last,” Ryan said and dragged the plate toward himself. “Yes, please. Cheese, check. Bacon, check.”

  “Diet?” Heather asked.

  “Never checking that box.” Her hubby lifted the burger off the plate and took a massive bite. He chewed noisily, and then groaned. “Okay, this place is definitely getting better.”

  “I told you. If you just give Randy’s a chance to find it’s –”

  Glass shattered in the kitchen, and the entire restaurant fell silent. Lilly pursed her lips and turned in her seat. Heather peered at the swinging doors at the far end of the room.

  “Probably just a chef dropping a plate,” Ryan said.

  Another clatter, this time, what sounded like a pot lid? The bang, roll, and wobble of metal on tiles reverberated through the room.

  Jung burst out of the kitchen, the doors swinging in his wake, and strode down the center aisles.

  “Hey, doesn’t that guy work at the bakery?” Lilly asked.

  Heather opened her mouth to reply, and then snapped it shut again.

  Randy, the owner of the restaurant, strode into the room. He rammed his knuckles on his hips and his expansive belly jostled in response. “This isn’t over yet, Jung!” He yelled.

  The coupled opposite Heather’s booth put down their cutlery, shared a glance, and then stared at the overweight guy in the chef’s getup.

  Randy grabbed the white hat off his head and threw it onto the tiles. “Don’t you dare walk away from me!”

  “I have nothing more to say to you,” Jung replied. He’s stopped just short of the exit; cheeks flushed, and he blinked one, two, three times in a row. “Nothing. I’m tired of all the pressure from you.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Randy boomed. “Come back into the kitchen and we can sit down and talk about this.” His beady eyes darted around the restaurant’s interior. His gaze rested on a few of his customer’s faces, then flickered away again. “There’s no need to disturb these lovely people. Sorry about this folks.”

  “That’s exactly why I’m leaving. I won’t be bullied by you anymore. I’m not going to quit my job, so stop asking.” And with that, Jung slammed out into the Hillside evening and disappeared. The front door clapped closed, and Heather flinched.

  “Quit his job?” Heather shook her head. “Why would Randy want Jung to leave Donut Delights?”

  “You should ask him,” Lilly said.

  Heather met the young girl’s gaze. Excitement shone from her liquid brown eyes. The light of adventure, for sure.

  “No, Lilly, and I don’t want you to worry about it, either. Everything’s fine.”

  “But –”

  Heather raised a finger. “Don’t make me lecture you, young lady. You know I don’t like it.”

  Lilly sighed and rolled her eyes – classic pre-teen gesture – then shrugged. “If you say so. But I wouldn’t trust that guy if I were you.”

  “Which one?” Ryan asked, around a mouthful of burger patty and cheese. Of course, he hadn’t stopped eating regardless of the altercation.

  “The chef,” Lilly said. She turned back to Randy, who’d switched from fists on the hips to idly swinging his arms by his sides. “I don’t trust him. He looks like he’s up to something.”

  Ryan lowered his voice for Heather’s ears only. “Did you transfer your sleuthing gene to her?”

  “Gosh,” Heather replied, “I hope not.”

  Investigating has its ups, but it sure had a lot of downs. And it wasn�
�t fit for a ten-year-old girl.

  Chapter 2

  Amy brushed the top of the glass counter and squinted at a smudge of glaze. She grabbed a napkin, then wiped up the mess, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth.

  “We have to be more careful handling these donuts,” she said. “The Chocolate Crunches are dripping glaze everywhere.”

  “That’s because they’re triple dipped,” Heather replied. She couldn’t help being proud of that.

  The Cinnamon Nut Crunches from the week prior had given her a bright idea. A follow-up donut – a deep-fried chocolate donut, triple dipped in a vanilla glaze and topped with homemade choc-dipped hazelnuts.

  “Triple dipped for triple the flavor,” Amy replied. She’d settled into her role in Donut Delights as if she’d been employed in the bakery for years. “So, I’ve been thinking.”

  “Oh boy, whenever you get a bright idea I start sweating.”

  “Relax, relax. There’s no need to hum a tune or anything. I’ve just realized that we’ve been eating a lot of donuts lately. Like a lot.” Amy sighed and abandoned her napkin. The glaze smudge had disappeared, granting a crystal clear view of the rows of pink, white and choc chipped lovelies below.

  “Eating donuts comes with the territory. It happens to be one of the perks around here.”

  “Oh, I know. I can’t get enough of them.” Amy patted her tummy. “And therein lays the problem. We walk with Dave once in a while –”

  “Every day,” Heather said, raising a finger.

  “Right, every day, but it’s not enough. So, uh, I’m going to buy us both a gym subscription thingy, and we’re going to start working out or doing more yoga or, I don’t know, something.”

  Heather wriggled her nose. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. Come on. It’ll be good to get some exercise,” Amy said.

  “All right, you’ve twisted my rubber arm. We can start working out. But nothing too strenuous, you know? I don’t want to break a hip.”

  “Oh my gosh, we’re not that old,” Amy replied, and clicked her tongue.

  Heather chuckled and returned to her task at the coffee machine. Eva had ordered another of her bitter black coffees. The elderly woman waved from her spot beside the sunny front window, then flipped open her handbag and brought out a weathered paperback.

  Heather finished up the coffee, then carried it through to Eva’s table.

  “Morning, Eva. How are you feeling today?”

  “Just lovely, thank you, dear. How are you?” Eva asked, and accepted the coffee. She sipped it immediately, the wrinkles around her mouth puckering up at the bitterness. “Oh, delicious. Perfect as usual.”

  “Can I get you a Choc Crunch? Everyone’s going crazy for them.”

  “Definitely. I think I deserve a treat today. Maybe two treats.” Eva winked and held up two fingers.

  “Anything for you,” Heather replied, then walked toward the counter. She paused along the way, checked on a couple of the tables. Everyone wore bright smiles or had chocolate coated lips.

  Happiness was the order of the day in Donut Delights.

  Heather stopped beside Amy and pointed at the Choc Crunches. “Eva would like two sent her table.”

  “As you say, my Queen,” Amy replied, and sank into a mock curtsy.

  “Stop that, you!” Heather swatted her on the arm.

  “Heather?” The voice stopped all shenanigans behind the counter, immediately. “Could I talk to you for a second?”

  Heather turned to Jung and put up her most encouraging smile. “Sure. What do you need to speak about?”

  Jung’s gaze darted to Amy, and he flashed his teeth – it was supposed to be a grin, but it came off as a grimace. “I’d rather talk in private if that’s okay.”

  “Say no more, princeling,” Amy replied. “I shall mount my steed and deliver these sustaining sweet rolls to the Duchess.”

  Heather’s bestie had clearly lost the plot. Still, she couldn’t help but chuckle as Amy marched off to deliver the donuts to Eva, and join her the minute the plate hit the wrought iron table.

  Jung scratched his chin, then cleared his throat. “I know you saw what happened between Randy and me, last night.”

  “I did, yeah.”

  “Right. And, I just wanted to apologize. I know that must’ve been embarrassing for you and Donut Delights.”

  “What? No way,” Heather said and flapped her hands at him. “Look, Donut Delights isn’t supposed to be your life. What happens out of work, stays out of work. Kind of like Vegas, but with less gambling, not that I’d know anything about that.”

  “Thanks,” Jung replied, and his shoulders sagged. He puffed out his cheeks then exhaled. “I just want you to know that I’d never leave the bakery to work for Randy.”

  “I didn’t doubt you for a second.”

  “Good. You see Randy’s kind of, I dunno. He’s always been my best friend. One of them, anyway, and his business has been struggling lately. They sold or their furniture a week ago, just to make ends meet.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah, and I think, in a way, he kind of blames me?” Jung gave a shake of his head, eyes downward cast. “What can you do right? Randy wants me to help him get back on track, but I can’t work for free. And I certainly don’t want to go from awesome donut recipes to hamburgers. Sweet is my thing.”

  “I hear you,” Heather replied. “And I understand. Don’t even think about it anymore. You’ll never have to worry about your position at Donut Delights. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.” She opened her arms and gestured to the room with its Parisian décor and happy customers.

  The rich scent of coffee hovered in the air.

  “Thanks,” Jung said. “Speaking of work, I’d better get back in the kitchen.” He hurried off without a backward glance.

  Chapter 3

  Heather curled her legs beneath her body and wrapped the thin blanket around her torso. Dave snored on the sofa beside her, in his favorite spot, as usual, though the TV blared a documentary in the background.

  Killer whales surrounded a patch of ice in the ocean. A seal lay atop it. The natural showdown had begun.

  “Uh oh, this won’t end well for Mr. Seal,” Heather muttered.

  She’d decided to spend the evening relaxing, rather than studying for her diploma because tomorrow was ‘leg day’ – whatever that meant. Amy had shrieked her excitement over the phone.

  ‘Leg day’ equaled a lot of spinning classes or squats or… ugh, too many exercises Heather couldn’t envision enjoying. They sounded bad for the knees.

  The front door slammed, and keys jingled in the hallways. “Honey, I’m home,” Ryan called, weariness in his tone.

  “How very suburban of you,” Heather said, then shuffled to the edge of the sofa, stretched her legs and hopped off.

  “I don’t feel very suburban. I feel like a bag of exhaustion. And that’s the best metaphor I could summon,” Ryan replied.

  Heather hurried into the hall. She wrapped her arms around Ryan’s neck, then pecked him on the lips. “What happened?”

  “Ugh, just a rough day. Another murder.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah,” Ryan said, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. “And you’ll never guess who it is, this time.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  “Let’s sit down for it,” Ryan replied. He led her into the living room, then grabbed the remote off the coffee table and muted the documentary. “Killer whales can wait, my love.”

  “I bet they won’t wait for long,” Heather said, eying the poor seal, which had managed to shimmy back along the ice in the interim.

  Ryan sat down on the sofa and stroked Dave between the ears. The doggy dearest snuffled but didn’t open his eyes.

  Heather sat next to her husband and placed her hand on his knee. “Don’t draw this out any longer. The suspense is unbearable.”

  “Randy Morton is dead. We found him in his kitchen.” />
  Heather’s jaw dropped and her pulse skyrocketed. “Are you serious? Randy? The Randy? Hamburger Bar Randy?”

  “That’s right,” Ryan replied. “And the evidence in this one is all whacked out. I’ve gotta say. I’m happy they suspended Davidson because he would’ve had a field day messing up this one.”

  “Gosh, I’m intrigued now.” Heather crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. She could barely sit still. Poor Randy. She hadn’t been close with him, but this would affect Jung. He’d probably have to take time off work to recover. Ugh, she hated it when her employees were in any form of distress.

  “Get this; Randy was strangled to death. He also had a half-eaten donut in his mouth –”

  “Oh no, not this again,” Heather said.

  “Don’t worry. You’re already clear. The approximate time of death was when we were asleep, in bed. You’ve got your alibi, right here. I was with you.”

  “Thank goodness, because I can’t handle another investigation on top of everything else, right now.” The business had exceeded her expectations, and she had another test the following week. Add in the whole ‘gym experience’ starting up, and she had a full donut tray.

  “Here’s the weirdest part of all. We found rat droppings on Randy’s chef’s whites.”

  “What?” Heather sniffed.

  “Rat droppings,” Ryan repeated.

  “Rat droppings.”

  “Yeah, you know, rat poop.”

  Heather burst out laughing in spite of the dire news. “I know what rat droppings are, love. I’m just shocked. I bet the health inspector would’ve picked up traces of that and shut down the restaurant if they’d had a problem.”

  “Yeah, I still have to investigate the leads. I just needed to get some sleep first.” Ryan licked his lips and stared at the killer whale feeding frenzy on the screen. He grimaced at the ignoble creatures. “I have something else to tell you. And something to ask you too.”

  “What is it? Ask me anything.” Heather squeezed his knee.

  “Jung is the main suspect in this case,” Ryan said. He held up his palms to forestall any complaints. “After the argument last night and the evidence that’s come to light, yeah, it’s him right now. I’m sorry.”