Free A Burned Out Baker: Classic Diner Mystery #7 (The Classic Diner Mysteries) by Jessica Beck

you want to.”
    “Are you really going to listen to Kenny Starnes?” Moose asked him. “We both know that the man has had it in for me for what feels like a hundred years.”
    The sheriff shrugged. “The thing is, everything he said made perfect sense. Why else would you and Victoria keep digging into the murders that happen around here? It’s clear that you don’t have any faith in my ability to solve them, so it’s the next logical step for you to run for sheriff yourself.”
    “It might be if I ever had the slightest interest in holding down another job, any job. The last thing I want to do is to run for a political office. It would be bad enough campaigning, but what if the worst-case scenario happened and I actually won? Do you think for one second that I’d want any part of your job?”
    “Then why do you keep investigating murders?” the sheriff asked.
    “Sheriff, my granddaughter and I have to get involved. If we don’t, folks around here are going to assume that one of us killed Barry Jackson. Who knows? Maybe they think that we did it together. I don’t have a clue. All I do know is that Victoria and I stay away from any crime that doesn’t directly involve one of us, or a member of our family. Everyone knows that Barry threatened to take away The Charming Moose the night before he died, and worse yet, I threatened him. One of the EMTs who overheard us has been happy to spread that little tidbit around town. My granddaughter and I just want to clear our names.”
    “Then why don’t you let me handle the case?”
    It was a fair point, but I knew why we dug in ourselves. I was about to explain when I thought better of it and kept my mouth shut.
    After all, this was Moose’s battle, not mine.
    “Sheriff, people will tell us things that they’d never dare mention to you, and you know it,” Moose said. “Besides, between my granddaughter and me, we’ve got ties to every part of this community, not just the law-abiding folks.”
    “Are you saying that you knowingly associate with riffraff?” the sheriff asked with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
    “You’ve been in our diner,” Moose said amiably. “As long as our customers pay for their meals and don’t make trouble, we don’t turn anyone away. Over the years, that’s gotten us connections in all sorts of places that you might not have access to yourself in your official capacity.” Moose put a hand on the sheriff’s shoulder as he added, “I swear to you, I’m not running, okay?”
    The sheriff seemed to think about it for a full ten seconds before he spoke, and then finally, he nodded. “Okay. Thanks for clearing that up. Sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusions.”
    “With Kenny whispering in your ear, how could you not? Are we still good?”
    “We are,” the sheriff said.
    “Does that mean that you’re not bringing in reinforcements from the state police?” Moose asked him.
    “How did you hear about that?” he asked pointedly.
    “Hey, it’s a small town. Word gets around. So, was it just an idle threat?”
    Sheriff Croft frowned. “No, it’s still happening.”
    “Between the three of us, we can solve this case without any help from the outside,” Moose said.
    “Maybe so, but I need to show folks that I can act decisively, and that’s what I’m going to do. If nobody’s solved this case within forty-eight hours, I’m calling in the big guns. Now, if you two will excuse me, I’ve got to run.” He started to leave, and then he stopped and looked at me for a second. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. See you later, Victoria.”
    “Good-bye,” I said.
    He grinned. “The real reason I spoke to you was that I just wanted to be sure that you hadn’t lost the power of speech. You never said a word during that entire conversation.”
    “Hey, I don’t have to talk all of the time,” I said in mock protest.
    Both the sheriff and my grandfather laughed, and instead of snapping at both of them, I joined