Free Donut Shop Mystery 25 - Devil's Food Defense by Jessica Beck

do that. If the killer didn’t find what they were looking for when they came after Gray, how long is it going to take them to come looking for me? I have half a mind to leave town until this all blows over, but I can’t right now! The Food Bank needs me, and I won’t let a killer run me off.” She seemed to find a new level of resolve as she said it. “It’s nearly time for me to go to work,” she said. “I’ve told you all that I can. Find whoever did this to Gray, ladies. He might not have deserved a free pass after what he did, but he deserved better than he got.”
    As she got up from the bench, I noticed the person hiding behind the gazebo shift again. It was the stranger who’d asked about Gray before he was murdered!
    I thanked Gladys, and then, to everyone’s surprise, I sprinted straight for the gazebo.
    The cook looked at me oddly, but I didn’t even have to clue Grace in on what I was doing. Without a word, she ran with me.
    I motioned for her to go one way, and I took the other.
    But he was too quick for us.
    He was already gone.
    How much had he heard, and why was he so intent on eavesdropping on our conversation? I didn’t know, but I was determined to find out.

Chapter 9
    “T his is crazy! He couldn’t have just vanished into thin air! Where did he go?” I asked Grace as we met at the back of the gazebo.
    “Look. Someone’s trying to sneak around the back of your cottage!” Grace said as she pointed to the retreating figure nearly hidden by the trees.
    “You swing around by your house and come up the road,” I shouted instructions as I chased after him. “I’ll keep him from backtracking.”
    “What am I supposed to do if I catch him?” Grace asked as she began to do as I’d asked.
    “Find a way to keep him there until I can get to you both,” I said as I hurried away.

    “Looking for something in particular?” I asked the man, nearly out of breath, as I found him lurking behind my cottage.
    “I was thinking about buying the place,” he said, doing his best to act nonchalant under my glaring scrutiny.
    “Oh, really. I didn’t realize that it was for sale.”
    “It’s one of those private showing things,” he said.
    “Ordinarily I might be tempted to believe you, but I know for a fact that you’re lying to me.”
    He slumped a little. “You know who really owns this place, don’t you?”
    “I do. It’s mine. Bad luck. Why were you snooping on our conversation, and why did you run away when I spotted you? You’re a smooth guy. Why didn’t you just try to lie your way out of it?”
    He grinned at me, an odd thing to see. “Believe it or not, I panicked. Whether you put any credence in it or not, I want to know what happened to Gray Vincent every bit as much as you do.”
    “I find that hard to believe,” I said as Grace rushed up to join us. She looked at me quizzically, but I shook my head. I had this under control.
    “It really doesn’t matter what you believe,” he said. “I’ve done nothing illegal here.”
    “Besides trespassing, you mean,” I said. It was an interesting choice of words for him to use. Why would he go straight to illegal? Did that mean that this man had a past history as a criminal, just the same as Gray had? Were they in on something together in the past? Perhaps the robbery gone wrong that had cost someone his life? “You wouldn’t mind showing me some identification, would you?”
    That made him chuckle. “Why in the world should I do that?”
    “If you have nothing to hide, why wouldn’t you?”
    “Because I hate busybodies like you and your friend, there,” he said. His apparent good nature had melted away when I’d asked him for ID.
    “Grace, call Chief Grant.”
    She pulled out her cellphone, and as she did, Wright started toward me. Was he going to try to attack me? I braced myself, but he walked right past me and headed back to the park.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked him.
    “Anywhere that’s away