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

from you and your friend.”
    As I started to follow him, I told Grace, “Tell Stephen we need him right now.”
    That got his attention. He stopped and turned toward me, and there was an ugly look on his face that gave me chills. “I’m only going to say this one time. Butt out of this, donut lady. You’re in over your head.”
    “I often am, but that isn’t going to keep me from finding out what really happened to my friend,” I said, standing my ground.
    “Suit yourself, but you’ve been warned.”
    He kept going, and I started to follow him again when Grace grabbed my arm.
    I tried to free myself, but she wouldn’t let go. “What are you doing?”
    “Saving you from yourself, probably,” she said. “Suzanne, that was an honest-to-goodness threat. Let Stephen handle it.”
    “Where is he, by the way?” I asked as I calmed down a little. When I was pushed, I tended to push back, but Grace was right. It was time to let a professional deal with this man. Unless I missed my guess, he’d seen plenty of trouble in his life, and had no doubt caused as much himself.
    “There’s a wreck outside of town. He’s got his hands full at the moment, but he’ll be here as soon as he can.”
    I looked back for the stranger who’d threatened me, but he was already gone.
    Sooner or later we’d have to find a way to deal with him, but at the moment, Gladys had given us a few other folks to speak with. I wasn’t about to be driven off this case, or any other. If I gave in to bullies, I might as well stop investigating on my own, and this was too important for me to walk away from.
    “What should we do in the meantime?” Grace asked me.
    “We need to speak with Barry Vance and Donald Rand,” I said. “Any preferences as to which one we tackle first?”
    “That’s a little like asking me if I’d like to get punched in the face or kicked in the ribs, isn’t it?” she asked me with a bit of a frown.
    “Unfortunately, this time both of the suspects we know aren’t very nice people,” I said. “If you don’t have a preference, let’s go see Donald first.”
    “Why the investor instead of the mailman?” Grace asked as we walked to my Jeep and got in.
    “It’s simple, really. At least we know where he usually is this time of day. Barry could be anywhere, but chances are good that we’ll find Donald Rand in his cheesy little office in the strip mall.”
    “Then let’s go,” she said.

    But our plans changed abruptly, as they had a way of doing sometimes. We were just reaching the heart of town when I saw the mailman walking his route, and I quickly pulled the Jeep over so we could speak with him first after all. Grace had been on her phone texting someone about something, and she looked up with alarm as I changed direction and movement so suddenly. “What’s going on, Suzanne?”
    “There’s Barry,” I said. “Do you want to come with me, or should I handle him alone? He might be more willing to talk if there’s just one of us.”
    “I suppose it’s worth a shot, but if you don’t feel like tackling him alone, give me three minutes to finish with this. I’ll be glad to join you,” she said as she frowned. “I’m just trying to put out a fire at work so I can keep helping you.”
    “You do that, I’ll handle this,” I said.
    “Are you sure?”
    “No worries. If I get in trouble, I’ll just scream,” I said with a grin. “Besides, what’s he going to do to me? This is about as public as it gets in April Springs.” We were near the clock, and right across the street from city hall. It would be a stupid place to attack me, even if Barry felt the impulse.
    “Promise?” she asked.
    “I promise.”
    “Okay. Should I join you when I’m finished with this?”
    “No, just wait here. I shouldn’t be long.”
    I walked over to Barry, who was listening to something on his iPod as he walked his route. I doubted that was completely kosher, but what did I care? I wasn’t there to enforce the