Free Troubled Treats by Jessica Beck

exactly neutral when it comes to Sully.  They were seeing each other, you know.”
    “I just found out about it, but how did you know?”  It never ceased to amaze me how much my mother knew about the folks we lived amongst.
    “I have sources of my own,” she said as she walked over to her purse and retrieved a key.  It had a paper tag on it that said WAGON WHEEL, and she handed it to me.  “Just return it when you’re finished with it, please.”
    “Thanks, I will,” I said as I slipped it into my front jeans pocket.
    “Is it time to eat yet, Dot?” Phillip asked as the two men came out of the dining room together.
    “We were just waiting for you two to finish setting the table,” Momma said.
    No more was said about the murder the rest of the evening, and despite the hour, I had a lovely time.  Dinner was magnificent, which was no real surprise, and the company was delightful.  Phillip entertained us with a story from one of the old newspapers he’d stumbled across about a family of chipmunks that had nestled in an old man’s beard when it got cold, and his retelling of the tale had us all laughing by the time he finished.  I hated to break things up, but after the third time I tried to hide a yawn, Momma said, “Suzanne, you have an early day tomorrow.  Don’t mind these dishes.  Phillip and I will take care of them.”
    “Are you sure?” I protested, but it had to be clear to everyone there that it wasn’t all that sincere.
    “Positive,” she said.
    Jake looked inquiringly at me, and I nodded slightly.  He shook Phillip’s hand, and then hugged my mother.  “Dot, it was all wonderful.  Thank you.”
    “You’re very welcome,” she said.
    Before we got to the truck, Jake said, “We forgot to get the key.”
    I patted my pocket.  “I took care of it.  We got a great deal more than that, didn’t we?  I’m stuffed.  I can’t believe how much I ate.”
    “Will you still be able to get to sleep when we get home?” he asked.
    “Are you kidding?  You might have to carry me inside after I pass out on the ride home.”
    “I can do that,” he said.  “They’re good together, aren’t they?”
    “I have to admit that they’re growing on me,” I answered sleepily.
     
    I managed to stumble into the cottage on my own power, but just barely, and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.  It had been a big day, and tomorrow would be even crazier, but for the moment, all I cared about was sleeping during the little time I had left before I had to get up and go to work.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 9
     
     
    Jake was still asleep when I left the cottage the next morning, which was a very good thing as far as I was concerned.  He’d tried once to keep my hours, but we’d both known that it had been a mistake, and he’d never done it again.  As I drove the short distance to the donut shop in the dark, I kept thinking about the wagon factory.  Was there still a guard posted there, or had the police chief opened it back up?  I had the key with me, so I could look around myself if I wanted to before work.  Jake had forgotten to ask me for it, and I knew that he’d be retrieving it the moment he realized that I still had it in my possession.  Why not get a little sleuthing in before I started my day at the donut shop, if that was the case? 
    I decided to keep going past Donut Hearts and drove to the wagon factory.
    No one was posted out front, and there was no sign of a squad car there, either.
    I parked my Jeep and got out, but halfway up the steps, I glanced up toward the second floor windows and saw something that stopped me in my tracks.
    A small light was bobbing up and down up there, flickering as it passed the windows closest to the street.
    I knew that the place wasn’t haunted, no matter how many stories folks around April Springs told about the ghostly caretaker that supposedly roamed the building after midnight.
    Someone was up there, and I was determined to find out