Vanilla Vices by Jessica Beck

for me, since Jake, and Chief Martin before him, had at least been willing to cut me a little slack in my investigations, though it had taken my mother’s husband longer to warm up to me than it had Jake. Setting the dial all the way to the darkest setting, I made another copy. Sure enough, the glue showed up in freakish dark shadows, along with a great many other imperfections in the paper. I was about to look at them more closely when there was a knock on the front door of Aunt Teeks.
    It was Jeffrey Frost, and he wasn’t smiling as I walked to the door to see what the developer wanted.

Chapter 10
    I t was hard to tell what he wanted, but knowing the man even as little as I did, I realized that he wasn’t there to congratulate me on my inheritance. Maybe he wouldn’t be so argumentative if the state police inspector was there. Holding up one finger to him, I pulled out my cellphone and called my husband’s office. I didn’t have a direct number for Inspector Black, but maybe Jake had it.
    To my surprise, a woman’s voice answered. It took me a moment to recognize who it was.
    “Inspector, have you commandeered my husband’s office?”
    “Ms. Hart, I have to work from somewhere, and he’s not using it at the moment. Call him on his cellphone if you want to talk to him.” Then she hung up on me.
    I redialed the number, doing my best to keep my temper in check. When she answered, I said, “As a matter of fact, you’re the person I was looking for. I found a clue that might lead to Dan’s murderer.”
    She was silent for a moment before she spoke. “Why are you even looking into this? You’re a donut maker, not a detective.”
    “I also happen to be the executrix of Dan’s estate,” I said, trying to keep the fierceness I felt out of my voice. “I was just doing my job when I found a threatening note. You must have missed it when you were here earlier.” Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have tweaked her about it, but at that point, I was no longer in the mood to play nice.
    “That place would be impossible to inspect in a month,” she said. “What did you find, and where was it hidden?”
    After I told her, she said dryly, “You’ve already gotten your prints on it, I suppose.”
    “To be fair, I didn’t know it was a clue when I picked it up,” I said. “After that, I was very careful about how I handled it. Would you like to see it yourself, or not? I don’t have all afternoon. There are things I need to do here before I leave for the day.”
    “Don’t go anywhere, and try not to touch anything else,” she barked out at me, and before I could answer, she hung up.
    It was probably just as well. I have a feeling she wouldn’t have been too happy about whatever I might have said in reply.
    At that point, Frost banged on the door. “Sometime today, Suzanne.”
    I shook my head in disbelief. Did I have a sign on my forehead that said I would tolerate rudeness today, or was it something in my voice or even my general disposition? I had to take a modicum of garbage from the state police inspector, but I didn’t owe the developer anything.
    “Coming,” I said with my most saccharine smile. It was one I reserved for only my most obnoxious customers at Donut Hearts.
    After pretending to fiddle with the lock for a few long seconds, I finally opened the door and stepped outside, blocking Frost from coming in. “What can I do for you?”
    “I just heard you inherited this firetrap,” he said.
    “Not exactly,” I answered.
    “Are you saying that my information is bad?” The developer couldn’t believe it, and I had to wonder who his source was. News must have travelled pretty quickly for him to know about it already, and I had to ponder whether the young attorney had shared the information with him. I wouldn’t put it past her, but then again, I’d already established my dislike for the pretty young woman.
    “I’m the executrix of Dan’s estate, but whether I inherit anything depends on whether