Sinister Sprinkles Part 9

He nodded. "I guarantee it. I can't say it will work throughout the house, but he won't get back in through this door."

"That's all I ask," Grace said.

"Let me get a few tools from my truck," he said. "I'll be right back."

As he walked out to his pickup, I said, "You'd never know the town was in turmoil all around him, would you?"

"That's what I like about him. He's so calm all of the time."

Tim came back with large canvas tool bag filled with a cordless screwdriver, a well-worn handsaw, a hammer and chisel, and a piece of wood a little bigger than the one someone had shattered. As he removed the remnants of the old wood with his handsaw, I swear I heard him whistling.

"You don't mind if we watch, do you?" I asked.

"No, ma'am, I never said 'no' to an audience." Then he looked at me and grinned. "But if you start giving me advice on how to fix this, the bill starts to double by the minute. I like to call it my irritation tax."

"I won't say a word," I said. "I promise."

In no time at all, he had the new jamb piece in place-drilled to accept the locking mechanism as well-and I wondered if it was really just a patch. "Do you really have to replace that later?" I asked as he started putting his tools away.

"It's solid enough for now," he said as thumped the new wood with his hand. "But it's not a very elegant fix, is it? Don't worry, when I get finished with it, you'll never know it was broken."

Grace reached for her wallet. "How much do I owe you, Tim? I'll pay whatever you ask. I'm so grateful you came over here so quickly."

He said, "It was my pleasure. As to the bill, you know better than to ask."

"I have to pay you something," Grace protested.

"The debt I owe you is beyond payment," he said.

"You don't have to do this," Grace said.

I swear, he winked at her. "Don't have to. Want to."

After Tim was gone and Grace tested the lock a few times, I said, "You really aren't going to tell me what's going on, are you?"

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"I just ask one thing, then."

Grace looked at me expectantly. "What's that?"

"If I'm ever in a jam, will you use your pull for me?"

She laughed as she grabbed her overnight bag. "I'm not making any promises. Let's go."

"Hey, it was worth a shot," I said.

By the time we got to my house, it was clear that Grace was feeling better about the break-in, but I couldn't blame her for being upset. I hadn't lived alone for more years than I cared to remember, and though I doubted my mother could defend me in a break-in at our place, it was good to know that someone else was there all of the time.

Grace didn't have that, and though she was a strong, independent woman, I had to believe that a roommate would be better for her, even if it was just a pet.

No one should live alone, in my opinion. But it was her life, and I wasn't going to b.u.t.t into it.

Well, no more than I already did.

HOT CHOCOLATE SUPREME.

Some folks might think it's silly to bother with a personalized hot cocoa mix when there are so many good products readily available, but I worked on this recipe for months until I got the perfect explosion of flavor. It's an easy recipe to make, so during the next cool evening, give it a try!

INGREDIENTS.

* 2 cups non-fat dry powdered milk * 34 cup granulated sugar * 12 cup Hershey's Cocoa, natural unsweetened powder * 12 cup Special Dark Hershey's Cocoa, Dutch Processed powder * 12 cup powdered non-dairy creamer * A dash of salt DIRECTIONS.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well until thoroughly blended. Store in an airtight container until you're ready to use it.

When you are, put 14 cup of the mix into a mug, then add 34 cup of hot milk and stir until the powder is dissolved. Marshmallows are optional.

CHAPTER 5.

"Come on, you two. You'll catch pneumonia if you stay out there too long." As expected, Momma was thrilled to see that Grace was with me. Oddly enough, as Grace and I had walked down the road toward my house, the snow stopped suddenly, and I swore I could feel the temperature drop with every step. We'd taken a short cut through the park-not the most prudent decision-sinking into the drifting snow, but avoiding the longer walk around to the front of the house.

"Can you believe it stopped snowing?" I asked my mother as Grace and I took our jackets off by the back door.

"I have a feeling it's only a temporary lull," she said as she looked outside at the gray clouds.

"You could be right. Would it be okay if Grace stays with us again tonight?"

"I just a.s.sumed she would," my mother said with her gracious southern charm.

Grace asked, "Are you sure it's okay, ma'am?"

"Child, I've been cooking all day with every intention of having you with us. If you didn't show up, I was going to send Suzanne after you."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

We'd decided not to tell Momma about the break-in at Grace's house on the walk over. There was no need to worry her unnecessarily.

Momma stared hard at me for a few seconds, then asked, "Suzanne, is there something you want to tell me?"

"You look nice today," I said, wondering if she'd heard anything I didn't want her to know, which could be just about anything.

She scolded me, "You didn't say a word about what happened at Grace's house. Are you trying to s.h.i.+eld me from the world again? Young lady, need I remind you that I was handling things before you were a glimmer in my eye? I'll continue to do so for the rest of my life. You should know better than hold anything back from me."

I smiled. "You know, I really should. I don't know why I'm so surprised that you already knew about what happened. This town has one big mouth." I wanted to know who had said anything to her, but the time for subtle interrogation was long gone. "Who told you, anyway?"

Jake Bishop stepped out of the dining room and smiled at me. "I did. I heard it on my radio while I was having coffee with your mother."

Jake was tall and thin, with sandy blond hair that made me want to run my fingers through it, but I wasn't about to do that at the moment. He'd been distant lately, not making nearly enough effort to spend time with me. I knew he was busy, but so was I, and I was willing to make changes in my schedule for him. Well, as long as it didn't interfere with my donuts. And that pretty much took a big chunk out of every day, seven days a week. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been as one-sided as I liked to think.

I gave him my best hug, but he didn't reciprocate nearly enough to satisfy me.

Then I looked into his eyes, and I knew there was something going on.

In a somber voice, he asked, "Suzanne, do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

"Uh oh," Grace said softly beside me, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agreed with.

Momma said, "Grace, come help me with the mashed potatoes. I've got too much to do in that kitchen by myself."

"Glad to," Grace said.

Before she and Momma disappeared into the kitchen, my mother asked, "Will you be staying as well, Jacob?"

"No, ma'am, I have to be in Asheville tonight, so I need to get going soon. Thanks for the offer, though." There was a drawn look in his eyes that told me he wasn't there to deliver any good news.

"You know that you're always welcome here," she said, and then it was just the two of us.

"What's wrong, Jake?" I asked, wondering what made him look so solemnly at me.

"We need to talk," he said flatly, and I felt the bottom suddenly drop out of the day. "I can't do this anymore. I'm so sorry. It's not you, it's me."

"Which means it's really me," I said. "Go ahead, I'm tough. Tell me the truth. You owe me at least that much." I felt my tears start to come, but I forced them to at least wait until he was gone.

I could swear that he was going to cry, but that didn't make sense. After all, he was the one ending it.

After a moment, he composed himself and said, "I guess what it all boils down to is that I'm still in love with my wife. Before you say a word, I know how crazy it sounds. Don't think I don't realize she's not coming back. When she died, my heart couldn't let her go. I thought I could make a fresh start of it with you, that I could get my life back, but her memory is just too strong. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

And then he did start to cry, something that was hard to imagine from this tough state police inspector. I moved toward him and hugged Jake, stroking the back of his head as he cried softly, and to my surprise, I found my tears suddenly joining his.

After what seemed like forever, I stroked his hair for the last time and said, "Jake, don't feel bad about this. You can't help what's in your heart. I'm just sorry it didn't work out between us."

"So am I, Suzanne. More than you'll ever know."

He wiped the tears away from his cheeks with the back of his hand, started to touch mine, but then pulled away at the last second. After a moment, he said, "I really do need to be going. I'm sorry I can't stay."

"What's so important in Asheville? I figured you might be called on to investigate the murder here in town."

"I was, originally. But as I drove here from Raleigh, a town councilman was murdered in his office in Asheville, and April Springs got b.u.mped."

I walked him to the door with a heaviness overtaking my heart with every step.

We said a nearly silent good-bye, and then he was gone.

As his cruiser pulled out of the driveway, I let out another stream of tears before I finally got my emotions back together. I was really crying more for what might have been than because Jake had just broken up with me. We'd dated enough so that we were comfortable with each other, but I'd never been sure that he'd end up being the great love of my life. I'd tried and failed to make a marriage work with Max, and for a long time, I'd told myself that I was through with that particular inst.i.tution, but lately, I wasn't so sure. It wasn't that I needed a man in my life-I managed just fine on my own-but I seemed to be happier when there was someone I could look forward to seeing, even on the unpredictable basis my relations.h.i.+p with Jake had been founded on.

I dried my tears, then went into the powder room to dash cold water on my face before I walked into the kitchen. I was nearly at the door, but paused to take a deep breath before allowing myself to face the gauntlet of Grace and my mother. I knew Jake's reason for coming would be the elephant in the room that n.o.body wanted to talk about, so I decided to come clean and get it all out at once.

"Jake just broke up with me," I said.

"Suzanne, I'm so sorry," Grace said as she started toward me. "Are you all right?"

"Not so much right now, but I will be."

I looked at my mother, who was shockingly silent, given the bombsh.e.l.l I'd just dropped. "Do you have anything to add, Momma?"

She frowned, then asked softly, "No, but I have a question. Did he give you a reason?"

I nodded. "He said he was still in love with his late wife. How do you compete with that?"

My mother put down the hot pad in her hands and hugged me, with Grace half a step behind her. Momma said, "You can't fight a ghost, Suzanne, and the sooner you found out his true feelings, the better off you are. I'm sorry, I know it's hard, but there's somebody out there who is just right for you. You're a smart, strong, beautiful woman. No matter what happens, you'll be fine."

Now I really wanted to cry. That kind of praise from my mother, though always implied, was barely ever spoken aloud. I hugged her, squeezing a little tighter than necessary, then I whispered, "Thank you," into her ear.

Momma pulled away, dabbed at a few fresh tears on my cheeks, then said, "You're most welcome. Now, if you don't mind, I need you to set the table. Go on, Grace, you can help her, I've got things under control in here now. Thanks again for your help."

"Glad to pitch in," she said as we walked out into the dining room.

"She barely let me hold a spatula in there," Grace said softly. "That woman reigns in her domain, doesn't she?"

"She always has," I said.

Grace looked into my eyes. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm a little beat up, sure," I said. "But I'll be okay. Jake was right, and I think I knew it all along myself. I feel bad for him, if you want to know the truth."

"I guess it's tough being haunted by someone you loved," Grace said.

"I didn't say she came back as a ghost or anything."

"Suzanne, there are more ways of being haunted by your past than being visited by specters." She looked at the bare table, then added, "We'd better get busy. Unless I miss my guess, dinner will soon be served."

"What are we having? Did you manage to get that out of her?"