Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 18 - Dangerous Dough (22 page)

Chapter 30

I dove on top of
him, and as I did, I felt some satisfaction that Grace was just a split second
behind me.
 
I used every dirty trick
I’d ever thought about, clawing for his eyes, his throat, basically anything
vulnerable that I could reach.
 
I
was proud that Grace fought equally hard.

Unfortunately, Durant
was stronger than both of us combined.

The man threw us
off as though we were rag dolls.

“You’re both dead
now,” he snarled as he dove into the snow looking for his gun.

“Not if we find
it first!” I shouted, and Grace and I scrambled for it as well.

Where had it
gone?
 
I was about to give up hope
of ever finding it when my hand brushed against something, and I felt a moment
of sheer joy.

It was quickly
quashed when I realized that it was just another brittle, fallen limb.

When I looked up,
I saw Officer Craig Durant standing over us, and worst of all, the gun was now
back in his hand.

“I warned
you.
 
This is going to hurt,” he
said.

And then I heard
the shot.

Only it hadn’t
been meant for me.

Or even for
Grace.

As Officer Durant
collapsed in the snow, a growing red stain spreading out from his chest, I
heard Jake say, “Thank goodness we got to you in time.”

As my husband was
lifting me up in his arms, I saw Chief Grant doing the same thing with Grace,
and I let the fear, the dread, and all of the anguish I’d been experiencing slip
away.

Against the most
imposing odds, we were safe.

Chapter 31

“I guess you got
my message,” I said as Jake took off his jacket and wrapped me up in it.
 
We were all walking out of the woods
together now that we had convinced the men that we were fine.

“We were actually
on our way here to see Officer Durant when you called,” Jake explained as he lent
me his support.
 
“It turns out that
Alex didn’t trust him to do the right thing, after all.
 
He mailed a letter to his old boss
explaining everything.
 
There was
enough in it to ruin him, and Durant, too.
 
Apparently Alex knew his old partner better than anyone realized.
 
I’m guessing that even his own murder
wasn’t entirely surprising to him.”

“So then, does
that mean that we just went through all of this for nothing?” I asked.

“Never believe
that for an instant, Suzanne.
 
After
all, the two of you kept him occupied until we could get here,” Jake said.
 
“If you hadn’t, there was a good chance
that he would have been long gone.
 
We found a bag of money in his personal car and two different passports,
neither one with his name on them.
 
My hunch is that he was getting ready to take off when you and Grace
spooked him.”

“Why didn’t he
just go, though?
 
We wouldn’t have
been able to stop him.”

Jake
shrugged.
 
“If I had a guess, I’d
say that you managed to get under his skin.
 
He wanted to settle one last score with
you before he left.
 
After all, in
the end, you and Grace were the ones who uncovered the real clues.”

“It still doesn’t
make sense to me, but the man was clearly nuts, so I’d probably go crazy myself
trying to figure out his motivations.”

“Trust me, his
motive to get rid of his former partner was solid enough.
 
I think he was on the edge before he
killed Alex.
 
After that, all bets
were off.
 
Durant saw an opportunity
to go after you and Grace, and he took it.”

“Is he dead?” I
asked as I glanced back toward the body.

“He is.
 
Don’t worry about him now, though.
 
We can talk about all of that later.
 
Let’s get you to a doctor first so they
can check you out.”

“I’m fine,” I
insisted for the hundredth time since they’d found us.
 
“How’s Grace holding up?”

“She seems to be
okay.
 
Why do you ask?”

“We had a rough
time back there, rougher than I can ever remember,” I said, shivering again.

“Well, it’s all
behind you now.”

“Sure it is,” I
said.
 
It turned out that we didn’t have
to walk that far before we came back to my Jeep.
 
It had felt as though we’d trekked ten
miles into the forest, but in reality, it had probably only been a twentieth of
that.

“Is my Jeep
totaled?” I asked him as I stared at it surrounded by the trees.

“Not even
close.
 
If you ask me, I think it will
be easy to fix, if you still want to.
 
You know, we can afford a new car for you.”

“Thanks, but I
like the one I’ve got,” I said.

There was an
ambulance parked beside Durant’s squad car out on the road, along with Chief
Grant’s patrol car, too.
 
A pair of EMTs
rushed toward Grace and me the moment they saw us.
 
“We’re okay,” I kept saying, but they
continued to insist on fussing over us.

“Which one of you
wants to ride in the ambulance, because you’re both going to the hospital,” one
of them said.

“If we go, then we
go together,” Grace said, and I nodded in agreement.

“Fine, but we
need to head out right now.”

As we climbed in
back, Jake said, “We’ll be right behind you.”

“See you soon,” I
said.

As we rode to the
hospital, Grace squeezed my free hand that wasn’t being monitored by the
closest EMT.
 
“That’s it,
Suzanne.
 
I’m finished.”

“Me, too,” I
agreed.
 
“After we get back home,
I’m taking a long, hot bath, and then I’m going to sleep for a week.”

“That’s not what
I meant,” Grace insisted.
 
“I can’t
go through that again.
 
I’ll always
be your best friend, but I’m not going to investigate any more murders with
you.”

“We don’t have to
talk about that now,” I said, doing my best to reassure her that we were going
to be all right.

“Yes we do!” she
said loudly, causing a look of concern to spread across the EMT’s face as he
monitored her vitals.

“You both need to
take it easy,” he said gently.

“Not until she
agrees,” Grace insisted.

“I do,” I
said.
 
“Of course I agree.
 
Grace, you’ve been wonderful.
 
Thanks for everything that you’ve
done.
 
I get it.
 
I really do.
 
You’re through.”

“Are we still
best friends?” she asked, the relief clear in her voice.

“The best,” I
said, and I meant every word of it.

We rode the rest
of the way in silence, and I had time to mull over what Grace had just told me.
 
Had she meant it, or would she change
her mind in the light of a new day?
 
I couldn’t imagine investigating a murder without her, but then again,
we’d just been through a pretty traumatic experience, and it had hit her much
harder than it had me.

If she truly was
done, then I was determined to accept her resignation gracefully, no pun
intended.

I would always
have her in my life.

Just not in my
investigations.

Only time would
tell, though.

In the meantime,
I planned to celebrate every moment I had left as pure bonus time and to get
every ounce of joy out of living that I could manage.

In the end, that
was all that really mattered.

RECIPES

Oatmeal Donuts

These donuts might lack the flash and pizzazz of many of the
rich and indulgent donut recipes in my repertoire, but there are occasions when
what I want is comfort food, something warm and hearty without a lot of other
ingredients.
 
I save making these
for those brisk, cloudy days when I have time to indulge in a recipe that
doesn’t have to be finished in mere seconds and there’s no hungry crowd
clamoring for instant gratification!

Ingredients

Wet

1 egg, lightly beaten

1⁄2 cup granulated white sugar

1⁄2 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons canola oil

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

Dry

1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons oatmeal (old-fashioned, not quick)

Directions

Start by heating enough canola oil in a pot for frying to
360° while you work on the batter.
 
While the oil is heating, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the egg
lightly, and then add the sugar slowly to the mix as you beat it with a
fork.
 
Next, add the milk, oil, and
vanilla to the mix and stir. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder,
baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together—all the dry ingredients except the
oatmeal.
 
Add the dry ingredients to
the wet, mixing lightly, and then fold in the oatmeal until the batter is
smooth.

When the oil is at the right temperature, take teaspoons of
batter and rake them into the oil with another spoon. If the dough doesn’t rise
soon, gently nudge it with a chopstick, being careful not to splatter oil.
After two minutes, check the donuts for brownness, and then flip them one by
one, frying for another minute on the other side until it is done as well.
These times may vary given too many factors to count, so keep a close eye on
the donuts.

Yield: Around a dozen small donuts.

Birthday Cake
Donuts

There aren’t a great many things I love about getting older,
but having birthday cake on that special day is high on the list!
 
I’ve tried on numerous occasions to top
the standard white birthday cake in donut form, but I haven’t been able to do
it yet.
 
I wouldn’t say the icing is
optional, not with my family, but the use of candles is strictly your choice.
It’s no one’s birthday in your household, you say?
 
Well, you know that it’s got to be
someone’s birthday somewhere in the world, no matter what day you feel like
making these, so choose to celebrate a perfect stranger’s special day with your
very own birthday cake donuts!

Easy Version

1 box birthday cake mix, your choice (we prefer Duncan Hines
Classic White, but any boxed mix will do just fine)

1 cup water, lukewarm

1/4 cup canola oil

3 egg whites

1 container white icing (not optional, at least not for me!)

Follow the instructions for mixing on the back of the box,
but to bake these, use your donut maker or a donut pan in your oven.
 
The presentation is what makes these
donuts instead of cupcakes, but hey, who are we kidding?
 
They are delicious no matter what shape
or form they may take.

Using a cookie scoop, drop walnut-sized portions of batter
into small muffin tins or your donut maker, and bake at 365°F for 6 to 10
minutes, or until golden brown. Top with white icing while the donuts are hot.

Yield: 6–10 small donuts.

A Lovely Scented Donut

Suzanne may be a professional donutmaker in my novels, but I
can assure you all that I am not.
 
However, I do have the hearty enthusiasm that many other amateur bakers
share, and I can’t wait to experiment with new variations to my standard donut
recipes.
 
I stumbled upon this one
on a rainy day with donuts on my mind, and after a few attempts, I found this
combination perfectly delightful.

Ingredients

Wet

1 egg, lightly beaten

3⁄4 cup whole milk

1⁄2 cup white granulated sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Dry

1 1⁄2 to 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, depending on
desired consistency

2 teaspoons apple pie spice mix (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg,
and ginger)

1 teaspoon baking powder

A dash of salt

Directions

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg thoroughly, then add
the other wet ingredients (whole milk, sugar, and melted butter), mixing until
it is all incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, apple pie
spice mix, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet,
mixing well until you have a smooth, consistent batter.

Using two tablespoons, drop walnut-sized portions of batter
onto a cookie sheet, donut mold, or in your donut maker, and bake at 350°F for
9 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Yield: 8–10 small donuts.

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