Caramel Canvas Read online

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Recipes

  Other Books by Jessica Beck

  JESSICA BECK

  THE DONUT MYSTERIES, BOOK 39

  Caramel Canvas

  Donut Mystery #39 Caramel Canvas

  Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Beck All rights reserved.

  First Edition: January 2019

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Recipes included in this book are to be recreated at the reader’s own risk. The author is not responsible for any damage, medical or otherwise, created as a result of reproducing these recipes. It is the responsibility of the reader to ensure that none of the ingredients are detrimental to their health, and the author will not be held liable in any way for any problems that might arise from following the included recipes.

  Disclaimer:

  For the purposes of this book, the poison vanalaxis macromium is entirely fictional. The last thing this author wants to do is write a How-To manual on murder, so be advised that this fictional household cleaner is merely part of a larger piece of fiction created solely for your enjoyment.

  The First Time Ever Published!

  The 39th Donut Mystery.

  Jessica Beck is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Donut Mysteries, the Classic Diner Mysteries, the Ghost Cat Cozy Mysteries, and the Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries.

  For P & E,

  For being there for me through it all, from the very beginning!

  When Suzanne Hart returns to April Springs after being away, she learns that one of her good friends, artist Annabeth Kline, has died by accident in her studio, but as Suzanne looks deeper into the situation, it quickly becomes clear to her that Annabeth’s death was no accident!

  Chapter 1

  When my husband and I finally returned to April Springs after two solid months of a long and slow healing process for me—both for my once-broken arm and my shattered peace of mind—Jake and I soon found out that a lot had been going on in April Springs during the time we’d been away. That’s the way it is sometimes. The world keeps spinning, and people continue living their own lives, whether we are there to be a part of them or not.

  I just didn’t expect to discover that one of my dear friends had died while we’d been away.

  What made it somehow even worse was that it happened a week before Jake and I made it back into town.

  If only we’d cut our trip a few days short.

  If I’d just had the foresight to call a few people while I’d been away to tell them how much I loved them, losing her might not have felt so rotten to me.

  If. If. If.

  Wishing for what could never be was no way to live my life, ruefully hoping that I’d done things differently, and besides, I’d been in a dark place for a long time, nearly losing my own life. I’d been torn apart, and I’d needed time alone—well, with Jake anyway—to try to put myself back together again.

  I thought I’d finally managed to do it, and then I found my mother sitting on the front porch of the cottage we’d once shared. I hadn’t been expecting a welcome-home party. In fact, I’d insisted that everyone pretend I’d never even been away, but finding her grim countenance staring at me as we got out of Jake’s truck brought me crashing back to reality quicker than I’d wanted.

  “Suzanne, welcome back,” Momma said as she hugged me gently, being careful of my now-healed arm.

  “It’s okay to squeeze me tighter than that,” I said. “My arm is fine now,” I said as I demonstrated a full range of motion. The rehabilitation exercises had been tortuous at times, but I’d been determined to make myself as good as new again. After all, though most folks didn’t realize it, making donuts was a physically demanding job, and the only thing in the world I desperately wanted to do at that moment was to get back to work at Donut Hearts.

  “I can’t help myself,” she said, clinging to me a bit longer and harder than needed, even though I hadn’t seen her in so long.

  “I’ll just grab our bags while you two say hello,” Jake said, clearly trying to give us some time alone together.

  “Stay right where you are, young man,” Momma said as she broke free of me and gave my husband a quicker, though just as heartfelt, embrace than she’d given me.

  “Momma, what’s wrong?” I asked, looking deep into her eyes.

  “We don’t need to talk about it out here,” my mother said as she took my hand in hers. “Let’s go inside first. I know you didn’t want me to do anything special, but I made you a pie. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.”

  “I can personally assure you that there’s no chance of that happening, Dot,” Jake said with a wry smile. If there was anyone in the world who loved my mother’s baking more than I did, it had to be my husband.

  I looked around at the empty park that surrounded our cottage. “Momma, why are you being so mysterious? There’s no one within half a mile of us right now. Talk to me.”

  “Suzanne, I’m afraid I’ve got some terrible news. I wish I could spare you the pain on your homecoming, but you’re going to find out soon enough, and I wanted to be the one to break it to you.”

  I felt a sudden dread sweep through me. “Momma, it’s not like you to beat around the bush. Tell me what happened.” A sudden thought swept into my mind unbidden. “Did something happen to Grace or George or Trish?” I looked around. “Where’s Phillip?” Had her husband had a heart attack in our absence?

  “They’re all fine,” Momma said, squeezing my hand a little tighter than she had before. My dear sweet mother, for one moment looking every minute of her age, took a deep breath, and then she steeled herself as she said, “Suzanne, I’m so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this.

  “Annabeth Kline is dead.”

  Chapter 2

  “What do you mean, Annabeth is dead?” I asked, feeling the strength leave my legs. “What happened to her? When?” Annabeth had been a friend of mine since our school days. Once upon a time we’d both dreamed of being famous artists, and while my career path had ultimately led me into donut making, Annabeth had stayed true to her original calling. She’d had her own share of struggles along the way, even painting the donut shop window for her very first commission out of college, but she’d finally succeeded, and her art and her custom logos were all over the world now, for all of the good it ended up doing her. “She brought me a painting for the shop not two weeks ago. I didn’t even know it was ready. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure at the time that she wasn’t joking about doing it. Annabeth offered to paint it for free donuts, just like the old days.
Emma brought it over here to the cottage as soon as Annabeth delivered it, but I haven’t even seen it yet,” I explained. I’d asked for my privacy when I’d left April Springs in ruins, but Emma had ignored my request when the painting had arrived at Donut Hearts. She thought I’d want to know, but Jake had a firm but gentle conversation with her, and that phone call telling me about the painting’s delivery had been her last one to me. “How did it happen, Momma?”

  “Evidently she was climbing up into her loft in her studio when the ladder gave way. I heard that it was old and practically worn out, but she’d kept it for its charm. What made things worse was that her poor dear mother was the one who found her. Alyssa is still in shock. I tried to reach out to her a couple of times, but she politely declined. When I told her that I was going to call you to come to the funeral, she told me not to do it. She said that Annabeth had cherished your friendship, and that her daughter had recently told her that she wanted at least one of her close friends to not be a part of saying good-bye to her. It didn’t make any sense to me, but I decided to respect the sentiment. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” Momma looked as though she was the one that was about to cry.

  I put my arms around her. “It’s okay. You did the right thing.”

  “But you didn’t get to say good-bye,” Momma said through her tears.

  “I’m just happy I could do one last thing for her,” I said.

  Jake coughed politely as we all walked up onto the porch, and then he pulled out his cell phone.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “I’m cancelling the job, Suzanne.”

  “What job?” Momma asked.

  “It’s not important now,” Jake replied.

  “It surely is,” I said, putting my hand on his to stop him from making that call. “Jake, you need to do this.”

  “Suzanne, Tommy can find someone else. I need to be with you right now.” His tone of voice was emphatic, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

  “Momma, would you warm up three slices of pie for us? We’ll be inside in a minute.”

  My mother took the hint immediately. “Of course.”

  Once she was in the cottage, I turned to my husband and said, “Don’t cancel, Jake.”

  “Suzanne, you just lost your friend.”

  “She’s been gone for a week,” I said stoically. “I wouldn’t want to face her funeral without you, but that’s a moot point now. You’ve been taking care of me nonstop for two months. You need to do this for you.”

  “It wasn’t as though it was a burden or anything,” he said softly.

  “Maybe not, but I know there were times when you were ready to run away screaming,” I corrected him, not allowing him to gloss over my periods of melancholy and my intermittent sullen refusal to do my exercises.

  “Well, maybe not screaming,” he replied with the first hint of a smile I’d seen in a while.

  “But running, nonetheless,” I answered, kissing him lightly to show him that I was just teasing. “Jake, there’s another reason you should do this. I don’t have to remind you that we haven’t had any money coming in for two months while we’ve been away. Emma and Sharon have been splitting the profits from the shop, which is only fair, and you’ve been taking care of me. Honestly, the best thing I can do at the moment is get back to work, and the same thing goes for you.”

  “I don’t want to leave you,” he said softly. “I’ve really enjoyed the past two months.”

  “So have I, but don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of time together soon enough,” I replied as I patted his shoulder. “The original plan was that you were going to leave as soon as I got settled, so I don’t see any reason to change that now.”

  “I feel like a bad husband deserting you in your time of need.” He said it with such sadness in his voice that I knew I had to be gentle with him.

  “Jake, my dear sweet husband, you just spent the last two months helping me put myself back together. I’m finally whole again. You have been the best husband any woman could ask for. Now it’s time for you to go.”

  He laughed at the seeming juxtaposition of my statements. “You sure don’t mind sending mixed messages, do you?” Taking my hands in his, he asked, “Are you certain this is what you want?”

  “I’m positive,” I said.

  Jake still seemed to hesitate, and then he asked, “I can still have my pie first though, right?”

  “You can take it all with you,” I said. “Well, all that’s left, anyway.”

  My husband hugged me fiercely, and I was glad that he wasn’t afraid of hurting me. He, more than anyone, knew just how far I’d come. “I love you, young lady.”

  “I love you too, kind sir,” I answered.

  When we walked inside the cottage, Momma was waiting for us, though she was carefully pretending not to even be aware of our presence. “The pie is ready.”

  “Jake is leaving,” I said, blurting it out as was my custom.

  “Jake?” Momma asked him.

  “Dot, I agreed to take on a job in Tennessee before we knew about Annabeth. I wanted to stay, but Suzanne made some good points about why it might be good for me to go. What do you think?”

  Before my mother could answer, I stepped between the two of them. “Jake Bishop, you did not just ask my mother for her approval. I’m sure I didn’t hear that correctly.”

  Momma said seriously, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t hear anything. Do you have time for pie before you go, Jake?”

  “That would be great,” my husband said, clearly grateful for escape from the trap he’d set for himself. As I went to get us milk for the pie, I saw Momma whisper something to Jake that made him smile.

  “What are you two conspiring about?” I asked them with mock severity in my tone.

  “Nothing,” Jake said.

  “Nothing that concerns you,” Momma amended, and then she laughed, a sound I’d missed since I’d been away. “I was going to skip having any pie myself, but it smelled so good that I decided to join you, if that’s all right.”

  “All right? It’s perfect,” I said as I hugged her yet again.

  As we ate the delightful baked treat, Momma said, “Suzanne, if you don’t want to rattle around in this cottage all by yourself while Jake is gone, you’re more than welcome to come stay with Phillip and me.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I’m staying right where I am. I’ve been dying to get back to feeling truly at home again. This cottage has everything I need.”

  “Our place isn’t exactly a cave, you know,” Momma said a little defensively, and then she backpedaled. “I understand, though. This is where you grew up. Why wouldn’t you rather stay here? I can still visit you though, right?”

  “Any time,” I said, and when I saw her eyes light up, I quickly added, “within reason.”

  We all laughed at that, and too soon, our pie was gone and Jake was on his way out the door.

  “I’ll walk you out,” I said.

  “Jake, it was lovely seeing you again, however briefly,” Momma said.

  “Thanks again for the pie,” he said. “If it weren’t so good, I’d feel guilty about taking the rest of it with me, but I know you can always make more, whereas my supply is severely limited.”

  “Taking what is left is the highest compliment you can pay me,” she said.

  At the truck, Jake threw his bag onto the passenger seat I had so recently occupied myself. At least the cabin we’d been staying in had a laundry room, so I was sending him off with clean clothes. “Call me the second you get there, and be careful in that truck of yours, especially if it snows.”

  “That’s what the weight in back is for, and the snow chains, too,” he said. “I’ll be fine. Are you sure you will be?”

  “Absolutely,” I answered.

 
After one last long and lingering kiss, he was on his way. I watched until his taillights disappeared around the corner, and then I rejoined Momma inside. I loved my husband dearly, and the time we’d spent together had been priceless, but I’d meant what I’d said.

  We both needed to get on with our lives, and the sooner we made that happen, the better.

  “How are you feeling, Suzanne?” Momma asked me not a minute after Jake left.

  “I’m fine,” I said, not even pausing to think about it. I was fine, not normal, not perfect, not spectacular, but fine. It was all that I could muster at the time after all that I’d been through.

  “Talk to me, dear sweet daughter,” Momma urged.

  “It’s hard,” I finally admitted. “I’m not sure I could have put myself back together without Jake.” I was suddenly aware of how that must sound to her. “I don’t mean that you couldn’t have done it,” I quickly amended.

  Momma smiled softly. “Suzanne, if your husband isn’t the main source of stability in your life, you probably chose the wrong man. I heartily approve of him, you know, as if it matters at this point.”

  “What did you whisper to him?” I asked her, suddenly needing to hear her answer.

  “I promised him that we would take care of you while he was gone,” Momma said, and then, before I could respond, she quickly added, “Not that you need all that much taking care of. I know you’re a grown woman, but I still can’t help thinking of you at times as my little girl. Sometimes I find myself wishing that I could take you in my lap, kiss your booboo, hold you tight, and tell you how much I love you.”

  “You can still do all of that,” I said with a smile. “Though I might crush you a bit at this weight.”

  It was her turn to laugh. “I’m willing to risk the potential injuries if you need it,” she answered, “though if you ask me, you’re practically wasting away.”