Nasty Knead: The Donut Mysteries, #46

By Jessica Beck

Nasty Knead,  Donut Mystery #46

From New York Times Bestselling Author Jessica Beck.

When former resident and once-famous country music singer Charlie Gray comes back to April Springs to try to save his career, he gets Suzanne to agree to do a donutmaking demonstration for television, but before they can go on, someone takes the opportunity to kill, and Suzanne and Jake must battle to find the murderer before they can strike again!

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica Beck
• Release date: Feb 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393917977

Jessica Beck

Jessica Beck loves donuts, and has the figure to prove it. It's amazing what people can convince themselves is all in the name of research! For each recipe featured in the donut shop mysteries, a dozen more are tried and tested. Jessica Beck is the penname of an author who has been nominated for the Agatha Award and named an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association national bestseller nearly a dozen times. When not concocting delicious treats, Beck enjoys the rare snowfalls near her home in the foothills of North Carolina.

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Donut Mystery 46 NASTY KNEAD

Copyright © 2020 by Jessica Beck

All rights reserved.

First edition: 2020

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.

The First Time Ever Published!

Nasty Knead

The 46th Donuts Mystery

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

WHEN FORMER RESIDENT and once-famous country music singer Charlie Gray comes back to April Springs to try to save his career, he gets Suzanne to agree to do a donutmaking demonstration for television, but before they can go on, someone takes the opportunity to kill, and Suzanne and Jake must battle to find the murderer before they can strike again!

This one, always and forever, is for P and E.

Chapter 1

FIRST THINGS FIRST. 

I’ve never had any desire to be famous. 

Rich maybe, but a celebrity?  No thank you. 

Our culture these days seems to mostly be about being known solely for the sake of being known, not for doing something worthwhile that’s actually noteworthy.

I have never been able to understand it.

So when an opportunity to be on television came knocking on my door at Donut Hearts, naturally I wasn’t crazy about the idea.  At least it was a baking show, but that wasn’t why I agreed.  I was going to do it for a friend, and against my better judgment, I said yes.

And someone died because of it.

Actually, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration.  It wasn’t the cooking show’s fault, but nevertheless, someone did die, and it occurred too close to home for me to ignore it.

To no one’s surprise, I found myself digging into murder yet again.

Suzanne, you’ve heard of Charlie Gray, haven’t you? Mayor George Morris asked me one day a few minutes after six, the time of morning I usually opened my donut shop.

Sure.  He was a few years behind me in school, and then he became a country music singer who made April Springs famous for about five minutes six or seven years ago.  What about him?

He’s coming back home, George said with a grin, and he wants to meet you.

I couldn’t imagine why.  Well, tell him he’s free to come by the shop any time he’d like, but he’s going to have to pay for his donuts just like everybody else does.  I’ve heard these celebrities don’t like picking up checks or paying their bills.

I’m sure that’s an exaggeration, George said with a frown.  I thought you’d be more excited than that.  Come on, he’s a hometown boy who made good out in the real world, the mayor said.  You can’t tell me you don’t hum along every time ‘April Springs Forever in My Heart’ comes on the radio.

Do they even still play that song anymore? I asked as I handed Sally Wingate a plain donut and a small cup of coffee, her usual order whenever she came in.

I heard it a few months ago, Sally said.  I will say this.  Charlie is a really handsome man.

If you say so, I told her as I made change for her.  When was the last time you actually saw him face to face?

Sally tried to remember, and then she finally said, Now that I think about it, I’m not sure that he’s been back in town since that song first came out.

I rest my case, I said as I turned to George.  "Why is he coming back, Mr. Mayor?  He doesn’t have any family left around here anymore, does he?"

That’s not the point, Suzanne.  He wants you to go on television with him.

I couldn’t help myself; I dropped the mug of coffee I’d just poured for Wilson Strong.  As I knelt down to clean up the mess, I said, I appreciate a good joke as much as the next gal, but that’s not funny, George.

"It’s not a joke, Suzanne.  He wants you to be his partner on Celebrity Bakes and Bites this week.  They’re going to shoot it here in town, and he wants you to be his partner."

"And he’s asking me now? I asked as I finished picking up the shards of the mug and started wiping up the spill itself.  Who bailed out on him at the last second?"

What makes you think you weren’t his first choice? George asked me, but I noticed that he couldn’t make eye contact with me as he asked me the question.

Come on, spill, I said with a hint of irony as I finished cleaning up the mess I’d just created.

Well, Chef Jon O was going to do it, but he had to drop out, and then Heidi Howling offered to step in, but she had to cancel, too. Thatcher Mayfield was all set to sub, but he got food poisoning at his own restaurant last night.  The truth is that they’re pretty desperate for someone now that it’s the last minute, but don’t think of it as an insult.  I heard that Charlie himself wanted someone local, and the director herself told me that she’s heard good things about you.

George, it’s not like you to lie to me.  The man’s never heard of me, has he?

I thought about the prospect of going on television and dismissed it a split second later.  I knew I was a good twelve or fifteen pounds overweight, and if it was true that the camera added ten more, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see that particular version of myself broadcast all over the airwaves.  Why put myself through that? 

All I can say is that she told me that he knew who you were, George said.  Come on, Suzanne.  It won’t take long, and think about the publicity it will generate for Donut Hearts.

And April Springs, too, I said as I studied George for a moment.  This was out of character for him making such a hard pitch.  What’s going on, Mayor?

Nothing, he said too quickly to be the truth.

George.

After seven seconds of silence, he finally admitted, Lily Hamilton is running for mayor, and if I don’t do something big, she’s probably going to beat me.

Why would Lily want to be mayor? I asked.  I’d known the woman most of my life.  Lily was the most social of social butterflies I’d ever known.  If there was a club, a group, an organization, or more than three people gathered together on the sidewalk, Lily wanted to be a part of it.  She’d inherited a substantial amount of money from her late father, enough to allow her to pursue her hobby of joining groups and causes on a full-time basis.  I could see why George might be worried.  Lily Hamilton had been created for politics, and when I thought about it, the only thing that surprised me was that she hadn’t run for office before.  George?  What did you do?

He looked so guilty it was tough for me not to laugh.  We might have gone out a few times last month, George admitted.

I wasn’t surprised.  Our mayor was one of the most eligible bachelors in town now that my ex-husband, Max, was married, and Police Chief Stephen Grant was engaged, to my best friend, Grace, no less.  George might have been a bit older than most of the other single men in town, but he was still desirable to many of the single ladies looking for a date.  What happened?

I decided to go out with Zinnia Masterson instead, he finally admitted.

You’re kidding me, I said.  Zinnia was the direct opposite of Lily: painfully shy, soft-spoken, and hard to pick out of a crowd of more than three people.

Why not?  The woman’s a real hoot, George said.

Zinnia?  Zinnia Masterson?  I wasn’t one hundred percent certain that she could even talk.

"She gets a little nervous around other people, but when we’re alone, she can’t stop talking!  You’d like her if you’d just take the trouble to get to know her, Suzanne."

For George, I would do just about anything.  Fine.  I’ll take the trouble.  Bring her by the shop, I said.

That’s the thing.  She doesn’t much like coming to town, he answered.

Well then, would it be okay if I paid her a visit at her place? I asked him.  I could bring her some treats, and we can have a friendly little chat.

George nodded.  I’ll have to get her okay on it, but I appreciate you making the effort.  So what do you say?  Will you do the show?  For April Springs?

I shook my head.  No, I’m sorry, but I won’t do it for the town, George.  Before he could say anything else, I added with a smile, But I will do it for you.

Thanks, Suzanne.  This will be great.  Charlie’s even going to put on a little concert for us after the show is over.

What’s he going to play, his greatest and only hit?  That shouldn’t take long, I said with a grin.

To be fair, he’s recorded more songs than ‘April Springs Forever in My Heart,’ George corrected me.

If you say so.  When exactly are we doing this?

I’m afraid it’s tomorrow, George said.  Almost biting his lip off, he added, You’ll have to shut the donut shop down for the day.

This just keeps getting better and better.  I’ll lose business and alienate some of my customers, but it will still help Donut Hearts out in the end, right?

Right, George said a little uncertainly.  Thanks, Suzanne.  I owe you one.  You saved my bacon agreeing to do this.

I’m just curious.  Who would you have asked next if I’d said no?

They were going to do the show in Union Square, he said with a shrug.

Gotcha.  That wouldn’t have done George any good at all if the show happened one town over.  I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.  At least I have today all to myself.

Oh, didn’t I mention it?  There’s a scout for the show on his way here from Charlotte.  He should be at the shop in around fifteen minutes.

I grinned at the mayor.  Cutting it kind of close asking me, weren’t you?

What can I say?  I like to live dangerously.

I knew that the second you asked me to be on TV, I said. 

Oh well.  How bad could it really be?

I didn’t know yet, but I had a feeling that I was about to find out.

I’m sorry, but this won’t do.  This won’t do at all, a small, skinny man with a clipboard said the second he walked into Donut Hearts.  He looked like a drowned rat, even down to his drooping nose and vanishing jawline.

Well, I like it, and that’s really all that matters, I said.  Are you by any chance from the cooking show?

CBB, yes.

"Pardon?  Oh, Celebrity Bakes and Bites.  Got it, I said as I looked around my shop.  By the way, I’m Suzanne Hart," I said as I extended my hand.

He appeared to debate whether or not he wanted to shake it, and I looked down to see if it was coated with powdered sugar or something.

Nope, it was clean.

I’m Cecil, he said after taking and releasing my hand in record time.  He produced a business card and offered it to me.  I took it and shoved it into my apron, and then I promptly forgot all about it. 

"Just out of curiosity, Cecil, why won’t my donut shop work for you?"

You’re kidding, right?  There’s barely room for you in here.  Where are we supposed to put the cameras, not to mention the rest of our staff?  How do you even bake in here, or do you make the donuts someplace else and bring them in every day?

If you think this is small, wait till you see my kitchen, I said with a grin.  It appeared I’d been given a reprieve after all.  I hated the idea of disappointing George, but I’d already started to regret agreeing to be on the show.  This was a perfect out for me if they just couldn’t use my space.

Well, at least you’re consistent.  This isn’t going to work, either, he said as he briefly studied my small kitchen in back.

Excuse me? Emma asked as she pulled out her headphones.  She’d been standing at the sink, doing dishes, and I hadn’t even had time to warn her that a staffer for the baking show was coming to the shop.

He’s thinking about filming a TV show here, I said with a smile.

Suzanne, are you really some kind of secret millionaire or something? she asked me, grinning right back at me.  "I hate to