Read A Killer Cake for Free Online Page B

you?”
    “We’d never do that,” I said.
    “Just because we never thought of it before,
but we’re going tape recorder shopping as soon as you leave,” my
grandfather said.
    I wasn’t sure if Moose was kidding or not,
and clearly, neither was the sheriff. “I would advise strongly
against doing that, Moose.”
    “Why? It could be very helpful at some
point.”
    “Don’t overestimate its value. We have
recordings we take that accompany signed statements that the
subject volunteered for the interview, and they still get thrown
out on technicalities sometimes. You’re just asking for trouble if
you try it, and there’s no real upside to the risk you’d be
taking.”
    “Don’t worry. We’re not going to do it.” I
turned to my grandfather and asked, “Right, Moose?”
    “Hey, it was just a thought. Don’t worry.
I’ve already forgotten it.”
    The sheriff nodded, and then he said, “Now,
if you two will excuse me, I’ve got some suspects to
interview.”
    “Who are you going to start with first?”
Moose asked, clearly eager to get started with our own
investigation.
    “Do we honestly have to have this
conversation again so soon? At least for now, I want you both to
stay away from James Manchester, Sylvia Jones, and her son, Asher.
Do we understand each other?”
    “How long is ‘for now’?” I asked him. “Six
hours? Eight?”
    “What? No. Days. I’m talking days.”
    “Well, we both know that’s not going to
happen, so there’s no use pretending that it is,” Moose said, and
for once, I kept my mouth shut. I happened to agree with him. If
the sheriff tried to take every suspect away from us, we’d be left
out in the cold, and the threat to our diner’s reputation wouldn’t
allow us to sit idly by and trust the sheriff to clear our good
family name.
    The sheriff wasn’t all that happy with us,
but I agreed with my grandfather. This was not the time to back
down. “How about two days, then?” he suggested.
    “We’ll stay away until tomorrow morning,”
Moose countered.
    “Noon tomorrow, and that’s my final
offer.”
    Moose frowned, glanced at me, and then he saw
me nod. In an instant, he stuck out his hand. “Sold. It’s a
pleasure doing business with you, Sheriff.”
    Sheriff Croft looked bemused as he took my
grandfather’s hand and shook it. “I have a hunch my life would be a
whole lot easier if I just locked you both up and forgot where I
put the key.”
    “We all know that you’d never do that, no
matter how tempted you might be,” I said with a grin as the front
door opened, “but if you ever decide to, Rebecca will have us out
in a heartbeat, and nobody will be happy after that.”
    “Did someone just mention my name?” my best
friend asked as she walked into the diner.
    “Speak of the devil, and he appears,” Moose
said with a grin.
    “Actually, she appears,” Rebecca said
with a grin. “Was there something I could do for you, Sheriff?”
    “I was just leaving, counselor,” he said, and
did as he promised.
    After the sheriff was gone, Rebecca asked,
“What was that all about? Or do I really want to know?”
    “Sometimes ignorance is bliss,” I said. “It’s
nice to see you. To what do we owe the pleasure?”
    “What do you mean?” she asked. “I’m here all
the time.”
    “Not that often,” I corrected her, “and
rarely in the afternoon.”
    “What can I say?” she asked with a smile. “I
just felt like playing a little hooky. Care to join me, or are you
too busy with your murder investigation?”
    “How did you know we were investigating Roy
Thompson’s murder?”
    “Come on. He died eating a slice of your
cake. Why wouldn’t you dig into it? Was that why the sheriff was
here? Did he tell you to stay out of it?”
    “He did, but just for twenty-one hours,” I
said.
    “Then you have time for a little shopping,”
Rebecca said.
    I looked at Moose. “What do you think? We
don’t have much to go on without those three suspects. I can