Tragic Toppings by Jessica Beck Page B

they’d cut Tim down from the tree, and his body was now gone. I’d been fond of the man, and I didn’t want or need another image like the one I’d seen earlier sticking in my mind.
    Chief Martin was standing to one side watching a pair of his officers scan the scene with bright handheld lights. I recognized one of them as Officer Grant, a good customer of mine and a budding friend, but I made no move to attract his attention. He was intent on what he was doing, no doubt scanning for clues, and I didn’t want the police chief to accuse me of distracting one of his officers while he was at work.
    When Grace and I walked up to him, the police chief glanced at his watch and whistled softly. “I’m impressed,” he said.
    “Thank you,” I said. “Why exactly are you impressed?”
    “It took you forty-seven minutes to come out to see what was going on. I was betting you’d be back in ten.”
    I offered him a grin. “I would have been, but Momma had baked a pie this afternoon, and you know how hard that is to resist.” It may have been mean of me to let him know that there was pie so close, but I wanted him to realize that Momma had originally meant it for him.
    “Any chance it’s cherry?” he asked, a wistful look on his face.
    “Apple,” I admitted.
    “Even better.”
    I nodded my agreement, and then I asked, “Have you found out anything about what happened to poor Tim?”
    He seemed to consider my question, and then said, “I could give you a line about an active police investigation, but what’s the use? We don’t know anything new. The doc’s called the medical examiner, and we’ve collected about all the evidence here we can. Whatever happened, it’s clear that Tim double-crossed somebody, and I’m guessing the killer lives in April Springs.”
    That assumption was beyond me. “How can you say that?”
    He shrugged. “Come on, the significance of the Patriot’s Tree hanging can’t be lost on you. It’s a spot reserved for traitors. It always has been, and I’m guessing it will be until folks forget what happened here someday.”
    I hadn’t even considered that, much to my dismay. Of course the location of the hanging was a symbol. But that begged the question, who had Tim betrayed?
    “That’s absolutely brilliant,” I said, not fully realizing that I’d said it aloud.
    He looked equally shocked by my admission. “Are you actually complimenting me, Suzanne?”
    I grinned at him. “I’m just as surprised as you must be. Thanks for sharing that, Chief.”
    “You’re welcome,” he replied. As Grace and I walked away, he added, “Tell your mother good night for me.”
    “I will,” I said.
    As soon as we were out of hearing range, Grace tugged at my arm and asked, “What was that all about?”
    I admitted, “The man deserved a compliment, and I gave him one. I didn’t see the significance of the tree in Tim’s hanging, but his insight was spot on. It’s the only reason for taking a chance and doing it out in the open that makes the slightest bit of sense. Somebody was sending a message that betrayal is not acceptable behavior. I just wish I knew who sent it.”
    “That makes two of us,” Grace said as we approached the house.
    Momma was standing on the front porch waiting for us.
    “I was coming right back,” I said. “You didn’t have to watch out for me.”
    “I wasn’t,” she said. “Suzanne, you have a telephone call.”
    “Is it Jake?” I asked.
    She bit her lower lip, and then said carefully, “Actually, it’s Max.”
    I shook my head. I knew why he was calling. The man hated having anyone upset with him, including his ex-wife. “Tell him I’ll call him back later,” I said. “I’m in no mood to deal with him tonight after what I’ve seen.”
    Momma wasn’t buying it, though. She pushed the telephone toward me and said, “You need to deal with him, Suzanne.”
    If there was anyone in April Springs who was less a fan of my ex than I was, it had to be