Assault and Batter(28)
“The dishes are done, and the kitchen floor is clean. Is there anything else I can do?”
“Would you mind running this by the bank on your way home?” I asked her as I held the bag holding our deposit up in the air.
“Happy to do it,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’ll be here,” I said as I let her out the locked door.
Grace and Emma exchanged good-byes of their own. Once Emma was gone, I turned to my best friend, and as I grabbed our leftover donuts to take with us, I said, “Let’s get started. Thanks for helping me close the shop.”
“Glad to do it. So, is it back to Max’s first?”
“It’s as good a place to start as any,” I said. “I just hope they’re both there.”
“Given that it’s not even noon yet, I’m willing to bet that they’re both still asleep.”
“You might be right. If they are, what do you say we go wake them up?”
“Lead the way. I’m right behind you,” Grace said as we walked out of the shop and locked the door behind us. Any more donutmaking would have to wait until tomorrow.
For now, it was time for us to dig into the reason someone had murdered Jude Williams.
Chapter 11
“Hey, Suzanne,” Peter Hickman said as he opened the door to Max’s place when I knocked. “If you’re looking for your ex-hubby, he’s in the shower.” Peter was wearing a bathrobe, and I held my breath hoping that it stayed together. It was obvious that he had just woken up, given his disheveled hair and his bloodshot eyes.
“That’s quite a black eye you’ve got there,” I said.
“This? It’s nothing. You should see the other guy,” Peter said.
“Is that supposed to be funny?” Grace asked with a whip in her voice.
Peter looked at her warily. “What put the burr under your saddle, Grace?” he asked her.
“Are you trying to claim that you don’t know that Jude Williams is dead?” I asked him point-blank.
Peter pursed his lips. “Now who’s saying things in bad taste?”
“It’s true, Peter. Are you telling me that you didn’t already know?” I asked.
“How am I supposed to know if you’re even telling me the truth?” Peter asked. After studying our faces, he must have finally realized that we wouldn’t joke about something like that. “It’s really true, isn’t it? How did it happen?”
Grace was about to answer when I shook my head slightly. She stopped, and I asked, “Why don’t you let me ask the questions? Why were you two fighting so publicly?”
Peter’s hand went automatically to his bruised eye. “What makes you think we were fighting?”
“Come on; we’re not stupid, Peter. We know what happened.” There was no way that he was going to bluff his way out of this one. We had reliable witnesses on our side.
“You just think you know,” Peter said. A little reluctantly, he added, “I guess you might as well come on inside. Max needs to hear this, too.”
“Why is that?” I asked him as Grace and I followed him inside.
“Because apparently he’s in this just as deeply as I am,” Peter said.
I felt my blood run cold hearing that.
It appeared that my ex was in some serious trouble, and right before he was set to marry one of my dearest friends. The fact that I’d played such a significant role in the matchmaking didn’t help matters one little bit, either.
Max walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist. He was using another one to dry his hair, and when he saw us, he grinned. “What brings you two here so bright and early?”
“Max, somebody killed Jude Williams,” Peter said before either one of us could respond.
“You got a few shots in, but you have to give the man credit. He did just as much damage to you,” Max said with that ever-present grin of his. “If anything, I’d call it a draw. Nobody won, nobody lost, and nobody certainly got killed.”
“Jude is in the morgue right now, Max,” I said. “He’s dead.”
“But I don’t understand,” my ex said. “Peter didn’t hit him that hard.”
“Actually, I’ve been trying to deny the fact that I even got into a fight with him in the first place,” Peter said. “You kind of just ruined it for me there, buddy.”
“Peter, I wasn’t the only one who saw what happened. You didn’t do anything wrong. Jude picked that fight, and we both know it.”
“Where have you two been?” I asked. “This all just happened.”
Max looked at me sheepishly as he explained, “Peter’s bachelor party idea went a little longer than we expected it to.”