Bad Bites: Donut Mystery #16 (The Donut Mysteries) by Jessica Beck Page A

first
men I’ve ever known to be able to do it.”
    “Good point,” she said.   “So,
if he won donuts, where are they?   You don’t even carry a purse, and if you did, you certainly couldn’t jam
a dozen donuts into it.”
    “I was never going to claim that I had them on me,” I said with a
smile.   “Now, ring the doorbell and
let’s see what we get.”
    I was ready for one or the other of them, but when they answered the door
together, I was a little flustered.   Nathan was a former high school football player who had grown lazy over
the intervening years, and he had the paunch to prove it.   He must have been thirty pounds over his
playing weight, and he didn’t wear it very well.   Maggie, on the other hand, had kept
herself in great shape since high school.   Though she was a good twenty years my senior, I would have killed to
have that body.   Her hair was
flaming red, and it looked natural to me, though I was no expert in hair
coloring.   I wondered if she
cultivated a temper to go along with her hair color, and I had a suspicion that
I was about to find out.
    “Hello,” she said as she looked at us quizzically.   “May we help you?”
    I was at a loss how to respond when Grace spoke up.   “As a matter of fact, we’re here to help
you.   Today’s your lucky day.”
    “Me?” she asked suspiciously.  
    “Yes, you.”
    “Both of you, actually,” I interjected.   “We’ve been doing a giveaway at the
donut shop, and Nathan, you won a dozen donuts of your choice.   Do you remember putting your card in the
drawing last month?”
    Maggie frowned at her husband.   “You swore to me that you’d stopped sneaking treats.   Is this how you keep your word to me?”
    “Honestly, it was so long ago that I don’t even remember entering.”   He turned to me and said, “I’m afraid
you’ve made a mistake.”
    “You came into Donut Hearts last month,” I said, sticking with my story,
even though it was clearly getting him in trouble with his wife.   “I’m sorry it took me so long to get
back to you.”   Then I turned to
Maggie as I added, “As my way of apologizing, my friend here is giving you a mini
makeup kit as well.   That way you
both win today.”
    That got Maggie’s attention.   “Where’s my prize?   I don’t
care about the donuts, but I’ll take whatever else you’re giving away.   We’re both off work this week, but this
genius I’m married to forgot to make our hotel reservations, so we’re having a
staycation.   Have you ever heard
anything so ridiculous in your life?”
    “I don’t know,” I said, “Under the right circumstances, I think that it
could be nice.”
    “See?   That’s what I said,”
Nathan responded.
    “You say a lot, don’t you?” Maggie asked acidly, and then she spotted the
pouch in Grace’s hand.   “Is that all
I get?”  
    Before Grace could answer, Maggie snatched the case out of her hand and
opened it.   After peering inside,
she frowned at my friend.   “It’s not
much, is it?”
    “Don’t underestimate the value of my gift.   Those samples are highly prized,” Grace
said.
    “Okay, if you say so,” Maggie said, and then she started to close the
door.
    “Hey, what about my donuts?” Nathan asked as he looked at me.
    “Forget about them.   You don’t
need them,” his wife replied harshly, and then she slammed the door the rest of
the way shut.
    “What just happened here?” Grace asked me as we stood on the stoop
alone.   Both of us were clearly
stunned by the recent turn of events.
    “I believe that we just got dismissed,” I said, “and neither one of us
even got to ask a single question.”
    “Wow, that Maggie’s a force of nature, isn’t she?”
    “You say that almost as though you admire it,” I replied as we headed
back to my Jeep.
    “No, ma’am, not in the least.   That was a real bust, wasn’t it?   Should we just give up and go home with
our tails tucked between our