“Tell me about it,” Lisa replied. “It just goes to show that sometimes it’s hard to get a solid read on someone. Especially if they have secrets.”

  “It is times like this when I’m glad that I’m not a parent,” I replied.

  “I hope Zack gets his daughter some help.”

  “I’m sure he will. The real question is, will Brianna be able to kick her drug habit?”

  “I don’t know. That is a question for the future.”

  “I know this. I’m going to do a lot of praying tonight.”

  “I’m sure you will. In the meantime, I have a more immediate question for you,” Lisa said. “Do you feel like getting a treat?” Lisa asked.

  I bit the corner of my lip. “A treat? Really?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely.”

  I grimaced. “I don’t know.”

  She squinted. “I thought you’d say yes for sure.”

  “Look. I know it’s customary for us to get a dessert after finishing a case, but it just doesn’t seem right this time.”

  Lisa put her hand up. “I disagree.”

  “Why? Haven’t you been paying attention? This case was a disaster.”

  “You did your job. In fact, you did such a good job that you dug up more information than you were even asked for.”

  I took a deep breath and then replied, “I wish I hadn’t.”

  “Melody, don’t talk like that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I know how much the truth can hurt sometimes, but look at the alternative. What if you didn’t uncover those details and Zack continued working from a faulty assumption? He would have been in for a serious surprise in the future.”

  “I suppose you’re right. I guess I was just hoping that this case would turn out much differently.”

  “I don’t blame you for being optimistic. But realistically speaking, when you took this case, you had to realize that there was a very strong probability that something terrible was going on.”

  “True. Every once in a while I’m wrong, though. On rare occasions, I’m pleasantly surprised by what I discover.”

  “You have to admit. Those occasions are extremely rare.”

  “True.”

  “Face it, you’re in the wrong industry if you’re banking on getting good news.”

  “I hope this isn’t your idea of a pep talk,” I joked.

  “Hey, I’m not trying to bring you down. If anything, I’m trying to make you feel better by offering you a treat.”

  “I guess you’re right. That said, I’m not sure if a treat is going to help me now.”

  “Trust me, it will.”

  I shrugged. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because that’s why dessert was invented.”

  I chuckled. “I can’t argue with that.”

  “Good. Arguing is overrated anyway. So, are you ready to get a dessert?”

  “That depends. What do you have in mind?”

  “How about some cookies?”

  “You went right to the good stuff, didn’t you?”

  “Of course. Why mess around with a mediocre dessert?”

  I stared out the window. “I do love chocolate chip cookies.”

  “I know you do,” Lisa said. “Also, let me sweeten the deal for you. Dessert is my treat.”

  “How nice of you.”

  “So, are you in?”

  I got up from my chair. “Absolutely.”

  “Fantastic,” Lisa said. “Let’s go.”

  The End.

  Donuts, Death, and Dread

  Chapter One

  “Mom, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I said.

  “Honey, you have nothing to worry about,” my mother replied.

  My forehead wrinkled. “I don’t know how you can say that after what just happened.”

  “Didn’t you hear me before? The test came up negative.”

  “I did hear you, and I’m so relieved about that. Honestly, the last few days have been absolute torture for me. Haven’t they been for you as well?”

  “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t worried.”

  My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  My mother’s head nodded. “I could feel in my heart that everything would be okay.”

  “Wow. In that case, you had much better instincts about this situation than I did.”

  “Talk about a rarity. It’s not every day that I have a stronger gut feeling than a private investigator.”

  Andrea Clue wasn’t just my mother. She was also a woman who was great at pretending that a situation wasn’t nearly as serious as it truly was. So, even though she was claiming that she wasn’t worried about her test results, I didn’t buy her answer.

  You see, as a private eye, my instincts were usually really sharp. In fact, my gut had helped me solve a few murders. Right then, my instincts were telling me that my mother was just putting on a good face.

  I understood why. This had been a serious scare. Earlier in the week, my mother found a lump on her body. She immediately made a doctor’s appointment. The doctor then performed a biopsy. From there, the waiting began.

  This had been the longest forty-eight hours of my life. During that time, I had done a lot of praying. And it looked like it had all paid off.

  The doctor’s office called my mother a few minutes ago with good news. The results of my mother’s lab tests were negative. She didn’t have cancer. She was in the clear.

  “The only thing I care about is that you’re healthy,” I said. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, honey,” my mom replied. “Now we can both go about our lives again.”

  My mother seemed to be in a hurry to push this aside. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I knew the gravity of this situation.

  I was acutely aware of how easily the scales could have tipped the other way. If her tests had come back positive, it would have changed her entire life. There’s a serious chance that I could have lost her.

  Even though the medical industry had come a long way, even cutting edge technology could only do so much. Sometimes, even with the best treatment in the world, people died.

  I had experienced familial tragedy before. My father had passed away suddenly a few years ago. To this day, I was still a wreck when I thought about what had happened.

  If I lost my mother as well, I would go nuts. That was why I couldn’t let this topic just get brushed aside, no matter what my mother said.

  I put my hand up. “Not so fast.”

  My mom threw out her arms. “What are you talking about?”

  “We both need to count our blessings.”

  “You’re right. That is very important.”

  “Of course, it is. This was a really close call. Too close.”

  My mother seemed eager to change the subject. “You know what? Let’s not spend any more time talking about this.”

  Normally, I tried not to argue with my mom. I made an exception this time. “Mom, we can’t just move on.”

  “Sure we can.”

  “How?”

  “Just look to the future. It’s a lot better than speculating about how things could have gone differently in the past.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t move on that quickly.”

  “I’m afraid, you’re going to have to. You have to be getting to work.”

  “If ever there’s a day where it’s okay to show up a little late, it’s this one.”

  “Melody, there’s no reason to stick around here any longer. I’m totally fine.”

  “You keep saying that. I just have a hard time believing it. I mean, why can’t you admit what a close call that was?”

  “Melody, I’m begging you. Can we please not talk about it?”

  When I stared into my mother’s eyes right then, she looked completely different. Gone was her confident demeanor. She looked like a scared little kid.

  So much for throwing on a good face. She couldn’t put on an act any longer.

  Rather than getting into an argument with her, I decided to go along with her request.

  “All right. I won’t force the issue,” I said.

  “Good. Now, take care of yourself at work today,” my mother said.

  “You’re the one who needs to take care of yourself.”

  “Don’t be silly. You’re a private investigator. I’m retired.”

  “Mom, you know what I mean.”

  “I give you my word. I’m going to take care of myself as best as I can.”

  “Good.” I leaned in and gave her a hug. “I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Chapter Two

  Typically, I wasn’t a fan of slow work days. In my experience, staying active made the time go by faster. On the flip side, when I didn’t have work to do, my shift seemed like it lasted for an eternity.

  There were some rare exceptions to that rule. The biggest exception was when I was burnt out. During those times, I welcomed a calm day at the office. To be honest, it was refreshing.

  After the morning that I had, I was praying for life to take it easy on me.

  It was just my luck then that I didn’t get my wish. As a matter of fact, in a strange twist of fate, I barely got a moment to catch my breath.

  The moment I entered the detective agency where I worked, I saw a potential new client sitting in my office. My business partner and fellow investigator, Lisa Williamson, was sitting in her office speaking with a different client.

  Apparently, it was going to be a busy morning at the detective agency.

  I didn’t want to keep the new client waiting too long, so I headed straight over to my office. I then outstretched my hand and introduced myself.

  The client was a twenty-two-year-old man named Jim Livingston. He had long hair, an athletic build, and a full beard.

  After introducing ourselves, I decided to get straight to the point.

  “How can I help you?” I said.

  “I want you to find my mother,” Jim said.

  “Okay. Has she gone missing or something?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “All right. I’m a little confused then. How am I supposed to find her if she’s not missing?”

  “I’m adopted.”

  “Oh.”

  “So, even though she’s not missing in the larger sense of the word, she has been missing from my life. I want to change that.”

  “Are you saying that you want me to find your birth mother?”

  He nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Okay.”

  “Have you ever done a case like this?”

  “I have.”

  “Good. I want to hire someone with experience in this area.”

  “You’ve come to the right place then.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to track her down?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “To start, how much information you’ll be able to provide me with. Also, how cooperative the adoption agency is with me.”

  “I really hope you’re able to find her.”

  “I will certainly do everything I can.”

  “I’m really interested to see what you’re able to find out.”

  “With that in mind, in order to do the best job possible, I’m going to need some information from you.”

  “Of course. Just tell me what you want to know.”

  “Do you happen to know what your birth mother’s name is?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  I grimaced. “That’s a shame.”

  “Tell me about it,” he replied.

  “How about your adoptive parents? Do they have any info on your birth mother?” I asked.

  He lowered his head and didn’t say a word.

  I waited a second longer and then said, “Are you reluctant to ask them because you don’t want them to know your plans to meet your birth mother?”

  “No. That’s not it.”

  “What’s the matter then?”

  “Both of my adoptive parents are dead.”

  My heart sank. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “So am I. They died in a boating accident earlier this year…” He trailed off and then took a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself. “It has been a rough few months for me.”

  “You have my sympathy. I apologize. I didn’t realize your situation.”

  “It’s not your fault. You were just trying to get some information.”

  “I still feel terrible.”

  “Trust me. You can’t feel any worse than I do right now. I just feel so awful all of the time. I miss my parents so much.”

  “I’ll bet. I lost my father a few years ago. It was devastating.”

  “Wow. It sounds like we’ve both had some tragedies in our lives.”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “That’s why I’m hoping this works out. It would be nice to have some family again. To have a mother that I can talk to. Spend time with. And just be around.”

  “I certainly understand where you’re coming from. That said, before I begin investigating, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t want you to get your hopes up. At least, not too much.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s a chance that I won’t be able to find your birth mother.”

  “I realize that.”

  I stared him down. “Do you really? Because I need you to be prepared for every possible scenario.”

  “I know you’re going to do your best. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll understand.”

  “All right.”

  He stared out into the distance and didn’t say a word.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about how crazy this situation is.”

  “You have been through a lot.”

  “It’s not just that. My adoptive parents were such wonderful people. They were loving and caring and always there for me. When they were both still alive, I never would have sought out my birth mother. In fact, the thought never even entered my mind. But ever since my mom and dad died…”

  He couldn’t finish his sentence.

  I put my hand on his shoulder. “Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  He tried to pull himself together. “I really hope you can find my birth mother.”

  “Like I said, I’m going to do my best. But it’s not going to be easy. Especially if I don’t have any information to work with.”

  He put his hand up. “I do have some information for you.”

  My eyes widened. “Oh yeah?”

  He nodded. “I don’t know my birth mother’s name, but I do know the agency that my parents used to adopt me.”

  Jim grabbed a piece of paper from a folder that he was holding. He handed me the paper.

  “I found this when I was going through my dad’s old paperwork.”

  “Great. I can work with this.”

  “Fantastic.”

  “Don’t get too excited yet,” I said. “This is a good start. But it’s still not a guarantee that I can track your mother down.”

  “I believe in you.”

  “Thanks. Let me see what I can dig up.”

  Chapter Three

  I had Jim fill out some paperwork before he left my office. After that, he headed out and I began working on his case. That involved doing some internet research and making some phone calls.

  The administrative side of the private eye business wasn’t glamorous. Nor was it terribly interesting to talk about. But it was vital. In fact, with some investigations, the work that I did at my desk was almost as important as the activity that took place when I was on the street.

  Paperwork wasn’t something that was featured in movies or on television shows. Those activities tended to be completely glossed over. I understood why.

  They did not make for compelling entertainment. A trip to the city clerk’s office or the hall of records was pretty boring. To the point where it would be hard for a TV writer to come up with a scene in those locations that would keep a viewer glued to the television.

  A trip to an adoption agency wasn’t terribly interesting either. Not when I just went there with a signed authorization form from Jim in hopes of getting the agency to release some information to me.

  While none of these activities were exciting, my legwork ended up paying off. The adoption agency accepted the authorization form that Jim had signed and released the information they had on file.

  That was a great first step. I didn’t get too excited, though. As I flipped through the paperwork, I was surprised by what little information the agency had on Jim’s birth mother.

  They basically just had the essentials. Her name. The address she lived at twenty-one years ago. And some other basic stuff.

  While it was far from a wealth of information, it did provide me with a jumping off point.

  When I got back to my car, I typed the name Christine Dunbar into a search database on my laptop computer. According to the search results, she no longer lived at her old address. Nor did she live in Majestic Cove. In addition, her last name had changed.

  The listing that I found was for a Christine Dunbar-Aldridge. She lived in Oak Canyon. That was a small town located sixty miles to the east of here.

  It appeared that I had a drive ahead of me.

  I wasn’t thrilled by the idea of having to leave town, but things definitely could have been worse. What if she had moved out of state? Or clear across the country? That would have turned this case into a beast.

  There was more to be thankful about right then. Namely, the fact that my search pulled up an active listing. I didn’t want to think about it at the time, but there was always the possibility that some type of tragedy had occurred. That she had died a number of years back. Stranger things had happened. If that had been the case, I would have had to break some heartbreaking news to Jim.

  Thankfully, she was alive. When I arrived in Oak Canyon, I hoped that she was in good health as well. I would find out soon enough.

  Before I hit the road, I decided to look Christine up on social media. When it came to my line of work, it was incredible how much useful information I was typically able to find by looking at a subject’s social media profile. Or by scrolling through their post history.