The Devine Doughnut Shop(21)

“We know. What are we going to do?” Grace groaned before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Do you think Neal put something in her food that would cause her to have this migraine? Is he going to take advantage of her addled state and ask her to move money even without power of attorney?” asked Sarah. “She hasn’t had this kind of headache in at least six months. It seems strange that one would pop up after she’s been out to eat with him.”

Beezy took a sip. “Honey, he wouldn’t do something stupid like that until she puts his name on her bank accounts. But we do need to make sure of his motives and even more sure he really is who he says he is. You girls are computer savvy, so get on it.”

“I tried looking him up this morning . . .” Sarah paused. “On the internet . . .” Another pause. “After you told me. But the Neal Monroes I found didn’t look a thing like him. There was one who was ninety-two years old and died last year,” she admitted.

“Then I guess he’s clean—or maybe he’s stolen the identity of a dead man,” Beezy said in a low voice. She leaned over to scan the room, as if looking for someone to pop out from behind the bread and sugar bins. “We’d make good detectives. Maybe we should give up the doughnut shop and open a PI business.”

“I hate to tell her that there’s even a possibility she’s been conned on top of everything,” Grace grumbled. “But right now, the thought of him talking her into moving money today is downright scary.”

Beezy shook her finger at Grace. “She hasn’t jumped into the fire yet, darlin’ girl. We can save her if this man is cheating on her, or trying to swindle her, or both.”

Sarah headed straight for the small office where she did all the bookwork for the business. It had been a storage closet at one time and was just big enough for a desk and chair. The modem for the internet service for both the business and the house was in the desk. She opened it and pulled all three of the plug-ins.

“What are you doing in there?” Grace asked.

“Unplugging the internet to make it tougher for Macy to transfer money,” Sarah answered.

“She’s got unlimited data on her phone,” Grace said.

“Crap!” Sarah fussed. “I’d forgotten about that.”

Beezy chuckled. “Smart girl for trying, though.”

“We can’t leave it off forever,” Grace said with a sigh. “Macy’s got such a big heart that she’ll forgive him if he begs and says his indiscretion was just a one-time thing and that Darla Jo seduced him.”

“Maybe for cheating one time, but if he’s not who he says he is and he and Darla Jo are running a scam, I think she’d have better sense than to forgive him for that. We need to tell her, and I mean really soon. That way she can deal with him.”

“I’m wondering about all those weekends that Macy had plans and Neal had to work,” Sarah said. “Seems really fishy, doesn’t it?”

Audrey came through the back door, out of breath and wide-eyed. “I was trying to message Crystal and the internet went out!”

Beezy opened up her arms. “Come here, baby girl, and give me a big old bear hug. The internet is no big thing. We all lived without it, and you can, too.”

Audrey ran across the room and hugged the older woman. “Did you have a good time on the cruise? I wish you’d have taken me with you.”

“You would have been bored to tears, my child, around all of us old people. It was a senior-citizen cruise, and I got to admit, I was tired of hearing about aches and surgeries by the second day,” Beezy said. “Aren’t you on spring break this week?”

Audrey shot a look over at her mother. “I’m in spring break jail, and just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I can’t even get into my Facebook page on my computer.”

“She got caught at school with cigarettes and liquor,” Grace said. “Her punishment is that she has to work in the shop during her break, and then she has to go to in-school suspension for a few days when she goes back. It could have been more, but this is her first offense.”

“You do the crime, you do the time,” Beezy told her.

“But they weren’t even my cigarettes and booze,” Audrey whined, “and my friends will all shun me if I get them in trouble.”

“Honey, that kind of people ain’t real friends.” Beezy patted her on the back. “But you have to figure that out all by yourself. If Macy is still under the weather tomorrow, I could come in and run the register for y’all.”

“Thanks, Beezy, for the offer, but I think we’ve got it covered,” Sarah said.

Audrey heaved another of her dramatic sighs and headed out the door. “I guess I’ll start on my algebra since the internet is down. Did you call up the service and cut it off just to punish me more, Mama?”

“I did not, but that’s a wonderful idea if you do something else that gets you suspended from school,” Grace told her.

Audrey flipped around and started out the door, then stopped as Grace began to tell Beezy about Raelene.

“From what I’ve heard about that girl, she is more like Hilda than Geneva. She’s a sweet kid,” Beezy replied with a nod. “She’s got a kind heart like her grandmother. I’m glad y’all took her in. If I’d known about her, I would have done the same thing, but she’ll be happier in a house with another teenager, I’m sure.”