Chocolate-Covered Crime Read online

  “Right.” He rushed off to do whatever it is he does and called over his shoulder, “don’t go anywhere.”

  Sherry leaned against the wall, her eyes shooting daggers at me, as another officer took her statement. Her antagonistic attitude wore on me. Death and destruction wherever I go? That was just mean. When the officer finished with Miss Congeniality, he moved to me.

  “Name?”

  “You know my name, Duane. We went to school together.” I crossed my arms. He raised his eyebrows at me. “Fine. Summer Meadows.”

  “Business being here?”

  “Planning a wedding.” Obvious, wasn’t it?

  “You found the victim?”

  “Yes.” I quickly added that I didn’t touch anything. Not being new to crime solving, I filled him in on everything I knew, except the date book. I’d turn it in once I had a chance to look through its pages. Joe would be livid, but he’d get over it. He’d been threatening for years to transfer to any town where I didn’t live.

  “So you were the last one to see Mae Belle before her attack?”

  “No, the person who tried to kill her was.” I didn’t like the direction Duane’s questions headed. What did Sherry mention to him? “Mae Belle acted nervous all morning. She wanted to tell me something, and we set up a time to meet at Grandma’s Story Corner. Mae Belle never showed. I came to check on her, found her on the floor, and called 911. That’s it. What did Sherry tell you?”

  “What are you leaving out?” Duane peered at me from beneath his lowered brow.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Joe warned me about you withholding information.”

  “Not this time.” I vowed to get even. How dare Joe accuse me of not telling him everything? The appointment book didn’t count, did it? Since I couldn’t be sure it even pertained to the morning’s events.

  “Uh-huh.” Did the guy take lessons from my cousin in the disbelief department? He snapped his notebook closed. “We’ll be in touch if we have any further questions. You aren’t leaving town, are you?”

  “Not until my honeymoon.” They wouldn’t prevent me from going, would they? Bora Bora called my name, etching my new initials in its white sand. The sun sang its promises of sunburn. The waves chanted their rising and falling melodies. Remorse flooded through me. Mae Belle may be dying, and I’m concerned about getting married. Good thing no one could read my mind.

  Paramedics wheeled her past me. Her eyelids fluttered as weak as a stunned moth. I prayed for her recovery. She wasn’t strong. Tall and thin as the wildflowers that grew alongside Highway 64 in the spring. Okay, maybe she’d be stronger than she looked. Those wildflowers were almost impossible to kill. Especially when they took root among hopeful prize-winning rosebushes.

  “Wait.” I grabbed the stretcher and stopped it before bending low to whisper in Mae Belle’s ear. “Don’t worry. We’ll find out who did this to you. I promise. You just get better so you can tell me.” Releasing the rail, I stood and

  locked eyes with Joe.

  “Summer, I’m warning you.”

  “What?” I did my best to appear as innocent as possible. The wide-eyed look always worked in the movies.

  He marched to my side, grabbed my elbow, too roughly for my taste—I knew there’d be bruises—then pulled me into a corner. “You are not going to get involved in this. You are not the crime solver you think you are. You did not solve the past mysteries of this year with any skill. Stumbling onto them, and being lucky enough to remain alive, doesn’t make you a detective. And I’m tired of saving your life.”

  “Sorry, Mr. Big Cop-Man, but I completely solved them on sheer brain power. And just because you’re my cousin doesn’t mean you can jerk me around. Ever hear of police brutality? It would be embarrassing for you if I filed a complaint, now wouldn’t it?”

  So what if I’d managed to get myself locked in a trunk. My double-jointedness saved me then. Being smart and keeping my cool got me out of the carnival fun house. What about the two gorillas? Or the overfriendly elephant, Ginger? Joe had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Add tips from that stupid Dolt book you bought a few months ago, and you have the scope of your investigative training.” Joe shook his head. “Summer, you just happen to be lucky. But luck runs out.” He slapped his hat on his head. “Stay out of it, and leave this room. The crime scene investigators have a job to do.”

  “Let me get my bag, and I’ll leave.” Once Joe turned his back, I snatched the appointment book off the desk, dropped it into the tote bag containing my wedding information, and sashayed out of A Dream Wedding with what I was sure was a Cheshire cat–type grin splitting my cheeks.

  Miss Merry Sherry shooed Mae Belle’s prospective customers from the sidewalk in front of the shop and handed a large, ornate brass key to a man in a navy vinyl jacket. With a final glare at me, she sidled sideways through the throng of investigators, slipped past the crime scene tape, then headed down Main Street. I followed.

  She passed my store, Summer Confections, and I waved through the window at Aunt Eunice. She threw her hands up as if to say, “What are you doing?” I grinned and continued to slink along behind my prey like a secret agent.

  Sherry turned to look over her shoulder. I ducked into an alley, ran straight into a Dumpster, grabbed my aching forehead, then landed smack on my behind in a puddle of oily water, ruining my new pair of studded blue jeans and twisting my ankle. This was definitely the norm for my crime solving.

  Soaking wet and miserable.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Rising with all the grace of a fallen deer on an icy pond, I managed to get my feet beneath me. Grabbing my tote bag from the cement, goop leaving a nasty trail behind me, I limped to the corner and peered around the building. Drat. No sign of Sherry.

  I absolutely could not go to the hospital and wait for news on Mae Belle while I resembled something that crawled out of a sewer drain. I’d go back to the candy store and let Aunt Eunice in on what happened before I’d head home to change clothes. She’d be angry if she heard the news from someone else.

  Before stepping out onto the sidewalk, I noted the pedestrians. No one should be allowed to see me looking the way I did. I’d never live down the jokes and questions. I turned to take the back way. The vacant alley loomed. My mind raced and clicked into detective mode.

  Where had the attempted murderer run? Out the front door seemed doubtful. Not with the number of people milling in the receiving area and outside on the sidewalk. Now I thought like a crime solver. First thought—had they tossed anything along the way?

  After having practically tripped over it on my way to where I stood, the Dumpster behind A Dream Wedding beckoned like a box of jewels. Somebody who knew Mae Belle must have stabbed her. She’d never have gone into her office with a stranger. She was way too much of a Nervous Nellie. That same somebody had most likely ducked out the back door. That’s what I would have done. Maybe they tossed something in one of the trash receptacles. I scanned the length of the alley. Six beige Dumpsters lined up like square soldiers.

  With a march as determined as an aching ankle and soggy denim pants would allow, I headed for the first one. This would be harder than I’d thought. The odor that emanated from beneath the hard plastic lid slapped me in the face with enough force to send me reeling back. My nostrils burned. Gross. Okay, move on. No way would I climb in there.

  The next to the last one was almost empty. After piling milk crates on top of each other for the fifth time—and refusing to address the fact that the odor I held my breath against now actually came from me—I climbed and hung suspended over the edge. Grunting from the pressure on my abdomen, I stretched to reach for a bag. A shrill siren whooped behind me. A camera clicked. I gasped and fell headfirst into black garbage bags and odd refuse.

  After pulling myself to my feet, I peeked over the top. Horror. Joe stood, cell phone pointed at me, and snapped another picture.

  “What are you doing?” I ducked until only my
eyes peered over the rim.

  He grinned. “Sending another picture to Ethan. He loves this stuff. He’ll especially appreciate the one of your behind while you’re Dumpster diving.”

  “Don’t you dare!” I tried pulling myself over and out but ended up sliding back to the bottom.

  “Too late.” He frowned at me as I perched on top of garbage. “I think the question here is, what are you doing?”

  “Uh, snooping?” I held out a hand for him to grasp. My foot slipped, and my gaze slid downward. At the bottom of my plastic prison lay a pair of black leather gloves. A telltale scarlet stain splattered across them. “Bingo!”

  “Don’t touch anything!”

  I shrieked and clasped a hand to my chest. “There’s no need to give me a heart attack.”

  “Come on. Get out of there. I’ll have a team here in seconds.”

  “Why didn’t they search the alley to begin with?”

  “They’re still inside. It doesn’t take long for you to get in trouble.” He helped me from the Dumpster. His eyes raked over me, and he wiped his hand down his pant leg. “Go home, clean up, and. . .”

  “I know, stay out of it.” I’m sure my family will engrave those words on my tombstone. I hobbled down the alley and banged on the back door of Summer Confections.

  Aunt Eunice opened it. “What in the world happened to you?” Before I could step inside and answer, Joe joined me. “Goodness. Both of you coming in the back like servants.” Her disapproving tone washed over me as she moved aside.

  Joe removed his hat and fiddled with the brim. “Aunt Eunice, I need to ask you something. Can we sit down?”

  “Sure. There’s a table in front.” She wrinkled her nose. “Summer, you stink. What have you been doing?”

  “Dumpster diving.”

  “Of all the things to be doing. Don’t you have everything you need? No reason to dig in someone else’s garbage.” She waved a hand in my direction. “Stay behind the counter. We don’t want the customers getting wind of you.”

  “I’m getting ready to go home and change.” As soon as Joe finishes talking to you. I dug into my tote, pulled out a bottle of my favorite cologne, and liberally doused myself.

  “Lord have mercy!” With a hand clamped over her nose, Aunt Eunice rushed through the swinging half-door that divided the customer area from our workplace. She and Joe sat at a small glass-topped table. My aunt folded her hands in front of her and waited. I leaned across the counter as far as possible without toppling over.

  Joe gave one of his famous sighs. “No sense beating around the bush. Somebody in Mae Belle’s store said they heard you threaten to kill her. Did you?”

  Aunt Eunice was speechless—a rare moment in her life. Her mouth opened and closed like the gills on a fish. I thought she was beginning to cry, then realized her shoulders shook with silent laughter. How could she laugh at a time like this? Oh, I hadn’t had the chance to tell her about Mae Belle. She’d be overcome with remorse for her giggles. I started through the swinging door, caught a whiff of myself, and stopped.

  “What did that girl tell you? Of course I didn’t threaten to kill her. April made a joke and...”

  “My April?” Joe’s eyes widened.

  “Do you know another girl with that name?” Aunt Eunice used the hem of her apron to wipe her eyes. “I started to say Mae Belle had better not mess up Summer’s wedding, you know how she is. Then April asked if I was going to kill her if she did. It was all innocent, Joe. I assure you.”

  Joe leaned forward. “Someone sent Mae Belle to the hospital this afternoon with a letter opener sticking out of her back. Then I discover Summer digging through Dumpsters. Won’t look good in an investigation, Eunice. The department will want me to be watching both of you.”

  I shrugged when she glanced my way. “I did discover some gloves through my searching. They aren’t mine. You’ll find that out when you do your tests. Then, Mr. Big Cop-Man, I’ll be accepting your apology for even suggesting Aunt Eunice and I have anything to do with this.” And I most likely ruined a pair of pants.

  Joe’s face reddened. “I never said I suspected. I didn’t suggest. . .”

  “Will Mae Belle be all right?” My aunt paled beneath the rosy blush she wore.

  “I haven’t made it over to check on her. Wanted to come by here first.”

  “Summer?” Aunt Eunice frowned so deeply her sparse brows came together in a line. “Why haven’t you gone?”

  “I was following Sherry, then I fell in a puddle of water and decided to check out the Dumpsters before coming here to tell you what happened.”

  Joe switched his attention to me. “Why were you following Sherry?”

  “She was mean to me, and she didn’t seem at all concerned that somebody tried to kill Mae Belle. Seemed more worried that she’d be out of a job. She actually insinuated I had something to do with it.” I crossed my arms. “It made me suspicious.”

  “Mean to you?” Joe stood and shook his head. He had a habit of repeating what I said back in an annoying way.

  One look at my watch and I rushed to the front door. “See y’all at the hospital. If I’m going to meet Ethan for dinner, I’ve got to change now.” And I wanted a peek at Mae Belle’s appointment book so bad I could almost taste the paper.

  Sherry, my new nemesis, Joe, April, and Aunt Eunice sat in the hospital waiting room when I arrived. My sore ankle prevented me from wearing the strappy sandals I’d recently purchased. My flip-flops slapped against the tile. One of my aunt’s pet peeves. “How is she? Did anyone call Uncle Roy? What about her parents in Oklahoma?” I collapsed into the nearest uncomfortable burgundy chair.

  “The doctor hasn’t come out.” Aunt Eunice pulled a tissue from her brassiere and blew her nose, then glanced at my feet and scowled. “Roy will be here soon. He’s closing the nursery early, and Mae Belle’s parents have been notified. They’ll be here in a few hours. How can I tell my sister I had ill thoughts of her daughter just moments before someone attacked her?”

  I scooted from my seat and knelt in front of her. “You aren’t the only one. . . .” A middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat approached us. Aunt Eunice gripped my hands until the knuckles ground together.

  “I’m Dr. Barnett. Are you Miz Sweeney’s family?” The doctor removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  “Yes.” Joe stood, looking very much in control in his uniform. “How’s Mae Belle?”

  “I’m afraid there’s nothing we could do. Miz Sweeney died on the table from internal bleeding caused by a small puncture to the heart. This is one time when extra weight on a person might have saved their life. I’m sorry.” The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose again, nodded, and walked away.

  Sherry wailed and buried her face in her hands. Most likely worrying about her next paycheck. I prayed for forgiveness for my awful thought. The Lord commands us to love our brother. How much more should I this woman? Or my cousin? And Mae Belle had died alone.

  A lump rose in my throat, burning and making breathing difficult. Tears stung my eyes.

  We sat in stunned silence. In the blink of an eye, we now looked at a murder case. Not for the death of a stranger, but for family.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Dusk fell, casting the early evening in the warm yellow glow of late summer. Remorse filled me as I dwelled on Mae Belle’s death. I’d been so interested in gathering clues that I hadn’t been by her side in the hospital. Granted, we weren’t that close, not running in the same social circles, but I had hired her as a wedding planner. Against everyone’s advice. But family is family. Personality didn’t factor in, right?

  Ethan slipped my shoes off my tired feet and massaged, gently cracking my toes. God really had sent me the best of the men He’d created. I snuggled deeper into the cushions of the porch swing and closed my eyes, losing myself in his touch.

  “Are you going to be all right?” Ethan rubbed circles in the arch of my foot, his thumb pushing with the right amou
nt of pressure. I bit back a moan.

  “Yeah. April and Aunt Eunice will help me plan the wedding. We have eight months. They didn’t want Mae Belle doing it anyway.” My eyelids snapped open. “That sounded harsh, didn’t it? Especially with Mae Belle being murdered. Sometimes I’m a horrible person.”

  Ethan pulled me around until my back faced him. His strong fingers kneaded my tense shoulder muscles. He placed a soft kiss on the nape of my neck, and I thanked the Lord my aunt and uncle sat on the other side of the wall watching television. Experience taught me Ethan had a lot more willpower than I did.

  “You’re not a horrible person.” He chuckled. “Joe sent me the most interesting picture on my phone today.”

  Uh-oh. Here it comes.

  “Not that I didn’t appreciate the view, but what were you doing hanging upside down in a Dumpster?” His fingers never paused in their massage. “Because, if I remember correctly, after the last escapade at the fair, a certain someone promised no more gumshoeing.”

  I didn’t remember promising. Horror. A few months ago, I’d told God I’d tell no more white lies. There was no way out. I had to be honest. “But she’s my cousin.”

  “I’m your fiancé. It’s difficult to teach my students when

  I’m worried about you.”

  Great. A fist of guilt smashed me in the face. I turned to look at him. “I’m sorry. I won’t put myself in harm’s way. I’ll just nose around a little. I have to do this, Ethan. As difficult as Mae Belle was, she didn’t deserve to die that way. She was scared when she asked me to meet with her. Justice must be served.” A worthy speech if I say so myself. “Besides, I promised.”

  “The last mystery you worked on, you said the same thing. Only that time, it had to do with your parents.” Blue ice flashed from his eyes then disappeared under his solid resolve. Strong, gentle fingers brushed the hair away from my face. “Tinkerbell won’t always be able to fly away.”