Chocolate Heart Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 14

by Kathleen Suzette

  “My mom has been experimenting in the kitchen again. Those are truffles. The ones with the apricot flowers, have an apricot filling, the green have key lime filling, and the yellow have lemon, of course. And then we’ve got the raspberry and strawberry truffles that we usually carry.”

  “They sound good,” she said. “How about if you give me two of each flavor? That way I can taste them all and decide which is my favorite. And some more of the raspberry fudge.”

  “You got it,” I said, going to the back of the display case and removing the fudge tray. “How much fudge would you like?”

  “How about a quarter pound? I’d like to buy more, but there’s no way I can keep myself from eating it all at once.”

  I looked at her, eyebrows raised. Amber was petite and I couldn’t imagine her eating much fudge at once. I thought even a quarter of a pound would be too much to eat all at once. “Seriously?”

  She shrugged. “That’s my deep dark secret, you know. I’ve got a tremendous sweet tooth and I can really put it away when we’re talking about candy.”

  “I never would have guessed that,” Christy said. “So Amber, is anything exciting going on in your life?”

  I glanced at Christy. I knew from her tone that she was up to something.

  Amber turned to her. “Exciting? In this town?” She chuckled. “Nothing exciting ever happens around here.”

  I looked at her now, one eyebrow raised. “I think we have plenty of excitement around here.” Murders certainly provided more than enough excitement around here.

  “I guess so,” she said. Then she laughed. “It must be exciting the last few seconds of your life, huh?”

  I looked at her sharply now. Who in their right mind would say such a thing? “I don’t think I’d call being murdered exciting.”

  I glanced at Christy and she narrowed her eyes at Amber. “That’s a crazy thing to say. Kind of mean, actually.”

  Amber laughed again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend either of you. Sometimes my sense of humor can be a little off.”

  It was offensive. How could she say that about someone that had been murdered?

  Christy took a step closer to Amber. “Tell me Amber, you and Logan had an odd relationship, didn’t you?”

  I looked at Christy again. I had told her what Miranda’s sister had said about their friendship back in high school and I was afraid she was going to let it slip.

  “Odd? What do you mean by odd?” She took a step back and looked Christy up and down and I could feel the sudden tension fill the room.

  Christy shrugged and leaned on the front counter. “I don’t know, you were always spreading rumors about him around town. It’s not like everybody doesn’t know about that. Why would you do that? I mean, if you were confident in your work, then why did you need to try to destroy Logan’s business?”

  I groaned quietly. Amber put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Christy. “I didn’t try to do anything of the sort. Logan was a terrible business owner. He never cleaned his tools, and everyone knows he spread lice around. It wasn’t a rumor. Clive Barron told me his grandson got lice from his barber shop, and that wasn’t the first time I’d heard something like that.”

  “Everyone? I don’t think everyone knows that,” Christy snorted. She sounded much more confident that she should have. That was bad news because it meant she was about to do something I’d regret. “So did you do it Amber? Did you kill Logan?”

  I groaned loudly this time. “Christy,” I said slowly. I knew I would be the one to regret it and not her. She never seemed to regret anything.

  Amber’s jaw twitched and her faced flushed. “Are you out of your mind? I mean, do you really think I would kill someone? And even if I did, do you think that I would tell you that?” She smirked when she said the last part and it made me wonder even more about her.

  Christy still looked nonchalant as she gazed at Amber. “I don’t know, maybe you would tell me. Maybe not. But if I had money to bet, I’d put it on you. You had the most reason to kill him, and I think you did.”

  “Christy,” I hissed, shaking my head. But Christy didn’t even turn in my direction.

  “You know what Christy? You’re a hateful person. I’ve always thought that about you and you just proved that I was right. I didn’t kill Logan. I would never do that to anyone. What do you take me for? I’m not evil!”

  Christy shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s pretty evil to run down someone’s name all over town. Especially when you know it’s going to hurt his business.”

  “Well you know what? I think I’m going to have a talk with the chief of police. He needs to know that the officer looking into Logan’s death has a girlfriend that’s running around accusing people.”

  I looked at her wide-eyed. “What do you mean? I didn’t accuse you of anything. Christy did.”

  “Yeah, but everyone knows you’ve got your nose in everyone else’s business. Whatever you dug up, or thought you dug up, I know you’re spreading it around town. And the chief of police needs to know that.” Without another word she turned and stomped out of the candy store.

  I looked at Christy. “Are you out of your mind?”

  Christy shrugged. “I’m not out of my mind. And she is the killer.”

  I groaned and put the tray of fudge back into the display case. Ethan was going to be so angry when he found out about this. But I was going to make sure he knew I hadn’t said one word to Amber that could have been misconstrued as being an accusation. I had my opinions about her of course, but at no point did I ever mention to her that I thought she had killed Logan.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I was expecting the phone call, so when my phone rang, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

  “Hello?”

  “Mia, are you accusing people of murder?”

  Amber hadn’t wasted any time in going to the chief of police. His voice was high and tight. I knew he’d been under a lot of stress over this murder and now that stress was showing.

  “Ethan,” I said as calmly as I could. “I am not accusing anyone of anything. Christy may have gotten overly zealous about helping to solve the murder, and she may have made an accusation.” I winced when I said the last part. I hated to have to tell him what Christy had done.

  He groaned. “Seriously Mia, I’m in hot water now. You cannot run around accusing people of murder. And you are not investigating!”

  “Ethan, I swear to you, I never accused anyone. It was Christy, and I told her that you would not be happy with her when you found out about it. Are you really in trouble?”

  He was quiet a moment, and that worried me.

  “I’ve been warned that if my girlfriend is sticking her nose into a murder investigation, it might mean my job.”

  I closed my eyes a moment. “I’m sorry Ethan. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble, but I really didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t accuse anyone of murder.” As soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew what he was going to say.

  “Mia, you have accused people of murder in the past, and you know it.”

  “Okay, you’re right. And I need to stop running around asking questions I guess, but I promise you I didn’t do anything this time. And if Amber told the chief of police or anyone else that I did, she’s lying.”

  There was another silence. “Mia, I need you to stay out of trouble. Please. And tell your sister to stay out of trouble too.”

  “I will.”

  “I’ll talk to you later.”

  He hit end before I could say anything else. I stared at the phone a moment and then looked up at Christy.

  “So you’re in trouble?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “We are in trouble. And it’s all your fault.”

  “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to cause trouble for you.”

  I sighed and tucked my phone into my pocket. “Can you drop me off at home? I’m going to try to make it up to Ethan by cooking him dinner. He’s exhausted, and he n
eeds some TLC.”

  “Before we do that, can you go with me to the garage? I want to get my oil changed and maybe buy those tires I need. I don’t want to be left alone with Fred in case he tries to charge me more money.”

  “What am I going to do about it if he does?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I just want backup is all.”

  I didn’t think Christy needed backup. If she had the moxie to accuse someone of murder, then she certainly could handle things if Fred tried to overcharge her.

  We headed out to Christy’s car, and she drove us over to the garage.

  When we walked into the garage office, it was empty. After a moment Fred ducked his head around the corner of the door that led out to the garage. He grinned. “Well, hello ladies. Are you here to get that oil change and new tires, Christy?”

  “I definitely want to get the oil changed, but I’ll have to see how much the tires are going to cost me before I make a commitment on those.”

  He nodded and went to the front counter. “I’ll take a look at the size you need, and I’ll give you a couple different prices on tires. If we don’t have them in stock, I will get them ordered for you.” He began filling out a ticket and then handed the clipboard over to Christy to fill out her name and address.

  “Do you sell a lot of tires?” Christy asked as she filled out the form.

  “We sell a few. The tire shop over on Elm Street probably gets most of the tire business here in town, but we do sell some.”

  She nodded. “That’s nice that you can handle just about anything a customer might need for their vehicles.”

  “You can say that again.” He nodded, his eyes on the clipboard as Christy wrote.

  Christy finished filling out the form, and she gave her keys to Fred and he went out to take a look at her car and drive it into the garage.

  I wandered over to the coffee table by the couches that were there in the waiting room and looked at the coffee maker there. There were oil smudges on the pot and on the coffee maker and I decided I probably didn’t need any more coffee today.

  “I don’t know about that coffee,” Christy said coming to stand beside me.

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  We turned around as Fred came back into the office. “Well, Christy,” he said. “I’ve got a couple different prices for you for the tires.” He went behind the counter and laid the estimate on the top of it and we went back to the counter to take a look. “We’ve got these less-expensive ones here and they’re in stock, but I don’t really recommend them. Especially in the snow. You’d really be better off with these.” He pointed at the most expensive tires with the pen he held.

  “Oh no,” Christy said shaking her head. “I don’t have that kind of money. I think I’m going to go with the least expensive ones.”

  He frowned. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want a daughter of mine driving a car with those tires on her car. They’re just not the best for this weather.”

  Christy looked up at him and shook her head again. “No, I just don’t have the money for the more expensive ones.”

  I didn’t like the sound of this. I wanted to tell her that we should go and check with the tire shop over on Elm Street, but I couldn’t say it in front of Fred.

  He placed both hands on the counter. “Christy, I think you’ll be safer with the more expensive tires. Now, I can give you a ten percent discount if that helps, but you should go with the more expensive tires if you want to be safe.”

  “I think I’ll just wait then. I don’t have that kind of money.” Her eyes went to the paper again, and she shook her head.

  He sighed. “Honestly Christy, it isn’t safe to go with the cheaper tires. And the tires that are on your car now have got a split in one of them. I can’t let you drive out of here on those tires. I wouldn’t feel right about it.”

  “Well I’m not going to buy the expensive tires,” Christy said stubbornly. “I don’t have that kind of money.”

  Fred gripped the pen in his hand. “Okay, but if you end up with your car plowed into a tree, don’t come back and complain to me.” He slammed the pen on the desk and turned and left.

  Christy and I looked at one another. “Did he just say what I think he said?”

  I nodded. “He sure did.”

  We followed him out into the garage as he headed toward Christy’s car.

  “Fred, what did you just say?” Christy asked.

  He turned and looked at her and his face softened. “What do you mean? I said it wasn’t safe for you to drive your car with the tires that are on it now. The cheap tires aren’t a lot better, but they’d be better than what you’ve got.”

  “That was kind of a flippant remark you made,” I said. “And it was an unkind remark.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me for a second and then relaxed again. “What are you talking about? I shouldn’t make remarks about how unsafe her tires are? Aren’t you worried about your sister?”

  “You know what I’m talking about. Don’t play dumb,” I said. And as soon as I said it, I remembered the conversation I had just had with Ethan and my stomach dropped. I didn’t want to accuse him of murder, because if he wasn’t the killer, it would come back to haunt me.

  I slipped my phone from my pocket and held it tight. Just in case.

  He straightened up to his full height. “Did you have something to say to me, Mia?” Now his attitude sounded almost belligerent.

  “No, I didn’t have anything to say to you.” I waited. Was he Logan’s killer? Or was it just an unfortunate slip of the tongue?

  “Well I have something to say. Did you kill Logan? You did, didn’t you?” Christy asked.

  Fred took a deep breath and he frowned. “You’re crazy.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m not crazy. But you might be. You did it, didn’t you? You killed your son’s best friend.”

  He took two steps toward us, clenching his fist. “Get out of my garage. Get your car and get out of here. I’m going to talk to Ethan about his nosy girlfriend and her sister coming in here and accusing me of something as ridiculous as murder.”

  I groaned. Ethan was going to flip out.

  “I need my keys,” Christy said carefully. “You need to give me my keys.”

  “What if I don’t?” he said. He was gripping Christy’s keys so tightly his knuckles had turned white. “What if you and your car just disappear?”

  I hit Ethan’s number on speed dial and put the phone on speaker.

  “Fred, you need to give me my keys. I know you killed Logan,” Christy said again. “How could you do it? How could you kill someone as nice as Logan?”

  “And what if I did? What are you going to do about it?” Fred said heading toward us now. I didn’t like the looks of this. “I’ll make you sorry you even had that thought.”

  I held up my phone. “Ethan, Fred Tillman killed Logan. You need to get to the garage immediately.”

  Chapter Twenty

  I sat across from Ethan at an intimate table for two at the new restaurant that had opened in Pumpkin Hollow. They offered an extensive wine list along with a combination of French and American dishes. The scent of roast beef hung in the air, making my mouth water. I looked up at Ethan.

  “How are things going?” He had arrested Fred at the garage after Christy and I had gotten him to admit he had killed Logan.

  His eyes met mine, and he smiled. “Things are going fine. Logan’s killer is behind bars. What more could I ask for?”

  His voice hitched on the last part. I nodded. “It’s all we can ask for, I guess. Why did he do it?” I was struggling with the fact that Fred had killed his son’s best friend. He had known Logan since he was a kid and had said he really cared for him. What would make him do something like that?

  He took a sip of his water. “When he had that argument with Logan, he was afraid he would report him. He was deep in debt and he was afraid of losing his business.” He sighed and took another sip of his water.


  It was my turn to sigh. “I thought Logan was satisfied when he reduced the charges for the work that was done on his car?”

  He shrugged. “He was, as far as I can tell. He didn’t say much about it to me and if he had been angry about it, he would have mentioned it. Fred was paranoid about it though. He was gaining a reputation for cheating people and I think he was afraid it was getting all over town. Logan threatening to file a complaint against him was the tipping point.”

  “So how did he cut the brake lines?” I asked, taking a sip of my water.

  “Logan parked his car in his driveway and Fred slipped over to his house. He crawled beneath the car and cut into the line just enough so that the fluid would slowly drip out. Brake fluid won’t freeze, but it can get thick in the cold. It dripped very slowly until he started the car and drove a short distance. The engine would have heated the brake fluid and that made it leak out faster at that point.”

  I stared at him. “How awful. Being a mechanic, Fred would have known it was going to do that.”

  He nodded. “He sure would have.”

  I sat back in my chair. “What a waste of life.”

  “You can say that again.” He picked up the menu and looked it over. “The beef bourguignon looks good.”

  I glanced at my menu. “I think I want the sirloin steak in the red wine and mushroom sauce.”

  He raised one eyebrow as he looked at the steaks on the menu. “That does sound good. So does the Hawaiian steak.”

  “You and your pineapple,” I said and chuckled.

  He smiled and laid the menu down, glancing around the room. “It’s packed in here.”

  “Valentine’s Day is a happy occasion. Everyone wants to do something special to celebrate.” I was wearing a red dress with a cute scalloped neckline and he had worn a pair of black slacks and a pink buttoned-down dress shirt. He was adorable.

  “I like Valentine’s Day,” he said with a nod. “And you look beautiful tonight.”

  “You look pretty beautiful yourself,” I said, one eyebrow raised.

  “Thanks. I love it when you notice things like that. I spent forever on my hair.” He fluffed his hair with one hand.