Here Comes the Fudge

by Nancy CoCo

  “He is.” I went over to the coffee bar and pulled out a folding table, covered it with a white tablecloth, and put the fruit on it, along with some cookies I’d picked up while I was in the bakery section at Doud’s. The other baked goods went under the bar, waiting for their morning debut.

  “This is nice,” Jenn’s dad said as he picked up a paper plate and helped himself to a plate and some fruit and cookies.

  “Oh, can we get yogurt tomorrow?” Jenn’s mom asked. “I like to limit my carbs.” The woman was tall and slender, just like Jenn. I couldn’t understand why she might need to limit her carbs.

  “Sure,” I said. “I can pick up some low carb yogurt and some hard-boiled eggs for tomorrow.”

  “Don’t get too good at this,” Jenn’s dad said and winked. “We might not ever want to leave.”

  “Keep eating like that and you won’t fit into your tux for the wedding,” Jenn’s mom teased. They both walked over to the couch to sit with my mom and dad, who were enjoying their coffee.

  Jenn came downstairs looking perfect in a flowy, midi-length, flowery dress with puffed sleeves and espadrilles. “Hi all,” Jenn said. She grabbed some tea and sat in a wing-backed chair next to her parents.

  Frances had finished her paperwork—being general manager, she was also my accountant—grabbed a coffee, and went over to join the group. I decided we needed more chairs and went to the basement door only to have Douglas come through it with extra folding chairs in hand.

  “Hey, you read my mind,” I said.

  “You might want to give these a once-over with a clean cloth. They’ve been downstairs for months,” he said.

  “Good idea,” I said. “Help yourself to a snack.”

  I went upstairs and grabbed some cleaning supplies for the chairs. Mal bounced after me and hurried down the stairs to see if anyone would slip her a bit of food. Mella came out of her closet and I scratched her head. Then opened the door to see if she wanted to go downstairs, too. She put her nose and tail in the air and went back to her closet. “Too many guests for your taste?” I asked her with a chuckle. Then I closed and locked the apartment.

  It looked like the parents were getting along fine. Tomorrow Shane’s mom and dad would join us. Then the hotel would be full of Jenn and Shane’s friends and relatives. I loved the energy.

  “We’re all going to take a walk around the island,” Mom said. “I want Frances and Douglas to come.”

  “That’s fine,” I said. “I can handle things here on my own.” I waved them all off. Jenn went with them. Dad even leashed up Mal and took her, too. My pup was loving all the company. Even with only a few guests there was still work to do. The cleaning service didn’t start until next week. So it was up to me to clean my parents’ suite and Jenn’s parents suite, too.

  I started there. I opened the door and was surprised to see that someone had slept on the couch. I quietly refolded the blanket and added extra clean sheets, folded neatly on the couch. I cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed and made the queen-size bed. Then I dusted and left a candy on the pillow of the bed and on the stack of sheets and blankets for the couch.

  Next I cleaned my folks’ room. Lucky for me, no one was sleeping on that couch. Maybe I would mention it to Jenn. Perhaps it was simply that one of her parents snored, so they slept apart. I certainly hoped it didn’t mean anything like separation or divorce. On second thought, maybe I wouldn’t mention it to Jenn until after the wedding. I vacuumed the hallway and then checked to see that the rooms for Shane’s folks and the others coming in Friday were clean and ready.

  A trip downstairs showed me that no one had arrived. Now that I had cameras everywhere but in the guest rooms and my apartment, it was easy to tell if anyone had entered. I figured they wouldn’t because I had a big sign declaring the hotel was full.

  Next, I went upstairs and baked sugar cookies for after-dinner snacking. Finally, it was time for my video interview with the twins. I sat down at my computer and hopped onto the video meeting site. They were both there, eager and ready.

  “Hi, guys,” I said. “I’m Allie McMurphy, the owner of the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop. How are you?”

  They answered that they were well. The twins’ names were Kent and Kelly. Both had thick blond hair and a cheery demeanor. We went over the requirements and both seemed to think it would be a great place to work.

  “Now, I can’t supply housing,” I said. “But there are a lot of places needing roommates. Plus, you’ll get to meet other young people like yourselves, on the island for the season. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds great to us,” they said in unison.

  “Perfect. I’ll send you a link with more information and where to go to look for roommates. Do you have any other questions?”

  “Yes,” Kelly said. “What was it like taping the fudge-off show?”

  “It was a little crazy,” I said. “But a whole lot of fun.”

  “Are they coming back to the island to film again?” Kent asked.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “After the murder, I think they were put off by the island as a good place for production.”

  “Okay,” Kent said, looking a little downhearted.

  “I can say that the tourism bureau is always working to get more productions on the island. So you never know. Are you up for the challenge?”

  “We are,” they said in unison. The unison stuff was a little spooky, but I thought I could handle it for the summer.

  “Great. Can you start next week?”

  “Sure!” they said in unison again. “Can we have half days our first week so we can get set with housing and such?”

  “Sure, why not,” I said. “Take care and I look forward to you coming. Oh, and I’ll send you a link to discounted ferry tickets. It’s one of the perks to working on the island.”

  “Cool,” they said. Their voices blended in perfect harmony.

  I ended the call and sat back. Mella had come out of her closet to see what I was doing. She crawled across my keyboard and onto my lap. I petted her until she purred. “You are a very good girl,” I told her. “I’m glad I have you because it’s going to be lonely when Jenn moves out to her new home with Shane.”

  The downstairs doorbell rang, letting me know someone had walked in. I hurried downstairs to find Rex looking at the fudge counter.

  “Hi, Rex,” I said. “What can I do for you?”

  He wore his uniform and had his hat in his hands. His impossibly blue gaze moved slowly from the empty fudge shop to me. “Hi, Allie,” he said. “I heard you didn’t do any shipping today. Is there a problem with the fudge making?”

  “Oh no, I’m just taking time off from making fudge for the wedding. My parents, Jenn’s parents, and soon Shane’s parents will be here, along with friends and relatives. I wanted to focus on that. Besides, I’m in charge of keeping Jenn on track. Don’t you have to keep Shane bolstered and ready?”

  “I’m not very good at weddings,” he admitted. “You would think I would be because I’ve had two, but it’s not my forte. Listen, I was wondering if you had time to talk about what you know about Christopher’s death.”

  “Sure. Can I get you a cup of coffee?” I asked. “We have some baked goods and fruit if you want any.”

  “Coffee will be fine. Black.”

  I poured us both a cup. He pulled a chair away from the window, swung it around, and sat so he could lean on the back of it. I handed him a coffee and remained standing. He took a sip. “I heard you had Liz look into what Becky knew about that night.”

  “I can neither confirm nor deny it,” I said.

  “Becky has no recall of that night,” he said and studied my face. “But she does remember that she talked to Shane that day.”

  “What did they talk about?” I asked.

  “She’s not sure,” he said. “The stabbing plus the trauma of seeing Christopher killed, plus pain meds, etc., has her memory shaky. So I asked Shane what she called him for. He sai
d he doesn’t remember.”

  “He doesn’t remember?” I sat down. “Why doesn’t he remember?”

  “Shane tested positive for roofies in his system from that night,” Rex said. “That drug will erase a few memories.”

  “Who would do that?” I asked. “Why would they do that?”

  “He doesn’t know, which is why we haven’t said anything. Listen, Shane is embarrassed that he got roofied. It has a stigma of being a date rape drug and he’s a guy.”

  My eyes widened. “Is he okay?”

  “As far as we can tell. It seems someone simply wanted Shane out of the way,” he said.

  “Well, I know he had drinks with Annie Hawthorne and Peter Ramfield,” I said.

  “But it could have been anyone from a server to a bartender,” Rex said. “I’m telling you this because we’re down to the wire. I’m getting pressure from the mayor to close the case, but so far no one really knows what happened.”

  “And all the circumstantial evidence points to Shane,” I said. “But he’s getting married. Please don’t haul him off in handcuffs during the reception.”

  Rex rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m doing my best not to let that happen. So if you find out anything more, promise me you’ll come see me right away.”

  “I promise,” I said.

  “Good, thank you.” He finished his coffee and stood, handing me the empty cup. “I hear you have a bachelorette party tonight.”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Have fun, but stay safe, okay? There’s a killer on the loose.” For a brief moment I saw concern in his gaze and then he went back to the flat cop stare.

  “I won’t forget,” I said.

  Chapter 14

  The girls gathered in the lobby at about eight p.m. We were all dressed to the nines in body-hugging short dresses and spiky high heels. My hair was tamed by a wide curling iron into fat curls. Even Liz wore a dress and spike-heeled ankle boots. The team consisted of me, Jenn, Liz, Sophie, Sandy Everheart, Paige, and Mary Emry.

  I poured us all a glass of champagne before we left. “A toast,” I said, “to get the party started. To Jenn, may she be happily married for the rest of her life and make us all envy her happiness.”

  “Hear, hear,” the other girls said. We clinked glasses and downed the champagne. Then we linked arms and walked outside, where I had a horse and carriage ready for us. The party room was a few blocks away, but I thought it would be fun to ride in a carriage. The driver climbed down and held our hands as we scrambled into the carriage in our short skirts. Laughing and chattering, we were off down the street. I let streamers fly behind us and made Jenn wear a sash that said Bride.

  She looked gorgeous in a gold body hugging gown, sparkly hose, and gold shoes. I hadn’t seen her face that happy in a long time. We arrived shortly at the bar where I had reserved the back room. The guys inside hooted and hollered at us as we walked past them. The whole place clapped and applauded Jenn. She raised her hand and waved like the Queen of England. Probably because I’d bought her a tiara and made her wear it.

  The back room was decorated with gold, blush, and pink balloons. There was a dance floor and a deejay playing all our favorite dance tunes. Without guys, we felt free to leave our drinks on the table and dance our hearts out. The wine and cocktails flowed and I was feeling no pain as I grabbed Jenn.

  “You are the best, most beautiful friend a girl could have,” I said. “I’m so lucky to have you. Now that you’re getting married, please don’t forget about me.”

  “Oh, honey, I won’t,” she promised. “I’ll still be working out of the McMurphy. We’ll see each other every day.”

  “Good.” I swayed. “That’s just how I want it.”

  About ten-thirty the men crashed the party. Shane took Jenn by the hand and ordered a slow dance. Rex put his hand on my waist and took me out to the dance floor. The other girls grabbed partners from Shane’s friends.

  I leaned into Rex to keep from falling over. “Aren’t they cute together?” I asked. I knew my voice sounded sloppy, but I didn’t care. Sometimes you had to let go of being perfect and just have fun.

  “They are,” he said. “I couldn’t keep Shane from crashing your party. He said he didn’t want to be single another night.” Rex looked into my eyes. “I feel the same way.”

  “Are you going to ask Melonie to marry you again?” I teased, deflecting his advance. I wasn’t going to commit to anything when I was drinking.

  “No,” he said sharply. “I think we should go on another date.”

  “We have a date during the wedding,” I pointed out.

  “It’s not the same and you know it,” he said and tucked a long piece of my hair behind my ear. The gentle brush of his finger sent chills down my spine. “We’ve been dancing around this thing for over a year. Let’s make it official.”

  “Official that we should go on a few dates?” I pressed.

  “Official that we’re in an exclusive relationship to see where it goes,” he said.

  I bit my bottom lip. “Exclusive?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “I had dinner with Harry Winston the other night,” I blurted out. “He sent flowers after.”

  “I heard,” Rex said. “I might not be a start-up millionaire who is playing at being an innkeeper, but I’m here. I’ll always be here. I’m not playing and I won’t be gone in two years when I get bored.”

  “You can’t predict that,” I said.

  “I know it.”

  “I mean, you can’t predict that Harry will be gone in two years,” I said.

  “Allie, you are the most frustrating woman I’ve ever met,” Rex said.

  “That’s no way to ask a girl to go steady,” I quipped and did a twirl.

  He pulled me back into his arms. “Will you at least think about it?”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said and rested my head on his warm chest.

  “When will you let me know?”

  “I’ll let you know after the wedding,” I said. Then I looked into his eyes. “Even if we go steady, be prepared for me to investigate anytime someone I love is in trouble with the law. Can you do that?”

  “Do I have a choice?” he asked, his blue gaze sincere. Rex Manning looked like an action hero, but he had the most amazing blue eyes ringed with long black lashes. It made my heart sing.

  I put my head back on his shoulder so I wouldn’t lose my head. There always seemed to be people or circumstances keeping us apart. Maybe if we were exclusive we could see where this thing between us went. Maybe that would be the most honest thing to do. Maybe.

  * * *

  Next morning, Jenn and I were nursing hangovers and prepping for the afternoon ladies’ tea.

  “Whose idea was it to invite the female relatives and friends to a tea?” Jenn asked. She popped two more aspirin and drank from her second bottle of water with electrolytes.

  “I’d forgotten what a hangover feels like,” I said and tried to keep my head from turning too fast. “I haven’t had one since I aced my candy class freshman year of college.”

  “Lucky for you, we catered this affair. Can you imagine having to make all the tea cakes and sandwiches this morning?”

  My stomach churned at the idea. We put the round tables up in the lobby near the elevators and placed chairs around them and along the walls. It seemed the entire group of women from the senior center were coming, as well as my mom, Jenn’s mom, and Shane’s mom.

  Sandy Everheart came in, the doorbells jarring in my head.

  “Oh good, you’re here,” I said. “Was it hard to make the centerpieces?”

  “Not terribly,” she said and put her box on the nearest table. The centerpieces were multitiered cake and sandwich stands made completely of white and dark chocolate. She pulled the first one out.

  “Wow, those are spectacular,” I said.

  “They are perfect for the little cakes and scones and such,” Jenn said.

  “We’ll let you pla
ce them,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for breaking them.”

  “How are you feeling today?” I asked Sandy, who was with us last night. “Jenn and I are hurting.”

  “I’m fine,” Sandy said with a shrug. “I didn’t drink anything but soda with a twist of lemon.”

  “Lucky you,” Jenn said and rubbed her temples.

  “Smart,” I said with a smile.

  “I learned from my grandmother never to drink. Alcoholism runs in the family.”

  “Oh,” I said. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Frances walked in from the back door with a box from the florist. “I picked up the flower parts of the centerpieces.”

  “Thanks,” I said and took the box from her. The entire centerpiece consisted of the chocolate stands to put the treats on, with a ring of pink and blush flowers around the bottom to match Jenn’s wedding colors. Then there was a rose for every plate in pink. One lucky person at the table would win the chocolate and the rest would all go home with flowers.

  The doorbells jangled again. This time it didn’t hurt as much, so the aspirin and water were helping. It was Terra Reeves, a local caterer who had worked for us before when we hosted a senior center meetup.

  “Hi, Terra,” I said. “Thanks for doing this.”

  She pulled a cart behind her filled with cooler boxes to keep things cold and other boxes for the things that didn’t need to be kept cold. “The place looks gorgeous,” she said. “I’ve got a tier of sweets, a tier of scone and tea cakes, and a tier of bite-size sandwiches, including the infamous cucumber sandwich.”

  “Sounds yummy,” Jenn said. “Can we help you place them on the chocolate trays?”

  “Sure,” she said. “I’ve got extra gloves.” She handed us both plastic gloves made specifically for food prep.

  I put on the gloves and grabbed a box, set it on one of the tables, and started to fill up the stands. We followed Terra’s lead on what to put where and soon all the food was out on display.

  We finished just in time for the ladies to start arriving. My mom and Jenn’s mom were first and made themselves cups of tea. Jenn stationed herself at the door to welcome everyone inside. I stationed myself at the teapot table to ensure the little flame pots under the teapots remained lit and the teapots didn’t run out of water.