Mint Chocolate Chip Mysteries, Books 1-3

by Emmie Lyn

  Hitch laughed and I said, serious now, “That’s a good question. According to Greg, if he can be believed, there was a lot of jealousy between the roommates. Ginger organized the reunion, even paid for the rooms at the Bayside Bed and Breakfast but never checked in or arrived at Violet’s house when she’d promised. It’s strange.”

  “Here’s the thing, Hitch,” I continued after more thoughts flooded my brain. “If Ginger really was worried about a stalker, and if she thought it was one of the roommates, she could have planned the reunion to get them all together in one place. She wanted to ask you to protect her, and it sounds like she was the type of person who was used to getting what she wanted. In her mind, it might have been a good plan to flush out her stalker and get that problem out of her life.”

  Hitch nodded and shot me a smile. “That makes about as much sense as anything else. What did she do from the time she left Shakes and Cakes yesterday morning and when she showed up at my apartment? Dead, don’t forget.”

  Like I could forget a detail like that. “We might never know. You blew her off, so if she was truly scared, she might have just gone into hiding until she decided to go to your apartment and wait for you. She did end up in your apartment. Why else would she have gone there unless she felt desperate and confident she could convince you to help her?”

  “That all sounds logical, Sunny, but why did she leave her SUV at the bed and breakfast and walk? That just put her out in the open for her stalker.”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged, knowing it was hopeless to try to figure out someone else’s thought process, but I tried anyway. “Maybe she thought leaving her car was a decoy. I bet she had a suspicion about which roommate was after her.”

  I slapped my forehead. “That’s it, Hitch!” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before. “Ginger planned the reunion here in Pineville. Who lives here? Violet. Who called the police to report Ginger missing? Violet. Who was not staying at the bed and breakfast? Violet.”

  “I think I see a pattern in your thoughts, Sunshine.” He grinned at me.

  “That obvious?”

  “Totally. But, it does all fit together in a too obvious way.”

  “Violet also let it slip that she was out buying wine and got delayed when the others arrived at her house last night. Maybe she was delayed because she saw Ginger and followed her to your apartment, killed her, and then rushed back to her house with her lame excuse.”

  Hitch pulled into my driveway and turned to face me, his face serious. “Are you sure you aren’t jumping to conclusions because you don’t like Violet?”

  I bit my bottom lip and considered what Hitch had just said. “It all makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  “It does, but you could probably put together a similar scenario for Laura or Carla, or Greg, and maybe even Ashley. Or, me. Think about it, Sunny. Without evidence, it’s all just speculation.”

  Hitch was right, of course. We needed evidence.” I opened the car door. “Uh-oh,” I said as I slid out with the casserole.

  “What now?” He looked at me, puzzled.

  “The lights are on in my house. You know what that means, don’t you?”

  “Quick! Get back in the car. I’ll keep driving.”

  As tempting as that sounded, I knew Hitch was joking. Tilly was inside waiting for us, and there was no sense in putting off the inevitable. Besides, I was starving and couldn’t wait to dig into Dani’s lobster mac and cheese.

  “Come on Jasper. Let’s get this show on the road. You’re probably hungry, too. But you won’t get any of this casserole.”

  She jumped out and ran to the side of my house to her doggie door. She preferred letting herself in instead of waiting for me to open the front door for her.

  I heard loud barking. And, when I say loud, Jasper’s normal bark was loud, but this was her louder warning bark, more like a roar.

  Hitch wasted no time getting to the front door. He never ran from a dangerous situation which was admirable and also scary.

  What was going on inside?”

  30

  The front door flew open just as Hitch arrived with me only a step or two behind.

  “Tilly?”

  He stopped short, and I crashed into his back. It felt like I’d run into a wall.

  At least his lightning reflexes kicked in, and he turned, caught my flailing arms, and kept me on my feet without missing a beat. “What’s got Jasper all in an uproar?” he asked.

  Greg appeared behind Tilly. “Your dog thought I was an intruder,” he said. “But we’ve worked it out, right Jasper?”

  Jasper pushed past both Greg and Tilly and sat at my side. “Good girl,” I cooed and stroked her head. “You can never be too careful.” I eyed Greg with suspicion.

  “Come on in, you two,” Tilly said. “We’d almost given up on you ever coming home. What took so long?"

  Hitch glanced at me and sent a look that I took to mean in hindsight, not coming to my house might have been the better choice. I shrugged and hoped he understood that I meant, nothing to do about that now.

  He put his arm around my shoulder, and we walked inside. Between Tilly’s strange bouncy behavior and Greg’s friendly demeanor I felt like a guest in my own home. Could my world turn any more upside down? Probably, was the sad truth.

  “So,” Tilly clapped her hands together. “Greg was just about to look through your fridge to find something to throw together for dinner.”

  I’m sure my eyebrows sank into a huge frown of displeasure at the idea of this person I barely knew making himself at home in my house. Much too brazen for my likes.

  “He thought you probably didn’t want to cook after working all day, and he says preparing a meal relaxes him,” Tilly explained. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer. So…” she held her hands in a helpless, what-do-you-want-me-to-do gesture.

  This was not the Tilly I knew who managed to be a take charge person in any situation. Something strange was going on.

  “I have a casserole from Dani so that won’t be necessary,” I said, glad to have something in my hands to keep me from strangling someone. Greg most likely, but right now I wasn’t pleased with Tilly either.

  “Tilly, how about you and Greg sit out here while I put this in the oven to heat.” I needed space away from them. Fast. Without waiting for an answer, I walked to my kitchen and turned on the oven. Hitch followed me.

  “What is going on?” he whispered. “I’ve never seen Tilly acting like a schoolgirl.”

  I handed Hitch the bottle of wine and the corkscrew. I’d already decided that we, or at least I, needed that glass of wine now. Forget about waiting for the casserole to heat up.

  Unfortunately, Tilly had other ideas. Hitch had poured two glasses of the chardonnay when she barged into the kitchen and joined us. Thankfully, she hadn’t pulled Greg along with her.

  “Listen, you two,” she said in a hushed voice. “You could at least try to be friendly. I’m trying to convince Greg to go to Violet’s house and get back in the good graces of the roommates. You know,” she grinned devilishly, “as a spy for us.”

  I helped myself to a generous gulp of wine before holding it toward Hitch to be topped up. “Tilly, they won’t just let him waltz in after he walked out on them this morning. Carla already basically accused him of murdering Ginger.”

  “I think you’re wrong, Sunny. That was all in the heat of the moment. Emotions were flaring.” Tilly pulled out a chair, sat down, and laid out her plan. At least she sounded like herself again, which was a good sign. “After we left Shakes and Cakes, I dropped Greg off to get his car. The plan is, he’ll go next door and apologize. He can say he was under a lot of stress, blah, blah, blah. It doesn’t really matter what he says as long as he sounds sincere. I’m sure he can turn on his charm and trick them into letting him in. Then, he can sit back and listen to all the chatter; find out what they’ve been doing. He can even hint that he knows something about Ginger. They’ll eat it right up. Perfect, right?”
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  Nothing was ever perfect, but the idea of Greg doing the snooping instead of us was appealing. “It’s worth a shot,” I grudgingly agreed. And, best of all, he’d be out of my house.

  Tilly stood up. “Great. He bought a bottle of wine for you, but I told him the roommates need it more.” She raised her eyebrow at my own rapidly disappearing bottle but had enough sense to keep quiet. “That will loosen their tongues. Let me go send him off.” She sniffed the air and inhaled deeply. “Save some of that casserole for me. It smells divine.”

  I thought about throwing a salad together but decided it was too much trouble. The lobster mac and cheese was plenty enough for me along with the wine.

  Stash and Princess Muffin darted into the kitchen providing a welcomed distraction and a much-needed laugh. One chased the other and then they switched roles before both took a break to enjoy some of their crunchies.

  “I hope the other kittens all get adopted into such good homes,” Hitch said.

  “Or, they’ll stay in the greenhouse. I haven’t heard any of them complain. They have sunshine, plants, an enclosed safe area outside, and don’t forget the best nanny ever.”

  And right on cue, Jasper lumbered into the kitchen, sniffed each kitten, and stretched out in the middle of the floor. I had to walk around her to get to the oven when the timer went off.

  “I can’t wait,” Hitch said, looking over my shoulder at the bubbling casserole. “The aroma has my salivary glands working overtime.”

  I scooped out two big helpings, handing one plate to Hitch and taking the other to the table for myself. “Tilly can fend for herself if she’s hungry, but I’m not waiting.”

  Hitch topped off our wine glasses, which drained the bottle. We had just enough to accompany our meal.

  Our forks clicked on the plates. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was, and the casserole filled me up quickly. “Delicious,” I announced, not that Hitch hadn’t already figured that out for himself.

  “I wonder what’s taking Tilly so long with her send-off,” he said.

  “I’ll check.” I put my fork down and slid my chair back. “Don’t sneak the rest of the lobster out of the casserole,” I said, watching him eye a big piece of claw meat.

  “That never crossed my mind,” he laughed, and I knew it was a lie.

  “Hey, Tilly,” I said as I walked into the living room.

  Silence.

  My stomach dropped.

  Where did she go?

  31

  “Both Tilly and Greg are gone. That wasn’t the plan,” I said to Hitch who’d just finished his lobster mac and cheese.

  A door slammed nearby.

  Jasper shot out through her doggie door.

  “What should we do?” I asked.

  “Don’t panic,” Hitch said, which was like telling someone not to sneeze. It’s not like I chose to panic but telling my heart to slow down was pointless.

  “Come on.” He reached for my hand. “Jasper is probably already on Tilly’s trail.”

  I grabbed a flashlight from my utility drawer and followed Hitch into the backyard. He inched along my fence until we were almost to the point where we could see into Violet’s yard when a car pulled into my driveway.

  “Who’s that?” I asked, flattening myself against the fence.

  “It looks like Ashley’s car.”

  “You told her you’d be at my house?” She was the last person I wanted to see tonight.

  “I might have let that slip,” he said sheepishly. “Wait here. I’ll get rid of her.”

  A nail in the fence jabbed into my shoulder blade. I wiggled away and tried to calm my racing heart. It didn’t work. Forcing myself to forget about Ashley, I crept a bit farther along the fence and peeked into Violet’s yard.

  A hand clamped over my mouth and forced me back into the shadows. “It’s me, Tilly. Don’t scream.” She lowered her hand.

  “What was that all about? You scared me half to death, and I almost wet myself.” Okay, I should have kept that last bit of information to myself. Jasper walked around the fence and sat next to me. That was probably the best thing that could have happened right now.

  Tilly laughed and leaned against the fence, until we were shoulder to shoulder.

  I started to giggle, too. Not that the whole situation was funny, but in a way, it was and laughing helped to rid myself of some adrenaline.

  “Greg is on the inside,” Tilly said, like we were in some kind of undercover operation. “Carla met him in the living room and gave him a big weepy hug, I watched from the front porch and peeked through Violet’s window. I think they swallowed his story hook, line, and sinker.”

  “Are you sure you can trust him?” I asked.

  “Of course not, but he’s the best we’ve got for getting any information.”

  The murmur of a conversation reached us.

  “Who’s Hitch talking to?” She shaded her eyes like that would help in this almost pitch darkness.

  “Ashley showed up. I’m sure she just wanted an excuse to see him.”

  While we hid in the shadows, everyone walked out of Violet’s house. Laura hugged her and followed Greg and Carla who strolled toward his car hand in hand. Violet waved until they’d all driven out of sight. She wiped her brow, smiled, and disappeared back inside.

  “So much for your undercover spy,” I said to Tilly. “It looks like he’s ditched you for his wife.”

  “Perfect. That was my plan the whole time.”

  Now, I was confused.

  “Laura, Carla, and Greg are all at the Bayside Bed and Breakfast. With Violet alone, my plan is to search her house after she’s asleep. Are you with me on this?”

  What could I do? Send her in alone? “I’m in.”

  She took my hand and pulled me toward my back door. “Come on. We’ve got some work to do.”

  Following Tilly’s logic was difficult on a low drama day but now? My brain hurt.

  My tea kettle whistled when we stepped inside. A nice cup of soothing chamomile tea might be nice right about now I told myself, until I spotted Ashley sitting at my kitchen table.

  “Ashley thought she heard someone inside my apartment earlier. After the police left,” Hitch said.

  “That’s right. I was so scared I just huddled in my corner for, like, at least an hour. I’m positive someone was in Hitch’s kitchen. I heard footsteps and drawers opening and closing. It, like, really freaked me out.”

  I shot a look at Hitch. Was he buying this? “Did you look out your windows for cars on the street? Or anyone walking out of Hitch’s place? Did you see anything, Ashley?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t dare go close to a window. I didn’t want that person to know I was home. I waited for, like forever before I dared to get in my car and come here. Please let me stay.”

  She looked at me with the biggest frightened eyes I’d ever seen. I couldn’t believe it was an act. “Sure. You can stay. With Hitch and Jasper here, no one will dare break in.”

  I poured tea for everyone, and we moved into the living room. Now we had to wait for Violet’s house to go dark.

  “Cute place ya got here,” Ashley said as she looked around.

  “Thanks.”

  One of the kittens jumped on her lap. “Oh! Where’d you come from?” She laughed and stroked Stash until she settled on Ashley’s lap. “You really like animals, don’t you?”

  “I do. How about you?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s a long story.”

  Oh boy, now I was sorry I’d asked.

  “But the short version is that my parents wouldn’t let me have a pet. I’d like to give a cat a try. I think it would be a good companion, quiet, and they’re clean. What do you think?” She looked at me like I was the expert.

  “It’s a lifelong commitment, Ashley. Having a pet isn’t just a whim until you decide it’s not as much fun as you’d expected.” Why mince words? “Can you commit to something like that?”

  “Of course, I can. It’
s not like I’m irresponsible. I like, have a job, I’m always on time with paying my bills. I might need a little help since taking care of animals is new for me, but I don’t think that disqualifies me.” She had a good point. There was always a first time for every pet owner.

  “I have an idea, Ashley.”

  She leaned toward me.

  “We,” I indicated Hitch and myself, “need someone to help out in our Kitty Castle. All of our kittens are looking for good homes. If you want to volunteer, you could get some experience. What do you think?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Really? You’d trust me to, like, help? My parents never had any confidence in me.”

  Okay, now I felt sorry for her and took back all my original assumptions. She was sort of pathetic, but at least she was trying to improve herself.

  “Sure. You’d actually be working alongside Jasper. She’s our official Chief Kitty Nanny, but, obviously, she can’t talk to potential adopters or help fill out the adoption application.”

  “I have Fridays off, so I could, like, come in for the whole day.” Her eyes shone with excitement.

  Hitch patted my leg to let me know he was glad I’d decided to take a chance with Ashley. “We’d love that,” he said.

  Tilly finished her tea and stood up. Distracted. I doubted she’d been paying any attention to the conversation with Ashley. “I need to get something from my house. Can you help me, Sunny? It might take a while.”

  Hitch sent me a what-are-you-two-up-to look, but I ignored him, knowing he wouldn’t like whatever Tilly’s plan was.

  “Sure.” I stood up. “Hitch, can you get sheets and blankets out of the closet and fix up the guest room for Ashley? I guess you’ll have to sleep on the couch.”

  He followed me to the door. He wasn’t going to let us leave without some kind of explanation.

  “Just a little peek in Violet’s windows,” Tilly said. “Nothing to worry about.”

  “There’s always something to worry about if you’re involved, Tilly.” Hitch said. There was an unmistakable hint of frustration and possibly worry in his tone. “I’ll get Ashley settled. If you two aren’t back in a half hour, I’m coming out looking for you.”