Gelato with a Side of Murder

by Meredith Potts

  As I drove over to Luigi’s Gelato, my mother’s disapproving voice wasn’t the only one in my head. There was also a nagging voice at the back of my mind urging me to turn back.

  I could hear my bathroom scale back home begging me to reconsider giving in to this gelato craving. Meanwhile, my sweet tooth was laughing hysterically at my utter lack of will power. But I couldn’t help myself. Right then, my taste buds were in control, and they refused to listen to reason.

  By the time I arrived at Luigi’s, I was practically salivating. What a dangerous time for my diet.

  Actually, who was I kidding? During times of great stress, my diet always became a casualty.

  If anything, it was surprising that I had managed to make it this long without giving in to temptation.

  I swung the front door of the shop open and deliciously sugary aromas wafted my way while the display case made my eyes bulge with sheer delight. As was to be expected at such an early hour, the place was empty except for the owner, Luigi Antonelli, and my grandma, Betsy Daley.

  It felt surreal to be setting foot in a place like this at nine thirty in the morning. On the flip side, now that I saw the delectable gelato in the display case, there wasn’t any turning back.

  Luigi shook his head in disbelief as he spotted me. “Just when I thought my morning wasn’t strange enough.”

  My grandmother was so busy savoring her gelato that she didn’t turn around and look at me. Instead, she shrugged and replied to Luigi, “What are you talking about?”

  Luigi pointed at me. “We have familiar company.”

  Betsy whirled around and saw me approaching the display case. Her eyes lit up. “Sabrina. What a pleasant surprise.”

  “Surprise is definitely the right word. I never thought I’d find you in a gelato shop at this hour,” I replied.

  Betsy smiled wide. “What can I say? Sometimes life is filled with delicious twists and turns.”

  “And other times, life is just surreal.” Luigi glanced at me. “Your grandmother arrived here this morning before I even opened.”

  Betsy raised her eyebrows at Luigi. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. What’s the matter? You don’t like my money?”

  Luigi waggled his pointer finger back and forth. “That’s not it, Betsy. You know I am very appreciative of your business. But you have to admit, there isn’t a whole lot of clamoring in the world for breakfast gelato.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, that’s the world’s loss and my scrumptious gain,” Betsy said.

  Luigi smiled as he shook his head. “You are truly one of a kind.”

  Betsy boasted, “And proud of it. Consider the mold broken.” She held her pointer finger up. “But just because I’m a trailblazer doesn’t mean that my footsteps can’t be followed. Take Sabrina, for example.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “You showing up here for some breakfast gelato proves that great minds really do think alike.”

  My eyebrows rose. “What you call a great mind, I just call a curious one. Honestly, when my mother told me you were here, I didn’t believe it.”

  “I know. It’s an idea so tasty that you’re probably kicking yourself for not coming up with it yourself.”

  I laughed. “Not quite, Grandma.”

  Betsy did not roll back her previous statement whatsoever. “Well, I certainly wish that I had come up with this idea sooner.”

  “By the way, my mother says you’re a bad influence,” I replied.

  Betsy took a bite of her gelato. “Once you get a taste, I’m pretty sure you’ll disagree with your mom.”

  Luigi shook his head. “Betsy, you are without a doubt the feistiest woman I have ever met.”

  “Hey, just because I’m old doesn’t mean I can’t be bold,” Betsy said.

  Luigi laughed. “And wildly unapologetic.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing. This is the most delicious idea I’ve had in years,” Betsy said.

  “Well, thank you. I’m glad you like the gelato,” Luigi replied.

  “I don’t like it. I love it. Who knew breakfast could taste this good?” Betsy asked.

  “Does that mean you are going to make this a habit?” Luigi replied.

  “Why not?” Betsy said.

  “I can think of a number of reasons,” I said. “And I’m sure that any nutritionist in the world could too.”

  “Hey. I’m eighty-three years old. If I want gelato for breakfast, who is going to stop me?” Betsy said.

  I shrugged. “How can I argue with logic like that?”

  “Why would you argue at all when there’s delicious gelato to eat?” Betsy asked.

  I chuckled. “That’s another good point.”

  “I have no shortage of them,” Betsy replied.

  I smiled. “You know what I love about you, Grandma?”

  Betsy used a playful tone as she replied. “Everything?”

  “That you have no shortage of confidence,” I said.

  Betsy threw her arms out. “Why wouldn’t I be confident? I have a lot to offer the world.”

  “Like breakfast gelato?” I joked.

  “Hey, laugh all you want, but I’m going to turn breakfast gelato into a national sensation,” Betsy said.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I had strong doubts that breakfast gelato would ever become a national sensation, but it was definitely a delicious treat. After all, there was a magic to gelato. Between the quality of the ingredients, the creamy texture, the rich flavor, and the generous dose of sugar in each serving, it was hard to finish a bowl of gelato and not have a smile on my face.

  My mood was certainly lifted as I left Luigi’s that morning and headed over to the police station to check in with David. Unfortunately, as I approached my boyfriend’s desk, he clearly wasn’t riding a sugar high like I was. Instead, his spirits were sagging as he stared with great intensity at a case file that was open on his desk.

  “Any interesting developments?” I said.

  He looked up from the file. “Actually, I think I should be asking you that.”

  My forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean?”

  He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Sabrina, don’t play dumb with me.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This case has got me just as stumped now as I was last night.”

  “I wasn’t referring to the case.”

  “Then I’m even more confused. What’s going on?”

  “From what I heard, your sweet tooth had a very active morning,” he said.

  My muscles tensed up.

  David continued. “That’s right. I know you went out for some breakfast gelato.”

  “How did you—?”

  “Sabrina, I’m a detective.”

  I stared him down.

  “And your mother told me.”

  I shook my head and let out a sigh. “Of course she did. She is incapable of keeping a secret.”

  “Hey, don’t put this on your mom. I don’t know anyone who could keep a breakfast gelato run a secret.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right. Eating gelato at nine in the morning is like something a five-year-old would come up with.”

  “It was my grandma’s idea, actually,” I said.

  “Fine. I stand corrected,” he replied.

  “To be fair, Grandma Betsy is young at heart.”

  “She definitely channeled the mind of a little kid with this idea of hers.”

  “Hey. Don’t knock her ideas. Going out for breakfast gelato was a stroke of genius. Besides, if anything, it has me wondering if maybe I should add more childlike activities into my daily routine.”

  “So you really loved your gelato, then?” he asked.

  “I sure did. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

  David became deflated. “Oh.”

  I held my pointer finger out. “Don’t judge me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then what’s wi
th the long face?”

  “I’m just disappointed that you didn’t invite me,” he said.

  I scrunched my nose. “Wait. You mean you would have come with me?”

  “Of course. Do I look like the kind of guy who is going to turn down ice cream?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “Definitely not,” he said. “I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to come with you.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought you were focused on this case,” I said.

  “I was. Maybe too much. I have stared at this case file so long this morning that I’m getting a headache.”

  I grimaced. “Do you have anything to show for it, at least?”

  “Just an empty stomach.”

  “That’s a shame. Do you want to go out and get some gelato?”

  “Don’t think that hasn’t occurred to me.”

  “So wait, is that a yes or no?” I asked.

  “Of course I want to. But I’m not going to. Not with this case so up in the air,” he said.

  “Does that mean you haven’t made any headway even after staring at the case file all morning?”

  “Unfortunately, the only thing I have to show for my efforts is a headache.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “Maybe you should get some gelato. You know, as brain food.”

  “Isn’t that what donuts are for?”

  “In my experience, you can never have too much brain food.”

  He opened up a box on his desk that was empty except for a few crumbs.

  “I’ve already had plenty of food this morning. Now I’m just waiting for my brain to come up with some investigative magic.”

  “So you have no fresh leads, then?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’m completely stumped too.” I groaned. “So, where do we go from here?”

  “I’m going to prepare a statement for the press,” he said. “Other than that, we can’t do much more than pray.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The next day

  “Sabrina, you need to come here right now,” Kelly said over the phone.

  My friend was frantic. Her voice cracked as she spoke. Poor thing. She was having a rough couple of days. These panicked phone calls were becoming disturbingly common.

  The last time she had called me in such distress, it was because she had discovered Delilah’s dead body. Amazingly enough, she sounded equally freaked out right now.

  She couldn’t have discovered a second dead body, could she?

  My heart sank as I considered the possibility.

  I certainly couldn’t dismiss the idea. After all, this was Treasure Cove, where crazy things kept happening at an alarming rate.

  By that point, I had worked myself into a tizzy. But while my mind was racing with horrifying hypotheticals, I tried to respond in as calm of a manner as I could.

  “Kelly. What’s the matter?” I said.

  “He’s here,” she replied.

  “Who is?” I asked. “And where are you?”

  “I’m at home, but I’m not alone. Ziggy Hummel is here.”

  My eyes widened. “Wait. He’s inside your house?”

  “No. He’s at my front door. He keeps knocking and he won’t leave.”

  I grabbed my keys and headed to the front door of my house. “I’m on my way.”

  Kelly exhaled. “Good.”

  As I walked out to my car, I tried to get more answers from Kelly.

  “I have to admit that I’m thoroughly confused,” I said. “What’s Ziggy even doing at your place?”

  “He followed me home.”

  A shiver went down my spine. “Why would he do that?”

  “Because of what I saw,” Kelly said.

  My muscles tightened. “I’m not following.”

  “Earlier today, I went out to my favorite yoga studio to try and realign my chakras. When I arrived in front of the studio, I spotted Ziggy Hummel and Saffron Conklin together.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Do you mean romantically together?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  I opened my car door, took a seat, and fired up the ignition. “Try to simplify it for me,” I said.

  “Saffron tried to kiss Ziggy, but he turned her away,” Kelly said.

  I pulled out of my driveway and headed over to Kelly’s place. “That’s pretty crazy,” I said. “How did Saffron take the rejection?”

  “Not well. Although, Ziggy was the one who really lost his temper. He began yelling at Saffron until she dashed away in tears.”

  “Did you hear what he said to her to make her cry?”

  “No. I was just far enough away that I couldn’t make out the words.”

  “That’s a shame.”

  “Not as big of a shame as what happened next.”

  “I’m listening,” I said.

  “I tried to head back to my car without Ziggy noticing me, but I must have done a poor job of it because he started yelling my name,” Kelly said.

  “What did you do, then?”

  “I just booked it to my car and drove straight home. Unfortunately, Ziggy followed me here.”

  “Do you know what he wants?”

  “No. But I’m afraid of finding out.”

  “Okay, well look. I’m on my way. Just hold tight. I’ll be there soon,” I said.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I called David and filled him in on the details that Kelly had told me. David jumped in his car and darted over to Kelly’s place. Since David lived a little closer to Kelly’s house than I did, we ended up arriving at her street at the same time.

  David and I parked our cars in front of Kelly’s place and turned our attention to Ziggy, who was still standing on her front step knocking on her door.

  “I know you are in there. I just want to talk to you,” Ziggy said.

  David and I got out of our cars and approached Ziggy.

  “Step away from the door and turn around slowly,” David demanded.

  Ziggy whirled around with a shocked expression on his face. “What are you doing here?”

  “Let me see your hands,” David said.

  Ziggy held both of his hands out in plain sight. Thankfully, he wasn’t holding a weapon of any kind.

  “I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Ziggy said.

  “Oh yeah? What exactly are you doing here?” David said.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Ziggy said.

  “Kelly didn’t like you following her home so she called for some help,” David said. “Now, what’s your story?”

  “I just wanted to talk to her is all,” Ziggy said.

  “About what she saw in front of the yoga studio this morning?” I asked.

  Ziggy nodded. “Yes. Because I think she got the wrong impression of what was really going on.”

  “So Saffron didn’t try to kiss you then? And you didn’t turn her away? Or yell at her? Or make her cry?” I asked.

  “It wasn’t what it looked like,” Ziggy said.

  “I hope you have a good explanation because things look very bad for you right now,” I said.

  “Hey, Saffron was the one who came on to me,” Ziggy said.

  “And you’re not interested in her?” I asked.

  “No. Not at all. I never have been,” Ziggy said.

  “Wait. Never?” I asked. “Has she come on to you before?”

  Ziggy nodded. “A number of times. She has practically been throwing herself at me for months. At first, I let her down gently. But she just hasn’t gotten the message. So I decided to make myself completely clear this morning.”

  “I think you did that and more,” I said.

  Ziggy grimaced. “So I might have gone a little overboard.”

  “That’s one way of putting it,” I said.

  “Look. I’m sorry. My emotions have been really raw since Delilah’s death,” Ziggy said.

  “Because you were in love with he
r,” I said.

  Ziggy groaned. “Are we really going to get into this again?”

  I held my pointer finger up. “Did Saffron know how strongly you felt about Delilah?”

  “For the last time, I never said I felt strongly about Delilah. Those are your words, not mine,” Ziggy replied.

  David folded his arms. “Mr. Hummel, you’re not fooling anyone. We know you had feelings for Delilah. So the sooner you stop lying, the better off you’ll be.”

  Ziggy threw out his arms. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “We will, when you’re done answering our questions,” David said.

  “Now, be honest with me,” I said. “Did Saffron know how you felt about Delilah?”

  “Why does that even matter?” Ziggy asked.

  “It could actually be the key to everything. Including proving your innocence,” I said.

  Ziggy’s eyebrows rose. “Are you serious?”

  “Will you please just answer the question?” I asked.

  Ziggy nodded. “Yeah. Saffron knew exactly how much I cared about Delilah.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “You’ve been more help than you even realize.”

  Ziggy’s forehead wrinkled. “Do you want to explain to me what’s going on?”

  I smiled. “It will all be clear soon enough.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  David and I did a little more digging around, then we headed over to Saffron Conklin’s place. I hadn’t even made it to Saffron’s front door yet, and I could already smell incense burning. David and I took a few more steps and reached the porch of Saffron’s green, ranch-style house, where I heard soft pan flute music playing inside. To me, that was an indicator that Saffron was definitely home. The question became, would she speak with us?

  Thankfully, after only a few knocks, Saffron opened her door. Her nose crinkled as she stared at David.

  “Detective Carlson. Sabrina. I didn’t expect to see you again,” Saffron said.

  “Trust me. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important,” David replied.

  “How is the case going?” she asked.

  “Actually, we have made a surprising discovery,” David said.