Marriage Is Pure Murder

by Staci McLaughlin

  Mitch sighed and motioned toward the alley with the back of his hand. “Fine. Go back to the front. I’ll be with you as soon as I’m done here.”

  “I’ll be waiting.” At least he was agreeing to speak with me. Unless, of course, he was planning to run out the other side of the parking lot to the street and take off for parts unknown. I wandered back to the front of the shop, mulling over why the sight of me would trigger such a strange reaction. Was he anxious about whether Violet would accept his offer and worried I’d somehow mess it up? That couldn’t be it. He’d been acting funny before I even mentioned the flower shop.

  From the direction of the back lot, I heard the rumble of a truck. The ice cream deliveryman must be getting ready to leave. I’d seen that logo on the side of his truck somewhere else.

  With a jolt, I suddenly realized where. If I was correct, Mitch had some explaining to do.

  I ran back through the alley just as the truck pulled out of the lot. I screeched to a halt in front of Mitch, pointed at the truck as it drove away, and put my hands on my hips. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?”

  Chapter 24

  Mitch took a step back, avoiding my gaze. “What’s got you all riled up?”

  I pointed once more at the truck, which was far down the block. “That truck.”

  Still not looking at me, Mitch rubbed the back of his head. “What about it? I’m just getting my ice cream supplies.”

  I shook my head. “Not supplies. Ice cream. You’re buying cartons of ice cream from that guy.”

  “What? No way,” Mitch protested, but it was all for show. His words were as hollow as an unfilled cone.

  “I got a look inside the back of that truck. It was full of already prepared ice cream. What happened to making everything on-site? With all-natural ingredients?”

  Mitch leaned toward me. “Keep your voice down. I’m trying to run a business here.”

  “By lying to your customers?” I hadn’t planned on speaking so bluntly, but my mom was interested in dating this guy. I couldn’t let her go out with someone so dishonest. “I recognize that logo. I used to buy that brand at a discount grocery store when I was living in the Bay Area. And I’m fairly certain most of the ingredients came out of a chemical factory.”

  Mitch rubbed the back of his head again. “Look, business this time of year is brutal. Even with the after-school crowds, it’s all I can do to keep the doors open, let alone pay for these all-natural ingredients. You got any idea how much those cost?”

  “But people think they’re spending their money on a good-quality product when they’re not. That’s false advertising, which is a crime, the last time I checked.” If this guy would lie about a major part of his business, what else would he lie about? Did I really want my mom dating someone who couldn’t be trusted? And should I really be talking to the guy in a secluded back parking lot mere feet from where a woman had been shot?

  He spread his hands. “Look, I’ve only been buying from that company the last couple of months, when the weather turned and sales dropped. I’m cutting corners anywhere I can, including pushing my opening time back. I thought being open early in the morning would let customers buy ice cream whenever the mood struck, but instead I ended up paying my employees to stand around and twiddle their thumbs. Once business picks up, I can go back to buying the good ingredients and making my own ice cream again.”

  “Do your employees know?” I had a hard time picturing fresh-faced Nicole lying about what she was selling.

  “No, I’ve been real careful. The shipments come early morning when I’m here by myself. The only reason the delivery guy was late today was because of an accident on the highway. I transfer the ice cream from their cartons to my own tubs in the display case, stuff all the empty cartons into trash bags, and drive a couple blocks to throw the bags in the Dumpsters behind the furniture store. Then I come back here before any of my workers arrive. I even leave mixing bowls in the sink sometimes to make it look like I used them.”

  He seemed almost proud of his duplicity, but to me, that was a lot of effort for an ice cream scam. Then again, it might be necessary if Mitch wanted to stay in business. If news of his deception leaked out, customers might never buy ice cream from him again. It would be the same if Zennia decided to start using non-organic vegetables without telling our customers. We’d be out of business for sure.

  “What happens if sales don’t pick up?” I asked.

  He glowered at me. “They will. I’m the go-to place in the spring to celebrate baseball games, plus I’ve been drawing in the soccer crowd, and once school’s out for the summer, I’ll have kids in here all day. Besides, if I can expand this place like I want to, I can guarantee profits will double. Every day, I see people driving around town with those giant iced coffees from the Daily Grind clutched in their hands. I plan to get a share of that business.”

  “Is that why you made an offer to Violet?”

  Mitch jerked his head back. “Word sure gets around fast. How’d you hear about that?”

  “A friend mentioned it,” I said vaguely, not wanting to put Jason in a tight spot. “How did she respond?”

  “She hasn’t yet. Said she needed to think about it, but she’s just playing hardball. She has about as much interest in the flower business as I do. Probably hoping I’ll up my offer if she drags her heels, but I know she’ll cave eventually.”

  If he was right about Violet, then Bethany’s murder couldn’t have come at a better time for him. “What about the old auto parts store? Didn’t you already make an offer there?”

  “I told the owner I was giving his place some thought and might be interested in buying the space. But it never went beyond that, which is why I was trying to keep that on the hush-hush. Wouldn’t want Violet to find out I had my eye on another place. She might get her feelings hurt and turn down my offer out of spite.” He gestured to the building behind him. “You know my grandfather used to own everything here. I want to rebuild what he once had. Besides, ice cream parlors make it or break it on foot traffic, and that other place is too far down the strip. No one’s going to drive out of their way for ice cream when they can just as easily stop by the grocery store.”

  True enough. It would have to be some pretty special ice cream for me to go out of my way to get it. Of course, now that I knew Mitch’s ice cream wasn’t special at all, I might not bother to stop by here anymore either.

  “Do you think you’ll have better luck getting Violet to sell than you did with Bethany?” I asked.

  “Can’t hurt to try. Right?” He glanced at the back door to the flower shop, but it was firmly shut. “I only hope her mom didn’t open her big mouth.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “About what?”

  Mitch cast his eyes my way and then down. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

  I stared at him a moment. “Did Bethany find out about your little ice cream switcheroo?”

  He blew out a mouthful of air. “She was always sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. She saw the delivery truck here a couple of times and wormed the information out of me.”

  Much like I had done. “Well, it’s a pretty big truck and a pretty small lot. She was bound to notice.”

  “I guess,” he conceded. “But when she figured out what was going on, she should have offered to help me out, being a fellow business owner herself. Instead, she used it as leverage. Told me to stop bugging her to sell her shop or else she’d tell everyone I was buying my ice cream on the cheap.”

  So that’s why Mitch had suddenly dropped the idea of buying Bethany’s half of the building before her death, and why Bethany started coming back for her daily sherbet fix, looking smug. She’d had him over a barrel, or at least an ice cream tub.

  “Once I saw she’d keep her mouth shut so long as I didn’t ask to buy her store again, I started looking around for another spot. The only one I could find was the auto parts store, but it wasn’t the best spot, like I said, so I didn’t m
ake an official offer. Then Bethany got killed, and I figured I’d see what happened with her place.” He glanced at his watch and flinched. “Listen, I gotta get that ice cream swapped out before any employees get here.”

  He headed toward the back door of the parlor but swung around before he reached it. “Hey,” he said, “do me a favor and don’t tell anyone, all right? Like I said, it’s only temporary until business picks up.”

  I didn’t answer, not sure what I planned to do. But you could bet I wouldn’t be recommending his ice cream to any of my friends.

  “Tell your mom hi for me, too, would you?”

  No way could I guarantee that either. Not after what I’d learned.

  He raised his hand in departure and disappeared into the shop, while I stood there, thinking.

  Once more, Bethany had managed to pry a secret out of someone and use it to her advantage. Mitch had said Bethany kept quiet once he stopped badgering her about selling her shop. Did he believe she’d stay mum forever? Or had he killed her to make sure his secret would be buried right along with her? And how could I keep my mom away from this man until I knew the answer?

  Chapter 25

  I walked through the alleyway and around to the front of the ice cream parlor as Violet came out of the flower shop next door. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Over her jeans and a T-shirt, she wore the same dark green apron with the large pockets as yesterday, but with no sign of the shears poking out of a pocket. At least she hadn’t been decapitating any more flowers.

  Instead, she fished around in one of the pockets and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. She lit the tip, put the lighter away, and then noticed me as I neared my car. “Hey, Dana. Were you coming to see me?” She exhaled a stream of smoke.

  I went over and joined her by the door, making sure to pick the side where the wind wasn’t blowing. “No, I had to talk to Mitch for a sec. While I was over there, though, he did tell me about his offer on your place.”

  Violet had been lifting the cigarette to her lips but stopped. “Oh, that.”

  “Are you going to accept?”

  She dropped her barely smoked cigarette on the sidewalk and stubbed it out with her shoe. “I don’t know. I feel like I’d be dishonoring my mom if I sold her shop to him, especially so soon after her passing.”

  Gone was the anger and resentment I’d seen on my last visit. An air of sadness hung over her. Before I could think up an appropriate platitude, she perked up. “But forget about me. You have a wedding coming up. How’s that going?”

  “Great. At least I think so. I keep feeling like I’m missing something.”

  “It’s at that organic farm, right? It must be fun to decorate out there.”

  “Yes, in fact the decorating has been easy with all the flowers and plants already out there. Plus the flowers you’re providing, of course.” I smiled at her, but then a thought crossed my mind. We were setting up the archway, and tying the ribbon around the patio posts, but still . . .

  “Is something wrong?” Violet asked.

  “Talking about the decorations reminded me that I’d meant to decorate the chairs somehow, maybe with bows or slip covers, but I forgot.” Darn it. I knew I’d forget something at the last minute. “I’d better hurry and check the craft store when I’m done with work today. But what if I find the perfect bows and they don’t have enough in stock?”

  Violet snapped her fingers. “I might have a solution for you. Mom kept a fairly large supply of bows and ribbons, things like that, for our floral arrangements. I’d be happy to lend them to you.”

  It was all I could do not to jump up and down. “Would you really? That would be a huge help.”

  “No problem. I’ll have to find the exact bows I’m thinking of, so it might take me a while to gather everything together, but tell you what. I’ll drive out to the farm later and drop off the box.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t go to any trouble. You’re the one doing me the favor, and I can drive back here to get the box whenever you’re ready.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Violet said. “I was thinking about visiting the farm later today anyway so I could get an idea of what sort of vegetation is already out there. It’ll help me decide how much greenery to add to the bouquets.”

  “What a clever idea.” Maybe she was more interested in flowers than I’d given her credit for.

  “My mom always said you have to envision the location to produce a fabulous wedding bouquet to match.”

  She put her hands in her pockets, feeling around inside. “I could have sworn I had some paper in here,” she muttered. “I kind of know where the farm is, but as long as you’re here, maybe you could give me exact directions.”

  “Sure. It’s just off the highway, near Pear Tree Lane. Do you know where that is?”

  She turned to go in her shop. “Come on in so I can find a pen and paper and write it down.”

  I followed her inside. She walked straight to the counter, where she found a pencil and piece of paper. I slowly recited the directions, watching over her shoulder to make sure she wrote them down correctly. When she was done, she folded up the paper and slipped it in an apron pocket. “I’m not sure when I’ll get out there, probably later this afternoon.”

  “That’s fine. I took the morning off, but I’ll be there for the rest of the day.”

  I turned around to leave just as the front door opened. Carter entered, his gaze on his cell phone. He was wearing his usual suit and tie. He glanced up as he moved into the shop, and our eyes locked. He briefly broke his stride and then moved past me without a word.

  “Mr. Hawking,” Violet said, “I received your voice mail. You only want a single bouquet of roses from now on?”

  I looked at him at the same moment he looked at me. I must have been smirking, because he scowled and turned back to Violet. “Yes, it’s for my wife,” he said, enunciating each word.

  “She’s a lucky lady,” Violet said.

  If only Violet knew the truth, I thought as I took my smirk outside. Apparently Phoebe and Carter were through for good, since he was no longer buying her flowers. While I’d love to think Carter was done cheating on his wife, Ashlee swore that once a cheater, always a cheater.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out. Speak of the devil. I had a text from Ashlee, asking me to pick up toilet paper sometime today. Considering I was mere steps from the drugstore and was thinking about going home for a quick lunch anyway, I texted her back a confirmation.

  As I was putting my phone in my pocket, Carter came out of the flower shop with a bouquet of red roses in his hand. He walked in my direction, head down, and I shifted to the side so he wouldn’t bump into me as he moved past.

  “Beautiful flowers,” I said to him.

  He spun around. “What?”

  I took an involuntary step back at his fierce expression, but I quickly regained my composure. “I said the flowers are beautiful. Only one bouquet today?”

  His jaw clenched, and he surveyed the block, probably checking for anyone who might have heard me, but no one else was nearby. “What business is it of yours, Miss Johnson?”

  I was momentarily distracted by his use of my fictitious name, but then I said, “Well, none, of course. Only I ran into Phoebe yesterday, and she told me you two had broken up.” I pointed to the flowers. “Guess she was telling the truth, if you’re only buying the one bouquet today.”

  He tightened his grip, and the cellophane wrapper let out a crinkle of protest. “You claim you ran into her, but I suspect you arranged the meeting. I already told you I won’t be blackmailed again.”

  Sheesh, maybe I should have kept my big mouth shut. I held up my hands. “Blackmailing isn’t my style. I’m just wondering why you’d break up with Phoebe now.”

  “Again, none of your business.”

  “But with Bethany dead, you’re free to carry on your affair forever, or at least until your wife finds out some other way.”

 
Carter gave a humorless laugh. “You want to know the irony of the situation? I was all set to break up with Phoebe before Bethany found out about us, only I didn’t have the chance. Then Bethany started in with her demands.”

  “So why not drop Phoebe and call Bethany’s bluff?”

  “The damage would have been the same if Bethany told my wife. I figured as long as I was paying her, I should at least receive some benefits from my transgression.”

  Ick. It was bad enough he was an adulterer, but to only sleep with poor Phoebe because he was paying Bethany? Not cool.

  “Since I’m no longer buying Bethany’s silence, I’ve lost interest in Phoebe again.” He adjusted the knot in his tie with his free hand. “Satisfied?”

  “Yes, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Carter rolled his eyes and walked off.

  Remembering my errand for Ashlee, I walked the short distance to the drugstore. As usual, the place was practically deserted this late in the morning on a weekday. I followed the signs to the bath tissue aisle and searched for the sale items, knowing that if Ashlee were doing the shopping, she’d splurge on the more expensive three-ply. Nothing was too good for her bum.

  I grabbed a value pack of the discounted brand and started toward the checkout aisle. I paused, wondering at the chances Lucia was working today, or if she was locked up in a jail cell after confessing to the police about the accident. She’d told me Bethany hadn’t been blackmailing her, but I hadn’t found anyone else whose initials matched the ones in Bethany’s notebook. Had Lucia been lying to me, or was I missing something?

  As if on cue, she walked past the end of the aisle and I started after her.

  There was only one way to find out.

  Chapter 26

  I dashed down the row after Lucia, hugging my large pack of toilet paper to my chest. When I reached the main aisle, I looked in the direction she’d been heading and then the opposite way, but she was nowhere in sight. I speed-walked across the store, checking each row as I passed, but I couldn’t find her. In the last row, I noticed a pair of hinged doors at the other end that led to an employee area. They were swinging slightly.