Chocolate Caramels and Conmen

by Cindy Bell

  Chapter 13

  About thirty minutes later, when the sun was still just stretching out across the sky, Ally walked into the Blue River police station. Officers who were familiar with her directed her right to Luke’s desk. Their relationship was well known throughout the town, though she wondered if she had damaged it.

  “Good morning, Luke.” She smiled as she held out a small paper bag and cup of coffee. “I thought I’d stop by with some breakfast.”

  “Oh really?” He studied her as he accepted the bag and coffee. “Thank you, sweetheart. That’s very nice of you.” He gave her a warm smile.

  “Of course.” She hesitated. She felt a bit nervous as it was the first time she had seen him since the incident with Carl. She hoped he might tell her something about the case, as if she didn’t find out something fast, Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale, and Mrs. White might decide to take matters into their own hands. She couldn’t let that happen. “I’m really sorry about yesterday.”

  “I bet.” He opened the bag and pulled out the bagel. She noticed that he barely looked in her direction, and his tone was a bit cold.

  “I mean it, Luke. I realize I put you in a terrible position.”

  “Right.” He took a bite of his bagel.

  Her heart dropped as she realized he really might not be willing to accept her apology. Yesterday might have stopped their relationship in its tracks.

  “Okay, I’m sorry if you don’t believe me. I shouldn’t have bothered you at work, we can speak about it later.”

  “Now is okay. I always have time for you. Sit down, sweetheart.” He stood up and walked around his desk. He pulled out one of the chairs in front of it and she eased her way down into it. “There is something I want to discuss with you.” He stared into her eyes. All of a sudden she got worried. Had Carl changed his mind about making a complaint?

  “What is it?”

  “Well, I got a call from Detective Jenkins this morning? Tell me, what reason would you have for being at the airport so early this morning?” He kept his gaze on hers.

  “Oh.” She licked her lips and considered bending the truth, but she could not keep the truth from him. “Okay, yes, I was following Carl, but I wasn’t going to get out of the car. Then I saw Mrs. Bing and I—”

  “It doesn’t matter.” He rocked forward enough that she could hear him clearly, despite the fact that he lowered his voice. “I know why you’re really here.”

  “To give you a coffee and a bagel?” She smiled, and hoped that he would as well. Instead, his expression remained quite serious. She noticed that even though he was tense, he looked very handsome. “I’m sorry, I never should have come here. I really did want to apologize.” She sighed and started to stand up from the chair.

  “Don’t rush off.” He smiled and guided her back down into the chair with one hand gently on her shoulder. “I hope you learned from yesterday, and this morning, not to put yourself in danger. No amount of coffee or bagels will make me forgive you if you get hurt. I’m trusting that you will be more careful, and if you find anything, run it by me first. Deal?” He winked at her.

  “Deal.” She smiled.

  “And thanks for the bagel, and the coffee.” He took a sip of it, then smiled. “I have to say, this is the best way to start my day. Delicious food and a visit from you.”

  She stared at him for a moment, she wanted to give him a kiss, but knew it might embarrass him at work. So, instead she smiled in return.

  “Actually, there is something I found. I’m going to send you a video. A friend of mine took it at Paluo’s restaurant.”

  “Paluo’s restaurant?” He nodded. “That’s interesting, food containers from Paluo’s restaurant were found in Carl and Marcus’ room.”

  “Hmm. Maybe you could pass it on to Detective Jenkins as well.” She pulled out her phone and sent the video as a text to him.

  “I’ll make sure he gets it, thanks.”

  “Do they know the cause of death, yet?”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “And I can actually share it with you.”

  “You can?” She was surprised that he was still willing to share anything with her.

  “Yes, it’s going to be released to the public in order to try and get more information to help solve the murder.” He paused. “Marcus was poisoned.”

  “Poisoned?”

  “Marcus’ food had been poisoned. However, the poison itself was a little unusual. It is used to kill insects on large farms.”

  “Interesting.”

  “I honestly don’t know what to make of it, it is really unusual. There are a few large farms in the area, and what farms there are, aren’t known for using poison.” He shrugged. “I’ll catch up with you later, I want to look at this video. Remember, don’t be reckless.”

  “I won’t be.” She looked back up at him. His focus was already on the video as she walked away.

  As Ally reached her car she went over in her head the information Luke had told her. Someone had poisoned Marcus, then placed his body in the middle of the street? She could understand the method they used, but not why they would move the body. The poison was food-based, which made her focus on Paluo.

  “Time to pay him another visit.” As she turned on the car, her cell phone rang. “Good morning, Mee-Maw.”

  “Morning, sweetie. What are you up to? Are you going to open the shop today?”

  The question made her suddenly aware of how late it was. She’d lost track of time and was late to open the shop.

  “Yes, I am sorry, Mee-Maw. I got caught up with Luke about the murder investigation. Should I pick you up on the way to the shop so we can discuss it?”

  “Sure, but how about you meet me? I’m already here. I walked here.” She laughed.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Ally hung up the phone and headed down the road towards the shop.

  After Ally updated her grandmother about the video and the morning’s events, she sighed and ate a piece of chocolate.

  “I still don’t understand why Mrs. Cale isn’t telling me the truth. You remember what she said, don’t you?”

  “Honestly, no.” Charlotte shook her head.

  “Oh, that’s right you weren’t there for the conversation.”

  “Isn’t it possible that you are mistaken?”

  “I guess it is, but I don’t think so.” She frowned. “Anyway, that isn’t the important thing. The important thing is that Paluo threatened to kill Marcus, it’s right there on the video, and according to the medical examiner, Marcus was poisoned. It looks like food he consumed was laced with it.”

  “Can’t they trace the food to see where it came from?” Charlotte scrunched up her nose. “I can’t imagine the process, but it might give us a direction to go in.”

  “Even if they know it, they might not tell us. Besides, I think it will take them time to do that. Time we don’t have if Carl is already trying to leave town, and Paluo might be right behind him. Luke said that there were food containers from Paluo’s restaurant found in Marcus and Carl’s room.”

  “That makes sense. Maybe they had their food boxed up to take home.” Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “But, wouldn’t that mean it had to be poisoned before it was served? At that time, Paluo had no reason to be angry at Marcus, right? Certainly not angry enough to poison him.”

  “True.” Ally thought for a moment. “Some restaurants will clear your plate from the table and package your food up for you. Maybe someone cleared it and poisoned it before they put it in the packages.”

  “Yes, that’s possible. But they ate at the restaurant a couple of nights before he was killed. How could they be sure that Marcus would eat it? Sure enough to then go move his body?” She frowned. “That doesn’t make much sense to me.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. First of all, we don’t know for sure that it was Paluo’s food that contained the poison. It could have been in anything that Marcus ate that day. Our best pl
an is to follow the poison.” Charlotte pulled out a notepad and set it on the counter. “Where did the poison come from? Who bought it?”

  “You’re right, if we can figure that out then we’ll know who did it.”

  “I think if it was someone local they would have bought it here. If it wasn’t, then that person might have brought it with them.” Charlotte tapped her pen lightly against the pad.

  “That would mean that Marcus’ death was planned long before it actually occurred. Maybe Carl always intended to kill Marcus here? We still haven’t figured out why they came here of all places to sell. Their employer said they had complete freedom to sell where they chose, so either Carl or Marcus chose Blue River as their next stop.”

  “Maybe Carl decided to come here because he thought he would be able to get away with killing Marcus. He could have assumed that a small town wouldn’t have the resources to investigate a murder well.” Charlotte shrugged.

  “It’s possible, but Carl took a huge risk and hasn’t done much to protect himself. I mean, he knew he would be the first person that the police would look at, but he still stuck around, for a while at least.” Ally frowned. “I like him as a suspect, but it still doesn’t make complete sense.”

  “Then we’d better get started on tracing this poison. I’ll set up in the back if you’re okay with handling the customers.” Charlotte picked up her phone and her notepad.

  “Yes, no problem. Thanks for opening up, Mee-Maw.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I lost track of time.”

  “That’s okay, Ally, we look out for each other.” She patted her granddaughter’s shoulder then headed into the kitchen.

  Chapter 14

  As Ally started another pot of coffee, the front door of the shop swung open. She turned swiftly, uncertain of who it might be, and discovered Mrs. Bing, followed by Mrs. White, and Mrs. Cale.

  “Oh, we found something!” Mrs. Bing waved a small notebook through the air as she rushed into the shop.

  “It’s something juicy!” Mrs. Cale grinned gleefully as she sidled up beside Mrs. Bing at the counter.

  “It could be nothing.” Mrs. White rolled her eyes as she trailed after the two. “You’d think these two had just discovered the meaning of life.”

  “Oh hush.” Mrs. Bing shot her a reproachful look. “It could be important. You don’t know.”

  “Okay, what is it?” Ally looked between the three of them. “What did you find?”

  “Now, as you asked we went around town in search of information about any newcomers or visitors to Blue River. According to several shop owners, one bicycle rider, and two dog walkers, there has been a couple in town that do not belong.” Mrs. Bing looked at her notepad. “Yes, that’s it, I think that’s everything.”

  “A couple?” Ally frowned as she looked at the women. “Any description of them? Why don’t they belong?”

  “Suspicious characters.” Mrs. Cale nodded as she narrowed her eyes. “Very suspicious.”

  “How are they suspicious?” Ally did her best to remain patient, but she was so eager to find out if they really had something that she had to bite her tongue.

  “They wore leather jackets, had accents, and were quite rude. Especially, the lady apparently.” Mrs. Bing huffed. “Imagine, being rude in a town you don’t even live in.”

  “Lots of people are rude.” Mrs. White snorted. “That doesn’t make them killers.”

  “Leather jackets? Did anyone know their names?” Ally asked.

  “Yes Sally, and Barry.” Mrs. Cale glanced at Mrs. Bing. “Isn’t that right?”

  “Uh, let me check.” Mrs. Bing fluttered through a few pages of notebook paper, then nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Sal, and Barry.”

  “Sal and Barry.” Ally grabbed the counter to remain steady on her feet. She’d forgotten all about them. Of course they should be suspects, they were certainly out of place. They seemed like a very odd couple, and the creepy feeling Ally experienced while they were in the shop was enough to convince her that there was something to suspect. “Thank you for the information, ladies. That could be very helpful. But listen, if you see the couple, you need to stay away from them, okay? No asking them questions, and certainly no accusing them of anything.”

  “Do you think it was them?” Mrs. Bing’s eyes widened. “Did we figure it out? Did we catch the killers?”

  “Calm down, it’s not like there’s a reward.” Mrs. White shook her head.

  “There’s nothing wrong with being proud of our hard work.” Mrs. Cale smiled as she grabbed Mrs. Bing’s hand. “We’ve just made our town a little safer.”

  “We don’t know that, yet.” Ally looked between the three of them. “I don’t want you to let your guard down. But, I will look into this information and see where it leads. It certainly is a lot of help. Thank you.” Her attention lingered on Mrs. Cale as she was tempted to ask her again about the night she was at dinner at Paluo’s. However, she dismissed the idea. Even if Mrs. Cale had told her a different story the first time, she was getting older, and perhaps she had just been confused.

  Charlotte stepped out front as the three ladies headed out the door.

  “Sorry, Ally I was stuck on the phone. How is everything out here?” She spotted the three women on the sidewalk. “Did they have something?”

  “Maybe. Remember that couple I told you about? The leather jacket ones?”

  “Oh yes. What about them?”

  “Apparently, they’re still around and they’ve been causing a bit of a commotion around town. Mrs. Bing, Mrs. White, and Mrs. Cale thought they might be involved in Marcus’ death.” She tilted her head from one side to the other. “And honestly, I tend to agree with them. I don’t know why I didn’t think of them first when this happened. Something about them just left me very unsettled.”

  “It sounds like this couple is very out of place here.” Charlotte frowned. “But that doesn’t make them killers. Have you been able to find out anything else about them?”

  “Not yet.” Ally held up her phone where she’d been conducting a search as they spoke. “I only have their first names, and obviously they’re pretty common. I have no idea where they’re from. Maybe somewhere near New York from their accents, but that doesn’t exactly narrow things down, does it?” She sighed and set down her phone. “We keep digging and digging, and we’re no closer to finding out who killed Marcus. I’m getting so frustrated that these killers are still on the loose, and could hurt someone else. Really, if Carl isn’t a suspect, he could actually be a potential target. Who knows why Marcus was killed, but if the killer is still hanging around town, Carl could be on the list, too, don’t you think? Maybe that’s why he was getting on a plane this morning, not because he’s a killer, but because he’s afraid he might be next.”

  “I see where you’re going with this, but you are getting a little ahead of yourself.” Charlotte placed her hands on Ally’s shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. “We now have quite a few suspects, and no way to eliminate any of them. I think the first step is to find out exactly who Sal and Barry are. Could you ask Luke to do a background check?”

  “I really don’t want to. He said I could run anything I found out by him, but I feel like I’m just putting him back in a difficult position. You know how territorial detectives can get about their cases. I’m just concerned that if I ask Luke to look into this, Detective Jenkins might get upset, which could cause tension between the two police departments.”

  “I can understand that. Then it’s a dead end?” Charlotte sat down in the chair beside her.

  “Not necessarily.” Ally reached into her purse and pulled out the card Detective Jenkins gave her. “If Detective Jenkins really wants to solve this case, maybe he’ll be willing to work with us a little. We know this town better than he does, and most of his suspects are in it. Maybe I could work out a trade.”

  “A trade?” Charlotte tilted her head to the side as she grinned. “Only you would try to negotiate with a detectiv
e.”

  “Marcus’ body was placed on the other side of the street, across the town line. But, if the murder took place right here in Blue River, and the suspects are in Blue River, that means we might be able to help him. We can tell him about Sal and Barry and maybe he’ll find out some information about them and give it to us.”

  “You’re right, maybe he will. Give it a shot, if anyone can convince him, it will be you.”

  “I’ll certainly give it a try.” Ally winked at her, then headed into the kitchen with her cell phone. As she called the detective she began melting some chocolate to make some new candies. There were a few orders to fill and she didn’t want to get behind on them.

  “Detective Jenkins.”

  “Hi, Detective this is Ally Sweet.”

  “Ally, good to hear from you. I’ve spent the past few minutes watching the video that you discovered. It may be enough to pick up Paluo for further questioning.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Perhaps if I offer you a little more information you’d be willing to share with me what you find?” She braced herself. He could either be angry that she would hold back information, or he could be cooperative.

  “I can’t tell you any specific details of the case. But if you’re willing to give me information, I’ll make sure I keep you updated on what I can. How does that sound to you?”

  “Okay, deal.” She didn’t want to press her luck by asking for more than that.

  “So, what do you have for me?”

  She shared the information about Barry and Sal. She didn’t even have their last names, but maybe he could find them out. “I’m not sure it will lead to much, but I can’t find anything more about them, so I thought you might be able to.”