A Twist of Murder

by Gretchen Allen

  “My thoughts exactly. What I don’t understand is why he’s here. The women said the place was so busy they had to leave, meanwhile, the owner comes over here for ice cream? For the exact special that I placed an ad for not even a half hour before? None of it makes sense.”

  “That is weird,” Max agreed. “I kind of thought part of the reason we weren’t very busy lately was because the Pop-Up was back again. But it’s not only that. Both times they’ve been here, they’ve come to ask us for help. They’d need to borrow some ice cream, or strawberries, or walnut…it was always one thing or another.”

  Yvette tilted her head. “You know him?”

  “Nope.” Max shook his head. “It was always a woman that came over to ask. She’s pretty friendly with Henry and I thought she was the owner. I’ve seen that guy around before but had no idea he owned it as well.”

  Interrupted by a knock on the kitchen door, they saw Damien standing behind the counter near the cash register.

  “What are you doing? Is something wrong?” Yvette asked, slowly swinging the door open and hoping he hadn’t overheard them.

  Damien sneered. “Well, since you two left me to my own devices, I was simply coming to ask for a few extra cherries.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll bring them right over.” Max forced a smile before heading to the fridge to get the cherries.

  “So, sweetheart, I’d like to extend a personal invitation to you as well. Your hospitality didn’t go unnoticed. We’d love to have a hard worker like you at our restaurant.” Damien leaned in closer to Yvette.

  “I think I’ll go without. I’m very happy here. I appreciate it, though.”

  “It’d be in your best interest to at least consider. Have you seen how slow this place is? I’m not sure it’ll even be open for much longer. We are full of activity over there. You’d love it.”

  “It’d be in your best interest to back off,” Yvette’s jaw clenched, thankful she hadn’t told him she was the manager. He’d come in and poached her customers and now he was trying to get the staff to leave as well. Unfortunately, it seemed that she was finding more reasons why Henry’s store wasn’t doing very well lately.

  “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” Damien stopped speaking when he saw Max headed in their direction.

  “Here you are, sir. I can deliver them to the table if you’d like,” Max offered.

  “No trouble. Wouldn’t want you to overdo yourself.” Damien rolled his eyes.

  “What a complete jerk,” Max said once Damien had gone back to his table.

  “You’re telling me. Wouldn’t hurt my feelings if I never saw him again,” Yvette muttered.

  6

  Wanting to enjoy a bit of the warm weather while it lasted, Yvette decided to have her coffee and breakfast on the porch before she had to get ready for work. Sliding her phone in her back pocket, she carried a tray with a large glass of chocolate coconut iced coffee and a rosemary sea salt bagel out to the small wicker table on her porch.

  “Morning,” her neighbor, Gavin, mumbled from his doorway.

  “You’re up early,” Yvette said, surprised to see him.

  “Don’t remind me. I have to get over to the Adelaide Street Apartments today. There’s so much that needs to be done to the place before I can even think of getting anyone moved in there.”

  “Those are the apartments you bought?! They’ve been all but abandoned for as long as I can remember. Are you certain that was a wise investment?” Yvette asked.

  “That’s part of the reason I got them to begin with. The price was phenomenal. I know the renovations will be costly and time-consuming, but it will be worth it in the end. Thanks for looking out for me, though.”

  Gavin Dillinger was not only her neighbor, but also her friend and landlord. After his father retired, Gavin became the sole owner of Dillinger Properties. He spent the majority of his days working with contractors who would renovate his newly purchased properties or bending over backwards to make sure each and every one of his tenants was happy.

  “Not like I’ll be much help, but if you need anything let me know,” Yvette commented before taking a bite of her bagel.

  “You know I always need something. I’ll keep in touch,” he chuckled.

  Yvette giggled and shook her head at her friend. He wasn’t kidding, he really always did need something from her. She may complain about it a little, but it was all in good fun. Gavin kept her on her toes if nothing else.

  “See ya later!” She waved as he walked down the path to his truck.

  Yvette sent a text to Vanessa, her favorite employee, at the Heritage Sundae Afternoon.

  Just seeing how things are going. I wasn’t going to stop in unless you need me.

  Everything is perfect. Super busy. I’ll call you later. I have an idea!

  Uh-oh…

  Ha. Ha. It’s nothing crazy. Hope all is well in Townsend.

  Thanks, girl. I appreciate you so much! Now get off your phone and get to work ;)

  Originally, Yvette planned on stopping in at her shop every morning before she made the drive to Connecticut but thought better of it. She didn’t want her staff feeling like she was checking up on them every second or that she didn’t trust them. Once she knew everything was okay, Yvette finished her breakfast, took her coffee to go and headed to work.

  * * *

  Yvette had barely made it out of Heritage before her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number but pressed the handsfree button on her steering wheel and accepted the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Yvette, it’s Gina. The police are here. They said we can’t open today so there’s no real reason for you to come in,” she stated matter-of-factly.

  “The police? What’s going on? Are you okay?” Yvette rambled.

  “We didn’t have any vanilla extract left and I needed some for the waffle cones, so I ran to the store for a few minutes. When I came back, there was a strange car in the parking lot. I went over to tell them that we weren’t open yet, but they could come in for coffee or something. Well, when I got to the car, I saw someone leaned back and there was blood spreading on the seat behind them. That’s when I knew something was wrong. I opened the door, so I could check for a pulse, but sure enough, I found nothing. I called the cops and they’ve been here over an hour now.”

  Yvette couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She herself had found a body a couple of weeks before and listening to Gina be so nonchalant about it rendered her nearly speechless.

  “I’m already on my way in and I’d like to talk the police. Do they know who it is?” Yvette asked, her heart beginning to pound.

  “I told them you were coming in today. They’ve already asked me a ton of questions, but they might want to talk to you too.”

  Yvette drew in a breath and told Gina she’d be there soon before ending the call. The last month of her life had been very out of the ordinary and she was having a hard time understanding what was going on. Realizing that Gina had never responded when she’d asked if she knew who was in the car, Yvette could only hope that it wasn’t Max. The sweet young man was scheduled to work that day and she would be devastated if anything bad had happened to him.

  As she drew closer to Sundae Afternoon, Yvette could see that all the law enforcement vehicles were still there and noticed Gina’s white pickup truck in front of the shop. She attempted to pull into the parking lot but was directed otherwise by a man in uniform. Yvette pulled to the side of the road and rolled down her window.

  “Ma’am. This area is off limits. The restaurant isn’t currently open. Please move along.”

  “I work here. Well, I’m filling in for the manager for the week, anyway. That’s one of my coworkers there,” she said, pointing in Gina’s direction.

  “Pull your vehicle up a bit,” he said pointing to the bushes up ahead. “I’m Officer Mitchell and you are?”

  “Yvette Lockhart. Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

 
“We’ve got it under control,” he replied. “Keep your distance and I’ll let Detective Biltz know you’re here.”

  Officer Mitchell headed in the direction of the crime scene, stopping to look over his shoulder as if to make sure that Yvette was doing what she’d been told.

  “What a day this turned out to be,” Gina huffed.

  “Umm, yeah. I have to ask, how are you so calm right now?” Yvette was incredulous.

  Gina shrugged. “I don’t know. I like murder mysteries and scary movies, so I guess stuff like this never really weirded me out.”

  Yvette heard her phone ring and glanced down at the caller ID to see that Emma, her boss, was calling. She wondered if Emma knew what had happened already? She wasn’t even in town let alone the same state. Preparing herself to answer the call, Yvette was startled by a noise from across the parking lot. She looked up, straining to see what was going on and saw a body being removed from the car that sat there.

  “I can’t believe it,” Yvette said, gripping Gina’s arm. “That’s Damien.”

  “Who?”

  Yvette dropped her phone back in her purse and covered her mouth with her hand. “He was in the shop yesterday.”

  “He’s a customer?” Gina squinted, trying to see.

  “He’s the owner of the Pop-Up Dessert Bar up the road. I wonder what he was doing here?”

  “That’s what we’d like to know,” a voice boomed. “I’m Detective Biltz. Miss Lockhart, I presume?”

  “That’s me. I wish I could tell you what he was doing here,” Yvette replied.

  “I’d like to ask you a few questions, if you’d come with me,” the detective gently led her away from Gina.

  “So, you know the deceased?” he asked.

  “Not really. I only met him for the first time yesterday.”

  “Would you consider your encounter to have been friendly?”

  Yvette was shocked. She had expected to be questioned, but she felt like the detective was implying something.

  “I wouldn’t call it friendly,” she admitted. “He came in for ice cream, suggested two of our customers leave and go to his restaurant instead and then told me I should come work for him.”

  “I see. You said he sent your customers to his restaurant? That must have been hard to handle,” the detective pointed out.

  “It wasn’t ideal but if you are suggesting I was upset enough about it to kill him, you’d be inaccurate.” Yvette put her hands on her hips.

  “Is this the first time you’ve been here on the premises today?”

  “Yes. I worked yesterday, and this is the first time I’ve been back since,”

  “I think that’s all for now, Miss Lockhart.” He handed her a card. “If you think of anything, please, don’t hesitate to call. If we need more information from you, we’ll be in touch.” Detective Biltz nodded to her and went back toward the crime scene.

  Yvette was stunned. Had she just been accused of murder? She knew she hadn’t really, or she would have been arrested but something about the whole thing was odd. Damien had no reason to be at Sundae Afternoon at least not before they were open, anyway. Could he have come back to give her a hard time? That thought made her uncomfortable. Right now, all she knew was that it felt as though murder was following around her like a big black rain cloud.

  7

  Yvette wasn’t sure what to do with herself now that the Townsend shop was closed for at least the remainder of the day. She settled into the chair in her home office and turned on her laptop, planning to work on the Inside Scoop newsletter when she heard the familiar ding of an email notification.

  Hey girl!

  I tried calling you earlier. I got a call from the Townsend Police Department telling me about what happened. I was worried when you didn’t answer your phone, but I know you lose that thing all the time, so I figured I’d try you here. Anyways, things are looking pretty good as far as the new location here in Florida goes but it’s definitely going to be a slow process. I have a meeting tonight with my broker so wish me luck!

  Please, let me know you’re okay. I’ll be flying home if the police ask me to.

  P.S. I already spoke with Henry. He’s still in town, so you may be seeing him around when the shop opens back up.

  E.

  Yvette had completely forgotten that Emma had even called her. Feeling terrible for making her boss think that something had happened to her but not really wanting to chat right now, she clicked the reply button.

  Hi!

  I’m so sorry I worried you! This morning was not what I was expecting at all. Gina and I are both okay, and I’ll be getting in touch with Max soon.

  I have so much to tell you about the Townsend shop. I’m hoping we can reopen fairly quickly but I understand why that wouldn’t be possible. Just knowing that someone died on the property isn’t easy. Definitely not how I was expecting my week to go.

  Wishing you all the luck in the world. Hope you are enjoying your time, try not to think about anything back home.

  Talk soon,

  Y.

  Yvette knew that Emma had her hands full being so far away, trying to expand Sundae Afternoon in Florida. She didn’t want to bother her with any worries about the business end of things as far as the Townsend shop went especially now that she had to deal with someone having been murdered on her property. If sales had dropped because of the Pop-Up, Yvette couldn’t do anything but make certain that the customer service they offered was outstanding and that every last bit of ice cream served was nothing short of perfect.

  Opening up her Internet browser, ready to work on her newsletter, Yvette found herself distracted. Henry and Max had both told her that the Oh Hey Ganachery was back in Townsend for the second time. Typically, Pop-Ups were just that. They’d pop up here and there, stick around for a short amount of time and then move on. She wondered what made them decide to return to the area. Typing in the name of the restaurant in the search bar, she saw several results.

  The one that caught her eye was from a newspaper article in The Tarfield Post. Oh Hey Ganachery had previously been in Tarfield, Rhode Island. The article also shared an image with Damien and another woman in the photo, standing in front of their Pop-Up. Max had mentioned that it had always been a woman that came in looking for help from the Sundae Afternoon staff. Yvette figured it was safe to assume that she was the one he was referring to. Snapping a screenshot of the photo, she saved it to her camera roll, planning to show it to Max and ask him if that was the same woman.

  Knowing full well that she was not clearheaded enough to work on the newsletter, Yvette closed her laptop. She grabbed her purse and went to the place she felt the most comfortable.

  * * *

  “I didn’t expect to see you coming through that door!” Vanessa exclaimed.

  “Couldn’t stay away,” Yvette laughed as she dropped her purse on a table in the dining area of Sundae Afternoon.

  “What are you doing here? Aren’t you going to be late?”

  “Not today. Believe it or not, there was a murder. Someone was found in their car in the parking lot of the shop.”

  “Are you kidding?” Vanessa’s jaw dropped.

  “Unfortunately not,” Yvette said before explaining everything that had happened.

  “I can’t believe it. So, you knew who it was?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. He ordered some ice cream, which I guess was sort of strange even for being in an ice cream shop. I had literally just placed the ad and he came in for the special. I really knew nothing about him other than the fact that he was the owner of the nearby Pop-Up Dessert Bar.”

  “What did Henry have to say about everything? And wait, did you say that Gina woman wasn’t there when it happened?” Vanessa asked, scrunching up her face.

  “Hmm. Well, she said the car wasn’t there when she’d first arrived in the morning. She left to go to the store and when she came back, she saw the car and then ultimately, found the body. As for Henry, I don’t know. I ha
ven’t talked to him yet.

  “Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, or being paranoid but do you think it’s a little strange?”

  “What, that there was another murder?” Yvette asked. “I mean, yeah, it’s a little strange and a lot unsettling.”

  Vanessa took a seat across from Yvette. “No. I mean that everything was fine until Gina left and then when she gets back there was magically a dead person in the parking lot?”

  “Obviously it didn’t magically happen but yes, I suppose it is a little odd. I don’t know a thing about Gina though, so it’s not really fair for me to say that one way or another.”

  “You’re right. I guess I was bitten by the mystery solving bug. You must be rubbing off on me,” Vanessa laughed.

  “I’m going to my office for a bit. We can talk later though, I want to hear more about the idea you mentioned in your text,” Yvette said as she rose from her seat.

  After talking with Vanessa, Yvette felt her mind starting to spin. Vanessa had been right about Gina. What were the odds that Damien arrived at the shop and was killed in the exact amount of time it took for Gina to come and go from the grocery store? Yvette thought back to how relaxed Gina had been after finding the body. She knew that some people enjoyed scary things but maybe she should be a little cautious around the woman.

  Before she did anything else, she wanted to call Max. She knew that Gina had already called him to tell him not to come into the shop, but she still wanted to talk to him and see if he had heard anything. After all, both she and Max had just seen Damien the day before.

  8

  Holy cow, Max! I’ve been calling you for the past couple days. Is something wrong with your phone?” Yvette blurted the moment she saw Max come through the doors of Sundae Afternoon.

  They’d been given the okay to reopen two days after Damien was found dead and the investigators had gathered everything that could from the crime scene.

  “No. Everything is fine,” Max said abruptly.