by Maci Grant
Blu’s smile grew wider as she headed out of the bar to catch up with Maddie and the kids.
The path to the ice cream shop was part of the challenge as well. It usually included obstacles of some kind. Maddie stuck to tradition by having the kids climb up over a sand dune.
“Clue!” Marley shouted. She picked up a sneaker and waved it in the air.
“No, that’s not a clue.” Maddie shook her head.
“Marley, put that down, sweetie. Someone must have left their shoes while they went for a walk in the sand.” Blu walked up to her.
“If they did, then they’re probably limping, because there’s only one.” Joey laughed. “Maybe it’s a one-legged pirate.”
“You know, there are some people that have only one leg. You shouldn’t joke about it.” Chrissa crossed her arms.
“Alright, alright, let’s just put it up here so that whoever lost it can find it.” Blu set the shoe down on the wooden walkway beside the sand. “Don’t we have an ice cream shop to get to?”
The kids gave up on the special path and raced for Peddle’s Ice Cream Shop. It was their favorite place to have a treat.
Marley pushed open the door. “Ice cream!”
Mr. Peddle laughed from behind the counter. “Well, hello there, kids. I guess you want some ice cream?”
“Yes, please.” Joey grinned.
“I like your hat.” Mr. Peddle winked at Marley. “Look what I have.” He held up a cake knife that was decorated to look like a slice of cake. “My wife bought it for me. Isn’t it great?”
“Yes!” Marley reached out to touch it, but Mr. Peddle drew it back before she could.
“Careful there. It’s very sharp. Just to look at—not to touch, alright?”
“Sorry.” Marley frowned.
“It’s quite alright. Now what kind of ice cream would you like?”
As the kids gave their orders Blu spent some time looking through the choices herself. One of her favorite things about Peddle’s shop was that he always added a few new flavors.
“I’ll take the berry cherry chocolate,” Blu decided. “What kind of berries does it have in it?”
“Only raspberries and strawberries, I’m afraid. Is that okay?”
“Sure. I just thought there might be blueberries.”
“No, that’s one flavor I don’t carry.” He laughed.
Blu was curious as to why he didn’t carry blueberry ice cream, but she was distracted by directing Marley not to eat the sprinkles straight out of the toppings bin.
“What are you going to have, Maddie?” Blu asked.
“I don’t know. Hm. I think the mint chocolate chip. That’s always been my favorite.”
Mr. Peddle prepared ice cream cones for them both.
Once each of the kids had their ice cream, they settled at a table. Peddle’s Ice Cream Shop wasn’t very big, despite being a very popular summer destination. More than once, they’d been to the shop when there was standing room only. Despite this, Mr. Peddle never made any effort to expand.
“Enjoy, kids, enjoy.” Mr. Peddle disappeared into the back room.
While he was gone Blu looked through the photographs that hung on the wall. There were several of Mr. Peddle and his wife. She was a petite woman with wild curly hair. Over the years the hair had turned gray, but the curls were still wild.
When Mr. Peddle came back out of the back room, Blu walked up to him to give him an extra tip.
“Oh, thank you, Blu.”
When he took the money Blu noticed that his right hand shook a little.
“How is your wife, Mr. Peddle?”
“Oh, Martha? She’s wonderful. She’s started her own crafting booth at the mall. I think she really enjoys creating.”
“What a lovely idea. I will have to go see her booth sometime.”
“I’m sure she would love that. I think that the summer crowd is a bit too busy on the beach to get into the mall.”
“Oh, just wait until the sales start.” Maddie grinned as she walked up to them. “Then the beaches will be empty.”
“That’s very true.” Blu nodded. “But they’ll still be back for ice cream.”
“They better get all they can this year. I’m not so sure we have another year in us.”
“What?” Blu’s eyes widened. “You’re thinking of closing?”
“Well, I’m not getting any younger. I think maybe it’s getting to be that time.” He nodded as he rubbed his hands together. “Nothing is final yet, but there’s a lot of pressure on me to sell. I’m starting to think that if he wants it so bad, maybe I should just let him have it.”
“Has someone been harassing you?” Blu frowned. “I could talk to Chief Pitman about it.”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to involve him in anything. The chief has enough to do. Besides it’s not harassment, it’s just smart business. I’m in no mood to fight; I’m sure he knows that. Martha and I could use a few years with nothing to do. Our lives have been so busy that I’ve barely had the time to appreciate her the way that I should.”
Blu smiled at the sweetness of his words. She wanted to comment on it, but just then Marley came running up to her with ice-cream-covered hands.
“Oh boy, let’s get you washed up.”
Chapter 4
Blu walked Marley out of the shop and around behind the building to the bathroom. It was in a separate small building and was the shared responsibility of a few different small shops in the area. With its proximity to the playground, it was also used by those who didn’t want to walk to the bathrooms near the beach.
Marley squirmed as Blu cleaned her face.
“Oh, don’t do that or the tickle monster will get you!” Blu grinned and tickled Marley under the chin. Marley squealed and squirmed even more. Soon she was tidied up.
Blu met up with Maddie just as the older kids stepped out of the ice cream shop.
“Since Mr. Peddle mentioned it, why don’t we spend some time at the mall?” Maddie smiled. “Have cash, will spend!”
“That sounds like a good idea. We can have a late lunch there.” Blu glanced back once at the Beach Bum, then joined the others on the walk back toward the beach house and the cars.
As they walked, Blu noticed a man who walked as well. It wasn’t too unusual to see people walking the same path, but it was usually people who were on their way to the beach. This man was dressed for a business meeting, not the beach. She noticed that he had a briefcase with him as well.
She paused and watched as he walked toward the ice cream shop. With a shake of her head she turned and followed after the others.
When they arrived at the mall it wasn’t very crowded.
“Please can we play in the arcade?” Joey begged.
“I want to too.” Brennan smiled. It might have been his first smile of the day.
“Alright, go ahead and get some tokens.” Maddie handed Brennan some money.
Blu walked Joey and Marley up to the counter to buy some tokens.
“Blu, do you mind keeping an eye on Brennan? I think Chrissa wants to check out Poppers,” Maddie asked.
“Sure. I don’t think Brennan will miss that.” Blu smiled. She watched the pair walk into the bright pink, glitter-covered store.
As the kids played in the arcade Blu people-watched. She swept her gaze up and down the corridor in search of Mrs. Peddle’s booth. She didn’t see the booth, but she did see Mrs. Peddle.
Blu started to wave, but the woman was caught up in a conversation with a younger woman. Blu noticed that the younger woman clenched her hands into fists. A moment later she raised her voice.
“You lied to me. You both did!” She spun on her heel and stomped away from Mrs. Peddle.
Blu looked away before Mrs. Peddle could spot her. She knew that there was likely something wrong between the two and she didn’t want to get in the middle of it. Still, she wondered what they might be arguing about. Mrs. Peddle was not the type of person that she’d expect anyone to be angry w
ith.
Blu was distracted by Joey running up to her to ask for more tokens.
When Maddie and Chrissa returned, they both had sparkly bags.
“You found some things too, I see?” Blu grinned.
“A girl has to beautify, right, Chrissa?”
“Sure.” Chrissa giggled.
“Blu, have you ever thought about sprucing up a bit? A little eyeliner wouldn’t kill you.”
“It might.” Blu grinned.
By the time they got back to the house that night the kids were very worn out. Blu prepared dinner for them and did some light housecleaning. The kids’ mother, Rachel, had a late night at a banquet for a charity she supported.
After dinner Blu settled the kids in with a movie. She curled up on the couch beside them and pulled out the latest book that was consuming her attention. She always made sure she had a few new ones for the summer. Even as she settled into the chapter, she found it hard to concentrate on the words.
Her mind drifted back to AJ. It had been some time since she’d last seen him, and she suspected that was why Maddie had involved him in the ice cream hunt. She loved her best friend, but Maddie had quite a tendency to think she knew what was best for Blu. She flipped to the next page in her book without having much of an idea of what had happened on the previous one. She noticed that the kids were beginning to nod off.
“Alright, time to brush your teeth. We can finish the movie in the morning.”
As she helped the kids into their beds, Blu briefly forgot about AJ. But the moment that she was alone in her room, he was all she could think about.
There was something about him that she had yet to figure out. It was as if he summoned memories that she didn’t even have. But the summer would come to an end soon, and so would their regular interactions. She had no interest in sparking something that would only come to an end.
As she fell asleep that night she was more determined than ever not to have anything more than a friendship with AJ.
Chapter 5
The next morning the children shared breakfast with Rachel. The scent of cinnamon buns and fresh coffee combined with the sound of happy voices was a great thing for Blu to wake up to.
“You should have seen the dinner last night. Duck!” Rachel scrunched up her nose and grinned at the kids. Joey gulped and Marley squeaked with disgust.
“I would never eat a duck.”
“No way, you’d have to be quackers. Get it, Mom? Quackers!” Joey laughed so hard that bits of cereal flew out of his mouth.
“Oh, Joey, here.” His mother handed him his napkin. “No jokes until after you’re done chewing.”
Blu laughed as she joined them at the table. There had been many days lately when Rachel was more sad than happy, so she was glad to see the woman smiling from ear to ear.
“It sounds like you had a good turnout for the fundraiser.”
“Yes, we did. A lot of people want to develop in this area, and I’m finding they’re more than happy to show that interest by donating to support local charities.”
“What do you think they want to build? Hotels and such?”
“Yes—well, really anything will do well if it’s on the beach. This is one of the few areas along the coast that still has so many small businesses. To be honest, I like the donations but I do hope that not too many people sell. I love coming here for the summer, mainly because it isn’t as overrun with tourists as other places.”
“Mr. Peddle is thinking of selling. I spoke to him yesterday about it.”
“Oh wow. That would be a shame.”
“Yes, it would. I don’t know if I’ve told you this, Rachel, but I’ve actually been here before, and to his ice cream shop, prior to working with you, I mean.”
“Oh, really? For vacation?”
“Yes. My parents weren’t daring enough to take us on vacation very often, but when they did, it was usually some place nearby and cheap. Just once my father wanted to get all of us to the beach. So we came here for a couple of days one time. I ate quite a bit of ice cream during that time. I remember Mr. Peddle’s shop as one of my favorite memories. I have to say I’m a little sad about the fact that he’s thinking of selling.”
Rachel shook her head. “These real estate investor types can be quite convincing.”
“I hope that’s all it is. He seemed a little intimidated.”
“Hm.” Rachel frowned. “Poor guy. I don’t think they ever had kids. Maybe if they had someone to leave the shop to, they’d keep it open.”
Blu gazed wistfully at the two children, who used their spoons to tap out a melody on their bowls. A part of her wondered if she would end up like the Peddles without any children of her own. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. She just wasn’t sure if it was what she wanted.
Later that morning Blu and the kids met up with Maddie, Brennan, and Chrissa at the park. It was a bit early still for the playground crowd, so the kids had the run of the equipment. Blu joined Maddie near the edge of the playground.
“How are you doing this morning?” Maddie yawned. “I’m having a hard time getting going today.”
“Me too. I had a hard time sleeping last night.”
“Oh? Anything in particular keeping you awake?”
Blu smiled at her. She knew better than to tell her the truth about what was keeping her awake.
“Too much ice cream, I guess.”
“That could be it.” Maddie nodded. “I can tell that I’ve been eating way too much sugar. I feel bad telling the kids they can’t have another cookie and then holing up in my room with my own box.”
“Oh, you’re bad.” Blu laughed. “I had an extra cup of coffee this morning, so I should be okay.”
After about twenty minutes of watching the kids play, Blu suddenly realized what that extra cup of coffee really meant.
“Oh boy, I have to get to a restroom.” She cringed.
“Yup, two cups of coffee.” Maddie laughed.
Blu glanced around for a restroom to use. She knew that there was one back near the ice cream shop not far from the playground.
“Maddie, would you mind keeping an eye on the kids for me while I run to the restroom?”
“No problem.” Maddie picked up a football and threw it to Brennan.
Brennan watched as the football sailed right past him and into the ground.
“Did you want me to catch that?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, yeah.” Maddie rolled her eyes.
Blu did her best not to laugh as she hurried around the corner of the ice cream shop and walked behind it. She hurried to the restroom and took care of her bladder emergency.
As she left, she noticed something strange on the ground beside—and just a bit behind—the dumpster. It looked like a blanket. Blu was annoyed that someone would leave it on the ground instead of putting it inside the dumpster.
She walked over to it to pick it up herself. When she drew closer she could see that it wasn’t a blanket at all, but a shawl that seemed to be covering something else. Her hand trembled as she inched back the shawl to reveal Martha Peddle’s face.
Blu stumbled backward until her back hit the wall of the ice cream shop. Her eyes filled with tears in the same moment that she reached for her phone. As she dialed the police she crept back to Martha’s side. Though it was clear that the woman was deceased, Blu touched one hand gently as if she could still offer some comfort.
When the operator answered the phone she began to describe her location and what she’d found. A minute later sirens screamed through the balmy summer air.
Blu reluctantly stood up. She knew that Maddie and the children would look for her and she didn’t want to risk them seeing Martha’s body. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave the woman’s side.
As the first officer arrived Blu waved to get his attention.
“Over here!” Her heart beat frantically even though she knew it was already too late.
Chapter 6
With th
e police and paramedics there to take care of Martha, Blu stumbled her way out from behind the ice cream shop. She stepped into the parking lot just as Maddie and the kids approached.
“Don’t go back there, Maddie. Don’t.” Blu tried to hide her tears but they burned her eyes. “Keep the kids away.”
“What is it, Blu? Are you okay?” Maddie frowned.
“Mrs. Peddle.”
“The ice cream shop owner’s wife?” Maddie’s eyes widened. “Is she hurt?”
“No, it’s much worse.” Blu turned and pulled Maddie away from the children. She lowered her voice. “She’s dead, Maddie.”
“What?” Maddie hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”
“We shouldn’t let the kids know. It will really upset them. I need to stay and speak to the police. Can you take the kids home for me?”
“Absolutely. Of course. Do you want me to keep them with me?”
“Yes, that would be good if you can. I’m not sure if Rachel is home. I’ll try not to be too long.”
“Okay.” Maddie shook her head. “Do you think she just died of natural causes?”
“I don’t know. I just assumed she did. Maybe a heart attack. I don’t know.”
“Try not to get too upset. Call me when you want me to bring the kids home.”
“Thanks, Maddie.”
Blu watched as Maddie escorted the kids to the car. She could see that Joey wanted an explanation and trusted that Maddie would no the right thing to say. Was it right to reveal something so tragic to a seven-year-old?
“Ma’am, you found the body?”
The officer’s voice startled her. Only then did she recognize that she was in shock. Her senses were numbed by what she’d found and her mind struggled to process it.
“I found Mrs. Peddle, yes.” Blu looked at the officer. She reached up to wipe at her eyes.
“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary on or around the body?”
“Her name is Martha. Martha Peddle.” Blu stared into his eyes. “She’s not a body.”
