Fireworks and Felonies

by Allyssa Mirry

  “That sounds lovely,” Aunt Edie said.

  “Did I hear my name?” Trina asked, poking her head out of the kitchen. Mona joined the crowd as well.

  “We’re going to watch the fireworks,” Aunt Edie said.

  “I can’t wait,” Trina agreed. “Even if I did want to watch them with Carl, he would probably stand me up.”

  “But it looks like dinner is almost ready,” Mona said.

  “Oh, let me finish it,” Aunt Edie said, hurrying back to the kitchen.

  “Come on in,” Lydia said, ushering Leo fully inside the house.

  She was about to close the front door when she paused. She thought she saw someone dart behind a tree. However, the more she stared, the more uncertain she became. Had she really seen something?

  “What is it?” asked Leo.

  “Nothing,” Lydia said. “Probably the darkness messing with my eyes.”

  The siblings walked into the other room and prepared for dinner. Lydia set out some of their plates with summery designs on them, and Leo poured the lemonade. The food was brought out, and everyone’s mouths were watering.

  “I almost forgot how much I loved Aunt Edie’s cooking,” Lydia said.

  “I’ll make sure to whip up several dishes while I’m home,” Aunt Edie replied. “I need to make sure I haven’t fallen out of practice. I really haven’t cooked anything while on my travels. I’ve eaten some wonderful things, but I do enjoy cooking sometimes. And this will give me a few more chances to use this kitchen. I imagine the house will be sold by the next time I return to Ocean Point.”

  “I think so. We ran into a few bumps at first while trying to sell it,” Lydia said, purposely neglecting to mention that this was due to the murder of their first realtor. “However, I think we are making progress now.”

  “You’re following all the instructions that Uncle Edgar left to guarantee a good deal?” Aunt Edie asked. “He was certainly very thorough, wasn’t he? I wonder why.”

  Leo took another bite of food to delay having to answer. Lydia wasn’t sure why he was behaving so awkwardly.

  They had learned the reason for Uncle Edgar’s special instructions. He had wanted Leo and Suzanne to reconnect, so he suggested that they hire Suzanne as their designer before the house went on the market. Leo had a big crush on Suzanne when they had gone to middle school together, but then her family had moved out of town. She had started a design business and returned to the lovely beach she remembered from her childhood, but she had not run into Leo again until she began work on the Doherty’s front porch.

  “I bet he just wanted to take care of us like he always did,” Lydia said, deciding not to mention Suzanne if Leo wasn’t ready.

  They fell into an easy conversation, talking about Aunt Edie’s travels. However, despite how exciting the places she visited were, she was equally eager to hear about what it was like on the home front. She found Mona delightful and liked hearing about the taffy shop. She enjoyed catching up with Trina who had been Lydia’s friend since childhood. She was also ready to commiserate about how tough the day had been.

  “I hope this meal did a little to cheer you all up,” Aunt Edie said. “I know this has been a very tiresome day. I am heartsick to hear about Dr. Statler, and about your home, Mona.”

  “It has been hard,” Mona agreed. “But I guess it’s no worse than when my psychic former boss was murdered. And Lydia caught the killer behind that.”

  “You must mean Leo, dear,” Aunt Edie said automatically. “He’s the detective.”

  Mona started to explain exactly what she meant, but Lydia intervened. She held up a serving dish.

  “Who wants more green beans?”

  “I do,” Trina said, eager to help change the direction of the conversation.

  “Yeah. Me too,” said Leo, looking a little displeased.

  Lydia suddenly realized how challenging keeping her sleuthing habit a secret from her aunt was going to be – especially with Mona under the same roof!

  7

  Showing off the Shop

  “I missed the boardwalk so much,” Aunt Edie said, breathing in the smell of the ocean.

  She and Lydia were walking along it on their way to Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets and were sporting festive sunglasses that Aunt Edie had picked up in Europe. Lydia kept lifting hers to look behind her. As much as she wanted to enjoy her aunt’s company, and she really was looking forward to taking her to the taffy shop for the first time, Lydia couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being followed.

  She kept tilting her head back at random moments and tried to use reflective surfaces to check her hunch, but she couldn’t confirm it. She couldn’t catch anyone in the act of following her, but she certainly felt like she was being watched. Had she been chased by so many criminals that now she was paranoid? Or did she have a reason to be worried?

  “I think that’s something that is wonderful,” Aunt Edie continued. “That I can appreciate all the wonderful places I’ve been, but still be glad to call this place home.”

  “Well, you know I’m a Jersey girl through and through,” Lydia said.

  “Is something bothering you?” Aunt Edie asked as Lydia looked behind her again.

  Not wanting to worry her, she answered, “No.”

  “It seems like there’s something you’re not telling me. Is it about this Daniel fellow? Are you looking for him?”

  “I guess I was checking to see if he was here. Sometimes he walks the boardwalk before he goes to work as a lifeguard,” Lydia said, grateful for an excuse to explain her behavior. “I think you’ll like him a lot.”

  “If you do, I’m sure I will. You said that this was his first 4th of July in Ocean Point?”

  “That’s right. He moved here in the spring.”

  “And where did he move from?” asked Aunt Edie, making conversation.

  “He came here from North Carolina, but he moved around before that. He was in the Coast Guard, and he and his wife liked to travel. He cared for her when she got sick, and he moved here after her death for a change.”

  “Poor man. It’s very difficult to lose a spouse.” She sounded very sad for a moment, and Lydia knew that she must be thinking of Uncle Edgar. However, then she changed topics and put a smile on her face. “But we must be getting close to your shop. I simply can’t wait to see it in person.”

  “I hope you’ll like it.”

  “I’m sure I will. I always liked taffy – even when Ruth had the boardwalk shop. And I know you made some amazing changes. People must love that you have so many flavors and that you vary it up.”

  “They seem to.”

  They arrived at the shop, and Aunt Edie cooed when she saw the glowing sign in the window proclaiming the name. Lydia cast one more backward glance to make sure she couldn’t catch anyone following her and then brought Aunt Edie inside the shop.

  There were customers, but it wasn’t swamped inside, which was the perfect way to show off the store. Aunt Edie loved that a window had been installed by the kitchen so that guests could look inside and see the taffy being made. She smiled as she walked around the trinket section of the shop, and said she was going to buy one of the crocheted sea creatures that Annette had made. Then, she clasped her hands together with joy when she saw all the available taffy flavors.

  “Which one should I pick first?” she asked.

  “My weekly special is firework taffy, but it’s a little unusual,” Lydia said.

  “I love unusual,” Aunt Edie replied. “Or I do now that my tastes have been expanded. And I love how festive this taffy is. I’m fired up to try it.”

  Lydia gave her a piece of the special taffy, and Aunt Edie giggled as she chewed. When she was finished, she remarked, “That was wonderful! And I want to try so many more. Maybe I should ask your staff what their favorites are.”

  Lydia thought this was a fine idea and was a nice excuse to introduce everyone at the shop to her “famous” aunt. She introduced Kelsey and Jeff, who ha
d been the first employees she had hired. Aunt Edie remarked on how she remembered when Kelsey was just a toddler, and Lydia had babysat for her. She introduced the quiet Quinn, who was very pleased to make her acquaintance. Lydia also mentioned how Annette was the employee who crocheted, but that she was out of town visiting her granddaughter.

  Mona was also at the shop, and Aunt Edie gave her a hug. “You’re working again already after what happened to your home? I hope my niece isn’t a slave driver.”

  “Not at all,” Mona said. “I wanted to be here when you first saw the shop. And I felt like I wanted to be around people. I called Cora this morning, but she kept saying that she doesn’t know how long it will take to fix everything.”

  “You’re welcome to stay with me until it’s all resolved,” Lydia said.

  “Thank you.” Mona joked, “Though Sunny was a louder snorer than I expected.”

  “Oh, dear,” Aunt Edie said. “That might have been me!”

  They all laughed, and then the employees took turns talking about their favorite flavors with Aunt Edie in between assisting other customers. It was only when the pineapple flavor was brought up that Lydia felt awkward. Her aunt knew a little about how someone had also framed Lydia for murder with that type of taffy, but Lydia had tried to spare her some of the details – like how close she had come to being murdered herself or how Leo had considered her a suspect and almost arrested her. However, Lydia quickly segued into a discussion about chocolate flavored taffy versus the fruit flavors, and the unpleasantness was avoided.

  Aunt Edie was still happily sampling flavors as Lydia said that she needed to check something in her office. Lydia quickly took care of the matters that required the boss’s attention for the day and then came back into the main area of the shop. She paused when she saw a strange look come over Mona’s face. She hurried over to her side.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” Mona said. “I was just surprised to see her here.”

  She indicated a well-dressed woman with a much nicer bun on her head than Lydia’s messy one. However, Lydia didn’t recognize her.

  “Who is she?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s Dr. Statler’s wife,” Mona replied. “Or ex-wife. I don’t know if they were divorced or not, but they didn’t get along very well.”

  Lydia looked at the woman with renewed interest. She knew that grief took many forms, and she often enjoyed a taffy or two when she was upset, but this woman didn’t look upset at all.

  Lydia bit her lip. She had told Leo that she wasn’t going to get involved in this case, and Aunt Edie was close by where she was liable to overhear what was happening. However, at the same time, the one suspect that Lydia had right now had just waltzed into her shop. How was she supposed to refuse an opportunity like this?

  “I’m going to talk to her,” Lydia told Mona.

  Then, she walked up to the woman, quickly trying to figure out what to say. She decided to stick as close to the truth as she could in case Aunt Edie walked up to them.

  “I’m sorry to come up to you like this, but you are Mrs. Statler, aren’t you? I heard what happened to your husband. I’m so sorry. He was my uncle’s doctor, and he was very good to him. My condolences.”

  “Thank you,” the woman said, looking towards the door.

  “And to express my sympathy, please take some taffy on the house,” Lydia added.

  This stopped the woman from walking away. “Please, call me Stella. Not Mrs. Statler. The truth was that I wasn’t going to stay Mrs. Statler very much longer. I feel guilty accepting everyone’s condolences. But I will accept your taffy if that’s still on the table.”

  “It is.”

  “I need something sweet to calm my nerves,” Stella said. “The police want to talk to me this morning.”

  “Oh, you’re the person they want to talk to,” Lydia blurted out. “I’m sorry. My brother is a detective.”

  “He is? Did he say that he thinks I’m a suspect?”

  “Oh, he wouldn’t tell me something like that. But I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. Not as long as you’re honest.”

  “Well, of course, I’d be honest. I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “And they will want to know where you were the morning of the fire. Possibly the night before too.”

  Stella shook her head. “I can’t believe they might think I would kill Simon. There was no need to.”

  “But instead of getting half of everything from a divorce, won’t you get everything now?” asked Lydia.

  “I suppose so.”

  “And you haven’t mentioned what your alibi is.”

  “I was home,” Stella said stiffly. “Will that be good enough for them?”

  “Can anyone verify that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Was anyone there with you? Or did anyone stop by?” Lydia asked. “Maybe a phone call to the house?”

  “No,” Stella said, avoiding eye contact. “There was nothing like that at all. No one came by the house.”

  “It would help you if…”

  “I don’t want to keep the police waiting. I should take that taffy and get going,” Stella said sharply.

  Lydia nodded and handed her one of their prepackaged assorted taffy boxes. Stella thanks her stiffly and quickly left the shop.

  “Who was that?” Aunt Edie asked, walking up to her niece.

  “Dr. Statler’s widow,” Lydia answered, not adding that in her mind Stella was also the prime suspect in his death.

  8

  Girl’s Night

  “This is so much fun,” Aunt Edie said, taking another sip of wine. “Cheers to girl’s night!”

  “Cheers,” Lydia, Trina, and Mona echoed.

  Sunny was also in Lydia’s living room where the ladies were gathered for drinks after a meal. However, Sunny was enjoying her bone instead of a glass of wine.

  “I hope I’m not crashing your night,” Aunt Edie said after a moment.

  “Not at all. Having guests is unexpected, but it’s wonderful,” Lydia assured her.

  “And it’s delicious,” Trina added. “We usually just get takeout when we get together. And, I mean, it’s good. But it’s not Edie-Doherty-slow-cooked-homemade good.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  “And it’s nice to feel like I have friends,” Mona said. “I’ve been living on the outskirts for too long. I’m going to see if Kelsey and Quinn want to have a girl’s night like this when I get my place back.”

  “I hope you all won't complain about your boss too much,” Lydia joked.

  “Not at all!” Mona said. “I’ve never had a boss who helped me out as much as you have. And honestly, the last one continually manipulated me. I thought we were helping people, but that was all a lie. Oh well. I’ve discovered that most of the people who live at Cora’s Coral Condos year-round have some sort of tragedy in their lives.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Lydia.

  “Besides the fire and the flood?” asked Trina. “That was on top of other things. That’s rough!”

  “Well, there seemed to be people who were just there for the summer, and they are happy tourists. But the year-round people are there because something went wrong. At least that’s what I think. Dr. Statler was there because he was getting divorced. Actually, that’s the way it was for a lot of people. Divorce or money troubles. Not that Cora’s place is that cheap.”

  “Bummer,” said Trina.

  “Mona, you did live in the building,” Lydia said. “Did you notice if any of the neighbors had any problems with Dr. Statler?”

  “What a strange thing to ask,” Aunt Edie commented.

  “You know,” Trina said, standing up. “I could use a second helping of your wonderful food. And we need some more wine. Aunt Edie, will you help me?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “And Mona, dear, you should call me Aunt Edie too. I told Trina a long time ago that Mrs. Doherty sounded too formal. Now
that we’re housemates, I hope you’ll do that.”

  “Sure,” Mona said happily.

  Trina led the slightly tipsy woman to the kitchen, and Lydia repeated her question to Mona. However, it seemed to be for naught.

  “I can’t think of anyone who had a problem with the doctor,” Mona answered. “He was very helpful and kind. The only problem was that he asked to borrow things. Items to fix the house or food. Maybe someone found that annoying, but not enough to kill over.”