Almonds and Arson

by Allyssa Mirry

  “When are we going to have this picnic?” Amber asked him, ignoring the others. “You’re not going to keep me waiting long, are you?”

  “I should help the committee put things away after the event and see what the final numbers are today,” said Daniel. “And they might need help with crowd control if everyone needs to stay away from this building.”

  Amber pouted. “You’re not trying to delay our date, are you? You are looking forward to it, right?”

  “Does tomorrow work for you?” asked Daniel.

  “That would be perfect,” said Amber triumphantly. “Stop by my shop to pick me up tomorrow. I’ll show you my new bathing suit when we’re on the sand.”

  “Are there any foods you don’t like or are allergic to?” asked Daniel. “What would you like to eat at the picnic?”

  “It will be great to learn more about each other so you’ll know the answer to all these questions,” Amber cooed. “But I’ll be fine with whatever you pack.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll figure something out.”

  “I better go find Brie,” Amber said. “But I’ll see you tomorrow. It will be the best date of your life.”

  With a final look at Lydia, she sauntered away to look for her friend. Daniel continued to look uncomfortable.

  “The nerve,” Trina muttered.

  “It will just be a friendly picnic,” Lydia said, trying to reassure herself. “Just because it’s called a date for the auction doesn’t mean there will be real romance.”

  “Exactly,” said Daniel. He ran a hand across his hair as if nervous about broaching the next subject. “I was a little surprised that you didn’t go up to the thousand dollar bid that you told me about though.”

  “You told me that the bids would be closer to five hundred and they seemed to be. I didn’t expect it to go up so high. Not that you’re not worth it. But I lent Trina some of my cash so she could win her date,” Lydia explained. “And Annette and Mona were then going to lend me some money, but it all happened so quickly. And we weren’t able to count it all out in time. And then Amber raised again. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to be sorry. It sounds like I talked you out of spending that much anyway,” said Daniel though there was a trace of disappointment in his voice.

  “I don’t want you to think that I wouldn’t have wanted to go on that date with you. Of course, I would have,” Lydia said.

  “It’s all my fault,” Trina quietly wailed. “Oh, why did Trent need to have a boat? Yes, I was excited about the prospect of a romantic cruise. But I didn’t know doing that would let Amber win.”

  “It’s all fine,” Daniel told them. “I know you and Amber never really got off on the right foot.”

  “Because she’s evil,” Trina began.

  “She’s not evil. We encountered murderers who have done real harm to people,” said Lydia. “But she’s not a nice person.”

  “She’s always been very sweet to me,” said Daniel. “Maybe there is a way that you could get along.”

  Lydia and Trina stared at him aghast.

  “Or not,” he said hastily. “Look, I wasn’t lying when I said I needed to help the committee. I should meet up with them. Let me know if you find out anything about what happened in the burning building.”

  “I’m not sure Leo will be eager to share,” said Lydia, looking toward the building. “But it does look like the fire was contained, and no one else is in danger.”

  “Let me know if this does become a case of yours, and you need help. Otherwise, I’ll see you later.”

  They said goodbye and Daniel hurried back towards the beach and the stage area. Lydia shook her head to clear it.

  “Did he say that Amber was sweet?”

  “He can’t mean it,” said Trina. “And even if he does now, after his date with her, he’ll learn what she is really like.”

  Lydia shuddered. “I hate hearing the phrase his date with her.”

  “I am sorry about borrowing your money,” Trina repeated.

  Lydia assured her it was fine again. It wasn’t Trina’s fault that it happened. It was just an unfortunate incident – like the fire might have been.

  She watched as a female firefighter stormed out of the door, clearly upset. Lydia guessed two things because of this. One was that the fire was officially out now if she could leave the scene. The second was that the person who died was the missing bachelor firefighter.

  “Should we try and talk to her to find out what happened?” asked Trina.

  Lydia nodded. “I want to get my mind off of thoughts of Daniel and Amber’s date. And we might be able to do some good if we talk to her.”

  “Right,” said Trina. “We can either be a shoulder of support for someone who needs it. Or we could get some info to help us solve a murder!”

  6

  The Firefighter

  Lydia and Trina hurried after the upset firefighter. They heard a slight commotion behind them and realized that the crowd was starting to leave the beach. This only caused them to pick up their pace.

  The firefighter didn’t seem to have a destination in mind as she stormed down the boardwalk, taking off pieces of her heavy suit. When she reached a set of stairs, she walked down it and headed onto the sand. She threw the suit pieces she had been carrying and her helmet down on the beach. She let out a cry of frustration and kicked the hat.

  “I thought we would be offering tissues,” Trina murmured. “But it doesn’t look like she’s crying. She looks angry.”

  “People deal with grief in a variety of ways,” Lydia said, heading toward the stairs.

  “I know,” Trina said, gripping her friend’s arm. “But I don’t want to get kicked.”

  Lydia briefly wondered if her reason to get involved with this investigation was good enough. Was she just trying to find out what happened to distract herself from Daniel having a picnic in the sand with Amber? However, as soon as she saw the firefighter’s face again, she dismissed these thoughts. The woman was clearly upset, and Lydia knew that someone needed to check on her. Since she and Trina were the only people on this section of the beach, it meant this was their job.

  “Excuse me,” Lydia said. “We couldn’t help seeing you leave the building that had been on fire. We wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine,” the woman said unconvincingly before sitting in the sand. “And I’m not sure I should talk about it now that the police are involved.”

  “Lydia’s brother is the officer who first went onto the scene,” Trina said. “That’s why we were there.”

  “If you don’t want to talk to us, you don’t have to,” Lydia said, no longer moving forward. “But it looked like you might need someone to talk to, so we thought we would offer. And I can also offer some salt water taffy. That normally improves my mood, even in a terrible situation.”

  She took some almond taffy out of her purse and held it out. The woman reached out a hand. She stared at the candy for a long while before unwrapping it.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly before eating it.

  “Grief takes many forms,” Trina said to her friend. “But it seems that taffy does usually help.”

  “It’s good,” the firefighter said when she finished her candy. “Phil would have loved this. He was a big fan of salt water taffy.”

  “That’s the missing firefighter?” Trina asked. “The one who didn’t come onstage during the bachelor auction?”

  “You knew him?” asked Lydia, hoping to encourage the woman to speak more.

  “I never really introduced myself, did I? Though I guess my getup helps. I’m Brenda Davidson. I worked with Phil Burns for a few years now. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “He was the dead body that they found,” Lydia prompted.

  Brenda nodded. “He was so stupid.”

  “Stupid?” asked Trina. “Most people don’t like to speak ill of the dead.”

  Brenda shrugged. “That’s just the truth. He should hav
e known better about facing this fire. He got himself killed.”

  Lydia still didn’t know the details about the death, but replied, “I can see how that’s frustrating for you. You’ve been trained to deal with fires. You would expect someone you work with to be able to deal with such a situation.”

  “There’s always a chance that we could get hurt on the job. Maybe even die. But that shouldn’t have happened here,” Brenda said. “He should have called for backup. He should have been wearing his gear. I know he had it here because I was teasing him for planning to wear it at the bachelor auction. Or at least some pieces of it.”

  “Would he have been a shirtless fireman with only the pants with suspenders and a hat?” asked Trina. “He probably would have raised a lot of money.”

  “Instead he got himself killed,” said Brenda. “I would have expected better of him. We might have had some tension between us recently, but he was a stand-up guy. And he was good at his job.”

  “What sort of tension?” asked Lydia.

  “Were you an item?” asked Trina. “Did you not want him to be a part of the auction?”

  “No,” Brenda said. “We weren’t together. Not like that. But with the work we do and the stress of the job, everyone gets close. We’re like a family. Phil was important to me. Even if he was making me mad. He straight up ignored me the other day when I saw him. He kept his helmet low and walked past when I tried to talk to him. And I thought: Fine. If that’s the way he wants to play it, so be it. But it already seemed like he won Dotty. There was no reason for him to be a jerk.”

  “Who’s Dotty?” asked Lydia.

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Brenda, getting to her feet. “With him dead, it really doesn’t matter. Maybe that will work out for me.”

  “So, his death works out for you?” Lydia asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

  “Except that it makes all firefighters look incompetent,” said Brenda, sounding annoyed. “This shouldn’t have happened. But I was also angry with him because he didn’t help me with another fire call we got this afternoon. I thought that he was feeling too important about his auction to come and do his job. But maybe I misjudged him. Maybe he was already dead while I was putting out that fire.”

  “Where was this other fire?” asked Lydia.

  “On the other side of town,” Brenda said. “Someone left a campfire going. A little early for a fire anyway, I think. But this person left food remnants from greasy food nearby, and a grease fire started. We’re just lucky that even though it was in a wooded area, it was away from houses and businesses. No one was hurt. I was feeling happy about that aspect until I got called to another fire and Phil was the one who was dead there.”

  “Is there any chance that this fire wasn’t an accident?” asked Lydia.

  Brenda considered it. “Actually, yes. I think the fire could have been set intentionally. I was under the impression that the upper level of the building was empty because no one had rented it, but there were items in that room. Items that could have kept a fire going.”

  “Someone wanted to burn the building down?” asked Trina. “Why? Were the massages that bad?”

  “That might not have been the reason why the fire was set,” Lydia said. “It might have been a trap to catch someone who was certain to try and stop it.”

  “You mean someone might have been trying to murder Phil?” asked Trina.

  Despite the layers of protective gear that Brenda was still wearing, she shivered. Then, she got to her feet.

  “I should go back and help. The fire is out, but if Phil was targeted, they'll need someone who knows about fires to look at the scene,” Brenda said. She started to walk away. “Thank you. By talking with you, I have a direction now. I shouldn’t be mad at Phil. I should assist the police in seeing if someone did this to him.”

  “I’m glad that we could help,” said Lydia. “But you don’t have to mention our involvement to the police.”

  Brenda shrugged. “If that’s what you want. Thanks for the taffy too.”

  She headed up the steps from the sand to the boardwalk with her gear. Lydia and Trina stayed where they were.

  “So, it does seem like murder,” Trina said.

  Lydia nodded. “If what Brenda said is true, then I think so.”

  “Poor Phil Burns,” said Trina. “He would have done well at the auction and gone on a hot date. But someone decided to turn up the heat even more and kill him.”

  “And we can’t let that person get away with it,” said Lydia.

  7

  Taffy Shop Guests

  The next day, Lydia kept thinking about the murdered firefighter and what she could do to help as she opened up Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets for the day. Kelsey sensed that she was thinking about a case and kept to herself, humming as she made sure the taffy on display was in order.

  However, when Annette arrived, she commanded both of their attention. The usually cheerful woman threw her purse and yarn bag onto a chair. Then she crossed her arms and let out an annoyed groan.

  “Is everything all right?” Lydia asked, rushing toward her. “Do you need some time off? I could get Jeff or Quinn to come in this morning?”

  “No. I want to be here,” said Annette.

  “Is something wrong with Mona?” asked Kelsey.

  “Of course not. Mona is a dear,” said Annette. “It’s something else that is a bother. It’s – well, it’s men!”

  Lydia and Kelsey started laughing, and eventually, Annette joined in too, coming out of her bad mood.

  “What happened in particular?” asked Lydia as their giggles died down.

  “I went on my date with Walt last night. He’s the polar bear that I won at the date auction yesterday,” Annette explained.

  “Polar bear?” asked Kelsey.

  “He goes swimming in the ocean on especially cold days in the winter as a challenge and for fun,” said Annette. “But it’s hard to believe that this man could have any fun. He was such an unpleasant curmudgeon.”

  “That bad?” asked Lydia.

  “I had high hopes for the evening,” Annette said with a sigh. “He asked if we could go out right away, and I agreed. I thought it was because he wanted to spend time with me after seeing who I was. I hoped he thought I was attractive for my age.”

  “You definitely are,” said Kelsey. “I know several actors who put on old age makeup for shows and look like disasters. You’re really pretty.”

  “Thanks. But I do think now that the reason why Walt wanted to go out right away was to get it over with. But I don’t mind too much now. Because I don’t want to spend any extra time with him. All he did was complain! We went to Crabby Craig’s for dinner, which I thought would be fun because they have live bands play there. But Walt complained about the noise. He complained about every piece of food that he was given. And he complained about the auction especially. He even complained about the poor dead man.”

  “He knew who died?” asked Lydia.

  “The bachelors started talking amongst themselves and realized that Phil Burns was still missing. When they found out that someone died in the fire, they assumed it was the firefighter completing one last heroic act. But, of course, that’s not the way Walt would describe it.”

  “What did he have to say about the victim?” asked Lydia.

  “Basically, he said: good riddance. I have to admit that at this point, after several hours of hearing his complaints, I started to tune him out. It seems that he was annoyed that Phil Burns had helped someone get their cat out of a tree. I guess he didn’t think that was an appropriate use of the fire department’s resources. Of course, his rant about Phil Burns wasn’t nearly as lengthy as his one about Claudio Ozmore.”

  “He’s the local singer,” Lydia said, trying to place him.

  “Right,” said Annette. “But to hear Walt talk about him, you’d think that he was the incarnation of all evil. Apparently, Claudio was being arrogant backstage and was telling everyone how he
expected to bring in the most money for the night.”

  “Did that happen?” asked Kelsey.

  “I don’t know,” said Lydia. “I went to check on the fire with Leo when he came onstage.”

  “He did raise the most money that night,” Annette told them. “Though Detective Grey came in at a close second.”

  “Really?” asked Kelsey. “Good for him. But I’m surprised it wasn’t Daniel that near the top. I thought everyone out of school had a crush on him. And actually, some of my senior friends think he’s cute too.”