Almonds and Arson

by Allyssa Mirry

  “No. She could have worn her firefighter suit to hide her identity. And that’s what people wore around town,” said Lydia. “But it also could have been Pete pretending to be his brother. There is a resemblance between them.”

  “And he might have wanted to disguise the time of death so that he could get more money from the insurance payout,” Trina agreed.

  “But how can we be certain? And how can we prove it?” Lydia wondered aloud.

  They sat in silence for a few moments.

  “I don’t know,” Trina said, finally. “But do you want to help me with another problem?”

  “Sure.”

  “What should I wear on my date tonight? My green dress or the black one?”

  “I think they both look great on you, but they say a little black dress is always great for dates,” Lydia said. “Are you excited about the date?”

  “Very. I have some butterflies in my stomach, but I’m really excited to spend more time with Trent. And he’s the same way with me. When we got together to decide this morning, we decided not to wait and go on the cruise tonight. And who knows? If things go well, I might start boating a lot more.”

  The door to the shop opened, and a client walked in. Lydia hugged her friend and told her to call her after her date no matter the time to let her know how it went. Then, she left so Trina could get back to work. She was happy for her friend and about the date she was going to go on, but she couldn’t deny that she was also thinking about the date that Daniel would be going on too.

  12

  Gift Talk

  Lydia returned to the taffy shop and she was thrilled to see was full of happy customers. The only person who didn’t look completely content was Annette, who was being a little harsher with the yarn she used to crochet the sea life toys she made for the shop in between ringing up sales. Lydia guessed that she kept thinking about how her excitement for her date had turned into annoyance. Lydia really hoped that Trina would not have the same experience.

  She dealt with customers and started another batch of almond taffy to fill the shelves when she saw a customer that always brought a grin to her face. Quiet Quinn, who had come in for her afternoon shift, took over at the taffy puller while Lydia went to greet Daniel.

  “I’m happy to see you,” Lydia said. “I tried to call you earlier, but it went straight to voicemail.”

  “I’m sorry. The committee kept me busy this afternoon, and I had my phone silenced. They alternated between joy at how much money they raised and despair that a murder occurred right next to the event.”

  “I can understand the mixed feelings,” Lydia said. “And I’ve been encountering more of them when I started doing some sleuthing. The victim’s brother didn’t get along with him very well and stands to inherit a good deal from an insurance policy. However, his coworker at the fire station also had mixed feelings. She thought he was a good firefighter most of the time, but wanted the dog that he was going to adopt. And she had been very annoyed with him lately, though there was a chance that she was actually mad at someone pretending to be him to confuse the time of death.”

  “It sounds like you found out a lot in a relatively short amount of time,” Daniel said.

  “I wish I’d found out more. But I feel like I am making some headway. I’m pretty sure that someone pretended to be Phil Burns by dressing up as him to confuse the time of death. I’m just not exactly sure why.”

  “I’m sorry. I really wish I could stay and talk this all out with you, but I can’t right now.”

  “No?”

  “I did stop by to see you and apologize for missing your call, but I needed to come to your shop too.”

  “Can’t get enough of the almond taffy?” Lydia teased.

  “That’s a perk for coming here, but I also need some advice. And a little gift.”

  “A gift?”

  “For Amber.”

  Lydia felt the color drain out of her face but tried to remain calm. “You’re getting her a gift? For your date?”

  “I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do,” he said. “I was afraid that flowers would seem too romantic.”

  “Yes,” Lydia agreed a little too quickly.

  “And I know she really doesn’t like your taffy – which admittedly is crazy. How can anyone not like this stuff?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But I thought that you also were a gift shop. That’s the trinket part of your name. Maybe you had something that would be a nice gift. But friendly and not romantic.”

  Lydia nodded. Even though she still felt some jealousy knowing that Daniel was bringing her a present, Lydia acknowledged that he was just trying to be a good date and was not actively trying to woo Amber. He just wanted to be friendly.

  She looked around the shop, trying to think of something. She dismissed several possibilities.

  “It’s a little tricky,” Lydia admitted. “Most of the trinkets I sell are for tourists. They are nautical and about the beach, but that’s not something unusual for Amber. And I wouldn’t want to give her something that is obviously from my shop. That might upset her.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in the middle of this.”

  “It’s all right. I already feel like I’m in the middle. I mean…” she trailed off and picked up a spoon rest in the shape of a starfish. “This might work. You could say that it is to rest her ice cream scoops on.”

  “Perfect,” Daniel said.

  He walked up to the register to pay for it. Lydia followed him. Usually, they argued about whether he should pay for something in the shop or not. He always wanted to support her business, but she liked to remind him that he had saved her life and shouldn’t have to pay for anything. However, her generosity didn’t quite extend to getting gifts for a date with her arch-rival.

  “Thanks again for your help,” Daniel said after he had paid Annette.

  “No problem,” Lydia said. “Have fun tonight. But not too much fun.”

  He laughed. “All right.”

  He kissed her cheek and then started to leave. Lydia stopped him.

  “Wait, Daniel. You do know that I wanted to win the date with you, right? Even though I didn’t spend the money, I originally said I would, that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you.”

  “I know that. And I do understand. You have nothing to worry about, Lydia.”

  Lydia nodded as he left, but she didn’t quite believe it. She walked toward the counter and joined Annette, who was also having trouble masking her bad mood.

  “He’s going on his date with Amber?” Annette asked.

  Lydia nodded. “He told me not to worry, but it’s hard. He doesn’t know how manipulative Amber can be. He’s stood up to her on my behalf before, but he doesn’t quite understand that she’s intentionally trying to upset me. And she does want to date Daniel. I’m sure of it. And even though she runs an ice cream shop, she looks like a supermodel. And I look like someone who runs a candy shop for a living. And our relationship is so new.”

  “Men,” Annette said in a huff.

  “Well,” Lydia continued, trying to amend what she just said. “Daniel hasn’t done anything wrong really. He’s just fulfilling a duty. And he’s trying to be a good date, unlike Walt.”

  “I can’t tell you how disappointed I was. I was looking forward to a little bit of romance, and I got a cranky old man.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lydia said.

  Annette shrugged and picked up her yarn again. “I shouldn’t let it bother me. But I don’t understand why he agreed to be a bachelor for this auction if he was going to be so unhappy on the date. Do you think it was me?”

  “Definitely not,” Lydia said, vehemently shaking her head. “You’re fantastic. And it sounds like everything upsets this man. Maybe he joined the auction because he wanted to help the community center or was roped into it like Daniel was. Or maybe there was some other reason why he wanted to be on stage beside the date itself. I’m sure it has nothing
to do with you.”

  “I hope so.”

  Lydia tapped the counter. “You just made me think of something. Another potential suspect for the case.”

  “What’s that?”

  “What if the reason why Phil Burns’s body was moved wasn’t that the victim was a bachelor in the auction? What if the killer was?”

  “And they put the body nearby so they could start the fire?” asked Annette.

  “And seem like they had an alibi if they were on stage,” Lydia said. “I think we were supposed to think that the fire broke out randomly and Phil Burns died trying to put it out. However, we have a great medical examiner who figured out that the man was killed earlier. The killer wanted to disguise the time of death. Maybe it was all for an alibi.”

  “But who in the show could have done it?”

  “Well, we were wondering if there was an ulterior motive for Walt to be in the auction,” Lydia said. “We might have found it.”

  13

  The Polar Bear

  Lydia shivered. She thought this was partially due to the fact that she had already gone against what she told Trina she would not do when she met a suspect and went inside his house alone. However, the main reason was because of the extremely cold temperature that Walt kept his home.

  When Lydia had arrived at his door, he hadn’t had any qualms about talking to her. However, he was adamant about not doing it outside in the heat. He insisted on talking to her in his living room where the air conditioner was blasting.

  “I don’t want the air escaping out of the house,” Walt said. “And I need to keep it cold in here. I need to condition myself, so I can continue to be a part of the polar bear challenge every year. I want to set the record for most consecutive winter swims.”

  “Admirable,” Lydia said through chattering teeth.

  “Now, I think I know why you’re here,” Walt said.

  “You do?” Lydia asked, surprised.

  “Of course. I might be old, but I’m not an old fool. I know who you are. You own the taffy shop on the boardwalk.”

  “Do you like salt water taffy?”

  “Like it? Sticky candy like that? I despise it. What’s its purpose other than to try and rip your teeth out? And why do you need so many flavors? When someone else had the taffy shop, they only had six flavors, and that was good enough. How many are you trying to have? One hundred? Trying to set some sort of record? Maybe that I could understand and support.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but it might be something worth attempting.”

  “No. I am no fan of taffy,” Walt continued as if she had not spoken. “I don’t understand why a candy that needs to be stretched and pulled is made. If it takes so much work, why not put that work into more useful activities? Like fixing the potholes on the highways. Or helping my cat when he gets stuck. I have an outdoor cat. His name is Cat. I don’t approve of silly names for pets. He is what he is. I would like it if he could stay indoors with me, but he doesn’t like the cold the way I do. Even if he does have a winter coat.”

  “The reason I’m here,” Lydia began.

  “I told you. I know. You’re here because you’re Annette’s boss.”

  “I am,” Lydia said, though she was not sure why this was being brought up.

  “And you’re something of an amateur sleuth. Annette mentioned that you solved some cases in town. I don’t know what to make of mixing sugar with crime-solving, but I do think that catching bad guys is more productive than making sticky candy, so I will approve of it,” Walt said, marching around the room. “And now you’ve come to do some more investigating.”

  “You seem very good-natured toward it,” Lydia said, rocking slightly to keep warm.

  “I’ve got to be. I want to impress Annette. I should have known that the people in her life would want to make certain that I am good for her. I knew there would be some checking up. Of course, I might have my work cut out for me because you aren’t the average friend snooping. You’re more of a professional snooper.”

  Lydia was very surprised by this turn of events but decided she might as well use it. “You’re right. I wanted to check up on you and make sure that you were good for Annette. I don’t want anyone taking advantage of her.”

  “I was afraid of that too. Did you know that she has a young woman staying with her? And she’s living there rent-free? She’s someone that we need to look at. We must be vigilant and make certain that this woman is not taking advantage of sweet Annette.”

  “Mona isn’t taking advantage of her. They’re coworkers and friends. And Mona is just staying with her until her condo is repaired. I actually think it’s good for both of them. They’ve both been lonely. Mona has felt on her own since her father died, and Annette has been feeling empty nest syndrome since her daughter’s family moved away.”

  “She doesn’t need a coworker to live with her,” Walt said. “She just needs to find the right new husband. And after the way we hit it off last night, I think we might be moving down that path. But, of course, that’s why she sent you to look into me.”

  Lydia nodded, going along with it. “There is a complication to all this though.”

  “There is?”

  “You see the police, and I think that the person who killed Phil Burns might be one of the bachelors from the auction. You were one of those people. And I can’t let you continue to see Annette if you might be a killer.”

  “Oh, please. Why would I kill that firefighter?”

  “I did hear that you weren’t a fan of his,” Lydia said. “In fact, when I saw you by the building that turned out to be a crime scene, you suggested that Phil Burns was shirking his duty again.”

  “I didn’t like him,” Walt admitted. “But that doesn’t mean that I killed him. If I killed everyone I disliked, there wouldn’t be many people left in the town. Have you seen some of the drivers around here? And the way people say ‘sup instead of hello?”

  “But why did you dislike him so much?” Lydia asked, keeping her teeth chattering to a minimum.

  “Because he was a hypocrite! He told me point blank that firefighters don’t get cats down from trees like in the movies. And I struggled so to get Cat down from one. But then what do I see two days ago? There’s Phil Burns in his uniform helping a cat down from a tree. I tried to call him out on it, but he just shook his head.”

  “Did you actually see his face?”

  “I knew it was him.”

  “But was he wearing headgear?”

  “I guess he was. I thought it was a little strange, but I thought perhaps he was afraid of the cat scratching.”

  “Did you notice anyone acting suspiciously at the auction?”

  “I noticed someone acting like a prima donna. And that was Claudio Ozmore. If his head was any bigger, he’d fall over. He seemed to take the bidding very personally, too. I think if he didn’t get the highest bid, he would have done something desperate. But I wouldn’t have minded if he swam off into the ocean.”

  Lydia rose to her feet. She was starting to think that Walt wasn’t the killer. It seemed like he had seen someone pretending to be Phil Burns saving a cat. She also couldn’t take much more of this cold temperature. It was past refreshing on a hot day. It was freezing inside this house.

  “Thank you for your time. I should get going.”

  “So, I passed your test?” Walt asked.

  “Well…” Lydia mumbled, not sure what to say. She wanted to get out of the house quickly, but she didn’t want to trap Annette on another date with someone she clearly didn’t like.

  “I will have a few demands when it comes time for us to move to the next level and cohabitate, though. I have food requirements and certain TV shows that must be watched quietly. But the most important is that I will require several days of temperature like this per week. It’s how I prepare. But Annette should be willing to deal with this for love, right? She seems so sweet.”

  “She is very sweet,” Lydia agreed. “But I know that s
he does get cold easily. In fact, she often wears a sweater while walking on the boardwalk.”

  “Hmmm. That doesn’t sound like we’re quite compatible after all.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lydia said before making a speedy departure. She left feeling good about the interview. She could tell Annette that she was desired but that she never needed to see her grouchy date again, and Lydia had a new suspect to track down.

  14

  The Suspicious Singer