I narrowed my eyes at her as I wrapped her fudge. There hadn’t been any blood that I could see. She was clearly embellishing and if she was embellishing, she probably didn’t have any real information about what had happened.
“Really? Because we were all in the parade and we never saw that. Sometimes rumors fly around here. Small town, you know.” I looked at Christy for backup, but she was staring at the woman, wide-eyed. I cleared my throat and when she looked at me, I gave her a look.
“Oh, yeah, we were all over the parade route and there wasn’t any blood. I bet someone got confused about what really happened. If anything did happen, that is.”
The woman looked at her doubtfully. “I know something happened. The police were there with their flashing lights on.”
“Maybe someone got hurt. There were so many people out there, it would be easy to trip and fall. It’s hard to see where you’re going with all those people,” I suggested.
“I heard it was a murder, too,” another woman stepped up and confirmed.
I glanced at her, then back to the customer in front of me. “Well, let me ring up your candy and we’ll put it in one of our cute Halloween bags.” I glanced at the clock again. If Ethan was available, he hadn’t made any effort to call me. Maybe I could slip into the kitchen and call him.
“Do you think the police would come for someone tripping and falling?” the second woman asked. There was a challenge in her voice when she said it, but I smiled at her in spite of it.
“Well, the police were in the parade. I can’t imagine them not stopping to help.” I didn’t want to argue with these ladies, but they seemed determined to spread the rumors around and I rang up the woman’s purchases as quickly as I could.
She looked at me skeptically. “Maybe. I suppose they couldn’t just walk off if someone was hurt.”
“My mother just made a fresh batch of maple nut fudge. It’s really good. There’s a sample of it over on the sample plate.” I nodded in the direction of the small table Mom had put out with two sample plates. If a customer tasted my mother’s fudge, they’d buy it. There was no way it could be passed up. Christy placed the candy into a bag for the customer at the counter.
The other woman turned and moved toward the table, forgetting about the possibility of a murder victim. I smiled at the woman in front of me as she counted out her money to me.
“I bet she died. I bet it was a terrible, violent murder.”
I forced myself to smile. “Thank you so much for your business. I hope you’ll stop in again.”
She smiled and nodded, picked up her bag of candy, and headed for the door. I turned to Christy.
“You need to find out what happened,” she whispered.
“I’ll call Ethan right now.”
Before I could get to the kitchen, the front door opened, and Ethan stepped inside. His eyes searched for me and I gave him a little wave. He smiled and headed toward me, weaving in between the customers.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I said. I gave him a kiss. “What’s going on?”
He looked around. “Let’s step outside.”
I followed behind him as we made our way to the door and then outside. We leaned against his SUV and he sighed. “Wow, what a day.”
“A murder?” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder as people passed by on the sidewalk.
He nodded. “Looks like it.”
“Anyone we know?”
He hesitated. “Olivia Summers.”
I gasped. “I just talked to her last week at the grocery store. What happened?”
“There’s bruising and ligature marks on her neck. Looks like she was strangled.”
“How awful. And she was just laying out there on the sidewalk.” I shook my head. “She wasn’t there when the parade started. We’d have seen her if she was.”
He shook his head. “She definitely wasn’t there when we were lining up for the parade. We’re trying to figure out how much time there was between when we headed to the parade route and when the last float left the area, and then when we returned at the far end of the street. I’m figuring not more than forty-five minutes.”
I tried to remember. It had taken us a little over an hour to walk the entire parade route—longer than I had first thought it would. The parade route was ten blocks long, and we had gone at a very slow pace so there wouldn’t be any accidents with the kids darting out in front of the floats. The marching band had stopped to play a song in front of the judges, the junior high majorettes did their routine in front of them, and then there were the mounted riders that had done a routine on horseback. There were lots of stops and starts with the various entries.
“She was killed somewhere else and dumped then?” I asked. It only made sense. The killer didn’t have much time to leave her and killing her there when so many people were in the area, even if most of them were on the next block with their attention on the parade was still risky.
“I think so.” He took a deep breath. “I always liked Olivia. I was friends with her older sister in high school.”
I nodded. “She was nice. It’s a shame.”
He looked tired. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him.
He smiled. “I really need to get back to the station. I just took a break to pick up some lunch, and I wanted to stop by and say hello.”
“That’s a late lunch.” I looked up at him.
“It is. I’m starving. And I’ve got a murder to solve, so I better get back.” He gave me a kiss and rested his forehead on mine a moment.
“I guess I better let you go.”
He grinned. “I guess you better.”
After another moment, I did let him go, and I watched as he got into his car and pulled away from the curb. I waved and then headed back inside. The crowd was thinning out a little and Christy looked at me inquisitively.
I shook my head and we slipped into the kitchen, closing the door behind us. I filled her in on what Ethan had told me.
“That’s terrible,” Mom said from her place beside the stove.
“Wow,” Christy said. “That’s hard to believe. I just talked to Olivia a few weeks ago. He’s sure it’s murder?”
“Yeah, he’s sure. I think the killer may have dumped her body while we were walking the parade route.”
“That’s something,” she said thoughtfully. “I bet they waited until everyone’s attention was on the parade to do it.”
“That’s what I think.” I headed over and picked up a tray of chocolate fudge with walnuts to take out front. I hated that this had happened to someone as ice as Olivia. But Ethan would find the killer. I was sure of it.
Chapter Five
Olivia Summers had been a schoolmate, a year behind me and a year ahead of my sister. She had been a quiet girl with a pretty smile. I had taken science with her and we were lab partners for a quarter. Since we didn’t graduate the same year, we had a different circle of friends, and I had never socialized with her outside of school. When I graduated and went on to college, I forgot about her until I moved back to Pumpkin Hollow. She worked for a company that manufactured storage solutions—shelves, racks, and closet organizing systems. Her body was found in front of the office she worked at.
I knew Olivia’s parents because they had been in Pumpkin Hollow since before I was born. I stood on their doorstep now, plant and candy in hand. Olivia’s sister, Jane, came to the door. When she saw me on the step, she gave me a sad smile. “Hello, Mia.”
“Hi, Jane. I hope I’m not intruding, but I wanted to stop by and tell you how sorry I was to hear about Olivia.”
She nodded. “That’s kind of you. I appreciate it. Would you like to come in for a minute?”
“Yes, thanks,” I said and followed her into the living room. The room was bright, done in yellows and medium blue florals. She offered me a seat on the sofa, and I sat down. “I brought you a plant and some fudge. I’m so sorry.”
She took the plant and gift bag with the fud
ge mom had sent and set them on the coffee table. “Thank you. My parents are at the funeral home, making arrangements.” She sighed. “I just can’t believe she’s gone. It doesn’t seem real.”
“I can’t imagine how hard this must be.”
She looked at me, her eyes big. “I couldn’t go to the funeral home with my parents. I guess that’s being selfish, but I just couldn’t do it.” Her eyes teared up as she looked at me. “I keep wondering why it happened during the parade. It’s a crazy thought, I guess, since I can’t imagine it happening at all.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was just a chance thing that the parade was happening at that time. Jane, did Olivia ever mention that she was having trouble with anyone?”
Jane shook her head. “No. Olivia was a people-pleaser. She was really the sweetest person I’ve ever met.” She chuckled sadly. “I used to complain to my mother that she was being nice just to make me look bad.”
I sighed. “That’s what I remember about her. She was a really nice person.”
“Well, she was nice, but she wasn’t perfect. I’m not saying that to try to make you think differently about her, but she was a normal person, and she did get into trouble sometimes. When she was younger, I mean.” She blinked and her mouth made a straight line.
“Don’t we all? Was there anything in particular that stands out to you?” I wondered if something was on her mind and if she would tell me.
She shrugged. “She had a recent breakup with a guy that didn’t go so well. Aaron Cox.” She rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t what you’d call a winner. I told Olivia he wasn’t worth her time, but he was cute, and she hadn’t dated for a few months, so she went out with him.”
“Aaron Cox? We went to school with him?” Jane was a year older than I was and I remembered her better than I did Olivia, other than the time we were lab partners. Jane was on the homecoming court her senior year and was more popular than her sister had been. Aaron was the new owner of the haunted farmhouse.
She nodded. “Yes, that’s right. He wouldn’t give Olivia the time of day when they were in high school, but he suddenly became interested in her last year.”
“How long did they date?”
“Almost a year. They broke up in June. She suspected he was cheating on her, but he wouldn’t admit it.” She sat back on the sofa and picked up a throw pillow, holding it in her lap. Her eyes teared up again. “Honestly, if I had my suspicions, I’d have to think he might have had something to do with her death.” She got a faraway look in her eyes now and she sniffed.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because when she confronted him about cheating, he got angry and grabbed her by the upper arm. He left a bruise on her. I told her to run. Run just as far and as fast as she could from him.” Her eyes took on a look of steel now. “The police need to have a long talk with him. He did it. I know he did.”
“Have you mentioned this to the police?” I asked gently.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to them yet, but I told my parents they needed to either tell the police about it or I need to talk to them. I just haven’t done it yet.” She clenched her hands into fists. “I guess I should go to the station and talk to someone today.”
“Why did Olivia think Aaron was cheating on her?” An orange tabby sauntered into the room and headed over to me, rubbing up against my leg. “Hi there, boy.”
She smiled. “That’s Punkin. He was Olivia’s. She loved that cat. I can’t imagine what he must think now that she hasn’t come home. But to answer your question, Olivia saw some texts on Aaron’s phone. She confronted him and he said she was misconstruing what was in the text. Please. No one misconstrues a text. It says what it says.”
I thought about this. Lots of people made mistakes, allowing jealousy to get ahold of them. “Olivia still lived at home?” I scratched Punkin’s head and was rewarded with loud purring.
“She moved back home in February after she and Aaron had a fight. She kept saying she was going to move out of my parents’ house, but she hadn’t done it yet.”
“So, she and Aaron had a fight bad enough that she moved out in February, but they didn’t break up until June? Why did she stay with him if the fight was that bad?”
She shrugged. “I told her to end it. At first, she said they had broken up, but then she was back with him. She just never moved back into his apartment with him. I wish she had left him alone and not gotten back together with him.” She looked off into the distance.
“What do you think would cause him to kill her now? If he did it, I mean?” Punkin jumped up on the couch and I scratched his nose.
She looked at me. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions. But I just have a feeling about it. When she broke up with him, she said she kept running into him all over town. I told her he was probably stalking her. That’s what it sounded like to me, anyway.”
“You might be right.” A relationship gone bad could lead to murder. It was a shame. If she had seen the signs ahead of time, her death might have been avoided.
She sighed and looked down at her hands. “I wish I had insisted that she leave him for good. Cut all ties. I don’t know why I didn’t do it.” She looked up at me and a tear ran down her cheek.
“Jane, you can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do. Especially where relationships are concerned. I do think you need to speak to Ethan though. He’s on the case and he’ll interview Aaron, I’m sure. The important thing is for you not to blame yourself for something you had no control over.”
She nodded and grabbed for a tissue from the box on the coffee table. “I know. You’re right. I just keep going over and over things that were said and some things that should have been said that weren’t. If only she had left him. She might be here now.”
There wasn’t a lot I could say to make Jane feel better. We all have regrets about things we could have or should have done or said in life. If she was right about Aaron, then it was particularly tragic. But if Aaron wasn’t Olivia’s killer, then beating herself up over this was pointless.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, I’m here for you. Even if you just need someone to talk to.” It wasn’t much, but it was all I had to offer her.
She smiled and nodded. “That’s means a lot to me, Mia.”
She walked me to the door, and I gave her a hug before I turned to leave. No one could foresee a murder. I hoped she would let herself off the hook and quit beating herself up over it, but it was her sister that had ended up dead, and if I were in her shoes, I’d probably do the same thing.
Chapter Six
“So, what did Olivia’s parents have to say?” Christy asked me when I got back to the shop. We were in the kitchen, working on a large batch of candy corn flavored marshmallows. The smell was out of this world, but they seemed to be gooier than they should be.
I turned and looked at her. “Only Jane was at home. Her parents had gone to make arrangements at the funeral home. She thinks it was Olivia’s boyfriend, Aaron Cox, that killed her. Do you remember him?”
She smirked. “Yeah, I remember him. He was a troublemaker when we were in school. He was always getting into fights. Rumor had it that he was drinking a lot and he might have gotten into drugs.”
“I don’t remember that about him. Just goes to show you that you don’t always know everything you think you do about a person.” I smoothed the candy mixture onto a pan to cool and looked at my mother as she stood by the stove. “I think these marshmallows are too sticky. Something went wrong.”
She glanced at me, then turned the fire off beneath the chocolate she was melting and came to take a look. She eyed the candy, then took the spatula from me and pressed it gently into the candy. “I think it will be okay. It’s a little humid out. Let’s just give it time to cool.” She handed the spatula back to me and I smoothed the rest of it down.
“Seems a shame Olivia was killed,” Mom said over her shoulder as she went back to the stove.
> “It really is.” I sighed, looking over the candy. It was either going to set up the way it needed to, or it wasn’t, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. “What’s next?”
“It’s almost time for us to go to lunch,” Christy said, glancing at the clock on the wall.
“Why don’t you two go ahead and go, then?” Mom suggested. “I heard Stephanie and Missy out front. They can help me back here.”
“Are you sure?” I asked her. She had a hairnet on, and her cheeks were pink from the heat in the kitchen. She looked tired, and I hated to leave her to do the rest of the work.
She nodded. “I think the new girls are going to work out just fine. You go on. I’ll take my lunch when you get back.”
I turned to Christy. “No one needs to argue with me. My feet hurt like crazy.”
“Mine too. Let’s go get something to eat.”
We took our aprons off and washed up and then headed out front. The candy shop was filled with customers. We had to squeeze between them to get to the front door, and the cape of my Batgirl costume got stuck between two customers. A gentle tug and I was free.
“See you two later,” Stephanie said as Christy opened the front door.
“We’ll be back in a while,” I said. “I think Mom might need your help in the kitchen.”
“I’ll go right back there,” she said, and slipped between two customers, heading to the kitchen.
“Wow, things are getting crazy in there,” I said, inhaling the cool breeze once we were out on the sidewalk. “I never thought I’d look forward to Tuesday, but things will be calmer then and I can’t wait.”
“Me too. Ghostly Grins Café?” she asked.
“Sounds good.”
The Ghostly Grins Café was a few blocks over, and we walked over, enjoying the cool air. It felt good to be able to move around. We tended to do a lot of standing in one place back in the kitchen.
Fudgy Fatality: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 10 Page 3
