Hot Chocolate and Homicide

by Cindy Bell

  “Maybe not.” Mrs. Bing popped a chocolate into her mouth. “But it still tastes delicious.”

  The rest of the day went by in a blur. Ally couldn’t dwell on whether she’d made the right choice not to tell Harriet about the two boxes of chocolates, she could barely think straight about which chocolates to put into which boxes. Not only were they getting orders in the shop, but also on the phone. As she tried to navigate through all of it, she was relieved to have her grandmother there at her side. Without her she was sure that she would be making all kinds of mistakes. She might have even locked the doors to prevent more customers from coming in. But Charlotte handled it all brilliantly. When the line was long she joked with the customers, and entertained them with stories about the history of Blue River, and Valentine’s Days gone by. Never once did she lose her bright smile. In the midst of it all, Ally gazed at her.

  “How do you do it, Mee-Maw, how do you keep so calm in all of this chaos?”

  “It’s not chaos, sweetheart. It’s excitement. People don’t mind waiting, if they think they are waiting for something great. People don’t just come in here to buy chocolates, or gifts, they come in here to have the Valentine’s Day experience. So, it’s important to provide that experience. Barking at them, or looking exhausted, or put off by yet another order, doesn’t give them that experience. The key is to treat your customer with kindness, and gratitude, because their purchase is supporting your shop, and that makes it quite valuable.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to balance things the way you do.” Ally’s cheeks were flushed and her back was coated in sweat.

  “Honey, it takes time, and it takes experience. It’s not something you can just snap your fingers and become. Trust me, I paid my dues with meltdowns, there were even times I thought about shutting down the shop for good.” She got pulled away by another customer. As Ally rushed to fill up a box of chocolates she thought about her grandmother’s words. She’d never imagined her grandmother thinking about closing the shop. She couldn’t picture what her life would be like without it. A new sense of gratitude to her grandmother washed over her. She’d fought such difficult battles, and yet there she was with a bright smile and a laugh for the customer who wanted five boxes of custom chocolates, as soon as possible. No matter how long she worked in the shop, she knew she would always have a lot to learn from her.

  At closing time, Ally and Charlotte were both worn out.

  “Mee-Maw, go on home, I’ll finish closing up.” Ally gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Are you sure? There’s still a lot to do.” Charlotte stifled a yawn.

  “I’m absolutely sure. Go on. I want to know you’re getting some rest.” Ally wagged her finger at her and paired the gesture with a stern look.

  “Don’t start babying me now.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “I want to know that you’re tucked into bed too, young lady.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Peaches will make sure of it.” She gave her grandmother a warm hug. “Try to have a good night.”

  “Thanks, I will. You, too.” She kissed her cheek, then headed out the door.

  Once Ally was alone in the shop she began to clean up and shut everything down for the night. They’d done a great deal of business and had quite a few new customers. She could feel all of the hard work in her muscles, and the exhaustion that echoed through her. But she didn’t want to head straight home, instead she had other plans.

  After Ally left the shop she drove towards the police station. She wanted to find out a little information and Luke hadn’t responded to her text yet. When she arrived she discovered that Luke was not there. That didn’t surprise her as she knew that he was chasing down every lead that he could find. She was just about to leave when Errol, a friend of Luke’s, and a young police officer, waved to her from the hallway.

  “Hey Ally, what are you doing here?”

  “I was looking for Luke.” She managed a half-smile. “I just had a few questions for him.”

  “Well, what are they?” He shrugged. “Maybe I can help?”

  “Oh, that would be great!” She followed him over to an empty desk. “Do you have access to the database?”

  “Sure.” He cleared his throat. “They even let me have handcuffs.”

  “Right, sorry.” She blushed and laughed at the same time. “I’m wondering if Gladys Bloomdale filed any complaint against anyone in the past. Would you check on that for me?”

  “I thought Luke was the detective?” He eyed her for a second.

  “He is, I’m just curious.” She did her best to hide the impatience in her voice. She wasn’t sure how to explain that she was looking into the murder, she was sure if she did he would provide her with no information.

  “No worries.” He flashed a grin. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Luke.” He turned back to the computer and began to type.

  She tried not to wonder what that statement meant. How much had Luke shared and why? She didn’t have time to think about it, as he tapped the screen a second later.

  “It looks like she filed a complaint once before.”

  “Just once in all these years?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes, I guess she didn’t have much need for police assistance. Let’s see.” He scrolled through the file. “Okay, actually this was earlier this month. She complained about someone following her around. She insisted that someone had been stalking her.” He narrowed his eyes. “That’s strange, it was dismissed the next morning, let’s see why.” He scrolled a bit more then nodded. “Okay, it was dismissed because her son-in-law came in to speak to the police. It appears that he showed some medical evidence that Gladys was being evaluated for some memory disorders. He explained that she’d even been found wandering the farm in a confused state. The case was closed.”

  “As the result of Parker’s word?” She raised an eyebrow. “No one thought to question why he might want to make her look mentally incapacitated?”

  “Hey, take it easy there, I didn’t take the report and obviously neither did Luke. Though I’m not sure if this has come up in the investigation. I’m going to flag it and send it to Luke so that he can make sure that he reviews it. Anything else I can look up for you?”

  “No, that’s plenty. Thanks, Errol.” She gave him a brief smile then stood up from the desk. After years of not making a single report, she’d felt concerned enough to report a possible stalker. Unfortunately, the police had believed Parker over her. Which put Parker right back at the top of the suspect list. Did he really believe his mother-in-law was imagining it, or was it a way to cover up for himself?

  As Ally left the police station she couldn’t help picturing what Gladys’ life must have been like in the last few months. Did she feel as if everyone was turning against her? She’d fought her entire life for that farm, and as a woman she struggled to be taken seriously in an environment that was dominated by men, yet the first moment he could her son-in-law was helping someone take it all from her. Sure, she would have stood to profit from the sale as well, but not if he managed to get her declared incompetent. If he did, all of that money would be going right into his pocket. She decided that she needed to find out a bit more about him. Though it was nearing eight o’clock, she hoped the garage would still be open. When she parked in front of it there were several other cars present, and lights on inside the garage. She approached the only door she could find and pulled it open. Inside, a circle of three men, each with a cigar in their mouth, were gathered around a small table. Cards were strewn across it along with a few crumpled up dollar bills. She realized she’d interrupted a poker game.

  “We’re closed for tonight, don’t open again until seven tomorrow.” A man with bushy hair, bushy eyebrows, and a long beard looked up at her. He seemed to be in his fifties or sixties, but it was hard to tell with all of the facial hair. The two other men at the table were quite a bit younger, but neither of them was Parker.

  “I’m looking for Parker.”


  “Yeah? What do you want with him?” One of the other men looked up at her with a wry smile. His face was smudged with grease, but that did nothing to make him look any older. She wondered if he was even out of his teens.

  “I just need to speak with him.” She eyed the third man who seemed to be about Parker’s age, if not a little younger. His hair was hidden by a tight ball cap, and his face was spotless, clean of any hair or grease. She guessed that he did more work behind the counter than under the cars.

  “He’s gone for the night. You can find him at home I guess.” He tossed a card down on the table. “One.”

  “Just a minute now.” The older man huffed. “We can’t play with this distraction.”

  “Listen, I’m just wondering if he’s been acting any differently lately. Strange at all?” She looked between all three men.

  “You a cop?” the youngest asked and bit down hard on his cigar.

  “Are you old enough to smoke?” She raised an eyebrow as she stared back at him.

  The oldest man burst into laughter and slapped the table.

  “Yeah, you’re definitely Charlotte’s kin. Ain’t she, Bob?” He looked over at the third man.

  “Yes, that’s for sure.” Bob chuckled as well.

  Ally’s cheeks flushed. Of course, they knew her grandmother. She knew just about everyone in Blue River and the surrounding towns.

  “I remember when you used to toddle around that chocolate shop.” The oldest man shook his head as his laughter faded. “I guess you’re grown now. But let me explain something to you, little lady, you don’t need to be asking questions about people, that only gets you into trouble.”

  “I want to ask some questions.” She placed her hands on her hips as she studied the three men. “I suppose you would want to know if Parker was involved in something illegal and this garage was at risk of shutting down, wouldn’t you?”

  “At risk?” The youngest man pulled the cigar from his mouth and stared at her. “We’re closing in three days. Can’t get much more risky than that, now can it?”

  “Oh.” She blinked. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Guess you didn’t ask enough questions.” The oldest man stubbed his cigar into an ashtray. “Now, if you don’t mind we’re trying to enjoy a game here.”

  “Sure.” She stepped back out of the garage. A mixture of anger and embarrassment flooded through her. Clearly Parker had every intention of selling the farm, shutting down the garage, and living a life of luxury off the profit from the farm. He had an undeniable motive to get rid of his mother-in-law, and he seemed so very confident that the sale would go through, even before Gladys’ death. Was that because he knew that his problem would soon be eliminated? Or had he done it himself?

  As Ally started towards her car she noticed a quad bike parked near one of the closed garage doors. Surely it wasn’t the same one that Gladys died on. She was sure that would have been kept by the police as evidence. But the sight of it reminded her that Parker had access to the quad bikes, and the knowledge to cut the brake lines. It was impossible not to think of him as a suspect.

  Chapter 10

  Charlotte walked down the hall towards her apartment. She couldn’t help but think about Harriet and how upset she’d been. She wondered if the woman would be able to control herself, or if she would go home and cause some chaos with her husband. As she approached the door, she smiled at the sight of Jeff standing in front of it.

  “Jeff, you’re a welcome sight.” Her smile widened as she paused in front of him. He held out a single, long stem rose.

  “A little beauty, for my beauty.” He smiled as he kissed her cheek.

  “Jeff, it’s lovely.” She took the rose from him as her cheeks warmed with blush. “But not necessary.”

  “It’s very necessary. I plan to make sure that you know how much I care, every single time I see you.” He looked into her eyes. “You’re just going to have to get used to it.”

  “Jeff, that’s sweet, but I know how much you care.” She patted his chest as she gazed into his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything special to show me.”

  “How about dinner?” He smiled as he offered his arm. “Some place nice?”

  “Or maybe dinner in?” She cringed. “I’d love to spend some time with you, but honestly I’m exhausted. I’m in no mood to go out for dinner.”

  “All right, deal, as long as you let me cook. I’m sure I can whip something up from whatever you have in the kitchen. You have to sit, with your feet up, and relax. Agreed?”

  “Agreed.” She laughed as she unlocked the door. The thought of being waited on was a little worrying, but she knew that his intentions were good, and the idea of relaxing and getting a home cooked meal was too good to turn down. As he got to work in the kitchen, she settled on the couch. With the open floor plan she could easily talk with him while he was in the kitchen. She began to update him on all of the things they’d learned about Gladys’ death, and also about her encounter with Harriet in the shop.

  “It was really disturbing to see how upset she was.” She sighed.

  He glanced over at her as he stirred a pot of spaghetti sauce on the stove. “What made you hide the truth from her?”

  “Well, I just didn’t think it was my business to share that kind of information. It’s not as if she or Isaac are personal friends. Even if they were I doubt I would tell her.” She stood up and joined him in the kitchen, both to be close to him, and to breathe the scent of the sauce he’d added spices to.

  “So, you erred on the side of protecting him?” He turned off the pasta he’d been boiling, then carried the pot to the sink to drain it.

  “Careful.” She frowned as he poured the hot water off the pasta. “I don’t think I was protecting him. I think I just knew that the information might be misinterpreted, and if it was, I’d be responsible for sharing it with her.”

  “And if she was right, and he was cheating?” He set the pot back down on the stove and added the sauce to it. “How would you feel if you knew you were protecting a cheater?”

  “Again, I wasn’t protecting him.” She stepped up beside him and met his eyes. “Why do you keep saying that I was?”

  “I’m sorry, my view of the situation is probably colored by my own experiences.” He grabbed two bowls out of the cabinet and began to fill them with the pasta.

  “Own experiences of what? I’m confused?” She gathered some silverware and napkins to set the table with.

  “With cheating.” He carried the bowls over to the table. “It happened to me once, and I swore it would never happen to me again. I was hesitant for a long time to get involved with another woman, it really had a strong impact on me.”

  “I’m sorry, Jeff.” She rubbed her hands along his shoulders before joining him at the table. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about it?”

  “It’s a little embarrassing. It’s funny, the person who cheats is the one that’s done something wrong, but the person who is hurt, is the one who feels ashamed.” He picked up his fork. “It was a long time ago.”

  “It doesn’t matter how long ago it was. If it hurt you, it can last a lifetime.” She frowned. “I’m sorry I was talking so casually about it, that must have been upsetting for you.”

  “It’s not, exactly.” He looked across the table at her, then took her hand. “It’s just that, people can’t understand it, unless they’ve experienced it. It seems pretty normal to me that she would be so upset.”

  “And it bothers you that it seems like I protected Isaac?” She ran her thumb across his knuckles and sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t condone cheating, of course I don’t. But it’s not my place to discuss a customer’s business.”

  “I wouldn’t think that you would. I’m sorry if I came on a little strong about it. I guess my point is that not knowing, being lied to, it’s so very hurtful. And, if I had been in your position, I would have told her the truth, whether it was my business or not.” He took a bite of his food. “But that�
�s me, and it’s not my place to tell you what to do.”

  “Do you think less of me because I didn’t?”

  “No, not at all.” He frowned. “Please, don’t take me the wrong way. You made the choice that most people make. I’m just giving you my perspective of why Harriet would have been so upset.”

  “Upset enough to kill?” She raised an eyebrow as she studied him.

  “Are you asking me if I would have killed someone?” He stared back at her, his own expression growing more serious.

  “I was asking if you thought she could be angry enough to kill.” She picked up her own fork and pushed around her pasta.

  “It’s hard to say. But at the time I did think I would never share my heart with anyone again. The pain, the betrayal, can be extreme. If she had some mental illness to begin with, I suppose it would be possible.”

  “I didn’t ask if you would.” She met his eyes.

  “I know you didn’t.” He smiled as he took another bite of food. “But I thought you should know. As for Harriet, are you worried about Isaac?”

  “I’m not sure exactly. I just noticed something about her seemed off. Like it was more than just anger, something just a little darker.” She shook her head. “I don’t know, it’s possible that I was just too caught up in all of this, and I’m seeing things that aren’t there.”

  “Oh no, I don’t think that’s possible. You’re one of the sharpest people I know.” He pointed to the pasta. “Eat, you need your strength. Honestly, I’d be more concerned about the person he was having the affair with. Do you know who he bought the other box of chocolates for?”

  “Not a clue.” She shrugged and took a bite of her food. “Mm, so good. Honestly, I didn’t even think much about it. Lots of people buy more than one box. They buy some for their girlfriend, their mother, their co-workers, it’s not uncommon.”

  “It’s also not uncommon for someone to have a wandering eye, or heart. Do you believe her?”