Caramel Apples & Murder: A Sweet Treats Cozy Mystery

by Woods, Lori

  “That should do it, Charlotte,” Rita said. “You’re good for the day.”

  “Good,” Charlotte said, standing up and stretching her back.

  “What was the incident you were talking about your first week open?” Molly asked.

  Rita laughed somewhat maniacally and waved a hand in Charlotte’s direction. “You want to tell them?”

  Charlotte groaned. “My stupid self knocked over an entire shelf of some of her collectible plates. Two grand worth of plates smashed to pieces.”

  “Do you work at the shop?” Jeffrey asked.

  “No,” Charlotte said, resentment ever present in her voice. “I’ve just been helping Rita out as much as I can to pay back the money I owe her. I’ve been giving her a check each Friday and working in the shop on Saturdays until I can pay back what all I owe. I mean, it was my own fault. I leaned back into a shelf and knocked it completely over.”

  “Just be glad it wasn’t one of the shelves with the rare collectible plates,” Rita said. “You could have walked out of there owing me closer to ten grand.”

  Charlotte shivered at the thought. “Okay, well, since you say I’m done for the day, I think I’m going to dip out and go enjoy some of the festivities.”

  “You certainly have earned it,” Rita said, and waved Charlotte off.

  Molly turned back towards the Disney plates, and wound up buying the Mickey and Minnie ones since Rita was willing to offer her a deal for buying more than one. She decided they would make a good Christmas present for her mom later on that year.

  “Yo! Rita!” a voice called from the crowd.

  Rita frowned and took a step back into her tent. Jeffrey noticed the woman’s discomfort immediately, and as a large, burly man came heading in that direction, Jeffrey quickly planted himself between them. The man huffed when Jeffrey did this. “What’s your problem?” he asked Jeffrey, but he seemed to suddenly notice that Jeffrey was a cop, and he quickly took a step back.

  “Go away, Troy,” Rita said.

  The man, whose name was evidently Troy, bucked up slightly. “Really? You’re just going to tell me to shove off? After everything you’ve put me through?”

  “I’ve put you through? Oh please. Get lost,” she said.

  “Sir, are we going to have a problem here?” Jeffrey asked.

  The man eyed Jeffrey for a moment. “You don’t even know me,” he said to Jeffrey, but he took another step back. “Whatever; I’m out of here.” And, just like that, the man stormed off.

  Molly looked over at Rita. “What was that about?” she asked.

  “Ex-boyfriend,” Rita groaned. “Not one of my best decisions, I can tell you that much.”

  “Believe me,” Molly said. “I know the story. I’ve got an ex who lives up in Atlanta. He was a real creep.”

  “I didn’t think I was that bad,” a voice called, and Molly felt her stomach twist. In her surprise, she nearly dropped the expensive collectible plates she had just purchased. Spinning around on her heels, she spotted him. Jack.

  Jack was actually a very handsome guy. It was no wonder she had wanted to date him initially. He was charming. Cute. Tall, dark, and handsome — the whole nine yards. A fit, well-trained Atlanta detective, just like her father. Except he was a controlling, manipulative jerk who had actually laughed at her for her failed business during her days in Brooks. “What!” Molly yelped, and a firm frown set deeply in her expression.

  “Surprised to see me?” he asked, not daring to take a step forward. “I just went by your booth, by the way. Tried my shot at bobbing for apples. I was never any good at that.” Jack’s eyes darted in Jeffrey’s direction for a moment. “You with her?” he asked.

  Jeffrey blushed slightly. Molly put her hands on her hips. “Jack, what are you doing here?”

  Jack turned his attention back on Molly. “I was in the area. Saw your ice cream truck set up and thought I’d say hello. That’s all.”

  “Sure,” Molly said.

  “You gonna introduce me to your friend?” Jack asked, nodding towards Jeffrey.

  Molly huffed, but she decided not to be too standoffish. She knew Jack was always the type who liked a challenge. “This is Jeffrey. Jeffrey… this is my ex-boyfriend… Jack.”

  The two men shook, and she could see clearly that Jack was intentionally gripping Jeffrey’s hand tighter than necessary. Molly then placed her hand on Jeffrey’s shoulder. “Let’s go. I think Whip and Dazzle are about to perform their first set.”

  “Ah! Your employees at the ice cream truck told me to check out that performance,” Jack said. “I think I’ll follow you.”

  “Of course you will,” Molly grumbled, and the three of them wound up walking across the park towards the stage.

  They stopped by a few more vendor booths on the way. Molly was hoping Jack would get bored and trail off, but she had an uncomfortable suspicion that he was not in town by coincidence. She stopped at a booth selling jewelry and the man working the booth handed her a card. “The name’s Glen,” he told her, and as she was looking at the card, she spotted a number of different shop names on it.

  “Whoa,” Molly said. “How many shops do you own around here?”

  “Seven,” Glen said with a grin. “I like to diversify. Make sure you check out my other booths. I got all my managers out here today.”

  “I will,” Molly said, as the man had been incredibly polite towards her. She placed the card in the box holding her collectible plates, and she and Jack and Jeffrey headed once again towards the stage.

  “So, you’re a cop too, I see,” Jack said. “How long you been doing that?”

  Jeffrey, Molly could tell, was very uncomfortable with the way Jack was hanging around and prying into his business. But Jeffrey was too polite to simply brush him off without a legitimate excuse, so he politely answered Jack’s prodding. Whip and Dazzle were soon on stage, and Molly and Jeffrey excitedly cheered for the dancing duo. Jack snorted slightly at the performance. “So, you employ those two?” he asked Molly during the performance.

  “Yes, they just started working for me recently,” she said, watching carefully as Dazzle came running across the stage, her foot landing on Whip’s bent knee, and Whip catapulted her backwards. She flipped backwards in the air and landed into a summersault that caused the whole crowd to cheer excitedly.

  “I’m impressed, Molly,” Jack said. “Been down here for just a couple of months and already you’re able to afford to hire four different employees. After what happened in Brooks —"

  “I really don’t want to talk about that with you right now, Jack,” Molly hissed.

  “Look, I was kind of a jerk,” Jack said. “I should have been more supportive of you.”

  “You think?” she said, glaring at him.

  “But honestly, Molly, how long do you think your little ice cream shop is going to last down here? Winter is setting in. Ice cream shops don’t do so well in the cooler weather, you know? Would you even consider heading back to Atlanta with me?” he asked.

  “Are you serious right now?” she asked. “Jack, beat it. I’m really not in the mood to hash this conversation out with you right now.”

  “Don’t be that way,” he insisted. “I came all the way out here to see you. The least you could do is hear me out.”

  “Maybe call next time so you don’t waste a trip,” she said and started to turn away — eager to simply walk off, but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

  “Don’t just walk away from me!” he said angrily, and Jeffrey intervened.

  He pushed himself between Molly and Jack. “Back off,” Jeffrey said, and Jack didn’t hesitate for even a second to swing on him. The punch took Jeffrey by complete surprise, and he wound up flat on his back.

  “You jerk!” Molly yelped.

  Jack bent over, laughing. “Nice, Molly. He’s just a little country cop, isn’t he?”

  Jeffrey jumped up; he looked irate. “You just assaulted an officer!” Jeffrey wailed in surprise.

/>   “I am an officer too, genius,” Jack said.

  “Just go away, Jack!” Molly shouted.

  The man shrugged his shoulders. “Fine. Fine. I’ll be hanging around, though. Don’t you worry about that.” He marched off.

  Jeffrey rubbed his jaw. “I can’t believe that creep one-upped me like that.”

  “He took you by surprise,” Molly said; she could tell Jeffrey was rather humiliated by the incident.

  Jeffrey nodded off into the crowd. “Look, the miscreant brigade has formed.”

  Molly glanced in the direction Jeffrey was indicating to see that Rita’s ex, Troy, was now talking with Jack — laughing about Jack’s punch to Jeffrey’s face, no doubt. Molly shook her head. “Let’s just go back to the ice cream truck. Those two deserve each other.”

  Chapter 3

  Molly and Jeffrey began their long walk back to the ice cream truck. Jeffrey kept rubbing his jaw where Jack had managed to land a quick punch. “I can’t believe he knocked me right off my feet,” Jeffrey said embarrassingly.

  “He took you by surprise,” Molly assured Jeffrey. “I can’t believe he actually hit you. Jack has always been a bit of an aggressive guy, but I never expected him to act like that.”

  “What did you see in that guy?” Jeffrey asked.

  “He was my dad’s old partner,” Molly said grimly. “Dad liked him — for a while he did, at least. He’s a good cop and a good detective. Always gets his man kind of thing. But eventually, we both figured out how fake he was. Really good at acting all sweet and then slowly letting his true colors show. Things were actually pretty good between the two of us until I stopped doing investigative journalism. It just wasn’t what I wanted to do, but he liked having a girlfriend with a serious job who could help him with his work.”

  “That’s what finally split you two up?” Jeffrey asked.

  “Pretty much. He told me quitting my job was stupid. That my dream of owning my own business was a fantasy. Not supportive at all. We broke up. He stopped by my shop in Brooks a couple of times — I guess trying to be supportive, despite us not really being on the best of terms. Honestly, for a while there, I thought we would probably end back up together. But then the shop in Brooks went kaput. It failed miserably, and he called me up with this I-told-you-so kind of attitude. It was the final straw. He wanted me to go back to doing what I was doing, but I was determined to succeed.”

  “Well, I guess you’ve shown him,” Jeffrey said. “Your shop here in Savannah has done fantastic. And the only reason your shop didn’t do well in Brooks was because you decided to open the shop up in the cursed building.”

  Molly laughed. Jeffrey was absolutely right. The man had spent a little bit of his childhood in Brooks, so he knew all about the building. It was right across from the elementary school, where one would have thought a dessert shop would have done exceptionally well. But that was to no avail. No business lasted there for very long, for whatever reason. Not even the toy store that had been in there a few shops before her own. She had told Jeffrey how she had opened her first shop there and it had been a major flop. Her second time around, she had done more research and had decided to move herself to Savannah, where she was now located. The shop location was perfect — right on River Street and very near where the river boat tours docked. People were constantly in and out of the shop. It was a real success.

  “I’ve had a lot more luck this time around,” Molly said. “A small part of me hopes he does stop by the shop just so I can rub it in his face, but I don’t know if that would be worth having to actually talk to him again.”

  “Do you really think he came all the way out this way just to pester you?” Jeffrey asked.

  “It does sound like something Jack would do,” Molly groaned. “He was always a bit controlling. Always needed to know what I was up to. I was not into that at all. Jealous kind of guy.”

  “I’m sorry you dealt with that, Molly,” Jeffrey said.

  “I’m not,” Molly said confidently. “It led me here, you know?”

  Jeffrey smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

  They had just arrived back at the ice cream truck. There was a small line of three children taking their chance at the bobbing for apples game, and when the child up front at last snatched up his apple, Bonnie exclaimed, “Twenty-seven seconds! You won a basket!” The child’s face lit up as Bonnie put the boy’s name on the best time board and gave him a gift basket for him to give to his favorite teacher at school. The next children in line were not so lucky, and one wound up getting a little choked up when he dunked his head in the water. They all had a pleasant laugh about it, though, and they all three bought caramel apples to take with them.

  “How’s it been going?” Molly asked.

  “Great!” Bonnie said.

  Braxton nodded. “Everyone is really liking the bobbing for apples. A lot of the adults are doing it, especially — says it reminds them of fall festivals when they were kids.”

  “It certainly is a classic,” Molly said. “Good job, you guys. So, did a guy come over here earlier looking for me?”

  Bonnie nodded. “Yeah. He did the bobbing for apples thing… Jack, I think was his name.” Molly’s disgruntled look caused Bonnie to ask about the man.

  “Ex-boyfriend,” she grumbled. “Came all the way from Atlanta to see me.”

  “That’s… sweet?” Bonnie questioned, and Molly shook her head no.

  “He punched me in the face,” Jeffrey grumbled, rubbing his chin again. “You kids watch out for him if he comes around again, okay? And don’t ever tell him where Molly’s at if he asks.”

  “We won’t,” Braxton said. “Is he stalking you or something?”

  “I don’t think it’s at that point just yet,” Molly said. “But he did come all this way. It’s a little unsettling to say the least, and then he struck Jeffrey. He’s got an attitude, and I don’t appreciate it. For now, let’s not worry about Jack. Let’s talk about something else. Did you guys get a glimpse of Whip and Dazzle’s first set from here?”

  “No, the line was way too busy,” Bonnie said.

  “Well, I will watch the booth during their second set, and you two can go watch,” Molly said.

  “Great!” Braxton said excitedly. “They’re really fun to watch. Especially when Whip throws Dazzle around the way he does. I wish I knew what his workout routine was — the guy can lift her clear over his head.”

  “It’s ballet,” Bonnie said.

  “No way,” Braxton countered.

  “I’m serious,” Bonnie said. “He and Dazzle do ballet class on the weekends. It’s a lot of core strength, and he also lifts weights.”

  “Ballet?” Braxton questioned. “That’s not what kind of dancing they do when they perform.”

  “It’s good for building their technique,” Bonnie said. “And, he’s really good. I went to one of their recitals with Lance.”

  “Recitals?” Braxton asked. “So, he actually performs ballet too?”

  “Hey, don’t make fun,” Bonnie warned. “No offense, Braxton, but I’m pretty sure Whip could kick your butt. He’s way more athletic than you.”

  Braxton shrugged. “Probably.”

  Molly and Jeffrey laughed. “So, holidays are rapidly approaching,” Jeffrey said. “You guys got any plans?”

  “Mom is going to be home for the holidays this year!” Braxton exclaimed excitedly.

  “Yeah!” Bonnie said. “Last she told us, she is probably going to be able to be here for both Thanksgiving and Christmas! It’s going to be great. She’ll probably be here for New Year’s too.”

  “Aw, I bet your grandparents are really excited,” Jeffrey said.

  “Grandma is going to do a huge Thanksgiving feast,” Bonnie said. “She said it’s going to be a holiday season to remember. You guys should totally come!”

  “I might go home for the holidays,” Molly said. “I’m not sure yet. It is just me and Mom now, so I don’t know. She might want to come hang out in Savannah with m
e. We’ll see.”

  “We should host,” Jeffrey suggested, with a big grin appearing on his face as an idea seemed to be forming in his head.

  “I’m sorry, we?” Molly questioned, trying to imagine hosting a hoard of people in her little apartment.

  “Like, all of us. Aunt Cas’s place is big enough. I bet their grandma wouldn’t mind some help in the kitchen. Your mom can come down. It’d be my foster brothers, Bonnie and Braxton’s family, and you and your mom. I’m sure Whip and Dazzle could join us,” Jeffrey suggested.

  “Your Aunt Cas’s cooking…” Molly said with a grin. “That sounds like a Thanksgiving to remember. That coupled with my desserts and their grandma’s home cooking would be amazing.”

  “I’ll talk to Grandma and Grandaddy when we get home,” Braxton said. “I bet they’d like to do a big Thanksgiving like that.”

  “I’ll mention it to Aunt Cas,” Jeffrey said. “She’s a more the merrier kind of person, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Oh, now I’m all excited,” Molly said. “Thanksgiving is not for another month and a half!”

  Jeffrey laughed, as did Molly. He was just about to try his go at the bobbing for apples game when they heard a loud scream echoing from across the park. Someone was shouting for the police, so Jeffrey sprung into action. “Stay here,” Molly told Bonnie and Braxton in a firm tone before darting after him. She ran across the park towards the shouting of the alarmed festival attendees, afraid of what it was they were going to come up on.

  They arrived at the scene just outside Rita’s collectible plates booth. “Everyone, stand aside!” Jeffrey shouted, ushering patrons away from the booth so that he could see what all the commotion was about.

  Molly was allowed by Jeffrey to follow, and once they entered under the tent that made up her booth, Molly saw Rita sprawled out on the floor. There was a small pool of blood where her head laid, and her right hand was coated in blood as well. Jeffrey knelt beside her. “Rita, Rita! Can you hear me?” he asked, touching her left wrist to check her pulse. His face became somewhat pale as he stood back up, shaking his head.