Shivers of Murder
Book 5 in The Sundae Afternoon Cozy Mystery Series
Gretchen Allen
Summer Prescott Books Publishing
Copyright 2018 Summer Prescott Books
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.
**This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Also by Gretchen Allen
Author’s Note
Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing
Chapter One
Yvette Lockhart rinsed her breakfast dishes, gazing out of her oversized window at the stunning view just past her backyard. The leaves had already changed to their beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds. There wasn’t a better time for the First Annual Fall Foliage Trolley Tour than this coming weekend. Knowing that she had to leave for work soon, Yvette dashed upstairs to shower and get ready for her day. She’d been moving a little slower than normal, enjoying the calm and peaceful feeling that had overcome her. The last few months had brought several changes to Yvette’s life. Changes that included her family, friends, and career so she was relishing in the relaxation of the quiet morning.
Sliding her feet into her very favorite black restaurant style sneakers, Yvette made sure she had her keys and phone before heading out the door. Tonya, one of her part-time employees, would be back at work today after a family vacation she’d taken. Yvette was looking forward to seeing her as the woman always had a great attitude and was fun to work with.
Yvette pulled her SUV into the parking lot of Sundae Afternoon, and glanced at the clock on her dash, seeing that she’d arrived with time to spare. Everyone at the shop would have a busy day ahead of them. Yvette wanted to get there a bit ahead of her staff, so she could make them all a surprise Hot Ice Cream Float. Each person would have the chance to try something different and get a little taste of what Sundae Afternoon would be creating and serving during the Trolley Tour.
Once she was inside the building and settled in, Yvette started the coffee and pulled out four mason jars and got them ready for her employees. Vanessa, her right-hand woman, was the first on the schedule for the day and was typically always early to arrive. As if right on cue, Yvette heard the back door slam shut and Vanessa yell. Rushing to see what was going on, she ran to the kitchen to find Vanessa’s purse upside down on the floor.
“What happened?” Yvette asked, bending down to help pick up the contents that were strewn everywhere.
“I was trying to open the door and carry everything at the same time, but instead, I dropped my coffee outside and my purse inside. Is today Monday? Because it sure feels like Monday.” Vanessa sighed before getting back to picking up her things.
Stifling a giggle, Yvette tried to find the silver lining. “If it helps, I’ll let you pick which Hot Ice Cream Float flavor you want to try.”
“Ohhhh! That sounds way better than coffee. Wait, do you have one with coffee?” Vanessa popped her head up in excitement.
“Of course. What kind of human would I be if I didn’t offer caffeinated options?” Yvette joked. “I was thinking we’d make coffee the main choice for the morning, cider for the afternoon, and hot chocolate for the early evening tours. The participants can order anything they want, but if we at least attempt to streamline the menu, we should be able to satisfy everyone.”
“Well, obviously, I want coffee. What are my ice cream choices?” Vanessa asked, shoving everything down in her purse before grabbing a roll of paper towels to clean up the splashes on the back door that her coffee had made when it hit the ground.
“Anything you want. I’ve tried Pumpkin Caramel and Ginger Praline for coffee floats. I’ve also had the traditional choices using French Vanilla and Hazelnut ice creams. The only two places that are serving the floats are here and the farm. Since we both have nearly unlimited resources as far as ice cream options go, you can have whatever your little heart desires.”
“How is the farm going to manage that? They don’t have the coolers here like we do,” Vanessa asked, sauntering over behind the counter to choose an ice cream flavor.
“They have the refrigerated truck that they’ll keep stocked. Mark and Amelia are setting up right by where the Trolley Tour starts, and it’s not too far away from the production building. They’ve planned for this all week and have more ice cream than they can probably figure out what to do with,” Yvette explained.
“Makes sense. I hope I get out of work on time to go on one of the tours. It sounds like it’s going to be a blast,” Vanessa told her boss, pointing at the Cookie Butter ice cream. “How about that?” she asked.
“Hmmmm. Cookie butter and coffee. That actually sounds pretty delicious. Do you want whipped cream?”
“Naturally,” Vanessa said.
“Go drop your stuff off in the office and try not to make another mess,” Yvette laughed. “I’ll get started on your float and meet you back out here in a few minutes.
Wanting to make the float extra special for Vanessa, Yvette put a dollop of chocolate sauce on the bottom of the mason jar, thinking back to her childhood favorite; the store-bought ice cream cones with a pool of hardened chocolate at the bottom of the cone. She dropped an extra-large scoop of the Cookie Butter ice cream on top and turned to get the freshly brewed pot of coffee. Just before pouring it over the ice cream, Yvette took a large dessert spoon and rested it inside the jar. Once the hot liquid reached the frozen ice cream, the heavenly smell was almost tempting enough for Yvette to try the drink herself. Reaching under her, to the small cooler, Yvette pulled out the cold brew infused whipped cream. Swirling the whipped cream on the top of the float, she decided to add some crushed cookie butter sandwich cookies over the entire thing. The Cookie Butter Coffee Float was complete, and Yvette was over the moon to share it with Vanessa.
“Oh, wow,” Vanessa said when she saw Yvette come out of the kitchen with her float. “I almost went back there to check on you but didn’t want to rush the creative process. I’m glad I decided against it because that thing is outstanding.”
“Only the best for my favorite employee. But shhhh, don’t tell the others,” Yvette teased, making sure to take extra care when setting down the drink.
Vanessa removed the dessert spoon and took out a heaping serving of whipped cream. Raising it to her lips, she hesitated for a moment.
“Well, go on. Taste it. What are you waiting for?!” Yvette exclaimed.
“It’s gonna be so good. I’m savoring it.”
“You need to try it before you can savor it, weirdo.”
Vanessa tasted the whipped cream before swirling her spoon around in the mason jar. Taking a large sip, she let out a small moan, “mmmmmm. So good.”
“Yay! I’m so glad you like it! I think we should add it to the menu full-time for the holiday season. It will go perfectly through the fall, and definitely during Christmas,” Yvette said, satisfied that her employee was enjoying the drink.
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“We should make those roll-ups like we did for the chocolate hazelnut sundae but use cookie butter instead. They’d go so good with this float,” Vanessa said between sips.
Yvette thought back to an event Sundae Afternoon had catered. The customer had requested something with chocolate and hazelnut in a pastry, so Yvette layered crepes with chocolate sauce and hazelnut spread and fried them before dousing them in powdered sugar. Each sundae that was made was served with three of the roll-ups. Yvette couldn’t agree more that a cookie butter option would be a perfect accompaniment for one of these hot ice cream floats.
“Such a good idea,” Yvette agreed. “I just made fresh crepe batter last night. I think I’m going to make some for myself right now. Want me to make you a couple, too?”
“It’s research as far as I’m concerned,” Vanessa grinned. “I’d love one or two. And this way I can rave about how good they are when a customer sees them on the menu.”
Laughing, Yvette went to the kitchen to make a few cookie butter roll-ups. Thinking that even if her other employees didn’t want the same float as Vanessa, they’d still go well with whatever option they chose for themselves.
Chapter Two
Finally sitting down for a few moments once the afternoon rush was over, Yvette retreated to her office to work on the upcoming delivery order. A light knock on the door interrupted her soon after she began.
“Hey, Yvette. Can we talk for a few minutes?” Tonya asked, standing in the doorway.
Looking up from her desk, Yvette smiled. “You’re back! I’m so happy to see you. How was your trip?”
“It was great. Being able to see my parents was amazing. I never understood why they chose to leave Heritage, but now that I’ve been to their house, I can totally see why. New York is so fast paced, but there’s so much to do. Even my kids loved every second of being there.”
“That’s fantastic. I’m glad you all had such a good time,” Yvette said.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We had such a good time that I think we’ve decided to make the move to New York ourselves. We discussed it with my parents, and they offered us a place to stay until we find something of our own.” Tonya shuffled her feet, seemingly nervous for her boss’s reaction.
Yvette was taken aback for a moment, surprised by what she’d just heard. Never in a million years did she expect Tonya to have walked in the door and said something like this. Not wanting to make her feel bad, Yvette offered her a bright smile. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. I know how much you’ve missed your parents and if you enjoyed the New York scenery, then that’s where you belong. When are you thinking of leaving?”
Tonya let out a breath she’d undoubtedly been holding. “We still have some things to tie up, but I figure by the end of the month.”
“Thanks for letting me know right away. I appreciate that. You’ll be hard to replace,” Yvette said honestly.
“I was only here part-time. I hope I’m not causing too much trouble.”
“Not at all! We’re just going to miss having you around is all. Let me know when you’ve told everyone else. I’d love for us to have a small Sundae Afternoon gathering to send you off.” Yvette stood to give Tonya a hug, realizing just how much she would miss her. While the woman really was only a part-time member of the staff, she’d been a hard worker and was easy to get along with. The customers loved her, and she truly would be hard to replace.
“I’ll tell Vanessa today and ask her to tell Sage. I’m not sure I’ll get the chance to see her much since she’s back in school,” Tonya said. “I’ll let Joey and Stella know the next time I see them.”
“How long are you thinking of staying here on the schedule?” Yvette asked, unsure how quickly she’d need to get someone else interviewed and hired. Tonya was right, with her leaving and Sage back in school, they would be down two employees which would never get them through the busiest season of the year for Sundae Afternoon. Being the only location that was open year-round made them one of the more popular places in the majority of New England when it came to serving ice cream in the chilly winter months.
“I can stay on my regular hours until the week before I leave. I’d like to be able to say my goodbyes to everyone here before we go. I can even help train someone if you want,” Tonya offered.
“I’ll give it some thought. I need to check out some of the recent applications we’ve gotten in, and I might even put something on the website announcing that we’re hiring. Thanks again for letting me know in advance.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry if this messed anything up,” Tonya said before leaving the office.
Yvette wasn’t sure that Tonya leaving would really mess anything up, but it was definitely a surprise. As always, they’d get through it. People dropped off applications more often this time of year, so that was a relief. Gathering the applications, Yvette put them in a manila folder and dropped them in her purse. She wanted to make sure she brought them home with her that evening, so she could look them over.
Determined not to let the stress of hiring someone new, or maybe even two someones, disrupt her day, Yvette continued to work on the delivery order. She knew that even if only half the people on the tour decided to order ice cream, it would still deplete their stock a great deal. She ordered extra of everything and made a note on the bottom of the order form, alerting Millie, the ice cream production manager, that someone would be picking up more ice cream if it was needed. Yvette made certain her desk was in tip-top shape and left her office to do some tidying up in the employee break room. Typically, her staff maintained it well, but Yvette was always a little over the top when it came to cleanliness. She went in there once or twice a week to do a thorough cleaning no matter how clean it already was. Clutter was something she couldn’t tolerate, and while they may have kept it clean from dirt, each one of them brought enough with them each day to move in for a week. Yvette was pretty sure Vanessa had an entire second wardrobe in her locker and her daughter, Sage, was no different, leaving several novels and notebooks behind after each of her shifts. Joey kept handfuls of change and little trinkets in his locker as well. The only one aside from Tonya that didn’t leave clutter was Stella, but she never brought anything with her to work. She even left her phone and her purse in her car, saying work was for work and anything else was just a distraction.
Chapter Three
After about twenty minutes of organizing, Yvette went out front to see if Joey or Stella had arrived yet. Once everyone was there, she planned on making each of them a float just like she had for Vanessa.
“Look at you guys!” Yvette exclaimed when she’d gotten out front. The shop was filled with customers. Each of her staff members were hard at work making sure everyone got exactly what they’d ordered, and that no one left the shop anything less than perfectly happy. “Why didn’t you tell me we were so busy?” she asked Tonya.
“We weren’t. When I got here, Vanessa was the only one around. After I came out from talking with you, Stella and Joey were already here, and the whole place was packed. I couldn’t believe it!” Tonya whooped, rushing away from Yvette to deliver a freshly made milkshake.
“How can I help?” Yvette asked when Joey came up next to her, his hands full of dishes.
“Wash the dishes?” he chortled.
“Ugh, fine.” Yvette moved to grab them from Joey’s grasp.
“Just kidding. I’ll do them if you go to table twelve and take their order,” Joey said, nodding in the direction of the table.
“Gladly,” Yvette said, thankful she didn’t have to do any washing. She was a team player just like anyone else, but washing dishes and doing laundry were two of her least favorite things. Anytime someone else made the offer, she never stood in their way.
Taking the few steps over to table twelve, Yvette greeted the customers warmly. “How’s everyone doing today?” she asked.
“We’re great!” one of the women at the table exclaimed.
; “Definitely. We are so thrilled to have gotten the chance to stop in here. We saw on the fliers that this shop was the one doing the refreshments for our Trolley tour. We wanted to be sure to get here before the weekend, so we didn’t miss out. Sometimes we find ourselves so busy we never get to stop and enjoy the best parts of the towns we travel to,” another woman replied.
“Are you all affiliated with the Trolley Tour Company?” Yvette asked, looking around the table.
“We are the Trolley Tour Company,” the first woman spoke again. “I’m April, the owner. This is Cyndee, my assistant,” she said, pointing to the woman that had greeted her before. “Then we have Patrick and Shannon, our drivers for the tour. Next to Shannon is my brother, Jason. He’s our maintenance man. We typically don’t need maintenance on our trolleys, especially during an event so don’t worry,” she laughed. “He just came along to enjoy this little town like the rest of us.”
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