Shivers of Murder

by Gretchen Allen

  “The pralines have landed,” her father bellowed when he got to the table with the cup of Ginger Praline ice cream.

  “You two are worse than me.” Yvette cackled.

  “This is kinda fun. I never realized how hard all of you work. They’ve got about seven customers inside, and I think Vanessa, Stella, and Tonya made all their orders in less than four minutes.”

  “Those are my girls! A well-oiled machine.” Yvette beamed, proud of her staff.

  “The next trolley is here already. I can’t believe it,” Nate said, pointing to the street in front of them. “Looks like they are stopping over there though. Maybe there are better views from that side of the road.”

  Yvette hadn’t expected more than one trolley to be there at a time, but perhaps they were ahead of schedule. Now that she knew everyone inside was doing okay, she turned back to her table to finish serving the riders their orders.

  “Good morning,” Patrick, one of the members of the Trolley Tour company, said.

  “Hi! Would you like a coffee or a float?” Yvette asked him.

  The man looked around the parking lot for a few moments and then over his shoulder before answering, “I’d love one, but I have to be quick.”

  “We have covers for the cups if you want to take it with you,” Yvette said, glancing over at Nate to make sure he had everything under control on his side of the table.

  “April would have my head if I drank something on the trolley.”

  “Oh? I didn’t realize there were no beverages allowed. Maybe I should be reminding the riders when I serve them?” Yvette wondered aloud.

  “No, they can. I can’t,” Patrick said, looking at the ground.

  “Well, let’s get you a drink made then. I’m sure you have a little more time,” Yvette said, feeling bad for the man.

  “Okay,” he agreed. “But I really do need to hurry. The other trolley is right across the street, and if Shannon sees me, she’s gonna be upset.”

  “I don’t mean to pry. But why would she be upset?” Yvette asked.

  “She’s very frugal and doesn’t like when we spend money on unnecessary things,” he responded, looking eagerly at the ice cream.

  “I guess it’s a darn good thing that this drink is on the house then, isn’t it?” Yvette grinned.

  “Really?” Patrick’s eyes widened.

  “Absolutely. You can tell Shannon that when she gets here too. In fact, everyone from your company drinks for free today!”

  Yvette hoped she wasn’t going to cause any trouble, but she knew their entire team worked hard, and she didn’t think it was fair that the couple couldn’t enjoy what everyone else got the chance to just because they were a little short on cash.

  “Thanks for this. I appreciate it very much, and I’m sure everyone else will too.” Patrick sipped his caramel coffee float proudly, and raised his cup to Yvette before sauntering off to get a view of the foliage.

  Yvette had video chatted with Mark and Amelia at the farm a couple of times, and everything there seemed to be going just as well as it was at Sundae Afternoon. When the last trolley packed up and pulled away, Yvette gathered her team and placed an order for lunch from the bistro. She texted Amelia, letting them know the food was on its way and to meet them at the shop as soon as they could. Yvette wanted to congratulate everyone while they were on their lunch break and thank them for a successful morning. The afternoon and evening tours were coming up quickly, and they all needed to fuel their bodies, and take a few moments to themselves to recharge.

  Chapter Six

  I can’t believe this!” April screeched.

  “What’s the matter?” Yvette asked, looking at the frantic woman.

  April continued yelling. “The second trolley stopped running. What are the chances? Our first tour in this town and we have a problem. Leave it to Patrick to mess something up.”

  “Is there anything we can do? Didn’t you bring along someone that does the maintenance on the trolleys?” Yvette asked, trying to help.

  “We did. He’s at the farm working on it now.”

  “I suggested that you not hire him,” Cyndee chimed in.

  “He’s my brother. I had to hire him,” April huffed.

  Yvette was feeling more and more uncomfortable as the conversation between April and Cyndee went on. She took a few steps away from the women but still staying close enough to the table to be able to serve floats if anyone requested one. Yvette wanted to give them some privacy, even though neither of them seemed to be very concerned.

  “You should have hired someone that was more qualified. But, what do I know? I’m just the assistant, right?”

  “Oh, get over it. You know as well as I do that if I didn’t hire Jason, he would have gone running to my parents and thrown a hissy fit. No matter how right you think you are, you don’t know what it’s like to be a Hatton. Success in our family is a very important matter, and I refuse to let my little brother get in the way of mine. He went to school for vehicle maintenance, so he’s qualified. Don’t act as though I’m completely clueless.” April gave Cyndee a look that meant business.

  When Yvette realized that the women seemed to be done arguing, she went back to the table. “Does your maintenance man need any help? My dad may be able to offer some assistance,” Yvette suggested.

  “I’ll let you know,” April said, finally lowering the tone of her voice.

  “Okay. Well, can I get you two something to drink?”

  “Please,” Cyndee said. “I’d love the cider float with the Candied Caramel ice cream.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want the hot chocol…” April began.

  “I’m sure,” Cyndee said matter-of-factly.

  “You never did make good choices. I’ll have the Mint Chip with hot chocolate,” April said, shaking her head at her assistant.

  “One of my favorite things about ice cream is that there are so many choices, everyone is bound to find something they love. It’s okay that not everyone likes the same flavors. That means that we can keep creating more options.” Yvette poured the hot cider over Cyndee’s ice cream and passed it to her.

  “Well, aren’t you Susie Sunshine?” April observed before grabbing her float and stalking off.

  “I’m so sorry about her,” Cyndee said.

  “It’s okay. It’s been a long day, and I can see that she’s worried about the trolley.” Yvette forced a smile, trying to stay positive.

  “It’s not okay. She’s always like this, and I always have to apologize for her. Like she said, this is our first trip here, and the last thing we need is to be kicked out.”

  “Really, it’s fine. I’m going to call over to the farm to see if there’s anyone that can help with the trolley. I know it’s not quite the same as a tractor, but we have Armand, our groundskeeper, that is a highly skilled mechanic when it comes to the farming equipment,” Yvette offered, pulling out her phone.

  “Patrick is there. They’ll get it figured out soon enough,” Cyndee said.

  “Didn’t April say that it was Patrick’s fault?”

  “She always says it’s his fault. Even if he’s not there. Poor guy. He’s been working for this company for longer than I have, and always gets the short end of the stick. He’ll be able to help Jason fix the trolley and April will be fine. She’s just a little high-strung, if you didn’t notice.”

  “I didn’t notice that at all,” Yvette joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Not to change the subject but your shop is lovely,” Cyndee pointed out.

  “That’s sweet, thank you.”

  “We’ve been staying at the bed and breakfast not too far from here. The owners are really nice. This whole town is great, to be honest.”

  “It really is. I’ve lived here my whole life and can’t imagine being anywhere else,” Yvette said, looking behind her to the shop.

  “It’s really busy in there! Everyone must have decided to order something besides a float on this trip,” Cyndee sai
d.

  “And here we were, worried that some people would think it was too cold for ice cream.”

  “Never!” Cyndee laughed, looking at her phone. “Oh, boy. The trolley is fixed and already on its way here, but Jason took off all upset about something. I’m sorry. I have to go get this taken care of. We can’t have a missing member of the team!” Cyndee waved over her shoulder as she dashed off to the car that she’d arrived in behind the first trolley.

  Yvette stood behind the table staring off into the distance for a few moments before she realized that someone had been standing next to her trying to get her attention.

  “What was that all about?” Nate asked.

  “I don’t even know. This whole family or whatever they are seems sort of weird. I can’t tell if they like each other or want to rip each other’s heads off.” Yvette shrugged.

  “Nothing we should be worrying about. This trolley is getting ready to head out, though. When is the next one coming?” Nate asked, pouring himself a cup of hot apple cider and dropping a cinnamon stick in.

  “I’m not really sure,” Yvette said, explaining the conversation she’d just had with Cyndee.

  “It might have to be the last tour of the day, it’s going to be getting dark out soon,” Nate pointed out.

  “I think it was the last one anyway, but if there were people still waiting in line at the farm for the broken trolley, they may not get a chance to take the tour at all.” Yvette shook her head, feeling sad for anyone that would miss out.

  “Spoke too soon. Here’s the trolley now!” Nate exclaimed.

  “Thank goodness. April will be thrilled,” Yvette said, looking around for the other woman.

  Not able to find her, and knowing that Cyndee had already left, Yvette figured that she shouldn’t worry about it, after all. The trolley was working, and after this last tour, all they had left to do was clean up. They’d had a great day, but she was ready for it to be over. She made sure that each of her staff was only scheduled for a short shift the following day, knowing they’d all be just as tired as her.

  Nate and Yvette served a few of the riders from the tour, but everyone else went inside to order something from the shop. Yvette began packing up the cups, lids, and straws from the tables while Nate carried the ice cream back inside. They only had a short time left to go before the event was complete. Yvette couldn’t help but feel a little relieved that it had gone off with very few issues aside from the broken trolley. She’d never admit it, she was half expecting another murder.

  Chapter Seven

  What the heck, mom?” Yvette said, trudging up the steps that led to her childhood home.

  “I’m sorry, but I needed help. Your father left last night for Rhode Island for the Antique Auction they hold up there every year,” Abigail told her daughter.

  “Fine, but what’s going on? It’s six-thirty in the morning, what could you possibly need help with? And why are all these cars here?” Yvette asked, looking around.

  “Wellllll. Something happened at the bed and breakfast, and I offered to help.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’d better have a seat,” Abigail said, gesturing to a nearby chair.

  Yvette did what she was told and looked up at her mother with curiosity.

  “I got a call from Kelly late last night. She told me that there was an issue, and everyone was required to leave the property.”

  “What? Why?” Yvette sat up straight in her seat.

  “Someone was found dead in their backyard.”

  “You’re kidding? Who?” Yvette asked.

  “One of the young men that was staying with them. Barry found him when he was gathering firewood. He’d been strangled with the clothesline rope, and left sitting up in one of the lawn chairs,” Abigail whispered.

  “Why are you whispering?”

  Abigail winced. “The workers from the tour needed a place to stay.”

  “MOM!” Yvette shot up out of her seat.

  “Shhhh. I think they’re still sleeping.”

  “Or one of them has killed all the others, and that’s why it’s so quiet!” Yvette balked, shocked at her mother’s decision to let them stay in her home.

  “I know. I know. It was a poor choice, but it’s already done. What do you want me to do? Just kick them out?” Abigail put up her hands as though there was no other earthly choice.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what you should do.”

  “They can’t leave town, so they’d have nowhere to stay.” Abigail tried to reason with her daughter.

  “They can’t leave town because the police believe one of them had something to do with it!” Yvette scoffed. “Does Dad know?”

  “No. But really, I do need your help.”

  “With what?” Yvette asked.

  “Meals? Entertainment? I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing,” Abigail muttered.

  “You aren’t a bed and breakfast, Mother. You don’t need to feed them or entertain them.”

  “I believe in hospitality, dear.” Abigail looked at her daughter.

  “I get it, but good grief. This is a terrible idea.”

  “Just come inside and help me. I know the police are bound to show up here soon wanting to talk with them some more, so let’s get these people fed.” Abigail headed toward the door.

  “Wait. Which one of them died?”

  “I believe they said his name was Jason.”

  Yvette knew Jason was the one that worked on the trolley the day before because Cyndee had told her that he’d been upset about something. None of these people had ever been to Heritage nor did they know anyone in town other than themselves. There was almost no doubt that one of them had killed Jason and that person was sitting inside her mother’s house as they spoke. Yvette didn’t want to leave her mom alone with these strangers especially when her dad was out of town. Wanting nothing more than to tell them all to leave, Yvette decided to do as her mother had asked and help. Certainly, whoever it was wouldn’t try to hurt someone again so soon.

  “What were you thinking?!” Heath bellowed when he’d arrived at the Lockhart’s home. “I told them specifically to go get a room at the Heritage Hotel. This,” he said, looking around the porch, “does not look like the Heritage Hotel.”

  “They were all booked. Everything in the area is completely full because of the tour. What should I do? I’m afraid if I ask them to leave that they’ll be upset. Right now, they think I’m a kind old woman, helping people out in their time of need.” Abigail put her head in her hands.

  “While they are all still at the farm with the trolleys, I’ll have my secretary work on getting them a place to stay. As long as we know where they are, that’s all that matters. I just prefer that it’s not here… in your home.” Heath shook his head. “I know you were trying to help, but seriously, Abigail? You had to have known this was a bad idea.”

  “I agree,” Yvette said quietly.

  “That’s the other thing,” Heath said. “I know you, Yvette, and I know you don’t want your mother in any danger. So, you need to stop.”

  “Stop what?”

  “Stop trying to plan what you’re going to do to figure this out. We’ve got a group of strangers in town and a body. We know absolutely nothing about these people, and you digging around isn’t the best way to go about anything.” Heath’s tone was stern.

  “I haven’t done a thing. I came here because my mother asked me to. I’ve barely said two words to anyone since I arrived. I offered my condolences since I briefly met the gentleman that was killed.” Yvette defended herself.

  “If I find out that you hindered this investigation by doing anything, I’m going to have to consider the best course of action as a repercussion. You cannot get involved. Do you understand?” Heath was staring at Yvette.

  “She understands,” Abigail said jumping back in the conversation. “Yvette really hasn’t said anything or done anything. Not even discreetly, I’m sure of it. I’ll continue to a
ct as if everything is normal until you alert me that you’ve found them a hotel.”

  “You Lockhart women are gonna make me crazy,” Heath said, shaking his head. “I’ll have a patrol car in the neighborhood until this entire investigation is complete. Now that you’ve allowed them into your home, you’ve invited them into your lives. I expect to have a hotel in place within hours, hopefully before they come back from the farm. I gave them permission to make sure the trolleys were running properly and stored in a safe area until all of this was over. The Bed and Breakfast is off limits as well,” Heath said, looking at Yvette, passively reminding her where she could and couldn’t go.