Dark Chocolate Murder (3 page)

“Are you still there?  Belinda?” Crystal queried, wondering if she had been too pushy.

“I’m here, Crystal.  I was just thinking,” she replied in a daze.

“You were thinking---AND?” Crystal demanded impatiently.

“And you’re absolutely right.  I’m going to do this.  I’m going to move to Monaco and open a chocolate shop.”

Crystal’s scream of delight pierced Belinda’s ear drum from across the conti
nents.  Despite her ringing ear, Belinda smiled, feeling strongly in her heart that she was making the right decision.

“I can’t believe this! Oh, I’m so happy! Jean-Jacques and I will be there for you to make every detail picture perfect
, I promise!  Just go quit that heinous job and buy your plane ticket!”

“
Yes, I have to get a plane ticket.  And there’s also the matter of going to the consulate and obtaining a visa…and I’m going to have to break the lease on my apartment…and put most of my stuff in storage or just donate it…and…” Belinda trailed off, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

Perceiving
her sister’s signature apprehension, Crystal assured, “Yes, those details will all be taken care of.  When something’s meant to be, things have a way of taking care of themselves.  And I really feel this is meant to be.”

“So do I,
” Belinda replied huskily, believing the words with every morsel of faith she possessed.

*****

A volatile
Nor’easter struck during the night, dumping more than a foot of snow on New England.  Crankily, Belinda trudged in her snow boots to clean off her car the next morning.  Jerry, inconsiderate as ever, hadn’t called for a delayed opening, and she would have to hustle to make it to work in time.  Grabbing a shovel and digging out the crippling snow that had buried her car’s tires, she fantasized about how she would break the news to Jerry later that morning.  Each swipe she took with the brush at her windshield made her wickedly wish she were hitting Jerry’s hot head.  After half an hour of breathless exertion, Belinda finally dug her car out of the snow.  Sopping wet from head to toe, she turned the heat up to full blast in the car, now fantasizing about balmy days and nights on the French Riviera.

Chapter Two

“Where’s my coffee?” Jerry tapped a pen on his desk impatiently as Belinda eyed him with detachment.  “I asked for a blonde roast with sugar substitute.”

Belinda was floored.  Had the creep really expected her to make a coffee run in the aftermath of a
colossal snowstorm?  Then, it dawned on her: he was still capitalizing on the fact that her employee review was pending.  Jerry generally didn’t ask her to fetch his morning java, but with her annual review creeping up, he had begun making all sorts of demeaning requests.  The previous week Belinda had picked up the rat’s dry cleaning, delivered lunch to his office, and battled with the broke-down copy machine to make duplicates of his mortgage refinancing documents.  This Monday morning, she was not inclined to do anything for the man.  No, she would not
do
anything for him, but she would certainly
tell
him a mouthful…

He stared at her with patronizing gray eyes from across his enormous oak desk, not having the slightest clue that his power over her was about to come to an
abrupt end.  Biting on his pen, he ground out like coffee beans, “I’m starting my week with a headache thanks to your incompetence.  How difficult can it be to get a cup of coffee for the man who’s about to start writing your annual review?”

Calmly, Belinda reached into her briefcase and retrieved a sheet of paper.  Still completely oblivious to her purpose that morning, Jerry ranted on.
“I must say, Belinda.  Your review is looking worse and worse as we speak.  I may even need to put you on probation.  And you know what that means.  No raise,” he spoke the last words on a note of rich satisfaction.

Belinda sorely wished she
had
bought Jerry’s hot coffee so she could dump it over his head.  But, clearing her throat, she reminded herself that she was the one with the power now, and she could wield it in a classy way that would make Jerry look like the small man he was.

Glancing down meaningfully at the sheet in her hand, Belinda explained, “Jerry, this is my letter of resignation.  As of today, I am giving you two weeks notice.  My last day of employment here will be next Friday.”

The pen Jerry had been chewing bled ink across his papery lips.  He sputtered, searching in vain for a napkin to wipe his mouth with.  Angrily, he rubbed his mouth on his sleeve as the black ink smeared his white business shirt.

Feeling a pang of embarrassment for the imbecile, Belinda looked away and discreetly placed the letter on his desk.  Rising to leave the office, she squared her shoulders and walked towards the door with newfound dignity.  She didn’t recall ever holding such a posture in Jerry’s undermining presence.

“Don’t ever ask me for a reference! You don’t even want to know what I would say about you!” He grimaced bitterly at her. “The job market is awful.  You’ll come crawling back to Jerry before you know it!  But Jerry won’t hire you back!”

Belinda flinched as Jerry arrogantly referred to himself in the third person.  More confident than ever that she was makin
g the right choice, Belinda scurried to her cubicle to turn on the computer and start the day’s work.  Grinning, she saw that Lenore was waiting for her at the cube.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Belinda greeted her friend and gave her a spontaneous hug.

Laughing, Lenore said, “That blind date must have been amazing!”

“No, it was horrible,
” Belinda answered with a broader smile.

“Huh? Then why are you so happy this morning?” Lenore asked in confusion.

“Well, for one, I just told Jerky I quit,” Belinda announced gleefully, placing a hand over her mouth to contain the giggles bubbling in her throat.

“You what?! Girl, are you serious?” Lenore seemed flabbergasted but wore a smile to match Belinda’s.

“Yup. I sure am.  And do you know why I quit?”

“Because Jerry is a you-k
now-what and your job is a joke,” Lenore supplied in a hushed tone.

“That’s all true.  But it’s not the reason I quit.  Remember what I told you I always wanted to do with my life?  Even before I got married?” Belinda hoped her friend would remember the wistful conversation
they had shared over drinks last fall.

A light of recognition instantly sparkled in Lenore’s pretty eyes as she replied, “Your chocolate shop! Yes, you’re going to do it?!”

“I’m going to…” Belinda was about to say ‘try’ but swallowed the word.  Affirmatively, she corrected, “Yes, I’m going to do it.”

“Okay,
I don’t know what happened to you between Friday and Monday, but I am loving the new Belinda Rockland.  This is so overdue for you.” Lenore squeezed Belinda’s arm affectionately.

“Thank you, Lenore.  I just had an epiphany, I gue
ss.  You know, one of Oprah’s aha moments!” Belinda fondly remembered the moment she told her blind date that she wanted to bake.  She had already forgotten his name but she would never forget how liberating and empowering that realization had been.  Saying the words out loud had compelled her to finally do them.

“I’m really proud of you.” Lenore took a step back and favored Belinda with a look of respect.

“But that’s not all!” Belinda whispered conspiratorially.

“What else are you going to do? Fly to the moon?” Lenore joked, anticipating another bombshell from her predictable friend who had suddenly turned into a daredevil.

“Not quite! I’m going to move to Monaco,” Belinda said excitedly.  “My sister and her husband live there, and they’re going to help me open my shop.”

Lenore gushed,
“Wow! Are you serious? Monaco?! I think your vagabond fever must be contagious because I’m starting to feel flushed!”

Belinda laughed heartily.  While Lenore’s boss wasn’t nearly as insufferable as Jerry, her job was equally hum-drum.  Lenore
also spent her days fumbling inside the copy room and plugging numbers into spreadsheets on the computer.  Belinda had always felt that Lenore’s sparkplug personality and sharp intellect could get her much further than she had gone in this stifling office.

“Well, good, I hope you do catch the fever because I haven’t even done anything yet, and I already feel like a new person.  Just taking control of my life and realizing that I don’t have to be stuck has been so f
reeing.  You know what I mean?” Belinda shook her head in amazement, somehow feeling pounds lighter than she had when she sat down to dinner with her blind date.  And it wasn’t because she had been eating less.  On the contrary, Belinda had passed much of her weekend in the kitchen experimenting with---and tasting---chocolate recipes.  The weight off her body was purely figurative, and it felt amazing.

“I do know w
hat you mean,” Lenore said slowly.  “I’ve got to apply it into own life.”

“You will. But don’t wait as long as I did.  You’re 29, right?”

Lenore nodded, listening closely to the fresh wisdom that now seemed to infiltrate Belinda’s every word.

“Well, sweetheart, I’m about to turn 39.  Take your life by the reins now, not later.  I’m not saying it’s ever too late.  You ca
n make a change at 49, hell at 79! But the sooner you do it, the better for your soul.” Belinda winked her encouragement and continued, “Don’t think I forgot the dream
you
told me about that night.  Your poetry.  You wanted to self-publish a collection of your poems…” Belinda prodded as Lenore gave her a sly grin.

“
Yeah, my poetry.  The difference is that people
buy
chocolate! Pounds of it!  But nobody buys poetry books unless they’re written by a great poet like Emily Dickinson or Maya Angelou.”

As Lenore tucked her dream away into a mental lockbox, Belinda
recognized the self-defeat as though it were her own.  Indeed, just a few days ago it
had
been her own.

“You know that’s not true.  People buy
good
books.  Period.  It doesn’t matter who wrote them.  Come on, Lenore, you’ve at least got to go to some more poetry slams and perform.” Belinda knew that Lenore wasn’t ready to pursue her dream yet, but at least she had gotten a little nudge. Lenore’s revelation would come eventually; Belinda was sure of it.

“You’ve given me some food for thought this morning.” Lenore sighed heavily.  “
Look, I better get to my cube.  But promise me you’ll keep in touch after you move.  I need more of this fever to rub off on me.”

“Of course I’ll keep in touch!” Belinda said sincerely.  “And I hope to see you walk through the doors of my shop someday.  All sweets on the house!”

“I look forward to that,” Lenore said sincerely, moving through the office maze to her cubicle where a batch of spreadsheets waited to be inputted.

“And I want a signed copy of your first poetry anthology! Autographed by the distinguished poet!” Belinda called after her, as Lenore waved her hand in a gesture of amused dismissal.

Belinda watched her friend walk away, hoping that this ‘vagabond fever’ really would rub off on Lenore.  For now, she was content that she had planted a seed in the young woman’s mind, a seed she hoped would blossom into full-fledged CHANGE.

*****

The next two weeks at the office passed in an adrenaline-charged whirlwind.  Led by Lenore, a group of coworkers had thrown Belinda a surprise farewell luncheon.  Jerry had remained cold and arrogant and hadn’t so much as said goodbye to Belinda on her last day.  But she didn’t care at all.  Belinda was feeling higher than a helium balloon on a windy Boston morning.

Once her job officially ended, Belinda had an entirely new set of duties to attend to.  Jean-Jacques and Crystal would do their best to help her once she was in Monaco, but for now, all the preparations had to be done on her own.  Packing, organizing, and planning were the easy parts.  The more challenging aspect was deciding whether to tell her ex-husband or not.  He had a right to know…or did he?

Belinda and Daniel had not remained friends after their divorce.  And except for a few drunken, half-baked attempts on his part to reconcile, there had been no contact between them.  They had no children linking them.  In fact, the lack of children had been a painful issue in their marriage, as Belinda had been unable to conceive and unwilling to try fertility treatments.

In the end, Belinda decided definitively not to notify Daniel of her pending transcontinental move.  She knew that he would react negatively, would regress into his verbally abusive ways and try to convince her
that she would be a failure in Monaco.  Belinda did not want the man’s insecure baggage to tarnish her adventure in any way.  So she carried on with her preparations, each day edging closer to her departure date: May 7
th
, exactly one week before her birthday.

By the time May 1
st
rolled around, Belinda was a bundle of exposed nerves and self-doubt.  She had taken care of all the technical preparations and charged a fortune on daily long distance calls with Crystal carefully smoothing out every detail.  She had gone to the bank and exchanged her American dollars for euros.  She had sent a few boxes of clothing ahead to be delivered to Jean-Jacques and Crystal’s residence.  She had sold her old clunker to a private buyer and been getting around on Boston’s mass transportation system.  Belinda had done everything to a fine-tuned precision but could not shake her fears of the unknown.