Fudge-Laced Felonies (4 page)

“And then what? We sent the diamonds and the cash with Joe.” Uncle Roy lowered his rifle. “Don’t make no sense, Summer. Anybody with any brains would know we didn’t keep the stuff.”

I shrugged. “They were looking for something else, then.” A shudder ran down my spine. “Maybe there’s more somewhere.”

“More what?”

Lowering my voice to a whisper, I said, “More diamonds. Or money.” I again hitched up my nightgown and bolted around the corner of the house. “Beneath one of the other rosebushes, maybe.”

Uncle Roy followed. “You’re not digging up the rosebushes at”—he glanced at his watch—“two thirty in the morning. It’s too dangerous, and you have a big day ahead of you. A day you’ve waited for a long time.”

“But—”

“I’ll phone Joe, since you haven’t. Let him know somebody broke into our house. You get ready for your grand opening.”

The moon lit up the backyard like a magical fairyland, and I made my way to where my dying Midnight Blue bush stood with wilting branches. Its new twin stood proudly a couple of feet away. In the moistened dirt beneath the rosebushes were clear footprints.

I placed my foot next to the print. “Look, Uncle Roy. Whoever’s been here has much bigger feet than me.”

“The kid down the street has bigger feet than you, honey. Look at this mark. Someone knelt down right here. I’ll go call Joe. This time I mean it.” He turned and went into the house.

As I backed up, it occurred to me the prowler might be watching from the oak trees bordering the property, and I was vulnerable. With a sudden revelation of my stupidity, I turned and ran to the safety of the kitchen.

After the police finished casing the scene, I dragged my tired body up the stairs.

Sleep eluded me the rest of the early morning hours. I lay in bed, staring through the morning darkness toward the ceiling overhead. Soft murmurs drifted through the wall from where Uncle Roy obviously translated the morning’s happenings to Aunt Eunice.

I flopped from my back to my side. I really needed rest. My eyes were gritty. The alarm clock numbers shone red. Four thirty. I groaned.

The previous day’s events clicked through my mind like a slide show, beginning with my first sighting of Ethan at church and ending with the last hour. Dismay washed over me. I always wanted quick results, yet I hadn’t been able to garner a single clue. Miss Marple I wasn’t.

Would the thief be at the store’s opening? Could it be a resident of Mountain Shadows, or someone new? Was the night prowler the thief returning for the diamonds or something more sinister? Had I offended anyone? Ethan had been with me when we discovered the jewels. Did that mean anything? Moaning, I pounded the pillow.

“You all right, Summer?” Aunt Eunice called from the other side of the thin wall.

“I’m fine. Sorry.” I clenched my fists to prevent myself from whacking the pillow again and remembered what the pastor said once when he’d had trouble sleeping.

He prayed for others. Mentally, I ran down the list of family and friends, praying for whoever came to mind. But images of blood-spattered diamonds and menacing figures in black kept interrupting me, rolling across the front of my brain. What had I gotten myself into?

Four

“Good morning!” Aunt Eunice sang as she tossed aside the window curtains. “We had a bit of excitement last night, didn’t we?”

Pulling the sheet over my face, I groaned. “Why are you so chipper?”

“We’re alive, the sun is shining, and God is in heaven. Plus, despite being woken at an ungodly hour by an intruder, we’re safe. No one was harmed. Why shouldn’t I be happy? Besides, you said you wanted to be early. It’s five thirty. Shop opens at eight.” My aunt blew out of the room as quickly as she’d breezed in.

Of course we’re alive. People don’t get killed in Mountain Shadows. We don’t have crime. Well, burglaries, petty stuff. Most people don’t even lock their doors. But then again, most people don’t find diamonds buried in their yard, either. I’d have to speak with Uncle Roy about stricter security around here.

Opening Day! The thought spurred me to action. I threw aside the blankets and sprang from bed.

I’d already chosen the first day’s outfit with great care, wanting to look the part of a candy store owner, not that I knew firsthand what that looked like. I could only imagine, which for me could be dangerous.

My red apron would look fabulous over the black dress with red pinstripes. And I hoped the black would help hide any spots of splattered chocolate. I ran my fingers over the cotton fabric as I passed the dress on my way to the shower.

Thirty minutes later, I leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping strong coffee. Aunt Eunice bustled around the kitchen as happy as a bee in a flower garden. I rubbed my sleep-deprived eyes. “Why are you so cheerful in the morning?”

“I wasn’t the one chasing intruders around the house in the middle of the night.” Aunt Eunice took the half-empty mug from my hands. “No more time. We’ve got to go.”

“Two hours early isn’t what I meant.”

“We’ll find plenty to occupy ourselves. And, by the way, I asked that nice girl from the town paper to come a little early to interview you.”

“What girl, and how early?” A full-scale circus parade of nerves had started in my stomach, complete with elephants.

“Mabel Coffman. I told her seven.”

“Seven! Mabel? She isn’t a girl. She’s got to be at least sixty years old.”

“Wait awhile, and sixty won’t seem so old to you. Today’s sixty ain’t like it used to be. I personally don’t consider myself old.”

Aunt Eunice shoved my purse into my hands. “She just turned fifty. Mabel’s wrinkled from all the time she spends in her garden. I’ve told her to wear a hat, but that woman doesn’t listen. She can’t come at eight when the doors open ’cause she’s a busy woman. She works at the paper part-time as a reporter and part-time as the receptionist. Somebody else will drop by later to take pictures.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed open the screen door. “A new store is a big deal in this town. Couldn’t they have sent somebody else?”

“Guess it ain’t as important to other folks as you’d like it to be.”

Ouch. That hurt. I stalked down the porch steps. Every single citizen in this town should be excited.

Aunt Eunice’s truck sat in the driveway like some massive beast. Great. With all that had happened yesterday, I never did get my car from the church parking lot. Now I’d be stuck riding in my aunt’s ancient candy-apple red pickup.

We bounced our way out of the driveway and shuddered toward the state highway. The truck whined each time Aunt Eunice shifted gears. A headache nagged at the base of my skull.

My spirits lifted as we turned onto Main Street. Summer Confections nestled between the post office and a general store. A few doors down sat my favorite place to while away the time: Grandma’s Story Corner. The scrubbed front window of Summer Confections caught the morning sun, reflecting light into my eyes, and tears welled as I caught my first glance of the store’s new sign.

I’d done it. I’d finally achieved my dream.

Aunt Eunice reached over and patted my knee. “It is a purty sight. Especially inside with all that wood and brass. You did good, sweetie.”

I glanced down at my aunt’s hand, crisscrossed with raised veins, and returned the pat. She’d nurtured and loved me for many years after the death of my parents, and the woman meant the world to me. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I owe you a lot, Aunt Eunice.”

“Oh, go on.” She removed her hand, placing it back on the wheel, and steered the truck down the alley behind the store. But I noticed that her eyes glimmered.

I opened the door with my trembling hand and heaved against its weight. I moved slowly, taking a deep breath against the rat-a-tat-tat in my chest. Another deep breath, and I stepped inside.

The warm scent of chocolate greeted me, and I let my gaze travel over the shelves of pristine white boxes tied with gold ribbon. I stepped to the glass counter that displayed over fifty types of hand-dipped chocolates and trailed my fingers across the top. All mine. Every delectable bite. Thank You, God, for making this possible.

I straightened the already neat pile of brochures and checked the display in the window. Everything looked just as I wanted. I grinned at Aunt Eunice.

The back door opened, and a slightly rounded, red-faced woman barged in. A large leather satchel hung from one elbow. “Summer! Eunice! What a grand day!”

“It promises to be.” Still grinning, I stepped forward to welcome the first person to my store. The woman pushed past me, hardly seeming to notice my proffered hand. If I hadn’t jumped out of the way, she would’ve knocked me over.

Mabel Coffman plopped her satchel on the five- hundred-pound slab of marble and proceeded to rummage through her massive bag until she pulled out a tape recorder. I followed and gnawed my lower lip while scanning the slab for scratches.

“Okay. Now, I heard through the grapevine, mind

you, that the two of you had a mighty big surprise on your property yesterday.” The woman’s eyes bugged from behind her wire-rimmed eyeglasses.

“Okay. Now,” Aunt Eunice mocked, “are you here to talk about what we found or the opening of this store?”

Mabel shrugged. “Thought I could kill two birds with one stone.”

I cringed, wishing she hadn’t used the word killed. I looked her in the eye. “We should stick to the store. Confidentiality, you know.”

“Oh sure.” The other woman waved a hand. “Whatever. How many varieties of candy do you make?”

“Over fifty. All hand-dipped to per—”

“Chocolate?”

I frowned at the interruption. “Milk, dark, and white. Although white really isn’t—”

“How much cash was there? Diamonds?”

“Excuse me?” Obviously, Mabel wasn’t interested in the store.

Aunt Eunice slapped a palm flat on the marble slab. The sound reminded me of Uncle Roy slapping freshly gutted fish against the cutting board. “That’s enough, Mabel. We ain’t gonna tell you nothing about yesterday. You want to interview Summer about the store or not? ’Cause we got work to do.”

“I don’t know when you got to be such a spoilsport, Eunice.” The woman’s lips disappeared into a thin red line. “Joe down at the station won’t give me any news, either. The public deserves to know what’s going on. And it’s my job to let them know.”

“There isn’t anything going on. If Joe didn’t tell you, then who did?”

“Ladies.” I held up my hands, hoping to prevent the verbal screaming match I knew to be inevitable. “It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t.”

The back door opened again, causing me to turn. Across the room, a woman so tiny a strong puff of wind could blow her over entered the store. A large camera hung from a strap around her neck, and she tilted slightly forward. Her thin face sported a freshly sunburned nose.

Mabel jumped to her feet. “Ruby Colville!”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed. “Eunice, you said she’d be gone by the time I got here.”

“She’s early.” Aunt Eunice plopped into the chair Mabel had vacated.

A feeling of helplessness rose in me as Mountain Shadows’ most infamous enemies faced off. Five years ago, the two fancied the same widower, each hoping to win his affections over the other. Instead, the man disappeared with a woman half his age. Nevertheless, the two had never gotten over their bitter rivalry, despite both working at the local paper.

“Don’t you have some flowers to photograph?” Mabel crossed her arms over her less-than-ample chest. “Vegetables to plant?” Ruby had won the blue ribbon three years running for her canned vegetables. Another thorn in Mabel’s side.

“Don’t you have some almost news to dig up?” Ruby’s near-nonexistent eyebrows rose to an impossible height.

My perfect day was spiraling downhill. I cast a look of hopelessness at my aunt.

“That’s enough!” Aunt Eunice stepped between the sparring women. “Mabel, you can get your interview later. Over the phone. Ruby, start snapping pictures of Summer then wait in the back room until people start arriving. Take a couple more pictures with the customers and then vanish.”

“Oh, very well.” Ruby motioned for me to stand behind the counter. “Smile like you just sold a five-pound box of chocolates.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and Ruby snapped the picture. The woman stuck her lens cap back on the camera. Great. I probably looked like an inflated balloon. The morning sun shining through the window bounced off her diamond ring. The thing looked as large as a tennis ball.

“Wait. I wasn’t ready.” I reached out a hand to stop her. “Not my problem, dearie. I told you I was taking the picture.”

“But—” I stared in astonishment. Nothing about the morning seemed to be going as planned.

“Okay, I’ll take another one.” With great drama and heavy sighs, Ruby pulled off the lens cap and lifted the camera to her eye. “On the count of three. Pay attention now. One, two, three.” She clicked the camera.

“Thank you.” I smoothed my apron and stepped from behind the counter. One glance at the clock sent me scurrying into the back room. Seven forty-five! “Aunt Eunice, we’ve got to get some candy on. The store needs to smell like we actually make chocolate here.”

“We do.”

“You know what I mean.” I plugged in the dipping machine. “Toss some milk chocolate in the dipper. I’m going to raise the blinds.”

The sight beyond the window brought tears to my eyes. People stood shoulder to shoulder, pressing against the glass. Several smiled and waved as the blinds went up. When I unlocked the door fifteen minutes later, the crowd cheered. My hometown had come out to support me.

“Ethan!”

The object of my affections strolled into the store in the midst of the crowd, looking like he’d stepped out of a magazine. A casual magazine, since he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but definitely a magazine. I wanted nothing more than to run over and welcome him properly.

“I thought you couldn’t make it.” I leaned in closer. A flash exploded from Ruby’s camera. Then she turned and left. I blinked against the colored dots. Why wouldn’t the woman get a digital camera?