Chocolate-Covered Crime (16 page)

I couldn’t tell whether the car trying to run me over was the same one Sherry had climbed into. A four-door sedan; I knew that much. I pressed the button on my watch. Eleven o’clock. Had it really only been an hour since I’d left Mason’s? Time dragged as slow as Uncle Roy when the leaves needed raking in the fall.

I should be close enough to home to keep a straight path parallel and come out in my front yard.
Please, Lord, let it bt path e so.

After the longest mile of my life, I shoved my way past low-hanging branches to the freedom of my lawn. A light greeted me. The glow from the kitchen window was the most beautiful sight I’d seen in what seemed like eons. I dashed across the cool grass and up the stairs to the porch.

“Summer?” Ethan rose from one of the rocking chairs. “What happened? Your clothes—”

“Ethan!” I threw myself in his arms. “I’m sorry. Forget everything I said. I love you. Can I have your ring back?”

“
What
happened?” He held me at arm’s length.

“I ripped my dress fighting my way through the woods between here and Mason’s. Then I tackled Sherry because it really seemed like she was following me, although she said she was searching for bats. Likely story. She had a bag. I never did find out what was in it. Then I had to leave my shoes. Oh, and I tied the sweater around my waist, because, well, you can see.” I gestured at my waist. My words rose and fell with the rapidity of my breathing.

“Then I tried to hitchhike—dangerous, I know—and someone tried to run me over. Oh Ethan. All I could think about was what a fool I was and getting home to you. Why didn’t you come get me?” If he could make anything out of my rambling, I hoped it was that I was sorry.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I tried. I drove up and down the highway at least five times. There was no sign of you. I came here to wait. Frantic something might have happened to you.” He swiped his thumb across my cheek. “You’re bleeding.”

“A branch tried slapping some sense into me.” I cupped my palms around his face. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

Ethan smiled. “As delightful as you look, you really need to get in the house and get some clothes on.”

“May I please have the ring back?” Tears stung the backs of my eyes. “Will you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I’ve already spoken to April. She feels awful. Said she said those things out of fear and can’t imagine not having you for a sister.” Ethan dug into the pocket of his pants. Taking my left hand in his, he slid the ring back onto my finger. “I love you, Summer. Crazy, emotional, and spontaneous as you might be.” He brushed the hair back from my face. “Let’s get you dressed and call Joe. Let him try and make sense of your story.”

The gravel on the driveway crunched. A car idled near the road, its windows as dark and vacant as a phantom’s face. Ethan took several steps toward it, and the dark-colored sedan roared away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

For the third time in less than six months, I found myself in a tight spot. Graduating from receiving threatening letters to being shot at and being spied on, I was intelligent enough to know what came next. A face-to-face encounter that resulted in sharp wits to stay alive. And to put icing on the cake, so to speak, I’d been presented with the deed to Mae Belle’s business. Why’d the silly woman leave it to me? Was the rift between her and Aunt Claudia that wide, that deep? And did Aunt Claudia know, having left without the deed?

I shivered and slid the dark chocolate-covered candy from the dipping belt. Laying it on the tray, I swirled an S on top with my finger.

Thankfully, Ethan had forgiven my idiotic attempts to save him from me. April apologized profusely for taking her fear of losing Ethan out on me. Joe knew nothing. No leads on the glove, the letter, or the twice-murdering suspect. If he did know anything, he wasn’t sharing the information with me. More reason for me to keep my promise to Mae Belle.

I shrugged, not willing to give up, no matter the danger to myself. Same as the last two mysteries I’d gotten involved in. I suspected, but never knew for sure, who the bad guys were until they held a gun to my head. Literally. This time, the clues hid so deep I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sort them out.

The facts had to be right in front of me. I just needed to be able to see them. I stared at a nearby assortment of chocolate. What did I have to bite into to discover the creamy center of this case? Why couldn’t life be like an assortment of fine chocolate?

“Summer! Wake up.” Eunice plopped another tray in front of me.

I jerked at her outburst. “You about scared me out of my wits, Aunt Eunice.”

“I’m taking off early today. Don’t forget we’re meeting the men for dinner at that new restaurant.” With those words, she grabbed her purse and dashed out the door.

Five trays of undipped creams taunted me from the table. There was no way I’d have time to dip the candy, go home to change, then meet Ethan and my aunt and uncle. I glanced down at my jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt. At least the restaurant wasn’t very dressy. Most pizza places weren’t, and I didn’t think any outfit I picked could compete with the half-undressed look I’d sported a couple of nights before.

Time passed with the repetition of dipping creams. A glance at my watch told me I was an hour late. My shoulder ached from bending over the dipping machine for two hours then sorting the candy into their respective cases. I quickly rubbed my shoulder before grabbing my purse and locking the candy store. I turned and marched to the spinning neon sign advertising the best pizza in town.

Scents of warm yeast and tomato sauce greeted me as I barged through the front door, almost knocking down Larry Bell in my haste. “Excuse me.” I placed a hand on his shoulder to steady myself. He jerked away and darted through the door.

Hubert and Edna sat cozily in a corner booth. Lewis Anderson leaned against the counter and appeared to be studying a menu mounted on the wall. Except for Mason and Sherry, it seemed my entire suspect list had a craving for pizza at the new pizzeria’s grand opening. The perfect opportunity to observe them and remain undetected.

A grinning teenage girl with a swinging ponytail directed me to the banquet room. I pushed through the saloon-style doors.

“Surprise!”

“Happy birthday!”

Friends and family shouted and tossed iridescent-colored confetti in my direction. Ethan grabbed me, dipped me over his arm, and kissed me before saying, “Happy thirtieth, Tink.” My head spun when he righted me.

I couldn’t believe I’d been so wrapped up in the case that I’d forgotten my own birthday. April slapped a party hat on my head and snapped the elastic under my chin. “Ow!”

“Stop being a baby.” She gave me a big hug. “Bet you thought everyone forgot, didn’t you?”

“Actually I forgot.” My cheeks hurt from smiling.

“Right. You never pass up an opportunity to be the center of attention.”

Aunt Eunice wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry I dashed off and left you with all that work.” She grinned. “But I had a good reason.”

I placed a kiss on her cheek. “You are the best, Aunt Eunice.”

“I know.” She kissed me back. “Let’s eat, then we’ll have cake and presents.”

After the stress of circumstances since Mae Belle’s death, the camaraderie with my family and friends gave me a grin that hurt my cheeks. My mood lightened. The pile of gifts brought tears to my eyes.

Aunt Eunice thrust a package into my hands. “Open mine first. It’s a computer program that will enable you to keep track of all your leads.”

I smiled at her. “Glad you could keep it a surprise.”

Ethan’s gift was the niftiest little handheld camera with a powerful zoom lens. They’d all given me something to do with solving mysteries. Joe, bless his cop-thinking heart, said he’d had the phone company put a GPS tracker on my new cell phone. Tears coursed down my cheeks. “I thought ya’ll wanted me to stop?”

“Sweethear=" ourst.” Ethan cupped my face and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “This is who you are. This nosiness, this craziness, this unshakable need to help others, despite your insisting God didn’t give you compassion.” He grinned. “None of us want you to change. We love you just the way you are. Happy birthday.”

I wanted to marry the man that instant. Why wait until spring? Never mind that I didn’t have a dress, a cake, or a caterer. Ethan steered me to a seat and plopped a plastic tiara on my head. April placed a plate of pizza and a glass of soda in front of me.

“Ya’ll are spoiling me.” Tears stung my eyes. “This is the happiest day of my life.”

“Not for long.” Aunt Eunice nodded toward the glass door.

Sherry barged through, slamming the swinging door panels against the wall. She glared at the group before zeroing in on me. She reminded me of a picture I’d seen of an enraged bull. And I was the waving red cape. “You had this planned the entire time!”

“Excuse me?” I had the urge to hide behind Ethan’s broad shoulders.

“A Dream Wedding.” She stepped into my personal space. I drew back to keep our noses from touching. “I found this.” She waved a sheet of pink stationery in front of my face. “Mae Belle said she’d make me her partner!”

I took the paper from her. Mae Belle apparently kept a handwritten will at her former place of business in addition to a copy at her lawyer’s office. I handed the sheet back to Sherry. “You can buy the business from me. I don’t want it.”

Her eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”

Aunt Eunice grabbed my arm and dragged me to a corner of the room. “Are you as crazy as Sherry? She’s on your suspect list. Has it occurred to you that she might have killed Mae Belle to get the store? Now you own it, and you’re willing to hand it to her? She might try to kill you off as well.”

The thought had occurred to me. Especially after meeting her in the woods. “With Sherry managing A Dream Wedding, she’ll be where I can keep an eye on her. Plus, if it is the store she wants, she won’t have to kill anymore to get it. I’ll have time to prove her guilty or not. I really don’t want the silly thing.”

“Fine.” Aunt Eunice released me and folded her arms. “Just don’t come crying to me when you wind up dead.”

“I won’t.” I turned back to Sherry. “One question, Sherry. How did you get that letter?”

Her face reddened. “Uh, I uh. . .”

“You stole it. You’ve been snooping around, and I’m willing to bet you weren’t searching for bats in the woods. I’m guessing that canvas bag you dragged around had things from the store in it. Am I correct?” I rais=" yoed my eyebrows.

“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes. “But it’s my stuff. Things owed to me. I knew once you cleaned the place out, it’d be too late.”

“Why did you park outside my house the other night? After your supposed bat hunt?” Okay, it was two questions, but she seemed willing to communicate. Kind of.

“You’re crazy, do you know that? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I gnawed my lower lip and stared at the woman in front of me. Could I trust her to run the place? It’s not like there were any customers. If she wanted Mae Belle dead, she’d have waited until she owned the business. “Fine. I’ll be making an inventory tomorrow, and I’ll know whether you took anything else. You can work there until you either buy it from me, or I decide what to do with it.” I folded my arms and glared until she turned and barged out the door.

“I sure hope you’re doing the right thing.” Aunt Eunice stood beside me.

“You and me both.” I watched through the large window of the banquet room as Sherry marched to her dark-colored sedan. She glanced to her left before climbing behind the wheel. I stepped closer to the glass and squinted.

Mason and Larry Bell were throwing punches at each other under the parking lot lights.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Joe and Ethan dashed past me. Aunt Eunice and I tried crowding through the door at the same time. My hip banged against the door frame. She grunted when we got stuck, and I stepped back to let her pass. By the time we’d reached the parking lot, Joe and Ethan held the fighters apart. Mason and Larry now hurled words instead of fists.

“How dare you judge me!” Mason spat his words at Larry while trying to pull free of Ethan’s grip on his arm. “Let go.”

“Every man shall be judged.” Larry stood complacent with Joe’s hands clamped on his shoulders. “You are a whoremonger.”

“I won’t be criticized by the likes of you. Let go, Banning.” He jerked loose and swung a punch at Ethan’s face, connecting with the sound of someone slapping a side of beef.

Ethan’s lip split, splattering his shirt with drops of blood. “Hey! Your problem isn’t with me.” He wrapped Mason in a bear hug. Mason drew back his head =" v>

I leaped into the fray, launching onto Mason’s back like an infant orangutan on its mother. Not to be outdone, Aunt Eunice slapped Larry across the cheek.