The Chocolate Moose Motive: A Chocoholic Mystery (6 page)

My little funny broke the tension, and Sissy whooped with laughter. “I’ll tell you later,” she said.

We settled Tracy’s time card quickly, and Sissy left. She nodded to Helen and walked rapidly toward her cubbyhole. But the woman with the homemade blond hair called out before Sissy escaped.

“Oh, Sissy! How is your grandmother?”

Sissy slowed, but she kept walking. “Fine,” she said. Then she disappeared into the back.

“Helen,” whoever she was, stuck around until nearly five o’clock, asking the counter girls questions about every item in the showcase. She finally selected a four-piece box of blackberry truffles (“dark chocolate filling flavored with real Michigan blackberries, covered with dark chocolate and embellished with a swirl of purple”).

As soon as she was out the door, I headed back to Sissy’s office and sat down in the one extra chair. “Now, who the heck is Helen?”

Sissy hesitated, so I spoke again. “I’m sure you’ve already discovered that I’m a deeply nosy person. If it’s none of my business, just tell me to get lost.”

“Oh, there’s no secret. Helen Ferguson works for Ace Smith, my father-in-law. She calls herself his housekeeper. Which is a fancy term for cleaning woman.”

“Housekeeper sounds as if she heads a staff.”

“Unless things have changed for Ace, he doesn’t have a staff. Buzz’s mom died twelve years ago, and Ace batches it. The few times I was at his house, the house looked as if some old bachelor lived there. I think Helen comes once a week and shovels it out.”

Sissy clenched her hands together and stared at her interlocked fingers. “Helen and I never liked each other. I’m sure that was obvious.”

“How come she dyes her hair that odd color?”

“I’m afraid that was my fault. After Ace became a full-time resident of Warner Pier three years ago, Helen began to play up to him. It became a sort of joke to Buzz and me, but Ace seemed oblivious to what was going on.

“I began to feel sorry for her. I decided she needed to be discouraged in her pursuit. Finally, I made a remark something like, ‘If Ace fell for anyone, it would probably be some ditsy blonde.’ The next time I saw Helen…” She shook her head.

“She’d become a ditsy blonde.”

“Right.” Sissy looked up. “I guess I feel guilty about it. I’m sure Ace has no interest in Helen. He treats her like part of the furniture. Then there was another complication—Helen’s daughter, Fran. Helen used to push her at Buzz.”

“So both Helen and Fran may have seen you as a rival of sorts.”

“Actually, I don’t think Fran ever had any interest in Buzz. Buzz certainly never had any interest in her. But Helen is one of these women who think it’s good to be chased by lots of men. She was always telling people how popular her daughter was and pushed her to wear sexy clothes and act in ways—well, ways my grandmother didn’t encourage. In high school, Fran’s popularity wasn’t always the kind everyone envies.”

“The class slut?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. More the class tease. Fran is married now, and I think she lives in Grand Rapids.”

Sissy and I both sighed. I couldn’t think of any remark to make about the situation with Helen, so I changed the subject. “Any comments after your first day at TenHuis?”

“I’m glad you put a limit on how much chocolate the employees can eat. I could gain a lot of weight.”

“Two pieces a day. And I eat both of mine every day. Is your grandmother shocked at your working for people whose livelihood is based on refined sugar?”

“Not at all. She thinks each of us should follow his own conscience. Her diet ideas are preferences, not moral choices.”

“I’d like to meet her.”

Sissy laughed. “She’s a character!”

We discussed a few more things, and it was time to close up. The workroom and the business office close at five. The retail shop stays open until nine during the tourist season.

I went back to my office to get my purse. I felt that Sissy had made a good start on her job, and the ladies in the shop had seemed to accept her without drama.

Which showed what I knew, because at that moment the next act of the play began.

Enter:
a good-looking guy with a lot of star power.

He didn’t leap in like a swashbuckler or fall in like a comedian. He simply opened the street door and walked in. But he gave the effect of being announced by a fanfare of trumpets and illuminated by a spotlight.

The newcomer had handsome features, true, but it wasn’t just his looks that brought attention. Personality oozed from every pore. He was tall, with sandy blond hair, broad shoulders, and a grin that was just slightly crooked.

Behind the counter, Tracy caught her breath, and the
second counter girl, Mary Ann, dropped a bonbon on the floor. My jaw began to fall; I barely caught it before it hit the desk. Time seemed to stand still. All three of us simply stared at him.

The guy walked over to the counter, grinned his crooked grin, and spoke. “Is Sissy Smith still here?”

Time began moving again when we heard his voice. Not that there was anything wrong with his voice, which was a pleasant baritone. But he didn’t issue a call to arms or break into song. He simply spoke in an ordinary tone.

Tracy answered in a breathy whisper. “Sissy’s in the back.”

The newcomer was still smiling. “I wanted to give her these,” he said. And he held up a bouquet. I’d been so fascinated by the guy that I hadn’t noticed he was carrying it.

The bouquet was centered with tiny white flowers, almost like wildflowers. These were surrounded by broad green leaves. It was very different from the usual florist’s offering.

Tracy moved to the door to the shop and called out. “Sissy!” This time her voice squeaked.

Sissy walked around the corner with her head down. She was digging in her purse and held two TenHuis T-shirts (optional wear for business office employees) under her arm. “I’m coming,” she said. “Or, rather, I’m going. I’ve got to pick up the kid. Did I forget something?”

Tracy squeaked again. “Someone’s here to see you.”

Sissy looked up then. Her face was as blank as everyone else’s face for a moment. Then she spoke. “Chip!”

She had stopped in the doorway to the shop, but the handsome guy moved around the end of the counter to meet her.

“It’s sure good to see you,” he said, then leaned way over and tried to kiss her. I think he aimed for her mouth, but Sissy stepped backward, and he missed. All she got was an air kiss.

“What in the world are you doing here?”

“I brought you flowers.”

“Oh. Well, thanks. But what are you doing in Warner Pier?”

“I have a month’s leave.”

“Are you staying with Ace?”

“Yes.”

“Better not let him find out you came to see me, or you’ll be going to a hotel.”

“I told him I was going to see you, and he didn’t warn me off. How about a quick drink?”

Sissy shook her head. “No thanks, Chip. I have to pick up Johnny.”

“Later? Tomorrow?”

“Thanks, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I suddenly realized I was staring, watching the whole scene as if it were any of my business. Wake up, I told myself firmly. Mind your own business for once.

I slammed my desk drawer and moved toward my office door. Of course, to get to my parking space behind the shop I had to pass Sissy and the big handsome guy. I turned sideways and tried to edge past them.

“Lee.” Sissy stopped me. “This is Chip Smith. He’s Buzz’s cousin, and he was also his best friend.”

We shook hands and made polite noises.

“I overheard you say you’re on leave, Chip,” I said. “Are you serving in the military?”

“No, I work for a defense contractor. I’ve been posted abroad for two years.”

“That sounds like hard duty.”

“Not so bad.”

All this time we’d had the door between the shop and the workroom blocked, and I became aware that Sissy was trying
to edge toward the front of the shop. I moved aside, trying to open a path for her. “Did you say you need to pick up your little boy, Sissy?”

“Yes, I do. Chip, it’s great to see you.”

“I want to see Johnny, too. He was brand-new the last time I was home.”

“That would be nice. Call me and we’ll arrange a playdate for you. But be sure you feel up to a strenuous piggyback session.”

She and Chip both laughed, and he also turned toward the outside door. “At least I can walk you to your car.”

All of us in the shop—Tracy, Mary Ann, and I—were concentrating on Sissy and Chip, and Sissy and Chip were concentrating on each other. I guess that was why the loud banging noise made all five of us jump about a foot off the floor.

We all whirled toward the sound, each of us gasping or even, in Tracy’s case, giving a tiny scream.

The noise, I realized, had merely been someone rapping on the window.

And that someone was Ace Smith, Sissy’s father-in-law.

He was standing outside, peering inside, a hand raised as a shield against the sun.

Sissy stopped short. “Chip, you go on without me,” she said.

“Sissy…”

“I don’t want to see Ace today. I’m sure you understand.”

Chip’s big friendly face took on a miserable expression, but he nodded and left without further questions.

“Come on, Sissy,” I said. “We’ll go out the back, and I’ll give you a ride over to the parking lot.”

“Thanks, Lee. I didn’t mean to insert my family problems into the workplace. I’ll try not to do it again.”

So Sissy and I talked about other things as I drove the two blocks to Warner Pier’s downtown parking lot, where one section is reserved for local employees. I resisted asking her about Chip, and she told me about Johnny, who was fourteen months old. He was, she reported proudly, a beautiful, intelligent, and lively little boy. We parted with a cheerful good-bye.

So ended Sissy’s first day at TenHuis Chocolade.

That summer, Joe and I had been sitting out in the yard after dinner every evening. We had a reason besides just enjoying the twilight; a great horned owl had shown up in the neighborhood, and if we sat out there, covered with mosquito repellent and talking quietly, we usually saw her glide silently along over our lane. We knew the owl was a she because Joe had spotted her nest in a hollow in one of our maples. Using binoculars, we’d seen the giant owlet the nest had held, and we’d even seen the young owl take one of its first flights.

According to the bird book, a great horned owl has a wingspread of fifty-five inches. That’s about four and a half feet. This was one big bird. She preyed on field mice and other small rodents, so she was a very nice bird to have visiting our yard. But she was so huge and so silent that I had an irrational feeling she might carry off one of us.

I don’t claim to be a major nature lover, but that owl was awesome.

Having a quiet talk about the day’s happenings with your husband can be awesome, too. And that night, as we waited for the owl, I reported to Joe on Sissy’s first day on the job.

“Sissy seems like a good worker, and she’s eager to get into the swing of things. I just hope all this interest in her dies down. It may increase business, but the gawkers and gossips are a pain in the neck.”

“Of course, you were a bit curious about Sissy yourself.”

“True. I admit I gawked at her that first day I met her in the supermarket. But now I’m curious about someone else—Wildflower.”

“Sissy’s grandmother? I haven’t seen her around town that I know of. I hear she’s almost a recluse.”

“I’d love to meet her.”

“Why?”

“Because everybody says she’s a hippie. I thought all the hippies became regular citizens twenty years before I was born. I read about them, and I guess I always had a sneaking wish that I’d been around to be one.”

“A hippie? But, Lee, you’re an accountant.”

“Even accountants might like to kick over the traces a little. The idea of having long flowing hair, of sitting around while singing folk songs, of living in a commune, of demonstrating for justice—it has a romantic feel.”

“Well, you have long hair and you can sing folk songs, and I think you’re in favor of justice, but I definitely don’t see you in a commune. You like your privacy.”

“True. Still, I’d like to meet Wildflower.”

Joe looked serious. “I guess you could just go out to Moose Lodge and introduce yourself.”

“Oh yeah. ‘Hi there, hippie. I’d like to stare at you.’ I don’t think so.”

“You could ask Sissy to introduce you.”

“She said she would sometime, but I’ll have to wait until it’s convenient, and you said yourself that Wildflower doesn’t come to town often. I can’t think of any excuse to just go out there and introduce myself.”

“Excuse?” Joe thought a moment. “Well, you could join a church and say you were recruiting new members.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You could support a political campaign and canvass for votes. Or ask Wildflower to join the Warner Pier Chamber of Commerce. Or to contribute to the Red Cross.”

“Or I could forget the whole thing, and sometime Wildflower will come by to have lunch with Sissy, and I’ll meet her.”

Joe punched the air with his fist. “Be proactive, Lee. Wildflower is a taxidermist. You could take a dead animal out there to be stuffed.”

“Sure. Next time I see a roadkill raccoon, I’ll shovel it into the back of the van. I’m sure Wildflower would love that.”

I’m sorry to report that was almost what happened.

Chapter 6