The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss (18 page)

Dear Natasha,

I love your recipes. It’s so refreshing that you don’t stick to the same old tired dishes that I’ve seen one hundred times. I’m supposed to bring dessert to a function where my ex-husband will be. What would knock his socks off?

—Who’s Sorry Now? in Exie, Kentucky

Dear Who’s Sorry Now,

Homemade chocolate cannoli. They will be gorgeous, taste fabulous, and it will only take you about five hours to make them.

—Natasha

“Not now, Nat.” Mars focused on Wolf. “Is she really in trouble?”

Wolf ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“You can’t tell us? Why did they send that horrible man?” I asked.

“There are people who think I can’t be objective because I’m too close to you,” Wolf explained.

“I’d agree with
that
,” said Alex.

I shot him a look of daggers. “Wolf, I don’t understand. I thought Randy died from pokeweed poisoning.”

Wolf blinked at me. “How do you know these things?”

I wasn’t about to rat on Humphrey. “Can you tell us what happened to Marla?”

“Sophie,” trilled Natasha, “where do you keep the coffee?”

“In the freezer.”

Wolf nodded. “You’re the last person who saw her. She never went back to the office yesterday after she left with you. She didn’t turn up for work this morning, either. She’s not at her home. No one can locate her.”

“Well, thank heaven she’s not dead! Something scared her, Wolf. When we left the Amore building, she got in her car and took off like the devil himself was chasing her.”

“What did you two talk about?”

“Joe and his daughter Kara.”

Wolf’s eyebrows rose, “Kara?”

Alex interrupted. “Do you really have poisonous plants in your backyard?”

“Lots of people do. They just don’t know it. Pokeweed is pretty common.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” he insisted.

“You’ve seen it, I’m sure. In the fall, the plants have bunches of beautiful dark purple berries on curving fuchsia stems, kind of like currants or tiny grapes but poisonous. I’m not sure the berries are poisonous, but the rest of the plant is.”

“And you have this in your backyard?” Alex drew away from me as though he was appalled.

“One had grown in my garden, so I yanked it out, but then I went to the hotel for something and didn’t throw it away. It should still be out there if the evil cop didn’t take it.”

“If it’s such a common plant, then why are they focusing on Sophie?” asked Alex.

“Because her fingerprints were on the box of poisoned chocolates that killed Randy,” said Natasha, as though she was talking about the weather. “Sophie, where do you keep your jalapeños and truffles?”

“Chocolates? What chocolates? How do you know that?” I asked.

“If you were nice to the police, they might tell you things, too.” Natasha poked my shoulder. “The jalapeños, where are they? I’m baking chocolate chip cookies. I can’t do it at home because there’s no running water.”

I ignored her. “Is that true, Wolf?”

He nodded his head. “They found a box of poisoned chocolates at Randy’s house with your fingerprints on it.”

“But I haven’t made any chocolates or bought any.” I fetched the giant box of chocolates Alex had sent and brought it to the table. “These were a gift from Alex.”

“And the hospital still has the unidentified boxes of chocolates, right?” Mars opened a box of the Amore chocolates from Alex and tried one. “Is it just me or did these used to be better?”

Alex tilted his head. “Really? That’s how you disparage me? You have to put down the chocolates I bought for Sophie?”

Men!
I hurriedly ate one of the chocolates. “They’re delicious!” But I understood what Mars meant. They weren’t quite as good as they used to be. The chocolate tasted different. It didn’t have that silky, melty feel on the tongue that I remembered. I didn’t mention it, though. Alex would have gone through the roof, and he was plenty mad at me already.

I hastened to change the subject. “I guess the hospital lab still has the mysterious chocolates. All except the last box that arrived the day after Coco’s collapse. I stashed it in my desk so no one would accidentally eat any.”

Mars used one of his crutches to point in the direction of my office. “Go get it.”

I didn’t see the point in that, but I was so shocked by this odd turn of events that I did what he said.

Except it wasn’t there.

I was certain that I stashed it in the lower right drawer. I checked all the other drawers. It was nowhere to be found. In a little frenzy, I looked around my tiny office. Not on the desk, not on the sofa, not on the printer or the bookshelves.

I could hear Mars’s crutches as he made his way to my office.

Alex poked his head in the doorway. “Something wrong?”

“I can’t find it. I know I put it in the bottom drawer out of the way so no one would be tempted to try them.”

Wolf stepped past Alex and pulled open the desk drawer. “Think back. Was anyone in here?”

“Mochie!” blurted Mars.

Alex and Wolf stared at him like he’d lost his mind, but I knew exactly what he meant. “The day I found Mochie outside! Someone
was
in the house.”

Wolf frowned at me. “Why didn’t you call me? Did you report it to the police?”

“We thought Mochie might have slipped by me. Mars went through the house with me and nothing was missing or out of place.”

Wolf studied Mars. “Is that true? Can you verify that?”

“Sure. You should have seen Mochie, he was very upset. He’s an indoor cat, and I think he didn’t like being left outside.”

We walked back to the kitchen, where Natasha was sliding cookies into the oven.

“Let me see if I have this straight,” said Wolf. “Under your scenario, someone broke into your house and searched for the mysterious chocolates, which just happened to be poisoned with the same deadly plant that is in your backyard. Then the chocolates were given to Randy, who ate them and died.”

“Think Wolchik will buy that?” asked Alex.

I realized how unlikely it sounded. “But that
must
be what happened. You know
I
didn’t kill him! How else could a box of chocolates with my fingerprints have turned up in Randy’s possession? And seriously, let’s say I
had
intended to murder Randy, don’t you think I would have worn gloves to handle the box in the first place? I could have gotten rid of the chocolates after he died, too. It would have been easy to remove them from his house after the ambulance left.”

“Nina or Coco would have noticed,” Mars pointed out.

Thank you, Mars.
Whose side was he on?

“Wolf,” I said, “check the inside of the box for fingerprints. I never opened it. I was busy and just stashed it away. I never looked inside of it.”

“The cops are gone.” Natasha sounded melancholy about it.

Did she not realize what was going on?

“Wait! They left one behind. Great!” Natasha held up the French press plunger. “I don’t get this gadget. Where does the coffee go?”

“You need boiling water.” She was doubly confused when I added ground coffee right to the pot.

“Is the cop with you?” Alex asked Wolf.

“No. Wolchik must have left someone behind to make sure Sophie doesn’t destroy evidence.” Wolf settled at my kitchen table and looked down, deep in thought.

When Natasha took an
I-heart-police
mug out of my cabinet, Alex and Mars were appalled.

“Why do you still have that?” asked Mars.

“You see, Sophie? This is what I’m talking about,” grumbled Alex. “You can’t let go.”

Wolf just grinned.

I tried my best to ignore all of them. At the moment, my love life looked like the smallest problem on my horizon.

Natasha poured the coffee, placed some fresh-from-the-oven cookies on a plate and took them out to the officer.

I poured coffee for the guys and set the creamer and sugar
on the table. Holding a less controversial English bone china mug painted with pink, purple, and blue morning glories, I sat down at the table with them. “Nothing fits together,” I complained. “I thought there might be a tie between Joe and Arnaud because they’re both chocolatiers but the main connection seems to be Kara and Coco.”

Wolf’s head snapped up. “Tell me about Kara.”

Natasha returned, laughing and giddy.

While I told the story of Arnie, Coco, and Kara, Natasha placed a platter of fresh chocolate chip cookies on the table along with napkins and sat down with us.

“That’s so sad,” she said. “From the outside, it looks like they have the perfect life. But it’s really messed up and tragic. My heart breaks for them. They’ve lost almost half their family.”

I cupped the coffee between my hands. “In a way, Arnie ruined their lives. Everyone in the family must have resented him enormously. If he hadn’t dated Kara and Coco at the same time or even if he hadn’t run off in the snow like a coward, their lives would have been different.”

Alex drummed his fingers on the table. “That’s what comes of dating more than one man at a time. I mean woman, of course.”

Oh! That was aimed at me!
I scowled at him.

Natasha tilted her head. “You could say the same thing about Kara. She didn’t have to run after him.”

Mars pulled out the list he had made. “Joe, Nonni, everyone in their family had a reason to kill Arnie. Even Coco and Kara.”

Alex glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go. I have a client coming to my office in fifteen minutes. Sophie, call me if anyone arrives with a search warrant.” He rose to leave and bent his head to kiss me.

I ducked. “After all the jabs you made at me? No, thank you. Besides, isn’t there some kind of rule about not kissing clients?”

Alex heaved a sigh. “I have no idea what I see in you, Sophie Winston.” He opened the door and turned, “But I still want you to call me if Wolchik turns up again.”

Wolf stretched his legs. “I’d better go, too. There’s no telling what Wolchik is up to now.”

I saw them to the door. As soon as they left, I said, “I have an errand to run. Call me if Wolchik or another cop shows up.”

“But it’s time for lunch,” Mars protested.

I stared at him. Only then did I realize that I never bought anything at the deli. “Lucky for you that Natasha is here.” I couldn’t help grinning as I closed the door and hurried away before he could protest further. Maybe I’d bring some takeout back with me.

Mars’s observation about the quality of Amore chocolates had been dead-on, and it worried me. They took such care with their chocolates. I hoped the box at my house had been an aberration, but if it wasn’t, then something was up.

I walked straight to the Amore retail shop on King Street. A couple occupied the small white wrought iron table and chairs outside the brick building. A giant chandelier sparkled inside. Boxes wrapped with bright bows and summery adornments like faux flowers and pairs of miniature flip-flops had been artfully stacked in the window. The
Birth of Venus
statue that Dan had carved was front and center. The masterpiece appeared to lord over all the smaller chocolates.

A bell rang merrily when I opened the door. The mouthwatering scent of chocolate wafted in the air. A friendly employee asked if she could help me. I selected a few of the truffles and specialty chocolates in the showcase, as well as three different boxes of chocolates. “Is Stella in today?”

“She’s in the back. Stella! You have a visitor.”

Stella emerged from a rear room. She wore her blonde hair pinned up in a bun. Not a single strand fell into her pretty, young face. “Sophie, right?”

“Yes. I needed a few things and thought you might have a minute to chat.”

“That was nice of you.” To the clerk she said, “Give her the family discount.”

“No, no. That’s not what I meant at all. I just wanted to talk with you for a minute.”

Stella’s expression turned fearful. “Follow me.”

I walked behind the counter and through the doorway into an office.

Stella closed the door and leaned against it. Her chest heaved as she took deep breaths. She focused worried eyes on me.

I needed to say something to make her relax! But what? I hardly knew the girl. And then I saw her shoes. Thick soled and comfortable, her thong sandals were fashion forward with fountains of tiny amber beads sprouting from the tops.

“FitFlops?” I asked.

She knew exactly what I meant. “Yes! I’m on my feet most of the day and these are like walking on a cloud. I can’t usually afford them, so I buy them off season when they’re on sale.”

I was partial to them myself. “I know exactly what you mean. Especially in Old Town, where we walk so much.”

She looked down at her feet, and when her gaze returned to me, she said, “I hear you’re the last person who saw Marla.”

“That’s what they tell me. Do you know where she is?”

Stella held her hands behind her back and studied the floor.

She hadn’t invited me to sit down, even though three basic office chairs crowded the room. Various advertisements for Amore had been pinned to the walls. The guides to flavors of Amore chocolates were the most vibrant. The desk was cheap fiberboard, worn on the edges so that the pressed material underneath showed through. A laptop computer resided in the middle of the desk, the cover open. A
printer sat on a console to the side with a stack of pink paper fliers announcing a sale. I picked one up. “A sale in honor of the anniversary? That’s nice!”

She spoke in a hurry, words tumbling from her lips. “I don’t know where Marla is, but I fear for her and Dan.”

I hadn’t expected that.

She held her hands over her mouth. “I’m so afraid for them.”

“Not for yourself?”

“Gosh, no!”

“Why them and not yourself?”

“Joe, Arnaud, Randy . . . I don’t know who’s next. I thought it would be Dan because they’re all men, but now Marla is gone.” She thought for a moment. “Arnaud was an awful man. There must have been people all around the world who would have liked to do him in. It’s so sad that he’s dead and no one mourns him,” she whispered. “He stepped on everyone and cared for no one. Can you imagine being that kind of person? What happened to him? What makes a person be like that?”