Trouble and Treats (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 6) (10 page)

While Charlotte dressed for the dance, Ally placed a call to Luke.

“I hope this isn’t to cancel.”

“No way. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Great. Then what can I help you with?”

“Could you see what you can find out about Jack?”

“Jack?”

“Yes. Have you looked into him?”

“A bit, I have someone looking into him further as we speak. Is there a reason you want me to look deeper?”

“I think you should look into his past a little, see if there are any red flags.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can find.”

“Thanks Luke, I know you’re busy with other things, I appreciate it.” After she hung up she skimmed through recipes to figure out what she would make. Even as she made her selection, thoughts of Emma played on her mind. She printed the recipe she chose and headed into the kitchen to take care of it. A few minutes later her grandmother emerged from the bedroom.

“I’m ready to go, I suppose.”

Ally turned around to find her in a plaid shirt, and a matching cowboy hat. She swallowed back her desire to question just why she had that outfit stored in her closet.

“You look fantastic.”

“You know I don’t like it when you lie, Ally.”

“I mean it, you look adorable.”

“Ugh.”

“Good luck tonight, Mee-Maw. Maybe you’ll even have a little fun.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this, Ally. Really, the things you talk me into. I don’t even know how it happens.”

“You look so cute!” Ally tapped the brim of her cowboy hat.

“You’re not too old to ground you know.” She wagged a finger in front of her face.

“Actually, I think I am.”

“Keep thinking that and we’ll see what happens.” Charlotte huffed as she made her way out the door. Ally closed the door, but left it unlocked as Luke would be arriving soon. She held back her laughter for a few minutes until she was sure her grandmother was out of earshot. Then she laughed so loud that Arnold ran into the living room.

“I’m okay, Arnold, don’t worry.”

Ally walked into the kitchen and set about preparing dinner for Luke. As she got the chicken started in the oven she thought about what motive Mavis could have to kill Emma. Why would Mavis want to hurt her? Did she really think that Emma had something to do with her husband’s death? It occurred to her that the woman might have just been confused and frightened herself. If she was beginning to lose her memory then she might not even remember committing the crime. She stirred the vegetables on the stove then slid the biscuits into the oven. As she closed the oven door she heard a knock.

“Come on in, Luke.”

She heard the front door open and close. Only then did it occur to her that it might not be Luke. She could have invited just anyone inside.

“Luke?”

He stepped into the kitchen with a bottle of wine in his hand and a smile on his lips. “That smells delicious, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

“I wanted to. Besides, it’s no trouble to make this for you. Thank you for this.” She took the bottle of wine and placed it on the counter. Then she set two glasses on the counter. Luke picked up the wine to open it while Ally carried some plates to the table.

“So, how was your day?”

“Don’t you mean, did I find out anything about Jack?” He set the glasses on the table in front of the plates.

“I wasn’t sure if you would want to talk about the investigation tonight.” She carried the platter to the table.

“I find it hard to believe that you could talk about anything else.” He pulled out a chair for her. She smiled as she sat down.

“You know me too well, Luke.”

“Well enough to find out how you knew that Jack’s bedroom was ransacked?”

“Uh, so did you find out anything about him?”

“Okay, I see.” He smiled. “Actually yes, I did. I found out that he doesn’t have much of a history, anywhere, that I can find. It’s pretty unusual for someone to have so little of a footprint. I couldn’t find personal ties to anyone. So, either he’s telling the truth about not having any family, or he has a terrible personality.”

“I could believe either.” She served him some chicken and vegetables. He cleared his throat and picked up a fork.

“Another thing I didn’t find out was just how you knew that Jack’s bedroom was torn apart.”

“Luke?”

“Yes?” He smiled, then tasted the chicken. “Wow, this is good. You might have to cook for me more often.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, I could cook for you, too. If you let me.”

“I’d be honored.” Ally smiled.

“So, about Jack.”

“I think he might be hiding something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Just about every average person has a past right? So, where is his? If he doesn’t have one, then how average can he be?”

“And most people who don’t have a past, are criminals running from something,” Luke said.

“Yes, see?”

“I’m going to look into it.”

“That’s good.”

“Did I mention that dinner is amazing?”

“There’s cake, too.” She smiled. “Mee-Maw made it, and it is scrumptious.”

“Wonderful.”

After they shared a piece of cake Ally led him out onto the porch. “A little fresh air might bring us down from that sugar buzz.”

“It was so good, but I couldn’t eat another bite.” He leaned against the porch railing. When she stood beside him he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I’m so glad we spent some time together tonight. With everything going on, it’s so easy to get caught up.”

“So, tell me, what’s on your mind?” He pulled her closer.

“I just keep thinking about Mavis.”

“Really?”

“Yes. What if she’s lost it? I heard her husband died at the hospital where Emma worked and there are rumors that she believed the hospital was negligent. Maybe she thought Emma was involved.”

“Do you really think that would be enough for her to commit murder?”

“At first, I didn’t. I thought it was a little far-fetched. But if Mavis’ mind is a little off-balance, maybe that was enough for her to push Emma down the stairs.”

“So, first it was Gary, who might have sabotaged the stairs. Now it’s Mavis, who might have killed Emma over her husband. Who else?” He trailed his fingers down across her hand.

“I don’t know. Maybe Jack?”

“Jack has an alibi.”

“A solid one?” Ally asked.

“As solid as it can be, he was on the road.”

“So it’s flimsy at best. But honestly, Mavis is the one that gets under my skin.”

“That’s because she is confrontational.”

“It’s strange that I feel threatened by an old woman.” She rested her head against his shoulder and stared up at the sky.

“I don’t think it’s strange. She’s been very aggressive with you. That’s always unsettling.”

“I know, but instead of wanting to help her, I keep thinking about what she might do to me. There’s something about her that just strikes me as very suspicious.”

“I can understand that. She’s the secretive sort. However, she might be losing her memory or just be paranoid.”

“I’m worried about her, too. She lives all alone in that house. No family nearby, no one to help her. That just doesn’t seem right.”

He chuckled beside her ear and turned his lips to kiss her cheek. “That’s what I enjoy so much about you, Ally.”

“What?” She pulled back to look into his eyes.

“One moment you’re telling me why you’re afraid of her, and the next moment you’re telling me that you worry about her. You don’t let judgment stop you from being kind.”

“Hopefully, I’ll find some evidence soon and then we’ll know the truth. So, you’re not going to answer the question?” He walked towards her. “About how you discovered that Jack’s bedroom was ransacked?”

“Does it matter?” She held her breath as he paused right in front of her.

“I think maybe it should.” His smooth tone and the gentle touch of his fingertips along her cheek soothed her even as her heart raced. “I’ve asked you to be careful, not because I want to tell you what to do, but because you’re important to me, Ally, and I wouldn’t ever want something to happen to you. But I’d much prefer you were honest with me, instead of hiding the truth.”

“I might have slipped into the house to take a look around.”

“Slipped?” He quirked a brow and smiled. “Like you tripped over the step and fell into the house?”

“I knew where Emma hid a key.” She braced herself as she looked into his eyes. “Are you going to arrest me for breaking and entering?”

He laughed and looked away. The tension shattered between them. When he looked back at her his eyes still shimmered with amusement.

“No, Ally.” He brushed his hands back through her hair and off her shoulders. Then he settled his palms on the slope of her neck. “I am not going to arrest you. Is that what you think?”

“I think you take your job very seriously and I would never want to put you in a difficult position.”

“I love my job.” He nodded then looked back into her eyes. “But I care about you and I don’t want you to be in any danger. You shouldn’t be afraid to tell me things. I want you to be honest with me. Even if that means I know you’re a sneaky criminal.”

“That’s a little harsh.” She couldn’t resist a smile.

“Is it?” He drew his hands away from her shoulders and settled them on her hips instead. “Because I thought it was a pretty accurate description for someone guilty of breaking and entering.”

“I had a key.”

“Mmhm, I suppose we can let it slide then.” His lips met hers and all of the anxiety she felt over what he might think of her was silenced by a surge of passion. Her arms slid around his waist as she held him close and continued the kiss. For just an instant she forgot about everything. Then he broke the kiss and leaned back so that he could stare into her eyes again. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Ally. But you need to know that no matter what you can always tell me the truth.”

“And maybe you need to consider that I can take care of myself. You don’t need to protect me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He shook his head. “I absolutely, one hundred percent need to protect you. I can’t change that. It’s just something you’ll have to accept about me. Do you think you can do that?”

“I suppose I’ll have to.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. He laughed and kissed her again. After a quick and playful embrace they pulled apart.

“I’d better head home. I have to get up early and check out a few things. Listen, Ally.” He slipped his hands into hers. “We’re not always going to have the same view on things, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t respect your opinion. It doesn’t hurt to have a different perspective, you know.”

“I know.” She smiled. “But when I’m right, you’re going to have to admit that I was right all along.”

“You can tell me you told me so as many times as you want.” He gave her hand a squeeze then turned and stepped off the porch. It took every ounce of strength inside of her not to chase after him and ask him to stay. Luke always had a way of knowing the right time to go home. But sometimes she wished he wasn’t so good at it. After he drove off she stepped back into the cottage to clear the dishes from their dinner. A few minutes later the front door swung open. Ally was startled until she realized it was her grandmother.

“How did it go, Mee-Maw?”

“I’m sorry, Ally. I didn’t get much information about Emma’s death or Mavis. The most anyone knows about her is what I knew already and what the ladies told us which is that she’s not the type to make friends or share any of her business. Even before her husband died they kept to themselves.”

“Hm. So, she’s been a recluse for quite some time. It’s not likely the result of aging.”

“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s more likely the result of a hard life.” She plopped down on the couch and pulled off her boots. “As for the dance, I can’t begin to tell you how much you owe me.” Even though Charlotte sounded annoyed she smiled. Ally knew that she had a good time even though she didn’t want to admit it.

“I bet you were quite popular.”

“Yes, actually I was.”

“Just relax, Mee-Maw, sometimes you have to let life happen. Right?” She grinned.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime, young lady?” Charlotte huffed.

“I saved you a slice of cake.”

“Okay, you can stay up.”

Early the next morning Ally was at her computer. Charlotte brought her a cup of coffee.

“How is it going? “

“It’s really frustrating. I keep trying to dig deeper into Jack’s history, and I can’t find much information about him. I’ve been calling his employer to confirm that he works there and all I get is an answering machine every time. He does have the proper license for driving a truck, but that’s the extent of the information that I can find. If I look any deeper there’s nothing there. It’s as if he’s never gotten into trouble, never voted, was never even born.”

“I don’t know why you’re chasing Jack so hard. He seems like a decent guy to me.”

“I don’t want Gary accused of a murder he didn’t commit.” Ally sighed and stared down at the pattern of the rug on the floor. “I just wish I could get the pieces to fit. If I could confirm that what Gary told me about Jack was nothing but a made-up story then I’d feel more comfortable with only focusing on Gary. But it didn’t seem like he made it up.” She looked back over at her grandmother. “The truth is that when he looked into my eyes and told me that he didn’t kill Emma, I believed him. I didn’t need him to prove it, I just knew it, deep down.”

Charlotte rested her hand over Ally’s and nodded. “That means something, sweetheart. Let’s get to the bottom of it. Maybe I can find out some information from Rose.  She lives in the house next to Emma’s and she always knows what’s happening with her neighbors. Although she usually knows more than she likes to let on. I’ll give her a call.”

“Okay thanks.” With Mavis not having much of a digital footprint either, Ally hit a brick wall. She brought her computer to the couch and began to search again. She was sure there had to be something out in cyberspace that would help. However, every time she tried to press a key Peaches butted her hand with her head. Frustrated, she looked at the cat. “You want to play don’t you?”

Peaches purred and rubbed her cheek along the corner of Ally’s computer.

“Okay, but just for a little while.” She pulled out the cat’s toy mouse and began to tease her with it. Arnold, who must have remembered the toy from the last time they played, charged after it. A battle of hissing and grunting ensued that ended in the side table near the door being knocked into. Ally’s purse crashed to the floor.

“Peaches! Arnold! Stop it!” Ally laughed at their antics. She stood up and walked over to her purse.

“What’s all of the commotion?” Charlotte stepped out of the bedroom.

“I’m sorry, Mee-Maw, Peaches knocked my purse over. Everything’s fine.”

“I finished my call to Rose. I’m afraid I didn’t come up with much about Jack. He was rarely home. When he was home she didn’t see him much, he kept to himself. When she did try to speak to him he was very evasive.  She said that he seemed secretive and private.”

“Well, that is something, it means that Jack made an effort to protect his privacy.” Ally bent down to pick up her purse from the floor. As she did the wooden box slid out of her purse and on to the floor. “Oh, I forgot that was in there.” As she snatched it up the bottom piece of wood broke off from the top half. It crashed against the floor and something jumped out of it. “Mee-Maw, I’m so sorry it’s broken.” She frowned. Charlotte was too busy retrieving what fell out of the bottom half to respond.

“Look at this, look at this!” She held up a wad of money. “It was inside the bottom of the box.”

“How strange. That’s a lot of money, Mee-Maw.”

“I know it is.” Her eyes widened. “Do you think that might be what the burglaries were about? Maybe someone was looking for this box.”

“I would certainly be looking for this if I lost it. Emma must not have known what was inside or she wouldn’t have sold it.”

“You would imagine so.”

“I wonder if there’s anything else hidden inside.” Ally dug into the bottom of the box. Her finger swept across some paper. She pried it out of the box. “It must be more money.” When she held it up for her grandmother to see they both discovered that it wasn’t money at all.

“Ally, those are passports. Let me see them.” Ally handed them over to her grandmother. She flipped through them. “These all have Jack’s picture on them although he looks slightly different in each, with a different hair color and style. None of the passports had Jack’s name on.”

“So, Jack had secret identities? Why would a truck driver need false IDs?”

“A truck driver wouldn’t. I have the feeling that Jack might not be a truck driver after all,” Charlotte said.

Ally narrowed her eyes. “He has no friends, no family. Maybe that’s because he isn’t who he says he is.”

“Who needs false IDs?”

“Somebody leading a double life,” Ally suggested

“Maybe he’s some kind of spy.”

“That is a bit far-fetched, but I guess it’s possible.”

“Do you think this means he might have hurt Emma?” Charlotte asked.

“I think it means we need to stop looking at him so much as a widower, and start looking at him more as a suspect.” Ally held out her hand for the passports. “We should start by finding out what we can about these names.”

“Luke could help us with that.”

Ally frowned. “I don’t know about bringing Luke into this just yet.”

“Why not?” Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “What do you think he’ll do?”

“I think he’ll arrest Jack.” Ally tapped her fingertips against the passports. “Let’s say he is a spy. What if Emma was killed because someone was looking for him? If we tell Luke and Jack is arrested we might be putting them both in danger.”

“Okay, I see what you’re saying, but I think you need to consider that Jack is probably not a spy. He might be a criminal of some kind. He could be a very dangerous man. If that’s the case, he might have the means to flee before we have the chance to figure out if he was involved in Emma’s death.” Charlotte pursed her lips as she looked over the stack of money in her hand.

“Maybe that’s his getaway fund. Maybe that’s why the shop and your apartment were searched, because he was looking for that. I think we need to find out a little bit more about Jack before we turn this over to Luke.”

“Aren’t you worried that might upset Luke?”

“No, I’m worried about making sure that the right person pays the price for Emma’s murder. The rest can be sorted out later.”

“All right, then what’s our next step?” Charlotte tucked the money back into the box. “Other than finding a safe place to hide this?”

“I think we should follow him. We already know that he wasn’t on the road like he claimed to be during the time of Emma’s murder. Let’s find out what he was doing in the city. Maybe that will give us a clue as to what he’s really up to.”

“I suppose we need to pay Mrs. Bing a visit then.” Charlotte smiled. “We can stop by the shop and pick up some chocolates.”

“Perfect.” Ally nodded. “As for this box, I have the perfect place.” She took a few pictures of the passports then tucked them back into the box as well. She sealed it shut, then opened the cabinet under the sink. She tore open Arnold’s big bag of pig feed enough to shove her whole hand inside along with the box. After a little digging she managed to get it almost to the bottom. She doubted that any burglar would look there. “That should do it.”

“Clever.” Charlotte nodded. “Let’s see if we can find out what that man was up to.”

The two drove to the chocolate shop. Charlotte put together a sampler box and tied it with a cheery pink bow. As they left the shop to head to Mrs. Bing’s house, Ally was startled when she almost walked into someone.

“Excuse me.” She drew back.

“I’m sorry, Ally, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Mrs. Bing smiled at her. “It’s just that I saw your car, and I thought maybe you were opening the shop. I felt like some chocolate.”

“Well, then you’re in luck.” Charlotte smiled as she stepped around Ally and held out the box. “We were just about to bring these to you.”

“You were?” Her eyes widened with glee. “Thank you!”

“Chocolates, for just a little bit of information.” Charlotte held on to the box a moment longer and then released it into Mrs. Bing’s eager hands.

“Sure, anything. What do you want to know? Pete down the street is going to have to paint his truck because his son-in-law got drunk and…”

“Nothing about Pete.” Ally smiled and patted her hand. “We just need to know what Jack was up to when you said you saw him in the city the day Emma passed away.”

“Oh.” Her lips tightened for a moment. “Yes, I think it was him that I saw in the city.”

“Did you see where he was going?”

She sighed and shook her head. “I’m not sure that I should say.”

Ally’s eyes widened. If Mrs. Bing wouldn’t gossip about it, then it had to be something serious. “Mrs. Bing, we’re trying to figure out exactly who Jack is. We believe he might have been lying to Emma. Anything that you can tell us could be helpful.”

“I’m sure he was lying to her. That poor woman.” She clucked her tongue.

“How are you sure?” Charlotte stepped closer to her. “What did you see?”

“I was going to say hello to him, and ask him about the yard sale. However, before I could get to him, he met this woman at the entrance of an apartment building. She was young, blonde, and dressed far too fancy. He took her hand, and then they disappeared inside the apartment building. I’m afraid he might have been cheating on Emma.”

“Mrs. Bing, did you tell Luke this?” Ally searched her eyes.

“No, I couldn’t. I don’t think it’s right to talk about things like that with men. It might give them ideas, you know.”

“Ideas?” Ally stared at her.

“Like, that if Jack could get away with it, then maybe he could, too, and since he’s your boyfriend…”

“Okay, okay.” Ally cleared her throat. “Enough of that. Do you remember what apartment building it was?”

“I do, it was Elm’s Point.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Bing, you’ve been very helpful.” Ally smiled.

“Oh good, I’m so glad. I do like to be helpful.” She clutched her box of chocolates and hurried away.

Once she was gone Ally looked over at her grandmother. “So, Jack might have had a secret life.”

“A secret girlfriend.” Charlotte nodded. “And that gives us another suspect. Perhaps the secret girlfriend found out that Jack was married and she decided to eliminate the competition.”

“I think it’s possible.” Ally narrowed her eyes. “But maybe he wasn’t just having an affair.  Maybe the fake IDs are because he had other secret lives. Maybe he even has more than one family.”

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Charlotte said.

“Poor Emma had no idea what he was up to. We’d better see if we can try to find this woman. I don’t think we have enough to bother Luke with it.”

“I don’t either. Let’s make sure that Mrs. Bing actually saw what she thinks she saw. She might have even confused Jack with someone else.”

“Maybe. But she’s pretty good at spotting people.”