Trouble and Treats (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 6) (2 page)

When Ally and Charlotte arrived at the sale it was tough to find a spot to park. Ally finally managed to squeeze in-between a truck and a van. Ally noticed how busy the sale was. Even if the early birds had already picked it over, there was clearly plenty left to sort through. Although Emma’s sales were always large, this time it seemed even bigger. Ally and Charlotte placed the chocolates and brownies on one of the tables with a sign indicating that they were complimentary.  They also left some menus and cards next to the boxes.  They found that providing some treats for free helped generate new business as well as create a positive image of the shop. It was a very valuable marketing tool.

“I’ll start at this end.” Charlotte headed for the other end of the tables while Ally started at the first table. There were many conversations buzzing around her, but she zeroed in on the objects on the table. Yard sales were always fun, because she would imagine what the items were used for, and how valuable they were. Old toys always gave her a pang of nostalgia for her own childhood. Some items were so well worn that it was clear they were extra-loved. Sometimes she would buy something just because it deserved to have a nice safe home on a shelf. However, she learned to curb her buying habits when she ended up with no shelf space.

As Ally looked through the tables the crowds began to dwindle. Several of the tables were covered with various sports equipment, from ballet shoes to tennis rackets. Emma always found a way to keep herself busy and active. Ally rummaged through a pile of costume jewelry. Her grandmother was right, it was easy to find treasure when you took the time to look. As she pulled apart necklaces she heard Emma’s voice raise.

“You can’t do anything about this. The house is in my name, and I’m ready to move on.”

“You know as well as I do that I paid for at least half of that house. Not only that but I painted it, I fixed the stairs, I even redid the basement. You’re going to tell me that I have no say in what happens to it?”

“No, you don’t. I got the house in the divorce, and that means I have the right to sell it.”

“Fine, then sell it to me.”

Ally glanced up and caught sight of a lumbering man that stood in front of Emma. He was at least two feet taller than her and had to be close to three hundred pounds. The way he glared at her made Ally think that he was accustomed to intimidating Emma. Ally presumed it was her ex as she knew that Emma had divorced and remarried just over a year ago. Ally decided to walk over just in case things got any uglier.

“Gary, you can’t afford it and you know it. I can’t take a loss on the house just to make you happy.”

“Yeah, there were a lot of things that you couldn’t do just to make me happy. Don’t you want the cats to have a proper home?”

“Of course I do, Gary.  I appreciate that you took them for me, but they will be happy wherever you live.”

“I’m telling you right now, I’m going to fight you on this. I’m not going to just let some stranger live in the home that was supposed to be ours.”

“Whatever you think is going to happen, isn’t. You don’t have any control over this, or me anymore, Gary. Now, just go before I have to call the police.”

“Oh sure, call the police.” He scowled at her. “Fine, I’ll go. But this is mine.” He grabbed an old, ragged set of golf clubs and turned around. He almost walked straight into Ally, but she stepped out of the way just in time. He grunted and stormed past her. Ally tried not to laugh as a few golf balls fell through a hole in the bottom of the torn bag.

“Are you okay, Emma?” Ally looked over at the woman. Her cheeks were red, and her lips were tight, but she appeared calm enough.

“He just likes to make a scene. He always did. Any kind of attention he can get, he’ll get.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Me too.” She sighed. “Like anyone was going to buy those golf clubs anyway.”

“I didn’t know you were selling the house. Is this the final yard sale then?”

“Yes, it is. I haven’t made it too known as I wanted to avoid a run-in with Gary. I want to be more mobile. As you know my new husband, Jack, is an over-the-road trucker. I’ve recently decided that I’d like to get an RV and be able to meet him at different places so we can spend more time together.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. I hate to see you leave though.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be back to visit. I love this town. I mean I grew up here. Remember I mentioned how the community rallied around me when Gary and I got a divorce? I’ve never felt more supported.”

“I remember.” Ally nodded. “And just know that you still do have our support.”

“Thanks Ally, that means a lot.”

“We left some brownies and chocolates on the tables like we usually do.”

“Oh yum, thank you.” Emma smiled. “Did you find anything you liked?”

“I’m still looking.” Ally smiled at her.

“Okay, let me know if you have any questions about anything. It looks like I need to talk to a man about a canoe.” She laughed as she walked over to a man that had already climbed into the canoe. Ally glanced over her shoulder and scanned the remaining people for her grandmother. Before she could spot her, a squeal carried through the air. Ally laughed as she recognized it and walked towards her grandmother.

“What did you find?”

“It’s for you, a keyring.” Charlotte held up the keyring to show her. It was a colorful butterfly decorated with fake gemstones.

“That’s pretty,” Ally said as she took it from her grandmother to look at it closely.

“Oh, look at this!” Charlotte picked up a wooden box. It had beautiful patterns carved into it. “The patterns are so intricate.” She ran her fingertips along the etchings in the wood and gazed at it with affection. She opened it up and looked inside. There was nothing in it. It was shallow with a thick base. “It will be perfect for storing bits and pieces.” Charlotte had a love of trinkets and wooden statues and decorated the shop with them. She mostly bought ones made by local artists. “I would love to add this to my collection. Emma, do you know anything about this piece?” She walked over to show it to her. Emma glanced at it, but was distracted by people who had just walked up to the sale.

“I don’t know, I found it with some junk in the basement and put it out here. You can have it for five dollars if you want.”

“Five? Sold!” She smiled. “Ally has the cash.” Ally glanced up from the pan she considered buying.

“I do?”

“Yes, you do. Don’t you?” Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

“Oh right, I do.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out money for the wooden box, the keyring and the pan. After she paid she put her keys on the keyring. As she did she noticed that the colorful stones were sparkling in the sun. Then she decided to look around a little more to see if anything else caught her eye. Suddenly, a cloth flower appeared before her eyes. It seemed to hover in the air for a moment before she noticed the hand that held it. She smiled as she followed the arm to a familiar face.

“Luke, you made it. I didn’t know if you would have time to stop by.”

“I wasn’t sure if I would, but I’m glad I did. Emma has some great stuff.”

“Yes, she does. Did you spot anything you liked?”

“I have my eye on a few records, and of course, I helped myself to a brownie or two. Delicious, as always.” He gazed into her eyes.

“Don’t worry I kept some extra for you.” Ally smiled sweetly and poked him in the stomach. “Can’t let you go hungry.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He grinned and kissed her cheek. “How could I be so lucky?”

“Just because I bake you brownies?”

“Just because you’re you.” He brushed a strand of her brown hair back behind her ear and leaned in a little closer. “Can I see you tonight?”

“For dinner?”

“I have to work late. Maybe dessert?”

“Sure, I think I can make that happen. My place or yours?”

“Yours, if you don’t mind. I’m in the middle of a project at my place that might just take me a year to finish. I don’t know how I convinced myself that I could redo my own floors.”

“You can, you’re just a little busy. I could help you if you would like.”

“I’m sure that’s not how you want to spend your free time.”

“As long as it’s with you, I’ll enjoy it.”

“Hm, I like that answer.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her in for a quick kiss.

“Ally! Look what I found!” Charlotte’s shrill voice pulled them apart. Ally laughed and shook her head.

“She’s in heaven.”

“I bet. I have to get going, but I’ll let you know what time I’ll be getting off tonight, okay?”

“Sure. It doesn’t matter though. No time is too late.”

He smiled at her again, then walked off. Ally watched him go, though pretended to be digging through an assortment of gardening supplies. She couldn’t help but smile to herself at just how handsome he was. She remembered the first time she met him, and how uncertain she was of his intentions. It didn’t take long for her to recognize that he might just be the best man she’d ever met. But, was Gary the best man that Emma ever met before things went south? Did all romantic ties tear people apart?

Later that day Ally spent some extra play time with Peaches and Arnold. Though she managed to get them both into a game of tug of war, one with a piece of string, the other with a thick rope, she couldn’t enjoy it as much as they were. Her mind drifted back to the way that Gary had raised his voice at Emma. There was such cruelty in his tone. She wondered how Emma really handled it. It was so difficult to deal with the drama of an ex. Though they weren’t very close friends Ally thought they could be with a little effort. She decided to make her another batch of brownies to take over.

As she mixed the batch she considered what it would be like to be confronted with her own ex. It felt like such a long time since things fell apart between them and she had moved back to her grandmother’s cottage, that she barely even thought of him anymore. But if he showed up out of the blue, she would have a few choice words for him. As she poured the batter into the pan to put in the oven, her thoughts returned to those first few days after the break-up when she believed that her heart would never stop aching. Now, she barely recalled feeling that way. In fact, she was more interested in what she felt about Luke than she was in what she felt about some ex-husband from the past. With so much to look forward to, she didn’t feel a need to dwell on the past. However, she still felt uncertain about what exactly the future was going to bring.

When the brownies were finished she set them on the counter to cool. Then did a quick clean-up of the baking tools that she had used. She cut the brownies into squares and placed them in a small glass dish that was decorated with flowers.  It made them look even more appealing. She made sure that Peaches and Arnold had plenty of food and water, then headed out with the brownies. It was easy to think that everyone had it hard, and Emma’s situation wasn’t unique, but Ally could tell from the conversations they had had that she was the type of person who cared about everyone and didn’t like to see anyone’s feelings get hurt. Ally thought that it must have been upsetting for her that her ex-husband was so upset, and her new husband was too far away to comfort her.

Ally drove the few blocks to Emma’s house and parked out front, where the tables for the yard sale were set up earlier that day. She noticed that one of the tables was still up, but empty. She glanced back at it, then walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. After a few minutes with no response she knocked again. Again, there was no response. Emma’s car was in the driveway. Was she just not in the mood for company? Ally thought it was a bit rude not to at least open the door and tell her that. She decided to call her, since she wanted to deliver the brownies, and didn’t want to leave them on the doorstep. The phone rang. As it rang in her ear, it also rang inside the house. She held her breath and put her ear to the door. It sounded as if it wasn’t far from the door. Why would Emma be hiding inside and not answering the door or the phone? Ally tried to think of whether she’d said anything that could have offended her when she had seen her at the yard sale. She’d barely said anything at all. She was just about to turn and walk away when she decided to make one last attempt at getting Emma to answer the door.

“Emma? It’s me, Ally. I brought you some more brownies. I just want you to know that I’m here if you want to talk.” Her mind raced with crazy ideas. Had Gary returned and gotten her so upset that she didn’t want to talk? Was she perhaps in a part of the house that she couldn’t hear the door and it was just her phone that was by the door? She knocked harder. She waited. Still the door did not budge. Then it struck her that the house was quite dark inside. From what she could see there were no lights on in the living room, the front hall, or any of the upstairs windows. Her heart sunk. What if Emma was hurt? That might explain why there was one table still left out front.

Ally reached out and tried the knob of the front door. If it was locked, she would go home, if it was open, she would at least check on her. It turned without resistance. Her stomach churned. If Emma was avoiding her, and she just burst right through the door, what would the woman think of her? As her heart raced and her mind whirled with potential explanations she pushed the door open. She had no idea what she expected to find. However, as the door glided midway open she noticed a pair of sock-covered feet lying on the floor. In that brief instant she became aware that something was terribly wrong. Her heart dropped as she stepped inside. There at the bottom of the stairs was Emma’s body.

“Emma!” Ally’s purse and the brownies slipped from her hands as she rushed towards her. The glass container shattered when it hit the tile floor. She barely even heard the noise as she pressed her fingertips against the side of Emma’s neck. Ally’s eyes filled with tears as she realized that Emma was dead. Ally started to panic and was in a bit of a daze. Through the fog she realized that she needed to call for help. She crunched glass shards under her shoes as she grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone.

Ally went through the motions of requesting help, her voice unsteady and her mind unaware of what was or wasn’t said. As her senses began to awaken from the shock of what she had found, she heard police sirens in the distance.

Ally’s naturally curious mind couldn’t resist trying to put the pieces together. Emma stood at the top of the stairs. Did she hear something? See someone? Why did she go down the stairs? She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it. Then there was the fall. Did it start at the top of the stairs or did it happen further down? She noticed that she had socks on her feet and the stairs were wooden. Maybe she moved too fast. Maybe she just slipped.

The front door burst open and two paramedics rushed in. Ally stepped back, and though she knew there was nothing that they could do, she still hoped. Not far behind the paramedics were two police officers, and right behind them, Luke walked in. He looked from Emma’s body, to Ally.

“Ally, what happened?”

“I don’t know. I was going to deliver her some brownies, and she didn’t answer, and the door was unlocked.” Her voice trembled. “I can’t figure out how this happened. She was already at the bottom of the stairs when I got here.”

“Looks like she’s been dead for some time. The medical examiner will have to declare an exact time,” Luke said.

“The yard sale ended four hours ago.” She bit into her bottom lip. “What if I had just come back earlier? Maybe there would have been a chance to help her.”

“Not with these injuries.” The paramedic shook his head. “I’ve never seen such a severe blow to the head from a fall down the stairs.”

“What could cause such a hard blow?” Ally stepped closer to the paramedic.

“Ally, we shouldn’t try to jump to any conclusions, the medical examiner will know better than any of us,” Luke said to her, but he stared at the paramedic.

“He’s right about that.” The paramedic nodded. “I don’t have the training to figure any of that out, I’m just speaking from my own experience, which isn’t much. I shouldn’t have said anything at all.”

“Do you have any ideas though?” She looked back up the stairs.

“I shouldn’t.” He looked from her to Luke, then back again. “I’d better get to my report.” As he walked away Ally frowned and turned back to look at Luke.

“He obviously thinks that something suspicious happened. He was afraid to speak in front of you.”

“I don’t think that’s the case at all. But really, he should have been more careful about what he said. It’s not his place to define a death or injury. That’s up to the medical examiner.”

“Yes, I understand that, but something feels off about all of this and he obviously thinks that the injury was caused by something other than just falling down the stairs. Emma was a very athletic woman. She played sports, she was active. I’m sure she’d been up and down these stairs millions of times. I know it’s possible, but I find it hard to believe that she would just lose her balance or forget a step.”

Luke looked up the stairs. “The steps aren’t very wide.”

“But they don’t curve, there’s no strange turn to them.” She shook her head.

“Accidents happen. Everyone makes mistakes, Ally. Sometimes you turn the wrong way, or the phone rings and you look up at the wrong moment.”

“So, you’re just going to write it off as an accident?” She looked into his eyes. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m not sure about anything. My first instinct is that it’s accidental just from looking at the scene. Because we can’t be certain the medical examiner will have a look at the body, then we’ll know for sure. I try to reserve my judgments until all of the evidence is evaluated.”

“Why would she leave the door unlocked?” Ally asked.

“Maybe she came in for something and was on her way back out. She slipped. Or perhaps she had a heart issue from all of the labor throughout the day. Maybe she was a little confused and exhausted and she just slipped.”

“She did leave a table up outside, which I thought was odd. But she is wearing socks. If she was headed back out for the table then where are her shoes?”

“Maybe she didn’t want to dirty the house.” He pointed to a pair of grubby sneakers by the front door. “It looks like she just kicked them off.”

“You’re right.” She studied the scattered shoes. “But still, I don’t know.” Ally frowned. “It doesn’t seem right to me. She’s lived in this house a long time. I’m sure she knew how to be cautious on the stairs.”

He cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes. “We will just have to wait and see, Ally, there is no way to know right now.”

“Yes, I guess there isn’t.” She sighed. “I’d better call Mee-Maw before she finds out from someone else.”

“I’m going to wait here for the medical examiner. I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything out. All right?”

“Yes.” She squeezed his hand. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He glanced at the other officers, then leaned close and kissed her cheek. “I’ll stop in after I’m finished here.”

“Okay, that would be nice.”

As Ally left the house her stomach churned with dread. She dialed her grandmother’s number and rehearsed in her mind how she would break the news. Her grandmother picked up on the first ring.

“Ally, I just heard! Is it true that you’re the one who found her?”

As Ally’s mind swirled with emotions all she mumbled was an apology. “I’m sorry, I broke the dish that the brownies were in.”

“Ally, please don’t apologize. Do you want me to come to you? Are you okay?”

“No, it’s fine, Luke will stop by when he’s done at her house. At the moment he thinks it was an accident.”

“Is that what you think?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I just want there to be more of an explanation to it than that.”

“Some things just don’t make sense.”

“That’s what Luke said.”

“You trust your instincts, Ally. If you think there is more to it, then we will look into it.”

“Okay, thanks,” Ally said. “Do you know if she still had any family in the area?”

“I don’t think so. Her mother moved to Florida and her father died a few years back. She has a sister, but I don’t think she lives nearby.”

“I’ll try to find out what the arrangements for her will be.”

“Yes, absolutely. We could offer to cater or help with the arrangements.”

“Good idea, Mee-Maw.”

“If you need me just call me.”

“Thanks.” Ally hung up the phone and wiped her eyes. As much as she wanted to think that Luke was right, and there was no reason to believe that it was anything other than an accident, she couldn’t get out of her mind what the paramedic had said and she wanted to find out exactly what had happened to her.

Ally unlocked the door to the car and started to step in when she noticed a person across the street from the house. It only took her an instant to recognize her. It was the woman who had threatened her and Arnold earlier in the day. She leaned heavily on a cane and stared hard across the street. But she didn’t look at the police cars, or the house, she looked right at Ally. Ally shuddered and ducked into the car. As she started it, she wondered if maybe the woman was somehow involved. She certainly seemed cruel enough. But she pushed the thought out of her mind. She was just a cranky, lonely woman who was spying on the neighbors. It wasn’t surprising, considering that all of the sirens and chaos were not common in Blue River and certainly not on such a quiet street.