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  Hot Fudge Sundae & Murder

  An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 23

  Susan Gillard

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  “Eva's Delicious Mystery: A Donut Hole Spin-Off”

  Copyright 2017 by Guardian Publishing Group, LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication or the information in it may be quoted from or reproduced in any form by means such as printing, scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Hot Fudge Sundae & Murder

  1. Hot Fudge

  2. The Robbery

  3. Mr. Rankle, the Witness

  4. The Crime Scene?

  5. Late Night Snacks

  6. Waves

  7. A Watery Grave

  8. Another Rankle

  9. Cranky Witness

  10. Identifying the Victim

  11. Tacos

  12. The Cat’s Cries

  13. Denny

  14. The Owner

  15. The Employees

  16. A Present for Mr. Rankle

  17. Opals

  18. Jamie’s Question

  About the Author

  Also by Susan Gillard

  Hot Fudge Sundae & Murder

  Hot Fudge

  Despite the name, this flavor is good any day of the week,” Amy joked.

  Heather laughed. “I’m glad you’re a fan of the Hot Fudge Sundae Donut.”

  “This could definitely be one of those I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream-flavored donut situations,” Amy said. “But we investigate so many murder cases I don’t want to scare your staff if they hear screaming in the kitchen.”

  “Who’s screaming?” Digby asked, poking his head inside.

  “No one,” Heather said, waving her assistant to come closer. “Amy is a just a fan of this week’s donut flavor.”

  “How can you not be?” Digby asked. “It tastes just like a Hot Fudge Sundae, but you don’t need a spoon.”

  “I like the sound of that. Spoonless!” Amy said. “How about you use that in your advertising?”

  “How about you hand me those sprinkles?” Heather asked her bestie.

  Amy handed them over, and Heather put the finishing touches on her batch of donuts. She was proud that her newest recipe looked as delicious as they tasted. They even had a cherry on top.

  “It’s because of these donuts that I came back here,” Digby said. “They’ve been flying off the shelves and into people’s mouths. We’re all out.”

  “That’s perfect timing because these are all finished,” Heather said, lifting the tray. “Let me bring these out and then I’ll bake some more if we need them.”

  “We’re going to need them,” Amy teased. “Because I might eat a good portion of this batch.”

  Amy and Digby helped her bring the rest of the donuts to the front of Donut Delights and put them into the display case. Digby wasn’t kidding about the Hot Fudge Sundae Donuts. While most of the flavors on display were missing donuts, the area for the weekly flavor was completely empty.

  Heather smiled, taking the sold donuts as a personal compliment. She started placing them on the shelves of the case when her two favorite customers came into the shop.

  Eva and Leila were two senior ladies who had been huge fans of Heather’s donut shop in Texas. She teased the women that they had followed her to Key West to feed their donut addiction, but of course, the real reason that they had all moved was because they felt as close as family.

  “No need to put those on the shelf,” Eva said, approaching the counter. “You can put them right on a plate for us.”

  “And we’ll put them right in our stomachs,” Leila agreed.

  “I’m happy to,” Heather said.

  Digby and Heather’s nervous assistant, Nina, handed her two plates and some napkins. She placed a few delicious snacks on the plates for her friends. Then she carried the donuts through the beachy bakery shop over to the ladies’ usual table.

  “This is the Hot Fudge Sundae Donut,” Heather began. “It has a—”

  “You don’t need to sell us on it,” Eva said, sitting down.

  “Yeah,” Leila agreed. “You had us at Hot Fudge.”

  “Oh, but she likes to explain all the parts of her donut creations,” Eva said with a slight frown. “Don’t you, dear?’

  “I don’t need to,” said Heather. She did like to explain how she had come up with her recipes and how the ingredients worked together. However, she didn’t like to keep her friends from eating.

  “Please tell us,” Eva said, grinning instead. “We want to do this properly.”

  “But be quick,” Leila teased. “We don’t want our ice cream to melt.”

  Heather decided to tease them back and to speed through her description, “ThisistheHotFudgeSundaeDonutandithas—”

  “Well, you can go a little slower than that,” said Leila with mock exasperation.

  “The donut base is a Neapolitan marble cake,” Heather explained. “It’s a combination of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavors.”

  “Like the three best types of ice cream for sundaes,” said Eva.

  “Then it’s covered with hot fudge icing, of course,” said Heather. “I’ve topped it with whipped cream, chopped walnuts, rainbow sprinkles and a cherry. Now go ahead and eat!”

  Her friends didn’t need to be told twice. They began eating and didn’t stop until their snacks were finished. They complimented Heather on the flavor before picking up seconds.

  “We’re going to need a dozen of these to bring home,” Leila said.

  “Two dozen,” Eva reminded her.

  “Two dozen? You must really like them,” said Heather.

  “We do,” Eva said. “But we actually need a second box because we’re on a secret mission.”

  “A secret mission?” Amy asked, joining them and plopping down in a seat at the table.

  “That’s right,” Eva said. “We have to bring some donuts over to Ethel Thornbrush when we leave.”

  “Not much of a secret anymore, is it?” asked Amy.

  Eva waved away the comment as if she found the situation ridiculous to begin with even before she began.

  “How is Ethel?” Heather asked. “Last I heard she was taking care of Mr. Rankle with his broken leg.”

  “She still is,” Eva said. “And I’m sure the donuts are really for him, and he didn’t want anyone to know that he finally came around to liking your donuts.”

  Heather shook her head. Mr. Rankle was their crotchety neighbor who ran the novelty shop across the street. He disliked everyone who wasn’t an island local and only considered people born in Key West to be locals. He had caused trouble for the donut shop in the past and had generally been unpleasant all around.

  His own investigation into what he thought was a prank resulted in his falling and breaking his leg. Even though he had been so cantankerous to her, Heather still felt sorry for him. Running his store Sun and Fun Novelties was the most important thing in his life, and he was unable to do it properly until he recovered.

  She was glad that Ethel was able to overlook his crabbiness and had been looking after him.

  “I can’t believe he won’t admit he likes our donuts,” Amy said. “He’s lucky he didn’t ask me to sign h
is cast. I would have written hypocrite on it.”

  “Apparently, he’s having a rough time,” Eva said. “Ethel told me that he’s starting to go stir-crazy. Whenever she’s not there to play checkers with him or bring him snacks and chat, he gets frustrated.”

  “She said he’s starting to take up bird watching, but that he hates birds,” Leila agreed.

  “Well, I hope the Hot Fudge Sundae Donuts bring him some joy,” Heather said.

  She rose from the table and went to the window of her shop. Across the street, she could see Ethel waiting by Sun and Fun Novelties. Ethel noticed her and waved. She was wearing a new shade of lipstick and looking happy.

  Heather waved back. She was about to return to her table when Nina joined her at the window.

  “Is everything all right at Sun and Fun?” the assistant asked.

  “It seems fine. Though none of these ladies seem to be taking their secret mission very secretively.”

  Nina looked confused, but asked, “It had nothing to do with the young man who is running the shop while Mr. Rankle is away?”

  “No. I was saying hello to Ethel.”

  Digby joined the employees gathering at the window and started to tease Nina.

  “Nina, if you think he’s that cute, just go and talk to him.”

  “No,” Nina said, blushing. “I was just wondering because I was being neighborly.”

  “Maybe he’d like to be neighborly too?” Digby suggested.

  “I don’t know what I’d say,” Nina said.

  An idea occurred to Heather, and she smiled. “You can tell him that we were delivering donuts to Ethel and you wanted to bring him a sample too.”

  Before Nina could protest, Heather was preparing the donuts for them to carry over. Amy joined her, but Eva and Leila were content to stay at their table and finish their own snacks.

  Ethel greeted the trio as they crossed the street.

  “I suppose the cat is out of the bag now,” Ethel said. “Carl was so concerned about secrecy, but I think it’s silly.”

  “Carl?” Amy asked.

  “Mr. Rankle.”

  “We brought your box of donuts, and we also brought some for the young man who's been working in the shop.”

  Ethel nodded with glee and led them all inside the shop. The young man glanced up from the keychain display that he was organizing to greet them. He was tan with dark hair and a dazzling smile.

  “By now you must know Heather and Amy from Donut Delights,” Ethel said.

  “I’ve seen you before, but I’m afraid I haven’t gotten too many chances to order your donuts. The store has kept me pretty busy because its owner is so exact. It’s a shame though because they smell delicious.”

  Heather elbowed Nina, and the assistant handed him a sample donut.

  “Try this. It’s a Hot Fudge Sundae Donut. And my name is Nina, by the way.”

  “I’m Nick. And this donut looks delicious.”

  “If you like it, you should try and come by the shop. We have a lot of great flavors.”

  Heather let the young people chat and checked in with Ethel.

  “And how is Mr. Rankle doing?”

  “Well,” Ethel began. “He is very happy to have me around, but this has been hard on him. And lately, he’s been acting strangely.”

  “How?” asked Amy. “Has he been nice to people?”

  “He’s always been a sweetheart to me,” Ethel said. “But he does have a bit of cabin fever right now.”

  “If you ever need any help, please let us know,” said Heather.

  Amy gave her friend a look that clearly said that she would rather come face-to-face with a cold-blooded killer than have to help Mr. Rankle.

  The Robbery

  It’s good to see you,” Ryan said, beaming as Heather entered the police station.

  “For not having a murder to investigate, you still looked pretty stressed when you left this morning,” she told her husband. “I thought you might need a pick-me-up.”

  “Does this come in donut form? Or a kiss?”

  “Which do you think is sweeter?” Heather teased.

  Ryan kissed her as an answer, and they were both smiling when they broke apart. Amy entered and rolled her eyes.

  “Would you two cut that out?”

  “You and Jamie can be just as lovey-dovey,” Ryan pointed out.

  “We might occasionally be lovey,” Amy countered. “But we are never dovey.”

  “My mistake,” Ryan said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

  He led them further into the station, and they sat down near his desk. Heather presented the box of Hot Fudge Sundae Donuts. Ryan happily accepted one.

  “This is much appreciated,” Ryan said. “We don’t have a murder case to solve, but we are investigating a robbery, and it’s been difficult.”

  “What was stolen?” asked Amy.

  “A lot of diamonds and some other precious stones,” Ryan explained in between bites of hot fudgy goodness. “A jewelry store was robbed the other night.”

  “That makes it a jewel heist!” said Amy. “How exciting.”

  “Right now, it’s a lot of grunt work,” said Ryan. “We did interview all the employees, and they have solid alibis, even for the middle of the night.”

  “How solid?” asked Heather.

  “One was celebrating a friend’s 30th birthday with a pub crawl all night, and another was hosting a sleepover party for her daughter.”

  “Those are good alibis.”

  “And the owner of the store was involved in a sleep study where some scientists were monitoring him while he slept.”

  “Yeah. That’s pretty darn solid,” Amy agreed.

  “We’ve used the owner’s inventory to mark all the gems as stolen, and have contacted as many jewelry stores and pawnbrokers as possible,” Ryan said. “We might be able to catch whoever did this when they try to sell their haul.”

  “But the thief might wait until the heat dies down to try and sell them,” said Amy.

  “Or find someone unscrupulous to sell them to,” said Heather. “Or maybe find someone to cut the larger jewels down into smaller ones, so they no longer look like the stolen gems.”

  Ryan nodded. “You can understand why I seemed stressed when I left the house.”

  “Do you need our help?” Heather asked.

  “Peters should be back any minute with the security footage from the night of the robbery. After we examine that, I should know my next course of action better, and if we’ll need any help.”

  They heard someone coming into the room and expected to see Detective Peters, but it was the police chief. Chief Chet was a big fan of the investigators’ skills but was an even bigger fan of the donuts. He picked one up in each hand and began alternating bites between the two donuts so neither could feel ignored.

  “I always love when you visit,” Chief Chet said. “And Chelsea is thrilled that Lilly is going to visit after school today.”

  “I’m glad our daughters are becoming friends,” Heather agreed.

  While her daughter was friendly and kind, it had taken Lilly a little while to make a best friend in their new island home. Heather was glad that it was Chief Chet Copeland’s daughter. Both girls were creative and enjoyed writing and sharing stories. They also enjoyed going to the beach and playing with their animal family members. Another perk of this particular friendship was that the Copeland family understood if the Shepherd adults needed to rush off to a crime scene.

  Chief Chet finished his donuts and took one for the road – or for the hallway-- as he headed back to his office.

  He had just closed the door when Detective Peters arrived with a box of security tapes. He was a young detective who was always eager to prove himself but was sometimes uncertain about the best steps to take while on a case.

  “Is that the security footage?” asked Ryan.

  Detective Peters nodded. “Unfortunately, they have an older system, so it’s not a digital file. We’ll
have to watch each one.”

  “That sounds like a lot of fun,” Amy said. “But I think we had better get going. We have something to do, don’t we?”

  Heather shook her head. “Nice try. All I had to do was make sure that Peters still got to try this week’s donut flavor.”

  Detective Peters had been avoiding Donut Delights since Heather’s assistant, Janae, had started dating a firefighter. Eventually, he would get over it, but Peters’s pride was still wounded that she hadn’t liked him as much as he liked her.

  “Thank you,” Peters said, accepting the donut.

  “Do we really have to help watch all the video footage?” Amy asked her friend. “It’s going to be a super boring movie for hours until the robbery occurs. We’ll just be staring at a dark jewelry case. I’d rather do anything else.”

  Heather’s cell phone rang, and she recognized Ethel’s number. After listening to the frantic woman, Heather turned to her friend.

  “You got your wish. We won’t have to help with the security footage.”

  “What are we doing instead?”

  “We have to help Mr. Rankle.”

  Amy groaned. “Be careful what you wish for.”

  Mr. Rankle, the Witness

  I don’t like this any better than you do,” Mr. Rankle said.

  “Are you sure?” Amy scoffed. “Because I like this less than getting a root canal.”

  Heather elbowed her friend. Both Ethel and Mr. Rankle looked upset. Now wasn’t the time for them to rekindle their feud.

  “I bet you often need root canals too,” Mr. Rankle said. “With all those sugary donuts you’re constantly stuffing in your mouths.”

  “Carl,” Ethel reprimanded. “We asked them here.”