Pink Hot Chocolate & Murder Read online

  * * *

  Eva and Leila were usually very involved in activities around the island, but they had been avoiding their usual plans so that they wouldn’t run into Vincent. Heather was glad that she could suggest something for them all to take part in together.

  * * *

  Then, Eva said something that alerted them all that she hadn't lost her sense of humor. "There's another downside to this. When people see us walking this kitten, they're going to assume that we're confused, old women!"

  * * *

  “That’s true,” Leila agreed. “Passersby wouldn’t know that it’s the kitten who is confused and not us.”

  * * *

  Heather laughed. Cupcake stared up at them, not understanding the fuss.

  * * *

  “Would you rather walk Dave?”

  * * *

  “The way he’s been pulling today?” asked Leila. “No way.”

  * * *

  “What about Amy’s dog?” asked Heather.

  * * *

  “Whoa. Whoa,” said Amy. “Miss Marshmallow isn’t our dog. We’re only fostering her until we can find her the proper home.”

  * * *

  “And how many candidates have you lined up for that?” Heather asked. She was convinced that Amy and Jamie were going to keep the dog.

  * * *

  “We have a few lined up for next week,” said Amy.

  * * *

  "That's right," said Jamie "We were just waiting until after Valentine's Day for it, so we knew people weren't trying to buy a pet as a present on impulse."

  * * *

  “I think she knows change is about to happen,” said Amy. “Whenever the phone rings, she looks up like she expects the call is for her.”

  * * *

  "And when we talk about the Pink Hot Chocolate Donuts and the marshmallow topping, she thinks we're talking about her," said Jamie. "I bet she thinks the snack was inspired by her."

  * * *

  Heather nodded. Despite their plan to meet prospective adopters, Heather wasn’t sure that this dog was going anywhere.

  * * *

  “Why don’t we walk closer to Donut Delights and get some of those donuts?” Eva suggested.

  * * *

  “I like that plan,” said Leila. “Just hearing their name makes me hungry.”

  * * *

  They changed the direction of their walk and headed closer to the shops, ready to enjoy some of Heather’s donuts. Heather was pleased that the group's spirits were rising. However, as she thought about her own chocolatey creations, her mind wandered back to the case. Why had the gold-infused chocolate been moved to the low heating duct in the bathroom? Which of the suspects hit Jacques O'Lot on the head? Why did it happen that night?

  * * *

  Heather was so lost in her thoughts that she was letting Dave lead the way. He almost led her directly into trouble. Luckily, she looked up just in time. However, she didn't like what she saw.

  * * *

  Vincent was flirting with two women on a park bench. He wasn’t wearing his usual bowtie, but instead was wearing a thick gold chain. He wasn’t acting like his usual self either. He pinched the woman with blue hair on the cheek and put his arm around the other one.

  * * *

  “Now, who wants to get a soda pop and then head back to my place?” he asked.

  * * *

  The women giggled. However, Eva looked as angry as they had ever seen her. She marched right up to him, with her friends behind her.

  * * *

  She was very formal as she said, “Mr. Valentino, just what is going on here?”

  * * *

  “Looks like a party. Want to join?”

  * * *

  “I really can’t believe this,” Eva said. “Do you take pleasure in making me look like a fool?”

  * * *

  The two women on the park bench began to give him sideways looks. He appealed to them.

  * * *

  “I don’t even know who this is,” he said. “She’s some crazy lady. Look, she’s walking a cat on a leash.”

  * * *

  “I was crazy,” Eva said. “For ever caring about you.”

  * * *

  With that, she turned on her heel and strode off. Her friends followed her.

  * * *

  “What do you want me to do?” Leila asked. “I’ll go right back and slap him. I’ll put itching powder in his suit jacket. I’ll get him kicked off the pickleball team.”

  * * *

  “Thank you for offering,” Eva said. “You’re a dear friend. You all are. I can see the looks on your faces. Jamie is thinking that if they were closer in age, he would have hit Vincent. And Heather and Amy are thinking that he is as evil as any of the bad guys that they catch.”

  * * *

  “Maybe worse,” said Amy.

  * * *

  “But it’s all going to be fine,” Eva said. “I had heard rumors about him before we started dating. I just didn’t want them to be true. I’m upset now, but I will be fine in time.”

  * * *

  “Is there anything we can do?” Heather asked.

  * * *

  “We can continue with our plans to pick up some donuts,” said Eva. “And then Leila and I are due for a girls’ night. But I want you and Amy to get right back to working on your case.”

  * * *

  “Are you sure?” asked Heather.

  * * *

  “Yes,” said Eva. “Of course, I want a killer off the streets. But, selfishly, hearing the stories of your investigating will be a welcome distraction. For example, what’s bothering you most about the case now?”

  * * *

  “Sizes,” Heather admitted.

  * * *

  “What do you mean?” asked Leila.

  * * *

  "The victim was rather tall, and he got hit on the back of the head," said Heather. "And based on the furniture in the room, I don't think he could have stood on anything to give him the height.”

  * * *

  “So, which of your suspects is tall enough to have done it?” asked Eva.

  * * *

  “The one suspect I wouldn’t have expected to see in the ladies’ room,” said Heather. “The man from the chocolate mousse table.”

  The Mousse Man

  Ryan joined Heather and Amy as they arrived at the bakery that the man from the mousse table ran. Heather was confident that she could have handled the questions on her own. However, she had to admit that she was glad that Ryan was with them. After all, they were questioning this man because he was the biggest and most physically capable of bashing someone's head in. She felt more secure having a policeman at her side.

  “You know the first question we need to get an answer to?” Heather said.

  “Well, I’m guessing our first question isn’t to outright ask him if he’s the killer,” said Amy.

  “It’s to clarify what his name is,” said Heather. “Everyone was referring to him as the mousse man.”

  “That should be easy enough,” said Amy.

  “Are you ready?” Ryan asked.

  They nodded and followed him into the shop. This place was larger than Annie's Mini Cupcake Craze. It had wooden décor and benches to sit on. Even though it was close to the beach, Heather would have to describe it as rustic.

  “I’m not usually busy at this time of day,” the large man said, greeting them. “But I’m happy to see you. What can I get for you?”

  "I'm afraid we're here on official business. I'm Detective Shepherd, and these are private investigators consulting on a case. We're looking into the murder of Jacques O'Lot."

  “Fine,” he said, disappointed.

  He easily moved a large and heavy bench so that they could all sit at the same table. Heather was struck by what a large man he was. He was definitely taller than Jacques O'Lot had been.

  “Before we talk about the case, I’d like to clarify some of your basic information,” Ryan
said. “What’s your name?”

  “Moose.”

  “You actually go by Mousse?” asked Amy. “You’re named after the dessert?”

  “No. Moose like the animal,” he explained. “Because I’m so big. Like a Moose.”

  “Is that your legal name?” asked Heather.

  “No. That’s Michael Johnson. But everyone knows me as Moose.”

  “I think that is the case,” Amy said. “Maybe this all makes more sense now.”

  “Are you here because you think that I killed Jacques?” Moose asked.

  “Is there any reason why we should think that?” asked Ryan.

  “We didn’t exactly get along,” said Moose. “But he didn’t get along with a lot of people. That doesn’t make me a murderer.”

  “You were working at the Sweet-Hart chocolate tasting the night he was killed, weren’t you?” Heather asked.

  “Yes,” said Moose. “You were there too, weren’t you?”

  “We were,” Heather agreed. “And I saw you bend a spoon in frustration while he was yelling about the location of his table.”

  “I might have. But I did that to contain my anger. I didn’t want to take it out on him.”

  “You didn’t like him because of how difficult he could be to work with?” Ryan asked.

  "I didn't like him because of the smear campaign he began about my bakery," Moose said. He hit the table, and it reverberated.

  “What did he do?” Heather prompted.

  “He didn’t like that I was serving mousse. He thought that it was a fancy dish and should be reserved for someone like him to display, which is ridiculous. Anyone can serve mousse. It’s easy and delicious. And it’s one of my specialties. He started rumors that I put hairs from my beard into my dishes, which is simply untrue.”

  “Did this hurt your business?” asked Heather.

  “Not as much as Jacques would have liked, but it did earn me some suspicious looks. Business was slow for a few months until my loyal customers defended my reputation. But it still left a bad taste in my mouth.”

  “Not from the mousse?” Amy joked.

  “No. From Jacques’s behavior. What type of person would do something like that?”

  “Did you go into the prep room that night?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes,” said Moose. “But earlier in the night. In fact, I was going to go back to the prep room about an hour before all the commotion started, but I saw Jacques was already in there. He was alive. So, I just turned right around and went back to my table. I figured I’d get more spoons when I ran completely out instead of getting extra beforehand. I really wanted nothing to do with Jacques.”

  “Did you notice anyone else near the room at that time?” asked Heather.

  “I don’t think so,” Moose said. “I know when I came back to my table Kayla was there. I didn’t see her leave. And Jenny and Gerri kept taking turns leaving their table. I wasn’t sure what they were up to. It looked like they were packing up their extra samples, maybe, but it was a bit early for that.”

  “What do you mean by packing up?” asked Heather. “Taking down their table display?”

  “Not exactly, but they were moving some of their boxes of fudge.”

  “Do you know if any of the other bakers had a grudge against Jacques O'Lot like you did?" asked Ryan.

  “I think Kayla had a problem with him before. She said he gave her bad chocolate and that’s why she wasn’t allowed back for a while. And Jacques and Annie were dating, but they didn’t look too close that night.”

  “Did Jacques act differently at all that night?” Heather asked. “Do something to push someone over the edge?”

  “He acted like he always did: arrogant and pompous. He kept going on about his gold infused chocolate. I wasn’t buying it. Why would it be real? I figured it was all a gimmick. He was just trying to make things sound fancier than they were.”

  They thanked him for his time, as Heather considered what he said. Did the gold infused chocolate play an important role in this case? Or was it just a red herring?

  Jenny and Gerri

  “Thank you for speaking with us,” Ryan said.

  “No problem at all,” said Jenny.

  “I expect you’ll want to talk to everyone that was there that night,” said Gerri.

  “About the murder,” Jenny continued.

  “Terrible business.”

  “But Jacques could be problematic. I guess I can understand it happening.”

  “Though, of course, we wish it didn’t.”

  “Of course,” said Heather.

  Heather, Amy, and Ryan were seated in Jenny's living room. Or, was it Gerri's living room? The two women were next-door neighbors and had nearly identical setups for their houses. The investigators had followed the women from one house to another as they set out a spread for them all to snack on. Ryan had told them that they were on duty and didn't need to be fed fudge, but the women insisted.

  Heather hadn’t minded running back and forth. She had hoped that seeing both of their homes might have shown her a clue to the case. However, all it ended up doing was making her dizzy.

  Jenny and Gerri were acting boisterous and shared all their food with the investigators, but Heather thought they might be doing this to hide their nervousness. What were they nervous about? Were they hiding a guilty conscience about killing Jacques O'Lot?

  “We know you were at the chocolate tasting that night and we wanted to know if you saw anything suspicious,” said Ryan.

  “Everything seemed so normal at the time,” said Gerri.

  “Exactly,” said Jenny. “I can’t think of anything that I know would be helpful now.”

  “We heard that you were moving some of your boxes around earlier in the night,” said Heather. “Did you have a reason to believe that the event would be ending early?”

  “No,” Jenny said.

  “We were just trying to decide which of our classic chocolate fudge flavors to set up,” Gerri explained.

  “We can be a bit indecisive at times,” said Jenny. “And we wanted everyone to love our fudge samples.”

  “Did you walk past the prep room that night?” asked Ryan.

  “We must have,” said Gerri. “But I didn’t realize a murder was happening there.”

  “That’s right,” Jenny agreed.

  “Did you see anyone else by the prep room?” asked Heather.

  “I can’t remember,” said Gerri.

  “Me neither,” said Jenny.

  “I wish we could help,” Gerri said.

  “But I just don’t remember,” Jenny said.

  They tried some more questions to get the women to talk about where they were at certain times and whether they had any motives to hurt Jacques O'Lot. They weren't able to get much more information out of them. They agreed that they weren't big fans of the victim's but that he had never done anything to hurt them personally. All the questions about their location were answered with an "I'm not sure" or "I don't remember."

  Heather was feeling disheartened as they left the women. She was sure that they knew more than they were telling her. She didn't like that she hadn't been able to convince them to tell her what they knew.

  They returned to the police station to catch up with Detective Peters and see how he was progressing following the gold chocolate angle. Heather brought some Pink Hot Chocolate Donuts to the station. Between the donuts and Peters’s news, her mood was beginning to lift.

  “There was gold in the chocolate,” Peters said.

  "So, Moose's idea that Jacques O'Lot was a fraud was wrong," said Amy. "His fraud idea is a fraud?"

  “Or maybe he just wanted us to think that’s what he thought,” said Heather. “If robbery was the real motive for the murder.”

  “Devious,” said Amy.

  “How much was the gold worth?” asked Ryan.

  “Either keeping it in the chocolate or melting it and selling only the gold, someone could get about ten thousand dollars from w
hat we found in the bathroom,” said Peters.

  “That’s a lot of money for chocolate,” Amy said. “But is that an amount to kill for?”

  “People have killed for a lot less,” said Ryan.

  "And it's possible that the thief wasn't planning to kill Jacques O'Lot," said Heather. "Maybe he was interrupted during the robbery and killed him.”

  “That’s true,” said Ryan. “It didn’t have to be premeditated. The murder weapon was sitting in the room the whole time.”

  “It seems like Jacques O’Lot brought his money's worth to the tasting," said Amy. “He really wanted to be the best table.”

  Heather turned to Detective Peters. “Did the amount of money you told us include the chocolates he had on display at his table? Or do you have that listed as a different value?”

  “The chocolates on display?” asked Peters. “There weren’t any chocolates on display at his table. I thought maybe that’s why he went to the prep room. To get more.”