Coconut Chocolate Murder (A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Book 7) Read online

  Coconut Chocolate Murder

  A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery #7

  Wendy Meadows

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Be the First to Know

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 by Wendy Meadows

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Nikki hummed sweetly as she took inventory of the chocolates resting in the front display case. Feeling pretty in the blue autumn dress she had purchased the day before, she hoped that Hawk would pay her a compliment when he dropped in for lunch. “This is lovely,” Nikki murmured, smiling and hugging a wooden clipboard to her chest as she admired the window display. Walking away from the front counter, she made her way to the front door and looked outside. Autumn leaves were playing in a crisp, cold, wind. The days were getting shorter and colder. The landscape surrounding the town was a blossoming with bright colors falling from the eyes of a sleepy autumn morning. Nikki was in love.

  Drawing a deep breath of chocolate, peppermint, and coffee, she smiled and watched the leaves dance across the empty street. Glad to be at the store before Lidia and Nikki arrived, Nikki cherished the time alone. She loved her new family very deeply—but standing alone in her store, she watched the autumn morning whisper gentle promises of days filled with strolls in warm sweaters and chilly nights huddled around a campfire with hot cocoa. Nikki also cherished this solitary, quiet time. “So lovely,” she whispered.

  Closing her eyes, Nikki walked ahead in time until she arrived in a snowy, cozy, little Vermont town covered with icicles and children building snowmen. She imagined smoke coming from warm fireplaces attached to cozy homes filled with laughter and love; she saw the smoke rising up into a winter sky dropping strange and wonderful snow down onto the world. Then Nikki saw herself walking with Hawk, hand in hand, down the sidewalk toward her store, sipping hot cocoa, talking, and laughing. “Time to rest,” Nikki told herself. “No more cases. Time to work on my book, spend time in my store, and rest.”

  Opening her eyes, Nikki smiled. Outside she saw a grumpy Mr. Wipinski stroll past her store toward his own shop. The old man was holding a brown cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. “Good thing I declined the job at the paper,” Nikki giggled sweetly. “Mr. Wipinski isn't one of my biggest fans.”

  Sighing, she returned to the front counter and continued with her inventory. As she worked, the autumn winds outside filled her store with music. Outside, two vicious eyes appeared across the street and looked at Nikki's store. Two furious hands tugged on a gray coat, whispered a low threat, and walked away just as Lidia pulled down the Main Street and swung her car into a parking space next to Nikki's SUV.

  “Morning, dear,” Lidia said, walking into the store wearing a thick, heavy, brown coat.

  Nikki turned and took a look at Lidia’s coat. “My, you look like you're ready to go explore the North Pole in that!”

  Lidia locked the front door behind her and then turned to Nikki. “I'm not a cold-weather person,” she replied, smelling the coffee roaming through the air like a warm, welcoming friend. “The Farmer's Almanac is calling for penetrating cold and blizzard-like conditions this winter.”

  “How cozy,” Nikki beamed. “We didn't get much snow in Georgia.”

  Lidia took off her coat, revealing a yellow sweater hanging over a thick, gray, woolen dress, and placed it on a wooden coat rack next to the front door. “Dear, let me explain something very carefully to you. Winters in Vermont, especially northern Vermont, are nothing to sneeze at. The windchill factor alone can steal a person's body heat within minutes. And as far as the snow is concerned, let me tell you, it's pretty at first, but then it becomes a serious hazard. You have to continually dig out your car in the morning, be careful on the roads... and the children and their snowballs!”

  Nikki giggled at the frown on Lidia's face. “That bad, huh?”

  “Little rascals love to ambush you,” Lidia fussed and hurried away to the back office. After making herself a cup of coffee, she joined Nikki at the front counter. “Our business will cool down this winter, too. Not many people in the market for chocolate when it's freezing outside. Autumn is our last drizzle to bring in some dough.”

  Nikki bit her bottom lip. “I've been thinking, partner.”

  Lidia calmly sipped her coffee. “I figured as much,” she told Nikki. “You want to run a hot chocolate shop during the winter, right? You want to offer different flavors of chocolate—Nikki Bates’ homemade versions of course—and even toss in a bookshelf or two and a couple of cozy reading chairs and café tables.”

  Nikki's eyes grew wide. “How did you know that, Lidia?”

  Lidia smiled. “Because I've been thinking the same thing. Listen, partner, if we move some of the display shelves into storage during the winter, we'll have just enough room to transform the main floor into a cozy seating area. The back counter is perfect for making hot cocoa. We can even make some pastries. I was thinking we could offer—prepare yourself—chocolate muffins.”

  Nikki loved the idea and hugged Lidia happily.

  “When the snow arrives, we'll be ready,” Lidia promised with a warm smile.

  “I can't wait for the snow,” Nikki said excitedly. “I may even throw a snowball of my own.” She winked.

  “I thought as much,” Lidia winked back at her. “Oh, speaking of children, here comes our dear little Tori.”

  Tori unlocked the front door and stepped inside the warm shop. “Good morning,” she said sweetly. Taking off a thin, pink coat, Tori quickly pirouetted in the pink and white polka-dotted dress she was wearing. “I know the dress is old fashioned,” she blushed, “but I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.”

  Nikki gently brushed Tori's bangs away from her eyes. “You look beautiful, honey.”

  “Like a princess,” Lidia chimed in.

  Tori blushed some more. Smelling the coffee in the air, she looked toward the back office. “I think I will have some coffee.”

  Nikki and Lidia watched Tori walk away. “Too bad Zach put the lodge up for sale and moved to Minnesota,” Nikki said. “Those two made a sweet couple.”

  Lidia sighed. “There's a good man out there waiting for our Tori. We have to work on her self-esteem more, though. Still, I think she's much stronger now.”

  Nikki agreed. “Tori is no push-over. She's not going to be sweet-talked by any two-cent loser, that's for sure.”

  “Speaking of romance,” Lidia turned to Nikki and grinned, “when is Hawk going to place a ring on your finger?”

  Now it was time for Nikki to blush. “Oh, Lidia,” she said and hurried away to finish her inventory.

  Chapter Two

  Later, when the store opened, the person wearing the gray coat stepped into Nikki's store. Cynthia Grove marched up to
the front counter. “Nikki Bates,” she hissed.

  Nikki carefully slid a tray of peppermint chocolate into the front display case and straightened up. “Hello, Mrs. Grove,” she said, forcing her voice to be pleasant. “How are you this morning?”

  Cynthia stared at Nikki, her hateful, gray eyes and thin lips giving her face an almost skeletal appearance. Nikki found the woman repulsive. Maybe it was the way she kept her dark gray hair tied up in a tight bun? Or maybe it was the drab, colorless dresses she wore that cried out depression? Or maybe, Nikki thought—dismissing her earlier opinions—it was the hate spilling out from a pair of poisonous eyes and coming from a hollow, bitter heart. “So the Governor came here and personally congratulated you, did he?” asked Mrs. Grove. “You, who forced disgrace on my sister and her husband.”

  “The governor wished to thank me for helping solve a case involving some very dangerous, corrupt men,” Nikki explained in a calm voice. “As far as disgracing your sister and her husband, you're very wrong, Mrs. Grove. The mayor of our town was a criminal.”

  Nikki's words caused Cynthia to explode. “How dare you! Because of you, my sister suffered a mental breakdown. I had to hire a full-time caretaker for her.”

  Nikki braced herself. “Mrs. Grove, please leave my store if you can't talk calmly to me.”

  “Calmly,” Cynthia hissed. “Listen to me, I'm going to make you suffer for your crimes against my sister and her husband. Everything was fine until you showed up.”

  Lidia and Tori stepped out of the back office. Nikki shook her head at them. “It's okay, girls. Mrs. Grove was just leaving.”

  “Before I do,” Cynthia snapped at Nikki, “I want a piece of peppermint chocolate. My cleaning lady needs a snack.”

  Nikki rolled her eyes. Taking a piece of brown parchment paper from a box on the counter, she bent down and retrieved a square of peppermint chocolate. “On the house,” she told Cynthia.

  Cynthia snatched the confection out of Nikki's right hand. “I hope she doesn't vomit after eating this garbage,” she snapped and walked away.

  Nikki, Lidia, and Tori watched Cynthia leave the store and go toward the main square a couple of blocks up the street. “That woman never set well with me,” Lidia told Nikki. “She has more money than she has sense. Her husband was a very wealthy man whom people respected. Why Mr. Grove married a venomous spider like Cynthia, I'll never know.”

  “Cynthia probably blackmailed him,” Tori said in a serious voice. Even though she didn't mean to be funny, Nikki and Lidia both began to laugh.

  “Come on girls, we've got work to do,” Nikki laughed, pushing Cynthia's threat from her mind.

  The rest of the morning went calmly. A few customers drifted in, purchased some chocolate, and drifted back out into the wind and faded away. Hawk wandered into the store around lunchtime. “Hello, ladies,” he said, munching on a carrot.

  Nikki and Lidia were talking about how they were going to transform the center of the shop into a seating area for the hot cocoa café when he walked in. They both stopped talking and smiled. “Well, Hawk Daily, are you wearing a suit and tie?” Lidia asked, shocked.

  Hawk looked down at the shiny pair of black shoes he was wearing. He didn't mind wearing the gray suit, but the shoes were torturing his feet. “I feel silly,” he complained, “but you know how Pop is. He insisted I look my best for Mr. Fancy Lawyer.”

  “Speaking of lawyers,” Nikki said, admiring how handsome Hawk looked in his suit, “how did everything go?”

  Hawk finished his carrot. “Where's number three?” he asked.

  “Oh, Tori went down to the diner for an early lunch, and then she's going home to study. Slow morning,” Nikki admitted.

  Hawk examined the cozy chocolate shop. “You know, if you moved some of the shelves out, you could maybe turn this place into a coffee shop for the winter.”

  Nikki and Lidia looked at each other and laughed. “We were thinking more along the lines of a hot chocolate shop,” Nikki explained.

  “If you girls need an investor, I might just be the guy,” Hawk told them. “My Aunt Frawly,” he said, “left me quite a bit of the green stuff. I didn't even know the woman. I mean, I saw her a few times growing up, but that was it. To be honest, she was a bit creepy.” Hawk rubbed the back of his neck.

  Lidia nudged Nikki with her elbow. “Better marry this man before the women in this town find out he's rich.”

  Nikki blushed and quickly changed the subject. “Why are you eating a carrot?”

  “Huh?” Hawk asked. “Oh, uh...well, after I met with the lawyer, I went and had an eye examination. I might need reading glasses sometime in the future.”

  “So you figure eating a carrot will help?” Lidia asked Hawk and rolled her eyes.

  “Can't hurt,” Hawk said in a serious voice. “I have a whole bag of carrots out in my jeep.”

  Nikki sighed. She walked up to Hawk and hugged his arm. “Come on, silly, you can buy me lunch since you're now a rich man.”

  “It'll be my pleasure,” Hawk told Nikki and kissed her nose. “Lidia, what can we bring you back from the diner? Lunch is on me.”

  Nikki looked at Lidia. All of a sudden, her friend seemed very lonely. “Hey,” she said trying to sound casual, “why don't we lock up here and all go to lunch together?”

  Hawk caught onto Nikki's suggestion. He could see that Lidia seemed lonely, too. “Two beautiful ladies for lunch? Must be my lucky day.”

  Lidia hesitated. The fact was, she was lonely. Herbert was away visiting a sick relative in Wyoming. Of course, no one else knew Herbert was out of town. If anyone found out, Lidia knew, they would insist she come and stay with them. Nikki, of course, would be on the top of the list. Perhaps she was being silly, but she didn't want to impose on her friends. “I'm hungry,” she finally smiled.

  Hawk walked up to Lidia and swung his arm around her frail shoulders. “Take me to the bank, lady,” he winked at her.

  “Don't tempt me,” Lidia grinned back.

  Nikki went to retrieve her white jacket, worn more for style than warmth, from the coat rack next to the front door when Chief Daily walked in. “Hello Chief Daily, we were—” Nikki stopped talking. Something in Chief Daily's eyes sent a horrible feeling screaming into her heart, shattering her peace.

  “Cynthia Grove was found dead in her home an hour ago,” Chief Daily announced. Reaching into the pocket of his coat, he pulled out a plastic bag holding a square piece of chocolate. Nikki stared at the plastic bag. Leaning forward, she saw that someone had taken a single bite out of the chocolate. Chief Daily looked past Nikki. His eyes were worried and his face red from the strong winds howling outside. “Hawk, Cynthia Grove was poisoned.”

  Chapter Three

  “Poisoned!” Nikki gasped.

  Lidia reached out and grabbed Nikki's hand. “How do you know that old bat was poisoned?” Lidia asked Chief Daily.

  Chief Daily handed the plastic bag in his hand to Hawk. “Until the chocolate is tested, I don't. I've been a cop for a long time, though. My gut tells me Cynthia Grove died from poisoning.”

  “Who found the body, Pop?” Hawk asked, examining the chocolate.

  “Sam Heatherton, the old lady who cleans Cynthia’s house,” Chief Daily told Hawk. Then he looked at Nikki. “The chocolate in that bag came from your store, Ms. Bates?”

  Nikki nodded. “Cynthia Grove paid me a visit earlier. She was angry and upset with me. She still blames me for the mayor being sent to prison and his wife suffering a mental breakdown. She—”

  “That old bat swore to get even with Nikki,” Lidia exploded. “But Nikki held her tongue. She even gave Mrs. Grove a free piece of chocolate.”

  “Cynthia wanted a piece of your chocolate?” Chief Daily asked, confused. “It's a known fact that she doesn't like you living here.”

  “That old bat was being rude,” Lidia said. “She claimed she wanted a piece of chocolate to feed to her cleaning lady.”

  “I thought Cynthia was be
ing insulting. I didn't want to argue with her or cause a scene in my store, so I gave her a piece of peppermint chocolate, and she left,” Nikki explained.

  “I see,” Chief Daily said and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Dressed in his work uniform, he looked old and tired rather than authoritative and smart. “I won't have any definitive answers until I send the chocolate off to the crime lab downstate. But as it stands right now, Ms. Bates, you, Lidia and the young lady who works here with you are all suspects. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to come down to the station for questioning.”

  “I'll call Tori,” Lidia said and hurried off to the back office. Chief Daily followed her.

  “Oh, Hawk,” Nikki said, slowly placing her hands to her mouth.

  Hawk opened the plastic bag and sniffed the inside. Detecting a faint scent coming from the chocolate, he nodded his head. “It's something, all right,” he told Nikki and closed the bag. “The crime lab will tell us for sure.”

  “I didn't poison Cynthia Grove,” Nikki protested.

  “Oh, Nikki, I know that,” Hawk said and gently put his arm around her shoulders. “But we do have a murder, and your chocolate was found at the crime scene, kiddo.”

  Nikki closed her eyes. She listened to the wind howling outside. The temperatures were slowly dropping down into the upper forties. Suddenly, Nikki felt very cold, and the idea of winter approaching scared her. The thoughts of hot chocolate and snowball fights and warm fireplaces seemed sad and lonely rather than warm and comforting. “Hawk, someone in this town hates me more than Cynthia Grove did. Whoever that person is, he or she killed that poor woman to make me suffer.”

  “Yep,” Hawk agreed, drawing in a deep breath. “The only problem is we don't know who that person is. A lot of people here were loyal to the mayor and are very bitter that you exposed him. I hate to admit it, but some people would organize a parade if you were handcuffed and hauled away to prison yourself.”