Gumballs and Murder (Candy Store Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  “That’s no problem,” said Dorothy. “You can use my driveway if you need to,” she offered.

  Margaret thanked Dorothy, and she and Zach went inside.

  “She was interesting,” Margaret said, trying to be diplomatic.

  Zach scoffed. “Seriously? She was nosy and mean. I didn’t like her.”

  “Dorothy is probably just lonely. I’m sure she is nice on the inside. She is letting us use her driveway.”

  “True, but she was not very nice when she was talking about our neighbors.”

  “Well, we haven’t met them yet. I’m sure they’re not as bad as Dorothy is making them out to be. Are you ready for the movers?” Margaret asked, changing the topic. Dorothy had made her uncomfortable, but Margaret didn’t think she was deliberately being mean.

  “It will be nice to have my bed again,” said Zach.

  “Yes, and our dining room table and chairs,” said Margaret. She put the basket from Simone on the kitchen counter and thought about opening the wine. She decided to wait and get a good night’s sleep before the movers got there first thing in the morning. She and Zach said goodnight and went to sleep.

  The next morning the moving truck arrived bright and early. The two burly movers unloaded Margaret’s things, and she did need to use Dorothy’s driveway. Margaret should have guessed Dorothy would come out and examine her furniture.

  “That’s a nice table,” she said, pointing at Margaret’s dining room set.

  “Thank you,” said Margaret.

  “That rug seems a bit busy, though,” said Dorothy, tsking.

  Margaret stifled a laugh. She was happy when Dorothy went back in after looking over Margaret’s things. Zach grabbed his mattress, and Margaret grabbed some boxes. They went inside and set them down.

  “This is going to take all day,” said Zach. He hadn’t complained much after Margaret moved him out of his childhood home. She was very proud of how he had handled everything. She did understand being grumpy about moving so much furniture, though. She was beginning to regret not paying the extra charge to have the movers put everything inside the house. Margaret bucked up and turned to Zach.

  “The good news is that at the end of the day we will have our new home all furnished and our beds to sleep in.”

  “True.” Zach grinned.

  Margaret knew how important it was for Zach to have a safe place to call home. After living with his father, he needed peace and quiet. Margaret’s ex used to bully both her and Zach, and Margaret would not stand for that to ever happen to him again. She and Zach needed to be surrounded by people they could trust. She hoped they would find it here in this small quiet town.

  “Come on, I’ll help you with your bed frame. When you can get that assembled you know you will be sleeping comfortably tonight.”

  They walked outside and stopped short. There were three men, two younger with crew cuts, and one older man, standing in their driveway holding five cups of coffee. The younger men looked a little older than Zach. The older man was around Margaret’s age. They seemed friendly, and they had coffee. Margaret smiled.

  “Hello, neighbors,” one of the young men called. “We thought you might like some coffee and some help moving your things in.”

  Margaret thanked them and took a cup of coffee while Zach took another cup.

  “I’m Frankie, and this here is Greg,” the young man said, pointing to the other young man with a similar crew cut.

  These must be the Navy guys, thought Margaret.

  “Hi, I’m Kyle,” said the third man. He sounded gruff, but he held out his hand. Margaret shook it. He was average height with dark hair and a nice build.

  “I’m Margaret Nichols, and this is my son, Zach. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.”

  “Well, we saw your things on the driveways, and we thought you might like a hand getting them in your house,” said Greg. “We have two more guys living with us, but they work nights. They just got home a few hours ago and are in bed. Frankie and I figured with Kyle’s help we could handle this for you.”

  “Thank you so much. That would certainly be a big help,” said Margaret.

  “Why don’t you let us do the lifting, and you can tell us where to put things,” suggested Greg.

  “Thank you, I appreciate that,” said Margaret. She went into the house and directed the guys which way to go. She watched them maneuver her dining room table in and breathed once they were past the front door. The house came with appliances, so there were just a few more large items. The driveways were cleared out in no time. Margaret looked out and saw Dorothy looking through her curtains, frowning.

  “Don’t mind her. Her bark is worse than her bite,” said Kyle.

  “I talked to her a bit yesterday. She and her daughter were out on her lawn when Zach and I got home from town.”

  “She was probably waiting for you so she could give you the scoop on the neighbors,” Kyle said.

  “How did you guess?” Margaret asked.

  “Because she did the same thing to me,” he replied as Frankie and Greg walked up.

  “How can I thank you?” asked Margaret.

  “No need, ma’am,” said Frankie. “We are happy to help.”

  Margaret insisted on feeding them. Zach suggested pizza. Margaret gave him some money, and he went to get the lunch. The guys sat out back on Margaret’s deck furniture.

  “So, where are you from?” asked Greg.

  “I am from the south,” said Margaret.

  “Why did you move up here?” asked Frankie.

  “You guys ask too many questions,” said Kyle. He hadn’t spoken much while moving Margaret in, but she was glad he spoke up now.

  “Okay, Mr. Jarhead, whatever you say,” said Frankie.

  Margaret smiled. So he’s a Marine, she thought. Her father had a friend who was a Marine. They would kid each other and call each other names. Jarhead came up a lot.

  “Actually, I’m opening a store up in town. A candy shop. It’s across from the dog groomers, next door to the café. I’ve named it Nichols’ Candy Shop,” Margaret replied.

  “Is everything a nickel?” asked Greg, perking up.

  “No, I would be out of business by the first afternoon if it was,” Margaret joked. “My last name is Nichols, so I used it in the shop name.”

  “Oh,” said Greg, sounding a bit disappointed. Just then Zach arrived with the pizza. Everyone helped themselves, and when they were done eating, Margaret thanked them again.

  “This is such a warm welcome to the neighborhood. I really appreciate it,” she said. “When I’ve done some shopping I’ll have to have you over for some dinner. I can bake a pie for dessert.”

  “That sounds great,” said Frankie. “We’ll take you up on that.”

  Zach rolled his eyes.” You might not want to,” he joked.

  “Stop being mean,” Margaret said. “I’ll get them a pie from the store and heat it in the oven.”

  “Good, we wouldn’t want to bring the neighborhood down with botulism,” Zach said.

  Margaret laughed. “I love to bake,” she explained to Kyle and the young men. “The problem is that baking does not like me. I try and once in a while something is edible. Usually we just end up throwing out anything I make.”

  “You can experiment on us anytime,” said Frankie. “Greg and I were in the Navy together, and we love homemade food.”

  “I’ll remember that,” said Margaret. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Zach. “At least someone appreciates my cooking.”

  “They haven’t tried it yet,” said Zach, dodging out of her way. Margaret and the guys laughed.

  “I appreciate all of your help,” she told the guys again. “Seriously, if you need anything let me know.”

  “Thank you, ma’am, but I believe we are okay for now,” said Frankie. “But don’t hesitate to call if you have too much food.”

  The men waved goodbye and then walked down the driveway. Margaret felt comfortable and settled in her
new place. She thought it would have taken longer to move in, but with the guys’ help, they were set. She asked Zach what he wanted for dinner later, and he offered to go to the café across from the candy store.

  “That’s a long run for dinner,” Margaret said. “Are you sure you want to make that drive again?”

  “It’s only a few minutes away,” said Zach. “Besides, I can stop and look at the ocean before I get the food. Do you want to come with me?”

  Margaret thought about it. She would love to see the ocean, but she’d promised herself that would be her reward for a job well done at the store. However, she would not keep Zach from enjoying the view.

  “No, thank you,” she said. “I have a few more things to put away. If you want to go now and swim for a bit, that is fine by me.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I won’t be too late.”

  “Just be careful,” Margaret said. “Make sure there’s a lifeguard there.”

  “I will, Mom.”

  She watched him bound up the steps to his new room. It was good to see him happy and energetic. It was a change from the sullen, closed off boy he had been. Once again, Margaret was happy she had left the city. This is a new start for us, and I plan on making it a great start.

  “Don’t forget your towel,” she yelled up to Zach. “Can you find it in the boxes?”

  “Yeah. They were in the bathroom,” he said, jumping down the stairs.

  “Remember, be careful,” Margaret said, giving him a hug and kiss.

  “I will, Mom.”

  She watched him drive away and looked around the house. A lot of boxes needed to be emptied, and she reminded herself what she had told Zach. She went upstairs and put sheets on the beds. She came back down and unpacked her kitchen things, including her coffeemaker. She unpacked a few more boxes and then decided to relax on the porch and wait for Zach. He came back a couple of hours later with fresh hot food from the café. She thanked him and asked how the water was.

  “It was awesome, Mom. I loved coming around here for vacations in the summer, and I can’t believe we live here now. Thank you, Mom,” he said, giving her a hug.

  “You’re welcome, Zach,” said Margaret. They sat at the table and enjoyed their first meal in their new home, just the two of them. After dinner, Margaret told Zach to get a good night’s sleep.

  “We’ll be working at the store again, and I’m not sure how late we will be there,” she reminded him. Zach agreed and went to his room. Margaret locked up the house, my house, she thought, and climbed up the stairs. She crawled into bed and lay there listening to the quiet of the suburbs. She drifted off to sleep thinking of the beach and her solitude. She smiled as she slept.

  Chapter Three

  Margaret woke up and made some coffee. She was still getting used to their new home. She had tossed and turned a bit because of the quiet but she knew she would adjust to that soon enough. As the coffee percolated, she heard movement upstairs. Zach came down a minute later.

  “You unpacked the coffeepot,” he said, grinning.

  “It was the first thing out of the box here,” Margaret said.

  “Awesome,” said Zach. He had stopped by the store on the way home yesterday and grabbed some milk, eggs, and a coffee cake. Zach pulled the cake out of the refrigerator, and they enjoyed that for breakfast.

  “Thank you for picking that up yesterday. It really hit the spot,” said Margaret. “How did you sleep last night?”

  “It was too quiet,” said Zach, “but since I swam I slept well.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it,” said Margaret. “We need to get ready to go soon.”

  “Okay, let me get a shower, and I’ll be ready in a few,” Zach said as he cleaned up the dishes.

  Margaret and Zach went back to the shop. After getting the rest of the shelving unpacked and cleaned, Margaret started opening the containers for the candy. She had some old-fashioned round containers that sat on their sides and some cute old-fashioned trays for inside the display case. Margaret’s shop would hold prepackaged chocolates, but some of them were a bit pricey and she didn’t want them out in the open. Margaret and Patty swept up the floor, and Zach asked if he could start unloading the candies.

  “Sure,” Margaret said.

  Zach unloaded the sweet tarts first, just as Margaret knew he would.

  “Those are your favorites,” she said.

  “Yep,” he said, opening one and popping the whole thing in his mouth.

  “Save some for the customers,” Margaret chastised him while helping herself to a Tootsie Roll.

  Zach laughed as he put the candies in one of the jars.

  “Don’t forget the sour balls.” Patty winked at Margaret. Margaret laughed and filled the containers with bright-colored orbs.

  “I’m going to put the gumballs at the other end of the counter so we don’t mix them up,” said Margaret. Patty and Zach agreed.

  “How about the big jawbreakers in the middle?” asked Zach. Margaret liked the idea and told him to go ahead and fill up the candy jar.

  They put assorted caramels, sweet pops, and sugar bears up on the counter.

  “Do you want the good candy out?” asked Zach.

  “No, I’ll take care of that tomorrow,” answered Margaret.

  “Okay,” said Zach. By this time it was close to seven.

  “I forgot to ask, how did your move-in go?” asked Patty.

  “It was fine. We met some of our neighbors. They stopped by to help us carry the furniture in,” said Margaret.

  “That was nice of them,” said Patty.

  “Yes. It’s nice to live in a neighborhood where people watch out for one another,” said Margaret.

  “Some people watch too closely, though,” said Patty. “You have to watch out for the gossips.”

  Margaret laughed, thinking about her neighbor Dorothy. “I’ll be careful,” she reassured Patty. Margaret looked at her watch.

  “Why don’t I go home and make dinner. Do you mind cleaning up these boxes and then locking up and meeting me there, Zach?” asked Margaret.

  “Sure,” said Zach.

  “I can give you a ride home,” Patty said to Margaret.

  “Thank you, that would be a big help.” Margaret threw Zach the keys, and she left the store. Patty dropped her off at home, and Margaret started some dinner. She decided on meatloaf. It was easy and Zach liked it. It was one of the few things that Margaret did not burn. Margaret thought about making a pie, but decided it was too late. She would make one soon, though.

  Later, Zach walked in.

  “What smells so good?” he asked.

  “Meatloaf, your favorite,” said Margaret.

  “Thanks, Mom. I heard a noise as I got out of the car and realized it’s the Navy guys playing a video game. Some kind of first-person shooter game like Halo or something. They had their door wide open, and I could hear it.”

  “He must have the volume up on that to hear it by our driveway.” Margaret wondered what Dorothy thought about that.

  “Yeah, but it is also quiet outside,” Zach reminded her. “Noise travels far when it’s quiet. Different from the city.”

  “True,” said Margaret. It had been difficult for Margaret to get to sleep the first night in her new house. Everything was quieter here. In the city there was always noise. Someone was always awake doing something. Cars drove by nonstop on the street. She was looking forward to a good night’s sleep that night.

  After Margaret and Zach finished dinner, Zach helped her wash the dishes and put them away. Margaret was happy to have him with her in this quiet place. Her ex-husband had been a bully, and there had been many loud nights in Zach’s childhood. Margaret was glad to be out of that relationship once and for all. She stretched.

  “I think it’s time to go to bed,” said Margaret. He agreed, and she went to her room. She got changed and lay down on the bed. Her mind was racing, thinking about the store opening. She had so many little things to take care of. She worried that it woul
d be another long night lying awake on the bed, but she was able to calm down and go to sleep.

  Suddenly she jerked awake. Margaret was not sure what woke her, but it had been loud. Margaret bolted out of bed, and Zach was in the room in a flash.

  “What was that?” asked Zach.

  “I don’t know,” replied Margaret.

  They looked out Margaret’s bedroom window but didn’t see anything. Margaret told Zach it was probably a car backfiring. That happened in the city a lot. Zach agreed, although he looked doubtful, and they went back to sleep.

  The next morning Margaret woke up and went downstairs. She started a pot of coffee and some eggs. Zach wandered in and had some coffee and breakfast. He went back upstairs and showered. Margaret put away the mugs and plates, and when Zach came down he said he had heard a noise like sirens. Margaret hurried upstairs and got dressed. She and Zach went out the front door and were surprised to see an ambulance and a police car in front of Dorothy King’s house. Margaret ran over with Zach right behind.

  “What’s going on?” she asked one of the paramedics.

  “Are you family?” he asked her.

  “No, I’m just her neighbor,” said Margaret.

  “Sorry, we can’t tell anyone but family what is going on,” he said. “Would you please excuse me?”

  Margaret moved over. She saw a police officer and asked him what was going on. Margaret told him she was Dorothy’s neighbor. The officer told Margaret that Dorothy was dead.

  “What? How did that happen? Did she have a heart attack? Where is Mary?” Margaret asked.

  “Who is Mary?” the policeman asked.

  “Her daughter,” Margaret answered, realizing he had evaded her other questions.

  “There’s no one else in the house. If you see her, tell her to call us right away,” said the officer.

  “I will,” said Margaret as she watched the paramedics leave with Dorothy.

  “Mary works a double shift at the Acme in the next town over,” said a woman standing near Margaret.

  “Oh, I didn’t know that,” said Margaret.

  “My name is Allie Callahan. I’m one of your neighbors. I’m sorry we are meeting under such bad conditions.”