Fudgement Day (Chocolate Cozy Mystery Book 3) Read online

  “Then I have enough information to make an arrest,” Keane said. “And I’m sure Ms. Cloud will be pleased to know I won’t be arresting her son.”

  But who would he arrest? The suspects had been narrowed down to two.

  “Who did it?” Olivia asked.

  “I can’t—”

  “Walter or Horn?”

  “Ms. Cloud, I’m not—”

  “Please,” Olivia said and lowered her voice. “I was there that night. I saw Jason on those stairs, and I know how this has affected my son, too. He lost his best friends because of this.”

  Keane clicked his teeth. “Walter. The teacher. We found a partial which matched his fingerprints on the statuette. However, we ruled out his involvement after Mrs. Horn spoke up for him. She said he was at her side the entire time the lights were out.”

  “And that—what?” They hadn’t gotten any information about Walter’s fingerprint, had they?

  “And Sebastian’s fingerprints were there, too. We assumed Walter’s were there because of his ongoing affair with Mrs. Horn. She revealed they often snuck out to the back porch late at night while her husband was asleep.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Olivia said. Kerry’s father had done it. But why? She couldn’t for the life of her figure that part out.

  Could it have been driven by love or hatred?

  Detective Keane rose from the table. “Miss—uh—Miss Mystery, you’re going to have to come down to the station now. Give your statement. Once I have a warrant, I’ll be paying Mr. Walter a visit.”

  Madame Mystery pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “Alas, the sacrifices one must make.”

  “All right, Downton Abbey. Let’s get a move on.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  People clustered around the tables in the Block-a-Choc Shoppe, murmuring over their coffees, chocolates clamped between fingers or squished between teeth. Warmth swirled through the interior of the store, carrying the aromatic mix of scents which made Olivia thankful she woke up early to make sure the store ran smoothly each day.

  “What do you think?” Alberta asked. “Strawberry again?”

  “Huh?”

  “Earth to Cloud,” Alberta said, then laughed out loud. “Gosh, that came out wrong. Where are you drifting, Olivia? You’ve been quiet all morning.”

  “I’m just—I don’t know. Curious about why Mr. Walter murdered his lover’s son.”

  “That’s one heckuva thing to be curious about,” Alberta replied.

  “I guess you’re right.” She couldn’t shake the questions no matter how hard she tried. Thankfully, Sebastian had arrived home last night, covered in leaves and dirt. He’d slept out in the forest the night before, ironically enough. The poor kid hadn’t even known the cops were actually after him until they’d refocused on someone else. The minute he’d thought they wanted to find him, he’d come back, only to discover he wasn’t the hot topic anymore.

  “Is Sebby coming downstairs today?” Alberta asked, since the old woman could read minds. Madame Mystery wasn’t the only one with gifts, apparently.

  “He’s still asleep. He’s been through a lot.”

  Alberta patted her on the forearm. “I know, dear. I know. But back to the flavor for next week. Would you like to do something strawberry? A white chocolate creation perhaps?”

  “Strawberry cream delight? Something like that,” Olivia said. She scratched her chin. “I want to do something, special, though. A chocolate that will blow people’s minds.”

  The front door of the store opened, and Jake Morgan hurried out of the wind and up to the counter. He huffed out a couple breaths, red in the face from the effort.

  “Goodness, Jake,” Alberta said. “What’s going on?”

  He shook his head and held up a finger. “One second,” he wheezed.

  “Definitely something with strawberry,” Olivia said. “Something delightful.”

  Jake finally caught his breath and perked up a bit. “I like strawberry.”

  “You like anything with chocolate,” Alberta said. “You’ve got a sweet tooth. And our Olivia is the sweetest treat you’ll ever—”

  Olivia clamped her hand down on her A’s shoulder and steered her toward the kitchen. “That’s enough of that.”

  Alberta chuckled and hurried for the silver doors.

  “Why so out of breath, Mr. Morgan?” Olivia turned to the private investigator again and lifted a rag from the corner hook on the counter. She polished the glass surface, back and forth, back and forth. Presentation was everything in a chocolate store.

  “I just came from the station,” Jake said.

  Olivia arched an eyebrow. “They didn’t kick you out?”

  “Keane was lenient this time. Apparently, our discovery of Madame Mystery restored his faith in my investigative skills. He’s still not happy about your involvement, though. I could tell from the vein popping in his temple when he told me that I was under no circumstances to inform you of anything regarding this or any other case.”

  “Sheesh. You’d think I’d interfered or something.”

  Jake laughed. “I see your sense of humor is back.”

  “Having my child out of danger has worked wonders in that department of my personality.”

  “Just how many departments do you have?”

  “It depends on the time of day,” Olivia replied. “And you were saying about the case? And Keane?”

  “Right, right,” Jake said and eyed the chocolates under the counter. “Mind making me a cup of coffee while I tell you?” He fished out his wallet and laid a couple of bills on the counter.

  “Sure.” Olivia rang up the order.

  “I’ve got news about the mysterious motivations of Mr. Walter,” Jake said.

  Olivia meandered over to the coffee machine, and Morgan followed her. “Do tell.” She’d burned to find out the truth about the man. He’d been surly and secretive every time she’d spoken with him.

  “Mr. Walter and Mrs. Horn had been planning to run away together for ages, but Mrs. Horn wouldn’t leave her son behind. She wanted to make sure that he successfully completed his college courses. She was afraid that Mr. Horn would disown him after she left, and the kid would have nowhere to go,” Jake said. “This is directly from Mrs. Horn herself.”

  “Oh goodness. What, so Mr. Walter killed Jason to get him out of the way? That makes no sense. What did he plan on doing when Mrs. Horn found out?”

  “I don’t think he ever planned on her or anyone else finding out,” Jake said. “It was a spur-of-the-moment attack, I think, driven by the fact that Jason hadn’t done well in his exams.”

  “Right. I remember Mr. Horn and Jason argued about it at the dinner table.”

  “And it didn’t help that Jason and Kerry were dating,” Jake said. “That infuriated him even more. Not only could he and Mrs. Horn not elope, but his only daughter had a relationship with a boy he despised for that very reason.”

  “This is twisted.” Olivia clinked a cup onto the grate. “In what world is it okay to murder your lover’s son to elope with her? How does that even make sense?”

  “I’d bet my next caramel fudge drop that he’ll plead insanity.”

  “You think he’ll get off?”

  “No way. The guy isn’t insane. He’s just plain evil,” Jake replied. “Anyway, it was such a twisted motive, I don’t think we’d have arrived at it without the help of our tarot-toting specialist.”

  “Don’t remind me. I’m half expecting to pick up a new card every time I open up shop in the morning,” Olivia said.

  The coffee machine burbled and ticked. Two streams of coffee sluiced into the cups she’d placed beneath the spouts. One for her and one for Jake.

  A reward after a long week and what would likely be another long day in her favorite place in the world.

  “Shall we?” Jake asked, and lifted one of the mugs.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Dear Reader,

  H
i there. Thank you for reading.

  I hope you’ll leave a review and/or rating at the retail website where you purchased it, I appreciate you and your feedback.

  Thanks again,

  Wendy Meadows

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  About the Author

  Wendy Meadows is an emerging author of cozy mysteries. She lives in “The Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two cats and lovable Labradoodle.

  When she isn’t working on her stories she likes to tend to her flower garden, relax with adult coloring and play video games with her family.

  Get in Touch with Wendy

  www.wendymeadows.com

  [email protected]

  Also by Wendy Meadows

  Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Series

  Raspberry Truffle Murder

  Peppermint Chocolate Murder

  Blueberry Truffle Murder

  Sea Salt Caramel Murder

  Georgia Peach Truffle Murder

  Gold Flake Chocolate Murder

  Coconut Chocolate Murder

  Nether Edge Cozy Series

  Murder & Spice

  Where Pigs Fly

  Chocolate Cozy Mystery Series

  Cream of Sweet

  Itsy-Bitsy Murder

  Fudgement Day