Mint Chocolate Chip Mysteries, Books 1-3

by Emmie Lyn

I had my hand on the door, ready to follow Mr. Vail into the shop, but I kept an eye on the parking lot. I wanted to talk to Jess before she came down too hard on her daughter. No doubt when she saw Izzy’s note, her emotions jumped from angry, to panic when she couldn’t find her, then relief when she knew Izzy was safe. And now, from the dark look in her eyes as she got out of the car, I saw a flash of anger before she slipped on her sunglasses. A mother’s job was up and down and like a swirling tornado some days. Maybe always. I didn’t know firsthand, but I’d witnessed plenty of moms trying to hold everything together.

  I walked toward her and waved. “Hey, Jess. How are you this morning?” Like I didn’t know.

  “Where is that girl?” Jess said as she slammed her door shut. “She had me nearly in the ER with a heart attack. For the umpteenth time. What am I going to do with her?”

  I heard fear, frustration, but above it all, love in Jess’s words.

  “Izzy’s safe in the Kitty Castle. She’s a big help with the kittens.”

  Jess’s shoulders sagged before she smiled. “When it comes to animals, Izzy is unstoppable. Thank you for helping. Ruby and I were phoning back and forth when I couldn’t find Izzy this morning. She may have told me you offered to help. I was in a bit of a frenzy with my schedule, so I don’t quite remember, but I had no idea you’d do so much.”

  “And, I’m happy for Izzy to stay here if that helps you out today while you’re working.” I saw a range of emotions flash across Jess’s face.

  “I can’t impose like that. She disobeyed me and letting her stay here would be more like a reward. No, she’ll have to come to A Donut A Day and read or… I don’t know.”

  “Really, Jess,” I put my hand on her arm. “I offered Izzy a job.”

  Jess’s eyebrows shot up over her tortoise shell frames. “She’s only ten. What kind of a job?”

  At least she hadn’t said no way to my offer. “Helping me with the kittens she rescued. They need lots of human interaction before they can go to a good home. Izzy’s perfect for the job. If you say it’s okay, she gets paid with a shake and a cupcake.” I smiled thinking what a great deal I was getting out of this.

  Jess looked around, as if searching for an answer.

  “Oh. I suppose that might be a compromise,” she said, somewhat reluctantly I thought. “But you’ll have to give her some chores besides just playing with the kittens. It can’t be just fun all day.”

  I chuckled at Jess’s attempt to sound like a tough mom, but I did see her point. She had to be a teaching moment for Izzy.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, rolling my own eyes to convey my overloaded work schedule. “Do you have any idea how many kitty litter boxes need cleaning every day, plus feeding, and making sure that none of the customers get too rough with the kitties? It’s all I can do to keep up. What do you think?” I crossed my fingers that she’d say yes, for Izzy’s sake, hers, and mine.

  Jess pushed her sunglasses up on her head like a headband to keep a few stray curls out of her eyes and waited a moment before she decided. Then her shoulders relaxed as if she’d made up her mind.

  “I guess it beats having her sulk at the donut shop all day or take off again to Ron’s barn.” She shook her head to convey her burden raising a rambunctious young girl on her own. “You know, I went to look for her at Ron’s place twice and never saw her or her bike. It really scared me to death. Especially when I saw that no good Andy. I let him know exactly what I thought of him, too.”

  What? I think my jaw actually dropped when I heard that news. Jess went back to the barn and saw Andy? My brain screeched to a halt at the implication. I pulled Jess away from the flow of customers coming and going around us. “Listen,” I said, keeping my voice low, “did you hear that Andy is dead?”

  All color drained from her face. She started to shake so badly I quickly led her to one of our outside benches. She collapsed and dropped her head into her hands.

  “Ruby told me that Izzy was safe but that was all. What happened?” she mumbled.

  I sat next to her but before I could answer, a deep voice boomed right in front of us. “Jessica Golden?”

  My head jerked up to see Officer Walker looming over us.

  “You need to come with me,” he said with no explanation. I’d put money on his face showing glee. He chewed on his toothpick like a toddler with a pacifier. Did he really think it was a good look?

  I stood up, placing myself between Mick and Jess. “Why?” I demanded to know.

  He tried to move around me, but I matched his move, then he barked, “Don’t obstruct justice, Sunny, or you’ll be coming with me, too.”

  I dodged a fine spray of spittle as Jess pushed herself off the bench. “Sunny, it’s okay. I’ll go with Officer Walker. I have nothing to hide. Are you sure it’s okay for Izzy to stay here with you?”

  I hugged her and whispered in her ear, “Don’t offer more information than he asks for. He’s on a fishing trip.” I pulled back and said, “Try not to worry, Jess. She’ll be so busy with the kittens, the time will fly by. I’ll see you back here soon.”

  I hoped my words encouraged her even though my insides were twisted in a big knot of worry knowing she’d gone to the barn twice. And on top of that, she’d been there with Andy.

  “Was that Jess driving out?” Ruby asked, startling me from my thoughts. “Why didn’t she come in and say hello to Izzy? I hope she’s not still angry.” She held up her smoothie. “Thanks for this. Tilly whipped it up and to be honest, I’m not sure what she added. It’s purple and delicious.” Ruby took a long pull on the straw as evidence. “Hmm… definitely blueberries and lemon, maybe some raspberries, too? I hope she can repeat it when I stop in again.”

  “Don’t count on ever getting the same thing twice from Tilly. She likes to experiment,” I said. With Tilly at the blender, the outcome could be hit or miss. I cringed thinking about her no-holds-barred tendencies to throw whatever was close at hand but she was getting positive feedback so that was encouraging.

  “Listen, Ruby. Officer Walker asked Jess to follow him to the station for some questioning before she had a chance to go see Izzy.”

  Her face fell into a scowl. “That’s ridiculous. She wasn’t even there when that scoundrel Andy showed up.”

  “Actually,” I said. “Jess just told me she looped back a second time before she called you. She said Andy was there and they had an argument, but she didn’t see Izzy or her bike.”

  Ruby reached out and steadied herself against me. “Oh, my goodness. That’s not good. Does Officer Walker know about that?”

  “I don’t think so and I whispered to Jess not to give more information than they ask for. I hope she can sidestep that second visit. For now, anyway. Until we find out more.”

  “That shovel you saw in the barn?” Ruby said. “It belongs to Jess. She brought it over a while ago and asked Ron to fix it for her. This is getting complicated.”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  9

  I finally sent Ruby on her way to take care of her donut business, and I headed into Shakes and Cakes. The bubbly energy from happy customers lifted my mood after worrying about Jess.

  Tilly frantically waved me over to the counter. I threaded my way through the stools, tables, and line of waiting customers between me and my erstwhile assistant.

  She narrowed her eyes in mock annoyance. “Where have you been?” she asked. “Having all the fun without me?” She flashed a smile as she handed a customer a smoothie, pink with bits of purple floating throughout. “Here you go,” she said cheerily to the young jogger. “Strawberry, blueberry, with yogurt and honey topped with fresh mint and a sprinkle of chocolate chips. Everyone loves this combination.”

  The customer took a sip and her face lit into a satisfied grin. “It is delicious. Thank you.”

  Tilly smirked at me when the customers back was turned. She read my mind. “Recipes? It’s much more fun this way, Sunny, and the customers are loving my combos.”
r />   It was our running battle, the difference between what we offered on the menu and the concoctions served up by Tilly.

  Maybe she had a wild madness to her method. I supposed that after a while, she’d get the hang of what worked and what didn’t. It was the ones that didn’t work that made me nervous.

  “Anyway,” she said, wiping a slick of sweetness off the counter before giving me her rapt attention. “I saw Officer Toothpick out there with you and Jess. Did he haul her to the station?” With the counter ship-shape, she picked up a pen and stuck it behind her ear at a jaunty angle. “He’s way off base if he thinks Jess is a murderer.”

  I agreed, but what did Tilly know that I didn’t? “Have you heard something?”

  “Hey, Hitch,” she said, jerking her thumb toward the blender. “Your turn to take over here while Sunny and I take a quick break.”

  Hitch smiled through the line of customers, but without his normal twinkle. “Do I have a new partner?” he asked when he came over to my side. I wasn’t sure if he was making a joke or trying to send a subtle message. “I never know who will be here helping me from one minute to the next.”

  Now, I heard an element of frustration in his tone and couldn’t blame him for being upset with my disappearing act.

  I gave him a 500-watt smile to show him I meant business. “I’m here now. Tilly,” I said, taking a box of berries from her, “I’ll make the smoothies. Can you check that everything is going smoothly in the Kitty Castle? And,” I lowered my voice to barely a whisper. “Don’t tell Izzy about her mom.”

  Tilly rolled her eyes like a sulky teenager. She grabbed a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. “Izzy loves these.” And, on that note, she walked out.

  “What was that all about?” Hitch asked. The customers had dispersed with their orders to the tables giving the two of us a few minutes of privacy.

  I gave Hitch a quick summary of what I knew so far, from finding Andy’s body, to Jess’s second visit, and Officer Walker hauling her off to the police station for questioning.

  “I don’t think he knows she returned to the barn, but maybe someone saw her go back and argue with Andy,” I said. “Ron was still there and might have seen her, but would he throw her under the bus like that?”

  “To save his own skin?” he said, like the answer should be obvious. “He might do anything to take the focus off himself. So, let me get this straight. You and Ruby found Andy’s body under a blanket. Izzy said she covered him but hasn’t said she saw anyone but her mom come into the barn? Do you think the killer saw Izzy leave?”

  Even though we were alone at the counter, I kept my voice low in case anyone snuck up on us. “That’s what I’m worried about. She might be in a lot of danger. We have to help keep her safe. Tilly acted like she had something she wanted to tell me. But that will have to wait.”

  A group of boisterous customers entered the shop. I was surprised to see Ron straggling at the end of the group looking worse than something Jasper might find washed up on the beach. Stacy Becker, his housekeeper, pulled him along to keep up with the others.

  “Come on, Ron,” I heard her say firmly. “You have to stop thinking about what happened. The police will get to the bottom of it. You know, I saw them take that broken shovel out in an evidence bag. Wasn’t that Jess’s shovel?”

  His eyes filled with surprise and maybe worry. “Jess didn’t kill Andy. I hope that’s not what you were implying,” he said softly.

  “Of course not, Ron. I just meant that the shovel must be evidence and it did belong to her. The facts are the facts.” Stacy noticed I was watching and rolled her eyes as if she thought men were about as dense a box of rocks.

  I broke away from Hitch and said, “What can I get for the two of you today?” I put more cheer into my words than I felt. I looked from one to the other and said, “Are you with the group that just came in?”

  “Yes,” Stacy said, taking the lead. A bit bossy, I thought. “We decided to come here for a morning get-together. It’s not our formal bird group meeting. We’ll plan that for later.”

  So, the new crop of customers, the birders, belonged with Stacy and Ron. Tilly had seated them at a large table by the window.

  “We made a last minute change because—”

  “Great idea,” I said before Stacy could utter more upsetting comments. “Ron?”

  He looked at me.

  “Izzy found a bird’s nest this morning.”

  His eyes brightened with interest, but I suspected his interest in the birding group had flown the coop.

  “She’s in the Kitty Castle with the kittens from your barn,” I said. “I bet she’d love to show the nest to you.”

  Stacy grabbed Ron’s arm like an overly possessive mother. “I don’t know. You can’t just run off with that little girl. We came here to discuss the next meeting for the bird group at your house tonight. The best thing is to keep to your schedule.”

  Ron looked at Stacy and sighed heavily. “Figure something out, Stacy. I’m good with anything. I’ll be in the Kitty Castle with Izzy for a little bit.”

  Stacy harrumphed when he walked toward the door to the Kitty Castle. I wondered how many people said no to her; she didn’t seem to take it very well.

  “I’m only trying to distract him from thinking about Andy.”

  Really? Okay, I’d let her convince me. “All he keeps saying is, ‘what if I’d stayed in the barn,’ or ‘what if I’d never let Andy on my property.’ All the, what ifs in the world won’t change what happened. I mean, enough is enough.”

  She raised her hands in a helpless gesture as if to signal she’d done all she could do, what could I expect? But I stayed non-committal.

  “At this rate,” she said with a longsuffering sigh, “Ron will kill himself with all his second guessing. Does he think he can change anything? Of course, not. What’s done is done and he has to move on. Andy’s out of his life now which,” Stacy leaned over the counter so she was inches away from me, “he’s taking it very hard.”

  I stared at her wondering if she was finally done talking. I barely knew her and here she was talking to me like we were long lost buddies.

  “And one more thing,” she said, making me jump. “That Jess Golden wasn’t the right person for Ron. I’m not saying she’s not nice enough, but she’s got too much baggage, if you know what I mean.”

  I didn’t.

  “The kid,” she said. I guess she read my puzzled expression. “Izzy. Always popping up in the barn and distracting Ron.”

  “Oh?” It seemed clear to me that Jess and Ron were good for each other.

  “Like those kittens this morning. They were perfectly fine in the barn loft, but Ron thought he had to rescue them because Izzy,” she said her name like she was a rash on her nose, “was worried. Of course, he told me all about it when I got to work. Late, unfortunately. He tells me everything. Oh, could you make me one of those double chocolate milkshakes? With whipped cream and sprinkles. I feel like I deserve a splurge today.”

  I was going to ask her what exactly she had done to deserve a splurge but caught myself in time. Everybody deserves a treat. It’s my business model. But I didn’t have time for Stacy’s whining today. So, I put on my best customer service smile and said, “Sure thing.”

  I pointed to the birders’ table. If you want to join your friends, I’ll bring it over.” I’d had about enough of her chatter. And her opinions.

  She leaned one elbow on the counter, apparently happy to have me as her captive audience. “You know, everyone here with Ron has something interesting in their background. And none of them were fond of Andy. I told Ron that I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them was on his property today to do a little,” she used finger quotes, “‘bird watching’. His property has plenty of places for someone to park, stroll through the woods, and get to the barn basically unseen. If you know what I mean.” She finally walked away but I had the distinct feeling she was trying to tell me something important.

/>   I took a closer look at the people at Stacy’s table. Was she on to something?

  10

  I’d just finished serving Stacy and the birders when Tilly showed up and jabbed me in my side.

  I jumped and exclaimed, “What was that for?”

  “You have to hear this,” she whispered. “That group over there? Birders. And from what I’ve been hearing, one of them was on Ron’s property this morning. So, want to hear my plan?”

  Not really, I told myself. At least, not right now, but Tilly’s questions never left room for an honest response. “First,” I said, buying a little time. “How are Ron and Izzy doing in the Kitty Castle?”

  “Peachy keen. Those two are like two peas in a pod. Except for the age thing. I guess he’s like a doting father-figure for her. I hope Jess and Ron can start up their relationship again now that Andy’s out of the picture. I heard he was only in town to help Peter with a project. You know, that famous author who lives on the outskirts of town? He comes in on occasion for a shake. He knows everything about birds. The chatter is all about how Andy was difficult to work with. Nothing but trouble.”

  “It sounds like you heard a lot of gossip about someone who can’t defend himself anymore. It’s gossip, Tilly, not facts.”

  She waved that comment off like it was an annoying fly.

  I blended myself a strawberry banana smoothie with an extra dose of honey and fresh mint. I wanted to test Tilly’s latest flavor and needed something extra special to pick-me-up and be ready for her plan.

  “So, my plan.” She glanced at the customers enjoying shakes and cupcakes, and otherwise occupied conversing with their friends. She leaned on the counter with her back to them. “Flamingoes.”

  I’d just taking a big swallow of my shake so when I choked, it sprayed a thick pink mess all over Tilly before I had time to cover my mouth. “Flamingoes?” I wiped up the mess from my chin and dabbed the cold mixture off her apron. “That’s your plan?”

  “Yeah, you know, the pink plastic ones I have in my garage. Those are birds, right? The next meeting is tonight at Ron’s house. I already invited myself and I just decided that I’ll bring my collection for them to see.”