A Heap of Truffles

by Wendy Meadows

  “Okay,” said Zach. “What did you and David talk about?”

  “We discussed the case. Oh, I forgot to show you something. Look at this.” Margaret showed Zach the picture of the crime scene and the one of the movie still.

  “Wow,” said Zach. “That is almost identical.”

  “Exactly,” said Margaret. “I want to look up those symbols on the floor too, but I don’t have time today.”

  “I can help,” said Zach. “Let me run to the library after work and maybe I can find something for you.”

  “Thank you,” said Margaret. “Aren’t you going to the beach, though?”

  “I want to help you with your case,” said Zach. “The beach will be there tomorrow.”

  “Well, thank you,” said Margaret. She was glad he was willing to help. Margaret gently removed the chocolates from the molds.

  “What are those?” asked Zach.

  “Look,” said Margaret, holding one up.

  “Oh, it’s a crab. Nice,” said Zach. “What are you going to fill them with?”

  “Homemade strawberry filling,” said Margaret. “There was a good buy on strawberries at the store.”

  “Great idea,” said Zach. He finished his lunch. “I’m going to run to the library now. I’ll stop by afterwards and let you know what I found out.”

  “Thanks,” said Margaret. She checked the front of the store. There were no customers.

  “I’m going to be filling candy in the back. Call me if you need me,” Margaret said to Patty. Patty agreed and Margaret went back into the kitchen. She gently filled the crab chocolates and then tasted one. It was delicious. She called Patty back and offered her one.

  “These taste divine,” said Patty. “Would you like me to put some in with the shell chocolates?”

  “Sure,” said Margaret. Patty took the crabs Margaret had finished and gently laid them in the shell display. The red was a bright contrast to the black and white shells. A customer walked in and Patty showed her the newest candy.

  “I’ll take a pound of mixed crabs and shells,” the customer said. “I’m visiting from Atlanta and my friend will love these. Do you ship?”

  “Not yet,” said Margaret, coming from the back of the store. “My business is still a bit small for shipping, but if you want I can take your name and when I get a web page set up I’ll send you an email.”

  “That would be great,” said the woman. “That way I can have a bit of the beach in my landlocked city.”

  Margaret laughed. She got the list that Zach had started of customers interested in shipping. Once the list grew big enough Margaret had promised Zach she would let him design a web page for her. The woman printed her information and paid for the chocolates.

  “I’m looking forward to that web page,” she said, as she left the store.

  “I think that would be a great idea,” said Patty. “Zach could design it and he and I could help with making the chocolates.”

  “I agree, but right now I have too much on my plate. Maybe after the tourist season is over. Then I can take the time to plan something.”

  “Before Christmas would be good,” suggested Patty.

  “Let me get through this summer first,” said Margaret, laughing. She went back to the kitchen and finished the first batch of crabs. She made a mental note to stop by the grocery store after talking to Michael. With the crab candy experiment a success, she was going to need more chocolate and filling ingredients. Margaret put a small plate of the crab candy in the refrigerator and took the rest out to the front of the store.

  A little while later Zach returned.

  “How was the library?” asked Margaret.

  “Well, I started looking into covens and seeing if there was anything in the newspaper. There wasn’t anything recent, but a few years ago some kids were arrested for putting demonic graffiti on the walls of a business in town. They were caught, though, and nothing was mentioned after that. I researched the symbols but didn’t really find anything.”

  “Thank you for checking,” said Margaret, giving him a hug. “You know, since the setting was like a movie, it might not have been a coven. It could have been anyone who killed José.”

  “That’s true,” said Zach.

  “Well, I’m off to meet with Michael. I’ll be back in a bit,” said Margaret.

  “I’ll stay with Patty and help her hold down the fort,” said Zach.

  On the way to the school, Margaret thought about what Zach had said. If the murder had no real connection to witches or cults, they were back to square one. She parked by the school and saw Michael talking to a woman with brown hair. She was pretty with a pixie cut. By the time Margaret turned off the motor and got out of the car, the woman was walking away. Michael saw her and walked over.

  “Are you Zach’s mom?” he asked.

  “Yes. You must be Michael. I’m so sorry for your loss,” said Margaret, holding out her hand. Michael nodded and shook her hand. Margaret asked who he had been talking to.

  “That was Ms. Ness-Scott, my tutor,” Michael explained.

  “Oh of course, Zach told me about her. It’s really nice of her to tutor you in the summer,” said Margaret.

  “It really is. Especially since she also works at a camp outside town,” said Michael.

  “Oh? What camp?” asked Margaret.

  “Camp Soothing,” said Michael. “It’s a camp for poor kids who can’t afford a beach vacation.”

  “Oh, that is wonderful,” said Margaret. “I think everyone should experience the beach at least once in their lives.”

  “Yeah, I helped out there last summer. It’s fun to participate and see those kids light up when they see the ocean for the first time.”

  “You volunteer too?” asked Margaret.

  “Yes, our coach wants us to be well rounded, so he lets us take time out from practice in the summer if we are volunteering somewhere,” explained Michael.

  “What a great idea,” said Margaret. There was a table with chairs nearby. “Would you like to sit here for a bit?” she asked.

  “Sure,” said Michael. “Coach knows I’m talking to you, so I have some time before I have to get to practice.”

  “Okay. So I need to ask you some questions. First of all, do you know anyone who would want to hurt your father? “

  “No. I’ve been thinking about it, but he was a really good person He worked at the local real estate office and he and my mom get along fine.”

  “Your mom remarried, what about your stepfather?” asked Margaret.

  “You mean Jamie? He liked my dad. He’s a nice guy too,” said Michael.

  “Okay,” said Margaret. “If you can think of anyone who might be a suspect please let me know.”

  “Okay,” said Michael. He thanked Margaret for taking the time to work on the case, especially for free. She told him she was happy to help. He left to go to practice, and Margaret drove back into town.

  8

  The next day Margaret got to the store early. She wanted to make the next set of molds before going out. She had talked to Zach the night before and told him she wanted to check out both José’s job and Michael’s stepfather. Zach had agreed to work at the store all day. Just as Margaret was putting the molds in the refrigerator, Zach walked in.

  “Good morning,” Margaret said. She handed him a cup of coffee.

  “Thank you,” said Zach. “Have you told David what you’re doing today?”

  “Yes,” said Margaret. “He thought it was a good idea. He figured people might be more willing to open up to me as opposed to a detective.”

  “Good point,” said Zach.

  Margaret went to the front of the store and turned the sign to Open. She thanked Zach for taking care of the store and walked out to her car. She drove to the real estate office where José had worked just outside of town. Margaret parked and walked in. A young woman was sitting behind the desk in the front office.

  “Hi, I’m Margaret Nichols,” said Margaret.
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br />   “Oh, you’re the owner of the candy store I’ve been hearing about,” the young woman exclaimed. “Is everything really a nickel there?”

  “Nope, it’s just named after my last name,” said Margaret patiently. Even after all these months, people still asked her that.

  “Oh well. It sounds delicious though,” said the young woman.

  “You should stop by sometime,” said Margaret.

  “I will. My name is Suzie. How can I help you today?” the young woman asked.

  “I was wondering if I could talk to someone about José Santiago. I have been hired to look into his death,” said Margaret, handing Suzie one of her new business cards. Suzie read the card and asked Margaret to have a seat. A few minutes later an older gentleman walked out.

  “Hi, my name is Trevor Smith. I’m the owner of this business. Would you like to come into my office? I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about José,” he told Margaret. She thanked him and followed him into his office.

  “I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions,” Margaret said.

  “Well, I liked José, It’s a shame what happened to him.”

  “Yes,” said Margaret.

  “What did you want to know?” asked Trevor.

  “I’m trying to find out more about José. Was he a good employee?”

  “Oh yes. He was one of our up and coming stars. He had only been here a little while, but he had been putting all his effort into his job. He kept some of the other realtors on their toes,” said Trevor.

  “How so?” asked Margaret.

  “Well, he didn’t just sit back and wait for things to happen. He would go into town and drum up business. He was very competitive. I was thinking about giving him his own office next month. He was competing with another realtor for it,” said Trevor.

  “Who is the other realtor?” asked Margaret.

  “Rob Myers. He’s been here longer than José and thought he would just slide right into that office. I told him he needed to step up his game or José would snag it,” said Trevor. “Rob saw how good José was, and started competing with him. He would sometimes play practical jokes on José, who was annoyed by it and thought it got in the way of business. José was a great guy, but he wanted his son to have everything. In order to do that he had to sell houses. He would have gotten a small raise along with the new office. Unfortunately, he never even knew I was going to give it to him.”

  “Did Rob know?” Margaret asked.

  “I didn’t tell him directly, but he knew José was winning the competition.”

  “Do you know what Rob was doing the night of José’s death?”

  “No, but he should be here any minute. You can ask him yourself,” said Trevor.

  “Thank you,” said Margaret. So someone was going to lose money to José. That is a strong motive, Margaret thought. Just then they heard the front door open.

  “Hey, Suzie, any new messages for me?” a booming voice called out.

  “That would be Rob. He is a real salesman,” said Trevor, smiling. “Rob, could you step in here a minute?” asked Trevor.

  “Sure thing, boss,” Rob said. He stepped in the office. Rob was a middle-aged man who was a bit portly. He had on a cheap suit and tie. He stopped when he saw Margaret.

  “What can we sell you today?” he asked her, holding out his hand.

  “Nothing today, thank you,” replied Margaret, shaking his hand.

  “What can I do for you?” Rob asked Trevor.

  “Well, Margaret here is a private investigator, looking into José’s death,” said Trevor.

  “Is that so?” asked Rob.

  “Yes,” said Margaret. “Would you mind answering a few questions?”

  “Sure,” said Rob, “but it will have to be quick. I have a meeting in twenty minutes across town.”

  “That’s fine,” said Margaret. “I can be quick.”

  “Come on into my office then,” said Rob. Margaret followed him into a small overcrowded office. There were two desks in the room.

  “Whose desk is that?” Margaret asked Rob.

  “That was José’s,” he said. Margaret glanced at it but there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. Most of the things had been cleared off.

  “Suzie packed up his things yesterday,” said Rob, noticing Margaret’s gaze. “She might be able to show them to you.”

  “Thank you,” said Margaret. “So were you and José close?”

  “We worked together. He was very competitive. He would steal clients right out from under me if I wasn’t careful,” Rob chuckled. “Sometimes I pulled pranks on him to get him off his game.”

  “He stole your clients? Did that upset you?”

  “It sure did. He made it look like he was getting all these clients, but really he was stealing them from me,” said Rob.

  “Did you tell your boss?” asked Margaret.

  “Well, no. I didn’t want to seem like a tattletale,” said Rob.

  Likely story, Margaret thought.

  “Where were you the night José died?” Margaret asked.

  “I was in the Ox Tail schmoozing some potential clients,” said Rob. The Ox Tail was a local bar and grill. Margaret had been there a few times.

  “All night?” she asked.

  “Yes, and then I went home,” said Rob.

  “Is there a Mrs. Myers?” Margaret asked Rob.

  “Yes, and she was home when I got there,” said Rob. “Now, is that all of your questions? I have a meeting to get to.”

  “That’s all for now,” said Margaret. “Thank you.”

  “Well, if you ever need a house you know where to find me,” said Rob.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” said Margaret. She got up and walked back to the main office.

  “Suzie, do you still have that box of José’s things?”

  “Oh, no I don’t, I’m sorry. Tiffany’s husband, Jamie, stopped by and picked them up earlier.”

  “Oh, okay. Thank you,” said Margaret, and she walked to her car. That’s odd, she thought. I figured Tiffany would pick up the things herself. Maybe he picked them up to get some incriminating evidence out before Tiffany saw it. Margaret got in her car and raced to Tiffany’s house. There was a car in the driveway and a man was getting out.

  Margaret parked behind him and got out of her car.

  “Good morning,” the man said. “Can I help you?”

  “Good morning. My name is Margaret Nichols,” said Margaret. “Are you Jamie Barnes?”

  “Yes,” said Jamie.

  “Your stepson hired me to look into his father’s death.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I remember Michael telling me about that. Thank you for your help. Would you like to come in?”

  Margaret was a bit thrown. Usually suspects hesitated and didn’t invite her in.

  “I would love to,” said Margaret, recovering her composure. Jamie opened the trunk of his car.

  “I have José’s things from his office here. I picked them up so Tiffany wouldn’t have to do it. She’s still very upset.”

  “That was nice of you,” said Margaret.

  “I’m happy to do it. José was a stand-up guy. And Michael’s a great kid. He has a bright future ahead of him and I want to help with that as much as possible.” Jamie shut the trunk and walked to the front door.

  “Would you like some coffee or anything?” he asked Margaret after inviting her in.

  “No thank you,” she said, looking around. It was a small ranch house that was clean and nicely decorated. Jamie told her to have a seat on the couch.

  “Let me put this here,” he said, putting José’s box on the table. “I figure you might want to look through it, being a private investigator and all. I’m going to make some coffee. Are you sure I can’t interest you in some?”

  “No thank you. I’ll take a look at the box while you get yours,” said Margaret. He could have taken something out before he put the box in the trunk, Margaret thought. Sh
e sorted through the items. There was a ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ mug and some assorted notepads. When Margaret looked through them she saw they were records of house sales. It was obvious that José had been working hard at the real estate office.

  Jamie walked back into the room.

  “Did you find anything helpful?” he asked Margaret.

  “No, but these reports are interesting,” she answered.

  “You can take anything you want with you,” said Jamie. “If it will help with the investigation, it’s all yours.”

  “What about Tiffany?” Margaret asked.

  “She won’t mind. She’ll get them back after the investigation is done, right?” said Jamie.

  “I believe so,” said Margaret. “I think I’ll take these business journals with me if you don’t mind.”

  “Okay,” said Jamie. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “Yes,” said Margaret. “Could you tell me where you were the night José died?”

  Jamie looked at her. “Yeah, I guess I don’t blame you for asking. I was out bowling with some buddies and then I came back home. Tiffany was here when I got home. We stayed up to watch the news and then went to bed.”

  “Okay, thank you,” said Margaret. “Was it the bowling alley in town?”

  “Yeah. We have a regular league night there once a week. My team is the Red Roosters. We have to sign in to the bowling league’s logbook to make it an official league gathering.”

  “Okay,” said Margaret. She thanked Jamie for his time and stood up to leave.

  “If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know,” said Jamie.

  “I will,” Margaret promised.

  Back at the shop, she called David and filled him in on what she had found out. He told her he would be there to walk her to her car that night, and Margaret told him she would give him the journals then.

  After hanging up, Margaret went into the kitchen. She pulled out the chocolates and was happy with how they had turned out. She got some sugar out of the cabinet and some evaporated milk. She mixed these and heated them until she had formed fresh caramel. She took it off the heat and let it cool. Margaret looked out at the front of the store. Patty was still there helping customers. Zach had gone to the beach when Margaret had gotten back. Margaret ducked back in the kitchen and filled the next batch of chocolate crabs. She tasted one and almost swooned at how good it was. She took a few out and put them in the display case. When Patty was done with the customers Margaret gave her one of the crab candies.