The Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1 to 7

by Olivia Swift

  “Could it be an animal?” Alison wondered but it did look very human.

  “We have to call the cops,” Sam said. “Sorry folks.” He knelt down and scratched some of the soil away. “It is not very big. It could be either female or a young person.”

  “Oh, dear,” Magda grabbed his arm. “Can you tell how long it has been there?” He shook his head.

  “I don’t think it is over a hundred years old, but I am no expert.”

  7

  “We can’t leave it until morning. Whoever it was might come back,” Merle observed. “I suppose it’s up to me to do it.” She pulled out her cell phone and looked at the others who nodded that she was right. After the explanation, she finished the call and said that they were to wait and not touch anything until they arrived.

  A plain clothes detective arrived with another plain clothes officer plus two squad cars and men in uniform.

  “I am Detective Southern,” he said. He held up an identity card and asked to see the site. He put plastic covers on his shoes and pulled out thin rubber gloves. The other officer followed suit and they cautiously approached the hole in the ground. He did exactly what Sam had done and scraped away at what was visible.

  “Not ancient remains,” he said as he stood up. “If we can move away from the actual site, I will secure it as a crime scene and call in people who know how to excavate properly.” The second officer and the uniformed people brought out tape and poles and marked off the site.

  “We’ll need details,” Southern told them and Merle explained who she was and asked if they would like to use her house to ask his questions.

  “Thanks,” he said and the two officers drove behind the cars to the dude ranch itself. Everything seemed much better in a lighted and warm place. The detective was a tall man with fair hair and a slightly worried expression. His partner was shorter and slim with a shock of curly hair that he ran his hand through every so often.

  Merle did the introductions and the police officer listened to the story that had led them to finding an undiscovered ghost town.

  “I know who you are, Mister Swanson,” he said to Jeremy. “We will need to be very careful here.” He spoke on his cell phone to the forensic people and told them it was a new ghost town site. “We will fasten it off as a crime scene until we know exactly what is there.”

  “The press will get onto it,” Jeremy said. “They’ll come to the ranch pretending to ask about a booking. You will have to warn everybody.” He looked at Merle. “I am sorry the press recognized me because it put them on the alert.”

  “Well, we can’t stop the press from being the press. I will warn the staff and Branston and I will be here all of the time to check anyone.”

  “We will close the gates for the time being and anyone coming in will have to get past the barrier,” he told them. “The fact that the police are excavating a body will hit the news channels, I’m afraid. We can only hope that it turns out to be part of the ghost town remains and we can close it down quickly.”

  “But you don’t really think it is?” Magda asked and gained a smile from Southern.

  He shook his head. “At first glance, and I was the one who called it a crime scene, the skull does not look two hundred years old.”

  “How long will the crime scene people be there?” Branston wondered.

  “With a bit of luck, a couple of days. The autopsy will tell us what we need to do after that. Sometimes, it is obviously an accident and sometimes it solves a missing persons problem. We’ll keep you up to date as and when we can.”

  The policemen made sure they had all of the names, addresses and phone numbers and went back to the excavation. The rest of them looked at each other.

  “I see nobody mentioned séance,” Jeremy observed.

  “It didn’t seem to make any difference to the investigation,” Merle answered.

  “What about the one that we planned?” Magda asked. “I am guessing they will have officers there until the forensic people are finished.”

  “I was staying a couple of days, but I can take a bit longer. Do you think we can just put it off for a day and hope they are finished?” Jeremy asked. “You don’t suppose, and I know I have a colorful imagination, that it is a murder scene as well as a ghost town?”

  There was a pause as they all thought about that.

  “We just found bones,” Sam said at last. “I found some once before and it turned out to be animal bones. The building went on as planned.”

  “That skull did not look like an animal to me,” Branston replied.

  “I hope it doesn’t upset any of the holidaymakers,” Merle worried. “I think Branston and I will have to talk to each of them personally early in the morning.”

  “Might be good for business once the dust has settled,” Branston reassured her.

  Magda stood up and said they would leave them to it.

  “Be in touch tomorrow and hope for a séance the night after next,” Sam added.

  “I hope those cats have no more news for us when we get back,” Alison worried. “I am still sorry about the plant container.”

  “It was a junk shop find. Cost next to nothing,” her nephew said as they headed for the door.

  The car was waved down at the gate and Sam got out to see if there was any news.

  “We have the skeleton out of the ground and will get it off to the lab,” Southern told him, “but we’ll leave men here in case we missed anything when we have daylight.”

  Sam climbed back inside the vehicle and the gates were opened to allow them through.

  “He never gave anything away,” Sam told them. “Said they will look again in daylight in case they missed anything.”

  Back at home, the cats were suspiciously quiet and never even came to say hello.

  “Little minx is still in the huff,” Magda smiled and went to pick up Crystal. The cat resisted at first but eventually gave in and started to purr. Magda put her on the floor and went for treats for all of the felines.

  “Well, there is never a dull moment,” Alison said. “I am tired now,” as she went off to bed.

  Later that evening as Magda sat on the edge of the bed, she worried that the body might have been murdered.

  “That would be awful for Merle and the ranch.”

  “Maybe if we have another séance, we can ask questions about the skeleton,” Sam said and held the duvet up for her to snuggle inside.

  “Oh, thank goodness we have each other,” she said and wrapped her arms around him.

  “And Merle has Branston. She’s not on her own,” Sam added and held her close.

  The café in the morning had a couple of reporters already at the gate when Magda arrived. Rula was completely puzzled as to what was their interest.

  “I’m sorry, we’re not open yet,” Magda told them.

  Katie arrived and managed to get herself and the two friends inside and closed the gates behind her. She quickly explained to the others about the skeleton and the police.

  “It was strange because I think Jeremy’s presence alerted the press. A story must have gone out about a possible ghost town. Then one of the customers at the ranch saw something suspicious and when Branston went to investigate it, the person got away in a car on the road.”

  “Then it was a body in the ground?” Katie gasped.

  “Well a skeleton, I think. Must have been there for a while.”

  “Uggh.” Rula shuddered and her phone rang as Mikey asked to be let inside the gate. She ran down to unlock it for him and saw that quite a little crowd had gathered.

  “I’ve closed the shop. The press is trying to find out about everyone in the café,” Mikey said and she quickly brought him up to date.

  “There’s a television crew out there now,” Mikey told the others.

  “Oh, Lord!” Magda sighed and called Sam to tell him the news.

  “Do you want us to come over?” he asked.

  “Two extra men might be a help,” she agreed and told
the others that Sam and Declan were on the way. “I guess we have to open up at some point.”

  Rula busied herself with starting up the coffee machine and Katie went to the vat to mix a new flavor. Magda gave Mikey the keys and asked him to open the gates. There was a flood of people through the alleyway.

  “How can we help?” Magda put on a bright smile. “Coffee? Chocolate?” Most of the people that were there to find out what they could, realized that the best way to stay was to buy something. The local television people asked if they could film inside the café. One of them had been there when Magda opened the place and she said that they were not to film customers.

  The few genuine customers were truly puzzled as to what was all of the interest and gleaned the barest of detail from the girls.

  Behind the counter Mikey was trying to figure out why someone was actually digging in the ground.

  “The resident from the ranch saw a light and reported it. When Branston drove to the gates and climbed out, somebody ran off and he heard a car engine on the road,” Rula answered.

  “But why?” Mikey persisted. “Even if local radio had talked about Jeremy out of interest and speculated about where it was, why would somebody come and dig in the dark?”

  “Might have realized the body might be discovered,” Katie observed and then shivered. “That might point to it being something somebody wanted covered up.”

  “They would have been better leaving it alone. Nobody would have even thought about digging a hole in the ground. These ghost places are protected.” Magda said from her truffle making area. She had already related the tale of the cats and the skulls.

  Sam and Declan arrived. Sam donned an apron and started to collect cups from the tables while Declan kept an eye on things from the chocolate vat as Katie talked to him about the pictures of the ghost town. Once the coated truffles were in the chiller, she went to find the sketches. The two of them sat at a table and spread them out. The table was actually in the kitchen but one enterprising reporter stretched his neck in and asked about the ghost town.

  “Nothing but my own drawings to go in the new shop extension,” Katie told him. “Sorry. Nothing exciting.” She pointed outside to where the foundation was laid. “Going to sell old wild west items and gold nugget truffles.” The man’s attention was diverted from the ghost town questions and intrigued by the gold nuggets. She went and found one. “It’s edible gold and marzipan.” She laughed. “Try it and tell us what you think.”

  Magda came over and waited for his reaction.

  “I put more whiskey into this batch,” she told him. “What do you think?”

  “I would need another one to give it a real try,” he grinned, and she offered him the box with the samples.

  “Publicity for the new shop will be much appreciated,” she said. He handed her a card.

  “Deal. If you hear anything to do with this ghost town stuff, give me a call before anyone else and I will put your new shop everywhere.” Magda, Katie and Declan all laughed, and the young reporter asked for another coffee. “I’m Bart,” he told them. “Those gold nuggets really do deserve a gold medal. Love them.” He paused and then added that he knew Magda because she went to school with his older sister. When she asked who that was, he told her.

  “Marie Marcato. I’m Bart Marcato and I read about your café. Wanted to see it.”

  “Wow. I lost touch with Marie. How is she?”

  “No wonder you lost touch. She married a Frenchman and went to live in Paris.”

  “When you speak to her, give her my love. We had some great times.”

  Magda gave him one more truffle and it was about halfway to his mouth when the detective arrived with his partner.

  8

  Bart stuffed the nugget in his mouth and whipped out his cell phone.

  The detective was polite but firmly told everyone they had to leave as he was on duty.

  “I need to have this place closed for a short while to talk.” There was an excited buzz of conversation, but they were all ushered outside. Bart managed to give the thumbs up sign to Magda and she couldn’t help but smile. He was extraordinarily keen. Hearing about Marie was a real blast from the past. Rula offered the officers coffee and they accepted and took a seat.

  “Have a seat folks,” he told them. “I have to tell you where we are with this investigation.”

  They all looked at him with worried faces.

  “DNA is wonderful these days and very quickly done in the lab. The forensics people have told us the body has been there about ten years.”

  There was silence as nobody wanted to ask if it was a murder. He looked at them with sympathy.

  “On one hand finding a body is good because it helps another investigation to be solved but a finding a body is always sad.”

  “What was the other investigation?” Rula asked because she had a sudden feeling that she knew the answer. Magda looked quickly at her friend and connected the ten years as well.

  “You said about ten years?” she asked, and he nodded.

  “I think you are probably putting two and two together,” Mr. Southern said. Sam looked at his wife. The detective went on. “About ten years ago there was a missing persons case and a young girl was never found.” Rula put her hand over her mouth and Magda grabbed her hand. Sam suddenly remembered what the girls had already thought.

  “It was Trisha, wasn’t it?” Magda whispered and he nodded.

  “I am sorry girls. I connected the two of you as her friend and cousin. I have to say that she was shot and probably died quickly if that helps you a little bit.” Mikey came and knelt down beside Rula.

  “She was your cousin, wasn’t she?” he asked. Katie gasped and Rula nodded as tears ran down her cheeks unheeded.

  “Oh, Lord,” Declan said. “Have you made a positive identification?”

  “We had her DNA on record and it was an exact match. I am sorry but you and your mother are her only living relatives, Rula. Her parents are both gone.” Rula accepted a tissue from Katie and straightened her shoulders. She stood up and clutched at Mikey.

  “At least we found her. That is something. I think I always knew she was dead but you still wonder if somewhere there was a person who had lost their memory or something.” She lifted her chin. “What do you need me to do?”

  “We will have to reopen the case now that we have found the body. At the moment, there is nothing you can do but when we start to go over the details, I will have to be in touch. I am sorry to bring it all back.”

  “Do you think there is any chance of finding the person who did it?” Mikey asked.

  “There might well be now that we have the remains. As I say, DNA has made enormous leaps recently. Were you not living here ten years ago?” Southern asked Mikey who shook his head.

  “Still at school in Boston,” he answered. “The thrill of climbing brought me out here.”

  “Magda and I were around at the time. We will help in any way we can,” Sam added.

  “The crime scene will stay in place today but when we have finished a further search in the area we will leave the ranch in peace.” He stood up. “Sorry to disrupt your businesses.” He and his partner said thanks for the coffee and left the café through the clamor of reporters and sightseers at the entrance. They headed out to the ranch to see Merle and her employees.

  When they had driven away, the people flooded back in and Bart ensconced himself at the counter again.

  “Talk is that they found a body and it opens up a cold case,” he said to Declan who was the person closest to him. Declan ignored the sentence and asked instead if Bart had a relative with purple hair and an injured shoulder. Bart’s mouth did actually drop open.

  “Can you see spirit stuff?” Bart whispered. “You have a very blue aura around you.” He paused and looked at Rula. “And I am guessing that Rula over there is very upset. There is a story here. I can feel it. Her aura is very dark since the police arrived.” Then he looked at Declan. “My aunty
with the purple hair died about a month ago after a nasty accident.”

  “She was standing beside you,” Declan told him.

  “Wow!” Bart said. Magda came across and Bart asked her if he could talk to all of them about what was happening.

  “There is a fantastic story here. I can sense it and I won’t give anything away until you give me the go ahead.”

  “He sees auras around people and has a sense about feelings,” Declan added. Sam came and put his hands on Magda’s shoulders to find out what they were talking about.

  “I’m going to send Rula to see her mom. Mikey will go with her. Then we can talk,” she said to the reporter, “but you have to swear to not publish until we say so.” He nodded instantly. Magda went to ask Rula to go and tell her mom. Mikey said that he would drive.

  “Thanks, Magda. I know this all upsets you as well.”

  “Your mom is about four hours’ drive away. If you need tomorrow off don’t worry about it. I am going to close up and put a notice on the gate, then we can go and see Merle and Branston. I’ve already texted her.” Rula hugged her friend and went to get her coat and purse. Mikey popped out to tell his assistant and then they left to inform Melissa, Rula’s mom, the news about her niece.

  Sam closed the gates after the customers had finished their drinks and one by one, left the place quiet. Bart wrote on his tablet, quietly at a table and shot some photos of the café. Katie, Declan, Sam and Magda all came and sat beside him.

  “Some shocking sort of day,” Magda said.

  Bart pointed his tablet at the back of the kitchen and clicked the camera.

  “Yes,” Sam said. “There is a resident cat from a long time ago called Pushkin.”

  “I caught him on camera,” Bart exclaimed. Sam nodded and said that they had gotten used to a ghost cat in the café.

  “You’ll find,” Magda added, “that the picture fades after a while.”