Deadly Sweet Tooth

by Kaye George

  When Tally got back to her shop, she methodically—and casually, she hoped—took each employee aside and asked what she thought of Shiny Peth.

  Molly Kelly thought she was beautiful and wanted to look like her.

  “I even told my boyfriend that,” she said. “I told him I wanted to look just like Shiny Peth. She’s like…together, you know?”

  “She is, I agree.” Except for right now. Molly hadn’t, apparently, seen her stagger past the shop.

  “My boyfriend is great, though. He says he likes me just the way I am.”

  That was the first Tally had heard of a boyfriend. “Who are you seeing?”

  “Howie. He’s the owner of Howie’s Garage.” Pride shone in her bright blue eyes as she said it.

  “He sounds like a catch. I’d hang onto him.” Tally remembered Howie helping Allen Wendt out once when he needed a mechanic. Howie had come to his rescue quickly and efficiently.

  “How did Shiny get along with Fran Abraham, do you know?”

  “I don’t hang around those people much. I just know her from seeing her around town. But nobody much liked Fran, did they?”

  “I guess not.”

  A little later Tally was able to corner Lily Vale. Lily had danced for Fran, so she should know the theater people. “Do you know Shiny Peth very well?” she asked.

  “Not really. I mean, I know her to talk to, but we’re not buds or anything. I know she’s talented. I’ve seen her perform. Why?”

  “I just wondered.”

  “Why?”

  Darn, Lily was too perceptive. Tally remembered Lily talking about her earlier. “You said Fran blackballed her from the theater, right?”

  “She sure did.”

  “Was Shiny upset about that?”

  “Maybe. I think Fran was more upset with Shiny, though. Shiny was making a play for Fran’s husband, Len, is what I heard. Well, I saw it, too. It was obvious. Then, at your party, she was all over him. She came in with him, practically, and hung on him all night.”

  Tally thought that gave Fran more motive to murder Shiny than it gave Shiny motive to murder Fran. If Shiny was focused on Len, how was she able to sneak poison into the confections?

  Tally would keep Shiny on her mental suspect list, but not at the top, for sure.

  A couple of things continued to bother Tally about the poisoning. One was the fact that her father’s fingerprints were on the serving platter. Her helpers’ prints were also on it, but that was to be expected. If someone else were the poisoner, more fingerprints should be there.

  Another question bugged her. Did the poisoner have an intended victim? If so, how was that supposed to be accomplished? The treats were being served by multiple people to everyone there. If a random poisoner were at work, would that make any sense? Tally shuddered at the thought that maybe more people could have died that night.

  Chapter 14

  Tally sped home after work to feed Nigel. She was on foot, since she had walked to work that morning instead of driving. The day was still lovely, but she didn’t stop to appreciate it.

  “Why am I so excited?” she asked the husky cat as he, ignoring her, chowed down on his kibble. “He’s probably going to say he’s moving out of town. He keeps threatening.”

  Nigel glanced up at her and blinked.

  “Oh, you’re right. Allen has never met you. He called this afternoon and said he wanted to see me tonight. It seems out of the blue. I didn’t know he was in town. I don’t know why I’m nervous. No, not nervous. Excited. Okay, maybe a little nervous.”

  She quit babbling and left Nigel, busy at his din-din bowl, and went to her closet to go through her clothing. It was, of course, hot out. August in Texas was always hot out. Would he want to eat outside? The Eatery Island had a nice patio, but she would rather not sweat onto her dinner. She would try to get him to eat inside—if there was room. Just to be safe, she chose a sundress with a matching short jacket. Outside would be sweltering hot, but inside, in true Texas tradition, would be icicle cold.

  When they got to the Eatery, sure enough, first available would be the patio dining area or terrace. It was available after only half a drink from the bar, which was nice. They had tried making small talk at the crowded bar, but it was too noisy to hear anything below shouting volume.

  After being seated at the edge of the area, near the short wrought iron railing, she shed the jacket. Glad that she’d stuck a new packet of tissues in her purse, she discreetly mopped her forehead and the back of her neck, then studied the menu.

  “What are you having?” she asked Allen, not wanting to outspend him. She wasn’t sure if this was Dutch treat or not. She wished she knew if they had a relationship or not.

  “I always have the same thing,” he said. “Steak and a Caesar.”

  A soft breeze stirred the warm air and made the patio almost pleasant. Tally was grateful that the piped-in music was low and unobtrusive. That made it easy to talk and to hear each other. And everyone else, it turned out.

  The server who had seated them came up behind Allen. “Is this table acceptable?” he asked…Ionia Goldenberger, of all people. She was with her husband. Tally hadn’t met him, but had seen him around town and knew who he was. He was a CPA for a firm in Fredericksburg, a distinguished-looking gray-haired man in slacks and a white shirt tonight. She had only seen him in suits before this. Ionia wore a swishy long-ish dress of dark blues and blacks.

  Ionia was the one who, Tally knew, had been spreading rumors about Fran and trying to get her fired. Tally agreed with Ionia that she would have made a better theater director than Fran, but the organization was run by a board. It had been, ever since the Abrahams sold it to an out-of-towner who owned several small theaters around Texas.

  Now, with Fran dead, would they give Ionia the job she had wanted for so long?

  Their server came to take their order. Allen ordered a rather nice bottle of red wine and they both asked for steaks, splitting the large Caesar salad the place was famous for. It was shaping up to be a lovely, relaxing evening.

  She heard Ionia and her husband discussing what to order. Ionia’s voice drifted over to them. “Don’t be silly. You know I never touch sugar or white flour.”

  “Are you doing okay with—” Allen started to ask her.

  She shushed him and whispered, “Wait a sec. I have to hear this.” She concentrated on what Ionia was saying to her husband.

  “That’s not true. It’s not never,” he said.

  “Hardly ever,” she answered. “When is the last time you saw me eat sugar? Or white flour?”

  “Valentine’s Day?”

  Ionia giggled and gave him a coquettish look, Tally deduced from the back of her head as she ducked her chin. “You got me. I did eat that candy. But not since then.”

  Allen was looking at her sideways with the beginnings of an annoyed frown.

  “Sorry,” Tally said. “I wanted to hear something. What were you saying?”

  “Nothing important, apparently.”

  Was Allen pouting? Good grief. “No, I want to know what you want to tell me.”

  “But you only want to know after you’ve finished eavesdropping on strangers in the restaurant.”

  Tally kept her voice as low as she could, since the Goldenbergers were right there, at the next table. There was a generous amount of room between the tables, but, after all, she could easily overhear them. “They’re not strangers. The woman knew Fran, who died in my shop, and I wanted to see if maybe—”

  “Maybe? Maybe what?”

  Now she lowered her voice even more. “If maybe she could be the one who killed her.”

  “Oh, for…” He didn’t seem to think much of her sleuthing method.

  “Allen, the police think my father did it. I’m getting desperate.”

  “It’s not attractive, Tally.”


  “Attractive?”

  “Spying on other people. It isn’t right.”

  It was Tally’s turn to pout. She wasn’t spying—she was eavesdropping. Ionia was having a public conversation. It wasn’t like Tally was tapping her phone.

  “Well, anyway,” he said, “I’m leaving again tomorrow. I have a long haul to the coast.”

  Was that what he’d wanted to tell her? She didn’t think so. “How long will you be gone?”

  “I don’t know. A while.”

  The rest of the meal was not pleasant. They were both sullen and short with each other and Tally was relieved when she got back through her front door and was alone with Nigel. She sat on the couch and curled up with the purring, nonjudgmental fur ball. And cried. Maybe she was starting to care for Allen. Otherwise, why was she so upset they were on the outs?

  When she calmed down and wiped her last sniffle, she turned her attention to what Ionia had been saying. If what she said was true, or mostly true—except for Valentine’s Day—she would not have eaten any of Tally’s wares at the reception. So it wouldn’t be suspicious if she passed them up. Did she make sure that Fran got some?

  Tally shook her head at her own thought. Nobody had had to force Fran to eat the Whoopie Pies. Her servers had told her that Fran gobbled them down whenever they were offered to her. Two or three times, Tally gathered. Did everyone know what an intense sweet tooth she had? That she was such a glutton for sweets? Probably. That would make her easy to poison. Maybe it was just luck that no one else was poisoned. She was getting nowhere thinking about Ionia and the murder. She turned her thoughts to wondering how her mother was doing.

  It wasn’t that late, not yet 9:30. She called her parents to see if she could drop by to see them.

  Her father answered the phone. “I think you should come over. Your mother’s in a state.”

  Now what?

  “Dad, you’re there! Not in jail.”

  “No, they questioned me and let me go. I don’t think they have enough evidence.”

  Tally didn’t like the sound of that. She would rather they didn’t have any evidence. She dropped some cool, soothing artificial tears into her eyes to mask the fact that she’d been crying, and drove to the hotel.

  After she rapped on the door and her father let her in, she was alarmed at her mother’s appearance. Had she relapsed? She looked even worse than the last time Tally saw her. She gave her dad a long hug first, then turned to her mother.

  “What’s the matter, Mom?”

  Cole was there, too, without Dorella. “She’s gotten some bad news.”

  Tally waited for someone to tell her what was going on.

  “He’s out,” her mother whispered. She looked like that was a tragic thing, whatever she meant.

  “Out?” Tally echoed. “He?”

  “That man,” Cole said. “The one who burned down their store all those years ago.”

  “He escaped from prison?” Tally was alarmed. That man had no love for her parents. “Are they searching for him?”

  “Yes, they called us to tell us he escaped.” Her father’s voice sounded reasonable and calm. “He managed to overpower a guard when the electricity went out during a recent storm. The sheriff called about a half an hour ago to tell us, since we’re on the notification list.”

  “He didn’t call right away?” Tally asked.

  “He apologized,” her father said. “He said he had a busy day with an interstate pileup and worked late tonight. I’m glad he called tonight and not tomorrow. The sooner we know, the better. But, he didn’t call very soon.”

  “That man has it in for you, doesn’t he? The one who escaped, not the sheriff,” Tally asked, remembering the hostile note she’d found. The note that had caused so much trouble for her poor dad.

  “Is he in the area?” Cole asked. “The prison isn’t that far away, is it?”

  “It’s up at Abilene, about three hours away,” Bob said. “The thing is, the sheriff admitted he got out last week. He should have called then.”

  “Last week!” Tally cried. “He could be here now. He could have killed Fran.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” her dad said.

  Tally studied her mother. She was so thin, her collarbones were clearly visible. Was that new? “Mom, are you eating enough?”

  “Tally,” her dad said. “She doesn’t feel well enough yet. She’s doing the best she can be doing. She’s just recently quit throwing up.”

  “I’m feeling much better, dear,” Nancy said to her daughter. “I ate a sandwich tonight, both halves. That’s the most solid food I’ve kept down since I got sick. I’ve been taking teensy bites of everything, but I ate the whole sandwich all at once. I think I’ll start feeling much better now. I’m actually hungry today.”

  Tally tried to decide if her mother really looked better, or if she was just seeing her more critically tonight. It was late. They were probably all tired. And they were all worried about that man Wendell being on the loose.

  Chapter 15

  Tally slept poorly that night. A brief, violent thunderstorm interrupted the slumbering peace of Fredericksburg in the wee hours of the morning. She’d been fitfully dozing until then, but after the furor of the storm, she lay awake, stewing about the danger her parents were in and worrying about how to find the real killer.

  When it was time to go to work she decided to walk to work off some of her nervous energy and worry. The storm had strewn the sidewalks with crepe myrtle petals. A vision of her as a bride, walking through rose petals to an altar, sprang—unwanted—into her mind.

  Ha, she told herself. As if that would ever happen. She might dress up as a bride, but who would be waiting at the front of the church for her? Who would be her other half, the way her father was for her mother? They loved each other so much, worried about each other, took care of each other. On occasion they could finish each other’s sentences. Tally couldn’t imagine that ever happening between her and anyone she had ever known.

  She’d seen Detective Jackson Rogers casually a few times, but how could she ever get close to someone who would suspect her father of murder? Last night she’d thought of Allen as a romantic partner, but was he? They had nothing in common and she wasn’t sure he would still be in town from one week to the next. There was no one.

  As she turned the corner to approach Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets from the front, she looked up. She was surprised to see Mrs. Gerg standing there.

  “Yoo-hoo!” the older woman called when Tally was still half a block away. “I’m over here.”

  Tally wondered why she hadn’t come to her house, as usual, but Mrs. Gerg soon explained.

  “This gigantic neighborhood sale started early this morning and I got there as soon as it was opening, lucky me. I wanted to get this to you right away.” She held a small, oblong box out to Tally.

  She knew what it was, of course. Another cheap necklace. Tally said thank you and took the box. When she opened it and saw the contents, she was glad she had already thanked Mrs. Gerg. She was speechless. The necklace was made of such cheap metal it appeared plastic. A large, openwork heart dangled on a dull silver chain. The word MOM was spelled across it in fake blue diamonds. Mom? She couldn’t help but give Mrs. Gerg a puzzled look.

  The woman beamed. “It’s for you! You’re a mom now.”

  “I am?” she croaked. For a moment, she thought she had lost track of reality. Maybe she had had a baby and Mrs. Gerg knew about it and she was suffering from amnesia.

  “You are. You have a little fur baby. Well, a big fur baby.”

  Tally nodded, still mostly speechless. It was a relief to find out what in the heck the woman was talking about. “I am, you’re right. Nigel is my new baby. Thanks so much.”

  “I knew you’d love it!” Mrs. Gerg trundled away, smiling broadly.


  At least the necklaces didn’t take up much room in her dresser drawer. The collectible, ornamental boxes Mrs. Gerg used to give her had taken up a lot of space.

  Shiny Peth came into the shop soon after Tally unlocked the front door to the public. She was seeing entirely too much of this woman lately. Tally happened to be the only one in the room. The others, Lily and Molly, were fetching merchandise from the refrigerator and the pantry to fill the display cases.

  “Are you open?” Shiny asked.

  “Yes, the sweets will be out in a moment,” Tally said. “Is there something special you want?” She stood behind the empty glass cases, ready to help arrange the goodies in them.

  “Yes, there is. I’ll need something marvelous for tonight. Lennie and I are celebrating.”

  “That’s nice,” Tally said, hearing how lame her words were as soon as they left her mouth. “I mean, congratulations. What are you celebrating?”

  Shiny dangled her left hand in front of Tally by way of answering. Tally couldn’t miss the gigantic diamond ring. It caught a ray of sunshine from the front window and flung it in glittering shards across the walls and ceiling of the shop.

  “Wow.” Tally was stunned.

  Molly and Lily entered the room and echoed, even more emphatically, “Wow!” Molly stopped in mid-stride and stared. Lily kept going toward the display case with her tray, but her head swiveled all the way there, sneaking one look after another at the huge rock.

  “You’re engaged?” Tally said. Since Lennie’s wife was dead, that had to be legal. But she hadn’t been dead very long. “Just now?”

  Shiny leaned close to Tally. “Actually, he gave me the ring weeks ago. I was going to start wearing it as soon as the divorce came through.”

  “He was getting a divorce?”

  Shiny shrugged. “No reason not to. He said he couldn’t stand her another minute.”

  A divorce, Tally thought, would cost a lot more than a burial service. She vowed to make sure Detective Rogers knew about this liaison, and about how long it had been going on. Definitely before Fran died. How she wished she could remember every detail from that night! She wished she knew where each person was moment by moment, but she’d been so busy running the gathering that she hadn’t kept track of every individual. She’d been trying to get through the evening, keeping track of Molly and Lily and Greer—when she could—hoping she wouldn’t run out of things for people to eat, and worrying about Yolanda’s family. Tally drummed her fingers on top of the glass case, then stopped, aware of the hollow noise she was making.