Deadly Sweet Tooth

by Kaye George

  However, Molly called late that night, too, asking if she could have the day off on Thursday.

  “Mom is having a bad reaction from her last chemo and I’d like to stay with her tomorrow.”

  “Of course, Molly. I’m sorry to hear that, but you need to take care of her. I’ll call Greer.”

  “Thanks so much, Miss Tally. I can work Friday. I hope.”

  “Just let me know, okay?”

  She glanced at the clock. It was after 9:30, but maybe that wasn’t too late. She got ahold of Greer, who said she could make it to work Thursday.

  However, Greer was late again in the morning. “Setting Sun Home called me an hour ago.”

  “Setting Sun?” Tally had seen a sign with that name on it on a large institutional-looking building on the east side of town.

  “The nursing home. Mom is giving them fits. I went over to try to calm her down, but she’s acting wild.”

  Tally saw tears threatening to spill from Greer’s eyes. Tally grabbed a tissue from under the counter and handed it to her.

  “You and Molly both have a lot going on with your moms, don’t you? I thought your mom lived with you.”

  “She had to go to that home, Setting Sun. She got a lot worse and I couldn’t take care of her.”

  “Is she better now that she’s there, being taken care of?”

  “Not really. They gave her a shot and knocked her out. I hate when they do that. She’s a zombie the rest of the day. And they just let her lie there, they don’t pay any attention to her. That’s how she gets those bedsores. They let her get so dirty.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry it has to be that way.” Tally hugged Greer and patted her head, almost dislodging the clip she always wore to keep her unruly hair up.

  Even though she was older than all of her employees, Tally’s parents were in good shape. She felt so lucky. That is, her mother would be in good shape when she recovered from her bout of dengue fever. At the moment, even under the weather, she was probably stronger and more fit than either of their moms.

  “Would you mind if I looked in on your mother sometimes?” Tally said. “Maybe if more people are coming by, they will pay more attention and take better care of her.”

  Greer stared, her red lips forming a perfect O. “That would be awesome. I mean, you don’t have to do that, but…”

  “I wouldn’t mind. My parents will be leaving town soon and I’ll have extra time after they go so I can help you out.”

  “Yeah. That would be great.” Greer swiped at her tears, then her nose with the tissue, and straightened. “We’d better get to work. We should have opened ten minutes ago.”

  It was more like twenty, but Tally agreed and they both got to work.

  At about eleven o’clock, Allen came into the shop. Tally was working in front and saw him immediately. One glance at his face showed Tally he wasn’t happy.

  “Let’s go outside and talk,” she said, opening the door and stepping onto the hot sidewalk.

  He followed, as she’d hoped he would.

  “My parents…I forgot all about dinner. They’re having such a hard time.”

  “Yeah, everyone’s having a hard time, aren’t they?” He gave her a cold, direct stare.

  “Allen, they are tangled up in a murder investigation. They were supposed to do a show tomorrow and the police won’t let them leave town.”

  He looked away. “I can leave town. In fact, I’m thinking of relocating.”

  Tally blinked. “Relocating? Where? Out of town?”

  “That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

  He waited for an answer, so she shrugged. “I guess.”

  “I can move to Fort Worth for this job. They have most of their warehouses there. It’s like the hub for the company.”

  Tally remained silent, waiting for him to tell her he was moving.

  He looked away. “I haven’t decided yet, if I want to go there.”

  “Do you like the work?”

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind the driving.”

  “And you like the company, the people?”

  He blew out a breath. “Do you want me to move? You don’t care?”

  “I didn’t say that. We just…we don’t know each other very well. I want you to…be happy. To do what you like.”

  “I don’t know what I like. I thought I liked you.”

  He turned and she watched him walk away for half a block, then went back inside the air-conditioning and got to work.

  * * * *

  Kevin called Yolanda in the early afternoon. She knew she’d been missing him, but was surprised how her body reacted to the sound of his voice.

  “Kevin,” she said, probably sounding like a teenager. “I’m glad you called.”

  “Why is that?”

  Why did he say that? “Well, I just…I’m glad y’all called. That’s all.”

  “Have you eaten lunch?”

  She had just gotten back from a basket delivery and was thinking about sending Raul to get something for both of them. “Not yet. I’m going to in a few minutes.”

  “I’ll treat, if you can leave. I have to go out to the vineyard and pick up a couple cases of wine that are ready for the shop. If you want to come along, we can grab something while we’re out.”

  “Let me check.” She was surprised how hard her heart was beating. “Raul,” she called. “Have you had lunch?”

  “I have,” he called from the back of the shop. “I brought mine in today. Just finished it.”

  “Do we have any more orders to go out today?”

  “Just a sec.” He was, she knew, consulting the schedule they kept on her desk back there. “Next one is day after tomorrow.”

  That wasn’t good news for her business. But it was for seeing Kevin. He told her to come next door in ten minutes.

  Yolanda knew the grin on her face looked foolish. “Raul,” she said, going to the area behind the counter to where he was now culling the flowers in the cooler, removing those that were too old to use. “I have to go out for an hour or so. It’s slow, so if you want to close up, y’all can just come back tomorrow morning.”

  “You look happy,” he said. “Are you going to see Kevin?”

  “Aren’t you perceptive?” She chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “We’re getting short on flowers. I could pick up some more carnations this afternoon and bring them back here. I can go home after that.”

  She had an account at the florist’s, so he could get the flowers and they would put them on her charge card. “That’s a good idea. See you tomorrow.” She hurried out the back door to Kevin’s place.

  He was locking his back door as she approached. They both climbed into his truck, a white pickup with the Bear Mountain logo on the driver’s door. The atmosphere was a bit formal as they started the drive out of town to his vineyard. They started discussing the weather, then Kevin started discussing the wine tasting.

  “That was Lily’s idea,” Yolanda said. “I know Tally thinks she’s having trouble finding good help, but at least she has Lily. She’s a gem.”

  “It’s a great idea. I think I have the wines all planned. And I’ve been thinking about the pairings.”

  “Pairings?”

  “Yes, we can pair each wine with one of Tally’s sweets.”

  She caught his excitement as they discussed what would be best with what, rejected some ideas, and came up with new ones.

  By the time they got to the turnoff, they were chatting like there had never been any trouble between them. The truck bumped down the dirt and gravel road, past the large sign designating the area as Bear Mountain Vineyards, and rolled to a stop beside one of the buildings on the property.

  They both hopped out and Yolanda enjoyed the heat of the sunshine on her upturned face wh
ile Kevin unlocked the door of the storage shed. His field workers had left two crates of wine in it for him to pick up. The building where the vine was fermented was at the other end of the vineyard, across the vast fields and rows of gnarled, trellised vines.

  Kevin stepped into the darkness and stooped to lift the first crate from the floor. Yolanda couldn’t resist. She hugged him from behind.

  He abandoned his task and concentrated on exchanging a long overdue kiss with her. Then another. Then another. Eventually, they got the wine loaded into his truck and drove to a drive-through to pick up burgers and fries, which they ate, parked in the shade at the edge of the park.

  Yolanda felt her heart singing the rest of the day.

  Chapter 24

  Tally was surprised to see Shiny Peth come into the shop in the early afternoon saying she wanted some sweets for herself. Even though she had bought an awful lot of candy to celebrate her engagement last week, Tally thought she was the kind of woman who kept an eagle eye on her figure. Vintage sweets were not the ideal snack for someone trying to stay ultrathin.

  Heads always turned when Shiny was on the scene and today was no exception. She looked her usual stunning self, apparently completely recovered from the binge she’d been on. Three young local women clustered together on the other side of the room, obviously whispering about her, and at the same time, trying to act like they weren’t noticing her.

  “Is Lily here?” Shiny asked.

  Tally said she wasn’t and could she help her.

  “Can you tell me anything about these?” Shiny asked Tally. She picked up a box of Clark Bars. “Are there a lot of artificial ingredients?”

  It was one of Tally’s simpler recipes and she explained what was in them. “It’s mostly Rice Krispies, so any preservatives are what’s already in them.”

  “Well, what else are they?”

  Her raspy tone sounded belligerent, but Tally answered with her Sales Smile. “Sugar, corn syrup, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. We boil the sugar and syrup together, add the peanut butter, and stir in the cereal. We press that in a flat pan and cover it all with melted chocolate chips.”

  “What else do you add?”

  Shiny still sounded like she was trying to catch her out in a lie, but Tally kept her smile in place. “Nothing. That’s it.”

  Frowning, Shiny stared at the package. “You’re sure?”

  Tally’s smile slipped a bit. “I know what’s in my products. We make them all right here in my kitchen.”

  The tallest of the three women who’d been staring at Shiny was suddenly at Tally’s elbow. “I’ve seen you on the stage,” she said, looking starstruck.

  “Not recently.” Shiny pulled her mouth sideways. “Fran fired me and told me not to come back.”

  Another of the trio appeared behind the first one. “I know,” she said. “You were with Fran’s husband one time and I heard you saying you wished Fran was dead.”

  “I am not seeing Lennie Abraham anymore. I could care less if that woman is dead or alive.”

  “She died the same night,” the woman said.

  Shiny’s lips tightened as she thrust the package into Tally’s hands and fled the store.

  That was odd, thought Tally. Why had Shiny come in here? Had she really wanted to buy something? Maybe she’d wanted to talk to Lily. The last time she’d been in the shop she’d been showing off a ring that Lennie had given her. The engagement was off already?

  Tally cocked her head to think. She pictured Shiny’s hand just now, holding the package of Clark Bars. No, Shiny wasn’t wearing that ring anymore. Maybe she and Lennie really were done with each other. It didn’t mean Shiny didn’t kill Fran. Maybe she did, and that caused guilt and bad tension between her and Lennie and broke them up. The same thing could happen if Lennie killed Fran, too. It was all so confusing.

  Greer asked to leave early to check on her mother. The shop was busy and Tally would rather she stayed to help out, but after their conversation this morning about how badly the nursing home was treating her mom, Tally let her go.

  Tally had planned, after their talk earlier, to drop in and visit Greer’s mother after work, but she was so worn out from toiling alone for the last two hours, that she went home and snuggled with Nigel.

  The next day, Tally was happy to see Lily come to work.

  “I hope you’re feeling better,” Tally said. She couldn’t let Lily work if she was still sick, for the protection of her customers.

  “Completely over it. I ate some yogurt that was too old, I think. My tummy was upset until about two in the morning. I’ll spare you the details.”

  Tally was glad of that.

  “I’m tired today, but I ate a good breakfast, I was so hungry. Don’t worry, I threw the rest of that batch of yogurt out. On the way home tonight I’ll get some more.”

  Lily stood there for a moment.

  “Is there something else?” Tally asked.

  Lily pulled three sheets of paper from her pocket and smoothed them onto the top of the glass candy case. “I made some posters for the wine tasting. Which one do you like best?”

  Tally stared at them in amazement. “These are terrific. Really. They’re very good.”

  “Well, I do want to go into advertising. I’ve been studying it a little.”

  “Did you do these while you were sick?”

  “I started feeling better last night and I was bored.”

  One was framed with plump bunches of grapes and done in blues and purples, with bright yellow lettering, much like the web page. The second one showed the front of Bear Mountain Vineyards with a lot of brown tones, and the third displayed rows of gleaming wine bottles. It was maybe too dark.

  Tally had a hard time choosing, but picked the one that looked the most like the web page Lily had designed. “This one, I think. What do you want to do with it?”

  “Could I get some made? At the printshop? I’ll put them up myself.”

  “Where? Around Fredericksburg, I guess?”

  “Yes, in other shops and the library, on phone poles, places like that.”

  “Lily, you’re a genius.” She wanted to hug her, but patted her shoulder instead. Maybe hugging was too personal between boss and employee.

  Lily picked up the papers and stuffed them back into her pocket. “The thing is…well… could you pay for them?”

  “Yes, of course. How much do you think it will be?” Tally hoped the cost wouldn’t be too high.

  The figure Lily named was doable. She had already researched that aspect, too.

  “Go for it, Lily. This will be great. Have the printshop call me to get my credit card number, okay?”

  “That’ll be fine.” Lily went to work with a smile on her face.

  Molly was also able to make it in, to Tally’s relief. It was good to have adequate help in the shop. Friday was usually a busy day, leading into the weekend.

  “Is your mom better today?” she asked Molly.

  “Much better. She didn’t get up off the couch hardly at all yesterday, just to go to the bathroom. I brought her meals, but she couldn’t eat much. She felt so much better that she got up and fixed breakfast today.”

  “I’m so glad to hear that.” It was a good breakfast day all around. Tally had even eaten more than usual, a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar.

  * * * *

  Yolanda wandered aimlessly around her shop, picking up a basket, then setting it down. Picking up some ribbon and moving it six inches. Opening the flower cooler, staring at the flowers, then shutting the door.

  “What’s bothering you?” Raul asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” she said, not wanting to talk about Kevin with him.

  “It’s a pretty big nothing.” He gave her a look that might have held some pity.

  She was feeling pitiful. Why had sh
e kissed Kevin in the shed? Could she trust him? She really didn’t know. His story sounded good, but was it true? Did she know anything about him for sure? Only that she loved him. Did he love her? Was she a tramp, seeing a semi-married man?

  “Nothing’s happening, Raul,” she said. “Let’s close up early.”

  She needed to go home and decide what to do. Somehow.

  * * * *

  Since Tally had been tied down on Thursday, she needed to squeeze in a grocery store run some time today. She called ahead for curbside pickup and when there was a midmorning lull, she dashed out. She drove to the grocery store and pulled around for the pickup.

  On the way back, she took an alternate route past the county park, enjoying the pleasant weather. It wasn’t blistering hot and a steady breeze brought the scent of the lavender fields from outside town into Fredericksburg. She slowed when she saw a familiar figure, wild brown hair clipped up on top of her head. Greer was sitting on a bench, smoking. That was none of her business since it was nowhere near her shop, but the man sitting beside her looked much too old for her. Tally wondered if Greer was involved with someone she shouldn’t be. Greer wasn’t looking in her direction, so she was able to gawk and get a good look at her smoking companion. They were both vaping, she noted. The guy was rough-looking, unshaven, but not in a cool, sexy-stubble sort of way, and had a ragged haircut. He wore that kind of sleeveless undershirt that looked like a tank top, and his bare arms were covered with dark tattoos, the kind she thought of as prison tats.

  Tally drove the rest of the way trying to think of a way to bring up the subject of inappropriate companions with Greer when she came to work Saturday, tomorrow. She had to be subtle about it, since it really wasn’t any of her business.

  As she was finishing loading the flour and sugar into the cupboard, she heard Shiny’s unmistakable annoying voice out front. Tally assumed Shiny had returned to talk to Lily, since she hadn’t been able to yesterday. Slightly alarmed at Shiny’s volume and her angry tone, she rushed to the salesroom to find Lily backed up against the glass display case, Shiny leaning into her in a threatening manner.