Sweet Revenge (Cocoa Narel Chocolate Shop Mysteries Book 1)

by Morgana Best

  “Carl Smith.”

  Rieker nodded. “Yes, we haven’t got around to questioning you yet.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’re on our list.”

  I thought Carl would be worried, but instead he turned to Detective Clyde. “And am I on your list?” He winked at him.

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, I could not help but be amused. Clyde shifted awkwardly in his seat and stared at a point on the floor.

  “And were the two of you here all night together?” Rieker asked us.

  “Heavens no,” Carl said. “She’s not my type.” With that, he winked once more at Clyde.

  I saw the light dawn on Detective Rieker’s face. “Well, when did you arrive? It’s early in the morning.”

  “I couldn’t sleep and I saw what happened to Hamilton Howes on the news. Of course, I raced straight over to tell Narel.”

  “Of course,” Rieker said dryly. “Why didn’t you simply call her?”

  “Well, it was such shocking news because we all went to school with Hamilton.”

  “So did you think she would be upset?” Clyde asked him.

  “More like shocked than upset,” Carl said. “After all, Hamilton was one of The Populars.”

  The two detectives exchanged glances. “Ah yes, the famous Populars,” Rieker said in a tone that hinted of sarcasm. “And were you bullied, too?” He addressed the question to Carl.

  Carl nodded. “I wasn’t bullied as badly as Narel or some of the other kids.”

  Rieker turn to me. “And did Hamilton Howes bully you?”

  I thought before I answered. I didn’t want to implicate myself. “All The Populars bullied me. The girl Populars probably bullied me more than the boy Populars.”

  Carl snorted rudely. “Don’t forget Hamilton did that terrible thing to you!”

  I shot Carl a quelling look, which had absolutely no effect whatsoever, much to my dismay. He gleefully continued. “I think the worst thing Hamilton ever did to you was when he invited you to the prom. Don’t you remember, Narel? At first you thought it was a trick, like when Guy Smith invited you to the restaurant and made you wear a pig suit and took a photo of you in front of that chocolate shop, but Hamilton was so convincing, that you finally did believe him.”

  I cleared my throat loudly, and Carl did hesitate then, but Rieker waved him on. “Please continue.”

  Carl launched back into his story. “Well, Hamilton invited Narel to the prom. He told her he liked bigger girls. She was suspicious at first, but he kept asking her and he even sent her flowers. Both of us finally thought he was legit. Anyway, poor Narel was so excited to be going to the prom with a real live date, but he didn’t call for her. She waited and waited, and I was waiting with her because I didn’t have a date. Finally, we both went to the prom, and there was Hamilton with another girl. Narel asked him what was going on, and he made a big scene which humiliated Narel badly. It was all big set up by The Populars to humiliate Narel.”

  “But weren’t you suspicious?” Clyde asked me. He appeared to be getting into the story.

  “Yes, of course I was at first,” I explained. “But he wasn’t one of the worst Populars, and I hadn’t known him to bully anyone too badly before. I suppose I was just grateful that someone had asked me on a date.”

  Clyde continued. “But what, a pretty girl like you? I can’t imagine you had any trouble getting dates.”

  Carl snorted again and then burst into raucous laughter. “Narel looks stunning now because she had a terrible car wreck and months of plastic surgery—you know, the reconstructive stuff. She used to look like a chocolate pudding before that, a big, round, chocolate pudding.”

  I was aware that my face was flushing beet red. “Carl!” I said. I was awfully embarrassed.

  “So who were the worst bullies of the group you call The Populars?” Rieker asked Carl.

  Carl shrugged. “Guy Smith, Ridgewell Dugan, Lucinda Shaw-Smythe, Mandy Makim, and Hamilton Howes.”

  Clyde spoke up. “I thought you just said Hamilton wasn’t as bad as the others?”

  “So sue me, handsome,” Carl said. “After what he did to Narel, he got worse, even though there wasn’t much time left in high school by then left. He became as bad as the others in that short time, even more so.”

  No one spoke for a few moments while Rieker read through his notes. “And do either of you have anything else to add about Hamilton Howes?”

  Carl and I both shook our heads.

  “Was he known to drink?” Rieker asked us.

  “Not back in our high school days,” I said. “No more than anyone else, but we haven’t seen him in years.”

  “And when was the last time you both did see him?”

  “Not since high school,” I said.

  “Yes, me too,” Carl added.

  Rieker stood up, and Clyde did also. “All right, that will be all for now, but please call us if you think of anything else.”

  I shut the door behind them and leaned against it. “It doesn’t look as though they suspect me for this murder, at least,” I said to Carl.

  “Be thankful for small mercies,” Carl said. “I really do think that everyone we went to high school with would be a suspect in the eyes of the police. I don’t want to scare you, Narel, but I’m beginning to be a bit frightened. It seems as though there’s a serial killer on the loose, and they’re working their way through our high school class.”

  “Only through The Populars,” I pointed out. “I really think that the murderer is someone who was bullied.”

  Carl looked thoughtful. “You know what we have to do, don’t you, Narel?”

  I had a bad feeling about what he was going to say. “What?”

  “You’re going to have to go to the school reunion.”

  “No!” I yelled. “Please don’t make me! Then they’ll all know that I used to be Narel.”

  “But you are Narel,” Carl seemed a little confused by my outburst.

  “But this is the new me!” I said. “I don’t want them to know I used to be me.”

  Carl shook his head. “Narel, you’re not making any sense. Let’s go out for breakfast.”

  “But don’t you have to work today?”

  “I’ve had too much excitement for the day already,” Carl said. “Plus, we have to make plans about what to do at the reunion.”

  “I’m not going,” I said firmly. “And that’s that!”

  Carl simply smirked at me.

  Chapter 12

  I was wearing a sparkly, chocolate-brown dress that Carl had kindly bought me as a gift. I had never worn such a dress. It was short and tight, but as Carl had rightly pointed out, it looked good on my surgically enhanced body. It was the heels that I was having trouble with. They were also a gift from Carl.

  I clung onto Carl’s arm for balance. “How on earth did you ever manage to talk me into coming here?”

  Carl smiled smugly. “I don’t know what you’re worried about, Narel. High school was years ago. Those people don’t have any power over you any more.”

  “You didn’t see Lucinda and Mandy the other day!” I exclaimed. They were nasty little…”

  “Shush,” Carl said. “They’re standing right there.” I looked around, but Carl took me over to the bar. He ordered me a cocktail, despite my protests, because I’m a wine person rather than a cocktail drinker.

  Still, I did feel calm sitting at the bar and surveying the room. I was glad the lights were dim. There were scarlet velvet wall drapes, walls painted somewhere between purple and dark blue, and the flooring was hardwood. Strangely, the ceiling appeared to be hardwood as well.

  “It’s recently been renovated,” Carl said, “but you’d never think it with those horrible old-fashioned lights on those old-fashioned wooden fans right out of the 1980’s. And what look were they going for anyway? Quirky? Look at those weirdly colored doors.”

  The décor was the last thing on my mind. “What happens when someone recognizes me?” I wailed.

>   Carl shrugged. “You’ll deal with it, Narel. You’re a big girl now.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Actually I’m not a big girl any more,” I said with a laugh. I looked around the room trying to recognize people. Lucinda and Mandy looked pretty much like they had in high school, so I would have recognized them even if I hadn’t seen them recently, but I did not recognize anyone else. I turned my attention to the bar. There was a half dead potted plant pushed at up the end of the bar, and a silver tray next to it. To the side was a framed blackboard with a list of cocktails: Strawberry Fields, Mojitos, Sangria, Manhattan.

  “The murderer will probably be here tonight,” Carl said.

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I glared at him.

  “Just keep your wits about you, Narel. Let’s keep an eye on all our suspects, and then we can go back and write their names on a whiteboard.”

  “Thrilling!” I said sarcastically.

  Carl shot me a look, and was no doubt going to say something witty, when he was interrupted by Lucinda Shaw-Smythe.

  “Well, if it isn’t Carl Smith,” she said in a blatantly nasty tone. “Have you changed your ways? Don’t tell me you’ve got yourself a girlfriend.”

  I took a deep breath, dreading Lucinda’s reaction to my true identity. Before I could speak, Lucinda loomed forward and peered at me. “Oh, hello. Aren’t you opening that quaint little dog food shop?”

  “Chocolate shop.” I clutched my stomach, wondering what was coming next.

  She pulled a face. “How long have you known Carl?”

  “Just about all my life,” I said. “Don’t you recognize me, Lucinda? I’m Narel Myers.”

  Lucinda laughed, an annoying high-pitched laugh. “I don’t know who you really are, but why you’d want to impersonate that disgusting blob is beyond me.”

  I was furious. I got off my bar stool and stood up, facing her. “That’s not very nice, Lucinda. I am Narel.”

  Carl spoke up. “Yes, she is,” he said firmly.

  Lucinda took a step backward. “Narel?” she said. She looked as though she had seen a ghost. I’m sure she couldn’t have looked any more shocked if she had tried. Finally, she managed to speak. “Have you had some work done?”

  “Yes, I have. Would you like the contact details of my plastic surgeon?” I said that to be snarky, and I expected her to be highly offended, so her response surprised me.

  “Thank you!” she said. She looked genuinely pleased. “Here’s my card. Could you please email me the contact details?”

  “Err, um, sure,” I stammered. From the corner of my eye I could see Carl doubled over with laughter.

  Lucinda stood there gaping at me, but then she returned to normal. “Your dress is an interesting color, Narel. Did you buy it because it reminded you of chocolate?”

  I tried to think of a witty reply, but failed. She continued. “Your dress is the same ghastly diaper brown color that Hamilton was wearing when he died, and look what happened to him! You don’t want go the same way as him, I’m sure. You should know by now that chocolate isn’t good for you, and that color just washes out your complexion.” With that, Lucinda hurried away.

  I turned to Carl. “She’s still a piece of work,” he said. He nodded to where she had gone. Lucinda was holding Mandy by the arm and pointing to me. Mandy was staring at me, her jaw hanging open. The two saw me looking at them, so turned away, giggling. Their heads were together and they were whispering.

  “Well, was that as bad as you thought it would be?” Carl asked me.

  I took a deep breath. “No, thankfully it wasn’t. But she’s only one of The Populars; wait until the others start on me.”

  “I don’t think there are that many Populars left,” Carl said, “not after the murders.”

  “I can’t see any others right now, but I don’t even remember everyone.” I nodded at some girls dancing. “I recognize those girls over there, but I don’t recognize any of the men.”

  “I think sometimes men can change more than women,” Carl said. “Look at Neville.”

  “Neville?” I tried to think who Neville was, but came up blank. “I don’t remember any Neville. It must be my memory loss again.”

  Carl laughed. “No, I mean Neville from Harry Potter.” I must have looked confused, because he continued. “I forget the name of the actor, but he’s super good looking now. He doesn’t look anything like he did when he was younger, and I think that can be the case with many boys in high school. When they grow up, some of them are unrecognizable.”

  “I suppose so.” I looked around the room. “Hang on a moment, I recognize him.”

  Carl followed my gaze. “Oh yes, Wayne Sidebottom. He’s actually moved back to town. He bought that winery not far from here.”

  “Did he?” I said. “Good for him. He used to be bullied badly.” As soon as I said it, Carl and I locked eyes.

  “New Suspect Number One,” Carl said.

  I looked at Wayne. He was staring at his wine glass, but suddenly looked up and shot Lucinda and Mandy a nasty glare.

  I watched as Lucinda walked over to a wall on which was a huge screen. She took the microphone and tapped it. I winced at the sound. “Gather around,” she said. “Come on, everyone!”

  Everyone took notice of her screeching and walked to stand in front of the screen. “I’d like to welcome you all here tonight to the twelve-year reunion of the Oak Grove High School.”

  Everyone clapped politely. Carl and I walked over to take our places with the people standing in front of the screen.

  “Mandy and I have a surprise for you tonight. Mandy and I have worked hard to do this presentation, which we call Walk Down Memory Lane.”

  I felt as if I would pass out. I knew this wasn’t going to be good—after all, anything that The Populars did always impacted someone horribly. They were nasty bullies and I was sure that Lucinda had not changed in the last twelve years.

  There was a big photo of Lucinda first. No surprises there. “I’m sure you all remember me, Lucinda Shaw-Smythe.” She giggled coquettishly. “I’m now a very successful dentist with my own practice, as most of you know.”

  I looked at the big photo on the screen. It was of Lucinda back in high school, and although she had looked attractive back then, I would swear that the photo had been photoshopped. She left it up on the screen for rather a long time, and then the photo was finally replaced with a photo of Mandy Makim.

  “And I’m sure you will all remember Mandy from high school,” Lucinda continued. “Mandy is now the CEO of a very successful advertising firm in Melbourne.”

  It seemed that Mandy’s photo had been photoshopped as well. I could see where the trend was heading, and I was concerned. A disaster was about to happen. They were going to show a photo of me from high school.

  Lucinda continued with the photos of the three deceased Populars: Guy, Ridgewell, and Hamilton. She called for one minute of silence, but I would swear it was more like five seconds. She then continued showing photos of the deceased Populars. Guy, Ridgewell, and Hamilton had been highly successful: a doctor, a lawyer, a CEO. Then she got to her victims. A photo of Carl as a gawky adolescent appeared on the screen. “Carl Smith now sits around and plays video games all day,” Lucinda said derisively, and a nervous twitter went around the room.

  I looked at Carl. He was attempting to smile, albeit through gritted teeth. Lucinda kept Carl’s photo up for a long time. “And now we have Wayne Sidebottom,” she said. The photo of a very sad looking Wayne appeared on the screen. He was crying, and my heart went out to him. He had been relentlessly bullied by the Populars. “Wayne has now turned to drink,” Lucinda said with a laugh.

  “What a nasty piece of work,” I said to Carl angrily.

  Then a photo of me went up on the screen. I gasped. It was all I could do not to turn tail and run out of the room. I looked worse than I had remembered. I was enormous, and had a severe case of acne and had made no attempt to hide it with make-up.
What’s more, the photo had been taken right at the moment when my cheeks were puffed out from being filled with chocolate. I had a chocolate milkshake in one hand, and a large chocolate bar in the other. Chocolate was smeared across my face. “Narel Myers, I’m sure, needs no introduction to any of you,” Lucinda said with a sneer. “She’s stayed in this little town all her life, and currently she’s a shop assistant.”

  “Don’t you worry about her,” Carl said rather too loudly. “No matter what she says, it’s better than being a bully.”

  Everyone turned to look at us.

  Mandy stepped up to take the microphone from Lucinda, and thankfully my photograph vanished. I was shaking with anger. Although I had remembered how it was to be bullied, now I remembered it vividly. It was as though I were reliving it. I shut my eyes until the end of the presentation.

  “We have a lovely surprise now,” Mandy said. “Lucinda and I have decided to have a King and Queen of the Prom, and now I will announce them.” There was actually a drum roll. “Wayne Sidebottom and Narel Myers.”

  Half the people in the room gasped and the other half laughed, as a split screen of Wayne Sidebottom crying at school and me stuffing my face with chocolate appeared on the screen.

  “Would Wayne and Narel please come forward,” Mandy said. The lights dimmed, and a big spotlight appeared center stage. Carl gave me a little shove and I walked to the stage.

  Wayne and I met under the spotlight. “Wow, Narel, you look amazing! You’ve really changed since high school!”

  I smiled. “I was just thinking the exact same thing about you,” I said. The lights now went on and everyone could see us properly. The whole crowd gasped. No doubt they were surprised at Wayne’s transformation, but utterly shocked at mine.

  Mandy came out to crown us, a terrible scowl on her face. Her nasty little joke had backfired on her. She no doubt thought we would look the same as we had in high school, and truth be told, she would have been right about me, had I not had a serious car wreck.

  As she placed the crowns on our heads, I gave her a sugary sweet smile. She stormed off. “I heard you bought the local winery,” I said to Wayne. “Congratulations.”