“That’s plenty of chocolate for me,” Sophie said.
“One important rule is that people in the factory aren’t allowed to wear perfume because the scent can get into the chocolate just by being near it and change the taste. The class sounds like fun. Maybe you can bring some chocolate home for us.”
Sophie stared suspiciously at her mother. “Who is this person in front of me? We don’t have dessert in our house very often, so what you’re saying doesn’t make sense. Are you telling me that you like chocolate, Mom?”
Her mom smiled. “I may not believe we should have dessert every day, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. If we had some chocolate treats for a week, our family—including Jessica, of course—could take a little break from my no-sugar plan, and I would join you.”
Sophie sat on the stool behind the cash register. “I’m twelve years old, and I just learned Mom’s shocking secret.”
Jessica grinned. “My mother loves chocolate, so I was surprised yours didn’t. Now I understand. She loves it too.” She glanced over at her aunt, who nodded. “But she doesn’t eat it all the time.”
Mrs. Sandoval nodded again.
The bell on the door rang as Sheriff Valeska came into the shop. Jessica picked up a feather duster and swept it over the shelves—her least favorite thing to do at Great Finds—but this way she’d have her back to everyone, so the expression on her face couldn’t reveal her secret with the sheriff.
Mrs. Sandoval asked, “Mandy, have you caught the guy yet?”
Sophie turned toward her mom. “What guy, Mom? What happened?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard, Sophie. Someone stole a car that was parked right here on Main Street.”
Jessica turned to them with her feather duster in midair. “In Pine Hill?”
The sheriff rubbed her hand over her face. “I wish they hadn’t done it. I’m visiting each of the shops on Main Street to make sure no one saw the theft, that nothing suspicious had happened this morning.”
“Everything is perfectly normal here, Mandy,” Mrs. Sandoval said.
“Well, I set up a checkpoint on the highway leading out of town. We’re stopping every car. I don’t like doing that because I don’t want this to seem like an unfriendly town, but I have to find the stolen car.”
More crimes and criminals? If Jessica were alone with the sheriff, she would ask if this could be connected to what she’d asked her to do.
“Right, Jessica?” Sophie said.
Jessica almost jumped out of her skin when she heard her name. She turned around.
Sophie, Aunt April, and Sheriff Valeska all stared at her.
What had they been saying? With Sophie, she never knew. “Um. Right?”
“You’ll catch him, Sheriff,” Sophie said.
“Unless they escaped with the car before we realized they’d stolen it. But I hope we do, Sophie.”
The sheriff left.
Jessica brought the subject back to chocolate to distract her aunt and cousin in case they’d noticed she’d acted strangely around the sheriff. “Aunt April, we’ll do our best to bring you samples every day.”
Mrs. Sandoval said, “I like that idea. When you’re there, you may notice that Sweet Bites Chocolates is in an unusual building. Long before I was born, it was the boathouse for a big country club down at the water’s edge. A boathouse sits over the water, and boats are kept in it.”
“That sounds like a garage, Aunt April. Are there still boats there?”
“They’re long gone. They used to be in the water underneath today’s factory. They had parties and weddings where the factory is. The larger, even more elegant building next door burned down.” She turned to Sophie. “Before they made chocolate in the boathouse and before you were born, it was a restaurant, and your father and I would go to eat dinner and watch the sun set over the water.”
Mrs. Sandoval laughed. “I went there once to talk to a friend who worked in the restaurant. Her office was down a hallway that turned into another hallway and turned a corner and went around that corner and down steps and up steps. It was crazy. You’ll have to let me know if they’ve opened it all up, or if there are still all kinds of odd places there.”
It sounded exactly like the type of place where they’d find a mystery. Jessica hoped that wouldn’t happen, that she wouldn’t learn anything interesting to tell the sheriff.
A Sweet Class
SOPHIE SAT UP IN BED and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up. Moving as quietly as she could, she stepped onto the floor and tiptoed over to the bathroom so she could take a shower. Not long after Jessica had come to stay with her for the summer, Sophie had learned her cousin wasn’t good at waking up. When Sophie had finished showering, she put on her robe, then slowly opened the bathroom door.
Jessica was sitting up. Without saying a word, she got out of bed and trudged by Sophie into the bathroom. Sophie stepped aside, the door closed behind her, and she heard the water turn on.
As Jessica showered, Sophie got dressed and dried her hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. A short time later, the bathroom door opened and her cousin came out, rubbing her hair with a towel. “My shower helped. I think I’m ready to face the day.”
Sophie sat on the end of her bed. “This might be the earliest we’ve gotten up this summer. It almost—almost—makes getting up for school look good.”
“This morning was a little easier than school. It involves chocolate.” Jessica did a little happy dance, then began drying her hair, which Sophie knew would be followed by her putting on her makeup.
After what seemed like forever, Sophie groaned and flopped backward on the bed. “We’re just taking a class, Jessica.”
Jessica stepped back and checked her reflection in the mirror, then added earrings and a bracelet. “Almost ready. Notice that I’m wearing chocolate brown shorts to celebrate our first day making my favorite treat.” She turned to face Sophie. “Let’s go.”
Sophie rolled off the bed. “I wish you could get ready as quickly as I do.” She gestured toward her hair, then to her faded jeans and white T-shirt.
“I’ve stopped using a lot of my makeup since I came to Pine Hill, but I do like to have it just right.”
They went through the living room and into the kitchen to get a bite to eat. Sophie made toast for both of them while Jessica poured juice. When they were seated at the small kitchen table, Sophie said, “I wish we had a mystery. Well, at least part of me wishes we had a mystery.”
Jessica coughed and reached for her juice.
“Are you okay?”
After taking another sip of juice, she said, “Fine.”
“Aren’t you going to say how happy you are that we don’t have a mystery to work on?”
“Mysteries are interesting when you’re in the middle of them, and always seem to end up dangerous, but are better than not doing anything.” Jessica got to her feet and took her plate and glass over to the sink, rinsed them off, and put them in the dishwasher. “Today we get to make chocolates.”
Sophie finished her toast and took her things to the dishwasher too. “It sounds fun to learn how to make chocolates, but I wish I wanted to eat what we’ve made.”
“Did your mom say what she was going to have us do this afternoon at Great Finds?”
“She only said that she wanted us to come over and help. It could be something interesting, and it could be more dusting.” Sophie grabbed her backpack and Jessica her purse, and they both went out the door, down the steps, and over to the trail that led through the woods.
The cousins followed the trail to Pine Hill, kept going through town and past the resort, then turned left toward the lake where the chocolate factory sat.
They soon approached a building painted a color that Sophie could best describe as “chocolate chip.” A big sign with letters that looked like someone had taken bites out of them read, “Sweet Bites Chocolates.” The building’s large door was painted to look like a box of chocolate and
the door handle like a chocolate bar.
Sophie pulled the door open and entered with Jessica right behind her. They stopped just inside the building. A desk to their right was empty, but she thought someone should be sitting there waiting to greet them.
A woman came around the corner in a hurry, panting. She stopped and gave them a big smile. “Hello, ladies. I’m Erma Clayton. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when you came in. I’ve taken three people back to the classroom area, and you must be two more for me.” She sat down in front of her computer.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jessica said. “I’m Jessica Ballow, and this is my cousin Sophie Sandoval.”
The woman checked her computer screen, made a few clicks, then stood again, grabbing a couple of name tags as she did. She handed one to each of them. “We’re happy to have you here for the class.”
Sophie pinned her name tag to her shirt, and Jessica did the same.
Still smiling, Mrs. Clayton motioned for them to follow her. They all went down a hall, around a corner, and into a small room with some chairs set up and a screen on the wall. It could have been a classroom in a school anywhere. Sophie felt a bit of nervousness pass through her as she realized this might not be fun, there might not be treats to sample, and they might have to sit in a classroom for days learning how people made chocolates.
Her expression must have given away her thoughts. A man who looked like Tony’s dad said, “Come in. Come in. Please find a seat.” He watched the two of them walk over and sit down in chairs in the last of the four rows. A man and two women had arrived before them. “And don’t worry. We’ll only be in this classroom for a little while this morning. Most of the time, you’re going to be out in the factory learning how to make chocolates.”
Only one more person, an older man, arrived, then the man who’d greeted them walked to the front of the room and began. “I’m Salvatore Donadio. I’ve only lived in Pine Hill for half a year, but many of you, if not all of you, know my brother who owns Donadio’s Deli.” Everyone in the class nodded, then glanced at each other, smiling. Tony’s dad had a great reputation in the town. Sophie and Jessica had wondered about him when they’d been working on their last mystery and had been glad when he’d checked out okay.
As Mr. Donadio walked across the room, he added, “The next class has twice this number of people signed up, probably because they had more time to plan for it. You’re first so we’ll learn how to do this together.”
He dimmed the lights, returned to the front, and turned on a projector. Pictures of candy flashed onto the screen. Mr. Donadio then told his students the history of chocolate, how it was found in South America and that explorers brought it to Europe where it became very popular, and word about the delicious treat soon spread.
When he’d finished, he said, “Now I’m going to take you on a tour of my beautiful chocolate factory. But first, do you have any questions?”
Sophie raised her hand, and he nodded in her direction.
“Do you only make chocolates here, or do you make other kinds of candy too?”
“Great question! We make more than thirty kinds of chocolate, different flavors, shapes, sizes—”
Sophie felt her heart sink at his words. This would be chocolate and nothing but that. She’d still try to have fun. Even if she didn’t learn to love chocolate like Jessica did.
He gestured for the class to follow him, and one by one they went out the door, down the hall, and around another corner. Her mother had been right. This building had so many twists and turns that it was hard to know where she was.
Mr. Donadio stopped in front of a closed door, and his students crowded around him. “This is our storage area, where we keep some of our supplies.” He unlocked the door, pushed it open, then stepped aside so they could see into the room.
A wide array of items sat on shelves piled with many different sizes of boxes for chocolates, jars, and cans of all sorts of things that Sophie couldn’t even begin to guess what they were used for in making candy. There were pens, pencils, and office paper. Mr. Donadio stepped into the room, picked up a box, and held it up. Sophie could see that it was marked “bubble gum.”
“I had what I thought was a great idea,” he said. “You can tell me if I was wrong, or if the people who have advised me are wrong.” He reached into the box and pulled out a piece of what Sophie could tell was a kind of bubble gum she’d had before. Holding it up, he said, “I thought chocolate-covered bubblegum would be a hit with our customers. What do you think?”
Sophie grimaced. Would that sound good to someone who loved chocolate?
A woman to her right said, “Sal, your company makes wonderful chocolates, but I think that sounds horrible.”
Everyone seemed to agree.
Sophie thought his feelings would be hurt, but he just smiled and shrugged. “I’ll come up with something new that people love. Chocolate-covered strawberries, those are all over the place, so I don’t want to do more of them unless someone really wants them. I want to make something special, different, and quite wonderful.”
He next took everyone toward the factory area. As they walked, he said to Sophie and Jessica, “You’re friends with Tony, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Sophie answered.
“That makes you like family to a Donadio, so please call me Uncle Sal, as Tony does.”
“Uncle Sal” stopped at the entrance to the factory. “Here we make delicious chocolates. So that your hands are free, please leave your purses and other belongings behind Mrs. Clayton’s desk while we’re working.”
When they’d done that, he led them into a room around the corner from the lobby. “This is where we keep our finished chocolates at the perfect temperature. You can each choose one.”
A sigh went up from almost everyone there.
He put on gloves and picked up the piece of chocolate each person pointed to.
Jessica said, “I’ll have anything dark chocolate.” When she bit into it, she said, “Yum. Raspberry cream.”
Sophie halfheartedly said, “I’ll take whichever one you think is best, Uncle Sal.” When she took a bite of the light chocolate piece, the orange flavor inside brought a smile to her face. Maybe this wouldn’t be bad after all.
When they stepped out of the room, a worker called Uncle Sal over.
Walking away, he said, “Everyone, share your names. I’ll be right back.”
Oops!
ONE OF THE WOMEN IN the chocolate-making class—Jessica didn’t think she was quite as old as her mom—introduced herself as Emily Foster. “I’m here on vacation. Who could resist a chocolate class?”
A man about her grandfather’s age said, “I’m Peter Pleckenpoll.” Jessica wondered if she’d be able to remember that. He must have had that problem in the past because he added, “Please call me Mr. P.”
Sophie grinned. “That’s easy.”
A young man with an older woman by his side gave his name as Dylan Hanley. “I’m working in Pine Hill for the summer as part of a college class. This is my mother, Beverly.” Turning to the woman at his side, he added, “She’s visiting.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Mrs. Hanley said. “I’m enjoying my trip to Pine Hill. Are you from here?”
Jessica opened her mouth to answer, but she continued.
“I’m from Chicago. Dylan grew up there, didn’t you, son?” Before he could reply, she said, “Summer isn’t bad there, but winter can be cold.”
Jessica glanced at Sophie, and her cousin shrugged. They both wanted to say something to be polite but were fairly certain the older woman wouldn’t give them a chance. And, as expected, Mrs. Hanley picked up where her last sentence left off.
As she described her trip to Pine Hill in detail, Jessica listened but checked out the people in the class. None of them looked suspicious. Smart criminals would seem innocent though, wouldn’t they?
At last Uncle Sal returned, interrupting the woman’s story of her travel from the airport, and began
his tour with some giant-sized pots to the side of the room. “This is where we keep the chocolate at a perfect melted temperature at all times. If chocolate isn’t treated with care, it can get crystals in it and do other strange things, things that don’t taste good and might not make a pretty piece of candy.”
Jessica said, “We call candy ‘sweets’ in England.”
Uncle Sal nodded. “Yes. My chocolates are sweets when they’re sold there.”
With a big smile on his face, he led them over to what he called the enrober, a long machine with a belt that carried pieces of candy filling into a shower of liquid chocolate. “We’re making my favorite today, chocolate-covered marshmallows. We do them in both dark and milk chocolate, but today we’re using milk chocolate.”
Jessica would have rather had dark chocolate, but this should still be fun.
“Everyone will have a chance to put the marshmallows we make here on the belt at the beginning and to set the finished pieces on a tray at the end.” Still smiling, he warned, “No sampling the finished chocolates.”
At everyone’s sad expression, he added, “But you can each have a piece of your choice later. Maybe two.”
His students laughed.
“You and you,”—he pointed first to Sophie then to Jessica—“can be first on the beginning of the line. Emily and I will go to the end of the line. We only keep perfectly coated pieces of candy. I will teach her what to watch for, then have someone take my place so she can teach them.”
Everyone put on plastic gloves. Then the four who were working the line took their positions.
“I hope we can move as fast as we’re supposed to,” Jessica said to Sophie.
A worker wheeled over a cart with trays of square pieces of marshmallow on it. The man set eight pieces in a row on the end of the belt where the bottoms were then coated with chocolate. They moved down the belt to be showered in a waterfall of chocolate, then slid out of sight into a long, enclosed section, what the man helping them said was the cooling tunnel where the chocolate hardened.
The Chocolate Spy Page 2