“At first, I thought Amelia was sneaking around with that Tommy Martinelli.” Franny shook her head. “But then that didn’t make sense. I mean, why sneak? Her husband would hardly mind, seeing as how he was parading his own mistress around in front of everyone.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t until after that night we talked at the tiki bar that I realized that maybe her real reason for being so secretive around me was that she had another reason, a much better reason. A new business more lucrative than the one I’d proposed. You see, chocolates can be eaten any time, packed in luggage, shipped anywhere. Cocktails can’t.”
The gun wavered slightly as Franny shifted her weight, still keeping that bag clutched to her chest tight with one hand. “Of course, my suspicions only grew when she blew me off that night. So when I saw her in Coconuts later, I followed her to the Fountain of Youth. I had to learn her secret, but she refused to tell me. That’s when things got ugly. We argued, and she left in a huff. I trailed her all the way back to the hotel.”
“And then what?” I moved to cross my arms, dropping them again when she raised the gun to my chest once more.
“Shut up and get in the back room.” She jabbed the gun again, and I took one step back.
“Don’t let her get you in the back room,” Penuche warned. “That’s where they always kill people on TV. Keep her talking.”
Franny scowled at the cat. “Can’t you shut that thing up?”
“Thing?” Penuche glared at Franny. “She’s gonna be sorry she said that.”
I scrambled for more to say. “You just couldn’t resist Amelia’s Birkin bag and sweater? Some friend.”
“Hey.” Franny had the audacity to look and sound affronted, as though she’d been the wronged party. “It wasn’t like I could just stand by and watch that beautiful pink bag get all stained and ruined with chocolate.” She looked down and stroked her own purse with a caress most people saved for their lovers.
By the front window, Clover was trying to hop up onto the display. Give me a hand Penuche. I’ll try to attract attention.
Penuche ran to the window. Franny didn’t notice as she continued. “And the sweater was just so gorgeous, so lovely. I couldn’t pass it up. Amelia always knew I admired her style, and it wasn’t like she was going to need it anymore.”
“So you killed her.” I gave her what I hoped was my most disgusted look. “She was your friend, and you killed her for a purse and a sweater.”
“No! I killed her because she kept a secret from me. Because she poo-pooed my wonderful idea to make aging just a little bit easier for everyone. Because she chose that old twit Lilly and her chocolates over me. That’s why I killed her.”
Over at the window, Penuche crouched down as Clover scrambled up his back and into the display. With a quick nod in my direction, Penuche trotted off toward the back of the shop. Just what was he up to?
“Guess that’s it, then.” I swiveled my attention back to Franny, whose voice was as cold as the metal on the barrel of the gun she pointed. “Get in the back.”
No way was I getting in that back room. “I don’t think so.” I grabbed a tray of peppermint patties and flung them at her. The chocolate disks pummeled her in the face, and she instinctively raised her hands. I lunged forward, knocking the gun from her hand.
“No you don’t!” She hurled a tray of orange creams at me, the tray narrowly missing my head, the candies bouncing all over the floor. She dove for the gun.
“Hold on, Zola!” Penuche yelled from underneath the storage counter in the back. I didn’t have time to look to see what he was doing, but I heard digging and scratching.
I grabbed some chocolate-covered cherries and tossed them at Franny, muttering a burst-open spell just as she surfaced with the gun. The cherries hit her, but instead of bouncing off, they burst open, splattering thick gooey red juice all over her and the white Fendi.
“My purse!” Her gaze dipped to the Fendi that she’d dropped in the struggle. It was marred with dark chocolate and oozing cherry juice. She bent down, the gun still in her hand.
“Zola!” Penuche’s yell caught my attention, and I looked to see him rolling something large and brown toward me. Was it a yule log? It was midsummer, so the thing must be stale.
I scooped it up midroll. It was indeed stale—and hard as rock.
I spun toward Franny, who was still bent over her purse. I raised the log and clobbered her over the head. She went down like a wet sack of cocoa powder just as I heard banging on the shop door.
Outside, the cop cart was parked at the curb, blue lights swirling. Buddy pounded the door. Lenny peered in the large window, his hands cupped around his eyes.
I rushed over and unlocked the door.
“Just what in tarnation is going on in here?” Buddy demanded, hands on his wide hips, surveying the mess. Chocolate coated the floor. Trays of candy were spilled everywhere, and a prostrate, out-cold Franny made the centerpiece. “I got a call that someone saw a skunk in here. We’ve had a problem here in town. See ’em lying in the road, then at the mud pits. Do you mean to tell me one little skunk made all this mess?”
“Not a skunk.” I stood and pointed at Franny. “A killer. That woman killed Amelia Pendleton. I have proof, and she confessed. Arrest her.”
Twenty-Four
Two nights later …
The gang was getting together at Coconuts tiki bar to celebrate Lilly’s release from jail and being cleared of all charges in Amelia’s murder. As I walked in, I saw that Tommy had commandeered a large table near the stage for us. Lilly was there, of course, along with Penuche—who seemed inordinately pleased to be reunited with his owner. Beside them sat Corinne Pendleton and even Bonnie looked to be taking a break from bartending to give Lilly her well wishes.
Kenna, Skye, and Evian were there too. I slid into a chair next to Skye and greeted everyone, my skin tingling under the weight of Tommy’s stare from across the table.
“Hey, everyone,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“We were just getting ready to toast Lilly’s newfound freedom,” Kenna said, raising her rum runner high in the air. “To our friend, Lilly. May she live long and prosper.”
“You stole that from Mr. Spock,” Skye hissed under her breath.
“Fine.” Kenna tried again. “May you stay out of jail and out of trouble from now on.”
“Cheers to that,” I agreed wholeheartedly.
“And may the island be free of mishaps from here on out,” Kenna added.
“Cheers!”
I turned to Lilly. “I did the best I could with your shop, but no one does candy like you, Lilly.”
“Well thank you, dear.” Lilly took a long swig from her drink. “I appreciate your help in all this.”
“I just wish I’d figured it out sooner.” I swirled the bright blue umbrella around in my drink. It was Friday, local talent night. There would be a house band and an assortment of performers starting soon. Unfortunately, most of the natives of Eternal Springs had no talent. “I should’ve guessed it was Franny far earlier than I did. There was always something wonky about her.”
Skye snorted. “No kidding. She practically seethed jealousy whenever I was around her. Talk about a toxic friendship.”
“Well, she sure had all of us fooled,” Tommy said, slipping his arm around his aunt’s shoulders. “I’m just glad to have Lilly home, safe and sound where she belongs.”
“I always had faith,” Lilly said, draining the rest of her drink and signaling Bonnie for another. “With Zola on my side, I knew I had a higher power working for me.” Lilly looked up at the starry sky, and I exchanged rolled-eye glances with my witch sisters.
“Too bad my only witness was Penuche, here, and he can’t talk, can you boy?” Lilly kissed the top of the cat’s head while he gazed at me with his golden eyes, one tiny brow raised in pure feline superiority. The fact I could hear him speak was one more secret I planned to keep. These people had enough weird things to pin on me.
&n
bsp; “So, Franny’s been moved to jail on the mainland, then?” I asked, hoping to steer the spotlight off me. “That was quick.”
“Well, she did confess to it all,” Tommy said, removing his arm from around his aunt and reaching under the table. “So I suppose the constable saw no reason to wait. And speaking of no reason to wait.”
He pulled out a plastic container with a spectacular-looking pie inside. Mounded high with whipped cream and dark chocolate sprinkles, it had every woman at the table nearly salivating with want. I sat forward slightly to dip my finger into the whipped cream.
“Oh, this looks amazing, Tommy!” I sucked the cream from my finger. “What kind is it?”
“Salted caramel and French chocolate cream.” He pulled out a shiny metal serving utensil and a stack of paper plates. “Who wants a slice?”
All the other people at the table quickly raised their hands. I slumped back in my seat, feeling a bit sick. Salted caramel? No thanks. Just the thought of those candies would bring back bad memories for a long time to come.
“Zola, how about you?” Tommy asked, poised to place a large slice of pie on a plate for me. “Too big? Too small?”
“I think I’ll just stick to my rum runner,” I said, holding up my drink.
“Sure.” He slid the slice back into the pie pan, his gaze dropping. I didn’t miss the slight disappointment in his expression. Great. Now I’d gone and insulted the guy.
I opened my mouth to say more but was interrupted by a loud male voice behind me.
“There she is, the guest of honor,” Buddy said, coming up to our table. “Lilly, Lilly, Lilly. What are we going to do with you?”
“Let me be, I hope,” Lilly said, her forehead wrinkling.
“Well now,” Buddy hitched up his pants. “You did admit to taking water from the Fountain of Youth, and you know that’s a severe offense and carries a hefty fine.”
“Oh dear … well, I …” Lilly glanced around the table for help.
“Don’t you think she already paid with time served?” Kenna asked.
“Yeah, you wrongfully incarcerated her,” Skye added.
“I wouldn’t want to have to do a radio show on how the police arrested the wrong person for killing Amelia Pendleton,” Evian added.
Buddy looked disappointed that he might not be able to slap Lilly with a fine, but he also didn’t want to be on the bad side of the newspaper or the radio station.
“I suppose I can consider her fine paid.” He turned to Lilly. “As long as you promise to stop swiping water from the Fountain of Youth. We can’t have everybody thinking they can just take the sacred waters whenever they want.”
“Agreed.” Lilly kissed Penuche again before settling him in her lap. “I didn’t take much. Amelia came into my shop one day, and somehow we came up with this idea. We wanted to keep it secret until we had it fully thought out. I figured we’d get a permit for the water or something. I never really made anything with that water, you know. No chocolates anyway.” She glanced up and caught my eye before looking away again—fast.
I bit my lip and stared into my drink. She was lying. The caramels that she’d claimed were stale had been laced with Fountain of Youth water. That’s why she was so insistent that I not put them out in the shop. If they were really stale, she would have thrown them out.
Those chocolate-covered sea-salted caramels had been the first thing Lilly had wanted to see when she’d got back to her shop. She’d been very upset when she discovered they were all gone. I’d made up a story about a mouse getting them. It wasn’t as if I could tell her I’d used them to trap a gnome, though I would have liked to have passed on the information that the candies must have worked given the way the gnome got younger overnight.
Soon, the band had set up, and the air filled with calypso music. A few people got up to dance, and next thing I knew, Tommy had moved from across the table to the empty chair beside me. Lilly was still in deep conversation with Buddy, and Bonnie was back tending bar, while Kenna, Skye, and Evian made their way to the dance floor.
Tommy leaned his elbow on the table and moved closer. “We never did get to meet the other night to discuss how to free my aunt from jail.”
“Yeah, well, Franny came in, and I got her to confess, so I guess we closed the case anyway.”
“Right. I appreciate that, but I was kind of looking forward to getting together. We could still do that … if you wanted.”
I met his warm brown eyes, my mouth suddenly dry as sand. “You mean like on a date?”
Tommy smiled. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
I stared at him for a split second, then my mouth curved in a smile. “You know, I think I’d like that.”
And this time my answer had nothing to do with a backfired truth spell.
**************
Get the rest of the books in the Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs Series:
Bat Out of Spell (Book 1)
Spell on Earth (Book 2 - (this book))
Hotter Than Spell (Book 3)
Spell or High Water (Book 4)
Sign up for my VIP reader list and get my books at the lowest discount price:
http://www.leighanndobbs.com/newsletter
Join my Facebook Readers group and get special content and the inside scoop on my books:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ldobbsreaders
If you want to receive a text message on your cell phone for new releases, text COZYMYSTERY to 88202 (sorry, this only works for US cell phones!)
Also by Leighann Dobbs
Cozy Mysteries
Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1-4)
Or buy the books separately:
Killer Cupcakes
Dying For Danish
Murder, Money and Marzipan
3 Bodies and a Biscotti
Brownies, Bodies & Bad Guys
Bake, Battle & Roll
Wedded Blintz
Scones, Skulls & Scams
Ice Cream Murder
Mummified Meringues
Brutal Brulee (Novella)
No Scone Unturned
Cream Puff Killer
-------
-------
Kate Diamond Mystery Adventures
***
Hidden Agemda (Book 1)
Ancient Hiss Story (Book 2)
Heist Society (Book 3)
-------
Silver Hollow
Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
***
A Spell of Trouble (Book 1)
Spell Disaster (Book 2)
Nothing to Croak About (Book 3)
Cry Wolf (Book 4)
-------
Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
A Zen For Murder
A Crabby Killer
A Treacherous Treasure
-------
Mystic Notch
Cat Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
Ghostly Paws
A Spirited Tail
A Mew To A Kill
Paws and Effect
Probable Paws
-------
Blackmoore Sisters
Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
Dead Wrong
Dead & Buried
Dead Tide
Buried Secrets
Deadly Intentions
A Grave Mistake
Spell Found
Fatal Fortune
-------
Hazel Martin Historical Mystery Series
***
Murder at Lowry House (book 1)
Murder by Misunderstanding (book 2)
-------
Lady Katherine Regency Mysteries
***
An Invitation to Murder (Book 1)
The Baffling Burglaries of Bath (Book 2)
-------
Sam Mason Mysteries
(As L. A. D
obbs)
***
Telling Lies (Book 1)
Keeping Secrets (Book 2)
Exposing Truths (Book 3)
Betraying Trust (Book 4)
-------
Contemporary Romance
***
Reluctant Romance
-------
Sweet Romance (Written As Annie Dobbs)
Firefly Inn Series
***
Another Chance (Book 1)
Another Wish (Book 2)
-------
Hometown Hearts Series
***
No Getting Over You (Book 1)
A Change of Heart (Book 2)
-------
Romantic Comedy
***
Corporate Chaos Series
In Over Her Head (book 1)
Can’t Stand the Heat (book 2)
What Goes Around Comes Around (book 3)
Careful What You Wish For (4)
-------
***
Sweetrock Sweet and Spicy Cowboy Romance
Some Like It Hot
Too Close For Comfort
____
Regency Romance
* * *
Scandals and Spies Series:
Kissing The Enemy
Deceiving the Duke
Tempting the Rival
Charming the Spy
Pursuing the Traitor
Captivating the Captain
The Unexpected Series:
Spell on Earth (An Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 15