Itsy-Bitsy Murder: Chocolate Cozy Mystery #2

by Meadows, Wendy

  Alberta’s jaw dropped. “Oh no. You’re not serious.”

  “I am,” Olivia replied, and she forced a smile. “But it’s fine. I have my own means and methods, Alberta. Don’t you worry about that.” She slurped some of her coffee and placed it beside the register. “I just need a moment to go over the facts.”

  “You should take a walk, dear,” Alberta said. “Go on ahead, we’ll close the store.”

  Alvira hurried over to the counter. “May I come with you, Olivia?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “I’ll get Dodger and meet you out front in five,” Alvira replied, then hurried toward the stairs in the corner.

  Olivia sighed and went to the glass door at the front of her store. What would she do without her ever-helpful assistants? They’d sure made life easy since she’d moved to Chester.

  She took off her apron, grabbed her coat from a hook beside the door and slipped it over her plain white blouse and jeans. She buttoned it up and rubbed her palms together. She’d figure this out. A walk would refresh her senses and help her sift through the facts they already had.

  Olivia opened the door and stepped out into the late afternoon. It was warmer than it had been all week, but she didn’t shrug off her coat. She paced back and forth along the sidewalk. Her thoughts ran together and poked fun at her mind.

  Alvira came around the back of the building, and Dodger tugged her along on the end of the leash. “Here we are,” she called out and waved. Dodger chose that moment to give an extra hard pull, and Alvira almost lost her grip on the leash. She transferred both hands to it immediately. “Whoops!”

  “Dodger,” Olivia chimed, but the dog was totally unfazed, as usual.

  “All right,” Alvira said and halted beside Olivia. “Where are we going?”

  “Just a walk,” Olivia replied. “Nothing suspicious tonight. No snooping around crime scenes and so on, but I would like to talk about it.”

  “Sure, we can talk. Albie looked anxious about you back there. Are you okay?” Alvira’s voice had gained confidence. Perhaps it was because she’d finally grown accustomed to the store and everyone in it.

  “I'm all right,” Olivia replied. “I’ve just got a lot to think about when it comes to the case.” That wasn’t necessarily true. She had only a moderate amount to think about because the evidence was thin on the ground.

  Dodger tugged at the end of the leash, and Olivia took it from Alvira. She patted her rambunctious dog on the head, then set off on her walk.

  Late afternoon sunlight tickled the sidewalk in front of them. Alvira paced alongside her but paused to stamp her feet in her boots. “Who do you think did it?”

  “I can’t say just yet,” Olivia replied. “There’s not enough evidence yet. I can only hope that I’ll find more in the coming days, but I have to say that Jessica Jujube interests me.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Well, it’s clear that Jana didn’t want her to come to Chester and certainly not anywhere near the Cuddle Clinic.” Olivia tapped her bottom lip and stalled. Dodger tugged on the leash, and she set off walking again. “And Jessica doesn’t want me anywhere near the clinic after that first time we interviewed her, which makes me pretty suspicious.”

  “Yeah, if she had nothing to hide, she wouldn’t care whether you were there or not.”

  “Precisely,” Olivia said. “But then again, she might think it’s bad for business having a stranger snooping around. She does seem super business-focused if what Pinkie said is true.”

  “Pinkie?”

  “The guy at the front with the pink cheeks. He seemed really upset about Jana’s assault.” Olivia’s boots scraped along the concrete. Dodger upped the pace, but she held back. “In fact, he seems fascinated by his former boss.”

  “Maybe he likes her, if you know what I mean,” Alvira said.

  “He went to her house on the night of the attack, to discuss work, or so he says, and he saw Jessica entering the house,” Olivia said, then pressed her lips together. “But that still doesn’t explain the strange indentation we found beneath Jana’s bedroom window.”

  “Oh, the circle in the flower bed?” Alvira asked.

  “That’s the one. I can’t wrap my mind around that, either. I feel like I’m missing something,” she whispered, then halted in her tracks. “Or someone. There might be another suspect.”

  “Why don’t you phone that Morgan guy? The investigator? He might be able to help you out.”

  Olivia’s stomach did a funny wobble. “No. I don’t need his help, and even if I did, I wouldn’t call him, of all people. He’s working with the police now.”

  “Oh right,” Alvira replied. “I, uh, sorry, Olivia.”

  “Sorry?” She laughed. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ll just have to solve this one on my own.”

  Alvira patted her on the shoulder. “You’re not alone. You’ve got me, and you’ve got Dodgy.”

  That was true.

  Dodger barked and strained at the end of the leash. A distant figure strolled toward them down the sidewalk. Hurried steps clicked along the pavement. Curiosity swirled at the back of Olivia’s mind.

  “How could I ever be lonely?” Olivia asked.

  Chapter Seven

  “Olivia Cloud,” the woman said and stopped in front of them.

  Dodger barked three times, then turned in a circle and plonked his furry butt on the sidewalk between Olivia and the newcomer.

  The mystery woman whipped a pen out from behind her ear. She produced a notepad from her bag. “I thought I’d find you here,” she said.

  “Uh, why?” Olivia asked. “I’m walking my dog. It’s not like I’m anywhere in particular right now.”

  The strange woman brushed strawberry blonde hair behind one hair, then cleared her throat. “What do you know about the Jana Jujube case?”

  “It’s an attempted murder case. Jana is in critical condition at Chester Hospital,” Olivia hedged. “And thanks for answering my question.”

  “Fine,” the woman said and swirled her pen through the air. “Attempted murder case. Whatever.”

  Alvira and Olivia exchanged a glance. Olivia had never been good at talking to rude folks, and this woman took the cake.

  “So,” Olivia said, “you know my name, but I have no idea who you are. Care to introduce yourself?”

  “I’m Henrietta Long, reporter for the Chester Gazette.” She scribbled something at the top of her page, then tapped the nib of her pen against the side of it. “I can’t believe you don’t know me, actually. I’m pretty famous around here.”

  “This is my assistant, Alvira,” Olivia said, though she didn’t want to expose one of her As to this kind of blatant arrogance.

  “Hi,” Alvira said and raised her hand.

  Henrietta Long ignored her completely. “That’s right. You work in the new chocolate store at the end of town. I believe you knew my predecessor, Lizzy Couture.”

  Olivia pursed her lips. “I solved her murder case.”

  “I’m sure you had a lot of help,” Henrietta replied and threw out a sly smile. “You’re not exactly qualified to do any kind of investigating.”

  “Is there something I can help you with? You’re kind of in our way,” Olivia said.

  Dodger wagged his tail from side to side, and it struck Olivia’s ankles.

  “I’ve come to ask you a few questions about Jana Jujube. It’s come to my attention that you are friends with her,” Henrietta said. “Are you friends with her sister, too?”

  Olivia hesitated. Why should she answer any of this horrible woman’s questions?

  “Miss Cloud, your cooperation would be appreciated. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to publish anything untoward.” Henrietta scribbled notes on her pad. “For instance, I heard you use lower-grade chocolate in your store.”

  “What?!” Alvira jolted, and anger colored her cheeks. “How dare you? We use the best products at the Block-a-Choc Shoppe—organic ingredients,
whenever we can get them.”

  Henrietta’s smile stretched her ghoulish, pale face into a mask of triumph. “I see.”

  Olivia patted Alvira on the arm. “It’s okay. I’m sure Henrietta’s research wasn’t thorough enough. You know how these reporters are.”

  That wiped the smug smile off the woman’s face. Take that. Ha!

  Henrietta Long cleared her throat and waggled her pen again. “Are you and Jana Jujube close?”

  Olivia placed her free fist on her hip. The woman didn’t know when to quit, and this time, it wasn’t an admirable quality. She turned to her side. “I think I’d like to move on from this conversation, Alvira. How about you?”

  “I agree,” Alvira replied and wriggled her nose.

  Olivia side-stepped and Dodger leaped to his paws to join the movement.

  Henrietta Long moved with her. Apparently, she didn’t give up easily. “Wait, one second, Miss Cloud. Perhaps we got off to a bad start.”

  “You think?” Olivia handed the leash to Alvira and tugged at the hems of her sleeves.

  “I’m doing an exposé,” Henrietta said.

  “About what exactly?”

  “About the cops in Chester and their lackluster investigating,” the reporter replied. She leaned closer and tapped the side of her nose. “I know they don’t know what they’re doing. I mean, think about it, the only reason Lizzy Couture’s death was solved was because you got involved, and you’re not even an officer.”

  Olivia narrowed her eyes. This might be a ploy by the reporter to get her to talk, but she had a point. “I’m listening.”

  “I want to know what you know,” Henrietta replied. “Then when the cops figure it out, I can compare notes.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you, Miss Long.”

  “Mrs. Long,” Henrietta replied, then lifted her left hand and twiddled her wedding band at Olivia. “And you don’t have to believe me. You just have to answer my questions.”

  Alvira tapped her foot on the sidewalk beside Olivia.

  “What do you know about Jana’s relationship with her assistant, Arthur Pink?” Henrietta asked.

  Olivia’s mind ticked over. “Her relationship? Nothing.” Pinkie had gone to talk business with his boss at her home. Or had it been for another reason? One he wouldn’t admit to for fear of becoming a suspect?

  “Oh,” Henrietta said and shrugged her shoulders. “And Jana Jujube? You are close to her?”

  “These questions don’t seem related to your exposé, Mrs. Long,” Olivia replied. “I am friends with Jana. I don’t know her particularly well, but we’ve shared a few laughs every now and again. At the Fall Festival, most specifically.”

  Henrietta wrote down notes, a frantic scribble across the page. “And what about her sister, Jessica? Do you know her?”

  “No, I met her this week for the first time. She seems…different,” Olivia said, then rammed her mouth shut. Blabbing her personal opinions about Chester residents probably wouldn’t earn her popularity with the locals. She’d struggled to integrate into the place already.

  “I see,” Henrietta replied, and her pen scratched some more. Too many strokes to account for what Olivia had just said. “You think she’s weird?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Olivia replied. “She’s new to town. That’s what I mean.”

  “New to town. An outsider.” Henrietta wrote that word down and underlined it. “When did you last see Jana? Did you believe her Cuddle Clinic was a plague?”

  Olivia and Alvira shared a glance. They both blinked several times.

  Olivia faced the reporter again. “I’m not following you.”

  Henrietta reached into her back pocket, scratched around and brought out a piece of paper. She unfolded it, then handed it over to Olivia.

  Olivia accepted the page and scanned it. “Where did you get this?”

  The words on the page had been printed in bold font.

  STAY AWAY FROM THE CUDDLE CLINIC! THE CUDDLE CLINIC IS A PLAGUE IN OUR TOWN!

  “They’re all over the place,” Henrietta said and shrugged again. She pointed to a lamppost down the road. “There’s one right there.”

  Olivia walked past her and up to the flyer. It flapped in the breeze. She ripped it off and glared at it. Exactly the same.

  Each flyer bore those threatening words along with an image of the Cuddle Clinic with an enormous red X scratched across its face.

  “Who would do this?” Olivia whispered and glanced around. What if these flyers had something to do with the attempt on Jana’s life?

  “Olivia?” Alvira called out.

  She turned back and gasped. Henrietta Long had disappeared without a trace.

  “Can we go back to the store now?” Alvira asked.

  “Yeah, I think that would be for the best.” The wind iced Olivia to the core. A snowstorm was on the way, in more ways than one.

  Chapter Eight

  Olivia settled down at one of the tables in her store and rested her elbow on its top. She’d pinned the hateful flyer under her saucer.

  “Are you all right, dear?” Alberta asked and lowered herself into the seat opposite Olivia. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Not a ghost,” Olivia replied, then tapped the page with her fingertips. “This. I don’t like it. It gives me a bad feeling.”

  Alberta frowned and leaned in. “Oh, those? I’ve seen those everywhere. They cropped up after Jana first set up her Cuddle Clinic. I figured they were the work of that Couture woman.”

  “Really?” Olivia asked.

  “Yeah, but then I noticed that they keep appearing. And Lizzy’s not around anymore, so it must be someone else.”

  “But who?” Olivia whispered. She picked up her coffee cup and glugged down some of the fortifying liquid. “Who would despise the clinic enough to stick up all these notices?”

  “Clearly someone who doesn’t like physical contact,” Alberta replied, then chuckled. “Don’t let it worry you, dear. It’s probably an old lady, like me, who’s got a bee in her bonnet.”

  Alvira walked over to the table and sat down on Olivia’s left side. “That’s it. Dodgy is all settled upstairs.”

  “Oh good,” Olivia replied. “Thanks a lot. I guess I lost track of things after we got back.”

  She buried her face in her palms and rubbed her eyes. Boy, this investigating thing had evidently tired her out.

  Footsteps approached, and the chair on Olivia’s right scraped back. “Is everything all right?” Alphonsine’s thick French accent carried throughout the room.

  “Fine, fine,” Olivia said and raised her head. “I’m just feeling the strain from this case. I guess I do need help after all. Pity, I can’t get it now.”

  Jake Morgan had snatched away any hope of help at their fateful coffee meeting.

  “We are here to help, oui?” Alphonsine glanced at the other two As, who both nodded.

  Olivia’s heart swelled at the show of support, but she shook her head, regardless. “No,” she said. “I think not.”

  “What do you mean, dear?” Alberta asked, patting her ever-eccentric hairdo. “You’re not making any sense.”

  “I mean, this is over my head. I’m out of my depth. I…I can’t think of another metaphor,” Olivia said. “My point is, I shouldn’t be investigating this. Jake Morgan was right.”

  “No,” Alphonsine uttered and pressed her fingers to her lips.

  “Olivia, you have to investigate,” Alvira said with newfound confidence. “You were the one who solved the murder of Lizzy Couture.”

  “That’s not a good enough reason,” she replied. “I’m just interfering in an active police investigation, and I don’t have access to any real evidence, either. I know Jana and Jessica argued. I know that Pinkie may have a crush on his boss and that someone with a peg leg attempted to murder her.”

  “A peg leg?” Alphonsine asked.

  “I’m joking,” Olivia said. “There was a strange marking in the soil beneath
Jana’s bedroom window. Ugh, it doesn’t matter, ladies. I’m out of my depth here, and I’m just going to complicate things by continuing to investigate.”

  “Then I suppose it’s a bad time to give you this.” Alberta bent and disappeared beneath the rim of the table, then popped up again. She grasped a gift between her wrinkled hands. “We pooled our money together to get it for you.”

  Olivia’s cheeks flushed. “What? Why?”

  “Because you deserve it,” Alvira said and squeezed her forearm.

  “Oui,” Alphonsine said. “Olivia, you ‘elp me very much. You make it so I ‘ave a place to live.”

  Olivia swallowed, but the lump in her throat wouldn’t budge. “I, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything, dear, just unwrap it.”

  Olivia took the gift and removed the bright red bow. She smiled at her As, then grasped the corner of the silver gift wrap. She ripped downward, and the edge of a silver case appeared beneath.

  Olivia made quick work of it and stripped the gift wrap free. Then she pressed her fingers to the two buttons on either side of the case.

  The lock clicked upward, and she lifted the lid.

  Olivia’s eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat. “What is this?” she asked.

  “It’s an investigation set,” Alvira replied. “I think that’s what it’s called.”

  Alberta scooched her seat closer, then pointed to a pair of big, black binoculars. “These are for regular daytime investigating. But those over there, those are the really expensive ones,” she said, and pride emanated from her in waves. “They’re night-vision goggles.”

  “Oh my,” Olivia breathed. “How on earth did you afford this? It must have cost you the earth.”

  “And the moon,” Alphonsine said, then chuckled. “We saved up for it, Olivia.”

  “Alvira put the most money in the pot,” Alberta said.

  “I had some left over in my savings,” she said.

  “I can’t accept this,” Olivia said. “I don’t want to make a mess of things in this case, and I don’t want to take your money. Alvira, you need that money for—”