Hardly the word Olivia would’ve used for the Cuddle Clinic at that point in time.
“I acted crazy. Threw the cops off my scent, and here I am. The innocent, crazy old woman who got away with murder,” Bitsy said and extended her left arm. The right one ground the cane down.
“But you haven’t gotten away with it,” Olivia said, and a frown wrinkled her brow. “You’ve confessed everything to me. Mrs. Bitsworth, you don’t really think I’m going to keep this information to myself, do you? I have to tell the police.”
“And you don’t really think I’m going to let you leave my house, do you?” Bitsy asked and flashed a wicked smile.
Boy, Olivia would have nightmares about this moment. Who knew old ladies could be so evil?
“I’ll just tell the police you entered my home illegally, and I thought you’d come to murder me. After all, I’m a lonely widow. I have no protection but my trusty cane, and you could very well be the woman who murdered Jana. You two were close.” Bitsy’s grin grew wider.
“Bitsy, that’s crazy.”
“It’s Mrs. Bitsworth,” she said and hefted her cane above her head.
“Chester Police Department. Freeze!” Detective Keene stood in the doorway to the dining area, Jake peering over his shoulder.
Bitsy wobbled on the spot. She lowered her cane to the boards with a clunk. “I suppose they heard all of it,” she whispered to Olivia, conspiratorially, as if she hadn’t been about to kill her.
“Every word,” Jake Morgan said.
And for once, Olivia couldn’t have been happier to see him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Olivia Cloud sat at a center table in her store and chomped down on a sticky cherry truffle. A bite through the middle brought the sweet red ooze from the cherry jewel within. She savored the flavor, then lifted her coffee and took a sip.
“Feeling relieved?” Alvira asked. She leaned over and refilled Olivia’s coffee cup. “That it’s over? I am.”
“Definitely,” Olivia said. She’d decided to take her lunch break—more like a quick coffee break—in the store today. “Now, that that’s over, I can focus on something else.”
“What?”
“Sebastian’s coming home for a week-long break next week,” Olivia said and beamed from ear to ear. She loved having Alphonsine in the apartment, keeping her and Dodger company, but the prospect of her son home for a short while sent Olivia’s mood into the sky and right up to the moon.
Gosh, she’d have to keep an eye on Alberta, to make sure the woman didn’t spoil him rotten.
“Lucky you,” Alvira said and nudged Olivia’s arm. “Ugh, I’d better get back to my refills. Oh, and it looks like you’ve got a visitor, too.”
Olivia frowned and looked up from the table. She scanned the customers in the store. Technically, they were all her visitors, but none of them stood out or met her eye. They bent over their chocolates and sipped coffees and teas, milkshakes and sodas.
She shrugged and popped a truffle between her lips.
“I hope you don’t mind me interrupting.” Jake Morgan grasped the top rail of the chair opposite hers. He drew it back, then plopped down in it. “It looks like you’re swamped right now.”
“Hilarious,” Olivia said, sucking on the truffle. The chocolate dissolved and deposited the cherry on her tongue. “I’ll have you know that this is my first break of the day.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Jake replied and glanced around the busy interior of the Block-a-Choc Shoppe. “The place is buzzing.”
“People love coffee and chocolate,” Olivia said, “especially around this time of year.”
They fell into an easy silence, the clink of mugs on tabletops and the hiss of the milk-frothing machine keeping them company.
Jake had cut his dark hair shorter and shaved his stubble off, too. He gathered his trench coat around the knees of his jeans and shifted on the spot. “Olivia, we need to talk.”
“Do we?” She lifted her coffee cup yet again. Lipstick stained its rim. “Do we really need to talk, Jake?” She exhaled in exhaustion, and it fluffed the napkins in their holder. “I hoped we could put all the anger behind us.”
“Anger?” Jake Morgan’s eyebrows crinkled into a frown. “You were angry?”
“I’m never angry,” Olivia said. “I’m simply removed.”
“Well, excuse me, Queen Elizabeth,” he said, then burst into a warm chuckle that rolled around the room. “Olivia, I’m serious. I want to apologize for the way I behaved.”
“Which behavior? The refusal to help me solve a case or ignoring me at every given opportunity?”
“No, I—that was necessary. I had to stay away. Detective Keene’s orders.” Jake huffed a sigh of his own. “No, I wanted to apologize for flaking out on our date after the last case.”
Olivia’s cheeks turned the color of the cherry ooze in the center of her truffle. She dipped her head forward to hide the blush. “No apology needed. Sometimes, these things just don’t work out.”
She had too much on her plate, anyway. Not literally, of course. There could never be enough chocolates on her plate.
“It wasn’t about it not working out,” Jake said. He reached across the table and touched the back of her hand.
Olivia jerked at the contact and spilled coffee everywhere.
Jake grabbed a handful of napkins and mopped it up. “Sorry,” he said.
“No, it’s me. I’m sorry.”
“I freaked you out, I should be sorry.”
They both stopped apologizing at the same moment.
“Spilled milk,” Olivia said and risked a small smile.
Jake left the bundle of napkins turning brown in the coffee and turned his gaze on her yet again. “Maybe I’ll be able to say it correctly this time. I like you, Olivia.”
And she’d thought her cheeks had been hot before!
“I’m a loner. I stick to myself, and I don’t usually date. So I freaked out a little about our date. Things have been crazy with the Fall Festival and the murders. I—I’m ashamed to say that I was afraid I wouldn’t have time for anything else.”
“I totally understand,” Olivia replied. And she did.
“But I realized that there’s no point trying to avoid a date because I think I won’t be able to follow through on another one. I mean, we’re both grownups here.”
“The last time I checked, yes,” Olivia said, smoothing the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes with her index fingers.
“I’d like to ask you out again and follow through this time. To a dinner or a—”
“Let me stop you there,” Olivia said. “I think we should settle for a coffee before we take on anything more serious. As friends.” They needed to recover from their past arguments after all. “Nothing high pressure. It will be much easier to get to know each other that way.”
“I agree,” Jake said, and his eyebrows straightened out. “And I look forward to it.”
Olivia lifted her coffee mug to hide the small smile that lit her face.
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www.wendymeadows.com/cozy
Also by Wendy Meadows
Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Series
Raspberry Truffle Murder
Peppermint Chocolate Murder
Blueberry Truffle Murder
Sea Salt Caramel Murder
Georgia Peach Truffle Murder
Gold Flake Chocolate Murder
Coconut Chocolate Murder
Nether Edge Cozy Witch Series
Murder & Spice
Where Pigs Fly
About the Author
Wendy Meadows is an emerging author of cozy mysteries. She lives in “The Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two cats and lovable Labradoodle.
When she isn’t working on her stories she likes to tend to her flower
garden, relax with adult coloring and play video games with her family.
Get in Touch with Wendy
@wmeadowscozy
AuthorWendyMeadows
www.wendymeadows.com
[email protected]
Itsy-Bitsy Murder: Chocolate Cozy Mystery #2 Page 9