Candy Corruption

by C A Phipps

  Betty shook her head in wonder. “Does he, now? Clever cat. I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look a little peaky.”

  Unpacking the bag that held fresh herbs, lettuce tomatoes, and eggs, Scarlett shrugged. “I didn’t sleep well.”

  “That’s not good at all. Did you take some warm milk?”

  Touched by Betty’s concern, Scarlett stalled. “No. I thought since I was so tired, I’d crash, but that didn’t happen.”

  “Maybe you were overtired?”

  Scarlett wasn’t sure how much to tell Betty about the eventful evening. It would seem surreal if it weren’t for a dog crying and scratching all night long. In the wee hours, Ruby had given up, letting him sleep in her bedroom.

  He wasn’t aggressive, but they weren’t used to his brand of sadness. Plus, his constant searching for a way out was a danger to the painting they’d done recently. Not to mention that George was furious at the interloper and spent a large part of the evening hissing or sulking.

  Thankfully, Ruby was walking him to the library this morning as they didn’t want to leave the poor thing tied up at home. It meant that her sister could get in a couple of extra hours in bed because it would be silly for both of them to be sleep-deprived.

  Handing Betty a fresh white apron, which she put on with a good deal of satisfaction and excitement, Scarlett pulled out the ingredients for the bread. She appreciated the eager expression, if not the way Betty stood so close.

  With a million questions racing around inside her head about last night, and having to teach, Scarlett steeled herself for another long day. The thing about training was that it took time and patience. Ultimately, it would pay off, but today she wasn’t in the best frame of mind to give Betty her full attention.

  Still, she would do her best because there was no other option. “I’ll show you how to mix up a batch of dough and then how we make it into rolls and loaves.”

  Betty gasped at the size of the bowl. “I’ve made bread before, but not in these quantities.”

  “That’s awesome, and it’s the same principle, no matter the amount of dough.” Scarlett assured her. “It’s the size you cut it into that determines the proving and cooking times.”

  Her assistant watched, diligently mirroring everything Scarlett did. They were a little behind, but having the bread and rolls finished was a great start.

  After that, Betty proved very adept at making sandwiches and working the register. She also handled the early morning customers perfectly. It helped that she knew so many of them, and the fact that few had an inkling she was working here meant conversation flowed, and people stayed longer to listen to her why.

  The sheriff arrived. With a quick hi to Betty and the customers he came through to the kitchen.

  “Looks like your new staff member is doing a good job.”

  Despite knowing why Nate was here, Scarlett managed a smile. “She sure is, and it’s such a relief. Can I work while we talk? I need to get these cupcakes frosted.”

  “Sure.” He pulled out his notebook. “Did you remember anything else from yesterday that you haven’t told me?”

  She slapped frosting into a piping bag with a spatula. “I’m not sure what you mean, but I think I covered everything.”

  “Did you see anything that seemed odd before you came across the deceased?”

  “Nothing apart from finding the dog.” She frowned. “Like I told you last night, the poor thing was in the middle of the road, and I nearly hit him. He didn’t run off, which surprised us. At first, because we didn’t recognize him, I wondered if he belonged to the new owners of the diner, but when we got back there from walking Main Street, they were gone, along with Harvey Evans who’d been showing them around. There simply weren’t many people to ask. Those that we did speak to hadn’t seen the dog before either.”

  Nate tilted his head. “I wasn’t aware that the diner had a new owner.”

  “I could be wrong about that. There were people inside the building with Harvey, so I just assumed that’s who it was.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her admission. “I see. Go on.”

  “That’s it. We put the dog in the van and drove home.” Scarlett gulped. “That was the intention. Until Ruby saw the body, and then we stopped right where you found us.”

  “Right.” He tapped his pen on the pad, gazing into nothing.

  “Did you find out anything else yet? Like, who he is?” she asked hopefully.

  Nate shook his head. “I’ve sent his picture out to all the stations. With no identification, unless he has a record, it could take some time to figure that out.”

  “So he’s a John Doe for now.” Scarlett hated the thought of no one coming for the man. And she was curious. Why here? Why now? “So, what did he die of?”

  “You know I can’t say.”

  Scarlett pursed her lips. “He had no marks I could see, so he probably wasn’t rundown.”

  “Scarlett,” Nate warned.

  “Sorry. Seeing how the man was laying there as if he’d been discarded, makes me wonder.”

  “While it’s natural since you were the ones to find him, you don’t need to worry about it. That’s mine and Sam’s job.”

  Her spatula wobbled, spraying the counter. “Sam’s involved?”

  “When a person dies, the paramedic or doctor has to be somewhat in on the case. They can see things a sheriff might miss.”

  What he said might make perfect sense, but Nate spoke too quickly, confirming that she hadn’t imagined something was bugging both of them. When Sam called her last night to see how she was, he wouldn’t divulge anything either. She thought she understood how these things worked, but since she liked to have things pigeon-holed, not knowing why all this had happened kept her awake—along with the dog.

  It was clear that she wasn’t getting any information from Nate and something about the confused Labrador jangled in her mind. “I’ve been wracking my brain about what we’re going to do about the dog, and if he really might belong to the John Doe.”

  Nate sighed. “I’ve been meaning to look into that some more. Where is he now? I’d like to get a picture of him and send it out as well. You never know someone may recognize him with the dog, and that could help us find out who our man is.”

  She couldn’t help a smile of pride that her suggestion could have merit. “I hope you’re right. George hanging around the café doors is bad enough, but a dog his size could upset customers—and the health department. Since I couldn’t have him here, Ruby took the dog to the library.”

  He nodded. “I guess leaving him at home wasn’t an option?”

  “Not with his crying and scratching. I was scared for our new paintwork, which would be upsetting after the trouble our friends went through to help us.”

  Nate grimaced. “I can imagine. Anyway, it’s handy for me that he’s in town. I wanted to speak to Ruby, so I’ll head over there now.”

  She placed the cupcakes carefully on a tray. “We’re all done?”

  “Yep.” Nate eyed the cupcakes, finally smiled, “Just don’t leave town.”

  Placing a cupcake in a napkin and handing it to him, Scarlett snorted. “With everything I’ve got going on, that would be a miracle.”

  Smiling broadly, he took his parcel and had just shut the kitchen door, which was a shortcut to the library, when Betty came out the back, her eyes sparkling with interest as she placed dirty plates in the sink.

  “Everything okay?”

  The place wasn’t large, and it seemed to be quieter in the café, which meant depending on how close to the doorway she’d been, Betty could have heard a great deal. Now that she’d spoken to Nate, it surely wouldn’t hurt to tell her the basics of the Finch evening.

  “Ruby and I nearly ran over a dog yesterday, and if that wasn’t bad enough, we found a dead man on our way home.”

  Betty’s mouth opened and closed while Scarlett resumed frosting the next batch of cupcakes.

  Eventually, Betty pulled her
self together. “Wow. You girls do have a knack for getting involved in trouble.”

  Scarlett stiffened. “It’s certainly not intentional.”

  “No, of course not. Don’t mind me. I sometimes blurt stuff out that I shouldn’t,” Betty admitted. “I heard you say that the dog is with Ruby?”

  “That’s right.” Scarlett nodded while having a horrible image of how the café’s customers would react if Betty did have a habit of blurting out offensive things.

  “So you’ve got yourself another stray?”

  This time the nozzle sprayed frosting across the counter when Scarlett squeezed too hard. “Oh, no, we don’t. It’s just for a day or two while the sheriff finds out where he came from. If there aren’t any customers, could you please make the quiche filling? I’ve left the recipe on the counter for you.”

  Betty immediately began cracking eggs into a bowl. “I spent my life getting lumbered with strays. Some were a nuisance, but now and again there’d be a gem.”

  Scarlett lifted her head, very interested in the outcome. “Do you have any now?”

  “No. My peaches passed on last year. She was a miniature schnauzer, and I miss her cuddles. With money tight, I didn’t want to get another dog only to find I couldn’t feed it,” her voice was tinged with melancholy.

  Scarlett made a sympathetic noise, even as she contemplated the possibility of a potential new home for the dog. “Maybe now you have a job you could reconsider that?”

  “As positive as I feel by you hiring me while Violet’s out of town, I’d need to be certain it was long-term.” She suddenly winked. “No pressure.”

  Scarlett couldn’t help a small laugh. So far, Betty was proving a great asset. Full of fun and quick retorts, she’d worked as hard as Scarlett this morning and seemed to be picking things up quickly. Loving to bake certainly helped, but she was a winner with the customers too.

  Another plus was that it seemed that she understood and appreciated Scarlett’s attention to detail—unlike her sister. Also, the fear about that blurting business—well, Violet was no lightweight there, and customers hadn’t run for the hills, so it wasn’t a deal-breaker.

  “Thanks. I needed a laugh today,” Scarlett admitted.

  “Of course you do. I can’t imagine how awful it was to find a body.” Betty shivered. “Let’s change the subject. What’s your favorite thing to bake?”

  Scarlett grinned. “That’s a no-brainer. I love making cakes. Any kind, but birthday and wedding cakes are my favorites. I studied graphics in college for a while and had a lot of plans back then to utilize them. Admittedly, they all centered around food.”

  “Your cakes are certainly gorgeous. I think you can see the love a person has for their craft when it shows in their work.”

  Betty sounded very sincere, and Scarlett nodded.

  “I agree. What do you love to bake most?”

  “Actually, I’m more of a sweet person.” Betty chuckled. “I make a brilliant fudge and almost as good coconut ice—even if I do say so myself.”

  “Arrgh!” Scarlett exclaimed. “They’re my favorites to eat.”

  “Wonderful. I’ll be sure to make you some.”

  “Maybe that’s not a good idea.” Scarlett could see herself gorging on fudge and the vision wasn’t pretty. “Once I start I can’t stop.”

  Her new assistant roared with laughter. “Then I’ll ration you and only bring in two pieces a day.”

  “I’ll pretend that’s all you made,” Scarlett said seriously. “Just to help us both.”

  The afternoon went along in the same vein, and Scarlett was buoyed by the easy friendship developing between them. If every day were like this, she’d be happy enough for Violet to move on. Especially with how quickly, and more importantly, how willingly, Betty took to a new task.

  When Scarlett arrived to pick up Ruby from the library, she was tired but still buzzing with satisfaction.

  That morning, Ruby found a length of string at home, and this was tied to the dog’s collar as she led him down the steps. George followed behind, displeasure resonating in his twitching tail.

  “How was Betty?” Ruby asked as she opened the sliding door so both animals could get in.

  The dog hesitated, looking about him for a moment, before jumping up on the seat. This put him next to George, who growled and climbed over the front to sit close to Scarlett.

  She hugged the tabby. “Actually, she’s brilliant.”

  “Wow! That’s awesome. Do you think she’ll be a good fit long term?”

  “If she carries on like she did today, I think she’ll be perfect for the café.”

  Ruby settled herself. “I’m so glad. For all of us.”

  Scarlett knew what she meant. Now that Ruby and Scarlett were doing what they wanted, it could only get harder for Violet to stay in a job she didn’t like. But she didn’t want to diminish the happiness finding Betty created. “How was the dog?”

  “He moped around most of the morning, but when the older children came by after school, you should have seen him. Everyone got a lick and a chance to pat him while he owned that room. It was so adorable. But Mr. Grumpy here didn’t like the loss of attention one little bit.” Ruby giggled and tried to pet George, who’s disdain was evident when he refused to be mollified or look at her.

  In fact, he got even closer to Scarlett. She laughed. “I can see that. He doesn’t usually prefer me to you. I guess not being the center of attention would be hard for him.”

  “That’s about it. Hopefully, George will be better tomorrow. It’s getting used to each other, isn’t it?”

  “I guess it’s only been a day. It sounds like you had fun too.”

  Ruby nodded. “I did. You know I think children learn better when they have animals to pet.”

  Scarlett glanced over to her sister, a niggle of worry creeping in over the length of the dog’s stay. “Nate came by, right?”

  “Yes. I think our sheriff is missing Violet.”

  Violet was not foremost on Scarlett’s mind. “And he talked about what he was going to do with the dog?”

  Ruby looked out the window. “He hasn’t had any luck finding the owner’s family.”

  Scarlett sighed heavily. “Ruby?”

  Her sister turned slowly, mouth quivering. “We can’t just dump him on the animal shelter. They have enough mouths to feed.”

  “As do we,” Scarlett reminded her.

  “But he’d be miserable locked up.”

  “We had a deal.”

  “But . . .”

  “Tomorrow is his last day. End of story.”

  “Fine.” Ruby turned away, shoulders hunched.

  Scarlett liked the dog too. She wasn’t heartless, but until they found out about the worth of the book, they were still fighting to pay bills. Unfortunately, in Ruby’s world, nothing could compete with an animal in need—not even a lack of money.

  No amount of reasoning would make either of them feel better, so the rest of the trip was quiet until they got to the verge where the dog’s potential owner had died—or put there.

  If that were the case, where had he died? And what could have killed him? If it were some sort of chronic health issue, then he would have had some identification, because everyone carried that, right?

  Then she thought of the times she’d made deliveries and forgotten her bag. Her driving license was kept in the van. But, but when they’d been without a vehicle, she and her sisters walked everywhere.

  Scarlett shook her head. She was known around town and wouldn’t have to rely on identification. And, this gave her a lightbulb moment.

  Therefore, the deceased did not come from Cozy Hollow!

  Chapter Six

  “Morning, Scarlett!” Betty stood on the top step, beaming.

  Her enthusiasm was infectious, which was a good thing. The dog had kept Scarlett awake again, and the atmosphere with Ruby being decidedly cool meant that she was more than happy to get to work.

  “Good morning.
Ready for your second day?”

  “You bet. I had so much fun yesterday, and as promised—here you go.”

  Scarlett put down her bags on the counter so she could accept the transparent container. “Fudge!” Scarlett, pulled off the lid to inhale its sweet scent. “You went home after baking and serving in the café all day and made this?”

  “It was no bother. I love to make sweets, and it’s not like I have a life after supper. I hope you like it.”

  It was cute the way Betty shuffled her feet like a child waiting for a good grade from the teacher, but the laugh that accompanied this had a hollow ring to it, and Scarlett wondered anew at Betty’s past.

  “You don’t have any family around these parts?”

  “No family at all.” Betty’s smile tightened. “Not if you don’t count my lazy brother. Last I heard, he was living out by the coast, but it may as well be a thousand miles away because there’s no contact between us.”

  “You don’t get on?”

  “That’s an understatement.” She waved her hand in the air dismissively. “Years after the event, I shouldn’t sound so bitter. Most of the time, I’m okay about what he did, but sometimes it sticks between my ribs like indigestion.”

  Aware that Betty needed to talk, Scarlett began the morning ritual while Betty collected the pans required. There’d always been long conversations in this kitchen-—with mom, then her sisters, they’d discuss all manner of things—as long as the work got done.

  Unable to imagine life without her sisters, no matter what issues came up, she knew that other people sadly didn’t share the same kind of bonds. “It must have been awful to give up family ties?”

  “I can’t begin to tell you how bad it was. Taking him in time and again, Saul didn’t think it was a big deal to steal from me and do drugs. He thought I was just a fussy old fuddy-duddy who didn’t want him to have any fun.”

  Scarlett raised an eyebrow. “Old?”

  Betty gave a rueful smile. “His words—not mine. I haven’t seen him for years. Once I put my foot down and wouldn’t let him in my house, he finally got the message that I wouldn’t bail him out of trouble anymore.”