Sweet Taffy and the Marshmallow Murder: Sweet Taffy Cozy Mysteries Book #2

by Dana Moss

  On the way out, Maria stopped to use the restroom.

  While waiting, Taffy looked for Monica. She found her at the end of the hall folding towels.

  She walked over to her, a tiny thought niggling at the back of her mind.

  “You might be interested to know that Rex got caught for vandalism.”

  “Good.” Monica placed the towels in the cupboard and shut the door.

  Taffy said, “How’s your mom doing?”

  Monica looked away. “Not good.” She picked up the empty laundry basket at her feet and started to push past Taffy down the hall.

  “Hey, Monica?” She stopped. Taffy said, “Did you plant those drugs at the campground and in Rex’s locker?”

  When she turned to face Taffy, her look was stony. “Would it matter if I did?”

  Taffy shook her head. “No, not really. We couldn’t get anything to stick.”

  Monica shrugged. “Then I did. Or I didn’t. It doesn’t matter either way.” She turned her back on Taffy.

  Boy, that girl could be infuriating.

  Taffy waited for Maria outside on the porch. When she stepped out, Taffy was gazing at the blue sky, deep in thought.

  “You know, Shannon’s right. Nothing we could have done could have brought her son back.”

  Maria nodded, agreeing, and started on down the steps.

  Taffy held her arm to keep her from going. “But, Maria, it’s like nothing we do could ever make anything better like that. Somebody dies and they’re dead. Over. Kaput.” Taffy drew a finger across her neck for emphasis.

  “Is this just occurring to you now?”

  Taffy blinked. “I guess, I don’t know, I think I try so hard, I get so involved, because I think it might make some sort of difference. It might make things better.”

  “It does.”

  “But how? That woman is bawling in there. She’s lost her son. How does anything we do help?”

  Maria looked away. Her gaze seemed to drift across the colorful garden beds and down the road into town.

  “We help because the dead rest easier shrouded in truth rather than mystery.” She tucked her notebook in her pocket and headed back to the car.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Cara didn’t smile when she opened the door to Taffy’s knock, but Taffy didn’t let it deter her.

  “Cara, I need to talk to you.” She lowered her voice to a whisper and added. “About the baby.”

  “What if I don’t feel like talking?” Cara said flatly as she led the way into the living room.

  Taffy followed. She noticed an open duffel bag on the floor near the couch.

  “Todd’s planning to go back to Eugene tonight,” Cara said, gesturing to the bag.

  “He’s not going back with Shannon?”

  “Apparently she’s staying at the Blue Bird one more night.”

  Taffy glanced around the house. “Where’s Noel?”

  Cara shrugged. “At the gym, I think. He said he’d be home for dinner.

  Taffy hoped that was true but somehow she doubted it. “Have you told him yet?”

  Before Cara could answer, Todd emerged from the back guest room carrying a small backpack.

  “Hey, Taffy.” He smiled broadly when he saw her. In that moment, she regretted not having met Tyler before he died. If he was anything like Todd, and that’s what everyone who knew them both said—Tyler and Todd, two peas in a pod—he would have been a nice kid to know.

  “You’re rushing off on us, I hear?”

  He tilted his head to one side, gave a half smile. “I’ll be back again real soon. My parents want me back in Eugene for a bit now.”

  Cara slumped onto the couch. “Isn’t your dad still working on that deal in Hong Kong?” Cara’s eyes looked a bit puffy. Had she been crying?

  Todd turned to her. “Yeah. It’s Rita who wants me back, actually, and my dad likes me to keep an eye on her.”

  Cara snorted. “From what I hear, she’s got a lot of eyes on her.”

  Todd’s jaw clenched for a moment, and then he smiled apologetically at Taffy.

  “Cara’s a little out of sorts. I think I may have overstayed my welcome.”

  “Never, Todd. You’re part of the family. Just like Shannon. We’re one big happy family, aren’t we?”

  If Taffy hadn’t known Cara was pregnant, she would have suspected her of having had a few drinks, but Cara took her health and her unborn child’s very seriously. Still, when Cara started flipping through the golfing magazines on the coffee table, she turned her head toward Todd and mouthed, “Has she been drinking?”

  His eyes widened as he mouthed, “God, no,” and that made her wonder if Cara had confided in Todd. He set the small backpack near his open duffel bag. Taffy saw the corner of a paperback fantasy novel peeking out. She turned back to Todd, who was pouring a glass of iced tea, which he offered to Cara.

  Taffy said, “It was nice of you to visit Jenny at Valley View.”

  He looked up as if he’d just had his hand caught in the cookie jar.

  Cara’s head whipped toward him. “You never told me you went to see that—” She cleared her throat. “Her.”

  Taffy said to Cara, “I never understood why you didn’t like her.”

  Todd said, “Tyler really loved her.” He poured another glass of iced tea and handed it to Taffy.

  Cara scowled. “She was a terrible influence on Tyler. Sketchy, you know. Always looking out for herself.”

  Taffy had that feeling again, that Cara was somehow jealous of Jenny. Maria’s suggestion nagged at her.

  “Being addicted to drugs will do that to you,” Todd said.

  “That was her problem?” Cara blinked a few times. “I never knew that.” She looked back down at her magazine.

  Todd said, “I think she felt guilty about Tyler. Thought she could have done something to prevent what happened.”

  “Could she have?” Taffy asked.

  Todd met her gaze and shook his head. “I don’t think so. And that’s exactly what I told her when I went to see her. I also told her I’d do what I could to help her get healthy.”

  “Get her off the drug habit?”

  “She deserves better.”

  “Don’t we all,” said Cara. She flounced out of the living room, looking back once to say, “I’m going to take a nap.”

  After she left, Taffy turned to Todd. “What’s up with her?”

  “I don’t know, but I do think it’s time I head off and let her and Noel grieve on their own.”

  “I’m glad I caught you before you headed out. I wanted to ask you a couple more questions about Tyler.”

  For a split second, Todd looked irritated, but his smile returned quickly. “Felt like we were starting to put this whole thing to rest with the memorial. I sometimes forget it’s still under investigation. I thought Detective Salinas had determined it was…self-inflicted.”

  She nodded. “It looks like suicide, yes, and that’s what Maria is going to put in the final report, but a few things have been bugging me. We only have anecdotal evidence really—things you and Jenny have said.”

  Todd sat across from her. “What about the drugs Tyler took? And Rex? Jenny’s probably told you he was dealing out of the school, and you found drugs at the campground and in his locker. He wanted Tyler out of the way. Not that I think he’d intentionally try to kill him or anything, but he had to get the drugs from somewhere. Rex might have had an intent to harm.”

  “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking all along, but Maria says if he took them voluntarily, even a fatal amount, it’s not Rex’s fault. And we can’t find enough evidence or motive to involve him.”

  Todd nodded. “And Rex denies everything, no doubt. And has the legal clout to protect himself.” Todd held his hands together and looked down at his lap. “Guys like that get away with everything.”

  “He won’t get off the hook that easy, don’t worry. Maria and I will see to that.”

  “I just wish I coul
d have done more to help. It’s not fair. It hurts like hell to lose your best friend, you know?” He looked up at Taffy to see if she understood.

  “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love a lot. In some ways, you never get over it.”

  Todd sighed. “I’m not sure how Noel and Cara will get over it. Or Shannon for that matter.”

  Taffy held back a smirk, because she’d discovered they all seemed to be finding their ways to get over Tyler extraordinarily quickly. Only Todd seemed to carry the deepest remorse.

  She had to ask him about Cara.

  She glanced toward the hall leading to the upstairs. In a very quiet voice, she said, “Todd, how well do you really know Cara?”

  He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think she… I mean… Would she have done anything to hurt Tyler?”

  Todd looked thoroughly confused.

  Taffy tried to explain. “She seemed jealous of his bond with Noel. And Jenny. She didn’t like Shannon.” And she wants to be pregnant with Noel’s child so they can have a second chance, but she didn’t mention that to Todd. “Jenny said Tyler was really mad about something the night he died. In fact, she said he called you, and you helped calm him down.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. He called me.”

  “Was it about Cara? Did he find out something that made him mad? So mad he didn’t want to go home?”

  Todd leaned back on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “On the phone, he didn’t make a lot of sense. He said Rex had beat him up, threatened to kill him—”

  “He said that?”

  “That’s why I’ve been so concerned about Rex, but you can’t get anything to stick, so.” He shrugged.

  “Did he say anything else?”

  He shook his head. “I told him to relax and lay low. I told him I’d drive down the next day and we could hang out, get his mind off things. I should’ve driven down that night. Then maybe…”

  He looked down, his shoulders shaking slightly.

  “You can’t blame yourself, Todd. It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault, apparently.”

  He nodded, took a few deep breaths. “Maybe I should check on Cara. She’s been so out of sorts. And all this talk of suicide. I worry about her.”

  Taffy muttered, “I think she’s got a lot to live for these days.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll just check on her.”

  “I can show myself out then.”

  “Stay and finish your iced tea if you want. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  He left, and Taffy sipped from her glass, thinking about some of the things Todd had said. She glanced at his duffel bag, unzipped but packed, his laptop resting on a mound of clothes—socks, underwear, swimming shorts, jeans. It was too bad he was leaving. Taffy wasn’t sure what would become of the remains of this family in the coming days and weeks.

  When Todd didn’t return after ten minutes, Taffy let herself out. Ellie had sent two more texts. Taffy really did have to get up to the factory, so she left a note saying she’d come back to talk to Cara later. Suspicions still niggled at the back of Taffy’s mind. She wondered if Lucy could track down the phone call Tyler made to Todd the night he died. If he’d actually said he’d been worried Rex might kill him, that might be enough to bring him in.

  She called Lucy at the station, but Lucy said she wasn’t sure they’d find anything more than proof that Tyler had made the call, since calls weren’t recorded unless someone was under surveillance. “Oh, by the way, where did you leave that flash drive?”

  “Oops, sorry. I tucked it in my purse by accident. I still have it. Can I bring it by in the morning?”

  Lucy asked her to do it discreetly so no one found it had left the premises. And she assured Taffy that even if she couldn’t get her hands on a recorded phone conversation, there’d be time-of-day and length-of-call data to add to their existing information. And she said the IT guy promised to deliver his report by the end of the following day.

  On the drive to the factory, the little rhyme played over and over in Taffy’s mind: Tyler and Todd, two peas in a pod.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Ellie was pacing in Taffy’s office when she arrived. Her normally pink cheeks were red with heightened emotion.

  “It’s awful, simply awful!”

  “Gobstopper awful?” Taffy said with a smile.

  “You can’t joke at a time like this, Taffy. It’s marshmallow mayhem!”

  Taffy stifled a snort.

  “The marshmallow pet project is a fiasco.” Ellie looked on the verge of hyperventilating.

  “It can’t be that bad.”

  Aubin walked in with the systems report. “Oh, it is, I’m afraid.” She tsked and shook her head.

  Ellie gave an exasperated wail, and the tears started flowing. “I have a ton of marshmallow animal parts that won’t stick together. Literally a ton!”

  Taffy blinked. Marshmallows were light. How many would it take to make an actual ton?

  “Can they be melted down?”

  “They’re already dusted!”

  “And they look like little arms and legs?”

  “And tails and snouts and manes and trunks.” Ellie sniffled. Snot glistened above her upper lip.

  “Listen, Ellie—”

  “You’re going to fire me, aren’t you!” She looked poised to release another wail.

  Taffy leapt forward and placed a calming hand on Ellie’s arm. “I’m not going to fire you. Mistakes happen when you’re trying new, creative ideas. It’s okay.”

  Ellie took a deep breath and nodded. She lifted the arm Taffy had been calming and dragged her sleeve under her nose. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a new one in my locker. And antibacterial lotion.”

  Taffy tapped her chin, thinking.

  “Can we package them up and figure out a way to give them at the Fourth of July parade?”

  “That’s an idea,” Aubin said.

  Ellie started nodding. “They’re light. We could throw them out to the crowd, and no one would get hurt.”

  “Sure, sure. Something like that.”

  “I’m so sorry, Taffy. I know you’ve trusted me with all this stuff, but sometimes…”

  “Don’t worry, Ellie. We’ll recover the loss with something else. Macadamia nuts maybe. I have a friend who has a friend who owns a nut farm on Molokai. We’ll figure it out.”

  “With coconut sprinkles.”

  “Sure, sprinkles.”

  Aubin said, “And dried pineapple bits.”

  Ellie had calmed down. She focused her bright, wet brown eyes on Taffy. “You need to be here more, Taff.”

  Aubin nodded solemnly. “It’s true, Miss Belair. It would boost elf morale.”

  Taffy sighed. “It’s this investigation. It keeps pulling me away, but it’s over now, I think.”

  “We don’t want you to abandon us here at Sweet Abandon.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Because you haven’t been around, I’ve had to hire someone to help with the social media tasks.”

  “Oh, she’s a lovely girl!” Aubin gushed.

  “But only quarter time,” Ellie assured Taffy. “And on contract. She can do most of her work from home. Her name’s Melanie Sloan.”

  Taffy stiffened. “What?!”

  Ellie’s face scrunched with worry. “You’re mad? Should I fire her? I thought you wouldn’t mind. Ethan recommended her.”

  Taffy bit her tongue. “It’s fine. Fine. All good.” But her voice was a higher pitch than normal.

  After Ellie and Aubin went back to their tasks, Taffy called Ethan and asked him to meet her at her house later that evening. They needed to sort out this Melanie issue once and for all.

  ~

  Lucy called Taffy as she was getting ready to leave the factory.

  “It looks like the recovered trash files from Tyler’s computer had been erased on Monday, not Sunday. So it couldn’t have been Tyler covering his tracks and cl
eaning up before committing suicide.”

  Taffy’s mind started ticking.

  “And that partially complete suicide note we found?” Lucy continued. “Apparently, it had been created the day after he died.”

  “And then planted so it could be found?”

  “Seems so. All the computer dates had been changed, too, but our IT guy was able to track down when that happened, too. It was also the day after Tyler was found, while his computer was still in his room and before we’d run our search.”

  “The day after?” Taffy was confused. “Who had access to his room?”

  “His parents, I guess?”

  “His stepmom was out of town. His mother was in Eugene. Only Noel was home.”

  Taffy was sure Noel wouldn’t have done any of that. It just didn’t make sense. Could Rex have gone over there, planted the information so that no one could pin it on him? But Noel hadn’t mentioned Rex coming by. And it was looking more and more like all Rex was guilty of was spray painting nonsense around town.

  Cara had gotten home late that night. Later than the IT guy’s time stamp. Unless…

  “Lucy, when Maria called the Halcyon Health Spa, did they tell her exactly which day Cara checked out and what time?”

  “I’d have to double-check her notes, but I think they just confirmed she left early. Why?”

  “Nothing. Yet. I’ll call you later.”

  Taffy needed to have another look at Cara’s credit card information. She pulled out the papers and fired up her computer.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Before going home to meet up with Ethan, Taffy returned to the Bradford house to confront Cara. She didn’t look too happy to see Taffy.

  “I’m about to have dinner.”

  “With Noel?” Taffy looked past Cara, down the hall, but she appeared to be alone.

  Cara crossed her arms. Sarcastically, she said, “Apparently he had some ‘paperwork’ to sort out at the pro shop.” Cara turned on her heel and started back toward the kitchen. Taffy followed her.

  “Is Todd gone?”

  Passing the living room, Cara gestured to the empty space by the couch where his duffel bag had been. “Probably halfway back to Eugene by now.”

  Clearly, Cara’s mood had not improved since this afternoon. When they reached the kitchen, she checked something in the oven. A scent of lamb chops wafted through the room. When the oven was sealed again, she said, “I planned a nice dinner. Was going to tell him the news tonight.”