Death by Chocolate Sundae: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 2)

by Constance Barker

  Unfortunately, it’s difficult to allow yourself to open up to another person once you’ve been burned. The emotional pain burrows deep inside you and the thought of letting another person in is terrifying. But the thought of not allowing someone in is also frightening as you might allow a special person to slip through your grasp. Of course, there were no prospects at this time, or so I thought. So right now, I was set to concentrate on my business and to figuring out who killed Mr. Jenkins in my ice cream Shoppe.

  That evening Brandon stopped by like he said he would and made sure we all left the Shoppe safe and sound. He was so different from the little guy who bugged Stormi and me when we were younger. I felt bad for him that his marriage didn’t work out. Stormi said it devastated him to find out his wife was cheating on him. That he couldn’t see himself with anyone else because he didn’t want to get hurt again. I knew exactly how he felt.

  We ordered two pizzas, one veggie and the other supreme. Sam joined us instead of locking herself away in her room to video chat with her friends. Sam was a great kid and a lovely girl. She was smart, hitting the honor roll every semester. She wanted to go to college to become a nurse. Paige wasn’t so sure about that, since nurses usually work long hours without the best pay unless they’re in larger cities, which meant Sam would move away. However, Sam wasn’t swayed by Paige’s argument and at least at this stage was adamant about becoming a nurse.

  We popped the bottle of wine and Sam drank grape juice from a wine glass so she’d feel included. We chowed down on the pizza and then settled back in our comfies to discuss the murder. Sam was first with her own pocket of information. She was wearing a purple nightgown with her long brown hair tied in the back. Paige had on yellow jammies and Stormi’s was white with red flowers. I had on my favorite pair of pink sweats with a pink t-shirt from my store that said ‘The Frozen Scoop’ since I didn’t have any PJ’s.

  Sam sat on the floor with her legs crossed. “When I arrived at the Shoppe the night it happened there was a small crowd already gathered.”

  “Who did you see?” I asked taking a sip of my wine.

  “I saw Mrs. Wendell walking her dog.”

  “Aha!” Stormi cried as she raised her glass of wine. “I bet it was that busybody who tattled on us to the police!”

  “What do you mean tattled?” Sam asked.

  “Honey, it wasn’t your Mother’s best moment, but we all sort of fell into nervous fits of laughter when trying to revive Mr. Jenkins,” Paige responded.

  “Oh…that sounds weird,” Sam declared.

  “You had to be there hon,” Stormi added. “It was just….well yeah it was weird.”

  “So did you recognize anyone else?” I asked as I poured more wine into my glass.

  “There were some people I recognized around town, but don’t know their names. A few kids on their bikes stopped as well. Oh, and this man. He kind of stood out because he was tall and had on nice clothes. He didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the group.”

  “You didn’t recognize him?” Paige asked her daughter.

  “No, I’d never seen him around town.”

  “You sure it wasn’t Mr. Parker?”

  “Paige!” I blurted out. “Surely you don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Parker had anything to do with this.”

  “I don’t like entertaining the thought, but they had the most to gain,” Paige said as she took a sip from her wine glass.

  “Not necessarily,” Stormi announced. “I heard Mr. Jenkins had an only son who was to inherit everything. You know he had a big settlement from Landry’s department store the hotshot lawyer from Atlanta got him. Well, turns out his son kept asking Mr. J. for a loan, but Mr. Jenkins, being the sweetheart that he is…ummm was, told him to take a flying leap.”

  “Why wouldn’t he help his son out?” I asked. “If he had so much money he could have simply given it to him.”

  “This is Mr. Jenkins we’re talking about Tara,” Stormi maintained. “He was tighter than a camel’s butt in a sand storm.”

  Barmph! “You almost choked me!” Paige coughed.

  “It’s the truth,” Stormi continued. “From what I gathered, his son was a pretty good guy who lost his job when the company laid off and he needed some money to pay his bills until he could find another. The son wasn’t asking his father to just give him the money; he was going to pay interest on it. But even that wasn’t good enough for all Mr. Stingy. I guess they had a loud argument in Mr. Jenkin’s yard that a few of the neighbors witnessed. Mr. Jenkins told him to never come back and his son said not to worry he wouldn’t. Then Mr. J. said he was taking him out of his will as soon as possible.”

  “When was that?” Paige asked.

  “Three days ago,” Stormi answered.

  “Yikes,” I responded. “That does give him a clear motive.”

  “Not sure how he’d get the cyanide though if he was broke,” Stormi pondered. “Of course I don’t know the going price for cyanide these days either.”

  “Didn’t he work for a company in Atlanta that produces insecticides?” Paige asked. “For some reason that sounds familiar.”

  “Ohhh, that’s right he did!” Stormi blurted. “Oh crap, isn’t cyanide in insecticides?”

  “Yeah, in some of them I think,” Paige responded.

  “Is there anyone else who wouldn’t mind seeing Mr. Jenkins dead?” I asked as I poured the last dribble of wine into my glass.

  “You mean besides half the town?” Stormi joked.

  “He’s going to haunt you, you know,” Paige stated.

  “He already is,” Stormi stated. “I still have visions of the CPR comedy routine.”

  “Oh Lord, don’t remind me,” I pleaded.

  The next hour we talked about more pleasant items of interest including Sam’s latest beau. Sam was a pretty girl, but she also had her head on straight. She wasn’t going to be sidelined by a handsome face, although she was allowed to date once she had turned 15.

  “The head of the basketball team asked her out and she turned him down,” Paige announced.

  “Mother!” Sam admonished. “A girl can’t have any secrets around here.”

  “That’s right sister,” Stormi chirped. “So spill it. Was he too tall, gangly, too many pimples?”

  “Stormi! You’re as bad as my Mom.”

  “It’s our generation sweets,” Stormi replied. “We’ve been cursed with a tongue that runs on its on volition.”

  “Whatever,” Sam said rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “I wasn’t interested in him, besides he had a bad reputation. Actually I’ve been dating a nice guy from my photography and video group.”

  “What’s his name?” I asked.

  “Colton Price. He’s really good at staging and lighting and with making videos. He has several Youtube videos up. I’ll show you,” Sam said as she ran to her room to retrieve her laptop.

  “So is this getting serious Mom,” Stormi asked Paige after Sam left the room.

  “I’m not sure…this is the most she’s talked about him,” Paige complained. “I guess it’s more fun to tell Mom’s friends than dear old Mom about the new guy in her life.”

  “Don’t take it so hard Paige,” I remarked. “Was your Mom the first one you’d run to when you were 16 to talk about a new guy.”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” Paige trailed off as Sam reentered the room.

  She set the laptop on the coffee table and sat on the floor while the rest of us crowded on the couch right behind her. The Youtube videos were of school football and basketball games, the city pool, and one was undercover following a few of their friends. We laughed at their antics…kids just being kids. And then a thought entered my mind from out of nowhere.

  “Oh my gosh,” I said. Everyone turned to look at me. “I just remembered something. I can’t believe I forgot all about it.”

  “Well spill girl,” Stormi remarked.

  “When I purchased the ice cream Shoppe, Mr. Peterson told me that his son
installed two video cameras in the wall. One that pointed towards the register and the other out towards the front of the shop. Mr. Peterson said he didn’t want the cameras put in, but when there was an outbreak of robberies three years ago his son wanted them installed. Mr. Peterson was from the old school and felt the cameras would make his customers uncomfortable, so if his son insisted on installing them, he wanted them where his customers couldn’t see them.”

  “Really, I never knew that,” Paige replied.

  “Yeah, and I forgot all about it, until now looking over these videos. Mr. Peterson said occasionally he would look at the tapes but there wasn’t anything of importance on them. He told me they ran on their own on a loop and I had completely forgotten they were even there.”

  “Easy to do when you can’t see them,” Stormi said as she walked to the kitchen to grab a soda. “Oh crap,” she said sticking her head back into the living room. “You aren’t thinking of showing a tape of us performing a CPR Hee Haw routine on Mr. Jenkins to the police are you?”

  “Well Officer Burkle said if I thought of anything else that might help,” I recalled.

  “I’m with Stormi on this one Tara,” Paige agreed as she opened another bottle of Merlot wine. She filled her glass full and then said, “Oh, do you girls want any?”

  “Fill er up girlfriend,” Stormi yelled from the kitchen.

  “I thought you were getting a soda,” Paige said.

  “I changed my mind after Tara remembered the video cameras,” she said bringing in a box of crackers to munch on. “I need more alcohol to properly digest the news.”

  “Well we could look at the tapes ourselves first to see if there’s anything useful on them,” I suggested, holding out my wine glass for a refill before the girls drained the bottle.

  “Now that sounds like a winner,” Stormi replied. “This way we don’t embarrass ourselves for nothing.”

  “That reminds me, did you give Officer Manning your number?” Paige asked.

  “No, but it’s on my statement,” Stormi answered. “But after hearing how we laughed like loons over Mr. Jenkins he probably thinks I’m nut case.”

  “But you are a nut case,” Sam said innocently then burst into laughter.

  “That’s only for us to know little girl,” Stormi replied.

  After a little more girl talk we decided to call it a night, but I tossed and turned thinking of those video cameras and what the tape might show. I finally convinced myself the tapes likely didn’t show anything of importance, but boy was I wrong.

  *****

  The next morning I was up early and was surprised to see Paige and Sam already in the kitchen drinking coffee and orange juice.

  “We must be on the same wavelength,” Paige said pouring me a cup of java.

  “Evidently,” I said. “Guess we all want to see what’s on those tapes.”

  “Is it alright if I come too,” Sam asked.

  “Of course hon,” I answered. “I’m sure you know more about how to load the videos on a computer than I do.”

  “Looks like everyone is up,” Stormi yawned as she entered the kitchen. “I need some of that black gold in a pot if you don’t mind.” Paige grabbed another mug and poured her a cup.

  “So we’re heading down to the Shoppe early to check out the tapes right?” Stormi asked as she poured creamer into the coffee.

  “Yep, so let’s get a move on,” I replied.

  We downed our coffee, changed clothes, and headed to the Shoppe. I still wouldn’t open for another 2 hours so we had plenty of time to peruse the tapes. It was a good thing Sam volunteered to come along because as predicted I wasn’t sure how to upload the video to my laptop.

  We all sat down at one of the tables out front and parked our chairs so we could view the laptop screen. Sam hit play and the video started. The video played on a loop for almost a week. Since the murder happened only a few days ago, the footage should still be on it. There were two cameras, one facing the register and the other scanning the front of the store. We decided to look at the tape showing the front part of the Shoppe first.

  Sam fast-forwarded the tape until it came to that evening. Finally, we saw where Mr. Jenkins entered the store.

  “There,” Stormi barked. Sam slowed the tape and we waited as Mr. Jenkins walked out of the frame. A few minutes later, he walked back into the frame with his double chocolate sundae. He sat at a table next to my huge plate glass window, but instead of sitting where he could look out, he faced towards the inside of the store. Next, you could see Stormi and me bringing him several small cups of water so he could take his pills.

  We watched then as he took the pill bottle from his pocket and shook out two pills. He threw both of them in his mouth at once, then downed both cups of water. It was eerie to watch, knowing that he just ingested the poison that would kill him only a few moments later.

  After taking the pills, he took several bites of his sundae and then all of a sudden it appeared as if his body stiffened. Then his head fell forward and his face planted straight into the sundae. We all watched in silence waiting for the three of us to come into view. Fortunately it didn’t take us long to notice him because within 30 seconds we were on the scene.

  You could see Stormi and I gently pushing his body away from the table and then Paige running in with the wet cloth to wipe his face of the whipped cream and chocolate ice cream. Next, we are gently putting him on the floor. Stormi starts compressions as we look on. Thank goodness, mine and Paige’s backs are to the camera so you can’t see our uncontrollable laughter although one might wonder why our shoulders and upper bodies are shaking. Plus we are blocking the camera’s view of Stormi and Mr. Jenkins.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you can’t see me going all cray-cray on Mr. Jenkins,” Stormi said with a sigh.

  “Wait…who’s that,” Paige blurted. We were so busy looking at ourselves we hadn’t noticed the figure in the window looking in on the video tape.

  “I never saw him that night,” Paige said. “But then I wasn’t looking outside until I heard the sirens.”

  “My word, he’s standing right at the window watching,” Stormi said. “Wouldn’t you think he’d come in and see if he could help? Unless….”

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Paige asked looking at Stormi. Stormi nodded her head.

  “That’s your murderer right there,” Stormi declared. “He came to make sure the deed was done.”

  “I saw him,” Sam announced. “When I arrived at the Shoppe that night. Remember Mom I told you there were several people watching outside?”

  “Yes I remember,” Paige answered.

  “He was one of them,” Sam said as she studied the tape, which was now stopped so we could get a better look at the man in the window. “I thought he looked out of place because he was dressed up in a suit and tie.”

  “He looks familiar,” Paige replied. “But I don’t think he lives around here. We need to get a closer look at him.”

  “I bet Colton could zoom in on his face and make it clearer,” Sam claimed.

  “What are you waiting for girl…give him a call,” Stormi said getting up from her chair and walking over to look out the window. “It has to be the guy that did it, don’t you think?”

  “It’s simply too strange to think otherwise, “Paige answered. “It was like the guy was waiting for him to take the pills.”

  “But how would he know he’d take the pills right then?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Paige answered as she watched Sam talk on the phone behind the counter. “But we need to find out who that person is.”

  Fifteen minutes after making the call, Colton was at the Frozen Scoop. We were introduced to the young man with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was a little taken aback by all of us women surrounding him. I asked if he’d like a cone, he said yes, and then seemed to settle in with us. Ice cream…it makes everything better.

  After gulping down his cherry cheesecake ice cream cone,
he went to work. He brought his own laptop installed with the software he needed to dissect the image. He took a screenshot and zeroed in on the man peering in the window. Colton tapped on the keys of his laptop, performing functions that made the image clearer. We stood spellbound as he worked his magic.

  “The camera is old which is why the image is so grainy,” Colton explained. He talked about pixels and other items we didn’t understand, but we listened as if we knew what he was talking about. Suddenly he hit a key and the man’s image became much clearer.

  “I recognize him,” Paige blurted out startling all of us.