Death Over Spilt Chowder

by Wendy Meadows

  He put down the basket, then turned and lifted his hand to shade his eyes. He squinted back at the front steps where shapes moved, one in uniform, the other decidedly bald and thick around the middle.

  “It’s Detective Newman,” Olivia whispered. “He’s here to talk to Albert. What do you think that means?”

  “It means nothing as far as we’re concerned,” Jake replied, but he answered slowly, as if he’d truly mulled over the words. He shook whatever thoughts he’d held out of his head, then picked up the picnic basket and offered Olivia a smile. “Come on, let’s go enjoy our afternoon. It’s not every day you get to have a picnic in the Florida Keys.”

  Olivia lingered a minute longer, studying the two figures and their body language. Was it just her, or was Albert tense?

  Let it go, Olivia. Come on, enjoy time with your family and friends.

  She turned her back on the scene and walked over to one of the benches where the A’s crowded around the basket.

  “I know I packed them in,” Albie said. “I know it.” She lifted one plastic container after the other. “Ah! I’ve found them. Jake, dear, try one of these.”

  “What are they?” Jake asked as he laid down the picnic blanket.

  “Sweet Creamed Cherry Truffles,” Alberta replied and licked her lips – her plum-colored lipstick didn’t budge. “Olivia’s new adventure into chocolate-making.”

  “I did it with help,” Olivia said and laughed.

  “I’ll take a couple.” Sebastian called it from where he and Dodger played fetch near the fountain.

  It was good to be out here under the sun, away from Chester for a change, but it sure was hot. Olivia tugged on the front of her shirt and fanned herself. Albie offered her the container and she accepted a choc and popped it between her lips.

  Heavenly, if she did think so herself. It cheered her right up and erased all the doubts and thoughts of the murder last night for a second.

  They rushed back again, regardless, like waves crashing onto the shore.

  The two staff members walked past, talking under their breaths and casting glances around as if they had something to hide. Dodger gave a sonorous bark and one of them jumped and looked back at him, then laughed.

  “Hello, doggy,” he said – it was a young man with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He halted and bent in front of Dodger and stroked the dog a couple times. “Aren’t you adorable?”

  Olivia took her chance. She strolled over, still holding the container, and offered him a choc. “Would you like one?”

  “Yes, thanks,” he said and rose, green eyes sparkling bright. “My name’s Pete.”

  “Olivia,” she replied, and they shook on it.

  The other staff member had already retreated into the distance, but Pete didn’t seem all that concerned. He simply brushed off his uniform – green and white striped, like a candy cane with the wrong color – and pincer-fingered a chocolate truffle into his mouth.

  He bit down, then froze, eyes widening.

  “Is something wrong?” Olivia asked, and her anxiety kicked right into overdrive. Gosh, the first time she’d served her chocolates in Chester it’d been at the Fall Festival when one of the locals had eaten one and died – poison.

  Pete continued chewing, and a slow smile spread across his lips. “Nothing wrong,” he said. “Nothing at all. This is just the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Oh, well, thank you,” Olivia said, and Dodger barked for attention. She nudged him with the toe of her pump, then looked back at Jake on the bench. He was in conversation with Alberta – hopefully, that meant he wouldn’t get suspicious and come over.

  “This is a lovely place,” Olivia said. “It’s so peaceful. Ugh, you know, you read all these stories set in Florida or hear stuff on the news about it, but nothing quite gets the picture across. It’s beautiful. Tropical, lush, and warm.”

  “It’s the perfect place to retire,” Pete said and took another chocolate. He gobbled that one down too. “Gosh, I could eat these all day. Did you make them yourself?”

  “Yeah, I own a chocolate shop back home,” Olivia replied, but this definitely wasn’t why she’d come over. “Listen, did you hear about the death of – well, um—”

  “Joseph,” Pete put in and nodded once. He swallowed hard as well, then licked his pallid lips and dragged fingers across his tan forehead. “Joseph Pines. I heard all right, and I can’t say I’m shocked.”

  “Why’s that?” Dodger barked again, then padded off, wagging his golden-haired tail – apparently, they’d sufficiently bored him with their talk of murder and mayhem. That, and Dodger truly despised not being allowed chocolates.

  “Well, this is just a bit of gossip,” Pete said, “nothing that you need to repeat, understand? Joseph wasn’t exactly well-liked around here.”

  “In the Keys?”

  “No, at the Garden Club.” Pete leaned in slightly and lowered his voice even further. He was shifty, all right, eyes flicking back and forth in their sockets. His breath smelled of chocolate and strawberry and something else Olivia couldn’t place. It was sharp. “You see, Joseph used to sleep on the benches and it really angered the big boss. He was convinced that Joseph was carrying, I dunno, diseases or something, and he’d outright shout at him whenever he caught him. Some of the other staff at the Garden Club felt the same way and they were pretty…well, let’s just say they weren’t nice to the guy.”

  “No? Who were these staff?”

  “Oh, just Albert, the boss, and Jessie, the receptionist, and a couple of the other guys. They never hurt him, but they’d always chase him out and yell whenever they caught him around,” Pete continued, still shifty, still searching their surrounds like his boss would pop out from behind a tree at a moment’s notice. “Albert was worse. I saw him – jerk Joseph around by the lapels of his trench coat once. Joseph was terrified and ran off afterward, and we were all too scared to mention it to the boss. Ya know, on account of the fact that he’s got such a temper.”

  “Did anyone else hurt Albert?” Olivia asked.

  “No, no, definitely not,” Pete replied, then wrinkled his nose. “I probably shouldn’t tell you all of this, but gossip never hurt anyone, right?”

  “Of course not.” Olivia foisted the container of chocolates toward Pete yet again, just to sweeten the deal, and he accepted another one. “So some people didn’t really like Joseph,” she prompted.

  “Some people, yes, but not everyone. I mean, a lot of the staff kind of – well, now, this is secret, actually, I don’t know if I should even tell you this.” Pete slurped down a chocolate and took another one – at this rate, there’d be none left for the picnic.

  “Go ahead, who will I tell? I’m just a visitor here.”

  “Lots of us didn’t agree with the way Albert treated Joseph, so we’d clean up after him or help him get in and out of the grounds unseen.”

  “That’s quite noble of you,” Olivia said, and meant it. “How did you do it?”

  Pete swallowed noisily and stepped back, chest puffed out from the compliment. “I can show you, if you’d like to see it.”

  “Oh, definitely,” Olivia said, putting on her brightest “customer” smile. “Give me a moment and we can take a walk.”

  “Sure.”

  Olivia made quick work of placing the chocolates back in the picnic basket. She took hold of Dodger’s leash, clipped it onto his collar, then told Jake and Alberta she’d be back in a minute. The rest had gone over to the fountain to check out the cool waters and enjoy the gentle rush of water as a backdrop of sound.

  Jake shot Olivia a warning look, but she ignored it and trotted back to Pete’s side, Dodger keeping pace eagerly. He was desperate to run and be free, but he didn’t tug on the leash for once, just snuffled the air – perhaps he sensed there was business afoot.

  “This way,” Pete said and led her toward the line of trees. They entered beneath them onto a small, worn trail which was half c
overed with leaves, but most definitely there. It was close beneath the canopy, birds tweeted and water dripped somewhere nearby – a stream, perhaps.

  “You let him out of here in the mornings?” Olivia asked to break the silence.

  Pete nodded up ahead. “Yes,” he said. “If I got to him before the other staff members did.”

  They walked for two minutes, then halted beside a fence. Pete pointed to its base, but gasped instead of speaking.

  “What is it?” Olivia asked.

  Dodger barked and sniffed the dirt, puffing out a cloud of brown dust in the act.

  “The f-f-fence,” Pete said. “Someone’s fixed it. We used to get him through here, see?” He bent but didn’t touch the fence, which appeared to have been repaired with a newer section of wire, fastened with metal ends twisted in a full circle. “I was here just two days ago and it was fine, totally fine. It was open. We’d sneak him out this way – I – I don’t understand.”

  Olivia chewed her bottom lip and studied the fence.

  She didn’t understand either. But she would.

  Chapter 6

  Enjoying dinner in a Bar and Grill without the creepy stories and, well, murder, was infinitely better than the alternative.

  Olivia scanned her menu and shifted, brushing her arm against Jake’s in the process.

  She’d chosen the place tonight, and the three A’s had come along – Sebastian had stayed back at the resort with Dodger and insisted he was happy to have room service instead.

  “Everything looks so good,” Alvira said and smacked her lips. “Gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry before.”

  “We had a picnic this morning and you certainly ate your weight in chocolates, dear,” Alberta put in.

  “Oh, I know, but the thought of a delicious grilled steak with melted garlic butter drizzled over, ugh, I can barely contain myself.” It had only been a week and already Alvira had cultivated a tan. Her wispy blonde locks were tied up, and she positively glowed.

  “This vacation has certainly agreed with you, Alvira,” Olivia said and turned her focus back to the menu. Gosh, there was just so much to choose from and each dish looked yummier than the last.

  “I’m having a steak too,” Jake announced, then slipped his menu to one side against the wall of their little booth.

  The décor in the restaurant was homey, all wooden planks, rough tables, and fish nets hanging from the walls over framed pictures of fishermen and their catches. There was an anchor at the far end of the room right beside the kitchen door, and an aquarium filled with exotic fish separating one end of the room from the other.

  Colors flashed behind the glass, oranges and greens, glinting scales which drew Olivia’s attention every now and again.

  “The Portobello mushroom stack with the garlic looks good, oui?” Alphonsine’s French accent certainly hadn’t faded but her English had improved loads since she’d started working at the Block-A-Choc Shoppe. She licked her lips. “I will have that.”

  “But that’s such a little bit of food, dear,” Alberta whispered. “What about the local fish of the day BLT? Oh my, I’m drooling too, now.”

  “Well, we’ll continue drooling if we don’t get served at some point.” Olivia put down her menu and craned her neck.

  A burst of laughter came from the other side of the room behind the aquarium. Perhaps their waiter was preoccupied with another table.

  “I can go look for him,” Jake said.

  “No, no, I’m on the aisle.” Olivia patted the back of his hand, then scooched out of the booth, with its navy checked fabric cushions, and hurried off down the aisle between the tables.

  The restaurant wasn’t particularly busy, but she’d looked this place up on TripAdvisor and it had great reviews. Perhaps it was just a slow time. After all, they hadn’t come during the tourist season.

  But surely the Keys are always popular?

  Olivia pushed aside the thoughts and made for the kitchen doors and the open window near the decorative anchor. She knocked on the melamine counter and peered into the kitchen.

  A man with a bright smile and a bouncy white chef’s hat popped up. “Ma’am?”

  “Oh!” Olivia placed her hand to her heart. Good heavens, he’d scared the sweetness out of her. “Oh, sorry, I was just looking for our server. We haven’t had anyone attend to our table yet and we’re pretty starving.”

  The chef tut-tutted and looked past her, then rolled his eyes. “Over there, by the aquarium. Hey, Jeff! Jeff, you lazy piece of—”

  Olivia cleared her throat to cut him off, but turned regardless. Her eyes widened.

  There was their server, apparently, with a mop of long black hair which hung across one eye, and there was the table he’d been serving – and the woman at it was a person she recognized.

  The socialite, Karen, from their spooky dining experience. She was here, and still twirling that string of pearls, except now she wasn’t pale or terrified. She positively brimmed with confidence. Her smile sparkled by the blueish hue of the tank – she was reminiscent of one of those glittering fish within.

  She looks happy. A little too happy, if you ask me.

  Ugh, if Jake could’ve heard that thought, he would’ve told her that she was paranoid, but the mystery behind what happened to the drifter, Joseph, itched at the back of Olivia’s mind and wouldn’t stop. Especially after witnessing the repaired fence today and Pete’s total shock over it.

  The murder had occurred only the night before, and Karen had seemed totally distraught, tearful and talking at length to the Gomez’s. And now? She sat across from a woman Olivia hadn’t seen last night and giggled.

  “Ma’am? Excuse me, ma’am?” A finger tapped Olivia on the shoulder and she snapped out of it. The server stood at her side. He tossed his long raven hair and blinked at her. “You called me?”

  “Yes, sorry, we’re waiting for service over there. I’d like a – well, for starters a soda would be great. A Dr. Pepper. I don’t know what the rest want. Could you go find out please?”

  “Right away, ma’am.” He bustled off, but Olivia didn’t follow him.

  Instead, she took a leisurely stroll down the aisle and drew a chair back beside the aquarium – the glass and fish separated her from Karen and her friend, and the gentle bubbling noise from the filter made it a little difficult to make out their conversation.

  She scooched closer and listened, rocking her chair back a bit. The legs creaked and scraped against the wooden boards and Olivia tilted back, barely catching the edge of the table in time. She teetered there, lips pressed together, and caught sight of Jake shaking his head at her from their booth.

  Oh, she’d hear all about this later.

  “So, yeah, that’s what I’m telling you,” a voice said from the other side of the aquarium. It had to be from the woman she didn’t recognize. “I know you’ve been through a lot lately, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea, Kari. I think you’re going to get caught if you’re not careful.”

  “Well, I’ll get caught if you don’t keep your voice down, Sharon,” Karen hissed back.

  Olivia clung to the table and carefully lowered the chair back down to the ground. Her pulse raced, but she kept her breathing even.

  “Sorry,” Sharon said, and did lower her voice – curses to that.

  “Listen, I’m not worried about anyone finding out, and as for Gomez, please, it would have to be so obvious before that idiot got a clue. This is our little secret, and it’s going to stay that way.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “Sharon, I can trust you, right?” Karen asked. “I mean, I know I can trust you, I know that you’d kill for me if necessary, but—”

  “Girl, I’ve got your back.”

  “Good, because I can’t afford for anyone to—”

  “Ma’am?” The waiter, Jeff, snapped Olivia right out of her reverie with that particularly sonorous question. “Your husband wants to know if you’ll be joining the table.” />
  “Shush,” Olivia managed in a strangled voice. “And he’s not my husband.” She launched herself out of her seat and hurried back to the table, not daring to look back in case Karen and her friend had realized she’d been listening in.

  She got there and slipped in next to Jake, breathing hard.

  The A’s hardly seemed to notice, they were all three chatting about the dessert menu.

  “And?” Jake whispered. “What did you learn?”

  Olivia met his gaze, but wasn’t cowed by the disapproval there. “That there’s more to this murder than meets the eye.”

  Chapter 7

  The following morning dawned bright and sunny, the perfect weather for a boat tour in the Keys. Olivia dressed in a pair of loose slacks, her sneakers and a sleeveless blouse because no one had time for the humidity down here at this time of year.

  The gang – the A’s, Sebastian, Dodger, Jake and herself – all walked down to the docks, chatting amongst themselves, but Olivia could hardly focus on the conversation with Karen’s words jogging through her mind.

  “Gomez,” Olivia muttered.

  Jake nudged her, then took her hand in his and stroked the backs of her knuckles with his thumb. The light breeze toyed with his salt and pepper hair, graying only slightly at the temples, and his skin was tan beneath the sun. Handsome as he’d always been.

  She smiled at him, but it wasn’t too much of a distraction. Or not enough of one, at least.

  “You’re talking to yourself, Cloud,” he said and pinched the skin on the back of her hand lightly. “What about Gomez?”

  “I – well, I’m not sure you want to hear about it,” Olivia said. “It involves what happened at the Haunted Dinner Crawl.”

  “The murder?” Jake raised his eyebrows but lowered his voice. “I thought you weren’t getting involved in that, Olivia.”

  “It’s kinda hard not to get involved when things just keep falling into my lap. Information, I mean.”

  “Now, that I don’t believe for a second,” Jake said. “Unless you count tipping that information over so it purposefully topples into your lap, of course.”