Double Chocolate and Death

by Allyssa Mirry

  “Did someone want to kill him?”

  “I didn’t hear that. But I did hear that Chase The Waves was going to be in some big surfing competition in Hawaii. Some of the girls were giggling about it. Only one person from a town can be entered, so it’s a big deal. The best person is supposed to go, and that was Chase. He was basically getting a free Hawaiian vacation, and if he won the surfing competition, there was a really big cash prize.”

  Lydia frowned. “That sounds like an opportunity that someone might be willing to kill for.”

  “I thought Leo said there wasn’t evidence of murder.”

  “He did. But I think I’d feel better if I spoke to the people who would benefit from him being taken out of the competition.”

  “Then, we’ll do that tomorrow too,” Trina said, adding another splash to her glass. She clanked her glass against Lydia’s. “Cheers.”

  5

  Sadie’s Surf Shop

  The next morning, after having breakfast on her porch with her dog where Sunny was able to do her two favorite things (eat and sunbathe), Lydia headed to the beach. Trina met her on the sand wearing a floral cover-up that complemented her red locks that were twisted up into an intricate bun.

  “You look amazing,” Lydia said. “I didn’t put much thought into my outfit. I only made sure not to wear one of my taffy shirts because that has my last name as part of the logo.”

  “Well, I didn’t want my hair to get too windswept before my date with Carl tonight. But the surf shop we want to visit is that way,” Trina said, pointing ahead. “One of my salon regulars who mentioned Chase The Waves owns it. And when you see her hair, I want you to know that it looks exactly the way she wanted it too.”

  Lydia was very curious about what this could mean. However, she didn’t have to wait long for an answer. As they approached the small building off the boardwalk and closer to the water called Sadie’s Surf Shop, Lydia saw a young woman with streaks of lavender, turquoise, and bright red in her blonde hair. However, despite the cheerful colors close to her face, the woman seemed forlorn and gloomy.

  “Hi, Sadie!” Trina called.

  Sadie didn’t match Trina’s enthusiasm but did wave and say, “It’s good to see you. I don’t see you away from the salon very often.”

  “Well, I do enjoy dipping my toes in the water more than submerging my whole body. And I know that I’d fall right off of a surfboard,” Trina said with a little laugh. “Sadie, this is my best friend, Lydia. And Lydia, this is one of my most original customers who keeps me on my toes with her color choices.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. Were you thinking of buying or renting a surfboard?” Sadie asked.

  “Yes,” Lydia said, hoping she sounded believable. She knew that her sense of balance wasn’t ideal for standing on the waves and surfing wasn’t something she really planned on doing. However, she hoped that this would be an effective way to get Sadie talking about Chase without suspecting that Lydia was probing for info about a potential killer.

  “I suggested she talk to you,” said Trina.

  “I always meant to learn how to surf. Since I moved back to town, I figured that it would be the perfect time to learn. But I did start to have some second thoughts.” Lydia moved closer to the counter so she could keep her voice down. “I heard that a very experienced surfer just drowned. And I have to admit that frightened me. If someone talented could die on the water, what could that mean for someone just beginning like me?”

  “You must be talking about Chase,” Sadie said sadly. “It’s really hard to believe, but he did drown recently. I don’t think that this should scare you away from learning how to surf. Just try with simpler waves and make sure a lifeguard is on duty. But I can’t pretend that his death doesn’t bother me.”

  “You were close?” asked Lydia.

  “He kept his lucky board here, so it was easier to bring to the water. He was a customer and a friend. I was so proud that he was going to represent Ocean Point in Hawaii.”

  “I might have heard a little about that,” said Lydia. “This was an important competition?”

  “One of the biggest. And it was quite an honor for Chase. He was going to represent his home town, and there was a big cash prize that he had a good chance of winning.” Sadie’s eyes began to tear up. “It’s not fair that he won’t be able to go.”

  “Who will be representing Ocean Point now?” Lydia asked. “Will someone go in his place?”

  “That’s going to be decided tonight,” said Sadie. “A bunch of us are going to meet at Buoy’s tonight to figure out who should go now.”

  “Buoy’s?” asked Lydia.

  “It’s a local dive bar. Or should I say surf bar?” Trina joked. “A lot of surfers do go there.”

  “We’re going to each raise a glass to Chase’s memory tonight and then choose someone to represent both him and the town,” said Sadie.

  “Do you think you might be the one to do it?” asked Trina.

  Sadie shook her head. “I think I’m pretty good, but I don’t think I’m the best in town. I wish I were, but I don’t think it will be me.”

  A thought occurred to Lydia, and she had to ask about it even if it was veering away from who might have a motive to hurt Chase if they would take his place.

  “Did you say that Chase kept his lucky board here?” she asked.

  Sadie nodded. “He could use other surfboards, but this was his favorite. He said it was a good luck charm. He always did well when he used it.”

  “And is it still here?” Lydia pressed.

  Sadie poked her head further inside the shop to check. She nodded. “It’s here.”

  “So, Chase didn’t use his lucky board the night he died,” Lydia said.

  “Maybe it was too late at night?” asked Trina. “Were you locked up?”

  “Chase has a key. Not to the safe, but to the door so he could get his board if he needed it at odd times. He was my friend, so I trusted him,” Sadie said. “And now that you bring it up, it is odd if he was out on the water and didn’t have his lucky board.”

  Lydia thought that she was on to something, but she didn’t have an opportunity to pursue it anymore. At that moment, Leo walked up to the stand with Detective Grey at his side. They were both frowning.

  “What are you doing here, Lydia?”

  6

  An Abbreviated Autopsy Report

  “Leo,” Lydia said. “I’m surprised to see you.”

  “That’s her brother,” Trina told Sadie conspiratorially. “They have a complicated relationship right now. Their father-figure recently died.”

  Leo gestured for her to follow him. Lydia and Trina trudged after the detectives until they were out of earshot of Sadie. Leo and Detective Grey looked like formidable figures as they glared at them.

  “Somehow, I don’t think you’re here to buy a surfboard,” Leo said.

  “Well, I had been considering doing some cross-marketing with other businesses in town. Get a discount on salt water taffy after spending time in the salt water. That sort of thing,” Lydia said.

  “It’s an effective strategy,” Trina agreed.

  “And that’s what you were doing here?” Leo asked suspiciously.

  Lydia thought about it. She might be able to convince the detectives that her reason for being there wasn’t related to the drowned man, but she didn’t want to lie to her brother after they were finally starting to get along.

  “I also wanted to learn a little more about Chase Harris,” Lydia admitted. “Daniel is convinced there’s something fishy about it.”

  “And not just because his body was found among the fishes,” Trina added.

  “I wish you would let us handle this,” Leo said.

  “I want to,” said Lydia. “It just seemed like you didn’t think there was a case to investigate. I wanted to double check.”

  “There is no case to investigate,” said Leo. “The medical examiner agreed that it looked like an accidental drowning.”
>
  “If it was an accident, then what are you doing here?” Lydia asked, looking from one detective to the other.

  “Being thorough,” said the serious Detective Grey.

  “Good,” said Lydia. “Then when you talk to Sadie you’ll learn that Chase Harris didn’t take his lucky surfboard out on the water. It sounds like that is very out of character for him. Why would he go surfing without his lucky board?”

  “Maybe he wasn’t surfing when he went out in the water,” Leo said. “He might have gone out for a late night swim.”

  “That’s what we believe happened,” agreed Detective Grey.

  “But what if someone went out with him and held him under the water?” Lydia suggested. “It sounds like he should have been able to swim on his own. Maybe someone impeded his ability.”

  Trina nodded. “And this person murdered him.”

  “There’s no evidence of that,” Leo said, starting to get annoyed. “There are no marks on the body to indicate that he was held under water, that he was tied up, or that he was injured. The water found in his lungs is consistent to the seawater at Ocean Point, so he wasn’t drowned somewhere else and dumped. What was in his system was alcohol. Not a huge amount. But it could have been enough to make him think night swimming while intoxicated was a good idea. He might have confused which way the shore was. He got tired and drowned. Again, there was nothing to indicate foul play. The only marks on the body were some cuts on his heels.”

  “Cuts on his heels?” asked Lydia.

  “Yes. A small cut on each heel. Shaped almost like an X. Maybe with a little extra line. It’s nothing that would have impeded his swimming. He probably cut his foot while he was intoxicated and didn’t notice.”

  “Should we be sharing this information?” Detective Grey asked.

  “It’s the only way to keep them from meddling,” Leo said. “They need to know that this isn’t a murder case. We’re just dotting all our I’s and crossing all our T’s because it’s our job.”

  “Was he found in a bathing suit?” Lydia asked, unable to stop asking about the victim. “If he wasn’t dressed for swimming that is suspicious.”

  “There was nothing suspicious. He was wearing bathing suit shorts and a sleeveless shirt. That’s what a lot of men wear in the ocean here. He didn’t empty the pockets on his shorts before he went on the water but, again, he had been drinking.”

  “What was in his pockets?”

  “His wallet and cell phone,” said Leo. “But lots of people accidentally ruin their electronics by bringing them into the water in their pockets.”

  “I think we’ve said enough,” said Detective Grey.

  “You’re right,” Leo agreed. He looked Lydia in the eyes. “Now, can you please let this go so we can finish our investigation?”

  “I’m happy if you’re investigating,” she told her brother. “I just wanted to make sure this case was being taken seriously because it upset people I care about. If you’re solving it, then we don’t have to poke around.”

  “There’s nothing to solve,” Leo said angrily. “And even if there was, you shouldn’t be poking around in it. You shouldn’t be getting in the way of police matters. You should be focusing on your own things. Like your shop and taffy.”

  “The new double chocolate taffy is really good, isn’t it?” Trina asked.

  Detective Grey couldn’t help it and nodded. However, Leo was still glaring at them.

  “You’re right,” Lydia said. “I should focus on my shop. And, in fact, I have an interview for a new employee that I need to get to.”

  She grabbed Trina’s arm, and they hurried away from the beach. Lydia remembered how Leo had been willing to throw her in jail in the past, and she didn’t want to get on his bad side again.

  7

  Questions

  Saying she had to meet a potential employee wasn’t just an excuse to leave an annoyed brother. Lydia really had set up and interview with an applicant for that afternoon, and she was grateful to have Trina at her side.

  It was hard for Lydia to push all her thoughts about what she had learned about Chase Harris’s death aside. Despite what Leo had said, she thought it was strange that Chase had gone swimming with his cell phone in his pocket. However, she tried not to think about the potential case and instead focus on her upcoming interview. She was already trying to avoid asking whether the applicant could be a killer during her interview process. She needed to clear her mind.

  The door to the shop opened, and Lydia smiled. The woman who entered was much older than she expected her applicant to be based on the correspondence they shared setting up the interview.

  “Are you Kara?” Lydia asked.

  “No, I’m Annette.” She pushed her silver hair behind her ears and glanced around the shop. “Why did Ruth change the shop’s name? Is it some kind of marketing technique? Appealing to a new audience?”

  Lydia immediately realized what was going on. “I’m afraid Ruth doesn’t own this shop anymore. She retired after last summer. I bought the building and expanded the taffy selection.”

  “Oh, I see. Ruth isn’t here anymore?”

  “Are you a friend of hers?” asked Lydia. “I might be able to track down a number to reach her at.”

  “No. That’s all right,” Annette said. “I really just wanted to see how her shop was doing.”

  “I had to overcome a few bumps when I first opened, but now things seem to be going well. Please try a sample of one of our new flavors.”

  Annette thanked her as Lydia handed her a free sample of the double chocolate taffy. After taking a final look around, she scooted out of the shop with her piece of candy.

  Lydia asked Jeff to send the applicant back to her office as soon as she arrived. Then, she and Trina went to wait for her. However, they ended up watching the minutes tick away on the wall clock as Kara kept them waiting. The two friends tried to avoid talking about Chase Harris, and so they chatted about how much Carl liked to talk about Sea Bass and how Sunny’s snoring occasionally woke Lydia up in the middle of the night.

  Finally, Lydia said, “It doesn’t look like she’s going to show up. Maybe we can talk about the murder.”

  “So, you think it was murder too?” asked Trina. “That’s what I’m leaning towards. And I don’t think that’s just because it means we get to do more sleuthing. Something feels wrong. And a killer might be on the loose.”

  “A killer?” a young woman in extremely high heels asked as she strode into the office. “I’m Kara. Sorry I’m late.”

  “We weren’t really talking about a killer,” Lydia said quickly. “We were just hoping that nothing terrible had happened to you to keep you from coming in. Out of context, that could sound strange.”

  “Right,” Kara said, taking a seat. “No. The only thing that made me late was my nail. I broke it this morning, and I had to redo my nails before I came in. You know, so I could make a good impression.”

  Trina’s brow furrowed but Lydia reached for the girl’s resume. She reviewed it and then said, “You have a lot of experience with retail and food service, which would be a good combination for working at Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets. However, I do notice some gaps in your employment and some jobs that only lasted a few months. Is that because your school schedule changed? You said you’re going to the local college.”

  “That’s right. College is great, and I do need to find jobs that can accommodate my class schedule and my social schedule. A lot of the times that I switched jobs was because something came up and I couldn’t work. And there were a few times that my coworkers claimed they had a problem with my attitude. But, you know what? I had a problem with theirs too.”

  “Oh?”

  “They were too strict about following the rules,” Kara said offhandedly.

  “My next question is: why would you like to work here? And what do you think you could add to the team?”

  Kara played with her nails as she spoke. “Well, I like that this job wou
ld be near the beach. I’m trying to get a better tan this year. And everyone here seems really nice. I think I could add to the team by making taffy and selling stuff.”

  “So, you don’t have a strong desire to take over the shop? And you wouldn’t hurt anyone to do so?” asked Lydia.

  Trina cleared her throat and gave her friend a look. Lydia stopped adding any other questions to her list, knowing she was heading down the path of accusing applicants of plotting murder.