Chocolate Covered Murder Read online

  Chocolate Covered Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 3

  by

  Kate Bell

  Kathleen Suzette

  Copyright © 2018 by Kate Bell, Kathleen Suzette. All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination, or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

  Books by Kate Bell, Kathleen Suzette

  Apple Pie A La Murder,

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 1

  Trick or Treat and Murder,

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 2

  Thankfully Dead

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 3

  Candy Cane Killer

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 4

  Ice Cold Murder

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 5

  Love is Murder

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 6

  Strawberry Surprise Killer

  A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 7

  Pushing Up Daisies in Grady,

  A Gracie Williams Mystery, Book 1

  Kicked the Bucket in Grady,

  A Gracie Williams Mystery, Book 2

  Candy Coated Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, Book 1

  Murderously Sweet

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, Book 2

  Chocolate Covered Murder

  A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, Book 3

  Other books by Kathleen Suzette:

  Clam Chowder and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 1

  A Short Stack and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 2

  Cherry Pie and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 3

  Barbecue and a Murder

  A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 4

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Author’s note

  Chapter One

  “I promise you there is no curse on Pumpkin Hollow,” I assured the woman standing in front of me. “Sometimes people around here let their imaginations run wild.” I was ringing up candy for her at the cash register and trying to do damage control at the same time.

  The woman looked at me doubtfully, not quite believing what I was telling her. I gave her a winning smile to try to convince her. A rumor was going around town that Pumpkin Hollow was cursed and the rumor was spreading to the tourists. It wasn’t the first time rumors of the witchy kind went around, and while it would appeal to certain types of tourists, we were a family-oriented Halloween-themed town and it might put off other potential tourists that had small children.

  Pumpkin Hollow was located in the mountains of Northern California, and we celebrated Halloween all year long. But the weeks between Labor Day and two weeks after Halloween were what we called the Halloween season. During that time we saw large numbers of tourists that flocked to the town to see the sights, visit the attractions, and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

  “Well, I’ve heard there’s a curse,” the woman said, with finality. She was middle-aged and wore a floppy straw hat with a tiny scarecrow affixed to the front. I vaguely remembered seeing her around town before, but I was pretty sure she wasn’t a local.

  “Just the locals spreading rumors,” I said waving my hand as if I could wave the rumors away. I smiled even bigger in an attempt to convince her. There wasn’t much I could do to change people’s minds about certain things, but maybe I could distract them. “Would you be interested in a sample of our cinnamon fudge?” When things get uncomfortable, change the subject and offer candy. It was practically my life’s motto.

  “Cinnamon fudge?” the woman asked, her eyes lighting up. “I’ve never tasted cinnamon fudge before. I would love to try some.”

  “It’s the best. My mother makes it fresh every day,” I said, trimming off a small sample sized piece with a plastic knife. I placed it in a tiny paper cup and handed it to her.

  “Oh my, gosh,” she said as she rolled the sample around in her mouth and closed her eyes. “This is wonderful!”

  “How much would you like today?” I asked. I wasn’t being presumptuous. Once tasted, my mother’s fudge had to be purchased.

  “A quarter of a pound,” the woman said, eyeing the different flavors of fudge in the display case. “Oh, and a quarter pound of the peanut butter fudge, too. I may as well get some while I’m here.”

  My parents owned the Pumpkin Hollow Candy Store, handed down to them from my mother’s parents and I was now an employee there. It wasn’t what I, Mia Jordan, envisioned my life to be though. After high school, I had moved away to go to college in Michigan and after ten years in college, I was the proud owner of three masters degrees. When I realized that I might be running away from life by staying in college and changing my degree year after year, I finally returned home. And while I was thrilled to be home, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t putting my education to work. I spent a lot of time trying not to think about the fact that if all I was going to do with my life was work at my parent’s candy shop, I could have stayed put after high school and avoided the student loans.

  Today I was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. It was Saturday morning in late September, and the Halloween season was in full swing. We always dressed up on the weekends during the Halloween season.

  I went to the display case, opened it and pulled out the cinnamon fudge. It smelled heavenly and I couldn’t wait until the customers were gone so I could snitch a piece. I cut off a slab that looked to be about a quarter of a pound and weighed it for my customer, and then did the same with the peanut butter fudge.

  My mother came in from the back room carrying a tray of candy corn marshmallows. She had been working on the recipe for more than a week to get the flavor and texture just right. I had tasted one earlier, and it was going to be a heavenly addition to the candy we sold.

  “Hello, there,” she sang out to my customer. “How are you this morning?”

  The customer I was waiting on looked up and smiled at her. “Hello, I’m fine. I just love your fudge. This is my first visit this season, but I’ve come every year for the past three years. I don’t remember you having cinnamon fudge last year.”

  “We didn’t. It’s been a few years since I made it. Probably before you started coming regularly,” Mom said, heading to the display case. “We just love return customers, I hope you keep visiting.”

  “You know I will,” she said, having forgotten about the curse. Great fudge does that to a person.

  I wrapped up her fudge and took it to the register. “Was there anything else I can get for you?” I reached for a cute little jack-o'-lantern print paper bag to put the fudge in.

>   She shook her head. “No, I think that’s all for now. I’ll be bringing my grandchildren with me next weekend. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces. They’ll be visiting from Ohio and they’ve never been to Pumpkin Hollow.”

  “How exciting,” I said. “I know they’ll enjoy visiting. Don’t forget to stop back in and let them pick out their favorite candy.”

  “I will, I will,” the customer said delightedly.

  “Mia,” Mom said, carefully placing the candy corn marshmallows into the display case. “I’ve got some chocolate pumpkins setting up in the back. I think I’ll make some taffy, too.”

  “That sounds great,” I said as I rang up the woman’s purchase. The woman ran her debit card through the card reader and I handed her the paper bag with her fudge in it. I thanked her as she headed for the front door.

  There were several other customers in the store but they were all busy looking over the candy on the shelves. Thankfully, none of them seemed interested in the talk of a curse on the town.

  I heard the tone on my cell phone signaling a text and reached under the counter for it. It was from Ethan.

  If you’re free a minute, can I stop by the candy shop?

  I texted him back: Yes of course. I’ll be here.

  My stomach did a little flip. Before I had left for college, I had lived my whole life in Pumpkin Hollow. Ethan Bates had not been a friend of mine in high school, but we had become friends since I had moved back. In fact, we were becoming more than friends. We had gone out on two dates and I hoped there would be many more.

  I rang up two more customers, keeping one eye on the front window, looking for the police squad car to show up. Ethan was on the Pumpkin Hollow police force and it seemed like he was on my mind all the time lately. I spent a lot of my day trying to come up with reasons to drive past his house. Ethan probably didn’t know it yet, but he had his very own stalker.

  When the squad car pulled up to the curb out front, I looked over at my mother who was rearranging a shelf of foil covered candy ghosts and skeletons.

  “Mom, do you mind if I step outside for just a minute?”

  Mom looked up at me and smiled when she saw Ethan’s car at the curb. “Of course not, you don’t want to keep Ethan waiting.”

  “Thanks,” I said and headed to the door.

  Ethan had just stepped out of his car when I walked outside. I stepped up to him and smiled, suddenly feeling shy. I probably looked like a grinning fool, but I couldn’t help myself. The Little Red Riding Hood costume probably added to that effect. Ethan had been the cutest boy in school and now we were dating. I wanted to pinch myself.

  “So, how are you?” I asked.

  Ethan grinned back, and brushed his blond hair off his forehead. “I’m fine. A little tired though. A couple of officers called in sick, so I worked an overnight shift on top of my regular shift. You make a cute Little Red Riding Hood.”

  I giggled and brushed back the long strand of brown hair that had escaped my headband. “Thanks. You must be exhausted,” I said, leaning against his patrol car. Ethan had been the most popular boy in high school and with his blond hair, blue eyes, and athletic build, he had made many a teenage girl’s heart flutter.

  “Yeah, I’m really tired, but at least I get to go home now. I just thought I’d stop by and say hello to you before I did go home and conked out for the day.”

  “That’s so sweet of you,” I said. I wanted to reach out and touch his hand, but I suddenly felt awkward. We weren’t at the randomly touching stage yet. At least, I didn’t think we were. “How have you been doing?” I had just seen him the day before, but it felt like ages since I’d laid eyes on him.

  “I’m doing great. You look good in red,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Don’t you tease me,” I warned. I loved dressing up every weekend during the Halloween season. It was one of the things that I had always looked forward to when I was a kid, along with helping my mom and dad at the candy store. Now, dad had a job selling insurance, but my mom was still making and selling candy.

  “Okay, I won’t tease you, I promise. Why don’t we go out to dinner again? Sometime soon?” he asked, looking deep into my eyes. “I’m kinda beat today, so I don’t know that I could manage to be coherent. But, soon?”

  “That sounds like a great plan to me,” I said softly.

  As we stood talking, Ethan’s radio went off. A call came in about an accident at the haunted house over on Goblin Avenue, calling for all available officers. Ethan looked at me. “Well, I thought I was on my way home,” he said tiredly. “But I guess I’ll head over to the haunted house and see what’s going on.” He glanced at the watch on his wrist. “They’re getting ready to open in about ten minutes.”

  “I hope it isn’t anything serious,” I said, but since all available officers had been called, I knew that probably wasn’t the case.

  “I’ll call you later, Mia,” he said, and opened the driver’s side door and got in. On a whim, I ran over to the passenger side door, and got in beside him.

  Ethan looked at me, questioning. “What are you doing?”

  “You don’t mind if I ride along do you?” I had made a quick decision, and I hoped he wouldn’t say no.

  He considered it for a moment. “I guess it’s okay,” he said. “But I need you to stay back.”

  “Good, I was hoping you would say that,” I said. We had had two murders and an arson fire in the past month and something about this call set my spidey senses to tingling. For a town with family-themed attractions, things hadn’t been very family friendly lately, and I wanted to know what was going on. Pumpkin Hollow couldn’t stand another scandal.

  Chapter Two

  When we pulled up to the haunted house, there was a long line of customers waiting to get in. The haunted house was one of the town’s most popular attractions. It had originally been a Victorian mansion with a tall clock tower, built in the late 1800s and had been empty for years when the town took on the Halloween theme and the then owner transformed it into a haunted house. The house had had several upgrades through the years and the current owner, Charlie McGrath, tried to change up the scenes on the inside every year to keep it interesting.

  Black spider webs clung to the corners of the dusty windows and a large black spider made its way down the front porch wall. The clapboard siding was a peeling white-turned-gray color and added to the creep factor and a wrought-iron fence surrounded the property. The gates were now wide open to accommodate tourists.

  There was an actor dressed as a witch walking around out front of the house greeting the guests, and a zombie made an appearance now and then at the corner of the house, peeking around at the tourists waiting to be let into the haunted house. A couple of the smaller children looked frightened every time the zombie poked his head around the corner, but the accompanying adults only laughed.

  Ethan parked the car on the side of the house and we got out. Gary Collins was an actor wearing a stovepipe hat and black tuxedo who paced nervously back and forth on the wrap-around front porch near the still closed front door. His white grease-painted face looked worried. Whatever had happened, I was glad it occurred before the guests were allowed inside the attraction.

  Ethan was the first police officer on the scene, but another police car pulled up behind us and parked. I followed Ethan onto the front porch and up to where Gary kept watch.

  “Gary, what’s going on?” Ethan asked.

  “I don’t want to talk out here in front of the guests,” Gary whispered, glancing at the long line of people waiting for the haunted house to open. An ambulance pulled up as we headed to the front door and a murmur went through the crowd.

  Gary unlocked the door and let Ethan, myself, and the two other police officers who had joined us inside the house. As we walked through the doorway, we could hear complaints from the people behind us in line. Gary waited and held the door open for the EMTs, then shut it behind them and locked it.

  He turned arou
nd and looked at us wide-eyed. “There’s been, I don’t know how to say this, but an accident?” he said sounding unsure. “When the actors came in this morning and got into their places, they found him. Follow me.”

  Ethan glanced at me. “Maybe you should stay here, Mia.”

  “I’ll be okay,” I said, trying not to sound nervous. What Gary said sounded ominous, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would be okay. But I was about to find out.

  We followed Gary through the dimly lit haunted house. The lights had been turned up, but they weren’t very bright and it took a minute for my eyes to adjust. There was just enough dim lighting that we could see the path that passed the graveyard, the mad scientist room, and a pumpkin patch filled with goblins. Then we headed toward a cave where an actor playing a caveman usually stood.

  “Do you see what I see?” I said to Ethan.

  He slowed his pace as we all looked up at the wall above the cave.

  “Yes, I’m not sure what happened here, but I can assure you that that was not there when we locked up last night,” Gary said over his shoulder.

  Graffiti had been spray painted in neon green and black letters on the wall above the cave. The death threats drawn in large letters spilled across the wall and onto the fake rock cave. In front of the cave entrance was a small abutment of faux stone that the caveman usually stood on while grunting and growling at passing guests, and he occasionally reached out to touch a guest. Now someone was laying on this abutment, not moving. Laying across the person’s legs was the plastic caveman that usually stood in the background nearer the cave entrance.

  Joe Small was the actor that played the caveman, and he was standing off to the side in his leopard-print caveman suit. He looked at us wide-eyed when he saw us approach. His face was pale, even in the dim lighting and he headed over to Ethan.