Fudgy Fatality: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 10 by Kathleen Suzette (good books for high schoolers .txt) 📗

It didn’t make sense that Carla had bought Olivia the flowers. It made me wonder if Betty was even remembering correctly since she couldn’t remember that when I spoke to her. Why would Carla have bought flowers for Olivia?

Chapter Twenty-One

Fudge is one of those candies that is simple to make, and yet there’s a skill to it. If you overheat it, you’ll have a scorched mess on your hands. Under heat it, and the sugar granules won’t dissolve, and you’ll end up with a grainy texture. I used to wonder if I would ever get over loving fudge in all of its many flavors since I spent so much time making and eating it. I no longer wondered. I knew the answer. No. I would never get over loving fudge.

When our employees began arriving the next morning, I looked over at Christy. “Want to take a break?”

“Sure,” she said and tossed the kitchen towel she was wiping her hands with onto the counter.

“Mom, would you like us to pick up anything for you? We might stop by Amanda’s and get a coffee and a scone.” I untied the apron I was wearing and tossed it onto the counter next to the dish towel.

She turned to us. “Oh. I think I’d like a pumpkin spice latte and a cranberry white chocolate scone. I saw the scones the other day, and I resisted them then, but I didn’t get a chance to eat anything before leaving the house this morning. I think I want one now.”

“You got it,” I said, and we headed out the kitchen door and onto the sales floor. “Does anyone want anything from the coffee shop?”

Linda turned to me. “Pumpkin spice latte?”

“Sure. Anyone else?”

Carrie and Stephanie had brought their own, so we headed to get the coffees. The air was brisk outside, and I inhaled, trying to enjoy all the fall scents. If only fall was year-round. “Smells like fall.”

“It does, doesn’t it? Remember when we used to visit Grandma and Grandpa after school for a candy corn bonbon in the fall?” she asked wistfully.

The memory nearly brought tears to my eyes. “Yeah. That was so much fun. Grandpa used to do his Donald Duck impressions. We need to make those candy corn bonbons again.”

“We really do. They were so good. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of those in years.”

“It’s settled then. We’ll add them to our Halloween season candy lineup. I’m sure Mom still remembers the recipe.”

We headed down the street toward the coffee shop, but instead of continuing straight, I made a left turn. Christy looked at me.

“Where are you going?”

“Let’s stop in at Storage Inc.” I stopped, waiting for her to catch up to me and smiled at her.

“What’s up?” she asked, making the turn.

I shrugged. “Why don’t we go and see what’s up?”

She chuckled. “I hope this is worth waiting to get that scone and coffee.”

“I hope it is, too.”

In the middle of the night it had come to me that Carla ordering Olivia flowers was no coincidence. Not adding a gift card saying who they were from wasn’t a coincidence, either. Of course, Betty could have been wrong about her ordering them since she had at first forgotten who it was. But I was willing to bet she wasn’t wrong now.

When we stepped into the office, the cubicles were filled with people and there was the buzz of conversation in the air as phones were answered and calls were made. This was perfect. Everyone seemed to be busy with their own concerns and we could have a little conversation without anyone listening in. If things didn’t go well, what was she going to do? Shoot us? Not with all these people in here she wasn’t.

No one was sitting at the desk out front that Carla had sat at when I’d come into the office the other day, so we headed for Olivia’s old cubicle. Carla was on the phone and she looked up at us, surprised. She smiled and nodded a greeting, and we took it as a sign we should come in. Christy took one visitor’s chair, and I took the other.

Carla smiled at us again and continued her phone conversation. There was a pumpkin spice candle on a candle warmer on the desk and the scent hung in the air. I glanced at Christy. She was watching Carla.

The cell phone in my hand said it was just after nine a.m. I considered texting Ethan to let him know that I thought I had figured out who the killer was, but if I was wrong, he’d be angry after he had already told me not to investigate.

Carla hung up the phone and smiled at us again. “Hi, Mia, hi Christy. How are you two today?”

“We’re great,” I answered. “We just thought we’d stop in and say hello.”

A puzzled look crossed her face, but she recovered quickly. “Well, that’s sweet of you.”

“Congratulations on your promotion,” Christy said. “Mia told me about it. I bet you’re excited.”

Her eyes lit up. “I am just thrilled. It should have been mine to begin with, you know. I’ve put in the years, and now I’m reaping the reward for all my hard work.” She folded her hands together and placed them on the desk in front of herself.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “It should have been yours to begin with?”

She sighed. “If it had been up to my supervisor, it would have been given to me months ago. But it was the decision of two of the other managers and it was given to someone else.” She shrugged. “Oh well. Better late than never.”

“Who was it given to?” Christy asked.

Her eyes widened slightly, but then she grinned at Christy. “I shouldn’t say. It isn’t