Puffed, Stuffed, and Melted Murder Read online

  “He didn’t say but from the look on his face, it didn’t appear like whatever it was, was a good thing,” Audrey told them.

  “I don’t see Emma or Ross,” Yvette said, looking around.

  “Me either. Wait. Doesn’t Ross live on Mount Pierce?” Nate asked.

  Yvette cringed. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure he does.”

  “I’m gonna text Dad and see if he can at least tell me something,” Nate said, pulling out his phone and pressing a few buttons. “I’ll let him know we were supposed to meet Ross and Emma and maybe he’ll tell us something.”

  “If something happened to Emma, I won’t be able to handle it.”

  “Shhh,” Audrey hushed “The ceremony is starting!”

  The carolers that led the ceremony every year began their procession down Main Street singing various Christmas songs.

  “Is that Tom?” Yvette squinted, looking at the large bucket truck slowly making its way down the street behind the carolers.

  “Wow. Yeah, I think it is.” Nate nodded. “It’s Gary driving, and those are the only two cable guys we have in town. That was nice of him to volunteer to be Santa,” he whispered.

  “Yeah, it was. And oh my gosh, it’s little Evie with him! She must be so excited she was chosen to help light the tree this year!”

  “Shhhh,” Audrey hushed them again. “Will you two pipe down? Look at that sweet little girl. The smile on her face is huge. Children at Christmastime are just so precious.”

  The bucket truck decorated to look like Santa’s sleigh made its way to the decorated tree situated in front of the library. It came to a stop and the driver slowly raised the bucket to the top of the tree where Tom, with little Evie’s help, placed a star. They began a countdown.

  “5…4…3…2…1” the entire town said together, just before Evie pressed the button that lit the tree, the decorations along all the telephone poles on Main Street and all of the Official Town Offices.

  The whole street erupted in song. “We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

  “Yvette, my dad said it wasn’t a car accident,” Nate whispered. “But, look…” He showed her the phone.

  “Murder? You have to be kidding,” Yvette said, a look of terror coming over her face.

  Chapter 8

  Yvette arrived at work an hour before the shop opened knowing that Vanessa would be there already. She needed to clear her mind and the best way to do that was to focus on Sundae Afternoon. Once she’d realized that Emma was not the one that was hurt, Yvette was relieved, but she was still unsettled. Carrie Hilton hadn’t been at the tree lighting ceremony because she was dead. One thing that didn’t make sense was how. Who wasn’t at the ceremony that could have gone to Carrie’s home and killed her? Heath may have been vague with information he’d shared but hearing the phrase suspect foul play was all anyone needed to hear to know that another murder had occurred.

  “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s always the husband,” Vanessa said.

  “You said that once before and you were wrong. You’re probably wrong this time too considering that Mitch isn’t even in town,” Yvette told her employee who sat across from her at one of the ice cream shaped tables at Sundae Afternoon.

  “Yes, but you told me you heard them arguing,” Vanessa reminded her.

  “I did. But that would mean he took her home knowing she was feeling sick, killed her and then packed for his business trip and just left her sitting there,” Yvette protested. “He may have been upset with her but that’s pretty dark.”

  “You’re right. I’ve been reading this super creepy psychological thriller and I guess my mind is wandering.” Vanessa took a sip of her Cinnamon Pecan coffee float. She’d not stopped drinking them since Yvette created them for the Fall Foliage Trolley Tour a few weeks back.

  “I wish I knew who found her.”

  “Well, we know it wasn’t her husband. I saw Serena at the ceremony, and Molly too,” Vanessa said.

  “I saw Julie, and Chucky and his wife aren’t in town. I’m not sure Carrie has many more friends than that,” Yvette admitted.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure I’d even call any of those people her friends.”

  “That’s true,” Yvette said. “She’s not exactly the friendliest person around.”

  “Doesn’t that mean it could have been anyone? I’m sure she’s made plenty of her customers angry.”

  “No doubt about it. I don’t know, it just seems so strange since everyone was at the ceremony. I guess it’s possible Mitch could have hurt her and then just taken off. I have no idea what their relationship was like, so maybe they continued the fight once they got home and it just escalated.” Yvette shrugged.

  “I don’t really want to keep talking about it. I’m gonna get myself all freaked out.” Vanessa shuddered. “I think I’ll do some organizing behind the counter today. There’s so much stuff under there that I think we can scale back and bring some things in the stock room now that the summer is over, and we are officially in cold weather season for the next three or four months.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll be out here trying to not think about it too,” Yvette said knowing full well that’s all she’d be able to think about.

  She didn’t really want to believe that Mitch could have done something so evil, but Yvette tried to remember that everything wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows. There is much more to people than what they show to the world. Just as Yvette was about to get up to go to her office, she heard a light knock on the front door of the shop. Getting up, she peered out the window and opened the door.

  “What are you doing here?” Yvette asked, surprised to see Nate.

  “Well, my dad is probably not going to be very happy with me for two reasons. One, I found something out about Carrie, and two, I’m here to tell you what it is,” Nate had a mischievous look in his eye.

  “Are you sure you want to tell me?” Yvette wanted to be positive that Nate really wanted to tell her, worried that he’d regret it later.

  “Normally, no. But for some strange reason, I can’t help myself.”

  Yvette motioned to one of the tables. “What is it?”

  “I stopped in at the Police Department to see my dad, and when I was there, I saw Molly. She was waiting to talk to him.”

  “Molly? I wonder what for,” Yvette asked.

  “So did I. That’s why I asked her,” Nate chuckled. “She said she was called in for more questioning.”

  “Wait. Why was she questioned at all? Does she know something? There’s no way Molly did this,” Yvette rambled.

  “I don’t know why they wanted to talk to her that time, but she told me that she was the one to find Carrie.”

  “Whaaatttt?” Yvette interrupted.

  “I know. I had a similar reaction. I could have sworn I saw her while we were at the bazaar, and I know I saw her at the ceremony.” Nate nodded his head.

  “I saw her too. How did she find Carrie? I mean, why was she there?”

  “I don’t know a lot because my dad’s secretary called her in the back for questioning. Before that though, she did tell me that she kept hearing from people that they hadn’t seen Carrie at the ceremony, and how odd they thought it was. I guess Molly called her a bunch, and she finally went to her house to check on her. When she got there, she found Carrie at the bottom of the stairs, her body was twisted up and from what Molly said, it was a pretty gruesome sight.”

  “That’s awful.” Yvette felt her face blanch. “I’m glad she went to check on her, but that had to be the worst experience ever. Imagine finding someone like that?”

  “Maybe it was an accident after all, though. I mean, I don’t know how common it is or anything, but I’m sure it’s possible that she just fell down the stairs.” Nate brushed his hand through his wavy brown hair.

  “That’s true.” Yvette thought about it for a moment. “But, unlikely. Your dad wouldn’t hav
e said foul play or have called someone in for questioning if it was accidental. Not that I know how to rule that out or anything. Can they do an autopsy or something for that?”

  “I have no idea. My dad’s the cop, not me. I doubt he’ll be interested in answering any of my questions,” Nate said.

  “I guess I could talk to Molly about it. What do you think?”

  Nate sighed. “I’m not really sure what I think. I only told you because I knew you’d be wondering about it until you heard something. I don’t know if talking to Molly is a good idea or if it will just cause problems. For all you know, she’s the killer.”

  “Molly? What on earth would make you think that?”

  “I mean she was at Carrie’s house. How long does it take to shove someone down the stairs?” Nate leaned back in his seat.

  “The things that come out of your mouth sometimes,” Yvette said, shaking her head. “I just don’t see Molly doing it, even if she was there. What reason would she have?”

  “How would I know? I barely know Molly, and I only met Carrie yesterday. I don’t exactly have the inside scoop on their relationship.”

  “Speaking of the Inside Scoop. I gotta go update the sundae flavor in the newsletter, I decided to change it at the last minute. Thanks for letting me know about Molly. If I decide to go talk with her, do you want to come?” Yvette asked.

  “As long as we do it somewhere my dad isn’t going to be. The last thing we need is him mad at both of us.”

  Chapter 9

  Yvette was on her way to the post office to mail an early Christmas gift to her friends, Max and Henry, from the Townsend, Connecticut Sundae Afternoon shop. On her way by Molly’s Diner, she swore she saw some activity through the front window. She doubted that Molly would have opened the diner so soon after Carrie’s death, and since there were only two vehicles in the parking lot, Yvette figured it was just people who worked there. At the last minute, she turned and pulled her SUV into the lot.

  “What a surprise!” Serena said after unlocking the front door and letting Yvette in.

  “I know. I hope I’m not bothering you or anything. I just saw the cars, and wasn’t sure if I could help out at all. I know it has to be hard to lose someone not only close to you, but one that is so important to the diner.” Yvette frowned, hoping she wasn’t overstepping.

  “That would be a ton of help, actually. Julie and I are here cooking up some food for Mitch. Most of Carrie’s family came to town and have been at the house, so we thought it’d be nice if we took care of all the food. From what I heard, she’s got a pretty large family and neither us of have a big enough kitchen, so Molly let us do it all here.”

  “That’s really awesome of you guys to think of that. I’m sure Mitch is really struggling and then having Carrie’s whole family in town… it just has to be really tough for him,” Yvette said following Serena into the kitchen.

  “Was that Mitch at the door? We aren’t quite... Oh, Yvette. Hi,” Julie greeted her with a look of disappointment. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Mitch is supposed to be stopping by to pick up some food. We thought you were him when we heard the knocking,” Serena explained.

  “Just me.” Yvette grinned. “I’m here to help. What can I do?”

  “We’ve got lasagna, pot pies, chicken and broccoli casserole, baked macaroni and cheese and some beef stew simmering on the stove now. We thought about making a meat and cheese platter and then one with fruits and vegetables,” Julie said, putting a lid on the disposable lasagna pan

  “Wow. That seems like a lot of food,” Yvette raised her eyebrows.

  “We need to make sure Mitch is taken care of properly. His wife just died, he needs someone to look after him. I promised Mitch he wouldn’t have to lift a finger,” Julie said, an odd look on her face.

  “Okay, then. I was just saying it seemed like a lot of food all at once. I didn’t mean he didn’t need it or anything. I’m sure there are a lot of things that he and Carrie’s family need to consider, so having their meals taken care of will definitely help,” Yvette said, wondering why Julie had been so defensive.

  “How about you help put the lids on the rest of the dishes and get them packed up? Like we said, Mitch should be here soon,” Serena spoke, breaking Yvette out of her daze.

  “Sure thing,” Yvette agreed, setting down her purse and pulling off her coat.

  “Did you hear Molly was the one to find Carrie?” Julie gossiped.

  “I did. How awful,” Yvette replied, covering the next lasagna pan.

  “Not because of what you’d think though,” Julie whispered.

  “You really should stop spreading rumors,” Serena scolded. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Maybe not, but after that fight Molly and Carrie had, you just never know. Molly may have been angry enough with her to take drastic measures.” Julie shrugged.

  Yvette knew better than to get involved with a he said, she said situation but the thought of Molly killing Carrie didn’t sound right. Maybe if she offered a little information, she’d get something more from Julie and Serena.

  “Did you know that Mitch and Carrie got into an argument at the pancake breakfast? Saying Molly may have had something to do with Carrie’s death because they’d had a fight is similar to saying Mitch did it for the same reason.” Yvette stopped to look at Julie.

  “You know, you really should mind your business!” Julie blurted before running out of the kitchen.

  “Don’t mind her. I think she has a little crush on Mitch and seeing him upset has really gotten to her.” Seeing the look on Yvette’s face, Serena continued. “Don’t worry, she never acted on it or anything, or at least I don’t think she did.”

  “You learn something new every day. I would have never guessed that,” Yvette said. “I also never in a million years would’ve thought that Molly would be accused of killing someone.”

  “I don’t know. I’m trying not to get involved, really. Before I know it, I’ll be next in line,” Serena said, holding a bag open for Yvette to place a covered pan in.

  “Don’t be silly. There’s no reason for anyone to think that about you.”

  “I got into a fight with Carrie a few weeks ago, too. Just like Mitch and Molly did. What if people say the same thing about me?” Serena asked, looking worried.

  If everyone was having trouble with Carrie then maybe she was the problem, not the rest of them. Yvette wondered what it was about her, and thought back to the pancake breakfast. If Yvette and Nate had been dating, Carrie would have really made her upset. For that matter, they weren’t dating, and Yvette was still a little miffed about how overly friendly Carrie had been to Nate.

  “Do you mind if I ask what the fight was about?”

  “Sure. I was late for a shift, so she took a ton of my hours and gave them to Julie. I was upset about them being taken away, but I was even more upset that she gave them to Julie. They barely even spoke to one another at work. It always seemed like Carrie had no patience for Julie, but then she gives her all my hours. It’s not really a big deal and I know that, but I can’t help but be paranoid.”

  “I totally get it. If you ever want to talk or anything, you can stop by Sundae Afternoon. I’ll give you my number before I leave too,” Yvette offered.

  “Thanks, that means a lot.” Serena looked behind her and whispered, “I heard Leslie Norre applied for a job at your shop.”

  “She did. She’s lovely. I’m planning on hiring her.” Yvette hoped that Serena wasn’t going to share something bad about Leslie.

  “That’s great. I really like her. I just feel bad that she left, but it was nice of her to help out at the breakfast wasn’t it?” Serena stirred the pot of beef stew.

  “It was. I’m sorry I didn’t get to work more closely with her, though. I’d have loved to see her in action.”

  “Yooohoooooo! Are you two about done?” Julie’s voice called, interrupting Serena’s story. “Mitch is here and is r
eady for his food. Hopefully, he won’t have to wait around long. Not that we’d mind such lovely company, right girls?”

  “No need to rush. Oh, Yvette. Hello,” Mitch said awkwardly.

  “Hey, Mitch,” Yvette replied. “We’re just about done.”

  The last time that Yvette saw Mitch was when he was arguing with his wife, she could imagine that he might feel a little uncomfortable around her, especially if he’d gotten word of the rumors floating around that he killed his own wife. But, maybe that’s just how a guilty person would act. Yvette may have solved a few murders, but things weren’t always as they’d seemed. Especially when it looked as though several people could have had motive to kill Carrie.