Read All Fudged Up (A Candy-Coated Mystery) for Free Online Page B

be hardwood floors under the carpet. I want them refinished.”
    “Oh, good.” I could hear the delight in Emily’s voice and the ka’ching of a cash register going off somewhere. “I’ll send him over at five tonight when the painters are done. Keep in mind that not only do we refinish floors, but we can find you some really nice vintage rugs to go over them. What circa are you decorating for?”
    “I’ve got a 1900-era paint scheme going in.” I was three buildings from the power company office.
    “Wonderful, I’ll collect some samples and we can talk. Can I pencil you in for Friday?”
    “I’m not near my calendar.”
    “No worries, I’ve got you down for Friday at ten. I’ll have Mike bring over a reminder card when he comes.”
    “Okay . . .”
    “Now, while I have you on the phone, you have to give me the scoop.”
    “What scoop?” A quick glance at the time on my watch, and I sped up.
    “Joe Jessop, silly! Did you really hit him over the head with a metal bucket after he made untoward advances?”
    That stopped me in my tracks. “What?! No! Who said that?”
    “I heard it from Julia Keystone. Her brother is Rex Manning’s best friend. I assumed she got the story straight from Rex.”
    “Well, you assumed wrong,” I said. “Joe Jessop was dead when I found him. I definitely did not kill him and he certainly never made advances.”
    “Oh . . .” I could hear the disappointment in her voice. I suppose her story was more interesting than my real one.
    “Look,” I said. “I promise, all I did was find him and then I called 9-1-1.”
    “But you didn’t,” she pointed out. “You called Charlene direct, which was very strange since everyone knows you should have simply dialed 9-1-1.”
    “I did dial 9-1-1. It was Charlene who told me to call her direct.”
    “Why would she do that?”
    “Because she . . .” I paused. Some things were best kept to oneself. “Because I confused her.”
    “Oh, honey,” Emily clucked. “That’s okay. We all have our moments. I’m sure it was the shock of finding a body in your closet.”
    “It was a shock.” At least shock was an excuse everyone would understand.
    “I know—”
    “Rex Manning told you.” I interrupted.
    “Not Rex, Julia.”
    “Oh, right.”
    “Never fear, Allie.” Emily sounded a bit like a superhero or a lawyer stating a case. “Mike and I knew you were innocent. That’s why we’re wearing a green ribbon.”
    “What?”
    “A green ribbon, silly. Oh, a customer just walked in. I’ve gotta go. Bye now.” The phone went dead in my hand.
    I didn’t have time to ponder what she meant by the green ribbon thing. The heat from the power company’s front office hit me in the face as I walked inside.
    Everyone stopped and stared. I stood frozen to the spot, surprised to be the center of attention. I glanced down to ensure I had clothes on. Indeed I had on comfy athletic shoes, dark blue jeans, a paint smeared T-shirt, and a spring-green Windbreaker jacket. Maybe it was my hair. I tried to pat it down and make some sense out of the mop that was my dark brown hair. The stuff was wavy enough to never be flat but not curly enough to be called curly. It seemed to always be doing the wrong thing. I usually dealt with it by ignoring it, except to brush it, of course.
    I stepped forward while people glared at me. One woman turned her back to me with a huff. Then I noticed Mrs. Brewster stood nearby. She gave me a smile, a wink, and put her thumb in the air. I hesitatingly smiled back. She pointed to the green ribbon on her lapel and rolled her eyes at the purple ribbon on the woman next to her.
    I shook my head slightly. Wait. Most everyone in the crowded office had a purple ribbon on. What was I missing?
    “Don’t let them get to you.” Mrs. Brewster came over to stand by me.
    “Why would they get to me?” I shook my head in confusion.
    “Because they aren’t wearing green ribbons,” Mrs. Brewster said. She wore a knit cap on