Read Trouble and Treats (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 6) for Free Online

chocolate in her mouth.
    “Does everyone around town know?”
    “Yes, and they know that you were the one to find her.” Mrs. White looked into her eyes.
    “How did everyone find out so quickly?” Ally frowned.
    “Well, it started with all of the sirens and police. Then, Mavis was standing outside the post office this morning, absolutely ranting about how Emma was murdered.”
    “Murdered?” Ally froze where she stood. “But the police think it was an accident.”
    “Yes, as do most people in the neighborhood.” Mrs. Cale picked up a piece of chocolate and studied it. “But apparently Mavis believes there is more to the story.”
    “Who is Mavis?” Ally looked between the three women.
    “She’s a bit of a recluse.” Mrs. White frowned. “And eccentric.”
    “More like crazy.” Mrs. Cale laughed.
    “Crazy?” Ally pursed her lips. Before Ally could ask more her grandmother walked over.
    “Let’s try to have a good day today. In honor of Emma, hm?” Charlotte set down a tray with cups of coffee on it, along with some of the muffins she had baked. “The muffins are on the house.”
    “Oh, thank you!” Mrs. White breathed in the scent of the muffins. “They smell heavenly.”
    “I hear that there aren’t many people coming into town for the funeral.” Mrs. Bing shook her head. “It’s a shame that she didn’t have more family.”
    “Well, the town will be out to support her, and Jack. That poor man.” Mrs. White sighed. “So young and already a widower, it’s so tragic. I’m sure he will kick himself for not being there when she died.”
    “Well, he wasn’t gone yesterday. I saw him in the city.” Mrs. Bing shrugged.
    “Wait, what? Are you sure?” Ally met the woman’s eyes.
    “Sure as I can be. I know a handsome man when I see one. Anyway, what does it matter?” Mrs. Bing asked.
    “I thought he was out of town on a run yesterday,” Ally explained.
    “I suppose I could be mistaken.” Mrs. Bing shoved a large piece of the muffin into her mouth. Ally wanted to ask her more, but she decided against it. It would be easy enough to check and see if Jack was on his run or not the day before. She didn’t want to spark even more gossip.
    “I heard that Jack’s back home now,” Mrs. Cale said.
    While the three ladies busied themselves with their coffee and muffins Ally made her way to the back room. Charlotte soon joined her.
    “Did you hear what they said about that woman?” Ally began to set up more chocolates on trays.
    “I did. You know Mavis. She’s the one that lives in that overgrown house that you visited yesterday with Arnold. The one that doesn’t like Arnold.”
    “Oh, that’s Mavis!”
    “Maybe she is just ranting and raving. She could just be a little off her rocker. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
    “But how would Mavis know? Maybe she’s a witness. Maybe she knows something about the murder.”
    “Maybe, but I doubt she’ll tell us anything. She certainly isn’t easy to talk to and is probably just a little confused.” Charlotte glanced at her watch. “After lunch let’s take something over to Jack. I want to see how he’s doing.”
    “Okay.” Ally returned to the dishes. Her thoughts swirled right along with the dishwater. When her cell phone rang she jumped. She’d been so deep in thought that she forgot where she was for a moment. A quick glance at the screen told her that it was Luke.
    “Good morning, Luke.”
    “Good morning, Ally. I wanted to reassure you that I am looking into Emma’s death. I spoke with Gary this morning.”
    “I’m all ears.” She turned off the water and leaned against the sink.
    “He had no idea that Emma was dead.”
    “He could have been pretending.”
    “Maybe, but he seemed very shocked. After that I couldn’t get much out of him. He insisted that they just argued at the yard sale and he dropped it after that.”
    “Nothing sent up a red flag for you?”
    “The guy was a mess. To be honest I’m not