Oh, Fudge! (A Candy-coated Mystery, Band 5) - Softcover

Coco, Nancy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 149670164X ISBN 13: 9781496701640

Verlag: Kensington, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

Life is always sweet in Allie McMurphy’s delectable fudge shop. But murder can make things unpleasantly sticky . . .
 
A DEADLY CONFECTION
 
After Allie inherited her family’s McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop, cousin Tori moved off to California in a bitter huff, and the two haven’t spoken since. So to have her cousin reappear on Mackinac Island without warning is a big surprise—but not as surprising as finding her standing over a dead woman impaled with a garden spade in the Mackinac Butterfly House. Butterflies may be free, but Tori won’t be for much longer—unless the cousins can bury the hatchet and work together to catch a killer who’s taken flight. Because when it comes to family, blood is thicker than fudge . . .
 
Praise for Nancy Coco and the Candy-Coated Mysteries
 
“Memorable characters, a charming locale, and a satisfying mystery.” —Barbara Allan

“Beautiful Mackinac Island provides the setting for a puzzling series of crimes . . . plenty of plausible suspects and mouthwatering fudge recipes.” —Kirkus Reviews

“I know I will be counting down the days until the next mystery with Allie McMurphy.” —Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Nancy Coco is the acclaimed author of the Candy Coated Mysteries, the Oregon Honeybee Mystery series,  a number of romantic suspense novels, Western historical romances, and four additional mystery series written under the name Nancy J. Parra. An Air Force veteran who rose to the rank of sergeant, Nancy is a member of an online group of female veterans—Military Women Who Have Turned Sword to Pen (RomVets.com). She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Nancy lives in Oregon with a Bichonpoo affectionately known as “Little Dog” on Facebook and Twitter. Visit her online at www.NancyJCoco.com.

The author will donate a portion of her earnings from this book to the ASPCA®.

Learn what you can do to help at www.aspca.org/donate. 

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Oh, Fudge!

By Nancy Coco

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

Copyright © 2017 Nancy J. Parra
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4967-0164-0

CHAPTER 1

The Mackinac Island Butterfly House didn't open until ten AM on Monday, but I had a message from Blake Gilmore, the current manager, that she needed to see me about a possible tour group staying at the McMurphy. I walked my puppy, Mal, around the back of the Butterfly House looking for an open door. I saw movement in the greenhouse and figured Blake was watering plants or checking the butterflies.

"Hello? Blake?" I called as I opened the back door and pushed through the plastic flaps that kept the butterflies in the greenhouse. I was hit by the tropical humidity of the glass building. Bright blue butterflies floated about and I was careful where I walked as different sizes and shapes and colors of butterflies alighted on every surface. Mal tugged on her leash, pulling me through the lovely winding, lush trail of the greenhouse that contained the live butterfly collection.

Suddenly I heard a short scream. My heartbeat sped up and Mal and I ran toward the sound. I stopped short at the sight in front of me. "Tori?"

Mal tugged at her leash, but I held her back.

There beside the cascading waterfall fountain was my cousin, Victoria Andrews, kneeling over a woman. Tori held the handle of a gardening trowel in her hands. The rest of the trowel was stuck firmly in the chest of a woman I didn't know. The woman's jeans-clad legs were oddly angled. Her hands spread out, but empty. A pool of blood blossomed from beneath her checkered blouse. Butterflies landed on her and took off as if she were no more than a rock or convenient plant.

"Tori, what's going on?" I couldn't tell if Tori was pushing the trowel in or pulling it out. But when she saw me, she let go of the handle and held up her hands as if I were the police and had just said, "Freeze!" Her blue eyes filled with fear. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, but a streak of blood caressed her cheek. Her bow-shaped mouth trembled and her tanned skin looked ashen. "Tori? What's going on?"

She stood and wiped her bloody hands on the front of her jeans. I could see that she was shaking from head to toe. "It's not what it looks like," Tori said with a wobble in her voice.

Mal dragged me toward the scene. "No," I said and tugged Mal back as I took out my cell phone. "Tori, sit down." I ordered as I pointed to a nearby raised bed made of bricks. "You're in shock." I dialed 9-1-1 and eased my cousin over to the round flower bed to sit on the edge. Mal jumped up beside her to comfort her and ended up with blood on her white fur.

"Nine-one-one, this is Charlene. What is your emergency?"

"Hi, Charlene."

"Allie McMurphy, this can't be good. Where are you? I'll send Rex over there right away."

"Thank you," I said. Rex Manning was the lead policeman on Mackinac Island and a good friend. "I'm at the Butterfly House. Tell him to come around to the back. We're in the greenhouse."

"He's on his way," Charlene said. "You said 'we'?"

"Yes, it's me, my cousin Victoria, and —"

"Another dead person?"

"Well, she certainly looks dead," I said. "I haven't touched her."

"Then how do you know she's dead?"

"There's a hand spade sticking out of her chest and she's not moving." I wasn't going to tell Charlene that my cousin might have been the one to put the spade there. Not until I had all the facts. "Let me check for a pulse."

I skirted around the pool of blood and put my fingers on her neck. She felt warm, but there was no pulse. I shook her shoulder. "Are you okay?" But her eyes simply stared lifeless into the skylights. "She doesn't respond to verbal cues and I didn't feel a pulse."

"Enough said," Charlene said. "I swear we've never had this much trouble until your Papa Liam passed. God rest his soul."

It was then that Tori moaned. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Charlene, I've got to go," I said and hung up the phone. I had a doggie doo bag in my pocket. I carried them with me whenever I walked with Mal. I handed it to Tori. "Breathe into the bag," I said. "I think you're hyperventilating."

"It's not breathing that's a problem," Tori said before she turned her head and emptied her stomach into the bag.

I put my hand on her back as she heaved. "It's going to be okay," I said.

Mal put her paw on Tori as if to comfort my trembling cousin.

"What happened? Did you stab her?" I asked. "Was she attacking you?" The dead woman appeared to be middle-aged. Her feet were ensconced in gray and pink walking shoes. She had black hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. There was a streak of white hair along the left side of her face. She had high cheekbones, thin lips, and wide-open brown eyes that stared at the glass ceiling.

"No, no, she wasn't attacking me," Tori said and lifted her head from the baggie. "I didn't kill her. It's Barbara Smart. I was supposed to meet her here this morning to talk about a fund-raiser. I found her like that."

"But you were holding the handle of the trowel." I had to point out the obvious.

"I wanted to help her. I thought if I pulled it out I might be able to do CPR, but as I tugged, more blood came out and I was afraid I was only making things worse. Then you came in. Did I hear you correctly? She didn't have a pulse?"

"No, she didn't," I said. "Didn't you check for one?"

"I know it's the first thing they tell you to do when you take a CPR class, but I didn't. I panicked and knelt down and shook her shoulder. I thought I heard a moan so I tried to take the blade out. That's when you got here."

"Did you see anyone?"

"No," Tori said and hung her head. Tiny purple butterflies landed on her shoulders. "You and your dog were the first live people I've seen."

"Wow, okay, so what time was your meeting? Was Blake supposed to be here? After all, Blake manages the Butterfly House."

"Barbara and I met with Blake last night. Blake had another meeting this morning, but she told Barbara and me that we could meet here to finish the details."

"Wait. You were here last night?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't call me? It's before the ferries come so you had to have stayed on the island last night. Why didn't you let me know you were coming? We have room at the McMurphy. You could have stayed with me."

She gave me an angry look. "I didn't think I was welcome at the McMurphy. You own it, not me — even though our great-grandfather started it."

"What?" I straightened away from her. "Papa Liam always said your family didn't want anything to do with the McMurphy even after my father moved us to Detroit. It's the only reason I took it over."

"Listen, can we talk about this later?" Tori said. "Barbara's lying there dead."

"Sure," I said. "But we will finish this conversation. Where are you staying?"

"Dad still owns a cabin on the far north side. I'm staying there."

"What's going on?" Officer Rex Manning walked in through the vinyl flaps from the back door. His black police boots clomped on the brick pavers that were laid down to form the winding trail between the raised beds. "Charlene says you found another body?"

"Hi, Rex," I said, and stood. Mal jumped off the edge of the flower bed and raced over to beg Rex to pet her. He reached down to pat her and noticed the blood on her paws. "Sorry, kid, can't touch you when you have evidence on you." He looked up at me with his flat blue gaze. "What happened?"

Rex wore a perfectly pressed police uniform. He took his hat off the minute he entered a...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Kensington
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 149670164X
• ISBN 13: 9781496701640
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 352
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: eucomplyOÜ; hello@eucompliancepartner.com; ; Pärnu mnt. 139b-14; Tallinn; 11317; Estland