Fudge, Films and Felonies (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 7) Read online

  “I wonder why the next part isn’t starting?”

  “I’m not sure.” Luke glanced around.

  “Maybe Shane is having some difficulty with swapping the reels.”

  “Maybe.” Luke glanced over his shoulder towards the building. “I guess someone will check on him.”

  “Maybe we should.” Ally stood up. “If he’s having trouble maybe we can help him.”

  “Okay.” Luke stood up as well and took her arm. “The crowd is going to get restless pretty quickly.”

  As they headed towards the projection room a few other people congregated around the building as well.

  “What’s going on?” A woman that looked nervous stood near the door. “Why isn’t he starting the next reel?”

  “I’m sure he’s working on it, Marlene, I’m going up to check on him now.” A security guard reassured her.

  “We’ll go with you.” Luke offered as he followed the security guard up the stairs.

  “That’s not necessary, I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe he fell asleep.”

  “I don’t think Shane would do that. He was nervous about making sure the show was perfect.” Ally followed right behind Luke.

  “Well, let’s take a look.” The security guard rapped on the door. When there was no answer he tried the knob. “It’s locked.” He unhooked a key ring from his belt and found the key that fit the lock. When he opened the door the flash of the light from the projector filled the room. The chair behind the projector was empty.

  “Shane? Where is he?” Ally frowned as she stepped further into the room. Luke followed after her and looked behind a stack of boxes.

  After a gasp he spun around to the security guard.

  “Call the police, there’s been a murder.”

  Chapter 2

  “A murder? What?” Ally peered past the boxes on the wall. Sprawled across the floor was Shane, with film tape wrapped tight around his neck. “Oh no! Shane!” She started to rush forward, but Luke held her back.

  “Just wait here, Ally.” Luke stepped forward and knelt down beside Shane and checked for signs of life. He shook his head which confirmed what she already knew. Shane was dead. He stood up and walked back to Ally. “We need to stand here, Ally. We don’t want to contaminate the crime scene. Anything we move or touch will make it that much harder for the police to figure out what happened here.”

  “Can’t you investigate?” She frowned. “Can you tell what happened?”

  “I can guess, but I can’t investigate. It’s out of my jurisdiction. All I can do is keep the crime scene intact until the Geraltin police arrive.”

  “No need, we’re already here. Please clear the room.” An officer guided them out of the room and into the hallway.

  “I can’t believe this happened to him while we were all watching the movie. How awful.” Ally could barely take a breath between her words. The impact of seeing Shane earlier that day, mooning over chocolates in the shop, then seeing him dead sent her into shock.

  “Ally, let’s get you somewhere quiet.” Luke steered her away from the building towards the parking area. The people seated at the tables awaiting the rest of the film had begun to grow restless. Several were up and roaming around. Ally guessed it was to find someone that could explain the delay. She certainly could, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to think about Shane being dead, let alone speak about it. Luke guided her to a bench near the entrance of the parking lot.

  “Luke, who would do this?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sure that the Geraltin Police Department will figure everything out. I think I should take you home.”

  “No, wait, I need to find Mee-Maw. She’ll be heartbroken when she hears what happened, I should be the one to tell her.”

  “Okay, you wait here, and I’ll go find her. I don’t know what happened to Shane yet, but I do know that someone killed him between the time the movie started and now, which means that the killer could still be around. If you see anything suspicious call me right away.”

  “Yes, I will.” She clung to her cell phone. In the minutes that slipped by after Luke left her alone on the bench Ally focused on trying to calm herself down. She knew that panicking never solved anything. After a few sets of even, slow breaths she was able to hear things over the pounding of her own heartbeat again. In particular, she heard voices.

  “We have to get you out of here now, Mrs. Davis.”

  “But why? What’s the rush?”

  Ally looked up in time to see three men in dark suits. They surrounded Clara Davis and huddled around her. Ally could see that they were speaking to her, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. As Clara listened her expression changed from anger to concern. Then the three men escorted her towards a limousine.

  “We’ll talk about it more once you’re safe at the mansion, Mrs. Davis.” One of the men opened the door for her. When Clara hesitated by the door Ally watched as the man behind her leaned over and whispered in her ear. He then put his hands on her shoulders. It looked like he was forcing her to get in the car. The sight alarmed Ally. What security guard would be so forceful with a woman he was charged to protect?

  “Mrs. Davis?” Ally stood up from the bench before she even knew what she would do next. “Mrs. Davis, do you need any help?”

  Clara looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with Ally. Her lips parted as if she might speak, but one of the security guards spoke up first.

  “She’s fine. We’re escorting her home. Thank you for your concern.”

  “I was asking Mrs. Davis.” She put her hands on her hips and continued to hold Clara’s gaze. “It doesn’t seem like she wants to get in the car.”

  “It’s quite all right, Ally. I’ll be just fine. I’m just a little upset by what happened tonight, and maybe in a bit of shock.”

  Ally raised an eyebrow. She was surprised to discover that the woman knew her name. Even though the fudge, cupcakes and chocolates had been ordered from the shop they were not ordered by Clara herself, they were ordered by the person organizing the event.

  “Are you sure? If you need any help, you can tell me.”

  “I’m sure. You’ve just misunderstood what you’ve seen here. Please, I just want to go home. Have a good night, Ally.” With that she settled right into the car. Ally frowned as she watched the limousine drive away. Her instincts told her that something was very wrong, but Clara made it clear she didn’t want any help. Should she alert Luke? Should she follow her? Or was Clara just being a bit strange as she’d heard that celebrities could be. By the time Luke returned with her grandmother Ally had regained some of her composure. Charlotte embraced her and wept her own tears as they discussed what had happened.

  “I can’t believe he’s gone.” Charlotte looked back at the crowd that was dispersing from the large field. The tables were empty as was the dance floor, and the music no longer played. “To think his killer might have been right there with us the whole time. I feel like we should have known.”

  “Most likely he was. But none of us could have known.” Luke squinted at the people that walked to their cars. “I’m surprised they’re releasing everyone so quickly.”

  “There’s so many people maybe it’s just too difficult to process them all.”

  “Maybe.” Luke scratched the back of his neck. “That’s not how I would do things.”

  “Mee-Maw, are you going to come home with us?” Ally looked past her for any sign of her boyfriend.

  “No sweetheart, not unless you need me to. I think people might need some support back at Freely Lakes tonight. Most of them are not used to such a shock. Besides, you’ll have Luke.”

  “Yes, she will, I will stay with her.” He wrapped his arm around Ally’s shoulders.

  “Unless you want me to come home with you, Ally?”

  Ally shook her head. “It’s okay, Mee-Maw. I’ll see you in the morning at the shop?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there to help you open.” The sound of a bus horn carried t
hrough the parking lot. “That will be my ride. Freely Lakes dropped off a new driver. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t worry, Charlotte, I’ll be with her.” Luke steered Ally towards the car.

  “How can you stay so calm, Luke?”

  “When you’ve been involved in as many crime scenes as I have, you learn techniques to keep your cool. But that’s not something I want you to have to learn. I should have gone in there alone.”

  “I’ll be okay. As soon as we find out who killed Shane.”

  “Ally.” He opened the car door for her. “That’s up to the Geraltin PD.”

  “You can’t investigate, that doesn’t mean that I can’t see what I can find out about his murder.”

  “Let’s just get you home.”

  “Okay.” She nodded and closed her eyes. She kept them closed for the duration of the ride. She wanted Luke to take the lead and launch an investigation, but she knew that wasn’t possible. When they arrived at the cottage Arnold and Peaches were there to greet them. Ally patted Arnold’s head, then scooped Peaches up into her arms. The cat nuzzled her cheeks as Ally sighed into her soft fur. Peaches didn’t have to know what happened, she could sense how upset Ally was.

  “Why don’t you run a bath, while I call and check on the investigation. It may be that they already have this thing solved.”

  “Yes, a bath might settle my nerves.”

  Ally walked through the bedroom into the bathroom and turned on the water. As the water filled the tub she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The flapper dress she wore didn’t seem to matter anymore. Her red swollen eyes stared back at her and she teared up again as she realized that Shane would never buy chocolates from the shop again.

  Chapter 3

  When Ally emerged from the bathroom she grabbed a pair of pajamas and a fluffy robe. It seemed a little odd to be so casually dressed around Luke, but it wasn’t the first time he’d seen her in her pajamas. She tied the robe tight around her waist and padded out into the kitchen to the smell of fresh tea.

  “Oh Luke, you’re so good to me.” She sighed and sat down at the table as he set the cup of tea in front of her.

  “I needed one, too, especially after I spoke with Geraltin PD.”

  “Oh?” She stirred a little honey into her tea as she looked up at him. “Do they have a suspect?”

  “Not a single one. Apparently the people at the party were released by a rookie police officer who thought it was better to evacuate them than to retain them for questioning. Now that’s done, and there’s no going back.”

  “So any information they might have been able to gather is lost?”

  “Except for information from you, me and the security guard. They’re going to want to speak to us about what we saw.”

  “Okay, but nothing I saw is going to add anything to the case.”

  “I know, I did a pretty thorough study of the room and I didn’t see anything that would point to who killed Shane.”

  “I can’t imagine Shane having any enemies.”

  “You knew him pretty well?” Luke sipped his tea.

  “I wouldn’t say that. I mean he was a frequent customer at the shop, but as far as knowing about his personal life I didn’t really talk to him much about that.”

  “Did he ever come into the shop with anyone? A girlfriend maybe?”

  “Careful Luke, you might just start an investigation.”

  He grimaced. “I know, I’m trying to resist and stay out of this. But Geraltin PD made a big mistake by not questioning potential witnesses. I just want to make sure this is solved. I’m a little worried about how capable they are now.”

  “It could have just been a rookie mistake.”

  “I guess. But maybe there’s more to it than that. Maybe it’s a cover-up.”

  “Maybe.” She finished the last swallow of her tea.

  “I did find out that he was strangled, but with something else not the film tape as it’s obviously not strong enough.”

  “Interesting,” Ally said. “Maybe that’s relevant. I guess the best place I have to start to try and work this out is with what I know about Shane.”

  “We can talk it through, if that will help.”

  “Yes, it will. If I can just process things I might be able to pinpoint a lead and then I might have something to tell the police.”

  “Just remember, there may be no lead to find.” Luke met her eyes. “You can’t always figure these things out.”

  “Maybe not, but I can try. One thing I know for sure is that Shane was running his own photography and film business to make some extra cash while he was studying. He gave me his card, and let me know that if I had any needs for his services he’d be happy to get some more experience and would be willing to get paid in chocolate.”

  “Interesting, do you still have his card?”

  “I think so.” She rummaged in her purse for her wallet. As she went through a mound of business cards Luke fed Arnold a few treats under the table. “Here it is, and I saw that.” She grinned as she slid the card across the table to him. “Captivating Captures, catchy I guess.”

  “Hey, Arnold needs some treats now and then, too. Does the business have a website?”

  “Yes. Let me check it out.” She opened her computer and typed in the address printed on the business card. A moment later the screen was filled with Shane’s photography and film clips. “It looks like he had quite a few good reviews, oh and one not so good one.” She frowned as she read over the review. “Apparently, this customer didn’t think he did a good job of his daughter’s wedding.”

  “Well, there’s always people that can’t be pleased.”

  “The review says that Shane ruined the wedding by filming everyone, but the bride, and when he was confronted about it for a refund he refused. The reviewer goes on to say that what little Shane did film was bouncy and out of focus. He demands his money back and even threatens to come after Shane if he doesn’t get it.”

  “Well, that sounds like something to look into. I’m sure that the Geraltin PD are already scouring the website. What’s the name?”

  “Mario Mazzalli.”

  “Mario Mazzalli.” Luke’s eyes widened at the name. “He’s a real rough character.”

  “A criminal?”

  “Not the kind that you can put handcuffs on. His whole family, especially his late brother, has been connected to quite a few crimes but nothing’s ever stuck. Vincent, his late brother, used to run the show. They always get someone else to do their dirty work so there’s no way to tie it back to them. If Shane got on Mario’s bad side, I’d be pretty concerned about that.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Just keep in mind, Ally, that this is not the type of person you can just walk up to and question. Honestly, I’d feel more comfortable if you weren’t on his radar at all.”

  “I’ll be careful, Luke. I’ll just do some research without him ever knowing. I want to see if there’s anything else that I can find that links him to Shane.”

  “Okay.” Luke stretched his arms and yawned. “It’s getting pretty late, I’ll take the couch.”

  “Yes, it’s probably better to let this day be over with. I’m sorry, Luke, I was really looking forward to our night together.”

  “I enjoyed it, until we found Shane. I’m sorry that we didn’t get to finish the movie, or have that dance I promised you.”

  “There will be time for that once this situation is settled. I wonder if they will reschedule the showing of the movie. I saw Clara get into a limo, she looked really upset. It must have been so unsettling for her to discover that someone killed Shane on her special day.”

  “Yes, it was such a nice night. Shane’s death really shocked me.”

  “Me too.” She looked into Luke’s eyes.

  Luke pulled her close for a hug and kissed her forehead. “You should get some sleep.”

  “Let me get you some pillow
s and a blanket.”

  As soon as Luke was settled on the couch she disappeared into her room. As usual Peaches followed right behind her. She curled up in her bed and Peaches snuggled up beside her. It was hard for Ally to think about closing her eyes, even though she was exhausted. The fact that Luke was out on the couch in the living room was a nice distraction from the tragedy, but her mind kept returning to the crime scene. Someone went to a lot of effort to make it look as if Shane was strangled by the film tape. It wasn’t strong enough to actually kill him, which meant that he was killed with something else and then the killer took the time to make a statement. But what was it? The killer didn’t like the movie? If it was Mario did he tie the film tape around Shane to make a point about him not doing the job he wanted at his daughter’s wedding? Or could it have been an old rival of Clara’s that just wanted to ruin her night?

  “Peaches, I want to work out who killed poor Shane.” She sighed and rubbed her cheek against the cat’s fur. “I know the Geraltin PD will investigate it, but there’s no harm in seeing what I can find out.” Peaches nuzzled her in return and meowed. “I know, I know, I have to be careful. But maybe I can at least get some answers for his family.”

  As Ally began to drift off to sleep, she remembered the way that Clara looked at her, and the subtle hint of fear in her eyes. Was there something more than the murder that frightened her? Did she know something about Shane’s death? It seemed impossible to even imagine that she could be involved, but the possibility remained that someone might have murdered Shane just to get to her. Maybe a crazed fan decided that Shane was the right way to send a message to the local celebrity. Or maybe, it had nothing to do with Shane or Clara at all, maybe it was just opportunistic. Shane was the only person isolated from the crowd. He was easy prey. She fell asleep with her thoughts revolving around explanations and suspects.