Custom-Made Murder (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 8) Read online

  “That’s a good point. We know Silvio has one. I’m guessing other people in the same line of work have them, too. Silvio’s store also has jewelry making supplies so maybe he has them in stock as well. Jeff was sure he left his at Dean’s shop, so it’s not surprising it was found there. But Dean was so distracted by a phone call that he wouldn’t even look for it.”

  “Interesting. I wonder who he was talking on the phone with. I’ll ask Luke if there is any way he can look at the phone records for that day from the shop.”

  “Good idea.” Charlotte nodded. “Why don’t I put some dinner together for us?”

  “I think that would be great. Luke is texting me back. Let’s see.” She skimmed over the response. “He says there was no evidence found on the ring mandrel, but it was found nearby the body, and its size matches the size of the wound. It was wiped clean. Also, he can’t get the phone records, but he’s sure the detective would have looked at them. He’ll have a word to the detective about checking to see who was last in contact with Dean.”

  “That’s a start.” Charlotte stepped into the kitchen. “It may not be the smoking gun, but it’s a start.”

  “Yes, it is.” Ally sent a text back to thank Luke and ask him if he knew Bianca’s address. He replied almost immediately. “Mee-Maw, Luke just replied. It looks like Bianca is on vacation.”

  “Oh no, another dead end. I think that Erica mentioned that her aunt was on vacation.”

  “That’s right. Hopefully she’ll be back soon, she is meant to be back for the funeral. Let me see if I can find out more about Dean’s phone records.” Ally began to search the internet to see if there was any way to get the phone records from Dean’s shop. After some digging she found that many companies offered internet accessible records to their customers. If she knew his account number and password, she could possibly log into that record.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t even know which phone company he used, and had no idea what his account number or password might be. She gave up and joined her grandmother in the kitchen for dinner.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning Ally and Charlotte headed out just after breakfast. It was still early enough that there were a few delivery trucks on the road. As they neared Silvio’s shop Ally recalled the ring mandrel he had. Was it possible that was the murder weapon? If so, he had certainly cleaned it up.

  Ally parked beside the delivery van. She noticed that the tires were still quite muddy. It had rained two days before, but it seemed strange for the mud to look rather fresh. Charlotte was already out of the car by the time Ally pulled the keys out of the ignition. She followed after her grandmother, and joined her inside the store.

  “Can I help you?” A young man, with thin wire-rim glasses, stepped out from the back room.

  “Troy?” Ally smiled as he approached the counter. Charlotte began to look through the jewelry on display.

  “Yes, I’m Troy.” He smiled at her in return.

  “We were here yesterday to discuss the possibility of having a ring re-sized. We spoke to Silvio.”

  “Oh yes, he mentioned you. Did you come to a decision?” He glanced over at Charlotte, who continued to look through the jewelry.

  “We’d like to see a bit more of your costume jewelry. We’d rather do everything with the same supplier and we want to make sure that you have the jewelry that would work with the wedding.”

  “I understand, I’ll bring out some more trays from the back.”

  “Isn’t Silvio here?”

  “Oh no, he had a breakfast meeting with a client this morning. He won’t be back until eleven. Would you like to make an appointment to meet with him?”

  “No, that’s all right. But Silvio mentioned you go out on deliveries, often to Blue River, where we’re from. How do you do that if Silvio is not in the store? Do you close up?”

  “Oh no, Silvio is always here if I go out on deliveries. One of us always has the store open. It’s against our policy to close up early or during the day.” He laughed. “Silvio and I are dedicated to our customers and making sure the store is always opened as promised.”

  “It’s good to know that you’re available so often. Isn’t it dangerous for you to work alone though?” She cringed. “I’ve seen so many movies and television shows where stores like this are robbed.”

  “We’re very careful, I can assure you.“

  “Because if we do decide to have the ring re-sized here, I don’t want to find out it was stolen.” Charlotte met his eyes for the first time. “Do you have security cameras and an alarm?”

  “We do have both, we have an alarm and security cameras out back. Silvio has always taken security very seriously. I can assure you that security is our number one priority, and anything you leave here, will be locked away in our vault.”

  “Vault?” Ally tilted her head to the side. “Now that does sound secure.”

  “Yes, it was pretty expensive, but worth every penny. Like I said Silvio takes security very seriously. Your ring would be safe and sound here. Shall I draw up the papers?”

  “I think we need a little more time to think about it.” Charlotte pursed her lips. “But we’ll probably be back.”

  “Is there anything I can do to sweeten the deal?” Troy held her gaze. “Maybe a special gift for the mother-of-the-bride?”

  “Grandmother.” Charlotte smiled.

  “Not possible.” He shook his head. “You’re far too young to be a grandmother.”

  “Aw, you’re so sweet.” Charlotte batted her eyes.

  “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” He looked at Charlotte.

  “Maybe the chocolate shop in Blue River, I own it.”

  “Oh, that’s right.”

  “Do you think you could check my ring size again? I’d like to make sure that I’m getting the right size.” Ally glanced at her grandmother, then back at Troy.

  “Oh sure, no problem.” He pulled out a ring sizer and mandrel, the same one that Silvio had used the day before. “I know everything needs to be perfect on your special day.”

  “Perfect.” Ally nodded with a small smile. He handed her the rings and she slid the rings on one by one until she found the right size. “This one.” She showed him which ring.

  “Okay, let’s take a look.” He looked at the ring Ally had chosen. “Let’s see.” He glanced between it, and a piece of paper on a shelf below the counter. “Yes, it’s the same, Silvio got it right, of course.”

  “That’s good that it’s been confirmed,” Ally said.

  “Now we know for sure that we have the correct size. I do hope that you’ll consider having your ring re-sized here.”

  “We will consider it.” Charlotte nodded, then looped her arm around Ally’s. As they walked to the car, Charlotte spoke in a quiet voice. “What were you up to in there?”

  “I wanted to see the mandrel again and to see if maybe Troy had his own ring-sizer and mandrel. I’d assume that if Troy had his own, he would have used it. So, that means they likely only have one.”

  “True.” She climbed into the car.

  As Ally buckled her seat belt she looked over at her grandmother. “Unfortunately, we still have no way to confirm that Silvio was here during the murder. I say we try out the drive from here to Jen’s Gems and see how long it takes. Then we can drive back, and we’ll have a pretty good idea of how long it took for Troy to make the delivery and return. That will at least give us the window as to when Silvio was alone.”

  “It’s a start.” Charlotte nodded.

  Charlotte and Ally climbed into the car.

  “Okay, so we’re Troy, and we’re leaving the parking lot. Can you use a stopwatch on your phone?”

  “Yes, I have one. Let me set it.” Charlotte skimmed through her phone until she had the stopwatch on the screen. “You tell me when.”

  “Troy leaves the shop, he loads things into the van, he gets into the van, and he starts the engine, now.” Ally turned on the car. Then she backed out of the
parking spot. She followed the same route that she normally would. As they drove, Charlotte kept her eyes on the stopwatch.

  “He wouldn’t need that much time, would he?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. The shops may only be twenty minutes apart, but it would have taken time to get into the shop, confront Dean, and have that confrontation evolve into a murder. I’d say he’d need at least twenty minutes to commit the murder. Then keep in mind that he had to get back to the shop, and make it look like he’d never left. I’d say he’d need about an hour at least.”

  “Well, we’re here at Jen’s Gems, that took us twenty-six minutes. If Troy turned around and drove back, that would be another twenty-six minutes. A tight window.”

  “Right, but Troy didn’t just pull into the parking lot. He hand-delivered the items, and I’m sure spoke with Jen as he did.”

  “Okay let’s go in, and confirm she received the delivery, that should be about the same amount of time.” Charlotte stepped out of the car with the stopwatch still running. They made it to the door in under thirty seconds, and were inside before the next minute passed.

  “Welcome.” Jen smiled as they stepped through the door.

  “Jen, hi.” Charlotte walked up to the counter.

  “Oh, Charlotte, how are you. Still making those delicious chocolates?” She laughed. “It’s been too long.”

  “Yes, I know it has. I’ve been a little busy, and I can see you have, too. What a nice selection of gemstones you have here.” She glanced around at the range of gems in small clear boxes that lined the walls.

  “Yes, I love it.”

  “Listen, we’re kind of in a rush, but we heard that you use Silvio’s Supplies. I wondered if you had a good experience with him.”

  “Oh yes, he’s great. A little more expensive than some of the competition, but it’s worth it for the friendly service and the quick delivery.”

  “Oh? Have you had anything delivered recently?”

  “Yes, just two days ago. Troy brought me some supplies. He’s so great. Adorable.” She laughed.

  “He is quite handsome.” Charlotte smiled. “So how was he when he dropped things off? Did you two have a chance to chat?”

  “No, not that time. He was in a rush. He told me he had to hurry back to the shop for a meeting with a client.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “We have to go, Mee-Maw, or we’re going to be late.”

  “Thanks for the information, Jen. I’ll be sure to come back and visit with you soon, I’ll bring chocolates, too.”

  “Great! Thanks so much. I highly recommend Troy and Silvio!”

  “Thank you.” Ally opened the door for her grandmother then hurried to the car. As they climbed in she threw the car in reverse. “How are we on time?”

  “Just over thirty-five minutes now, if we hurry back we should be there within the hour.”

  “Okay, I’m gunning it.” Ally stepped on the gas. “But one thing I don’t understand is that there was no mention of there being a meeting around the time of the murder.”

  “No, but I’m not sure that anyone checked. So, if Silvio had a meeting that Troy needed to get back for, then he was in even tighter time constraints. He was desperate for clients so I doubt he would risk not being there on time to meet one.”

  “You’re right.” Ally shook her head. “Silvio is looking less and less suspicious.”

  “And we just confirmed Troy’s alibi. There wouldn’t be enough time for him to get back from Jen’s Gems to commit the murder and be there in time for the meeting with the client.” Charlotte frowned. “I guess we only have one suspect left.”

  Ally glanced over at her and bit into her bottom lip. The truth was they had two. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her grandmother by pointing that out, but it was important to consider. As suspects were crossed off the list, Jeff remained near the top.

  Chapter 9

  Later that day Ally prepared dinner to share with Luke. Arnold and Peaches hung out in the kitchen with her as she hummed her way through boiling some pasta. The more she hummed, the clearer her thoughts became. Despite the evidence piled up against Jeff, her grandmother still had faith that he was innocent. That held a lot of weight in her mind. The only question was, would she be able to find a way to prove that her grandmother was right? A light knock on the front door silenced her humming.

  “Luke, come on in, I’m in the kitchen.”

  “Hi there.” He smiled as he walked into the kitchen and set down a bag of rolls on the counter. “Fresh from the bakery, I thought they might be nice with dinner.”

  “Great thinking.” She kissed his cheek. “Dinner is just about ready.”

  “How are you?” He rubbed his hands across her shoulders as she turned back to the pot on the stove.

  “I’m doing okay. I hope you’re hungry, as I might have overestimated the amount of pasta we needed.”

  “I’m starving.” He dropped down into one of the chairs at the table. “I’ve been running around on a case and haven’t stopped for much to eat.”

  “Really? What case?”

  “This one.” He cleared his throat.

  “You mean Jeff’s case?” She looked over her shoulder at him.

  “Yes. I just can’t seem to leave it alone. I keep turning over rocks, hoping to find something that will put all of this to rest one way or the other.”

  “And?” She switched off the burner, and carried the pot over to the sink to drain it. As the steam rose around her face she felt a hint of comfort. She hadn’t realized how tight her muscles were.

  “And, I haven’t been able to turn up much. However, I did find out that there was a threat against Dean made a few months ago. Shortly after he opened the shop.”

  “A threat? By who?”

  “We’re not sure who. The incident was reported to Broughdon PD, but nothing was ever done about it.”

  “I don’t understand, why not?” She prepared them both a plate and carried them to the table. “If he was threatened shouldn’t something have been done?”

  “Unfortunately, the threat was anonymous. Someone spray-painted all over the back of the shop. They used words like, criminal, thief, even went so far as to threaten to burn down the building. The police investigated, but they never came up with anything.”

  “I don’t understand why Dean didn’t have cameras throughout the store. Surely that would be a priority.”

  “Well, when people don’t have cameras it’s usually because they’re involved in something that they don’t want recorded.” He quirked a brow. “It’s possible that Dean was still involved in some underhand dealings. If that is the case there may be an entire pool of suspects that we’re not aware of.”

  “So, the Broughdon PD never had any idea who could have done it?”

  “I think there was just an assumption that it was some kind of prank pulled by some local kids. There is a bit of a graffiti problem in the area. Honestly, I just don’t think it would have taken priority, as long as there was another more important case to work on, they probably didn’t concentrate on the graffiti.”

  “That’s a shame. Maybe if they had pursued it, they would have figured it out before Dean was killed.”

  “It’s a possibility, but I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same thing. Graffiti seems like just graffiti. There wasn’t any violence involved, and Dean claimed he didn’t have any issues with anyone. Of course, that could have easily been a lie, but if he knew who did it, he wasn’t forthcoming with Broughdon PD about it.”

  “Maybe he was used to handling his own problems.” She frowned and pushed a fork through her food.

  “Maybe, or maybe he didn’t take it seriously either. These things do happen on occasion.”

  “I guess.” She pushed at her food again, without taking a bite.

  Luke studied her from across the table. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, just a little distracted.”

  “I can see that you’re
really troubled about something, just talk to me.” He pushed his plate aside and reached his hand across the table. She placed her hand in his and looked up at him.

  “I’m worried about Mee-Maw. She’s so determined that Jeff is innocent of this crime, and honestly I believe he might be, but that doesn’t make him a good man. Does it?”

  “I guess that depends on what you think makes a good man.”

  “He’s kept many things from her.” She shook her head. “That doesn’t seem like a good man to me.”

  “Their friendship is new. It takes time for people to confide in each other. There are things that we don’t know about each other. I don’t think he’s actually lied to her that you know of, has he?”

  “No, it’s just this feeling I have. Like maybe, he’s hiding something from her. I mean, what if we’re all wrong, what if he actually did this?” She locked her eyes to his. “What if I’m helping to free a murderer?”

  “I can see why you’re concerned.” He traced his fingertips along the length of her hand. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I want to speak to him myself.”

  “Are you sure about that?” He lifted an eyebrow. “It might not be the best way to get to know him, behind bars.”

  “I need to see what Mee-Maw sees in him. I need to look into his eyes and hear him tell me that he’s innocent, so I can put all of this worry to rest. Do you think they will let me see him?”

  “More than likely. I can pull some strings and have it set up for you. I’ll come with you.”

  “He might not be willing to talk too much to me if you’re there. I think it’s better if just I go.”

  “Okay, if that’s what you want, that’s fine.”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s what I want, but I don’t see any other options. I need to get to the bottom of this.”

  “All right, I’ll set it up for you.” He pulled his plate back in front of him. “Now why don’t you tell me about what else is going on in your life? Maybe a little distraction will help us both to remember there is a world beyond this case.”