Macadamia and Mayhem

  Macadamia and Mayhem

  Sticky Sweet Cozy Mysteries, Book 13

  Allyssa Mirry

  Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  Copyright 2019 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

  Contents

  1. Calls for a Celebration

  2. Beach Introductions

  3. Preparing for the Party

  4. The End of the Party

  5. The Call About the Corpse

  6. Some Explanations

  7. Station Talk

  8. Suspicions at Storage

  9. Late Night Locker Visits

  10. Another Suspect

  11. The Wrong Address

  12. Tracking Tony

  13. Combination Clues

  14. A Dog Walk

  15. Thoughts on the Case

  16. Proof

  Epilogue

  Also by Allyssa Mirry

  Author’s Note

  Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  1

  Calls for a Celebration

  Lydia Doherty couldn’t help smiling. The sweet smell from her newest flavor of salt water taffy was wafting toward her nose from her shop’s kitchen, and her best friend was telling her great news.

  “There is one downside to all this,” Trina told her.

  “What is it?” Lydia asked warily.

  “You’ll have to bring some of your salt water taffy to the party!” Trina declared, grinning back at her.

  Lydia laughed. That was an easy promise for her to agree to. Even though she spent her workdays making taffy, she never got tired of it. She had a taffy pulling machine in her kitchen (behind a glass window that her customers could look through to see the candy making process in action) and this machine guaranteed that she never got physically tired from the work. Mentally, she relished the challenge of coming up with a new taffy flavor to add to her stock every week and serve to her repeat customers on the boardwalk.

  “So, what is the flavor this time?” Trina asked. “I feel like I’ve been so busy the last couple days that I’ve barely seen you or had any taffy. I thought becoming a boss would give me more creative control and more free time.”

  “The free time varies. Luckily, I have an amazing staff that supports me if I need to leave the shop,” Lydia said, hoping her two employees that were working that day, Jeff and Kelsey, would overhear the compliment.

  “Like if you suddenly need to run out and start solving a murder?” Trina teased.

  “I guess that has been happening a lot recently. But to get back to your question – the new flavor is macadamia nut. I wanted to start making some more nut inspired treats, so I chose one that felt a little bit tropical for the summer beach crowd here.”

  “And for your best friend who has been so busy transitioning to co-owner of a salon and who desperately needs a sweet treat this afternoon?”

  “Her too,” Lydia said, picking up one of the wrapped macadamia nut taffies and handing it to her. “Give it a try.”

  Trina popped the candy into her mouth, and Lydia grabbed one for herself too. There was no reason why she couldn’t enjoy a sample of her creation as well. Kelsey and Jeff were dealing with the customers in the shop who had wandered in on this overcast beach day, so Lydia was free to oversee the macadamia nut taffy creation and taste-testing.

  “Pun slightly intended,” Trina said as she finished her piece. “But I’m nuts for this taffy.”

  Lydia chortled at the joke and tried not to choke on what she was chewing. Luckily, she recovered quickly and then just shook her head at the pun.

  “Can I have another one?” asked Trina.

  “After you tell me about your plans for the party.”

  “It’s not going to be a huge affair, but after a rough summer, I really want to celebrate some good news. I reserved the back room at that Italian restaurant we went to before for tomorrow night. And anyone I care about that can come will enjoy a family-style dinner. We’ll have some wine and some of your taffy. And we’ll toast to my promotion.”

  “It sounds great,” Lydia said, handing her another piece of candy. “Who are you inviting?”

  “You and a few girls from the salon are definitely coming. I think we should invite your brother. He’s like family to me too.”

  “I bet Leo would love to come. He’s been a little down lately,” Lydia said, not needing to mention the reason why. Leo had been out of sorts since his proposal to his girlfriend had been rejected.

  “The only thing I wondered about is whether or not we should invite Detective Grey too. They are partners at the precinct, and they both have helped us out of sticky situations before. And since Detective Grey is so serious at work, I think it might be nice to invite him to a night out. But it kinda seems like he might be dating Brie, and I’d really rather not see her when celebrating.”

  Lydia frowned. She also wasn’t a huge fan of the local reporter, Brie Rankin. This mostly stemmed from Brie’s friendship with Lydia’s rival on the boardwalk, the owner of the ice cream shop, Amber Allen. Amber had decided that they should be enemies as soon as Lydia opened her shop simply because they both sold desserts. Lydia had always thought that the two shops weren’t really in competition because of the different items they sold, but Amber seemed to like being at odds. Brie had printed some unfavorable articles about the taffy shop before. Even if they were technically true (because someone had died outside the shop right as she opened), they seemed fueled by Amber’s rivalry rather than anything else.

  Brie had gone on a date with Detective Grey after a charity auction, and it seemed like it was now developing into a real relationship. Lydia was hesitant to trust her but hoped that a competent detective would be able to see if Brie was seeing him simply to get information for her stories.

  “I think we should invite him,” Lydia said finally. “It seems like the right thing to do. And maybe Brie won’t want to come as his date.”

  “All right. Speaking of dates, I’m inviting your fella, Daniel. And if any of your employees want to come, they’re welcome to. They’re all really nice and have been helpful with our investigations.”

  The few customers that had still been in the shop finished buying their purchases as the sky darkened outside. It seemed that rain was inevitable and they must want to get to their cars or beach houses before the downpour began. Lydia used the opportunity without a crowd to invite Kelsey and Jeff to Trina’s party.

  “I can’t tomorrow,” Kelsey said. “I have rehearsal.”

  “If there are any leftovers, we can probably bring some in to work the next day,” Lydia said as Trina nodded. “I know Quinn won’t be able to make it either. She’s at an orientation for one of her programs at college.”

  “And I think Annette and Mona have tickets for a concert tomorrow,” said Kelsey. “They’ve been doing a lot of activities together. I’d almost think they were mother and daughter.”

  “I can still come,” Jeff said. “If it’s not weird that I’m the only one from work.”

  “I’d love to have you there,” Trina said. “Even if I have seen how much you can eat when you put your mind to it. You better not eat all the taffy.”

  Jeff laughed and promised he wouldn’t while Lydia promised that she would bring a large supply of sticky sweets for dessert. Then,
she went to the window and checked to see if it was going to start raining.

  “Is Daniel working on the beach?” Trina asked.

  Lydia nodded. “But his shift should be over soon, and if it does start lightning, he’ll put up signs saying that it’s not safe to swim. He doesn’t have to stay in the lifeguard stand during a storm.”

  “I wanted to invite him to the party in person,” said Trina. “Do you think it would rain on us if we went out to talk to him?”

  “I do have an umbrella,” Lydia said.

  Kelsey and Jeff assured her that they could take care of the now-empty shop while they were gone, and Lydia grabbed her polka-dotted umbrella that had reminded her of her taffy display when she purchased it. She also picked up some macadamia nut taffy to bring and share.

  The two friends walked onto the boardwalk and headed toward the water and lifeguard stand where Daniel would be working.

  “I don’t feel any drops,” Trina said. “And I think Daniel does deserve a personal invite. I know you don’t want to put labels on what you have, but you and Daniel are really great together.”

  “Thanks,” Lydia said. “I think so too. I know we both had our own baggage, but I like where we are now. And I care about him a lot.”

  “Even without the official name, he’s been a perfect boyfriend.”

  Lydia nodded in agreement, but then froze as they neared the lifeguard stand. She saw Daniel, but he wasn’t alone. In fact, her “perfect boyfriend” was hugging another woman.

  2

  Beach Introductions

  “What’s going on here?” Trina demanded though they were still too far away for Daniel to hear her properly. “Did he think no one would see him because of the impending rain?”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Lydia said.

  She was trying to appear calm, but inwardly, she was going through a roller coaster of emotions. Should she feel angry, betrayed, or sad? Was Daniel really seeing someone else?

  It wasn’t so much the hug that was bothering her, and it wasn’t even that the other woman was gorgeous. It was how happy they both appeared.

  “We don’t know the full story,” Lydia said, both for Trina’s sake and because she needed to hear it aloud.

  “It better be a good story,” Trina said. “Or not getting invited to my party will be the least of his worries.”

  However, as they continued along the beach, Lydia thought that she had less to be concerned about than she originally thought. After hugging the woman, Daniel hugged a man too. When the hugs were over, the trio stood together talking and looking very happy to be in one another’s company. The other man placed an arm around the woman as they chatted, indicating that they were a couple.

  Lydia silently berated herself for not trusting Daniel more. Just because she and Trina had been in some rotten relationships before, it didn’t mean that all relationships were bad.

  She tried not to blush as she called out a greeting and approached the group.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Daniel said. “Lydia and Trina, this is Gavin Pierce. He’s, yeah, I’ll say it. He’s my best friend. We were in the Coast Guard together. And this is his wife, Gwen.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Gavin said as Gwen smiled politely.

  Gavin was a large, strong man who looked like he could probably break rocks with his bare hands. Though Daniel was very muscular in his own right, Gavin looked like he had a superhero’s physique. Gwen was tall but much more slender than her husband. She had freckles on her nose, and her blonde hair was attractively blowing in the wind.

  “Gavin and Gwen, this is Lydia Doherty and Trina Nichols. They’re my good friends in town, and Lydia is someone I’ve been spending a good deal of time with.”

  Lydia thought that he was less awkward with their introduction than she would have been introducing him. She produced her box of taffy.

  “I own the taffy shop on the boardwalk. This is my new flavor, macadamia nut. Would you like one?”

  Gavin and Daniel each took one right away. Gwen accepted a piece but didn’t immediately eat it.

  “Is that why you came out here?” Gwen asked. “To bring Daniel candy?”

  “I’m always grateful when she does,” Daniel said. “And this new one is great.”

  “I can’t wait to try the other flavors,” added Gavin.

  “Well, that was very nice of you,” Gwen said. “To come out with the potential for rain to do that.”

  “We also wanted to invite Daniel to something,” said Lydia, not quite liking the other woman’s tone. What she had said was nice, but the way she spoke did not sound sincere.

  “And if you’re friends of Daniel’s, you’re welcome to come too,” said Trina. “I’m having a party at a restaurant to celebrate a promotion. There will be good food, and it should be fun. It’s tomorrow night.”

  “Does everyone always make plans so last minute around here?” Gwen asked.

  “Well, you can’t have a celebration too long after the thing you want to celebrate,” said Trina, adding a note of attitude to her voice.

  “I’d be happy to be there,” said Daniel. He didn’t seem to notice any tension. He was too pleased to see everyone. “And I’d love it if Gavin and Gwen could come too. That is if you don’t have plans already. What are you doing in town?”

  Gavin and Gwen exchanged a look where they seemed to have a swift and silent conversation between themselves. Gavin was the one to finally speak aloud.

  “We decided we needed a vacation. And we wanted to go to a different beach.”

  “You never seemed to be a fan of New Jersey before,” Daniel pointed out. “What was it you used to call the state? An armpit…”

  “But we’ve heard lovely things about the Jersey Shore,” said Gwen. “So, we decided we should check it out.”

  “And then when we realized that we might see you if we went to Ocean Point, well, that settled the matter,” said Gavin.

  “Are you checking up on me?” Daniel asked.

  “No,” Gavin and Gwen cried in unison.

  “We just wanted a fun few weeks away from it all,” Gwen continued. “It was just a perk if we could see you too.”

  “We weren’t sure that we would,” Gavin said. “You haven’t been the best at keeping in touch. I was a little afraid you might have moved again.”

  “We know how hard Delilah’s death was for you,” said Gwen. “We loved her too, but, of course, she was your wife.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been in better contact,” Daniel said. “But I am very glad to see you now.”

  “We’d be happy to come to the party tomorrow. But since we ran into each other, would you like to catch up today too?” asked Gavin.

  Thunder suddenly boomed, and the wind picked up, but this just caused Daniel to smile even more.

  “It looks like the beach is going to close due to the weather, so I won’t be needed for the last hour of my shift. I could meet up with you as soon as I change clothes and you’re settled. Are you staying at a hotel or rental property?”

  “Hotel,” said Gwen. “But it does have lovely views of this little town.”

  “It’s called the Jersey Sure Bet. Why don’t you meet us over there?” Gavin suggested.

  Daniel agreed. They all hugged once more. After some polite farewells to Lydia and Trina, the Pierce couple started heading away. Daniel started whistling as he brought out the signs to warn potential swimmers about going in the water and made sure that the proper colored flags were out to further warn of rough waters.

  Lydia was about to ask him more about his friends, but then the sky decided it was time to start raining. She opened her umbrella and offered for Daniel to join her and Trina. However, he declined and said that he didn’t mind getting wet because he would be changing his clothes shortly anyway. He ran off to prepare to see his other friends, as Lydia and Trina trudged back to the boardwalk. He didn’t seem bothered by the rain at all. In fact, he almost seemed to be sk
ipping with joy as he left them.

  Lydia wished that she felt as happy as he did. She wasn’t sure why the presence of people from Daniel’s past was rubbing her the wrong way, but she wasn’t looking forward to Trina’s party quite as much anymore.

  3

  Preparing for the Party

  “Which one should I wear?” Lydia asked.