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  Almonds and Arson

  Sticky Sweet Cozy Mysteries, Book 11

  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. Almond and Encouragement

  2. Excitement at the Auction

  3. The Auction Heats Up

  4. Stay Back

  5. Couples by the Crime Scene

  6. The Firefighter

  7. Taffy Shop Guests

  8. Detective Talk

  9. Doggie Drama

  10. The Bothered Brother

  11. Style and Substance

  12. Gift Talk

  13. The Polar Bear

  14. The Suspicious Singer

  15. Walking the Dog

  16. Danger on the High Seas

  Epilogue

  Also by Allyssa Mirry

  Author’s Note

  Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  1

  Almond and Encouragement

  “I know your flavors are often inspired by things in your life,” Kelsey said.

  “That’s right,” Lydia agreed. She smiled at her employee as they discussed the salt water taffy that they sold in her shop, Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets. “It might be because I tasted something recently that I thought would be interesting in candy form, or I learned about a favorite flavor from someone I care about, or an event in my life inspires me to experiment with a new flavor to create something to capture the essence of the celebration. I had fun with the firework taffy on the 4th of July.”

  “Right,” Kelsey said, looking at her coworker Jeff. They had a conspiratorial look about them as if they had been discussing something amongst themselves before approaching Lydia.

  “So, what was the inspiration for this new flavor?” asked Jeff.

  “Was it us?” asked Kelsey.

  “I guess what we’re asking is: do you think we’re nuts?” said Jeff. “Or do we drive you nuts?”

  Lydia burst out laughing as her staff looking at her solemnly. She had just shown them how to make her newest flavor: almond salt water taffy. The first batch had just finished being individually wrapped, and the two employees who were helping her open for the day seemed to have doubts about the flavor’s origin.

  “I’m sorry to laugh like that,” Lydia said. “But that’s not the reason at all. Neither of you drive me nuts. No one who works here does. I value all of you so very much. You go above and beyond when you work for me. The shop runs as smoothly as it does because of all that you do, and you’ve even helped me gather clues before. You’re what keeps me from going nuts.”

  “Then what inspired this?” asked Kelsey.

  “Is it because we had to deal with cyanide so much this summer?” asked Jeff. “And you were thinking about how they say that tastes like almonds?”

  “That didn’t cross my mind consciously,” Lydia said. “But I suppose we did have to deal with cyanide more than the average person does. Luckily, we caught the culprits in those cases.”

  “You haven’t made many nut flavors before,” Kelsey pointed out.

  “I suppose I wanted to make certain that we would be able to keep the nutty flavors away from our other ones, so we don’t affect anyone with allergies,” Lydia explained. “But the real reason why I decided to make this flavor was because of Daniel. He told me a story about how his mom used to make him almond cookies when he was nervous before his first day of school. And I know he’s a little nervous now about the fundraiser.”

  “You certainly got him to open up,” Jeff said. “When he first moved here, I don’t think I heard him say anything for weeks. He would just use his lifeguard whistle on the beach.”

  “He can be a private person,” said Lydia, “but he’s been getting involved in the community more.”

  “Thanks to you,” said Kelsey with a smile.

  “He’s very likable. I’m sure he would have come out of his shell and made friends eventually. He was in mourning when he arrived in Ocean Point, so that made him hesitant to get involved. But I guess getting involved in murder cases has a way of opening people up.”

  The door to the shop opened. It was usually friends who stopped by as soon as the taffy store opened, and Lydia was glad to see the person they had just been talking about; though her handsome lifeguard friend’s face was lined with worry. Lydia was afraid that he would be nervous and hoped that she could cheer him up.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” said Lydia. “I made some salt water taffy, especially for you.”

  “I’m not sure I can eat anything,” Daniel said. “Even something I like as much as your candy. I’m too anxious.”

  “It’s almond-flavored.”

  “Maybe I’ll try one piece,” Daniel said, relenting. He accepted the piece that Lydia offered and began chewing. Some of the tension that he had been carrying seemed to melt away. Lydia hoped she had tapped into a happy childhood memory, and that could carry him through what he had to do that day.

  “So, what are you so upset about?” asked Kelsey. “Is this about that bachelor auction? Everyone has been talking about it.”

  Daniel swallowed the taffy in what seemed like more of a nervous gulp. He nodded.

  “I don’t know how I got roped into this. I joined a fundraising committee to help raise money for the community center after money was stolen from the project,” Daniel said. “I wasn’t sure about the bachelor auction idea, but everyone else on the committee thought it would be successful, and I agreed. I never dreamed I’d be one of the bachelors on stage. I think they tricked me.”

  “I can understand why you’re nervous, but you really don’t have to be,” said Lydia. “You’re doing this for a good cause. And it’s just one date that the highest bidder wins.”

  “Us bachelors were supposed to choose a date to reflect our job or personality. I seem to be representing the lifeguards so I’ll go on a picnic on the beach and a stroll along the sand.”

  “That sounds worth bidding on,” said Lydia. “And I have a thousand dollars to go on your name.”

  “A thousand?” Daniel echoed. “The committee was hoping to get five hundred per bachelor. You don’t have to spend that much.”

  “I wanted to help the community center,” Lydia began.

  “Besides catching the person who was robbing the fund?” asked Jeff. “Because you already did that.”

  “And I thought it might make you feel better to know someone is willing to spend some money on your bid,” said Lydia. “I know you said you were afraid that no one would bid and you’d be standing there foolishly, but that won’t happen. I bet a lot of ladies will give to charity if it means a date with you. I just hope I’ll be the top bid.”

  “With a thousand, you definitely will. The committee projected only a couple hundred per bid. They told all us bachelors that we don’t need to spend too much on the actual date, which is why I opted for the picnic. We’re trying to get all extra money to go into fixing the community center.”

  “Is there anyone else we know who will be one of the bachelors?” asked Kelsey.

  “There are some local singers and men who work on the beach and a firefighter. Detective Grey is going to represent the police force.”

  “I’m not sure I can
imagine him on stage,” Lydia said, thinking of the serious detective who was her brother’s partner on the force.

  “I can’t imagine me being on stage,” said Daniel with a frown. “I’m embarrassed to see what the announcer will say when I walk on. I know I won’t like being on display – feeling like I’m a piece of meat that everyone will be staring at.”

  “I hope that there will be a good crowd and you’ll raise money,” said Lydia. “But I don’t think the number of people there will be overwhelming. Just remember why you’re doing this and that you won’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable on the actual date.”

  “If you win, I won’t feel uncomfortable at all,” said Daniel and Lydia started smiling. “But I don’t want you to spend too much money on this. Hopefully, the bids will stay low as they told me.”

  “Well, I’ve got a thousand that I can spend,” said Lydia. “But the truth is that you’re priceless.”

  Daniel smiled back at her. Kelsey and Jeff decided that it was time to make some more taffy and scooted off to give them some privacy. Lydia assured him once again that he would be fine on stage and that she was excited to go to the event. She just hoped that fighting the other women off for the date she cared about wouldn’t be more dangerous than facing some of the killers she had to chase.

  2

  Excitement at the Auction

  “There are more people here than I thought there would be,” Trina said.

  Lydia nodded in agreement with her best friend. A stage had been erected in the sand for the event. It was close enough to the boardwalk that the bachelors could come out from the nearby building where they would wait until they were called to the stage. The first floor of the building was a massage parlor that specialized in seaweed treatments. The owner must have realized that if noise from the rowdy fundraiser would reach her building, she would not be able to offer her guests a calming experience and had decided to host the bachelors as a form of advertising instead. The smaller second floor of the building had a sign that proclaimed that an office was for rent with a lovely view.

  However, it was on the sand that the crowds were congregating. Almost all the women that Lydia knew in town were there, along with many people who she didn’t know but assumed were tourists who were there for the fun of it.

  “I hope this means that enough money will be raised to fix the community center,” said Lydia as she and Trina fought the crowd to find a good place to stand.

  “I hope that I brought enough money,” said Trina. “I’ve been spending more time hunting down clues instead of picking up extra shifts to get more tips at the salon. And Felisha still hasn’t finished paying me back what she owes me.”

  “I’m sorry if our sleuthing has affected your wallet,” Lydia said, feeling guilty.

  “Don’t be! I love helping when you get involved in a case. But I should have thought about how much it might cost to get a good date at this auction. After breaking up with Carl and that disastrous first date I went on, I could really use a nice night out with a man. I only have four hundred in cash, though.”

  “Daniel said that they don’t expect any bids to go over five hundred. You might be all right.”

  “Oh, no!” Trina cried.

  “I could probably lend you some if you really need it,” said Lydia. “You are my best friend.”

  “It’s not that,” said Trina. She pointed ahead of them. “If we keep going this way, we’ll end up next to them.”

  Lydia looked where she was gesturing and became very glad that they stopped. Amber Allen and Brie Rankin had claimed a section of the sand with beach chairs and footstools. They were laughing amongst themselves, while Amber cast catty glances around at the other women.

  Lydia and Trina backtracked so they would not be on the receiving end of one of those glares. Lydia and Amber had not gotten along since the moment Lydia opened her salt water taffy shop on the boardwalk. Since Amber owned an ice cream shop, Amber decided that they were business rivals and did whatever she could to be an annoyance to Lydia. Lydia always thought that their treats were different enough that they might coexist peacefully, but Amber seemed to like having an enemy on the boardwalk.

  Brie was Amber’s best friend and was a reporter for the local paper. She and Lydia had worked on a case together that she thought had made them understand one another more, but it seemed like Brie begrudged Lydia when she lost a source at the medical examiner’s office who had told her things for the newspaper that he should not have been releasing so early.

  Lydia didn’t want to spend time with either of them if she didn’t need to. She and Trina continued working their way through the crowd and found some more enjoyable company to stand with. Two of Lydia’s other employees were there to watch the show. Annette was an older woman who crocheted toys for the shop. Mona was interested in ghosts and some other spooky stuff besides taffy. However, the two seemed to get along very well. Mona was a houseguest of Annette’s until her own apartment was fixed from fire and water damage, and they both seemed to enjoy the company.

  “Is anyone else from the taffy shop here?” asked Annette.

  “Kelsey and Jeff are manning the shop,” said Lydia. “Kelsey thought that the men onstage would be much older than her, and Jeff didn’t want to come anywhere near this part of the beach.”

  They all laughed and then Annette said, “I think that this will be a lot of fun. I just hope there are a few silver foxes on the stage.”

  “I had to come and support Daniel since he was forced onto the auction block,” said Lydia.

  “And I just need a date that doesn’t end in murder,” said Trina.

  Right after she said this, the festivities began. The woman who owned the massage parlor and a man from the community center began thanking everyone for supporting the community center project. They explained how the bidding would work and that the community center representative would be the auctioneer. Then, they began welcoming the bachelors.

  Lydia thought that the audience was behaving a little silly with their hoots and hollers, but the good mood was infectious. The bachelors seemed to enjoy the attention, and money began getting raised.

  Trina’s ears perked up as the auctioneer began introducing a new bachelor and the date he would provide.

  “Trent Thompson leads small cruises out to sea and his date night will consist of a romantic meal on the ocean in his boat. What do you say, ladies? Who wants to be his co-captain?”

  “I would love to have a romantic dinner on a boat,” said Trina. “And he is pretty cute.”

  “Place a bid,” said Mona.

  Trina agreed and joined in as the bidding escalated. It was soon over three hundred dollars.

  Trina groaned. “Having all these tourists here for the week is driving up the prices.”

  The auctioneer called for four hundred and fifty dollars and someone bid. The pace seemed to be slowing down, but the bid did go up to four seventy-five.

  “Looks like I’m out of this one,” said Trina.

  “Bid five hundred, and I’ll lend it to you,” said Lydia. Trina looked like she was going to protest, but Lydia insisted. “Do it quickly, or you’ll lose out.”

  Trina didn’t need more pressing and bid five hundred dollars for the date. She was rewarded with the auctioneer calling out, “For five hundred dollars. Going once, twice. Sold! To the lovely redhead over there.”

  Trina hugged Lydia joyously. “A real romantic date. And on a boat. Thank you!”

  Lydia hugged her back. “What are best friends for? And we helped the community center reach its goal of five hundred per bachelor. He was the first one to reach that much.”

  “I think the boat helped,” said Trina.

  “I think Daniel is on next,” Annette said, pointing.

  Lydia saw she was right and focused her attention on preparing to bid. Daniel looked a little uncomfortable on stage as the announcer introduced him as a former member of the Coast Guard and now a local lifeguard w
ho had saved several lives.

  “You don’t have to worry about drowning on a date with this man while you enjoy a picnic on the sand,” the announcer said. “Should we start the bidding at one hundred?”

  Excitement for a date with Daniel was even greater than it was for Trent Thompson. However, it did start to peter out around the five hundred dollar mark.

  Lydia bid six hundred dollars hoping it would secure her date with him. However, she was countered with a seven hundred dollar bid. Lydia added another hundred dollars and looked at the crowd to see who she was up against.