Cotton Candy and Corpses Read online

  Cotton Candy and Corpses

  Sticky Sweet Cozy Mysteries, Book 4

  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. Flavor Predictions

  2. Girl’s Night Interruption

  3. Psychic Crime Scene

  4. The Police Station

  5. Grey’s Request

  6. Distractions and Disappointments

  7. The Fan, Fortunes, and Fear

  8. Unboxing Ideas

  9. The Assistant

  10. Discovering Dirt

  11. Beauty and the Brace

  12. Cotton Candy and a Clue

  13. The Mailman and the Mystery Woman

  14. Spicy Food and Suspicions

  15. More Boxes and Brainstorming

  16. A Séance for the Suspect

  Epilogue

  Also by Allyssa Mirry

  Author’s Note

  Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  1

  Flavor Predictions

  “Don’t tell me, child. I’m sure I can guess this flavor with your words. I can divine it with my mystical powers.”

  Lydia kept her mouth shut. She doubted that the self-proclaimed psychic’s ability to determine what flavor of salt water taffy Lydia was offering her was due to supernatural powers. She was pretty sure that most of her customers could guess this taffy’s flavor based on its smell and mix of colors.

  However, Lydia didn’t want to deter the woman from her fun. With her many colorful shawl layers (even in the summer heat) and crystal jewelry, Madame Waverly was well-known on the Ocean Point boardwalk. She had a small storefront where she would read palms, do tarot card readings, and look into her crystal ball.

  Madame Waverly would mostly tell tourists generic fortunes about how they would someday meet a handsome stranger who would fall in love with them or that they should make sure to apply sunscreen on the beach. When the beach and boardwalk weren’t crowded with visitors, Madame Waverly would give the year-round residents advice about their love lives, acting as a mystic counselor. While most people took her “abilities” with a grain of salt, she was well-liked and was often a part of carnival and Halloween festivities.

  She had been telling these fortunes for a rather long time. Lydia could still remember when she was a little girl and Madame Waverly had promised her at a costume party that Lydia’s palm said that she would be a success when she grew up. Lydia tried not to dwell on the fact that this interaction probably happened twenty years ago. She was happy that she was now finally starting to feel like a success.

  Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets was shaping up to have a successful summer, and Lydia thought that her attempt to be a small business owner on the Jersey Shore was starting out strong. She was glad to be back in the town that she grew up in and had reconnected with her brother, Leo, and her best friend, Trina. Even her love life didn’t seem as disastrous as she’d generally thought of it since leaving her self-absorbed fiancé and starting a friendship with a handsome lifeguard. All in all, she was happy with her life. She had even helped to put a few killers behind bars.

  “Yes. The vision is coming to me now,” Madame Waverly said, staring at the blue and pink taffy through her spectacles that had gotten larger through the years. She raised the candy toward her forehead to give the impression that her mind was sensing the object, but Lydia suspected this was so she could subtly sniff it better.

  “Do you have a guess?” Lydia asked.

  “There is no need to guess,” Madame Waverly said slyly. “I know what this is. It’s cotton candy flavored!”

  Lydia clapped her hands. “That’s absolutely right. And after all that hard work divining the proper flavor, I think you deserve to have that piece as a free sample.”

  “You’re too kind, child,” Madam Waverly said. She unwrapped the salt water taffy and popped it into her mouth. After she finished chewing, she smiled and said, “I knew it would be that delicious.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.”

  “And I suppose since you gave me a sample, I can give you one as well,” said Madame Waverly mysteriously. “Let me gaze into the future and see what it holds for you. Yes. Yes, I see something.”

  Lydia found herself hoping that it wouldn’t be another dead body, and then acknowledged how strange it was that she had to wish for something like that.

  “I see lots of smiling people in your future,” Madame Waverly said. She gestured around the taffy shop. “And I think this will be the place they encounter you.”

  “Thank you for the fortune. I certainly hope that does come true and that people like the cotton candy taffy.”

  “I’m certain of it. It will be quite appreciated.” Madame Waverly took a step towards the door but hesitated as if figuring out what to say next. “And, dear child, if you’d like to know more about your future, please don’t hesitate to stop by my table. And tell your customers they’re welcome to come. I have extended hours.”

  She waved to Lydia and then exited the taffy shop. Lydia watched her go, wondering why the psychic had almost seemed to plead about having people visit her.

  “I guess she wants to remind people that she was the original psychic on our boardwalk,” Kelsey said, walking up to Lydia.

  Lydia turned and looked at her young employee. Kelsey was still in high school but had shown maturity and loyalty beyond her years when she stood by Lydia after someone had tried to frame her for murder.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You didn’t hear that there’s a new psychic that set up shop down the beach?” asked Kelsey.

  Lydia shook her head. “I guess I have been a little distracted lately, though. With the shop and some sleuthing.”

  “Some of the cast members in my show went to visit the new lady, Miss Cassandra. She claims that she’s the genuine deal and that she can talk to the dead. My cast thought she was pretty convincing.”

  “Then, Madame Waverly does have competition,” said Lydia. “I hope there’s enough business for both of them.”

  “We’ve been pretty busy with people visiting the shore. Maybe there will be enough tourists to go to both of them and hear about the person they’re going to marry.”

  “It’s kind of funny,” Lydia said. “But I don’t think any of the times Madame Waverly has given me a prediction she has ever said anything about my love life.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t think you’re interested in hearing about that?” Kelsey suggested.

  “Or maybe there is nothing to see and make a prediction about,” Lydia joked.

  However, then the door to her shop opened, and Daniel Brine joined the customers inside the shop. This was someone that Lydia wouldn’t mind having a romantic prediction about. The lifeguard had saved her life when a cold-blooded killer tried to drown her and then had helped her track down clues on two other cases. He was a quiet man who had come here to heal after the death of his wife a year ago. He could be a private person and would occasionally make jokes about New Jersey much to Lydia’s chagrin, but he was also someone she considered a friend. Since he was so attractive, she also would consider being more than friends when they were both ready to date again.

 
; She smiled at Daniel as he walked up to her. Kelsey left to assist another customer, and they were alone.

  “Did you come to check out our newest flavor?” Lydia asked.

  “Actually, I’m here because I won a raffle,” Daniel said. “It was to support the community center where I teach kids how to swim. I put my name in a basket, and I ended up winning.”

  “That’s exciting.”

  “Well, because of it I’m going to see a psychic this afternoon. That should be an experience.”

  “Madame Waverly?”

  “No,” Daniel said with a shake of his head. “I think her name is Cassandra. I don’t know much about this, but since it’s free, I thought I would go. And I also won two tickets to the New Jersey Symphony next week. I didn’t know what to make of that either. When I think of classical music, I don’t exactly think of Jersey.”

  “New Jersey has a history of great music. Sure, rock is what immediately pops into your mind with Springsteen and Bon Jovi. But we have lots of other great musicians too. And a wonderful symphony,” Lydia protested. She felt her blood boiling but then noticed the mischievous grin on Daniel’s face. “Were you just trying to get a rise out of me?”

  “You’re cute when you defend your home state.” His smile started to disappear, and he looked uncomfortable as he realized what he said aloud. He cleared his throat. “Well, I wanted to see if you’d like to go.”

  “I’d love to,” she replied.

  “Excellent. I’ll swing by with the tickets later so you can have them. Maybe Trina would like to go too.”

  “Oh,” Lydia said, trying to stifle her disappointment. “I thought you were asking me to go with you to the concert.”

  “I hadn’t even considered…” Daniel trailed off and looked flustered, but then he recovered. “It would be great to go together. When I was thinking of who I could give my prizes away to, you were the one person I thought of. You’re the only person I really opened up to around here.”

  “Probably because I keep ending up as a damsel in distress.”

  “You might have moments of being in distress,” Daniel said. “But you’re not helpless. You’re strong and fearless. If you end up in danger, it’s because you’re trying to seek justice for someone else.”

  Lydia was blown away by this compliment and by the admiring look in Daniel’s eyes when he said it. She found herself unable to speak for a moment as her words got caught in her throat.

  Luckily, Daniel continued talking. “I assumed when I gave you the tickets that you’d want to bring someone else. But I would enjoy going with you. As long as you assure me that the Jersey Symphony really can play.”

  “They can play,” Lydia said, finding her voice again but only able to spit out a simple phrase.

  “Then, it’s a…” Daniel trailed off when Lydia thought he was going to say date. “A concert. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Me too,” Lydia said as a huge smile formed on her face.

  “I’ll let you know all the details when I look at the tickets again,” Daniel said. “But I should get going now if I want to make my appointment with the psychic.”

  “Well, if she really can see the future, she should know if you’re going to be late,” Lydia joked.

  Daniel laughed as he headed toward the door. Lydia felt like she was floating on air all that afternoon as she aerated her taffy and assisted customers. This might not be an official date where they admitted their growing feelings for one another, but they would be spending time together when it wasn’t at one of their places of work or investigating a crime. Lydia was really looking forward to it.

  “What put you in such a good mood?”

  “Huh?” Lydia asked, turning away from the taffy pulling machine to face the person near the kitchen window who was addressing her.

  Her brother Leo was leaning against the counter. His detective badge was visible on his suit belt, which meant he must be on duty.

  Lydia blushed. She wasn’t ready to admit the reason for her happiness to her older brother, so instead, she grabbed one of the finished cotton candy taffy pieces.

  “I’m just really excited about this new flavor,” she said, handing it to him. “Cotton candy salt water taffy.”

  “I wanted to stop by and see what your new taffy was,” he said, happily trying the treat. “Before I need to go and introduce myself to the new psychic.”

  “Introduce yourself?” asked Lydia. “I’ve only heard a little about her. Is she cute?”

  Leo rolled his eyes. “Introduce myself in an official capacity. We just want to let her know that we won’t tolerate any scams here in Ocean Point. I don’t believe anyone can see the future or talk to the dead, so I know there’s already an element of chicanery. Good-natured predictions in the name of fun are fine. But she can’t go too far and try and trick people out of their money, saying some dead relative wants them to do it.”

  “Seems fair enough,” said Lydia. “I don’t remember Madame Waverly ever crossing the line. It’s good to make sure the newcomer doesn’t either.”

  “Can I take some cotton candy taffy for the road?”

  “You mean for the short trip down the boardwalk?” Lydia teased. “Of course, you can.”

  She took out a small paper bag and filled it with taffy.

  “Thanks.” Before he left, he also needed to add, “and the next person I date isn’t going to be some fraudulent pretend-psychic. It’s just hard to find somebody who can deal with the hours that my job demands.”

  “Maybe the psychic will give you a hint about the girl you’re supposed to be with,” Lydia joked.

  Her brother just shook his head and left the shop. She predicted that the taffy she gave him would be completely eaten before he reached Miss Cassandra.

  2

  Girl’s Night Interruption

  “So, you’re officially dating him?” Trina asked, excitedly.

  Lydia and her best friend were having one of their usual girl’s nights. Lydia had decided to cook instead of ordering takeout. After enjoying cotton candy inspired taffy all day, Lydia found herself in the mood for some other carnival foods. She whipped up some burgers and hot dogs with some corn on the cob and a side salad, which felt like a great summer meal.

  Her French bulldog mix, Sunny, was especially excited about the burgers. While the lazy pup usually lounged about in the evening, tonight she was getting underfoot, hoping that some food would drop down to her.

  Trina and Lydia enjoyed the meal, and so did Sunny. Lydia rationalized that since she was feeding her human best friend, she should indulge her four-legged best friend too and gave Sunny a large portion of a plain hamburger patty.

  Then, the humans sat on Lydia’s couch and opened up the bottle of wine that Trina brought over. Sunny promptly fell asleep in between them, content with a full tummy.

  “It’s not an official date,” Lydia said. “But Daniel and I will be attending the symphony together, and I think we’re both really looking forward to it.”

  “Well, a real date or not, I’m excited for you,” said Trina. “It’s been way too long since you’ve had any romance. And Daniel is pretty dreamy.”

  “I won’t argue with that,” Lydia said, chuckling as she raised her glass. “Do you think you could help me with my hair that night?”

  “Yes!” Trina exclaimed before Lydia had completely finished asking.

  Trina worked a local hair salon, and Lydia was sure that the fact that she always just kept her dark hair in a messy bun bothered her stylist best friend. However, since Lydia was always near the beach or dealing with sticky candy, she didn’t think it was worth the effort to try and tame her mane every day. However, the symphony would make for a special occasion.

  “But you know what I’m going to say?” asked Trina.

  Lydia shook her head and touched her hair. Her friend wasn’t going to say that she was completely beyond all hope for a stylish look, was she?

  “That you doing your hair mak
es it seem like a real date!”

  Lydia laughed. “Okay, enough. Let’s talk about something else. Did you hear there’s a new psychic on the boardwalk?”

  Trina nodded, but she stopped looking as happy as she had when they were discussing Daniel. She took a big sip of her wine.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I just don’t like the new psychic very much,” Trina admitted.