Pineapple and Poison Read online

  Lydia was impressed with how quickly her employees learned to work with the taffy. They worked as a team creating one batch because Lydia didn’t want to create too much of the candy when they didn’t have the proper wrappers. However, they all followed her safety instructions, and they seemed to have fun making the sweets.

  Lydia couldn’t have been more pleased. When they sampled the candy, it confirmed that her pineapple salt water taffy was as tasty and tropical as she thought. She also felt secure that she had chosen a good team to work with her. They didn’t complain as they wrapped the taffy into the generic wrappers by hand, but were quietly joking amongst themselves and discussing how great the summer would be.

  When she saw someone at her shop’s door, she was excited and ready to greet her first customer. However, then she heard Kelsey groan.

  “What is it?” asked Lydia. “We should all be pleasant to our first customer.”

  “But I’m not sure she is a customer,” said Kelsey. “She owns the ice cream shop on the boardwalk. My older sister worked for her and said it was a horror. She also said her boss used to complain about the taffy shop all the time because it was her main competition.”

  “Great,” Lydia muttered. “The perfect first customer.”

  She pasted a smile on her face as the door opened, ready to greet whoever came inside.

  3

  Samples and a Storm

  “My, my. So, the rumors are true,” the woman said, entering the taffy shop and casting a haughty glance around. “Somebody actually did buy this place.”

  “That’s right,” Lydia said. “Welcome to Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets. I’m Lydia Doherty, and we’ve just opened for business. You’re our first customer.”

  “Amber Allen,” the woman replied, crossing her arms. “I run the very successful ice cream shop on the boardwalk.”

  Lydia couldn’t help thinking that this woman looked way too thin to own an ice cream shop.

  “I thought I’d come by and check out the competition,” Amber said, trying to sound like she was very unimpressed with what she saw.

  “I don’t know if we need to think of ourselves as competition,” Lydia said civilly. “We do both sell sweets, but they are very different. And, with how busy it gets during the summer, I’m sure there will be plenty of customers for both of us.”

  “Our sweets are very different,” Amber agreed. “I sell a delicious cool treat that melts in your mouth. You sell a saltwater snack that gets stuck in your teeth.”

  “There actually is no ocean water used in salt water taffy,” Jeff said, proud of what he had learned in the kitchen that day. “We don’t just take it out of the sea in a bucket and pour it in there.”

  “That should be your tag line,” Amber said, taking a step towards the door.

  Lydia’s patience was wearing thin with this blatant rudeness, but she really did want her first customer interaction to be a success.

  “Would you like a free sample?” Lydia asked. “Then, you can make your own judgment about it.”

  Amber paused. Lydia guessed that the sweet smells in the air were tantalizing her, but Amber didn’t want to admit it. Finally, Amber shrugged and took a piece of taffy from Lydia’s tray. However, then she paused with a sneer.

  “I don’t know. I am your first customer ever. Maybe that’s an indication that it’s not very good.”

  Amber smiled at her nasty quip and then left the shop. Lydia frowned.

  “I bet she eats it as soon as she’s out of eyesight,” Jeff said.

  “You know,” Dianna said soothingly. “She didn’t actually buy anything here. Maybe you don’t have to consider her our first customer.”

  Kelsey nodded. “That’s right. We don’t have to give the ice queen that honor.”

  Lydia’s lips turned into a smile. She was glad that she had hired the people she did. She agreed that they should let the first person to make a purchase be considered the first customer and that they should start handing out the free samples to try and attract that business.

  Her employees were enthusiastic, but the weather seemed to have scared most people away from the beach that day. After an hour of trying to hand out samples, there had only been two passersby. There was a man in a suit who had revealed a tattoo of an anchor on his forearm when he happily reached for a free sample. There was also a lifeguard who stopped by for a trial.

  Lydia had been outside with the tray when he stopped by, and she had tried to engage him in conversation. “Not many people to save today, huh?”

  “No one on the beach,” he agreed, picking up the candy.

  Lydia couldn’t help noticing his muscular arms and cool grey eyes. She wanted to keep the conversation going, partially because she wanted to entice new customers to come into her shop and partially because it had been a long time since she admitted that she found someone attractive. After her last disastrous relationship, she wasn’t ready to dive into a new one. However, she wouldn’t say no to talking to someone handsome.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t like the words that were slipping out of her mouth.

  “You’re older than I would expect to see. Not that you’re old,” Lydia said quickly. “But a lot of the lifeguards around here are college kids. And you’re older than that. It’s not an insult to say that you don’t look like you’re in college. You look like you’re probably just a little older than me. And I’m not old.”

  He just stared at her as she cleared her throat awkwardly. He took a second piece of taffy as she excused herself and walked back into the shop.

  “Next time I should just let my candy do the talking,” Lydia mumbled.

  “What was that?” asked Kelsey.

  “I asked if you would be the next person to hold the tray,” Lydia said, covering.

  Kelsey happily took the tray and went outside on the boardwalk to try and catch more customers. Jeff joined her while she and Dianna cleaned the machines.

  Lydia was just explaining her plans for training to an inquisitive Dianna when Kelsey came inside with a man that Lydia recognized.

  “He said that he’s not really a customer, but has other business to discuss with you,” Kelsey said.

  “Though I am grateful for the taffy,” the man said. “I’ve been running around so much I don’t think I ate anything today. This sugar should keep me going.”

  Lydia told Kelsey that she would speak to the man and gestured that they could talk in her office. The man was Randall Holmes who was the realtor that Lydia was using to sell the Doherty house.

  “Did you have any luck?” Lydia asked.

  “I did when I tried that pineapple taffy,” Randall said. “It’s superb. Better than Ruth’s was, but don’t tell her I said that.”

  “I meant about selling the house.”

  “Oh, that. Well, I’ve had some nibbles on my fishing line, but no catches yet.”

  Lydia sighed. Randall Holmes had also been the realtor who sold the taffy shop building to her. She thought that he would have been capable of selling her house for her too. She was currently staying in the house that Aunt Edie and Uncle Edgar had raised her in, but had been charged with selling the property. Well, actually her brother had been given the task by their uncle, but he had pushed it off onto her because she was still living there. However, she was eager to get a smaller place of her own, and Aunt Edie also wanted to downsize. They wanted new homes where they could make new memories instead of clinging to past ones.

  “You said that it should sell quickly,” Lydia reminded him. “And I was counting on that. The place really is too big for just me and my dog. And my brother is going to think that any delays in the sale are my fault. He’s already unhappy with me right now, and he’s going to think that I’m conniving so I can stay in that big house.”

  “Don’t you worry. When you have Randall Holmes working for you, it’s no mystery that your home will go for a fair price.”

  “I just wish you’d spend less time trying to sell me on that
idea and more time finding a buyer for the house,” Lydia said, feeling annoyed.

  “I’m sorry,” Dianna said, as she poked her head in through the open office doorway. “I don’t mean to interrupt your argument.”

  “We’re not arguing,” Randall said. “And I was just leaving. I have some work I need to do so I can sell this fine lady’s house.”

  “Thanks,” Lydia said as the realtor left. “Now, what’s going on, Dianna?”

  “Well, the rain did seem to catch up with us. It’s starting to pour outside. Kelsey and Jeff wanted to know if they could stay inside now.”

  “Of course,” said Lydia. “There’s no need to stand outside and hand out samples to customers who won’t be out there in the rain. Let’s finish tidying up, and when the rain lets up a little, we can all make a break for our cars. We’ll close early today.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Dianna. “You seemed so excited before.”

  “Yes. But there’s no reason to stay open if the few people here during offseason are scared away by the weather,” said Lydia. “But I am still excited about the opening. And, I’m not going to let this or anything else rain on my parade.”

  4

  A Soaking Wet Surprise

  Though she was a bit disappointed to close early on her first day, Lydia was glad to be home. She had been hit by another round of pouring rain as she left her car and was now soaking wet. She was looking forward to changing into dry clothes and relaxing for a few hours.

  She was still impressed with her employees as she had closed up the shop for the day. They had helped her wrap some of the taffy into boxes that she would give to Trina and the salon customers. She let them enjoy a few more samples of their own, and then threw what little was left of the taffy into the trash. She planned on making a lot more taffy over the next few days, and soon they would be wrapped in the proper “Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets” wrappers.

  She kicked her wet shoes off by the door as she entered her house and placed the taffy boxes for Trina on the counter. Then, she went looking for her dog.

  “Sunny?” she called.

  Sunny was a rescue dog that she had adopted when she returned home to Ocean Point. She had wanted a dog, but her fiancé had claimed that he was allergic. She decided that it was another positive aspect of her break up that she could now have a pet. She and Aunt Edie also thought that it would be good to have an animal around to keep Uncle Edgar company and protect him if they both had to be out of the house at the same time.

  Lydia loved Sunny very much, but she was far from a guard dog. She was probably the laziest animal that Lydia had ever met. Her favorite activity was sunbathing, and she took long naps on every comfortable surface in the house.

  Because she was a rescue dog, she was not certain exactly what Sunny’s pedigree was. Based on her squat stature and pointed ears, she was certain that Sunny was part French bulldog. Lydia would often joke about what else could be part of her heritage. Based on all the naps she took, she would sometimes say that Sunny was part cat. That always seemed to draw an annoyed noise out of the pup.

  Lydia began listening and then started to hear the snoring sounds that came from her dog. She followed the noise to her bedroom and found the tan French bulldog mix asleep on her pillow.

  Lydia gently woke the dog up, and Sunny licked her hand. Sometimes the dog would roll over and pretend to ignore the human so she could continue her nap, but today Sunny seemed to appreciate the company.

  “I’m thinking tonight we pull out all the stops for dinner,” Lydia said. “We should have a feast to celebrate my shop’s first day.”

  Sunny barked in agreement.

  “Of course, then we’d have to top that meal when we celebrate my grand opening event.”

  Sunny barked again and wagged the stub that was her tail. She always liked discussions about food.

  “Okay. Let me change my clothes into something comfy and dry. We’ll have a surf and turf meal. Maybe I’ll take a bubble bath tonight. And then we can curl up on the couch and watch a movie. How does that sound?”

  Sunny climbed off the pillow and walked towards Lydia who was leaning on the edge of the bed. She licked Lydia’s nose as she continued wagging her rear end.

  “It sounds perfect to me too,” Lydia said.

  She picked the dog up to give her a hug and help her off the bed. Then, they both headed towards the kitchen to make sure they had the proper supplies for the meal.

  However, then Lydia’s cell phone began to ring. Her caller ID told her that it was Randall Holmes calling and she answered it.

  “Lydia, I’m sorry to bother you. But I think I left something at your taffy shop. It doesn’t look like anyone is inside. Did you close early?”

  “Yes. The rain forced my hand. Do you need what you left there?”

  “It’s my lucky pen. It must have fallen out of my pocket. I use it for all my important documents. Would you mind coming back and letting me inside? I had it right before I came to your shop. It has to be there. Please.”

  Lydia looked down at her dog, feeling their evening plans evaporate.

  “Okay. I’ll come back and let you in to find it. But only if you promise that you’ll have someone use that pen to sign buying my house very soon.”

  “It’s a promise,” Randall agreed.

  Lydia told him that she would leave shortly and ended the call. Sunny was looking up at her expectantly.

  “Rain check?” Lydia asked the dog.

  Sunny barked and walked closer to her.

  “Would you want to come with me while I run my errand?” Lydia asked. “And then maybe we can still have a fancy dinner? But we could get take out, so I don’t actually have to cook?”

  Sunny opened and closed her mouth, which made her look like she was chewing.

  “A new and better plan,” Lydia agreed. She threw her shoes back on. Then, she grabbed an umbrella to shelter her dog as they walked back to her car.

  Though she hadn’t been looking forward to going back out in the rain, her new dinner plans put a better spin on the trip. Lydia was also glad to have her canine companion by her side.

  However, as they approached Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets from the boardwalk, Lydia noticed that something was very wrong. Sunny started running towards the shop, which was a form of exercise that she rarely did. She was also whining.

  Lydia saw a dark shape near her shop’s front door, but through the rain, it took her a moment to realize that it was a man’s body. When she realized that it was Randall Holmes, she rushed towards him to help. However, when she saw his face, she knew with certainty that he was already dead.

  5

  The Detectives

  “Wouldn’t the health inspector frown on you bringing your dog into the place you make taffy?” Detective Doherty asked.

  Lydia glared at her brother. “I didn’t plan on staying there with Sunny. Randall Holmes just said that he dropped something in my shop and he needed it back.”

  Sunny barked.

  Detective Grey stared at the dog in the seat next to Lydia. The serious man seemed somewhat unnerved by having a small dog at the table in the interrogation room with the person they were questioning.

  Lydia rubbed Sunny’s ears, and the dog calmed down.

  “And what was the item that he needed?” asked Detective Doherty.

  “His lucky pen,” Lydia said. “Leo, we’ve already been through this.”

  “It’s Detective Doherty when we’re at the station,” Leo said firmly. “And since this is a murder investigation I would think you might be more cooperative.”

  “Murder?” Lydia asked, feeling the blood rush from her face.

  “You saw the body,” Detective Grey said. “What did you think happened to him?”

  “When I got close to him, and I saw his eyes…” She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “When I saw that he wasn’t blinking, I knew that he was dead. But I didn’t think he had been killed. I thought he had a he
art attack or something like that.”

  “Then, why did you call for the police instead of an ambulance?” asked Detective Grey.

  “Well, he was already dead. I didn’t think an ambulance could help.” She turned and looked at the face that had the same unruly dark hair and green eyes as her. “And I thought my brother on the force would know what to do.”

  “And I do,” Leo Doherty said. “I examined the body and noticed some unusual pigmentation. The medical examiner at the scene confirmed the most likely cause of death will be from cyanide. We’ll know more after the autopsy is finished, but it does look like Randall Holmes was poisoned.”