A Frothy Fiasco: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 3) Read online

  “I was just going to tell you that Jules won’t be here until 4 o’clock when she’s done at the clinic, but here she comes now, Tony.”

  The door opened and the sweet smile, bright eyes, and light spirit of Jules seemed to lift the heavy fog off the room.

  “You’re looking gorgeous in your yellow shorts and beachy top,” she said as I came around the counter to give her a hug. It was nice that somebody noticed.

  “What are you doing here so early?” I asked. “You didn’t quit your job, did you?”

  She looked at me and said softly, “Not yet. Hi, ladies; hi, guys; hi, Tony.” She looked at Essie’s bulletin board and knew at once what was going on. “Mugs shots, huh?”

  “So…?” I pressed.

  “Oh. Well, the air conditioning went out at the dental office. It was already 95 degrees in there, so I just stayed long enough to call everyone to cancel their appointments. And here I am! Ready to help you sell a hundred smoothies today.”

  Tony couldn‘t take his eyes off Jules. “Why don’t you let me take you somewhere nice and cool for lunch?” He asked with a persuasive boyish grin. “We can still beat the noon rush if we leave now.”

  “No thanks, Tony,” she said, pulling a small Tupperware container from her purse. “I have my half cling peach and cottage cheese right here.” Then she marched into the back room and put it into the big refrigerator.

  Tony looked at me. “I guess if I can’t compete with cottage cheese, I might be banging my head against a brick wall there.”

  “Not sure,” I said. “She’s got a lot of things going on right now, so maybe she just needs a little time.”

  He nodded and said his goodbyes to everybody, and gave Toe a sympathetic pat on the back before he went off to his next appointment, or maybe to a lonely lunch.

  I walked over to the bulletin board and picked up the red, green, and blue markers. “We’ve got to start with the process of elimination, Essie. Jerry Thatcher finally managed to get a sort of date with Martha White by offering to take her and her grand-niece to The Magic Kingdom with him and his two grand kids. They left at sunrise yesterday, and didn’t get back till well after dark.”

  Jules wrote Nick (13) and June (11) in black marker in the white space at the bottom of the Polaroids of the Thatcher kids. Janice White’s picture was not posted yet. Then she put a green border across the tops of those two pictures.

  “When did Mike lose his phone, Lily?”

  “Yesterday,” I said, “while Martha was away.”

  Jules put a green border along the left side of the photos too. “But Trevor Barton was here all day on Sunday.” She put a red border on two sides of his photo, just as he walked in the door.”

  “Mr. Thompson,” Trevor said to Toe, “you better roll up your windows and lock your doors if you’re going to leave that iPad on your truck seat like that. Somebody might steal it.”

  What the frick?!

  Chapter Six

  “Somebody’s trying to frame me, I tell ya, Eli.” Toe was at his wit’s end, and I had to feel sorry for the guy.

  “I believe you, Toe,” Eli said with his face buried in his note pad.

  Maybe he did; maybe he didn’t. I wasn’t sure.

  “But, we’ve got to get your whereabouts for all day yesterday, and find out everything and everybody you might have seen at the gas station this morning.”

  “Sure, sure. But, you know, I wouldn’t steal nothin’ from your dad. Harvey’s my friend, my partner…and then I sure wouldn’t just leave it on the seat like that.”

  “Seems odd to me too, Toe, but we’ll bring the pen and the iPad to the lab, run them for prints, and see where it leads us.”

  The weekend had brought more kids into town, and the front half of the shop was filled with teens, tweens, and a lot of chatter. Hildie and I were making espressos and frappes, and Jules and Essie were serving them as fast as we could make them. It looked like Carmen’s rental shop was doing well too, with kids biking, skateboarding, and rollerblading everywhere.

  Eli was a plain-clothes detective now, so he and Toe sitting at a table by the counter didn’t raise any eyebrows.

  “I got here an hour after Essie yesterday, and I left here an hour before she did, I guess.” Toe scratched his head and tried to think of anything else. “And the gas station was pretty busy, mostly tourists I’d say. I always look for out of state license plates, and I remember seeing one from Ohio and one from New York. A lot from here in Florida too. Maybe one from Georgia, not sure.”

  “What about the people, Toe?” Eli pressed, looking for anything that might help identify the thief.

  “Well, there was an old couple. I washed their windshield cuz it was full of bugs from a lot of driving, and it didn’t look like he could get around too good. Lots of kids on bikes getting ice cream bars and Popsicles. I remember one real pretty young gal, real short, black hair, having a little tiff with her boyfriend, or maybe husband, by their motorcycle.”

  “What did he look like, Toe?”

  “I was looking more at her. She turned towards me, and Ba-Zoom! If you know what I mean. But he was bigger than your dad, Harvey, here. Not as big as you, though. Maybe a little over six foot, with a moustache and ponytail and a ball cap.”

  “What team?”

  “No team, Eli. Had a pig or something. A pig on roller-skates, maybe? Heck, I don’t know for sure.”

  That caught my attention. I’d seen that logo.

  “Jules, wanna go to Sabina tonight? I’ll treat you to a pulled pork sandwich and a beer.”

  “Make it a glass of wine, and you’re on. What’s the occasion?”

  “Just feel like going for a ride.”

  She looked at me with a suspicious grin. “You’re up to something. As long as you’re not trying to fix me up with some rodeo cowboy or something, I could use a little break from the Sweet Home madness.”

  “Actually he’s a rodeo clown, just got outa jail,” I said with a wink. “We’ll head out when the after-work rush clears out.” I slid a couple of cappuccinos and a frappe across the counter to Jules, who was pretty much on her own now, as Essie had cornered Trevor and was getting the names and ages on all the pictures she could on her bulletin board.

  “Dear, you’re not getting enough froth on those cappuccinos, Lily,” Hildie whispered in my ear. “Why don’t you do the cold drinks, and I’ll do the hot ones?”

  Wow. Maybe she was paying attention to the lesson after all. “Sure, Hilde. I’ll watch how you do it next time.”

  Eli was finished with Toe for now. He had asked Trevor to stick around, since he was the one who spotted the iPad mini in Toe’s truck; or maybe he put it there. Little 8-year-old Brad Jenkins (one of the kids who had run through the coffee shop with Trevor the day Jules lost her ring) followed him over to Eli’s table, but stood back by the counter.

  “Miss Parker,” Trevor said to me before he sat down, “Can I talk to you for a minute when I’m done with Officer Davis?”

  I nodded. “Sure.”

  “Oh, and will you please get Brad a smoothie for me? I have some money, and I told Josie I would take care of him till she and Corey got back from riding their bikes.”

  “Peach!” Brad said with a big smile.

  He sure didn’t sound like a kid with criminal blood in his veins. But then again I always thought his mother was a sweetheart before she killed poor Fannie Diddlemeier too.

  Young Brad watched with big eyes as Eli questioned Trevor. Brad nodded his head when Trevor said he was across the street with Brad and his brother and sister while they rented bikes. Brad was too young to rent a bike, so Trevor offered to take him here while they rode. Eli took note of the young Jenkins boy’s corroboration as I handed Brad his smoothie. Brad shook his head vigorously with his face scrunched into a frown when Eli asked Trevor if he threw anything into Toe’s truck on his way across the street.

  “Have you seen anyone going in or out of any houses?” Eli asked.

&n
bsp; “Mr. Police Officer,” Brad said timidly, but Eli just held his hand up like a stop sign and shook his head.

  “What else can you tell me, Trevor?” Eli looked at the teenager with a professionally unreadable expression.

  “Well, nothing really, sir, but…”

  Eli perked up. “Yes? Go ahead. Have any of the new kids been acting suspiciously?”

  “No. It’s just…well, we see Mr. Thompson’s truck all over town, and all. And he’s been in and out of every house in town fixing stuff. He knows who locks their doors and who doesn’t, what kind of expensive things they have, and he could leave a door or window unlocked when he leaves too. I saw him drive by Miss Martha’s house the day my dad’s phone went missing – he even waved to us.”

  “Well, we’re looking into that possibility, Trevor. Thanks.” Eli stood up to go.

  “Mr. Policeman,” little Brad tried again, tugging on Eli’s sleeve.

  “I’m really busy, son.” Eli looked over at me and saw my disapproving eye-daggers at his dismissal of the boy. I nodded my head toward Brad as my way of silently telling him to listen to the kid.

  “But what can I do for you?”

  “Well, I was climbing trees on Bluebird Lane. It was Saturday in the afternoon.”

  Eli looked at me, sending a clear message that I was causing him to waste his time. “Good for you, kid.”

  “And I saw the delivery man come out of that lady’s house.” Brad pointed to Jules, who was taking an order from a table by the front door, far out of earshot. It got my interest.

  “Delivery man?” Eli asked.

  “Yes, sir. The man who delivered some boxes here a while ago when we were at the bicycle place.”

  Eli and I looked at each other. Tony was at Jules’ house? I was confused and curious, but Eli was obviously amused.

  “Thank you, young man.” He rubbed Brad’s head with his hand. “I’m not sure that you solved our burglary cases, but you may have solved the mystery of why that lady has been in such a good mood lately!”

  My jaw dropped a little. But Jules was my best friend. We told each other everything. She would tell me if she was seeing Tony. Wouldn’t she? Why would she try to hide it? I will definitely get the truth out of her at our girls’ night out tonight.

  I slid a smoothie across the counter to Trevor. “It’s on me. I’ll be with you in a minute, Trev.” Then I met Eli at the end of the counter.

  “Gotto go, Lily. I’ll call you later.”

  “Make it after 9:00 or 10:00,” I said. I’m meeting Jules for a bite tonight. What’s new with…your code 5?”

  “Sounds like you know more than I do—or at least more than you should. Well, it looks like foul play, but Toe didn’t do it.”

  “Toe!” I said, more loudly than I should have. Then I whispered. “Why would Toe be a suspect?”

  “Because her sapphire and diamond tiara was taken. Might be related to these other petty crimes. That’s why I’m taking the theft investigations so seriously. If I can solve these, maybe I can solve the murder too. But the coroner says she died at 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, so Toe was still here with you and my dad and your aunts at that time.”

  “So it happened before Essie was robbed.”

  “Unless she was robbed in the morning while she was at church. Toe could have done it then, or after he left the Cabana. Or somebody else could have done it any time during the day.”

  “But I think it happened just before they got home.”

  “Why?”

  “I think the thief heard my aunts coming. That’s why he left Hildie’s jewelry, ran out without closing the back door, and squealed out down the alley making the cat screech.”

  “That’s either some pretty good detective work, or you’ve been watching too many crime dramas. Hildie’s jewelry had me thinking the same way, but your other observations make it a more compelling scenario. But what about the pen?”

  “Hmm. No ideas on that yet.”

  “I’ve got one. Maybe Toe saw the paint can under the end table and went over to take a look. You, know, to make sure it was weather-proof exterior paint or something, since he would be using it the next morning. And, when he bent down to look at it, the pen fell out of his shirt pocket.”

  I felt sick. That sounded like a real good possibility. I had to think of a reason why that wasn’t a good argument. “And it rolled past the paint can and under the sofa? I don’t know. Plus, I thought the investigators on the scene said the burglar was just in the kitchen and the bedrooms.”

  “It’s not a perfect science. Well…I’ll talk to you when I get home tonight.”

  “Okay, Eli. Don’t forget to eat something.”

  Trevor was waiting patiently at the counter with Brad, slurping the remains of the smoothie through his straw.

  “What’s up, chief?” I asked him with a smile. I knew he was going through a lot, trying to reconnect with his friends after his mother was sent to prison for murder.

  Trevor looked around sheepishly, like he didn’t want anyone else to hear what he had to say.

  “Hildie, keep an eye on Brad for us, will ya? Give him a cookie. Trevor, let’s go in the back.”

  We walked just inside the doorway to the back room. I leaned on the big refrigerator on one side, and the 16-year-old boy leaned on the shelves of coffee boxes on the other side. I folded my arms and waited.

  “Miss Parker…” It took a moment and all of his courage for him to look me in the eye. “I…I know that all of you grownups think that us kids are stealing all of this stuff, and…” He swallowed hard and his eyes got a bit misty. “…and I saw all the red lines around my picture on Miss Essie’s board, so I guess I’m the biggest suspect of all. The older kids all say I’m a criminal like my mom…”

  He fought bravely to hold back a tear, and so did I. I waited for him to take a couple of breaths and resisted the urge to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

  “…but the younger kids and the kids my age know better because we’re always together when everything happens. Anyway, I want you to know that it’s not me or any of the kids. At least, not the ones I know. My dad is having a really hard time since his phone was taken cuz all of his contacts and landscaping appointments were on it. And it’s been really hard for him with mom gone anyway, so I wouldn’t do anything to make it even harder.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thank you for telling me this, Trevor. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

  “And Miss Parker,” he said with a smile returning to his face, “we want to find out who’s doing it just as much as everybody else, so we’ve formed a posse.”

  “A posse!”

  “Yes, ma’am. All of the kids have little note pads, and we’re keeping track of times and places and license plates when we see people coming and going. Brad saw Mr. Georgetti coming out of Miss Jules’ house, and I’m keeping and eye on…” He paused.

  “Toe,” I said. “That’s fine. If he’s doing it, we need to know. Just remember, a good detective always tries to prove that his main suspect is not guilty, because that’s the only way to do a full and fair investigation. And don’t let any of the kids get close to any possible crimes. Just observe from a distance, and then collect all the data and report to me every day or two. So…there are a lot of adults around here. Why did you decide to talk to me, Trevor?”

  “Well, because you were always nice to us. You saved a place for us to watch the parade in front of your shop, and you brought us dinner when the police arrested dad by mistake when everybody else was avoiding us. Besides, everybody knows that you’re the nicest lady in town, Miss Parker.”

  Flattery will get you everywhere, Trevor. He had always been a sweet, well-behaved kid. I knew a hug would embarrass the young man, who was almost as big as me, so I patted his back and went back behind the counter. Trevor went back to sit by Brad. I really hoped he was telling the truth.

  Two kids, breathing hard from their b
ike ride and still in outdoor mode, strode through the front door and up to the counter. It was Brad’s older siblings. Corey was 15, a year younger than Trevor, and Josie just turned 12, that magical age when you become a “grown up kid” who can rent a bike.

  “Did you hear what happened?” Josie said in an outdoor voice that everyone in the place could hear. Every head turned toward her. “Junie Thatcher was waiting in line for an ice cream cone in front of the Tastee Freeze with a hundred-dollar bill in her hand. It was really crowded, and somebody snatched it, but nobody saw who did it.”

  “When did that happen, Josie?” I asked. Stealing from children now? This has got to stop.

  “Just now.” It was her brother, Corey, who answered. “Like 5 minutes ago.”

  “Indoor voices, children,” Hildie said sweetly. “Would you like a nice hot cup of coffee?”

  The kids looked at her like she had two heads. They ordered smoothies.

  “Darn,” Hildie whispered to me. “I was hoping they’d want a mocha latte or a cappuccino. I’m getting to like using that loud apparatus.”

  I gave Hildie the side eye as I filled the blender with strawberries, bananas and milk. “They’re only kids. And I’d hate to see how hyper they’d be with caffeine in their little bodies.”

  Hildie looked over at the children. “True. Wish I could harvest some of their energy and pump it into my old veins.”

  “Ha!” I exclaimed. “I wish I had half the energy you and Essie have.”

  “Jack LaLanne my dear. Old Jack LaLanne tapes keep us old girls in shape.”

  “I may have to borrow a few,” I said, pouring the smoothies into cups.