A Deadly Delicious Delivery (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Cindy Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

in and poisoned the chocolates.”
    Ally grimaced. “But the boxes were sealed. They were still sealed when I picked them up.”
    “Are you sure about that? Did you check them?”
    Ally closed her eyes. “The morning was so hectic, we were running late. I don’t know for sure if I checked them.”
    “Okay. That’s a place to start.” Luke reached across the desk and gave her hand a light stroke. “Don’t worry, all right? I’m on this. Everything will work out in the end.”
    Ally’s hand tingled where he touched it. Her heart flipped with the determination of his reassurance. She desperately wanted to believe him and his clear gaze, the soft curve of his lips, and the gentle pressure of his touch, all worked together to convince her that he might just be right.

Chapter Five
     
     
    By the time Ally arrived back at the cottage, all the reassurance she had felt from Luke had disappeared. She was in full panic mode as she tried to figure out what could have happened.
    “Ally? What did you find out?” Charlotte left the stove and what she was stirring. “Is Luke planning on making an arrest?”
    “Not yet.” Ally frowned. “I took a picture of one of the crime scene photos, it shows the box of chocolates. It didn’t come out great, but here take a look.” Ally handed her the phone. While her grandmother looked at the picture Ally paced throughout the kitchen. “It’s not looking good, Mee-Maw. Luke thinks it’s possible that someone broke in the night before the open house and poisoned the chocolates.”
    “Luke is wrong.”
    “That’s what I thought at first. But then I remembered that the window I had cleaned the day before was smudged and the lock was difficult to open.”
    “No, he’s wrong about the entire thing.”
    “What do you mean?” Ally turned to face her grandmother.
    “I mean that the chocolates in this photograph are not from our shop.” She held up the picture with the three remaining chocolates in the box.
    “But it says right on the side of the box…”
    “I don’t care what it says on the side of the box. I know my chocolates, and these are not them.”
    “How do you know?” Ally peered at the picture.
    “Whoever made these walnut, expresso creams used a whole walnut and it’s not caramelized, I only use half a caramelized walnut on these chocolates.”
    “Are you sure it’s whole?” Ally raised an eyebrow. “The picture isn’t that great.”
    “I’m sure. I know the difference,” Charlotte said emphatically. “You have only made the expresso, walnut chocolates with me so there is no way you could have made that mistake. Could you?”
    “No,” Ally said.
    “Those chocolates did not come from our shop! Something is definitely not adding up here.”
    “What we need to do is find out where those chocolates came from. Maybe if we get into her room we could find some evidence of what happened with the chocolates.”
    “Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Charlotte quirked an eyebrow. “If we get caught…”
    “If I get caught. I will be the one going in, Mee-Maw.”
    “I don’t know.” Charlotte frowned. “It seems risky to me.”
    “It’s the only way we can get some idea of who did this to Myrtle. If we can figure out where those other chocolates came from, then we might be able to track down the person that poisoned them. It seems pretty obvious that whoever did it was attempting to frame our shop. They made sure the chocolates looked similar to ours and they packaged them in some of our packaging. So, they are clever, and intent on pinning the blame on us. If we just sit on our hands this is only going to get worse.”
    “No, of course not, I don’t want us to do that. I just think we need to consider the consequences.”
    “I just won’t get caught.” Ally smiled a little.
    “Ah, there’s the boldness I remember.” Charlotte laughed. “All right, I guess we don’t have much choice. But if you’re going to do this, I’m going to