Sweet Revenge (Cocoa Narel Chocolate Shop Mysteries Book 1) by Morgana Best Read Free Book Online Page B

rub shoulders with Lucinda when she came back to town for opening nights of the art gallery, but even then I always managed to keep out of her way.
    I looked up to see Lucinda and Mandy looking me up and down. Was that grudging admiration I could see in their eyes? “It’s a shame you’re not open now,” Lucinda said. “I wanted to buy Mandy something to cheer her up.”
    “Why, what’s the matter?” I said automatically, and then instantly wished I hadn’t.
    Mandy stopped smiling, retrieved a tissue from her Louis Vuitton purse, and dabbed at her dry eyes. She sniffled.
    “Her ex-husband has just passed away,” Lucinda said in a bored tone. “ One of her ex-husbands, that is. She never kept husbands for long, once she took them from their girlfriends, or wives for that matter.” She glared at Mandy.
    I saw Mandy shoot her an angry glance in return, and then I had an epiphany. Mean girls are mean to each other, not just to those less fortunate than they.
    “He blew up,” Mandy said.
    I put two and two together. “Was that the accident that happened the other day?” I asked her.
    “Yes,” Lucinda said for her. “Guy Smith. He was married to Mandy about ten years ago.”
    “We were only married for a few months,” Mandy said. “I realized he wasn’t a nice person.”
    I had to bite my tongue. “Do the police know what happened to him yet?” I asked her.
    Mandy shrugged. “I know that he had lots of enemies.”
    The two women shot me another appraising look, and then left abruptly.
    After they left, I was quite shaken. They had made my life an utter hell, as had all The Populars. And to think that Mandy had married Guy. Just as well they hadn’t had kids—at least I hope they hadn’t. Imagine the monsters that they would be.
    Had I done the right thing in opening a store in my old town? Perhaps I should have picked another town, where no one knew me from my past. Yet Carl was my dearest friend, and Carl lived in this town. Come to think of it, he was my only friend. I had missed Carl so much in all my months in the hospital and I couldn’t imagine living in a town away from him.
    Oh well, if the town got too unbearable, then I would still be able to move out. It wasn’t as if I were tied to this town forever. I was a wealthy woman now, although I did have to live on the settlement payout for the rest of my life. I had to make a success of the business and I was familiar with this town. It seemed to me to be a good business decision to stay here where I had support. During my time in the hospital, I had even contacted suppliers, and told them I was intending to open the chocolate shop. I had done quite a lot of legwork.
    I was surprised that Lucinda and Mandy had been so polite to me. They had both denigrated me on every opportunity. Now their attitude was entirely different. I expect it was because I now I looked like someone they would consider their equal. It was a horrible thought.
    It was lunchtime, and I had told Carl I would take him some lunch. I locked the store and walked home to fetch the chocolate cake with triple chocolate frosting that I had baked the night before. Despite my accident, I loved chocolate just as much as I always had.
    I retrieved my cake and walked on further to Carl’s house. Just as well I lived in a country town. Otherwise, I would have to buy a car. I knew I’d have to bite the bullet and buy one soon. I hadn’t driven since the accident, but I would need a car to get around. It wasn’t fair to rely on Carl all the time.
    Carl’s place was quite cute. It was a beautifully renovated Victorian home. Carl liked a minimalist style, and this was reflected in his garden. He had beautifully manicured lawns, which he paid someone to cut, and there was a row of standard roses in front of his white picket fence and also lining the pavement to his front steps.
    I rang the brass doorbell, and Carl finally opened it with a glazed look on his face. I knew that look from when