Chocolate-Covered Crime by Cynthia Hickey

chosen to park my vehicle, and headed to the store. Aunt Eunice would be waiting to grill me for details. Wasn’t enduring pain at the hands of a maniacal dental assistant enough punishment for one day?
    A glance in my rearview mirror caused me to press harder on the gas. Mason White followed in a silver Mercedes. His white grin shone like a jack-o’-lantern’s.
    Lord, please don’t let me wreck another Sonata . Not that I wasn’t tired of driving the same style of car for the last three years. But the last time my car came face-to-face with a tree, I’d spent the night at the hospital. Still had the scar to show for it. Thank goodness for swoop bangs.
    Maybe it was just a coincidence Mason followed so closely. So what if he lived in the other direction. I sped up. He copied. I stomped the brakes and whipped the wheel to take the car to the side of the road. Gravel flew as I stomped on the brakes. Mason did the same.
    I rolled up my window and locked the door, keeping my gaze on my rearview mirror. Mason sat and stared straight ahead. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled back onto the highway, gave me a little wave, and headed in the direction we’d come.
    Taking deep breaths, I willed my heartbeat to slow to normal. A tap on the window startled me. I yelped. Joe stood there, brow creased, hand still poised to tap his high school class ring on the glass. I pushed the button to lower the glass separating us.
    “Car trouble?” Joe removed his hat. “Pop the hood. I’ll take a look.”
    “Mason White followed me from town. Scared me to death.”
    “What makes you think he was following you?”
    “He doesn’t live in this direction, and I just had an altercation with him and Renee Richards.”
    Joe sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything, Summer. You’re overreacting, as usual. What kind of an altercation? They aren’t going to come to me to put a restraining order on you, are they?”
    “Forget it. When I wind up dead, you’ll be sorry. Watch your vRddt="feet.”
    I stomped the gas pedal and spun gravel. He jumped back as I sped onto the highway. Restraining order indeed.
    When I entered the candy store, Aunt Eunice stood frowning over a tray of just-dipped creams. “Why don’t mine look as nice as yours?”
    The dark chocolate looked milky with grayish white streaks in the swirls. “They’ve bloomed. Did you check the temperature of the chocolate before you dipped?”
    “I turned the machine on, then we had a rush of customers. I can’t do everything.”
    “The machine should have kept it tempered.” I checked the thermostat. “Did you turn it up? The chocolate is too hot.”
    She planted her fists on her hips. “I might have. I don’t know how to use that thing. With you being gone all the time, we’re getting backed up.”
    “I’ll redip them. Let me put on my apron and clean out the machine. I’ll stay late tonight.”
    “Then I have to stay, too.”
    “Why?”
    “I promised Ethan and Joe. They don’t want you alone. Not after you received that letter.”
    Hadn’t anyone heard of locking doors? Even I could manage to turn a dead bolt. I slipped the apron over my head and headed to the sink to wash my hands. “No clues as to who sent it?”
    “Nothing.” She dumped the tray of creams in the trash. “Joe’s frustrated. No clues to the letter and none regarding who murdered Mae Belle.”
    “Hey! I said I would redip those.” Did she think chocolate grew on trees?
    “Sorry.” Aunt Eunice plopped on the stool. “How did your dentist appointment go?”
    “Horrible.” I plunged my hands into the ruined chocolate. If there had to be a mess to clean up, what could be better than this? The silky softness covering my hands soothed me, erasing the tension of my morning. “But things are getting better.”
    The chocolate dropped into the bowl beside the machine. “Why do you think Edna canceled the wedding after Mae Belle messed things up? It’s plain to see she still cares