Sally Berneathy - Death by Chocolate 01 - Death by Chocolate by Sally Berneathy Page A
Authors: Sally Berneathy
Ads: Link
a length of nylon cord lying on the garage floor and added hanging to my list.
In fact, what I should do is hang the bear and give it back to him. Maybe then he’d get the message and leave me alone.
I scooped up the cord, fashioned it into a reasonable facsimile of a hangman’s noose, and put it around the bear’s neck. “It’s just for show,” I told him. “I won’t tighten it. Anyway, Rick already murdered you with that slash to the heart.”
I got in my car and started the engine. If I hurried, I could run by his house, hang the bear and still make it to the shop in time to get everything done. Surely the traffic cops wouldn’t be looking for speeders at this hour.
They weren’t, and I managed to leave the bear dangling from a limb of the tree outside Rick and Muffy’s front door, get to work, and have everything ready by the time the first customer arrived.
I considered leaving the eggs at his house, too. But that would have been a waste of good eggs. Instead I peeled them, ground the pretty shells in the garbage disposal, and Zach and I ate the hard-boiled eggs for breakfast.
Everything was going well and I was feeling quite proud of myself until Rick called at nine thirty-five.
I was up to my elbows in chocolate cheesecake when the phone rang. Paula had just left to take Zach to day care, so I dashed into our pseudo-office and snatched up the receiver. “ Death by Chocolate. This is Lindsay Powell.”
“That was pretty crass, Lindsay,” Rick said.
I assumed he wasn’t talking about my phone greeting. “ I’m crass? You’re the one who cut out the poor little bear’s heart.”
“ I cut out his heart? I did no such thing. You cut out his heart and then hung him! Muffy was completely freaked out! Do you know what it’s like to look out your window and see a bear hanging from a tree, a bear you gave as a present to someone you care about?”
“Do you know what it’s like to leave your house at three thirty a.m., half asleep, and find a bear with a gaping hole in his chest?”
There was a moment of silence. Then in a quieter, slightly confused voice — “He really had that hole when you found him? Lindsay, I drew a heart on that bear with raspberry syrup. I didn’t cut that hole.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I didn’t. You didn’t?”
“Well, I guess some animal likes raspberry syrup and nibbled a little too deep.”
“That’s disgusting!”
“Crass,” I agreed.
“I’m sorry, babe. I wanted it to be a fun surprise for you, not something to shock your sensibilities. I’ll just have to bring you another bear. I have plenty of raspberry syrup.” Rick’s voice dropped into a low, intimate tone.
“Do not bring me another bear or send more flowers!”
“Did you enjoy the roses? Were they fresh?”
“They were beautiful. I enjoyed them, but I’d rather you didn’t send me any more. Why are you doing this? Did you and Tuffy have a fight?”
“Muffy. No, we didn’t have a fight. It’s just that she’s not you. I miss you. Can’t we try to work things out?”
I ordered my lips to say the word No! in an emphatic tone, but my throat and vocal chords ignored me.
“How about dinner tonight?” he asked, correctly interpreting my hesitation.
“I already have plans.”
“Tomorrow night, then.”
“I’ll call you. I have to go now. A buzzer just went off in the kitchen.”
“Did you like the eggs?” He couldn’t resist tossing in one last tug at the old heartstrings.
“They were okay. A little too done.”
“ A little too —you ate them?”
“Yep. You know how crass I am. Gotta run. Bye.”
I hung up the phone, shoved some of Zach’s colorful plastic toys off the sofa and sank down, trying to sort out the kaleidoscope spinning around in my head. Rick’s persistence and my weakness were a part of that mass confusion, but not the major part.
The hole in that bear’s heart had been cleanly cut as if with a knife or scissors. There were no irregular
In fact, what I should do is hang the bear and give it back to him. Maybe then he’d get the message and leave me alone.
I scooped up the cord, fashioned it into a reasonable facsimile of a hangman’s noose, and put it around the bear’s neck. “It’s just for show,” I told him. “I won’t tighten it. Anyway, Rick already murdered you with that slash to the heart.”
I got in my car and started the engine. If I hurried, I could run by his house, hang the bear and still make it to the shop in time to get everything done. Surely the traffic cops wouldn’t be looking for speeders at this hour.
They weren’t, and I managed to leave the bear dangling from a limb of the tree outside Rick and Muffy’s front door, get to work, and have everything ready by the time the first customer arrived.
I considered leaving the eggs at his house, too. But that would have been a waste of good eggs. Instead I peeled them, ground the pretty shells in the garbage disposal, and Zach and I ate the hard-boiled eggs for breakfast.
Everything was going well and I was feeling quite proud of myself until Rick called at nine thirty-five.
I was up to my elbows in chocolate cheesecake when the phone rang. Paula had just left to take Zach to day care, so I dashed into our pseudo-office and snatched up the receiver. “ Death by Chocolate. This is Lindsay Powell.”
“That was pretty crass, Lindsay,” Rick said.
I assumed he wasn’t talking about my phone greeting. “ I’m crass? You’re the one who cut out the poor little bear’s heart.”
“ I cut out his heart? I did no such thing. You cut out his heart and then hung him! Muffy was completely freaked out! Do you know what it’s like to look out your window and see a bear hanging from a tree, a bear you gave as a present to someone you care about?”
“Do you know what it’s like to leave your house at three thirty a.m., half asleep, and find a bear with a gaping hole in his chest?”
There was a moment of silence. Then in a quieter, slightly confused voice — “He really had that hole when you found him? Lindsay, I drew a heart on that bear with raspberry syrup. I didn’t cut that hole.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I didn’t. You didn’t?”
“Well, I guess some animal likes raspberry syrup and nibbled a little too deep.”
“That’s disgusting!”
“Crass,” I agreed.
“I’m sorry, babe. I wanted it to be a fun surprise for you, not something to shock your sensibilities. I’ll just have to bring you another bear. I have plenty of raspberry syrup.” Rick’s voice dropped into a low, intimate tone.
“Do not bring me another bear or send more flowers!”
“Did you enjoy the roses? Were they fresh?”
“They were beautiful. I enjoyed them, but I’d rather you didn’t send me any more. Why are you doing this? Did you and Tuffy have a fight?”
“Muffy. No, we didn’t have a fight. It’s just that she’s not you. I miss you. Can’t we try to work things out?”
I ordered my lips to say the word No! in an emphatic tone, but my throat and vocal chords ignored me.
“How about dinner tonight?” he asked, correctly interpreting my hesitation.
“I already have plans.”
“Tomorrow night, then.”
“I’ll call you. I have to go now. A buzzer just went off in the kitchen.”
“Did you like the eggs?” He couldn’t resist tossing in one last tug at the old heartstrings.
“They were okay. A little too done.”
“ A little too —you ate them?”
“Yep. You know how crass I am. Gotta run. Bye.”
I hung up the phone, shoved some of Zach’s colorful plastic toys off the sofa and sank down, trying to sort out the kaleidoscope spinning around in my head. Rick’s persistence and my weakness were a part of that mass confusion, but not the major part.
The hole in that bear’s heart had been cleanly cut as if with a knife or scissors. There were no irregular
Similar Books
