The Chocolate Mouse Trap by JoAnna Carl

was as astonished as I was to learn that Julie had been married.
    “It must not have been while she was living in Holland,” she said. “She sure never gave a hint.”
    “Margaret will know.”
    “Probably. But she’s never given a hint either.”
    “How about Jason?”
    Lindy stood up. “I’ll check on the kitchen. Then I’ll call him.”
    “Honestly,” Aunt Nettie said. She smiled, but she was scolding me, too. “Poor Julie is dead. Does it matter if she had been married or not?”
    I ate soup and thought about it. Was I simply being nosy? I ate three spoonfuls of soup while I came up with the answer.
    “I don’t think our interest in Julie’s marriage is merely nosiness,” I said. “Not in the gossipy sense, anyway. I think it’s guilt. Julie was the focal point of our little e-mail group, the one who kept it going. She did all of us some favors on the business front, and she made an effort to be friendly to all of us. She dropped in on Margaret, who’s pretty housebound with those six kids. She came down to Warner Pier and took Lindy and Carolyn and me to lunch. She sent the Denhams some business, I know.
    “But when she died, I realized that none of us knew anything about her. We hadn’t even known she’d been married! I know Julie and I weren’t close friends, but it makes me feel bad because I took her for granted while she was alive.”
    Aunt Nettie’s smile was good-humored. “As long as you don’t think you have to get involved in the investigation of her death, Lee.”
    “Oh, no! I’ve been down that road before, and I had to buy a new van to prove it! Any more murders, and they’re gonna cancel my insurance.”
    We both laughed and settled back to enjoy our dinner. But way in the back of my mind, a few thoughts did bubble up. The Holland police thought Julie had been killed by a burglar. That burglar had stolen—among other things—her computer. Jack Ingersoll thought House of Roses had had a burglar. A burglar who did nothing but destroy Carolyn’s computer records. Jason and the Hideaway Inn had been hit by a vicious computer virus. Could these things be connected?
    If anything happened to my computer, I might get pulled into the investigation of Julie’s death whether I wanted to be or not.
    When Aunt Nettie and I had finished dinner, Lindy came over to say she had talked to Jason, and he hadn’t known anything about Julie’s marriage. But he was going to call someone who might know, then call her back. Aunt Nettie went on home, but Lindy brought a pot of coffee, and I lingered while the Herrera’s crew cleaned up. She finally got around to telling me that her e-mail had been attacked by the same virus that hit mine, but our local computer server, WarCo, had been able to stop it before she connected. Another narrow escape.
    Ten o’clock came, the last customer had gone, the kitchen was cleaned, and Lindy had packed up her laptop. Still no word from Jason.
    “I don’t think he’ll call this late,” Lindy said. “I’ve let everybody out the back.”
    “I’m parked out front,” I said. “If you’ll let me out that way, I’ll be gone.”
    “It’s been nice to have company.”
    The stars were bright as I crossed the sidewalk. I could see the lights of the town glinting off the ice in the river. I paused to look at the view, then realized Lindy was standing at the door, waiting for me to get into my van safely. I did so, checking behind the seats and in the rear deck. Okay, I admit it; Julie’s death had made me jumpy.
    Well, I thought, if Lindy can watch and make sure I’m safe, I’d better do the same for her. I knew she was parked in the alley, so I warmed the van up for a minute, backed it out, then drove down the street and turned the corner. Halfway down the block I swung into the alley. My lights hit Lindy’s compact car.
    It took me a moment to register the two figures beside the car.
    One figure was on the ground, lying terribly still, and the second