Trouble and Treats (A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery Book 6) by Cindy Bell

shop and there is someone after us, then we could be putting our customers in danger.”
    “I agree. Let’s keep it closed up, at least for another day. We’ll have to go in and do some clean up tomorrow anyway.”
    “Yes, that’s for sure. Not to mention my apartment.”
    “I will be there to help. I promise.”
    “You always are, Ally, I appreciate it.”
    “I think I’m going to go for a drive.”
    “Where to?”
    “Maybe drop in and visit Luke, so that I can get an update on the case.”
    “And then?”
    “We can’t live worrying about what is going to happen next, Mee-Maw. I have to get to the bottom of this.”
    “But you can’t be reckless about it.” Charlotte looked into her eyes. “It’s not worth the risk, Ally. You are too precious to me to put yourself in danger.”
    “I’ll be careful, Mee-Maw, I promise.” Ally hugged her grandmother then looked down at Arnold. “Maybe you should take him for a walk. I know he misses his time with you. That will give Peaches some time to settle down.”
    “That’s a good idea. I’ll do just that when the cake is out of the oven.”
    “I’ll text you when I’m on my way back, Mee-Maw.”
    “Be careful.”
    Ally heard the last two words ring through her ears as she approached her car. There was no reason to pay a visit to Luke. If he had any news about Emma’s death he would have updated her. No, there was only one reason for her to get behind the wheel of her car, and it was to wait for Gary to leave his apartment. If she had told her grandmother where she was going she would try to stop her or insist on joining her and she felt that Charlotte needed a break with Arnold so she could relax. There was no point in both of them being at risk.
    When Ally arrived at the apartment building she was surprised to see that Gary’s truck wasn’t in his parking space. Excitement rushed through her as she realized she might get the chance to look through his apartment. She climbed out of the car and approached it. In the evening light it was clear that there wasn’t much to the place. Even the door knob was dirty. As she started to reach for it, she heard an engine roar. A beat up old truck had just pulled into the parking lot. Her heart raced. She was about to get caught again.
    “Not this time,” she muttered as she ran around the corner of the building. She flattened herself against the brick wall to hide in the shadows. She heard the door of the truck slam shut. Then the heavy footsteps that walked towards the apartment. She decided that when he went inside she would take a look through the windows of his truck. Maybe there would be something there that would indicate that he ransacked the shop and Charlotte’s apartment or something that could even implicate him in Emma’s murder.
    Once she heard the door shut she started to head towards the truck. However, instead of reaching the truck she found herself staring right at Gary’s back. She froze as he started back towards his truck. The closing door that she had heard was not from him going inside, it was from him stepping back out. Maybe he forgot something in the truck, or maybe he changed his mind about going home. Either way, all it would take for him to see her was a glance over his shoulder. She could try to run, but the commotion would alert him. What she experienced was a sudden rush of adrenaline that drove her feet forward before her mind could even make sense of what she was doing. She tapped him hard on the shoulder.
    “Gary?”
    He spun around so fast that she let out a sharp cry. It was followed by frightened silence as he displayed the knife he held in his hand.
    “Why would you sneak up on me like that?” He glowered with fury in his eyes. Ally felt tiny in front of him as his lumbering form drew closer to her. “What do you want from me?”
    She didn’t think she would be able to form words without breath in her lungs, and yet they began to spill from between her lips.
    “I want