Sammi Carter - Chocolate Dipped Death

Table of Contents

The Sweet Bye-and-Good-Bye

Paradise isnt the sleepy little farm town it used to be, I agreed.

But people still dont want me around, said Savannah.

Its not easy to come back, I admitted. I wasnt exactly welcomed, either.

Savannah let out a reedy laugh. Theyd probably keel over dead if I moved back. They can hardly stand to be in the same room with me.

Reminding her that shed earned her reputation wouldnt accomplish anything, so I went for a less confrontational response. People are curious, especially about why youve entered the contest. Obviously, you dont need the prize money. Some people wonder if theres another reason.

Savannah laughed as if the thought of being mysterious delighted her. With her long, dark hair and striking coloring, she looked beautiful even in the dim glow of the streetlamp. Not surprisingly, I felt like a lump of clay beside herbut, then, I always had.

You know how it is. Youll be big news for a few days, and then theyll find something new to talk about.

As long as I dont give them something new to sink their teeth into, right?

Candy Shop Mysteries by Sammi Carter

CANDY APPLE DEAD
CHOCOLATE DIPPED DEATH

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED DEATH

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / March 2006

Copyright 2006 by The Berkley Publishing Group.

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eISBN : 978-1-101-01058-7

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To the Women of the Weekend...
Jo Ann, Vanessa, and Paige

Chapter 1

I cant believe she had the nerve to show up. My cousin Karen kept her eyes riveted on the dark-haired woman across the room and shoved an empty tray in my general direction. It teetered precariously on the edge of the table and would have fallen if I hadnt snatched it away from her. What is she doing here, anyway?

I slid the tray onto a shelf beneath the flowing white tablecloth that hid extra containers of candy, score sheets, programs, and the other necessary but unattractive supplies for running a three-day candy-making competition. Id been up since five that morning and running nonstop all day as I dealt with a litany of questions, complaints, and problems. I was in no mood for trouble now.

Somehow wed managed to turn the drab second-floor meeting room of Divinity into a thing of beauty. Swaths of flowing fabric draped the walls. Crisp white cloths covered tables in the judging and staging areas. Silver trays loaded with specialty candies nestled among pine boughs and the burgundy velvet bows Karen and I had stayed awake most of one night to make. I was proud of what wed achieved.

Even the weather was cooperating. Snow falling outside the windows added just the right touch on a January night. I just hoped no one snooped around behind the scenes where piles of raw wood and construction equipment had been left behind by my brother and his friends after they rebuilt the stairs to my third-floor apartment.

The look on Karens face made nervous tension knot between my shoulders and shot a big fat hole in my satisfaction with a job well done. This might be the Tenth Annual Confectionary Competition for Divinity, the candy store Id inherited a few months earlier, but it was the first time around the block for me. I was nervous as a cat and desperate for the weekend to go well. Karen was my only help, the one person who could provide the continuity and history the contest needed. I needed her to stay focused.

I gazed around the room, checking the judges, heads together as they debated their final decision, then moving on to the contestants, who waited anxiously for the announcement. The winner of tonights round would be one-third of the way toward scoring the grand prize on the final night: five hundred dollars in prize money and a month in the featured candy spot at Divinity, not to mention a lovely engraved plaque. It wasnt the largest or most prestigious prize in the world, but the ladies who entered the contest every year competed for it fiercely.

Satisfied that everything was going well, I tried to divert Karens attention away from the woman shed been glaring at all night. Does everyone know what time to be here tomorrow?

Of course. Karen brushed an auburn curl from her forehead, but it fell right back into place. I told everybodyeven people I shouldnt have.

There was no mistaking who she meant, but I ignored the bait and arranged a few pieces of almond bark on a silver tray. Good. Just as long as every one of the contestants knows, Im happy.

Well, Im not. Karen shoved her hands into the pocket of her apron and planted herself directly in front of me. Karens a few years younger than my own thirty-nine, and shes never been afraid of a fight. Shes also skinny as a railsomething I think is unnatural on a candymaker. You shouldnt have let Savannah Vance enter the contest, Abby. Theres going to be trouble.

Id gone to high school with Savannah way back when. Shed been Vance then, but her married name was Horne, and shed made it very clear that she wanted me to use it. Ill admit shes never been my favorite person. But twenty years have passed since we knew each other, so I gave a casual shrug and looked away. Her registration fee is as good as anyone elses.

Yeah. Right. Karen laughed through her nose and narrowed her eyes. Savannah doesnt compete. She just takes whatever she wants. Shes up to no good, Abby. Mark my words.

Lets not borrow trouble, okay? I smiled and turned away to continue my inventory. To my relief, most of the silver candy trays were still reasonably full, and the candy bouquets Id settled in strategic spots, hoping to convince people that they were an acceptable alternative to traditional flowers on special occasions, seemed to be generating some interest.