Fatal Chocolate Obsession (Death by Chocolate Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

I realized Henry was growling at the flowers.
    I pulled the card from its plastic holder. By the romantic light of the full moon I read the words printed in messy block letters:
    The first time I saw you,
    Your eyes met mine,
    And I knew you then
    For all of time.
    Your soul mate now and forever.
    Oh, puke.
     

Chapter Three
     
    I looked at the flowers. Huge moral dilemma. Make a grand gesture and throw them in the trash or take them inside and enjoy them without concern for their origin? Strictly speaking, they originated from a greenhouse. Rickhead’s intervention between their life on a rosebush and their appearance on my porch didn’t change the blooms in any material way.
    I picked them up and started toward the door.
    Henry growled again.
    “Hey, the flowers are innocent! They didn’t do anything wrong.”
    He snorted, turned his back on me and went upstairs.
    I took the flowers to the kitchen and set them on the table. The blossoms were lovely, untainted by Rick’s intrusion into their lives. The card, however, was a different story.
    I ripped it into tiny pieces, marched upstairs and flushed it down the toilet.
    Soul mate? Oh, please!
    ***
    The next morning when I pulled into the parking lot behind Death by Chocolate, the street light illuminated the yellow police tape surrounding a chalk outline approximately where Bob had stood when I handed him food and congratulated him the day before.
    I got out of my car and walked through the predawn darkness to the outline. The crude drawing depicting a human form was empty and bore no resemblance to my friend. I wanted to hurry inside and not look, but I couldn’t be a coward. Bob deserved better than that.
    I slid under the yellow tape and stood beside the outline. An image of Bob lying there, dying alone and helpless, flashed across my mind. A dark puddle, black in the dim light, surrounded the head on the sketch.
    I swallowed and forced myself to look more closely, to see if I could discern any clues in the outline, in the blood spatter pattern. I don’t know anything about blood spatter patterns, but I felt certain Fred would. I took a picture with my cell phone.
    “I’m glad I had the chance to know you, Bob.” I hoped he could hear me.
    I took a couple more pictures and went inside. I couldn’t do anything else for Bob, and people would soon be needing chocolate.
    Paula looked up from slathering butter onto the dough for cinnamon rolls. “Did you see the yellow tape and chalk outline in the alley?”
    I nodded.
    “Please tell me there hasn’t been another murder.”
    I bit my lip and nodded again. “Bob.”
    Her eyes widened. “Bob? Our Bob?”
    The words our Bob brought a weak smile to my lips. Paula isn’t as detached as she’d like everybody to believe. “Yes, our Bob.” I cleared my throat and tied on my apron, giving myself a minute to work up the courage to repeat what Trent had told me last night. “Blunt weapon. His head.”
    She drew in a deep breath and slowly released it then went back to buttering dough she’d already buttered. “Do they have any idea who did it?”
    “I don’t think so, but you know how Trent withholds information from me. I took some pictures of the crime scene. I’m going to send them to Fred to study and also have him see what he can find out about Bob’s associates. Whoever did this will pay.”
    Paula was quiet for a long moment. “I’m sorry I called him odd .”
    “We can all be odd under the right circumstances. You were a little odd when I first met you.”
    She smiled. “Point taken.” She went back to her cinnamon rolls.
    I retrieved eggs, brown sugar, flour, butter, vanilla—all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. I also planned to make chocolate sheet cake, but the cookies were a staple, something I could make without thinking. “I have a happier story. Maybe it will help restore your faith in human nature.” I told her about Brandon hitting my car, taking the blame and offering to